Dero and Kot voted for some good records, though, so I don't really care.

Love that Bug album, also.

Ha, song playing when I saw that it had placed = "I'm A Bug" by The Urinals! Awesome.

Raj has a good point. I mean, they obviously have their own their own soapbox to shout from, and this poll is supposed to be ours. It'd be better if they actually submitted lists, participated on the board. Still don't mind, though.



Been wondering if they borrowed it from the same place.

“Shugo is
A. a melodic fucking genius, IMO
B. Dreamy as hell
C. ICE COLD” - paperthinships

#69




Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
(898 Points, 16 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "Woven through it all is Tokumaru's easy tenor. It's too laid back to be evocative, but isn't merely soothing, either; maybe the best way to peg it is that evokes a feeling of being soothed. He plays humble in interviews, but on record he comes off as effortless, even cool. And it takes a special kind of cool to borrow so many familiar and loaded styles without looking like you're merely dabbling.

There are enough instrumental interludes and understated melodies here to make the record a grower, and it eases into the sunset for much of its back half. Album-closer "Wedding" has as fine a melody as any of them, but there's a palpable sense that Tokumaru's perfectly content as a warm-up act for the crickets. And after three albums of such pleasurable, well-crafted music, it's churlish to wonder if Tokumaru will budge from this routine-- if he'll push into new directions, or keep making even-keel pop that's ever-more perfect and ever-more effortlessly sews up its influences. At this rate, the most nostalgic thing about listening to a Tokumaru record in the future might be the memories they bring back of his earlier ones." (8.0)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: n/a

Ranked Highest By: Liffey (#1)

Also Ranked By: Blue Straggler (#5)

Amazon Link

She's also ridiculously friendly. I prefer the blonde aesthetically, but she was in a bit of a mood when I saw them.


Yeah, I have to admit I was put off listening to it for a while because it had its own thread on this board.

“Jigsaw is my jam.” - Andyroo

#68.




Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
(903 Points, 16 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: #140

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "In Re-Arrange Us, these increasingly domesticated Mates have basically made an album to cook dinner and do the dishes to. Considering recent signs like their adorable naked PETA photo shoot, extensive blog chronicling of their daughters, and nascent experimentation with string arrangements on 2006's Bring It Back, the move to a gooey MOR aesthetic shouldn't be so surprising. The real shocker is how Gardner switches to piano after years on her trusty 1970s Electone organ, an instrument that served as her Excalibur, Mjolnir, and "Wonder Boy" bat all rolled into one. With his wife's sparkling arpeggios and carnival pump organ on the shelf, Hammel has no choice but to sound equally tame behind the skins, causing these songs to gently build rather than jerk the listener through one ADD idea after another.

The move is especially dangerous considering how the duo's runaway-mine-car frenzy was the principal repellent of emo accusations in the past. Re-Arrange Us, bogged down in fluffy multi-instrumental arrangements and overdubbed harmonies, can't help but slow things down and do some soul searching, sometimes to a stomach-wrenching degree. While most of the tracks here don't surpass Bring It Back's lengthier durations, the added emotional and textural heft sure makes them seem longer. "Now", for example, softens the signature arpeggio from 2006 single "For the Actor" into the kind of celestial (for lack of better word) balladeering a band like Stars pulls off more effectively. Even the broken record chorus of repeated "Now!"'s sounds oddly tranquil as both singers fly below their usual high-register yelp. Other potential dramatic peaks are similarly botched on "Blue and Gold Print" or "You Are Free", two rose-tinted lullabies hamstrung by sluggish melodies and too many held notes posing as hooks. " (5.1)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: "Bring It Back" (#99 of 2006)

Ranked Highest By: petras (#1)

Also Ranked By: Slackmo (#3)

Amazon Link

The Bug into Shugo is a nice 1-2 punch.

“this makes what was once a super shit day a little better.

thank you brandon flowers” - Hewletts Daughter

#67.




The Killers - Day & Age
(921 Points, 22 Votes)

US Chart Position: #6

UK Chart Position: #1

Charting Singles: "Human" (#32 Hot 100, #6 Modern Rock), "Spaceman" (#67 Hot 100, #29 Modern Rock)

Pitchfork Review: "The other three guys in the Killers have taken all that Sam's Town criticism to heart more than their lead singer. On Day & Age, the experimentalism is more scattered and more rewarding. Instead of just pressing the "huge and bombastic" button ad nauseum, they diversify: so there's the comically Caribbean "Joyride" (with full-on touristy sax solo), the Strokes-gone-samba of "I Can't Stay" and the impressively brooding (and Björk-ish!) closer, "Goodnight, Travel Well". They're aiming to please some of the time, and they do. Less radical change-ups "Losing Touch" and "Spaceman" are the most obvious contenders for the inevitably incredible greatest hits compilation. "Losing Touch", in particular, is like a best of the Killers mashup: there's the crash cymbal chorus for fist-raising, the horn-strut verse for hip sliding, the "Guitar Hero"-ready solo from underused ax man Dave Keuning.

There's no central concept here-- even the album's title is as vaguely all-encompassing as possible. This is the Killers' spitball album, the one where they try everything and see what works while Flowers grasps for a relatable tone. "When your chips are down, when your highs are low: joyride!" he sings on the so-dizzy-it's-amazing "Joyride". It's the Killers at their most carefree-- the brooding behind them, they're ready to set out with the top down and the schmaltzy sax way, way up. Frivolity suits them, why shy away from it?" (5.9)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: "Hot Fuss" (#34 of 2004), "Sam's Town" (#59 of 2006)

Ranked Highest By: brain_storm (#4)

Amazon Link

Kind of surprised to see this here, not just because I think it is a good record, but also because X&Y which is not as good finished higher in 2005.

“There are a surprising number of good songs on this disc. Viva COLDPLAY.” - Johnny's Shack

#66.




Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
(942 Points, 20 Votes)

US Chart Position: #1

UK Chart Position: #1

Charting Singles: "Violet Hill" (#40 Hot 100, #9 Modern Rock), "Viva la Vida" (#1 Hot 100, #1 Modern Rock), "Lost!" (#87 Hot 100, #10 Modern Rock)

Pitchfork Review: "Ever self-deprecating, Martin offered his band's thesis to MTV a couple weeks ago: "We look at what other people are doing and try and steal all the good bits," he said. "We steal from so many different places that hopefully it becomes untraceable." That last bit is probably wishful thinking. For their "new direction" album, Coldplay hired the egghead responsible for more new direction albums than any other producer over the past 35 years, Brian Eno. The move isn't original, but it's smart. A self-described "sculptor" with a tendency to chip away rather than augment, Eno helps Coldplay reverse their bloat in favor of a slimmer sound; the anthems remain but they're no longer bogged down by incessant refrains and overdubs.

Thanks to a bubbling bit of exotic percussion that wouldn't sound out of place on Peter Gabriel's latter-day LPs, "Lost!" is transformed from Just Another Coldplay Song into a uniquely alluring smash and live staple for years to come. The Gabriel connection is also apparent on the spectacular, wide-eyed "Strawberry Swing", which floats light tribal drums above circular guitars and Martin's idyllic musings. Think "In Your Eyes": The Next Generation. More welcomed semi-surprises: Ballsy first single "Violet Hill" pulls off some honest-to-God Scary Monsters mutant funk while "Chinese Sleep Chant" is a shoegaze excursion as traceable as it is passable. Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs' touch can be heard on the strung-out anthem "Viva la Vida", its "woah oh oh!" refrain already responsible for untold iPod sales. Apart from a few brief lulls into somnolent twinkle-pop, the music is purposeful, svelte, and modern. If only Martin could inject some pathos into his often-embarrassing universal scripture." (6.5)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: "X&Y" (#34 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: Paul (#4)

Also Ranked By: DrJimmy, caley(#5)

Amazon Link

Damn, I figured that would end up top 50.

lol

there are some really good albums already placed. I can't imagine how horrid the top 10 will be.

That's like saying U.S. government officials automatically get a vote in an election even if they don't bother to show up at the polling place.

It would have taken them 30 seconds each to paste their lists into the voting thread. They didn't bother, so their votes don't count. I don't see the point of including the votes of non-voters.


I don't even mind the actual lists. Neither top ten is bad, although both suffer from the same predictable proclivities they always have. But in principal people who didn't vote shouldn't be involved in a poll.


Exactly - this isn't too much to ask.

The vast majority of this board completely ignores Jim and Greg, the radio show, and the Sound Ops Related forum all year long, but then at EOY, they get phantom voting rights? Like I said, it's Paul's baby so I'll respect his decision, but I don't understand it or agree with it.

“Weird thing about Made in the Dark. Even songs that I don't feel are that good I still have the urge to listen to.” - Chronodiggity

#65.




Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
(947 Points, 25 Votes)

US Chart Position: #109

UK Chart Position: #4

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: " Any one of those paths would have served Hot Chip well. But of all of their many virtues, focus isn't one, and instead they took them all. A string of self-conscious interruptions, perfect pop moments, show-offy sonics, and inscrutable non-sequiturs, the lovable but flawed Made in the Dark has moments that come off as almost gluttonous-- and that's even by Hot Chip's standards. And while the majority of the material here ranges somewhere between inoffensive and fantastic, momentarily obnoxious misfires (the funhouse mirror horrorshow "Bendable Poseable", the impish "Don't Dance", and the weirdly overrated "Shake a Fist") underscore why "all of the above" is not a tenable long-term formula for the band: That level of consumption can't stay charming forever.

Which is to say that Hot Chip have a big record in them and this isn't it. Once you do away with that disappointment, though, there's plenty to appreciate. There might not be anything as definitive or as moment-making as "Over and Over" or "Boy From School" here, but once you've acclimatized to Made in the Dark's sonic trills and party poppers, some affecting songs emerge. On the pop side, none are as lovable as the tender-hearted electro of "Ready for the Floor", in which the band once again finds comfortable middle ground between Alexis Taylor's balladesque vocal and vibrant, electro-pop dressing. Elsewhere, the feelgood "Touch Too Much" cruises by on a big chorus and some characteristically clattering percussions, while the infectious "One Pure Thought" opens against a backdrop of gnarled guitar chords and keening synths. " (7.0)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: "The Warning" (#10 of 2006)

Ranked Highest By: Asher Ford(#3)

Also Ranked By: stignasty (#5)

Amazon Link

That Shugo album seemed like something I would really be into, but it bored me to tears. I really liked La La Radio though.

“I just got my wisdom teeth ripped outta my face, so im tripping on percocet and chilling to it.” - street samurai

#64.




Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
(953 Points, 23 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "With his second album, Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) has mastered this texture. Los Angeles is filled with the crackle of static, but there's something about this ambient noise-- a nuisance to audiophiles, a sign of weakness in radio signals-- that feels oddly comforting. Rather than audio damage or interference, this deceptively entrancing record (stick with it, it's a grower) feels like nature; it's almost as though Ellison went out of his way to digitize and filter the sound of rain hitting a sidewalk to accompany its beats. Opener "Brainfeeder" bristles with sharp rattling taps, while "Breathe. Something/Stellar STar" transmutes it into boiling-water burble, and even the 1960s sci-fi foley-room chatter on the 43-second "Orbit 405" is underpinned by snarling, distorted, pre-amp buzz. It sounds less like an album built on damaged, beat-up, pre-existing vinyl loops than a clean, shiny new LP put through four decades' worth of wear and mishandling." (8.5)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: n/a

Ranked Highest By: James D (#3)

Also Ranked By: Ringo Is My Name (#5)

Amazon Link

even chrono realizes he listens to shitty music

She sort of looks like Dave Grohl in that picture.

re: Krotch and Dero. Who cares? Board sucks anyway, right?

Calm the fuck down.

It's the Sound Opinions Message Board 2008 albums poll we're talking about here.

I really should have voted for that Flying Lotus higher.

Apparently he's doing an LP with Samiyam this year, which could/should be awesome.

Flying Lotus...also way too low.

“this one has some ravenous and ragged black hole soul at the bottom of it that absolutely transfixes me.” - vurt

#63.




Evangelista - Hello Voyager
(989 Points, 19 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: " "Here's to St. Anne, who's gone mad" sings Bozulich on the nearly a-rhythmic opener "Winds of St. Anne". On Hello, Voyager, Bozulich mines more from her 2006 solo album Evangelista than a new name for her new band. Voyager further explores the omnipresent female dementia of Evangelista, this time with an even fuller sound and an increasingly tortured performance from Bozulich. Nearly every track here occupies its own realm, tenuously connected by Bozulich's vocals or similar string arrangements but otherwise completely alien to each other. Nothing demonstrates this better than the cold shower effect of "The Frozen Dress", a post-rock instrumental wasteland, coming after the blistering two-minute stoner metal of de facto single "Truth is Dark Like Outer Space".

As the only American artist on Montreal label Constellation, Bozulich introduces touches of country and blues to the label's signature apocalyptic symphonies. Considering the popularity of Jonny Greenwood's recent There Will Be Blood score, there's probably no better time than now to juxtapose a grimy blues ballad like "Lucky Lucky Luck" with the chillingly out-of-tune violins of "For the L'il Dudes". However, Voyager doesn't simply run its listeners through a gauntlet of extremes. Bozulich provides flashes of her inner country songwriter, particularly on the surprisingly tender "The Blue Room". With a lead guitar imitating a dusty old music box, Bozulich herself waxes equally delicate, at least in comparison to Voyager's darker, tortured narratives: "So I fold you like a dead poem/ And stick you in a teacup/ With a crack in the broke-off handle." " (7.0)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: n/a

Ranked Highest By: Pavement Ist Rad (#2)

Also Ranked By: throughsilver (#5)

Amazon Link

“I mean this in the best way, but this is easy-listening hip-hop. It's like Steely Dan for people who grew up in the late 80s.” - Very Metal

#62.




Q-Tip - The Renaissance
(1012 Points, 24 Votes)

US Chart Position: #11

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "And so it's after that ridiculously long and convoluted voyage that I'm happy to declare The Renaissance-- a mostly new, tight refining of everything Q-Tip's done in his attempts to break his solo sophomore jinx-- the album people were spending the last nine years hoping he'd make. It features the deep, smooth neo-soul-tinged production from Amplified and final Tribe record The Love Movement (complete with a post-mortem Dilla contribution for a bit of that Ummah feel), pushes it simultaneously outwards towards both classic boom-bap and fusion experimentalism, and signals a welcome return of that familiar elastic, swing-cadence voice dropping jewels on the mic.

Maybe the first thing you'll notice is the mood: Q-Tip sounds enthusiastic and vibrant where many other aging conscious rappers have been playing it tense or guarded. This album shows a man infatuated with love and life without sounding maudlin: "Gettin' Up", produced by Q-Tip, takes an old early 1970s Black Ivory single, makes it gleam with modern sheen and lets Tip loose on the kind of love jones you'd expect from a man with 15 years' worth of relationship experience and maturation since "Electric Relaxation". The love-and-war soldier's story "We Fight/We Love" and the abstract sociological breakdown of "Manwomanboogie" couch things in conflict and struggle, but there's always some glimmer of hope and humanity at the core. He even sounds diplomatic when he's being accusatory and frustrated with a lover, as he does on "You": Despite the communication breakdowns, suspicion of infidelity, and admission that all the blame rests on the other party, he still concludes it with a potential reconciliatory gesture: "We'll make amends if you admit it/ We can ascend if you're committed/ Your heart, is it in it?" And when he extends that gratitude and love towards his profession, modestly reaffirming his place in hip-hop in "Johnny Is Dead" or rattling off a catchy chronological list of legends in "Life Is Better", his passion is infectious." (8.4)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: n/a

Ranked Highest By: tystu (#4)

Also Ranked By: Greg Kot (#5)

Amazon Link

Does Brandon Flowers have a nephew who's a 2nd year design student or something? Who the fuck designed that shit?

She looks good sullenly smoking a cig outside the Cockpit.

I'm well gutted I didn't get to meet Jennifer when I saw RTX a few days later, though. Now she's hot.

“ok I'm high as shit and let me tell you

10 stars” - ____________________________

#61.




Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull
(1020 Points, 19 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Pitchfork Review: " Still, Bees is the biggest, cleanest, and most flagrantly melodic record Earth's ever recorded. "Omens and Portents I: The Driver" has the kind of mildly ominous, lazily distorted tone that soaks Beach House records, while "Omens and Portents II: Carrion Crow" offers up the exact same five-note ascending harmony as the Microphones' "I Love it So Much!" It's left to Davies to provide the weight: "I've always noticed that it's hard to get your playing down towards where your heartbeat is... It's all about keeping your heartbeat down, for me," she told Pitchfork. Carlson's always played slow, but six years of playing with Davies (and touring with bassist Don McGreevy) has given every Earth improv the same massive feel of doomy inevitability. Even as Carlson opens up, and looks up, Davies keeps his compositions anchored to the ground.

But what melodies. "Engine of Ruin" deadpans a kind of flat keyboard line which Carlson expands, alternately following along and filling in, stalking down every harmonic permutation. "Miami Morning Coming Down" has probably Carlson's purest and most ravishing pattern ever, a trebly rise and fall that triggers nostalgia, sunrise, sunset, panic, elation, resignation. For a heavy record, Bees spends a lot of time just staring into space, thinking. " (7.7)

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Albums Lists: n/a

Ranked Highest By: killerparties (#2)

Also Ranked By: simulated stereo (#3)

Amazon Link

Wait a minute......is that Q-tip album actually good? I pretty much just ignored it.

hell yes it is

Yeah, I'm thinking I might have to check out that Q-Tip.

For some reason, I thought the Evangelista would be higher. Maybe it was the force of Paves' hype. Great album regardless.

I sure do enjoy it.

That's it for today. #60-41 tomorrow.

Comp. results maybe tonight? I've been up since 5 for work so I'm going to take a nap because I'm tired as balls, so I may or may not get to the comps tonight. If I don't, we'll do them on Thursday with the misc. polls. I mean, what else are you going to do that day after you wake up hungover at 4 pm?

thanks Paul!

good stuff

Eh.

I'm happy that I got it into the top 100 at all.

That Earth album is absolutely incredible. I'm glad it placed at all, but it totally deserved higher.


edit: also, awesome list so far (w/ a couple of clunkers, but whatever). Paul, you are awesome. Great job on everything.

so far this list shows me just how out of new music I was for the latter half of 2008... i've not even heard 1/4 of the albums so far i think.

I just realized that Marnie Stern isn't gonna place. Fuck you guys.

...

I just didn't like this record as much. The cringeworthy began outweighing the brilliant.

That one song is really awesome, though.

Ahaha, I'm not angry, this is just what I do so if you don't like it uh... put me on ignore or something? Or just keep mimicking me circa 2005.


oh waut

sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

another visionary quote from message board poster Chronodiggity for sure.

100. The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent
99. Dungen - 4
98. Move D & Benjamin Brunn - Songs From the Beehive
97. El Guincho - Alegranza
96. Stereolab - Chemical Chords
95. Jacaszek - Treny
94. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
93. Bruno Pronsato - Why Can't We Be Like Us
92. The Melvins - Nude With Boots
91. Beach House - Devotion
90. Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
89. Air France No Way Down - EP
88. Santogold - Santogold
87. Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
86. Calexico - Carried to Dust
85. Lykke Li[ - Youth Novels
84. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
83. Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
82. The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
81. The Dodos - The Visiter

80. Matmos - Supreme Balloon
79. Torche - Meanderthal
78. Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
77. Max Tundra - Parallex Error Beheads You
76. Luomo - Convival
75. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
74. Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls
73. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
72. Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
71. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
70. The Bug - London Zoo
69. Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
68. Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
67. The Killers - Day & Age
66. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
65. Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
64. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
63. Evangelista - Hello Voyager
62. Q-tip - The Renaissance
61. Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull

Thanks Sound, nice to have an easy way to listen to a few songs from the respective artists. An acceptable alternative to fishing em.

I just want to add my 2 cents of thanks in for all the work you do on these polls.

Seconded here, Paul. You're doing an awesome job and I appreciate it.

61? Is that all this fucking masterpiece gets?

I mean, it's so versatile. I use it for blasting in my little bust-ass mp3 player when I go exploring old abandoned apartment complexes and Buddhist mountain sculpture grottos as well as you know, for makin' love. Easily a top ten record.

I blame Rough Trade for fannying me about when I tried to order it from them.

Would have liked to see Evangelista place higher, but I'm a realist. I don't even know if anyone other than Paves and I had it in their top ten. I remember Montana voting for it.

Also, "the bottom 50 will be better than the top 50"? Come on, guys. Of course there is some excellent stuff here, but the bottom 50 also includes sub-par Death Cab, Okervil River, Coldplay in their little war outfits, Vivian Girls, The Killers and Chinese Democracy.

Whoa. Vivian Girls lumped in with obvious garbage like Cold-Play and GNR. LOPP invite forthcoming.

i like how he just kind of snuck it in there, too.

what an asshole

Let's be honest, the only reason that VG made the list is Kot and Dero.

Awesome.