ILM's 2014 End of Year Albums & Tracks Poll / VOTING THREAD

http://i.imgur.com/ZK7rVOd.png

Ballot: http://goo.gl/forms/daS04uLq37

The procedure is simple: enter your tracks and album ballots (up to 25 items on each), one item per line, in the appropriate fields below. Please copy each line directly from the nominations lists; do not number your ballot. You can choose one of three ballot types, which determine how points are allocated to each item you vote for:

(1) Weighted: The first item on your ballot receives 50 points, the second receives 48 points, and so on, until the 25th item receives 2 points.

(2) Unweighted: Each item on your ballot receives 26 points.

(3) Mixed: To submit a mixed ballot, you must divide your ballot in two with an extra blank line. The upper portion of the ballot will be treated as weighted, with the first item receiving 50 points, and so on. The lower portion will be treated as unweighted, in that all items will receive the same number of points. The score allocated to items in the unweighted portion is calculated as 26 minus the number of items in the weighted portion (this is so that any weighted, unweighted or mixed ballot consisting of 25 items will allocate a total of exactly 650 points).

Tracks list: http://queuebik.com/Tracks2014.txt
Albums list: http://queuebik.com/Albums2014.txt

Voting ends at MIDNIGHT EST on Friday, January 16th, 2015.

Allez hop!

OH YEAH

Can someone post the two Spotify playlists?

Spotify tracks: http://spoti.fi/1AoxN7y
Spotify albums: http://spoti.fi/1AoxLN1

I think I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway: if someone's name is not capitalized on the Tracks list (while most everyone else's is), we just disregard that and cut-and-paste anyway, right?

you can do what you want wrt capitalisation but in general it's safer to c+p

The way things are capitalized/formatted with regard to featured artists/punctuated/etc don't matter much at this point. When the results are tabulated and j0rdan and I are working from a final list, we'll clean up all that stuff.

The way things are capitalized/formatted with regard to featured artists/punctuated/etc don't matter much at this point.

They do for me! The magical autotallying code can handle a degree of variation but exotic departures from the spreadsheet confuse it and make extra work for me.

To clarify, the way things are capitalized/formatted with regard to featured artists/punctuated/etc ON THE LISTS doesn't matter much at this point. Please do c+p from the lists directly to your ballots.

xp Right. I realized I left out a very important clause up there.

Not to worry, I cut-and-paste right from the list. (I did include one song I forgot to nominate...sorry--obviously, just disregard it.)

ballot cast

I'm a little embarrassed that I never listened to Noura Mint Seymali before now. Holy fuck is this great.

No kidding.

I think Orlando Julius & The Heliocentrics album needs to be added to the Spotify albums list? I'm not sure how to do it but here's the link: http://open.spotify.com/album/3DuZcL3Y4InevGw8e6TSEo

Curren$y's The Drive-In Theatreis listed twice, with and without the hyphen. We can't let Curren$y get robbed!

Fixed.

just going through it now - not sure the impact it would have but 'ought - habit' appears twice

good, it's a good song!

Are we having a stanning thread this year?

coming here to ask the same thing - does this double as the lobbying thread?

It can, but no youtube embeds plz.

well my ballot is almost done. i can't listen to yet another same-sounding bleepy-bloop electronica single or R&B track w/out going crazy. anyway i think like almost all my singles all gonna be top 40 stuff. but here are some of the albums that i think ilxors might dig that i'm definitely voting for:

jennifer castle - pink city: xelab turned me onto this - lyrical canadian singer-songwriter for ppl who like kathleen edwards, neko case, joni mitchell aka huge favorite of mine. maybe tough to track down (doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere) but totally worth it.

mamman sani - taaritt - i'm just going to quote the sahel sounds description which is what sold it to me: "Cosmic synth. Polyphonic analog synthesizers and drum machines interpret ancient Saharan folk ballads in an imagined science fiction future. A proposed relaxation guide, sonically lying somewhere between ambient library music and minimal wave. Recorded in Niger and France in the late 1980s and never before released."

VA - Haiti Direct - Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978 - really swinging compilation of a variety of haiti sounds from 60s + 70s, lots of punchy rock + funky compas direct tracks

noura mint seymali - tzenni - hopefully everyone already knows about this one - seymali and husband Jeiche Ould Chighaly on guitar play psych blues from Mauritania - soo good

Michiru Aoyama - 暖かな季節 (Warm Season) - relaxing + gorgeous meditative Zen ambiant music that i fell asleep to a bunch last year

Mordy I know you're putting Braid high on yr ballot right

yes - like #3 i think

no coast is how i feel the most :)

prob my #3 as well

Can someone please add the album I linked upthread to the Spotify playlist? It's not letting me add it.

paging sleeve

gimme a little while :)

I kept the playlist private so that ppl couldn't delete albums they disliked

voted :)))

no nobody vote until you listen to the orlando julius album

i definitely plan on voting for this k-pop song, which also got a late singles jukebox rave, and which sounds derived from an icicle, check it out: iu - sogyeokdong

also there's this song, which i heard very late in the year, a totally enjoyable flexible electro-funk throwback: zo! - we are on the move

rtc suggested in the nominations thread that it might be more of a 2013 track but the video came out in january 2014 and is a total delight incidentally

deep tech was the ~big new thing in uk dance this year and if you want to actually know about it tim f, rtc and co can enlighten you on its thread, but it provided so many incredible anthems this year

hodgson - "babylon system" is all monolithic doomed street preacher authority that's very in tune with ~these times; the break at 5.20 is life-changing

jay baptiste/troy hudson - "real shifters (get down)" was the in-the-moment call to the dancefloor aided by some excellent rubbery basslines. no full version on youtube or soundcloud but it's on spotify

"babylon system" is a total vortex

prob another deep tech song i'm going rep hard for is rs4 - gladiator. so sinewy

I'm probably not gonna get the Spotify albums playlist updated until tonight fwiw

there are still a ton of last-minute nominations on the other thread that I haven't added

also consider including some emotional diddy music on your ballot

this track is from 2013 but i nominated it because year of impact, and Ukraine 2014 and because its awesome and i think lots of ilmers will dig it:

Dakh Daughters Rozy Donbass

i also wanna rep hard for this track, sure to be in my top 3 or 4, such a sublimely weird post-chill/post-witch/post-weeknd lo-fi chopped & screwed teen masterpiece, like some sort of Anti-QT, yet just as glimmering

Spooky Black - Without You

who knew that 2014 would be humbled before a 16-minute solo guitar folk song that so happens to be one of the greatest pieces of music I've heard in my entire life

seriously, if there's one thing I'm stanning for (and there may be more, but if I'm just allowed one), it is Richard Dawson (raucous experimental UK folk racket w/ intense picaresque realness vox)

if you enjoy this song or 'the vile stuff' you could vote for his tracks and his album and i would be just that little bit happier

also vote jute gyte! lol that's a lone war

srs tho if flamboyant goon tie doesn't win the albums poll then this place doesn't even deserve nepotism

I voted. I'd encourage all to listen to the Botanist album before voting. Its a thing of beauty.

https://verdant-realm-botanist.bandcamp.com/album/vi-flora

Voted.

botanist album is fantastic - i add my praise to the chorus

I just really really want to see Phantogram's Fall in Love make the tracks poll. Only reason I'm making a tracks ballot tbh (esp after I fucked up and waited too long to nominate half the songs I wanted to put in it)

xp love the Botanist album as well

I'm voting for "Fall In Love" as a symbolic vote for "Howling at the Moon", which is really the Phantogram song I love but didn't nominate because I decided my yearly railing against "tactical voting" was futile and I might as well try to make it work for me by not diluting the selection pool of the artists I hope place.

<nocollusion> which popcaan + mc bin laden tracks are getting the most attention? i like a few tracks for each but i don't have the ballot space.

"Popcaan - Everything Nice" for me

Michiru Aoyama - 暖かな季節 (Warm Season) will def‘ get a vote from me. Gorgeous meditative stuff that i worked to a lot this year

Future Islands are still good. I think their next album will be the one though.

future islands are great

always have been

Still going! Just got to Todd Terje, about 220 tracks left.

I don't have anything of value to give you, but please accept this imaginary medal!

Flipping back on the pull list:
i really warmed to the protomartyr after a few listens.
pye corner audio's "Bulk Erase" is gorgeous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7WXy7PYqVk
Ray West's "Ray's Cafe" is a great boom bap hip hop album
discovered some lover for the rich kidz album that i missed on the first go round
ricky blaze is so dope
"Corazon" by Robby Hunter Band is the most guilty pleasure G Love and Special Sauce track of 2014
i need to listen to the rest of the album but Robert Ellis' "Chemical Plant" is among the best country ballads i've heard this year
Roland Tings "Swimmer is very lovely
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj4DRt1q53s

i had been dancing around it but i guess i really like sage the gemini a lot
need to listen to Sarkology in its entirety, how good is adonal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipZvlG-wwWk
i get the appeal of Seinabo Sey; i gather she hasn't quite blown up in america just yet?
the award for best non-remake remake of "all the critics love you in new york" goes to Seven Davis Jr "P.A.R.T.Y."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vEcKRz53WA

how did i miss all these dope-ass shackleton tracks from last year?
shamir sure is talented.
spectacular disconnect between waka-fied rapping and anime theme song on this Shy Glizzy track (the only one I could stomach):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBgcYRz6Tc8
Skales is about as good as Sarkodie
Slaves' "Where's Your Car Debbie" is my fave throwaway punk track on this list
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vOVfdTjdNY

cannot stomach:
Real Estate, Richard Dawson, Scott Walker, Sharon Van Etten, Shift K3y, Slow Club, Sun Kil Moon's "Benji", Tokyo Police Club

I am pleased by the continuing ascension of Fetty Wap, really wish Snootie Wild had done the same tho' as Go Mode is a great EP
The Soft Pink Truth album is awesome
all of Spice's singles from last year are awesome
Can't get with the St. Vincent album really but "Digital Witness" rings my bell
song that i would've played into the ground in college and still like: Stanley Brinks "Orange Juice"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WihvFtwjKkM

waaaaaaowwwww at the Stara Rzeka eps; this is gorgeous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIn_kDy84ZQ
Stars in Battledress is a little mincing but i think i like it
Steve Gunn album is excellent
Lord Steppington album is dope as is the Stu Hustlah album
both of these electronic tracks are A+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ausZg6DT_Ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKp_VW5_FNw

Yeah, Stara Rzeka! One of the most perfect acts of the 10s thus far. Haven't listened to the latest/last album yet but I'm expecting it to amaze...

The latest Stara Rzeka is pretty much just as good as all of the rest and I think that the EP track is included on the new one. The guy is ridiculously talented. Cień Chmury Nad Ukrytym Polem made such a huge impression on me that I thought it was going to be hard to match.

The new one, Zamknęły Się Oczy Ziemi, has such a killer opening track that pretty much eliminated any concern that this one wouldn't hold up. This one seems to have a little less of the black metal bits, but it doesn't really seems to lose much because of it.

50 or so tracks left! Getting into X/Y.

more thoughts:

for being such a good album, T.I.'s Paperwork album was pretty highly underrated/under discussed. you could make a case that jet fuel was as good a hip hop track as anything that came out last year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bU2Mbo_edc

this talaboman single is fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCQypd0wX3s

this ten walls track is too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rymUSbYQjw8

had never really heard of tha joker before but damn this is tight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sW8VTthmQM

Tifa y'all: MY WINE SWEET LIKE A MOSCATO / BUBBLE BUBBLE LIKE A CHAMPAAAAAAAAGNE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmdHAyUMAVg

The Tinashe holds up and improves on return listening.

had not heard of Tirzah but the No Romance EP was solid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVDix83_8XY

still waiting for Tkay Maidza to supernova, love everything she did last year so much

Todd Terje album opened to me on repeat listening but the major takeaway is Svensk Sås, which is the second best Basement Jaxx song of 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-KGPPlAIK0

Toni Braxton / Babyface album is probably best when Toni is front and center, "I'd Rather Be Broke" and "I Wish" feel like standouts

i feel like i sold out college me by not finding anything worth listening to in the Tori Amos album and am still ashamed

Not so with Tove Lo which I'm pleased to see has completely caught pop america's attention... but for the wrong songs! "My Gun" "Thousand Miles" "Not On Drugs" and "Timebomb" are the strongest cuts imo.

I don't think I'm gonna fall for Tove Stryke but "Even If I'm Loud It Doesn't Mean I'm Talking to You" has glorious strut and attitude, A++ single

this Traxman track "U Got Me Runnin' (Remix)" is good to nod out to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Hxqvc-utc

TRC is great; I should be looking for more of this.

Trey Songz 'Trigga' is still an unsurprisingly great semi concept album with at least six solid classics, i'm torn between the beiber remix of foreign (so smarmy!) and "yes no maybe", dude is still out jeremih-ing jeremih as long as J can't get a fuckin' album out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGauf55K-2Q

more excellent "walk around like a pigeon" music from Trumpet & Badman: Str8 Jugglin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P8djdh48QU

and more of the same from UMEK - Hard Times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Ar37tDidY

you know i was a tuneyards enthusiast plus one but i just cannot get with Nikki Nack, Water Fountain and Real Thing and Look Around aside.

Not into: TV on The Radio, Jeff Tweedy, Twin Peaks, Twin Shadow

Lotta great tracks on both of Twista's albums from last year, maybe like Me & You the best.

Ty Dolla EP is great, really need to spend time with the new album

Verite's "Echo" seems like a Singles Jukebox classic i somehow missed, reminds me of Vermillion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhWa9fKLo6E

Vince Staples 'Hell Can Wait' EP was so very good; really made it clear more quality was coming

a year later The War on Drugs album is nice to listen to but i never feel compelled to go back to it.

damn the Wara from the NBHD album is SO HARD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNltJ4JWkg4

Things not for me: Warpaint, White Lung, Wild Beasts, Weezer, We Are Scientists

Things for me: Weird Al, Weaves, Wiley, WEBBIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtFdW1PK7kM

had i heard White Sea's "Prague" earlier, it might've made my top ten singles; this is fucking lovely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy3K5dK27go

William Tyler and Willie the Kid and Bronze Nazareth are doing very different things and I like both of them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qLbjLRt_f4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LosFXd1Rzew

i ain't got much interest in wiz these days but this is a late pass banger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_61LO_8eQY0

wizkid is so very good

perfect timing btw

would you believe i had this more or less figured out at the start of the year? It's gone mostly according to plan.

goddammit, okay I'm done. This wasn't the only thing I listened to in 2015 but this project is likely what I listened to the most this year.

a few more hot takes after i finish moving to my new apartment but the numbers should tell the tale:

2030 total tracks in <A href="http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/4j7EwRMpTBavNAWRJZuki2";>this playlist right here</a>. As a reminder, that includes every song that ilxors nominated for the 2014 77 best tracks poll that was on Spotify as of January of this year... that represents about 4/5ths of the nominations so if you nominated anything, chances are good I've listened to it in the past year. Glad to talk about it and weigh in if you'd like to hear how someone else received it!

I organized the playlist alphabetically by artist, guaranteeing regular diversity of genre but brief concentrations of work within a similar vein wherever multiple tracks off a single album were nominated. I found that made it easier to engage with songs outside my awareness and increased the potential for me to acclimate and buy in.

The project took about 11 months to listen to every track at least three or four times apiece... there were several chunks of fifty or so songs that ended up getting a lot more replay than that when I found a cache from an artist or artists whose work I enjoyed. Spotify's no good for playcount so I'm only guessing but I'd say on average I got through each track an average of five times. A lot of that listening took place while on the subway, working or doing pottery so some of it was less focused listening. The key for me is when I hear the song and can recognize the motifs and reactions I have to it before they occur; that's generally when I file it under yea or nay.

I ended up with 1103 tracks that were good enough for me to want to corral them into <a href="http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/3pqC8jL6brDisYjqAHO9Js";>a separate "keeper" playlist</a>. I'd say I had already listened to about a quarter of the entire playlist's songs and was familiar with about half the artists so it's hardly the case that these are all new finds. Even so, it's a safe bet that I discovered at least 750 songs that I wouldn't have found otherwise... so thanks ILX! You are excellent recommenders!

All things considered, this was a great way to engage a year's worth of music: eclectic, broad ranging, a more than 50% hit ratio and (importantly!) disconnected from the pernicious flood of THE NEW and presented without exterior critical judgement. I certainly read up a lot more on these artists after I got into them but imagine: no backlash or backlash to the backlash! Equal presentation across the board! No videos, no visual engagement outside of a postage stamp version of the record cover; just the music in my ears.

As you may have noticed from all the genre threads, I've been collecting this year's ILX music recommendations more diligently and in the moment. Part of the reason for that is that I am planning on doing a more rigorous listening project in 2016 including (as of December) every Spotify available song discussed on ILX's threads for Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Electronic/Dance, Global, Dancehall/Reggae, Latin/Afro-Latin, Jazz, Country, Punk, Grime, Folk, Indie, Emo, Goth, Afrobeat, Europop, Non US rap... plus the Summer Jams, Favorite Tracks, select songs from KPop and Metal, the "worst songs" list plus Johnny Fever's playlist (artpop, heavy on the pop), LJ's playlist (artpop, heavy on the art) and about four more random ones.

I figure if I can knock out 2k tracks without trying in 11 months, then I can probably do 4k+ within tighter guidelines... three listens max, a set number of minimum tracks per day, six days a week. I also want to fold in a few other sources (the 2015 ILX singles poll nominees, Billboard's top 20 for 2015's pop/r&B/hiphop charts, a sampler of songs from XXLs 2015 Freshmen nominees, a selection from Quietus' top 100, Pitchfork and Metacritic picks and (crucially) every song reviewed on The Singles Jukebox)... once I erase all the doubles, I should end up right around that 4k number and with a considerable sonic vista of everything 2015 had to offer... and, yes, Spotify restrictions will almost certainly nudge as much as 1/3 additional tracks out of my range but considering the sheer glut of material already available, I think that I can manage just fine... and I don't mean to be glib about that! I know for a fact that there are a LOT of high quality labels not available on the service and I lament that. But I'll have to be disciplined just to find barely enough time to listen to what they have!

I'd kinda like this to be a collaborative ILX project so folks can jump in and out and post their own takes whenever they want and, if anyone wants to follow along closely, we can actually discuss the music as we're working toward rapid digestion. I'll likely build a thread in a bit, but I'm curious if anyone else is crazy enough to join in?

feh, bbcode.

Here's the complete original playlist:
http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/4j7EwRMpTBavNAWRJZuki2

And here's what ended up being my keepers:
http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/3pqC8jL6brDisYjqAHO9Js

And here's my Faves of 2014 list:
http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/3xS9SBbZj9aJZZMv2CFjkc

I've done enough training plans in my life not to want to adapt the approach to music, but good luck!

2015 nominations open on Friday btw

heh, "training plans" was not how I envisioned this but I can certainly see how you might view it that way.
Let me know via ilxmail if you want me to build a rolling nomination playlist.

re: 2015 nominations open on Friday btw

seandalai, regarding the methodology for ILM 2015 EOY polls (tracks and albums) please can we have more nominations and votes per person.

Please consider the following:

e.g nominations up to 50 tracks AND 50 albums per person (the methodology in previous years has too few nomination slots, many people are reluctant to put their nominations up early, having more slack in the nominations stage will make the process more efficient and user friendly.)

e.g voting up to 40 tracks AND 40 albums. In the streaming era people are exposed to more genres / artists than ever before, therefore more voting options are needed to represent your favourites of the year.

Having more votes will also make the results of the poll countdown more interesting and make the comparative data analysis more relevant due to a larger data set per user.

I believe these improvements will make the nominations, voting, results and analysis more interesting and provide a better representation of the 2015 music favourites of ILM.

omigod i just realized

i am become djmartian, the maker of lists

/jokes bruv, all love

Please consider the following:

e.g nominations up to 50 tracks AND 50 albums per person (the methodology in previous years has too few nomination slots, many people are reluctant to put their nominations up early, having more slack in the nominations stage will make the process more efficient and user friendly.)

e.g voting up to 40 tracks AND 40 albums. In the streaming era people are exposed to more genres / artists than ever before, therefore more voting options are needed to represent your favourites of the year.

This sounds good in theory, but in reality most people are tapped out of nominations before they even reach 30 in each category because other people have already nominated things they'd planned to nominate. As for voting, it's just up to whatever seandalai feels comfortable tabulating. We've been using the same nomination/voting limits for several years and there are rarely complaints, but bring your case.

I'm open to any changes that have wide support. To be honest though, I think the current voting system works pretty well and as JF says most people seem to be happy enough with it.

Regarding nominations, I don't really mind if we allow a larger quota. The difference to the final results would be minimal - if something doesn't get nominated under the current regime it probably doesn't have enough support to bother the Top 77 either way.

seandalai,

further points of consideration,

regarding the nominations process, this need to increase, in previous years it's been a tedious drawn out affair with people waiting for other people to post their nominations e.g people using 7/30 then say 15/20 then 26/30. Look how more efficient the metal poll nominations is with the shackles off. I know that is within a genre and i understand the need for practical limits in a multi-genre poll but the existing nominations limits are far too restricting even with a 10 bonus selections in the last few days.

By putting slack in the process it will make the nominations stage more streamlined and efficient. Notice, I mentioned up to there is no compulsion to reach 50 for track and albums, re: most people are tapped out of nominations before they even reach 30 in each category because other people have already nominated things they'd planned to nominate.

re: We've been using the same nomination/voting limits for several years and there are rarely complaints, but bring your case.

Most people aren't interested OR don't think about process / methodology - they just accept what's given to them. Hence the lack of debate. They know a poll is coming up and just accept what's presented to them and once the poll process has started, it's often too late change things and the status quo is preserved. No change, no improvements.

regarding the voting, this still applies, Having more votes will also make the results of the poll countdown more interesting and make the comparative data analysis more relevant due to a larger data set per user. i.e increasing the voting will increase the data set of opinions and make the data analysis of results more meaningful, i.e Glenn's data analysis.

For prolific multi-genre listeners the existing voting system is inadequate, again i refer to up to to 40 votes on tracks and albums, there is no compulsion to reach this limit. As i mentioned previously "In the streaming era people are exposed to more genres / artists than ever before, therefore more voting options are needed to represent your favourites of the year." - i.e with the growth in streaming features (e.g discover weekly and spotify fresh finds) and streaming services particularly spotify and apple music in 2015 - many people have been exposed to more artists than previously. The increase in votes is crucial for improvements to happen.

I have presented the reasoned case for moderate and practical improvements, as i summed up previously "I believe these improvements will make the nominations, voting, results and analysis more interesting and provide a better representation of the 2015 music favourites of ILM."

Hey djmartian, I hear what you're saying though I'm not sure you'll like my reply...

Personally speaking, I'm not hugely invested in how nominations are run. I've said before that I'm not against near-unlimited nominations in principle. JF is usually in charge of nominations and I leave the decisions to him. Again this is just my personal opinion, but I think there is a sweet spot for ballot size - large enough so voters can express their diverse tastes but not so large that a lot of people end up filling space with albums they heard once or twice and thought were ok but didn't really really get into. Whether this sweet spot is 25 or not I can't say for sure but it feels like the right ballpark.

Ultimately though, the poll belongs to the community and should be run however the community most enjoys. I don't want to be making decisions based on what I think is fun, or what djmartian thinks is fun, or what JF thinks is fun - there needs to be some sort of group discussion. Otherwise it just gets stressful for the poll runners trying to second-guess what people will like.

Two other points: (a) One reason the nominations period is so long is because of the holiday season - we want to finish on the 31st of January but we need to start well before Christmas so that people have time to get involved. It's not really about the nominations process per se. (b) As we will see when the poll rolls out, there is always debate about the poll mechanics, how noms are run, how voting is run, how the rollout is run, many of the points that you bring up. And there is never anything resembling consensus about whether changes would improve the process, which is why we keep things m/l the same from year to year.

^this guy otm

Hey, silent majority here speaking: the process is fine, don't change it.

I'm in favor of increasing the ballot size to 50 (or more) albums and as many tracks. Or 100 that you can split among tracks and albums as you see fit. I don't see any real downside to it.

Hey, silent majority here speaking: the process is fine, don't change it.

― https://youtu.be/WpYeekQkAdc for Gaz Coombes (The Reverend), Wednesday, December 9, 2015 4:32 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^

also, a plea for less of this data entry/hoover consumption vibe when the poll actually happens

winnowing your favourites down is kind of the point above tallying, like, your 46th favourite track of the year just for the sake of it

yep, it's good how it is. i don't want to speak for everyone, but i certainly haven't heard anything close to 50+ outstanding records this year?

Agreed, I know a lot of you are are bigger music buffs than me, but how many of you really hear 50 great new albums a year? Personally, I can't imagine ever having the time to even delve into 50 current albums each year, let alone listening to so many current albums that I can pick 50 great ones among them.

For tracks, 50 seems like a decent number though. It makes no sense to have the same amount of slots for albums and tracks.

same amount of votes but more noms would be good - we should get at least as many noms as we have votes imo

exclude non-wizards imo

Y'all remember that the last couple days of nominations are basically a bonus round, right? You start off with 30, so you nominate your stuff and perhaps other people nominate things you'd have liked to have nominated and, then, a day or two before nominations end, you come back and you're given the leeway to nominate things that are missing/things you've just heard and feel should be there/things you know no one besides you will vote for but it makes you happy to have them present.

I think there's more value in this method. It's like a second chance.

2015 nominations open on Friday btw

― a cruet of destiny, Monday, December 7, 2015 2:49 PM (4 days ago)

Is this still the plan? (Can't ask w/o ackowledging what a HUGE amount of work must go into tracking the nominations.)

i tried my best to influence change by suggesting positive improvements, very disappointed with the inadequate nominations process. No change, no improvements. It doesn't cater for the needs of multi-genre music listeners.

I'm sorry you feel that way, but I don't have enough free time to keep up with as many nominations that would come in if the process had virtually no limits. I'd have to quit my job or not sleep or both. And as someone else mentioned, at what point does the nominations and voting process cross a line from things you really love and would like to see place into "things I heard and I thought were decent"? If you've got 30 nominations to split between tracks and albums, it's all going to be what you consider top shelf music.

I got a list of about 40 noms right now (only albums, no tracks, and that doesn't even include metal as they're probably wasted noms). I understand the amount of work though, but I definitely would have liked a bit more room. I'm gonna wait for others to nominate the most popular stuff so I can cut my list down to 30.

There's usually an extra few at the death.

Right. The last 48 hours or so, we dish out an additional 10 nominations to everybody in crunch time to make sure nothing was missed, forgotten or overlooked.

Yeah I'll probably be fine in the end but I wonder what's the reasoning for not allowing the extra 10 right away? Seems to be less stressful and to give a chance to these 10 albums or tracks to be noticed before voting.

I've found that in the rush to get your favorites nominated early in the process, you always forget something key and then hope someone else likes it as much as you did. Alternately, you may find something between now and January 2nd that you want to nominate and, whoops, all your nominations are gone! The 11th hour bonus is a safety net for several reasons.

winnowing your favourites down is kind of the point above tallying, like, your 46th favourite track of the year just for the sake of it

― lex pretend, Wednesday, December 9, 2015 3:53 AM (4 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^^^^^