ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2017

hey JF, I was the #1 voter for Isbell, thrilled that it placed.

In a year with a deep bench but few absolute stunners, "If We Were Vampires" truly stood out for me, just a devastating ballad with lyrics that walk right up to the edge of corniness, but sound so good over that guitar line that it transcends the concept of "corniness" altogether. Like JF said, the central conceit is, "If we were immortals, relationships wouldn't mean anything," but Isbell takes it a step further and says, "so what?" Maybe it's death that makes life meaningful, but when you're with your soulmate, 40 years together, or 50 years or 100 years, is far too short. Beautiful, beautiful song.

I didn't get the appeal of this latest St Vincent album at all

hey JF, I was the #1 voter for Isbell, thrilled that it placed.

You, EZ and I accounted for 136 of its points, so go us!

Oh wait, bad math. 146 of its points.

high five

one day, one of you will be high fiving, and there won't be another high five there to meet it ;_;

https://i.imgur.com/itXADk7.jpg

50 PATRICE BÄUMEL "Glutes" [175 points, 5 votes, 1 first place vote]
https://youtu.be/Abjbg2HYz14

one day, one of you will be high fiving, and there won't be another high five there to meet it ;_;

― #TeamHailing (imago), Tuesday, January 23, 2018 11:20 AM (thirty-four seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what is the sound of one high five clapping

yessss glutes!!!!

Patrice Bäumel is a very handsome man.

so he is!

whose number 1 was it?

mine!

this is lovely, blows up in a great way at the 4min mark

yeah, it keeps getting better as it goes along

Glutes was the last song I cut from my ballot. Listening to it now and I'm not sure why I did.

My tracks ballot was mixed, and Glutes was in the unranked portion. Not sure how many points that means I gave it, but some.

I didn't vote so I suppose I shouldn't complain but aside from Kelela, Laurel Halo, Kedr Livanskiy and Charlotte Gainsbourg, thus far this list makes it seem like 2017 was an awful year for music.

You didn't like L'Rain at all, pomenitul? Only real reason I didn't give it a vote is that I only got to listen to the album more than a couple of times before I cast my ballot.

Simon H. OTM re St. Vincent album.

"New York" was a late nomination for me, and I was surprised at the time that no one else had nominated it. So I'm definitely surprised that it made the list (I projected ahead of time that 2 songs I voted for would make it, and this wasn't one of them).

I like this

I voted for New York btw

glutes was a MAJOR last chance find on the nominations list so thanks for that.

i was also another voter for "if we were vampires." track is very maudlin but it hits me where i live.

All 4 Isbell voters now accounted for. :)

https://i.imgur.com/kvd5deQ.jpg

49 KAMASI WASHINGTON "Truth" [176 points, 7 votes]
https://youtu.be/rtW1S5EbHgU

I'm still digesting The Epic (live show from that year was great); never even listened to this.

xp "it's knowing that this can't go on forever / likely one of us will have to spend some days alone / maybe we'll get forty years together / but one day I'll be gone / and one day you'll be gone"
that run of lyrics, in the aftermath of my partner's father dying and seeing how her mother is coping with being a widower, really gets me where i live

one of my most-listened to tracks in 2017, voted for the album though

i think i overdosed on stuff that sounded like "glutes" in 2006

Truth is great, and towers over the rest of the ep imo. Second of my votes.

didn't vote for the album but "Truth" was my number three. Fred otm, "Truth" is an overture, mashing together all the best individual moments of the album into a towering, soulful statement. it's more epic than any of the individual tracks on The Epic.

as a longtime fan, it's been bugging me that I couldn't get into this St Vincent album and now I think I know why. There's a sort of arch egocentrism she's emanating on this record that wasn't there on previous albums.
It's like the caricature of the reclusive playground nerd who, once she's realised that her quirkiness and smartness can be harnessed into something endearing, is now over-egging it, wearing dark glasses and smoking foreign cigarettes while dropping references about her cool life in the city to anyone who'll listen... The songs on this album force you to hear them from her personal point of view whether you want to or not, and it feels a bit like being cornered at a party by a cokehead who insists on telling you all about a bunch of people you've never met and have no interest in.

that's how I respond to her other records!

didn't really feel that Truth was any different from stuff on The Epic, a fine album that could easily have been filtered down into just 12 good songs

You didn't like L'Rain at all, pomenitul? Only real reason I didn't give it a vote is that I only got to listen to the album more than a couple of times before I cast my ballot.

― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Based on a cursory listen, I did like it better than most of the other picks but further listening is required so I'll be sure to check out the album as a whole.

https://i.imgur.com/RaztCs6.jpg

48 DESTROYER "Tinseltown Swimming In Blood" [177 points, 6 votes, 1 first place vote]
https://youtu.be/h-N6jfO5NOQ

Tinseltown is one of the good songs on one of the year's most disappointing records.

dig the marker-inspired video

kitchen person otm

tune *really* reminds me of something else, can't think what. do like it though, that understated vocal suits it pretty well

― faust apes (NickB), Monday, 22 January 2018 15:45 (yesterday)

Re 'Nightwork' it does remind me of Whitney Houston's 'It's Not Right But It's OK' due to its very similar staccato melodic pattern.

Heh. I nominated this at the last minute but never voted for it.

saw Destroyer live on Saturday and it was amazing, this song rules

mama "unmask me" is so good, wow. tbh maybe the only one today that has caught me

The video is great (I love hair shearing videos.)

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, January 23, 2018 10:49 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i do too

destroyer video should be a zine imo

oh glutes is really good

TS: "Glutes" vs. Bicep

Glutes vs Glue.

(Judging by the list so far Bicep are definitely turning up at some point unless there's been mad vote splitting)

I voted for the other Bicep track iirc. Sorry.

Way prefer Bicep to 'Glutes', though, if we're doing anatomical music comparisons. 'Glutes' is nice but it doesn't do anything to make itself stand out to me.

I ended voting for the other nominated destroyer track. This one very good too though. I think the album is great, though not up there with his best.