Hype and Slander: What are you voting for in ILM's 2021 End of Year Tracks and Albums Poll?

I nominate this track from William Parker. Guitar might be redolent of Mahavishnu Orchestra but the rhythm section is some seriously heavy jazz funk. top top stuff. No fat on the bones here.

https://open.spotify.com/track/7pe9Q8Mi9ESLDmQzrCNMCk?autoplay=true

Looking forward to the C-Z commentary today before deadline

Next year I'm just nominating artists that start with the letter A

Huge thanks to whoever nominated that Hardfloor track as it's ace and I'd not heard it before but it appears to have come out 5 years ago?

Loving the Bethan Lloyd track. According to a friend she does these wild singing workshops out in the Welsh mountains. Sounds terrifying

I’ve got about 200 left to go on the playlist, heard so much great music, yet my every waking hour is still haunted by the Backardigans.

Is there a YouTube playlist?

Huge thanks to whoever nominated that Hardfloor track as it's ace and I'd not heard it before but it appears to have come out 5 years ago?

― groovypanda, Friday, 21 January 2022 10:32 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

That was me, and you're right. In my defence, I mostly buy off Juno and this shows it as being released this year - https://www.junodownload.com/products/hardfloor-25-gyeahrs/5155335-02/.

Isn't it good, though?

xp, there is!
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg5Jd-S3s1GE4z_e7plH3u1sAPEsew2DS

Again, this is my problem with this stuff. Whilst the music is perfectly pleasant it's in this narcissistic indie mode of not wanting to engage in dialogue with the culture it's referencing. I can link hundreds of records that sound exactly like this from junglists who have continued to do their thing through the 00s. Now as devils advocate you can say, yes, but it is all that comes out of the speakers that matters. And whilst that is true enough, it's also the problem with the people who became graduates of Reynolds and Finney's writings, in that they don't have the contexts that both of these authors have. So whilst Si knows about Bassbin and Inperspective, yer average twitter personality who pontificates about hardcore continuum nick land jungle doesn't, because they haven't hooked onto the narritive arc of a genre but its snapshot in a particular spatiotemporal configuration. And therein lies the implicit limitations of the rockist/poptimist culture wars so beloved of the majority of indie refuseniks on this forum, that both approaches are essentially predicated on an overwhelmingly American epistemic foundation, where the brand becomes the thing. Sounds can be abstracted from their contexts rather than sound being the sonification of environments (not the images conjured.)

tl;dr: I am miserable and don't enjoy anything.

didn't we ban that guy fairly recently

Eh, I don't agree but I don't mind the perspective.

i think the POV is kinda similar to but less aggro than the guy that was banned

Nah it’s the same dude

I think this might be the third form he's taken on the ilx

sir, this is a Jack in the Box

forks keep em coming. I think I'm loving your own, bold selections of highlights more than what I'll enjoy the actual results.

You're the MVP

Almost certainly too late to convince anyone to add it to their list but this is my favourite by a wide distance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ehw-bUuj_M
It's just fun, which is what I needed in such a shitty year.

Ah yeah that's a good one too!

I think I'm finding my actual 2021 favorite songs of the year in this thread.

aw thanks Moka. I'm enjoying the deep dive and the incentive to think more on these.

Faves in bold. This is a particularly good batch.

Bree Runway - HOT HOT: Pop dancehall that leans harder toward the former than the latter in a way that smacks of Rihanna’s early day, though “ride a boy’s face like a Yamaha” is more later era Ri-Ri i suppose. Didn’t care for this at first, then the cadence earwormed me.

Breeze Brewin - King Oxymoron: Killer New York 90’s-style indie hip hop with (jugga)knotty flow, bars for days with clever emphasis (“if you declare me moron/better be there with sword drawn”) and similarly vintage Marco Polo production. This is entirely in my lane and I will for sure be listening to the whole album.

Brent Faiyaz - MERCEDES, Show U Off, Wasting Time (with Drake): I like Faiyaz’ voice a lot; there’s some Maxwell there, filtered through a loose-throated Baltimore (?!) accent. Both Mercedes and Show U off are honeyed treats that give him center stage, though Wasting Time treats him as a feature and Drake sucks, so…

BRÍDÍN - Floating: Another “only on ILX” find from an Irish artist who I’ve never heard of. This is a lovely ballad of looped and altered vocals, percussion, electronics and harp, floating and swooping like a bird in a parlor searching for a window, all feathery ballet and sweet sound with no aim other than to please itself. Kudos for the recommendation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HRH_qVODSg

Brijean - Hey Boy: An exceptional chill-out mix of samba and blunted seventies funk disco sensibility that would make for manna from heaven at that transitional moment when people are filtering back onto or off the floor for or from the next drink. Is it a vibe? I think it’s a vibe.


Brothertiger - Heaven: My first comparison was Mike and The Mechanics but my partner said Mister Mister and I think that Soul Sister is onto something. Even without the patina of lived or false nostalgia, this is talented enough stuff that it’s still quite enjoyable. I might like it better if it had a bit less fidelity to its 80’s source material so maybe I should try something else by the same artist?

Bruise - Joy: Ecstatically thudding house gospel that’s happy to lather on dancefloor schmaltz until it fairly bubbles. Joy indeed!

Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak are Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open, Skate: I would go so far as to call myself a fan of A.Paak but would also go so far as to say I frankly loathe the music of Bruno Mars. Everything I’ve heard from the Silk Sonic project reminds me of the old adage that an ounce of horseshit mixed with two gallons of ice cream results in two gallons and an ounce of horseshit. These tracks are immeasurably corny and funk-faking to me, pastiche of the worst variety.

The Bug with Flowdan - Pressure: Predictably dark, filthy nightmare dub from the guy who does it as well as anyone. I don’t think I’ve heard Flowdan anywhere except with The Bug but together they’ve been consistently grinding out obsidian scaffolding with deft footwork and wordplay for like 15 years or so. I’ve been sold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN9k6Dz1SX0

Burial - Dark Gethsemane: Overpacked cinematic trip that shifts gears more than once on the way to a sudden but not unpleasant dead end. The journey is the goal here I suppose and, cliche or not, there’s enough thought and care that goes into this lengthy series of ideas that the pieces are fully enjoyable even embedded in this very mannered presentation. I didn’t try the EP when it came out and I’m curious enough to hear what this sounds like in situ that I’m dog-earing the cover for future exploration.

Burna Boy - Kilometre, Question: Each a big chune in its own way. Kilometre is a stuttering, gyrating party starter; Question is a soft exhale of smoke and echoing bass at the park barbecue. If you can only listen to one, I suppose I’d pick the last on the strength of its exceptionally charming video. I cherished both dearly this year and either would fit perfectly on any best of the year ballot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rOer3k2DWg

Busta 929 - Ngixolele, Mmapula: A New Amapiano Challenger Appears! I was mostly AWOL on the always-worthwhile amapiano thread this year with other distractions and just look at what I missed. Both tracks are A+ material from a producer who finds new and original means of expression while coloring within the lines. I clearly need to put Busta 929 permanently on my radar. Did you know about him? You should know about him! I should probably also get up to speed with the vocalist Boohle; she sounds amazing on Ngixolele.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_xsdC6iYgM

Busy Signal - Bring Rum: ILM's favorite balloon artist has been grinding out good music all year but Rum all by itself is one of the five best pop songs I heard this year. I listen to it at least once a week. It’s still fucking amazing in that way that Busy’s best work is, infinitely replayable. I hold out some hope maybe this will place in the 77. Grab a woman every man every woman grab a man and just
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5aPrf2zE0

Cabiria - DISCO-CAFÉ: Indie-psych-dance with a distinct Broadway streak and Spanish weirdo flair. By the time the sax comes in, I bet you’ll probably be in too deep to only like it ironically.

Cake Pop - Black Rum: This was my nomination, this year’s Gecs that I will ride or die for. Sped-up absurdist nihilism that slaps is most of what I’m looking for out of hyperpop and this morsel of adult swim feels like a signpost demanding better from music, from life, from our diversions and our dreams. It’s also a track that I genuinely enjoy listening to but that I could simultaneously see alienating any gen x parent that doesn’t understand why junior thinks playing Ride the Lightning in the F150 is hella lame. Keep pushing those little daisies, kiddos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edp0LIUcq28

Camp Cope - Blue: Lo-fi Aussie indie with a country twang and emopunk backbone, surprisingly good.

Cardi B - Up: My nomination and another one I’d argue as a top ten pick. Cardi is probably the biggest name in hip hop, even in a year when she only released one solo track, way back in February. Fuck though, what a great song: minimal and perfect production that puts Cardi at the center so she can absolutely rap her ass off. Somehow I don’t think I ever saw the video! Let’s watch it together?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCiBgLOcuKU

Carly Pearce - Next Girl: I fell hard for Pearce’s debut album and, even though I haven’t given enough time to her 2021 LP, I expect nothing but high quality pop country anytime her name is on the product. Next Girl fits the bill, well constructed both lyrically and musically. If you’d like to hear what radio country sounds like when it’s good, you could do worse than starting here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5KKh5gFock

Caroline Loveglow - Patience Etc…: Bedroom pop via The Cure, lots of glam and languor and velour. Holds up pretty well to the fifth play.

Caroline Polachek - Bunny Is a Rider: The hype on this track was so inflated that I gave it a quick spin, rated it mediocre then forgot about it. But what do you know, on repeat it really proves quite good. Yeah, the lyrics are nonsense (“dirty like its earth day”?), but who cares? A deft synthesis of a lot of gimmicks (the whistle, the marimba, the chimes, the autotune, the baby chirrups, the scratching) held together with a solid bass line and entirely effective vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_V2ccs_Urk

I'm listening to lots other than this nomination list just now and I imagine the poll rollout is going to dominate my non-work/non-physical therapy attention for awhile but I could see coming back and doing more of these later in February as long as anyone's getting anything out of them. Me included!

do it!

voted on tracks this year for the first time. But was still too focused on albums to really do it justice.

Would've voted for Mungo's Hi-Fi too!

the Busta 929 (f. Boohle) song I really liked was Ekseni

The Bevis Frond - Dreams of Flying: I stopped three times to check to see how long this was gonna keep playing for, but it wasn’t until now that I looked to see the name of the artist. Hard pass.

This is really on me cuz I think I nominated the wrong track but if I had the chance to do it again I'd nominate the entire album bcz its legitimately incredible and wdve easily made top 15 if not top 10

yeah I somehow missed that in the options so didn't vote for it, but it's good

everybody please vote for the maria arnal i marcel bagés album
― roflrofl fight (voodoo chili), Friday, January 14, 2022 4:34 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

I highly recommend their previous album as well. Fantastic incorporation of Spanish music into art pop / ambient singer-songwriter, and what a full-bodied voice she has. Should appeal to fans of Mabe Fratti for example.

(Not nominated in 2017 on ILM, so I guess we are all catching up)

Glad to see Gardna getting some EOY love, he’s been doing some consistently chipper music (and club nights here in Bristol) for a while now. Bit biased as he’s a pal of a pal but seems like a good egg.

I didn't vote, guys, sorry, I just didn't vibe with the nominees I listened to enough to get excited about voting but I am still really looking forward to the rollout where I always find some exciting tracks!

I'm really excited for the rollout, tbh— I always discover some faves from that thread.

still need to check out Gardna but he seems like a great lad

Good job with this year's final winning lineup btw. There's lots missing that I both voted or and/or should have voted for but after some rigorous listening, there's definitely not more than 10 songs out of 77 that I just don't like.

Oh sick, ten of my votes made it ;)

MC Boing made it to the top 77 then

wait... am i missing something? we haven't rolled out yet have we?

lol

wait... am i missing something? we haven't rolled out yet have we?
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Thursday, January 27, 2022 1:20 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

No, it's just forks and moka discussing the results over coffee and telling us how interesting it all is :D

Do 77-60 tomorrow and then 15 a day next week imo

No no it's fine, we can all wait, namaste

wait... am i missing something? we haven't rolled out yet have we?

That Wet Leg one two surprised me

We're starting on Monday.

VOTE BITCOIN

can we put the results on the blockchain?

Will the graphics be sold as nfts?

The graphic for our #8 placement which is a song called “player of games” by Grimes will be sold as an NFT, yes.

That Wet Leg one two surprised me

I went to POLL and I got the big D

if the blockchain is how we get rid of fakeouts, then I'm a cryptobro now

ahoy
ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2021