ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2014

I just got so sick of Ariel Pink being a garbage human being I couldn't be bothered to listen to him any more. Apparently it's a good record. I dunno, I like plenty of art made by assholes/evil people, but most of them aren't currently giving douchey interviews all the time.

xp imago, he's a misogynist twat, amongst other things. There's a strain of defence that says it's all 'arch' but ffs we don't need people spouting that crap whether they truly believe it or not.

Same.

Different.

the thing i'm most excited to hear from this late turn is the toni braxton babyface album

Are we not doing P&J/P4K placements?

They weren't supplied to me for albums, and also I didn't care enough to ask.

They'll be in the the stats wrap-up though.

JF otm

Listened to the Ariel Pink maybe 3/4 times. Way too Zappa. Lots of great ideas presented increasingly obnoxiously.

Im on a train with no headphones, im enjoying the convivial nature of the conversations in the row adjacent, a man is laughing on the phone, he has the laughter of just being happy rather than anything in particular being funny, its nice to listen to, a lifting of the spirt

I cant really imagine playing any of todays choices, the names seem like shops and carpet warehouses on the main road into the city, I see them all the time from the window, they've been there ever since I can remember, but the signs are still well looked after. I cant remember if ive ever been in or not, I must have done at some point, I think I know exactly what they are like, but actually I have no idea

I dunno, I feel like as it's more difficult to listen to the albums being listed than single tracks, it's more important for this poll to have the extra bits of info. On the other hand, it's a lot of work just doing it at all, so poll-runner's prerogative wins over my desire to have more stuff.

xp

http://i.imgur.com/9W9yayz.jpg

31 JESSIE WARE Tough Love [431 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote]

Ariel Pink interview strikes me as contrarianism, whose impulse may at times be applauded even if its results may not. Haven't detected any asshole spewover into his art. Could be convinced either way. He seems problematic.

I tried so hard with this album but it's just below the Lykke Li album as my biggest disappointment of the year.

Ware album suffers only from questionable collaborative choices.

Also: too damn quiet.

i loved the lykke li! xxp the jessie ware was okay too.

Weird. Lykke Li's album was my favorite of hers. Tough Love is on equal footing with Devotion imo.

I will say that I've quite liked the Ariel Pink songs I've heard, without giving the album a full listen - they seem generally interesting

Tough Love is Too Low

fun jessie ware facts:

"After her studies, Ware briefly worked as a journalist at The Jewish Chronicle, did sports journalism at The Daily Mirror and worked behind the scenes at TV company Love Productions. There, she was a colleague of Erika Leonard, otherwise known as E. L. James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey.[17]"

My one exposure to Ariel Pink was traumatic. for my ears.
also, I'm not buying this Lewis album at all.

Yes, let's applaud Ariel Pink's contrarianism.

"beta males have got it figured out so that they don't have to chase or rape their prey"
"beta males have got it figured out so that they don't have to chase or rape their prey"
"beta males have got it figured out so that they don't have to chase or rape their prey"
"beta males have got it figured out so that they don't have to chase or rape their prey"
"beta males have got it figured out so that they don't have to chase or rape their prey"
"beta males have got it figured out so that they don't have to chase or rape their prey"

Beta males. Got it figured out. So they don't have to chase or rape their prey. (That's women, btw.)

*applause*

I always preferred Ariel when he was making quasi-anonymous car glovebox mixtapes as an outsider solo artist than his more recent stuff. Imago check out 'Worn Copy', I reckon you'd love that one

was jamming 'tough love' on my drive this morning and i do think it's about even w/'devotion'

xp to emil.y Yep! That's the quote that put me off Ariel Pink for good and I hope he goes to hell.

AP the guy strikes me as a deeply troubled, hopelessly narcissistic individual

'The Doldrums' is one of my five favourite records of all time, it pains me he's the way he is now because it makes me averse to listening to him.

JF seconded, not to mention his music is third-rate lofi psychedelia trash

also i think the version of this album to buy is the one w/bonus tracks, all four of them are winners. the album only has one weak link, which is 'say you love me'. the lion king shit at the end bums me out.

there are some duds on the jessie album but it really holds together imo, i remain a big fan

my only real regret is that they threw strings on "cruel" cuz that beat is so good

33 THE SOFT PINK TRUTH Why Do the Heathen Rage? [426 points, 16 votes]
32 ARIEL PINK Pom Pom [430 points, 15 votes, 1 first place vote]
31 JESSIE WARE Tough Love [431 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote]

two in the pink, one in merry old england

Fuck, I hadn't seen that quote xps. Hardman bullshit narcissism. Yuck

lot of folks seemed to hate "say you love me" off tough love, which i didnt understand, thought it was lovely in spite of the slightly schmaltz adult-contemp vibes

ugh, I remembered AP saying nonsense about beta males but forgot he said that.

Jessie Ware tho!

'The Doldrums' is one of my five favourite records of all time, it pains me he's the way he is now because it makes me averse to listening to him.

― All The Craigers Gonna Craig Craig Craig Craig Craig (Craigo Boingo), Wednesday, January 28, 2015 7:18 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I agree with everything in this post.

Yeah, Say You Love Me is in the upper third of songs on Tough Love imo. I wish Midnight Caller had been on the album proper.

i didn't hate 'say you love me'. i think she's great on the song, i just think it's really generic and the shit at the end is all wrong.

Tough Love, Kind of...Sometimes...Maybe, Keep On Lying and Champagne Kisses are the keepers on the album for me. I can't really remember any of the other songs apart from Say You Love me which I really disliked. I probably listened to the album about eight times to try and get it into it more but it just wasn't happening. Hopefully I'll go back to it some point and it will just click. I really love Devotion.

it took me a few times but then i "got" it

"say you love me" was a major grower for me, it kinda ended up being the emotional high point for me on the record

just checked out 'Say You Love Me' and I'm sure Jessie's a real talent but to me this is the Sound of BBC Love Actually Saturday Kitchen Jools Holland AOR banality that's been shitting up UK music for just too fucking long.

ariel pink as a person turns me so off that i have 0 desire to engage w/ his music at this point

jessie ware i adore but that album i wasn't super in2

that's the wrong song to check out, DL

Today is full of great entries! I personally loved the Ariel Pink, though truthfully this was prior to the context of misogyny... I figured the problematic album lyrics sounded far more deconstructive than celebratory of patriarchal values and masochism etc. But if he's a dick in interviews then it's sort of unforgivable... The art world is still way too beleaguered with pretentious arseholes masquerading as infants terribles, espousing dubious politics under the spurious disclaimer of being whimsically noteworthy. But oh Ariel Pink...such wonderfully grotesque sounds...

Generally of the SPT 'make no concessions' camp myself. A wonderful album and explication of its ethos!

dog latin, try "Keep on Lying" which makes good use of a polka preset
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP0YFbnF7Mk

er, sorry that was just meant to be a link

http://i.imgur.com/In27WzI.jpg

30 FUTURE ISLANDS Singles [432 points, 15 votes]

i exclusively listen to pre-pubescent ariel pink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SYvSRXVW2o