pazz & jop 2011

let's start with some prognosticating

feels like a pretty wide open year to me, or does "rolling in the deep" run away with the singles poll? the first two that popped into my head were "niggas in paris" and "super bass" but i may be off.

is bon iver going to win the albums poll?

i don't really have a grasp for how much ppl like the adele & lady gaga albums, or whether their high placement on shit like the rolling stone list is just kowtowing or a harbinger of them doing really well in P&J

or is 'watch the throne' just going to win?

pj harvey's critical acclaim might be notably brit-centric but US critics seemed to place her highly too - she's in with more of a shot of winning P&J than the ILX poll i'd say

i don't think the lady gaga album will place highly

yeah pj harvey will do really well i think

do people really like "rolling in the deep" that much? no trolling

well it's one of *those* songs that people vote for isn't it. it's catchy and ubiquitous and tasteful and even if you don't love it you don't hate it. that's the kind of song that wins right?

i think "Rolling In The Deep" COULD take the singles poll but some random blogbait album track i've barely heard of could just as easily beat it out

yeah, probably helped by the fact that tracks don't get weighted

sorta hoping that "countdown" wins, prob not gonna happen tho

could beyonce win albums? no, right? it's def gonna be 'watch the throne'? (or bon iver)

beyoncé trax will be split

with what, "love on top"?

it's def gonna be 'watch the throne'? (or bon iver)

I fully expect one of those to win.

i don't think there's a BIG indie blogbait track this year, high placements from bon iver & m83 on the pfork list not withstanding

the highest the beyoncé album has come in a list so far is the guardian's 4th iirc, and that was a pretty big surprise (and half those critics probably won't vote in p&j). top 10 would be a nice surprise tbh.

i don't get the impression the plaudits for WTT were album-of-the-year enthusiastic.

i'm going to put on my prognosticator hat and predict what the highest chart pop songs on the singles poll will be, roughly in this order (with lots of indie/niche stuff in between or above them):

Rolling In The Deep
Super Bass
Look At Me Now
Pumped Up Kicks
W****s In Paris
Countdown
Till The World Ends
Edge of Glory
Otis
Motivation
Sure Thing
Someone Like You
I'm On One
We Found Love
Party Rock Anthem
Marvins Room
Lonely Boy

"Marvins Room" possibly higher if the Jojo stans show out in full force and those votes get counted toward Drake's total

oh wait a minute those jojo votes don't count towards drake do they???!!!!!! nooooooooooooooooooo

and of the big blockbuster pop albums i would say they'll be spread out over the top 20 or 30 like: Adele > Beyonce > Drake > WTT > Gaga > Coldplay > Wayne

just checked w/maura, votes for jojo's "marvin's room" will not count towards drake's "marvin's room" thanks be to god

haha it was fun to scare you tho

i should've floated that rumor a week before polls closed

lol

does "rolling in the deep" run away with the singles poll?

I predicted "Rolling in the Deep" at #1 back in, like, June, and a couple people said that they thought it was more like a #3. But honestly I can't see what might end up ahead of it at this point.

I VOTED
FOR
PARTY ROCK ANTHEM

^^i need a sticker

forgot about "look at me now", i'd be surprised if that did better than "i'm on one" but again my feeling for p&j voting isn't great

i guess lana del rey will be in the top 10, right?

yeah well the year SEEMS really young and fully of possibility at the halfway mark, six months later the only hits that have peaked since june that seem like remote contenders are "super bass" and "nas in paris"

xpost - "look at me now" will def be in the top 10 and higher than "i'm on one"

yeah, i mean corny pop always does really well, so i think "rolling in the deep" has to be the odds on favorite

last year's singles top 10 is such a disaster -- three kanye singles in the top 5

"holocene" is prob a lock for 2011's "bloodbuzz ohio" (lol) tho it might do a bit better than that

oh fucking duh of course, "video games" will prob be no 1

feel like if "runaway" AND "power" (i mean jesus) both made it into the top 5 last year, that "otis" and "nas in paris" are locks for the top 10, if not the top 5

"we found love" is prob gonna be top 10, as well

yeah i think "Otis" had a strong shot at the top 5 over the summer but now that there's been a more popular follow-up i think it'll get knocked down, maybe slightly out of the top 10.

but yeah last year was a disgrace (and i took so much shit for saying so!)

i have no idea what the top ten will look like but it will be irredeemable garbage

"we found love" becoming the most critically embraced rihanna song since "umbrella" is so nuts but probably really is happening

xpost - "look at me now" will def be in the top 10 and higher than "i'm on one"

Eh, maybe I'm out of the loop, but I had to google "Look at Me Now." Hard for me to imagine that being ahead of anything by Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Jay-Z/Kanye.

two b.o.b singles in the top 40 last year, i always forget how squarely pop the singles list can get

is there any under the radar pop that only indie fans like this year like "tightrope" or "shutterbugg"? i can't think of anything except... "212"?

i'll also call "six foot seven foot" a darkhorse for the top 10, tho it might've fallen out of people's memory by now

jaymc how have you not heard "look at me now," i know you're not real up on mersh radio but that's insane

is there any under the radar pop that only indie fans like this year like "tightrope" or "shutterbugg"? i can't think of anything except... "212"?

I wouldn't exactly call it under the radar, since it's off a platinum-selling record, but "Countdown," which has been getting a lot of end-of-year attention, charted no higher than #71.

rolling in the deep
holocene
countdown
i'm on one
super bass
nas in paris
otis
video games
we found love
edge of glory

(not in that order)

i'm prob way off, forgetting about a destroyer song or something

Starting in 2004 with Franz Ferdinand, I've only liked two singles winners ("Gold Digger" and "Paper Planes"); many I've really disliked. "Rolling in the Deep" will be the latest.

haha yes "i'm on one" will be the 2nd highest top 10 hit on the poll, sure

i really think "Pumped Up Kicks" could be Adele's biggest competition tbh

Just asking, but despite "Look at me Now" getting lots of radio play, will some P & joppers not pick it because Chris Brown's name is on it?

haha yes "i'm on one" will be the 2nd highest top 10 hit on the poll, sure

― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, December 29, 2011 12:20 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

i'm w/ jaymc that i think "i'm on one" will beat out "look at me now"

jaymc how have you not heard "look at me now," i know you're not real up on mersh radio but that's insane

Listening now. Yeah, I don't recognize it. It's possible I've heard it on the radio, but it would've been WAY WAY less than "Party Rock Anthem" or "Give Me Everything" or "Super Bass" or "Moves Like Jagger" or "Last Friday Night" or "We Found Love" or "Grenade," etc. (Fwiw, I also hadn't heard "I'm on One" until it showed up on the P4k list.)

Anyway, kind of cool song, maybe it'll get some votes, although I have to think there are a lot of critics who still wouldn't vote for Chris Brown on principle.

"video games" didn't chart in the US at all?! did not know that

i'm w/ jaymc that i think "i'm on one" will beat out "look at me now"

I didn't actually say that. Both are essentially question marks for me.

i routinely forget that ppl like new britney songs, "till the world ends" could be a top 10 contender

"teenage dream" was the one KP song that ppl were going to rally around, right?

oh, well then i'm w/ myself

I had Chris Brown at #2 for "Beautiful People." Not really reluctantly, as I try not to censor my tastes. Queasily would be the more accurate word.

ha, i hope "give me everything" does really well

Listening now. Yeah, I don't recognize it. It's possible I've heard it on the radio, but it would've been WAY WAY less than "Party Rock Anthem" or "Give Me Everything" or "Super Bass" or "Moves Like Jagger" or "Last Friday Night" or "We Found Love" or "Grenade," etc. (Fwiw, I also hadn't heard "I'm on One" until it showed up on the P4k list.)

yes but "Look At Me Now" has a higher critical profile than most of those songs except "Super Bass" and maybe one other

"Give Me Everything" is on my ballot but i've kinda given up hope on it having any kind of dent

there is really a huge cross section of both hipsters and lamestreamers for whom "look at me now" was the token rap song of the year

"video games" didn't chart in the US at all?! did not know that

Not all that surprising: "Video Games" doesn't really fit into any of the major radio formats. (Although I'm not sure "Pumped Up Kicks" does, either, and it was huge.)

xp that's true -- i think i'm underrating it cuz it was such an early year hit

think "party rock anthem" will do pretty well, too

you're prob right about "pumped up kicks" + i might be overrating "video games", but it could be the "dancing on my own" of 2011

there is really a huge cross section of both hipsters and lamestreamers for whom "look at me now" was the token rap song of the year

are these all the ppl that voted for nixon??

i have never heard of this "pumped up kicks" before now

"video games" was top 10 here, still hanging around the top 40 and will likely do so for a while. proper crossover hit.

yes but "Look At Me Now" has a higher critical profile than most of those songs except "Super Bass" and maybe one other

That's why I inserted the disclaimer about being out of the loop; I have no idea what the "critical profile" for Chris Brown songs is. Much of the time my sense of which mainstream pop songs have the potential to appeal to a wider audience comes from listening to my wife and friends.

Anyway, kind of cool song, maybe it'll get some votes, although I have to think there are a lot of critics who still wouldn't vote for Chris Brown on principle.

― jaymc, Thursday, December 29, 2011 12:24 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

also, diplo 'produced' it

i have never heard of this "pumped up kicks" before now

People have been talking about it here (and even in my real life world) all year. That's not an endorsement.

i just googled - oh it's that band. the only place i've heard people talk about foster the people is ilx. i don't really think i need to hear this until it's forced on me.

It got nommed and received a couple votes in last year's ILM poll too (track's been around for FOREVER).

Looks like "Video Games" hit #16 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart, which measures sales of non-digital singles. Supposedly that chart data is used in compiling the Hot 100 -- however, there are so few CD singles released or purchased these days that an artist can perform fairly well on that chart without even making a dent in the bigger chart.

Foster the People are def some d-baggey looking white dudes. I fully expect the bass player's face to be haunting my nightmares tonight

there's literally no correlation between billboard and what dbag critics vote into pazz and jop

nah the connecting thread is 'terrible'

I'd probably go:

Album: Bon Iver
Single: Super Bass

I will figuratively cry fiery tears of rage when Bon Iver inevitably tops P&J. I'll even say that as a fan of his first album. The new on is so boring and the love for it all over the place is just.....do not want.

shakur/rest

I just can't wrap my head around the appeal, except maybe that last song that sounds like a Gayngs cast-off.

indie listeners who prefer vowels to consonants?

there's literally no correlation between billboard and what dbag critics vote into pazz and jop

If this is in response to my previous post, I had looked up the chart performance of "Video Games" out of idle curiosity, after the Lex expressed surprise that it hadn't charted in the US. I agree that its failure to chart here has little bearing on whether it will get P&J votes, since she's become something of a darling among bloggers/critics anyway.

However, in general, I don't think it's fair to say that there's "literally no correlation" between Billboard and P&J. While a low-charting song can certainly do well on P&J, wide mainstream popularity obviously confers certain advantages.

yeah it's not the only factor but it is definitely a factor.

I hope "Pumped Up Kicks" voters watched this video before emailing their ballots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlAgHt92lqE

being at z100's jingle ball for an arena-wide 'pumped up kicks' singalong was definitely one of 2011's most surreal personal pop moments

i remembering pulling some alt-rock airplay stats once that basically showed Sublime's "Santeria" to be the most popular rock song of the '90s, and that was one of the first things i was reminded of when i heard "Pumped Up Kicks" and may be the reason i haven't been especially surprised by how successful it has become.

Yes. Those two songs will outlive us all.

I was surprised though that the album is quite not-bad.

santeria played at my senior prom

so did get low, actually

that "actually" was in there cuz i confused this thread with the is singing get low racist thread

it's ok, you ain't got no crystal ball

only one rap album on my ballot this year, feel like i'm sellin out somehow

didn't pitchfork #1 an m83 song?

it will probably be that

smh

because it's so possible or because i said it??

only one rap album on my ballot this year, feel like i'm sellin out somehow

― uncle bannmee who can recall his past logins (dealwithit.gif), Thursday, December 29, 2011 3:13 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

heh i felt that way about only having three and having drake as my top rap album

well yeah on the latter point you are a sellout

figured :-/

oh lord people

Basically why I can never identify w/the goon ethos.

dudes i was kidding. i mean whiney wanted to revoke my goon status for laughing at the "party of five" grocery bag and six months later is repping for a drake album, i think everybody can handle some taunting about their love of canadian submarine rap. also i only have like 3 rap albums in my top 10 too, i think that's probably true of a lot of goon types.

ftr i knew that al was kidding (duh)

I was oh-lording you people putting Drake in your lists.

oh i know (to j0rdan)

oh i didn't know, that's good (to alf)

all due respect to cats like deej or noz who have p&j ballots that are at least 90% rap like every year, not everyone can go that hard

i think kjb said he was putting a whole bunch of rap on his ballot...?

obviously those aren't the only 2 people, there are a decent number of dedicated rap crits voting in the poll (even if not enough)

o right yeah

As much as i love the drake it's no top 10 record tho

tbh this year i just listened to tons more rap than usual. i tend to try to balance a bit more w/ dance mixes & ish like that but besides Surkin (which i forgot to vote for anyway) I've been going pretty heavy on rap lately

i was gonna vote for riff raff's uncuct cocaine cypher freestyle #1 (which is prob my most listened to... thing of the year, or at least the only thing that was in my head for 2.5 straight months) but then i got cold feet and didn't want to sully the sanctity of p&j voting

i was gonna vote for riff raff's uncuct cocaine cypher freestyle #1 (which is prob my most listened to... thing of the year, or at least the only thing that was in my head for 2.5 straight months) but then i got cold feet and didn't want to sully the sanctity of p&j voting them to confuse my ballot with forks'

nah riff raff didn't make a video of himself cooking breakfast while he freestyled (...that i know of)

yeah, but he did bring the rice out

lol @ "nas in paris" btw

i was gonna vote for riff raff's uncuct cocaine cypher freestyle #1 (which is prob my most listened to... thing of the year, or at least the only thing that was in my head for 2.5 straight months) but then i got cold feet and didn't want to sully the sanctity of p&j voting them to confuse my ballot with forks'

― uncle bannmee who can recall his past logins (dealwithit.gif), Thursday, December 29, 2011 5:14 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

ha i already made amends w/ this (and w/ forks) in a thread on originilx

heh i felt that way about only having three and having drake as my top rap album

really? really? i...

wtf causes someone to have such a big turnaround on drake?

Being in love.

ha!

i always rate pop rap really high and i think it's the most adventurous & surprising & sonically pleasing pop rap album of the year

its not bad homies first drake joint to sonically please meh.

more or less

kl0pper's room

like uh lex drake was worthless ringtone soap opera quasi-rap myspace top 8-oh8s-and-cheesecake for a solid three years and now is making dubquake hipstamatic dank-ocean screwpop aw man cuz man we in your face ay

#hashtag

ಠ_ಠ

dubquake hipstamatic dank-ocean screwpop

so now it's MELLOW worthless ringtone soap opera quasi-rap myspace top 8-oh8s-and-cheesecake

may be a neon murkmellow flashing-ing-ing lights iunno

whiney turned into luriqua so gradually I didn't even notice

synths of suburban swampland get dark and kings in gold sports cars ride yesterday over echo drums

synths of suburban swampland

kinda think this should be somebody's memoir

what is adventurous or surprising about wispy clouds of ~moody~ nothing?

^word, +1 to lex

whenever i see ballots that are 90% one genre, whether that's rap or techno or indie, i always think, um, do you listen to other genres? there is so much good music out there and it is (almost) everywhere.

ok, well, to answer that question, yes i do, but i liked these albums more than what i heard from those genres

now u know

90% one genre, whether that's rap or techno or indie, i always think, um, do you listen to other genres? there is so much good music out there and it is (almost) everywhere.

― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Friday, 30 December 2011

Kind of an interesting one this. Definitely 90%+ of..newly released music I listen to is broadly house music related. But this probably drops to about maybe 60% of all music old or new. When it comes to older music (both new to me and already known to me) the spectrum is a lot wider. I'm not all that sure why it should be so narrow in one aspect and so wide in another - perhaps could make a possibly spurious argument that the period of "old music" is a larger and wider time period than the period of 2011 which is just one year - not sure

so wait, deej if 90% of the new music you listen to isn't rap, what is the percentage? srs question

at the beginning of the year it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Tyler, The Creator album would do well in year-end lists and that seems to has pretty much dissolved, but "Yonkers" is still a lock to be maybe the highest rap song on the singles poll right?

no doubt

so wait, deej if 90% of the new music you listen to isn't rap, what is the percentage? srs question

― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Friday, December 30, 2011 6:59 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Permalink

this year it was probably close to that. in years previous, dance music & R&B probably made up a combined 40%

single genre ballots are the best ones this shld be obv

yeah they're more fun/useful to look at, like the genre lists spin did this year were cool

i last year & this year i've make my ilx trax ballot exclusively charting singles & notable rap youtubes. i find that otherwise the process is too intellectually jarring & the result not as satisfying