Magazine/website/record store BEST OF 2011 end-of-year list pile-up

GAPDY was classic but it is a little forced to try to recapture that magic

I think BIFFA's a better acronym just for the link to the esteemed waste management company. The magic of GAPDY passed me over.

I def was being less than serious about banning albums from the countdownand obv believe that people shd vote for whichever albums they want

Also am actually think about checking out the FF album more fully due to a couple ppl in here saying it is better than expected

some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2) --- the most critically neglected album...

So great, it's on 5 out of what, 50 lists here? For someone as accomplished as Kate Bush to release such a bracketed slice of music as Snow is a gift in itself. If it's divisive, then i have yet to encounter any reasonable descenting opinion (and, Doran, as colorful as The Elton John track is shit statement is, doesn't quite pass muster). Is it that the press believe she didn't wait the requisite decade before releasing new material, or that the year just had too many other superior offerings?

Kate Bush is a true master, no matter how inventive (i imagine) you find this years debut of Yuck.

that the year just had too many other superior offerings?

Yes. Also: she's recorded at least three stronger albums.

I'm not going to bother arguing further with the aptly named.

x-post: That shouldn't be held against her if the current one can compete with the other albums out there this year (and for me it does). Not that I'm particularly worried about it not being higher in more lists. It's not as good as Aerial but it's still a strong followup to that.

When does an undebated disagreement become the equivalent of "argument" - this is exactly what's wrong with society; no discussion, just lines in the sand.

also, thank you to Lord and Rudi for their reasoned entries.

yeah, the world would be way better if everyone just engaged in fair and honest debates about kate bush

. . . And banned BIFFA from consideration in year-end polls. Breaches of this policy shall constitute a second-degree felony. Our a capital crime. Haven't worked out that part yet.

Try fair and honest debate about anything... media and politics has mostly been reduced to taking sides and pointing fingers. Uncultured vultures.

FWIW I'm a Kate Bush fan and Aerial is probably my joint favourite of her albums but 50WFS doesn't quite pass muster as an outstanding album in my book.

What do you think of the PJ Harvey album?

Has NYT been done yet?

I love that Ratliff finds a way to get Jason Moran in once again even though he didn't have an official release, and of course there's a metal album in there, but this is still a nice-looking list: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/arts/music/pistol-annies-yob-deaf-center-paul-simon.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=ratliff&st=cse

I like that Caramanica digs Pistol Annies too, and Action Bronson (even if he isn't really top 10).

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/arts/music/from-retro-yuck-to-foodie-rap.html?ref=music

and of course there's a metal album in there, but this is still a nice-looking list:

how dare someone include a metal album!

I still haven't heard the Craig Taborn album I wanted to hear that made two of the NYT lists.

(Solo piano can be good. No cymbal tapping.)

What do you think of the PJ Harvey album?

I've been a fan of PJ since day 1. I lost track of her around Stories but she stormed back to me with White Chalk (which is the album i believe equipped her with the tools that makes England Shake so much. PJs album is more important in the social sense, and it was my #1 until i started listening to Snow about a month back.

how dare someone include a metal album!

I know, right? He's a superfan.

Yob's album is the best on that list. IMO etc.

OTM

how dare someone include a metal album!

has ghost's album (opus eponymous) been on many of these lists? feels like it's been unfairly neglected all year. people call it "death-metal," but -- lyrics aside -- the songs are too catchy and the vocal harmonies too lush to be "death metal." really they're the new blue-oyster-cult, and that's okay with me. the lyrics are kinda death-metal-y, i'll grant you; still . . .

poor satan. gets no respect from music writers.

It's well loved in the 'metal community'. I think Terrorizor, Hammer, Kerrang! and Rock Sound in this country all loved it.

Ghost album was out last year. It was in the ILM Metal Poll.
It certainly isn't death metal though.

north american release was january 2011 (according to wiki)

I'm completely surprised the Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats album has been ignored in metal and non-metal lists.

I'm not that into very retro sounding heavy rock/metal and there was only room for one in my end of year list - Uncle Acid, but Ghost, Black Spiders and Gentleman's Pistols all released good cider and spliff LPs this year.

XP: The Quietus can't be the only magazine who've picked up on it. I feel that it will probably feature next year because of the CD issue coming out then.

Hopefully Terrorizer will have it. I think a lot of non-metal fans on ilm would love it if they heard it. It's psychedelic rock with lots of good melodies. Or as someone out it If The Beatles had continued and been influenced by Black Sabbath

no hyperbole there! It's a nice album but that's about it.

well that was how someone (not me) on ilm described it

The influence of The Beatles and Black Sabbath is pretty clear to be honest and it's better than just nice. Without the tunes, riffs and hooks it would be just another good head nodder. Also, the production is evil.

to each their own.

npr best 'outer sounds' albums of 2011

1. Nicholas Szczepanik, 'Please Stop Loving Me'

went to high school w this guy, he wore the same hail to the thief shirt every day

yeah, i agree with doran. besides, whether an album is "nice but that's about it" depends on a broader context. if, say, the ghost album inspires a new direction for a lot of death-metal-y bands -- a deemphasis on cookie-monster vocals; a greater emphasis on almost sweet-sounding vocal harmonies -- it could be a significant album. you can't know until you either see evidence of its influence, or time passes and you realize it hasn't had an influence.

(sung like the carpenters): ♪♪♪ this temple of ritual/smells of dead human sacrifices/from the alter ♪♪♪

I'm completely surprised the Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats album has been ignored in metal and non-metal lists.

It's decent, but needs a better singer.

You'd like it more if it was Fab Macca not Lennon singing?

i like his vocals
xp

this line from the FACT writeups floored me

Sure, ‘NY is Killing Me’ became annoyingly inescapable

Gil-Scott's gotta be like the "Moves Like Jagger" of England right?

inescapable?

c'mon. that black eyed peas song was inescapable. the GSH song was escapable.

but did you want to flee?

nah. i was drawn to it, as if sirens were calling me to shipwreck.

black eyed peas, OTOH, make me want to claw out my eyes with needles.

ATP.

didn't see this on the thread as of yet. several of the contributor lists are working for me.

http://www.atpfestival.com/assets/membership/top10s.html

Albums Of The Year

1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
3. Panda Bear - Tomboy
4. Destroyer - Kaputt
5. Battles - Gloss Drop
6. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
7. Tom Waits - Bad as Me
8. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
9. Tuneyards - Whokill
10. Deerhoof - Deerhoof Vs Evil
11. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
12. Braids - Native Speaker
13. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
14. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges
15. Low - C'mon
16. Atlas Sound - Parallax
17. Walls - Coracle
18. Bjork - Biophilia
19. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
20. Death Grips - Ex-Military

Not much range there

in its own way that might be the worst collective list itt so far

dang that juno list might almost top the RA one... twice as many tracks and has some srsly killer stuff that RA did not include (there were so many vakula eps this year that i almost missed 'picture of you'! so good!)

LWE:

1. Machinedrum, Room(s)
2. Andy Stott, Passed Me By
3. BNJMN, Plastic World
4. Morphosis, What Have We Learned
5. Jonsson/Alter, Mod
6. Roman Flügel, Fatty Folders
7. Tim Hecker, Ravedeath, 1972
8. Legowelt, The TEAC Life
9. Steffi, Yours & Mine
10. Agnès presents Cavalier, A Million Horses

(individual staff lists here)

OOR (major Dutch music magazine)

Dutch artists in bold

1. PJ Harvey - Let England shake
2. Wilco - The whole love
3. Spinvis - Tot ziens, Justine Keller
4. James Blake - James Blake
5. Adele - 21
6. Arctic monkeys - Suck it and see
7. Vaccines - What did you expect from the Vaccines?
8. Elbow - Build a rocket boys!
9. Gillian Welch - The harrow & the harvest
10. Kurt Vile - Smoke ring for my halo
11. Pete & the Pirates - One thousand pictures
12. Destroyer - Kaputt
13. Bon iver - Bon iver
14. Other lives - Tamer animals
15. Fleet foxes - Helplessness blues
16. Radiohead - The king of limbs
17. Fucked up - David comes to life
18. Tom Waits - Bad as me
19. Danger mouse & Daniele Luppi Present - Rome
20. War on drugs - Slave ambient
21. Decemberists - The king is dead
22. Zomby - Dedication
23. Alamo race track - Unicorn loves deer
24. Girls - Father, son, holy ghost
25. Miles Kane - Colour of the trap
26. Tim Knol - Days
27. Dazzled kid - Fire needs air
28. Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials
29. Ryan Adams - Ashes & fire
30. Foster the people - Torches
31. Black lips - Arabia mountain
32. John Maus - We must become the pitiless censors of ourselves
33. Real estate - Days
34. Rustie - Glass swords
35. Washed out - Within and without
36. Eefje de Visser - De koek
37. Lykke Li - Wounded rhymes
38. Marike Jager - Here comes the night
39. Smith westerns - Dye it blonde
40. dEUS - Keep you close
41. Beady eye - Different gear, still speeding
42. Little dragon - Ritual union
43. Noel Gallagher's High flying birds - Noel Gallagher's High flying birds
44. Timber timbre - Creep on creepin' on
45. Frank Turner - England keep my bones
46. Beirut - The rip tide
47. Kasabian - Velociraptor!
48. M83 - Hurry up we're dreaming!
49. Tune-yards - Whokill
50. Colin Stetson - New history warfare : vol 2 Judges

Oh cripes - I forgot that dEUS album even came out. Was it any good or was it boring?

why won't The Independent just hurry up and fucking die