I know! Or at least while I can’t remember I can imagine myself having done that. But I think it’s a bit like how you say you like Azealia Banks but she’d be nowhere near your top 10 (tho obv that comparison doesn’t work on any other level!). I think Ossie (and DJMA1) are fine, even great sometimes, but they seem like really odd people to be singled out.

oh i guess it’s the same for me then—“tarantula” is in my longlist of like 200 tracks of the year but probably won’t make the top 50 or anything. but #50 seems like a fine enough position for it here...

has ma1 done anything nearly as good as “i’m right here” since ’09?

Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2011

http://stereogum.com/891411/stereogums-top-50-albums-of-2011/franchises/listomania/

50 Youth Lagoon – The Year Of Hibernation

49 Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine

48 Oddisee – Rock Creek Park

47 Wilco – The Whole Love

46 tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l

45 Adele – 21

44 James Blake – James Blake

43 Twin Sister – In Heaven

42 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra

41 Das Racist – Relax

40 Kendrick Lamar – Section.80

39 Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise

38 Burst Apart – Burst Apart

37 Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde

36 Cut Copy – Zonoscope

35 Atlas Sound – Parallax

34 Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo

33 SBTRKTSBTRKT

32 St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

31 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

30 Radiohead – The King Of Limbs

29 Washed Out – Within And Without

28 Pictureplane – Thee Physical

27 Destroyer – Kaputt

26 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Belong

25 Cold Cave – Cherish The Light Years

24 Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra

23 Wild Flag – Wild Flag

22 Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

21 Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape

20 Real Estate – Days

19 Iceage – New Brigade

18 Beyoncé – 4

17 Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica

16 Neon Indian – Era Extraña

15 Zola Jesus – Conatus

14 Austra – Feel It Break

13 Yuck – Yuck

12 M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

11 Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

10 Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne

09 ASAP Rocky – LIVELOVEA$AP

08 PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

07 EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

06 Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact

05 The Weeknd – House Of Balloons

04 Fucked Up – David Comes To Life

03 Bon Iver – Bon Iver

02 Drake – Take Care

01 Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost

i read this on the train this morning, nick. nice round-up. I especially liked your descriptions of nicolas jaar and st vincent.

kind of getting moved to write my own top ten.

FACT tracks #40–31

http://www.factmag.com/2011/12/05/50-best-tracks-of-2011-50-41/2/

40: OLD APPARATUS SIDE A PART 1 (DEEP MEDI)

39: TEETHSHAWTY’ (502 RECORDINGS)

38: SOFT METALSPSYCHIC DRIVING’ (CAPTURED TRACKS)

37: DARQ E FREAKERCHERRYADE’ (OIL GANG)

36: THE-DREAMBODY WORK & FUCK MY BRAINS OUT’ (RADIO KILLA / DEF JAM)

35: BOK BOKHYPERPASS’ (from SOUTHSIDE, NIGHT SLUGS)

34: CHAMPION feat. RUBY LEE RYDERSENSITIVITY’ (FORMULA)

33: JAMIE XXFAR NEARER’ (NUMBERS)

32: VATICAN SHADOWWHITEWASHED COMPOUND STEALTH HELICOPTER CRASH’ (from PAKISTAN MILITARY ACADEMY, HOSPITAL PRODUCTIONS)

31: PERCLONDON, WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED) (from WICKER & STEEL, PERC TRAX)

New York magazine

http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2011/top-ten-albums/

1. Austra Feel It Break

2. Colin Stetson New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

3. Shabazz Palaces Black Up

4. Destroyer Kaputt

5. PJ Harvey Let England Shake

6. Iceage New Brigade

7. Tune-Yards W h o k i l l

8. Kendrick Lamar Section.80

9. Gang Gang Dance Eye Contact

10. Nicolas Jaar Space Is Only Noise

^ Nabisco’s list rather than a staff poll

Rad

Okay that 3D effect on all the album covers for Dusted’s running year-end list stuff is so annoying and headache-inducing that I had to stop reading it.

the comments on nabisco’s list are a TREAT

“Sex life”? How very.

Back to the FACT tracks on Spotify, the Soft Metals track does the polite electro thing in a much more engaging, warmer manner than the stuff I was playing yesterday; I was wondering why this was on an EOY list until it switched up around the 2 minute mark. I like the little filter swoops that pop up intermittently.

“Cherryade” is one of the best tracks of the year? Really? It seems kind of like an inoffensive throwaway track that you’d play as filler while you looked for the track you ACTUALLY wanted to hear.

first time i’ve heard it and i concur. It’s kind of a boring ten actually

I would be totally infatuated with this Bok Bok track if it had a massive beat. Everything else about it is fantastic but if it had pounding, punishing drums under it it would be exactly my type of shit. (I wonder if my headphones are letting me down on this one.)

“Sensitivity” is niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

i kind of agree re: that bok bok track (and that whole ep) :/

total cosign on champion & ruby lee ryder “sensitivity”

that jamie xx track has got to be the most overrated in this general scene of 2011. just doesn’t do enough of anything.

haha that’s what I’m playing now, it’s basically okay but I feel like it’s missing something

also the echo on the vocal sample creates a really UGLY dissonance that doesn’t seem to serve any purpose or push the song anywhere

oof the “breakdown” around the 4 minute mark is pathetic, this is not a track that is improved by stripping it down to highlight disparate parts

I think I might be the only person favourably inclined towards funky who doesn’t love Sensitivity. Or more to the point, I like it more as a vehicle for riotous MCs to jump all over than I do as a song in its own right.

Terror Danjah’s ‘Full Attention’ on the other hand, which also features Ruby Lee Ryder, is majestic and should be very high up the FACT list.

I think I agree with whoever it was upthread who was eyerolling at the praise the FACT list gets. A few years ago they felt like a refreshing alternative but now it feels like they’re very content to plough their own furrow and it’s one that by and large isn’t that interesting to me. I fully expect the RA list to knock it into a cocked hat.

the bashiness of the breakdown in “full attention” kind of became a turn-off after a while

i’ve kind of gotten the feeling RA have been taking their cues from FACT for the past couple of years. There certainly wasn’t a huge gulf between their lists last year

the bashiness of the breakdown in “full attention” kind of became a turn-off after a while

That’s one of my favourite bits!

Also RA is a lot more interested in non-murky dance music than FACT by and large. They had Tensnake at #2 last year which would be unthinkable in FACT, but that’s partly because RA feels a lot more European in its focus.

... Are they kidding with this Vatican Shadow track?

Still mulling over Nabisco’s 2nd essay on how he likes pop but not most of this year’s chart pop...none of which makes his top 10 list

He’d notice the long chart dominance of Katy Perry, whose cheeky retronaut pop bears odd resemblances to the cheeky solo work of David Lee Roth

hmmmm

I mean, I am not opposed to ambient but 10 minutes of unimaginative stasis as one of the best tracks of the year is just silly

Good to hear Psychic Paramount record getting praise round here. Anyone like The Men’s record? A bit more derivative but good fun nevertheless.

Re. Resident Advisor list: they always have a really good set of mixes, a type of record often overlooked by other lists.

feeling nabs’ list

oh shit, “Full Attention”

so my takeaway here is that I should be paying attention to funky?

Bought lots of great records this year—none has appeared in any of these lists though (yet)

maybe the RA list will change that

i’m kind of disappointed by nabsico’s list! it looks like a consensus publication list, not an individual’s list

I’nm no expert but i don’t think “Full Attention” is funky

okay, it was just mentioned in the context (I did think it seemed like a totally different animal from “Sensitivity”)

Yeah Full Attention is grime (or, ugh, R&G) really—Terror Danjah really needs to release a whole album of this stuff soon (early pointer towards this sound here).

I just have to accept that Nabisco is not interested in some 2011 things that I am—charting rap and r’n’b; African, Caribbean (soca & dancehall) and Latin music; country, southern soul and Americana. It’s a good list of non-chart rap and rock

And I like Katy Perry and David Lee Roth “cheeky pop”

I feel like that sentence was supposed to say something else, mostly because I can’t see nabisco intentionally using the same adjective on both sides of a comparison in the same type of construction

This year’s prominent triumvirate of indie-rock bands wrestling earnestly with folky authenticity: BIFFA—Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Antlers

very apt

lol kudos

Hottracks (S. Korea) 2011 EOY

1 Adele—21

2 Florence + The Machine—Ceremonials

3 James Blake—st

4 Coldplay—Mylo Xyloto

5 Radiohead—The King Of Limbs

6 Foo Fighters—Wasting Light

7 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds—st

8 Lady Gaga—Born This Way

9 Jay-Z & Kanye West—Watch The Throne

10 Kasabian—Velociraptor!

11 Fleet Foxes—Helplessness Blues

12 Feist—Metals

13 Tori Amos—Night Of Hunters

14 Bon Iver—st

15 Beastie Boys—Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

16 Bjork—Biophilia

17 Superheavy—st

18 Jamie Woon—Mirrorwriting

19 Beadie Eye—Different Gear, Still Speeding

20 PJ Harvey—Let England Shake

21 Iron & Wine—Kiss Each Other Clean

22 Lucinda William—Blessed

23 Mamas Gun—The Life And The Soul

24 Wilco—The Whole Love

25 Snow Patrol—Fallen Empires

26 Megadeth—Th1rt3en

27 Foster The People—Torches

28 My Morning Jacket—Circuital

29 Paul Simon—So Beautiful Or So What

30 Lou Reed & Metallica—Lulu

First appearances for Superheavy and Lulu, thank you South Korea

lulu’s too far down the list

Shouldn’t be below Superheavy, that’s for sure

doesn’t South Korea have some “local” bands that they can put on a list like this?

That list is hilarious, especially high placing of James Blake given what he’s surrounded by.

17 Superheavy—st
19 Beadie Eye—Different Gear, Still Speeding
20 PJ Harvey—Let England Shake

Really don’t know what to say about this except ‘lolololololol’.

that’s a great list

I know that it’s the bottom of the list but most of these Fact tracks sound like half-finished tunes on someone’s hard drive, both bloodless and amateurish. Wish I could be convinced it wasn’t just writers repping their mates in one or two cases.

Really like that Mr Beatnik tune though, not heard that before. It’s loads better than I Know All The Bitches.

The Men’s Leave Home is a great album. It’s not often I can get into something doing that Spacemen 3, Mudhoney, Stooges kind of thing given the amount I’ve listened to over the last 25 years but this is a great CD.

AV Club’s list, pretty boring but Wye Oak is no. 1

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-music-of-2011,66004/

feeling nabs’ list

― v-shasty, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 15:17 (6 hours ago) Permalink

have you heard the iceage album j0radn? if so do you like it? curious

AV Club’s list, pretty boring but because Wye Oak is no. 1

Sorry, just do not get the love for this band at all. Based on how people describe them, I should really enjoy this but I find the new album to be boring as hell.

i didn’t get into the new album as much as the last one but i think they’re a great band, really like their songwriting and her singing.

Maybe I need to check out the last one, sounds like that one might be closer to how the band has been described to me.

I haven’t heard Wye Oak at all, but #1 on AV Club is kind of a not-boring move.

Anyway, Paul Krugman digs them. Or at least their live videos on YouTube.

yeah. i think wye oak is kind of generic.

Anyway, Paul Krugman digs them. Or at least their live videos on YouTube.

lol

That interview was pretty funny.

low blow, jmc

NME Albums of 2011

01 PJ HARVEYLET ENGLAND SHAKE

02 METRONOMYTHE ENGLISH RIVIERA

03 THE HORRORSSKYING

04 WILD BEASTSSMOTHER

05 KURT VILESMOKE RING FOR MY HALO

06 ARCTIC MONKEYSSUCK IT AND SEE

07 ST VINCENTSTRANGE MERCY

08 KATY B—ON A MISSION

09 TUNE-YARDSWHOKILL

10 WU LYFGO TELL FIRE TO THE MOUNTAIN

11 ANNA CALVIANNA CLAVI

12 SCUMAGAIN INTO EYES

13 SUUNSZEROES QC

14 THE VACCINESWHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM THE VACCINES?

15 WILD FLAGWILD FLAG

16 BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUBA DIFFERENT KKIND OF FIX

17 BATTLESGLOSS DROP

18 CAT’S EYESCAT’S EYES

19 LAURA MARLINGA CREATURE I DON´T KNOW

20 RADIOHEADTHE KING OF LIMBS

21 KASABIANVELOCIRAPTOR!

22 NOAH & THE WHALELAST NIGHT ON EARTH

23 YUCKYUCK

24 BIG TALKBIG TALK

25 PLANNINGTOROCK—W

26 GIRLSFATHER, SON, HOLY GHOST

27 BLACK LIPSARABIA MOUNTAIN

28 THE FIELDLOOPING STATE OF MIND

29 SMITH WESTERNSDYE IT BLONDE

30 FRIENDLY FIRESPALA

31 FLORENCE & THE MACHINECEREMONIALS

32 ALEX TURNERSUBMARINE OST

33 JUSTICEAUDIO,VIDEO,DISCO

34 UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRAUNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA

35 TV ON THE RADIONINE TYPES OF LIGHT

36 ICEAGENEW BRIGADE

37 WHITE DENIM—D

38 BJÖRKBIOPHILIA

39 NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS—s/t

40 COLD CAVECHERISH THE LIGHT YEARS

41 DEATH GRIPSEX-MILITARY

42 PATRICK WOLFLUPERCALIA

43 FOO FIGHTERSWASTING LIGHT

44 DESTROYERKAPUTT

45 AUSTRAFEEL IT BREAK

46 BON IVERBON IVER

47 REAL ESTATEDAYS

48 SLOW CLUBPARADISE

49 SBTRKTSBTRKT

50 JAY Z & KANYE WESTWATCH THE THRONE

(NOT MY ALL CAPS BTW)

they really like to cram their shit down your throat huh?

You know, that’s not a TERRIBLE list, to be fair.

I’m really the only one that finds that PJ Harvey patchy as hell, huh?

it’s not my thing... i even caught her live this year and it did nothing for me.

I don’t think it’s worthy of a number one slot, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.

And yeah, that NME list is not... the worst thing ever, anyway.

I thought the Suuns album was 2010?

Apparently 2010 in US, 2011 release in the UK.

DODGY

(that wasn’t me using the secret bat signal for Geir btw)

so my takeaway here is that I should be paying attention to funky?

dan your takeaway here is to pay attention to threads I start.

I think I might be the only person favourably inclined towards funky who doesn’t love Sensitivity. Or more to the point, I like it more as a vehicle for riotous MCs to jump all over than I do as a song in its own right.

Feel you on this matt but I think this is true of 99.9% of funky, it’s a legacy of the particular way that it fuses impulses from house, grime and dancehall that even the best songs can feel incomplete on their own—even when it doesn’t seem like the tune was designed with MCs and DJ mixing in mind the very structure of the music seems to demand that interplay.

I would say this is even true of say, “Do You Mind”, though not true of “It’s What You Do” or Ill Blu’s Roll Deep mixes.

Dancehall in particular is the same for me: it’s rare for a tune to sound better on its own than in the context of a mix of several tracks on the one riddim.

NME tracks list 2011

1 LANA DEL REYVIDEO GAMES

2 TYLER, THE CREATORYONKERS

3 THE HORRORSSTILL LIFE

4 PJ HARVEYTHE WORDS THAT MAKETH MURDER

5 WILD BEASTSBED OF NAILS

6 BATTLESICE CREAM

7 METRONOMYTHE BAY

8 TUNEBIZNESS

9 HOWLER—I TOLD YOU ONCE

10 M83MIDNIGHT CITY

11 METRONOMYTHE LOOK

12 KURT VILEBABY’S ARMS

13 NIKI 6 THE DOVETHE FOX

14 THE VACCINESIF YOU WANNA

15 SPECTORNEVER FADE AWAY

16 SUMMER CAMP—I WANT YOU

17 KATY B—BROKEN RECORD

18 AZEALIA BANKS—212

19 ANNA CALVIBLACKOUT

20 MILK MUSICBEYOND LIVING

21 FOSTER THE PEOPLEPUMPED UP KICKS

22 ARCTIC MONKEYSTHE HELLCAT SPANGLED SHALALALA

23 FLORENCE & THE MACHINESHAKE IT OUT

24 GLASVEGASTHE WORLD IS YOURS

25 THE STROKESUNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

26 RIHANNAWE FOUND LOVE

27 LITTLE DRAGONRITUAL UNION

28 THE VACCINESPOST BREAK UP SEX

29 BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUBSHUFFLE

30 ADELEROLLING IN THE DEEP ( JAMIE XX SHUFFLE )

31 THE DRUMSMONEY

32 GHOSTPOETLIIINES

33 ALEX TURNERPILEDRIVER WALTZ

34 AUSTRABEAT AND THE PULSE

35 SBTRKT FEAT. LITTLE DRAGONWILDFIRE

36 HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIRMY HOUSE

37 MARINA & THE DIAMONDSRADIOACTIVE

38 BEYONCERUN THE WORLD

39 FRIENDSI’M HIS GIRL

40 JUSTICECIVILIZATION

41 METRONOMYSHE WANTS

42 FACTORY FLOORREAL LOVE

43 AZARI & IIIRECKLESS WITH YOUR LOVE

44 JOE GODDARD FEAT. VALENTINAGABRIEL

45 ICEAGEBROKEN BONE

46 AUSTRALOSE IT

47 DANANANANAYKROYDMUSCLE MEMORY

48 COLD CAVETHE GREAT PAN IS DEAD

49 NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDSIF I HAD A GUN

50 NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDSAKA...WHAT A LIFE!

lol

Noel’s double placement right at the end is odd

i thought it was a joke!

49 NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDSIF I HAD A GUN

50 NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDSAKA...THE STEENDRIVER!

Little White Earbuds EPs of the year

01 Sepalcure—Fleur

02 Levon Vincent—Impression of a Rainstorm

03 Conforce—Dystopian Elements

04 Ital—Ital’s Theme

05 Kassem Mosse—Workshop 12

lol dog latin

LOL av club listing that saigon album

kinda weird that they list the points/albums w/ so little people? “coming in at number four, with a whole FOUR votes...”

Look, Nathan Rabin had been waiting a damn long time for that album and he was damned if he wasn’t going to enjoy it

kinda weird that they list the points/albums w/ so little people? “coming in at number four, with a whole FOUR votes...”

haha all i cld think was ‘why did the av club change their eoy list format to match an ilx ballot poll?’. i was disappointed they didnt list the no. of #1 voters as well

i have been a Wye Oak superfan since before they were Wye Oak and was at one of their very first shows and love any success they get, but the latest album was really not their best work, the EP from last year slays it

43 AZARI & IIIRECKLESS WITH YOUR LOVE

I thought that was 2009 ? Cause if we’re allowed to vote for it again because the album came out in 2011 I will !

i wouldn’t base anything you do on an NME editorial decision

That NME albums list isn’t that bad actually, although I may be influenced by Let England Shake at #1 and Katy B in the top 10. Singles list is a bore though.

That said there’s something a bit scraping-the-barrel about the NME albums list, like they were really running out of ideas by #45 or so and couldn’t have put together a top 60 if they tried.

not enough shit uk indie acts. had to start using their brains.

FACT mag #30-#21

http://www.factmag.com/2011/12/05/50-best-tracks-of-2011-50-41/3/

30: PEARSON SOUNDDEEP INSIDE’ (NIGHT SLUGS WHITE LABEL)

29: WASHED OUTAMOR FATI’ (WEIRD WORLD / SUB POP)

28: GROUPERALIEN OBSERVER’ (from A I A, YELLOW ELECTRIC)

27: LOOPS HAUNTARK’ (BLACK ACRE)

26: SBTRKT feat. ROSES GABORPHARAOHS’ (from SBTRKT, YOUNG TURKS)

25: HUXLEYSHOWER SCENE’ (ACT NATURAL)

24: KAHNLIKE WE USED TO’ (PUNCH DRUNK)

23: NEW YORK TRANSIT AUTHORITYOFF THE TRAXX’ (LOBSTER BOY)

22: KREAYSHAWNGUCCI GUCCI’ (SONY)

21: DYLAN ETTINGERLION OF JUDAH’ (NOT NOT FUN)

LAMP mag

The Loops Haunt track is apparently “the biggest, baddest record you’ll hear anywhere this year with a guitar solo”.

(it’s IDM-ish post-dubstep btw)

YES to “deep inside” and “pharaohs”

That said there’s something a bit scraping-the-barrel about the NME albums list, like they were really running out of ideas by #45 or so and couldn’t have put together a top 60 if they tried.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, December 7, 2011 5:37 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Permalink

i think they ran out of ideas by #6 when they continued repping for Arctic Monkeys

Not to play cap’n save the NME here, but this year’s Arctic Monkeys album is actually better than their last couple. Still nowhere near top-ten worthy though.

They put Alex Turner’s Submarine soundtrack on there as well though. Which was actually quite pleasant in the film but having it as an album of the year is indicative of a dearth of ideas.