Year-End Critics' Polls 2014

xp a pretty dull selection with the exception of Obituary

oh i dont mean on that shit little list but in general

3 Beck - Morning Phase

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS AVANT ABOUT THIS ARE THEY TROLLING

haha wtf

oh i dont mean on that shit little list but in general

if you don't want to know the score look away now, but the swans album trumped all afaict (boring answer i know)

4 The Lowland Hundred - The Lowland Hundred

this is well worth highlighting ftr, cartographically-fixated duo from west Wales in the Talk Talk/Wyatt tradition

the 'avant-rock' column has always been meaninglessly named, it's just a repository for anything which features a guitar in some form and didn't get picked for the main section

Wire Magazine: Hip Hop 10

1 Young Thug & Rich Homie Quan - Rich Gang The Tour Part 1
2 YG - My Krazy Life
3 Vince Staples - Shyne Coldchain 2
4 Chief Keef - Back From The Dead 2
5 Lil Boosie - Life After Death Row
6 Rae Sremmurd - No Type
7 Kevin Gates - Posed To Be In Love
8 Common - Nobody's Smiling
9 Future - Honest
10 Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty

uhhhh, the most recent kevin gates release aside from the one that hasn't dropped yet is called By Any Means. "posed to be in love" is a song on it

I am currently listening to Fader's top song ("Wishin You Well" by Makonnen) and lollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll gtfo

wishin you well is pretty dire

The backing track is really nice, but those verses have issues.

I definitely don't understand why anyone would rank WYW instead of "Tuesday" or "I Don't Sell Molly No More"

that whole song is an issue.

if you don't want to know the score look away now, but the swans album trumped all afaict (boring answer i know)

― sosmix klopp (NickB), Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:05 (46 minutes ago)

yeah i got that one, although im not quite so sanguine about it

with regard to the superannuated wire cover star set, my private name for that genre (merzbow, jg thirlwell, maybe william bennett, assorted wonky jazz mavens etc) is avant-furniture or avant-furn

the sort of people who instinctively know how to stare obliquely into the middle distance when being photographed at a dutch angle next to a concrete building, comfortingly implacable, reliably difficult, reassuring references to bataille and schwitters, that sort of thing

difficult in the bloodyminded sense rather than esoteric, nothing could be less surprising or 'inaccessible' than a new michael gira joint in 2014

boo fader making a list and boo their lame excuse for starting to do so

xp man isn't it a bummer when things aren't edgy enough

I don't think that's what he's saying

I was quite disappointed with the Swans record compared to the two before it, I don't think I'm alone there

right there with you. Best resurrected Swans is still the first.

aw be kind to raccoon tanuki's sloppy seconds, the reliably dense new school landfill maven who is making ILM the place to be seen in december '14

it was a joke.

how was that not obvious?

uhhhh, the most recent kevin gates release aside from the one that hasn't dropped yet is called By Any Means. "posed to be in love" is a song on it

― just a couple of assholes having breakfast (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, December 9, 2014 4:31 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

'no type' is also a song. it's not a ranking of albums but of musical artifacts iirc. anyway that's v clearly noz's list

my b. most of the other wire lists appeared to be such so i assumed, stand corrected

thats probably the closest in taste noz & i have been in some time

reliably dense new school landfill maven who is making ILM the place to be seen in december '14

glad you think of me as attracting that much attention. "reliably dense new school landfill maven?" p weak as far as zings go, even if the juxtaposition of maven and landfill is kinda sexy. wordplay-wise. but that's cute, though, you fapping over your authenticity like that as opposed to...what? my lack thereof? cool story, man.

christ alive who is this pleb

Speaking of Grumbling Fur, is there anywhere stateside to pick up that new one?

I don't think that's what he's saying

I was quite disappointed with the Swans record compared to the two before it, I don't think I'm alone there

― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Tuesday, 9 December 2014 23:10 (23 minutes ago) Permalink

It's a good album, but it's no The Seer.

new swans was funnier and catchier than the previous couple. tbh i found those a bit of a chore - too many misshapen marching songs for grim-faced hobbledehoys. this one is fun! this one has songs that swing! i actually wanted to listen to it more than once

Yeah, I'll def vote for Sicko Mobb as well. Amazingly consistent tape. Fact had it on their top 100 2010-14 list as well.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, December 9, 2014 3:37 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i thought the tape was kinda underwhelming & i like sicko mobb ... sound quality was rough too

Aphex at #1 in the Wire list is a joke, surely?

It's the year of the joke #1s.

I'll say!

2014 seems to go down in history with either War on Drugs or Aphex at #1? I don't care about War on Drugs. I do care about Aphex, but c'mon, the retro trip of the long lost son as a number one album of 2014? By "progressive magazine" Wire? What year is this? 1994? Gtfo.

Heartening to see Shyne Coldchain 2 popping up all over

Wire list is much lazier than usual, weird. Though I remember reading about their polling process a few years ago - they don't have ranked ballots, so the winning album is simply the one that appears on the most ballots. Easy to see how boring consensus/canon picks can rise to the top that way.

Wire lists have been bad/boring for years and years. Remember when you'd pick up a December issue and you'd be like WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE RECORDS then you'd hunt and find them and they'd mess you up?

batshit craziness from the Tabs Out list:

http://bromptreb.bandcamp.com/album/abuse-abandon-abort

damn: http://sprtthrn.bandcamp.com/album/nothingness

I'm kind of enjoying how little my list will have in common with any of these.

Anybody listen to the new Obituary album at the bottom of the Wire's avant rock list?

Aphex Twin is on a lot of lists, but I can't see it beating out War on Drugs. Ecscpecially when FKA Twigs and St. Vincent both seem to be doing quite well on a lot of lists.

Re: Apex Twin, it is kind of a perfect fit for The Wire, though....it's iconic, it got a very enthusiastic full page review by them, and it probable is in the wheelhouse of the things many of their different writers cover. That, with the non-weighted ballots suggests an easy #! place. Plus it's a fantastic album! It's as good a #1 as I've seen on any list.

I'm surprised that some of the electronic albums I would have thought would place weren't on the list, like Perc's The Power and the Glory, Untold's Black Light Spirals, Ben Frost's A U R O R A, Inga Copeland's Because I'm Worth It, Vessel's Punish, Honey, Mr Mitch's Parallel Memories, Andy Stott's Faith in Strangers, Joey Anderson's After Forever. They were all fantastic albums and received good reviews in the magazine iirc.

was happy to see Fatima al Qadiri's Asiatisch (a great, very underrated album imo), the Pharmakon album, the Shackleton EP, Michael Pisaro's 3 disc set, Oren Ambarchi, Call Super, Cooly G, Carla Bozulich, and Dean Blunt. Looking forward to hearing Steve Gunn's two entries, Annea Lockwood, AMM, Eliane Radigue, The Drumm/Lescalleet erstwhile disc, and some of the other avant classical pieces, as well as all of the other artists I've never even heard of.

Overall, with the exception of the top spot, I think it's an adventurous list and a good one, at least judging by all the others we've looked at

And I could probably say the same about the FACT list

PopMatters albums, 50-1:
50. Ex Hex - Rips
49. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent
48. Sondre Lerche - Please
47. SOHN - Tremors
46. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
45. Prince - Art Official Age
44. Mike Farris - Shine for All the People
43. Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else
42. Liars - Mess
41. Somi - The Lagos Music Salon
40. Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son
39. Shovels and Rope - Swimmin’ Time
38. Battle Trance - Palace of Wind
37. Lykke Li - I Never Learn
36. Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers
35. Allo Darlin’ - We Come From the Same Place
34. Todd Terje - It’s Album Time
33. The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast
32. Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line
31. Beck - Morning Phase
30. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
29. Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems
28. Banks - Goddess
27. The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
26. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
25. Scott Walker and Sunn O))) - Soused
24. Future Islands - Singles
23. Ty Segall - Manipulator
22. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
21. Brian Eno and Karl Hyde - High Life
20. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib - Piñata
19. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
18. Caribou - Our Love
17. Ben Frost - A U R O R A
16. Parker Millsap - Parker Millsap
15. Taylor Swift - 1989
14. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
13. Old Crow Medicine Show - Remedy
12. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
11. Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste
10. Spoon - They Want My Soul
9. Aphex Twin - Syro
8. FKA Twigs - LP1
7. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
6. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
5. Swans - To Be Kind
4. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
3. Flying Lotus - You’re Dead!
2. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
1. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2

Digital Spy:
30. One Direction: FOUR
29. Foxes: Glorious
28. Caribou: Our Love
27. Tensnake: Glow
26. Katy B: Little Red
25. Iggy Azalea: The New Classic
24. FKA twigs: LP1
23. Jessie Ware: Tough Love
22. Jamie T: Carry on the Grudge
21. Jack White: Lazaretto
20. Ella Henderson: Chapter One
19. Calvin Harris: Motion
18. The Horrors: Luminous
17. St. Vincent: St. Vincent
16. alt-J: This Is All Yours
15. Ben Howard: I Forget Where We Were
14. Lana Del Rey: Ultraviolence
13. Sia: 1000 Forms of Fear
12. Todd Terje: It's Album Time
11. Ariana Grande: My Everything
10. Sky Ferreira: Night Time, My Time
9. Jungle: Jungle
8. Bombay Bicycle Club: So Long, See You Tomorrow
7. George Ezra: Wanted on Voyage
6. Paolo Nutini: Caustic Love
5. Ed Sheeran: x
4. La Roux: Trouble In Paradise
3. Royal Blood: Royal Blood
2. Taylor Swift: 1989
1. Sam Smith: In the Lonely Hour

Exclaim!
http://exclaim.ca/News/exclaims_best_of_2014-top_20_pop_rock_albums_part_two
1. Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
2. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
3. Owen Pallett - In Conflict
4. Alvvays - Alvvays
5. Swans - To Be Kind
6. White Lung - Deep Fantasy
7. Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
8. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
9. Future Islands - Singles
10. Tanya Tagaq - Animism
11. Ought - More Than Any Other Day
12. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
13. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
14. How to Dress Well - "What is This Heart?"
15. Beck - Morning Phase
16. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
17. Real Estate - Atlas
18. Spoon - They Want My Soul
19. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
20. Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love

(oh shit, exclaim already done)

Ultimate Classic Rock - Best Albms of 2014
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/best-rock-albums-2014/

10 Stevie Nicks '24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault'
9 Slash 'World On Fire'
8 Bruce Springsteen 'High Hopes'
7 Pink Floyd 'The Endless River'
6 Ace Frehley 'Space Invader'
5 Judas Priest 'Redeemer of Souls'
4 Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey 'Going Back Home'
3 Robert Plant 'Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar'
2 Tom Petty 'Hypnotic Eye'
1 AC/DC 'Rock or Bust'