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THE BEST MUSIC OF 2014 Countdown


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8 ballots!

102 albums!

Only 11 albums got more than one vote!

I don't think this ballot thing is working anymore!

Come, and join in for the 2nd Annual, Last DVDVRMB BEST MUSIC OF 2014

 

 

 

HERE ARE ALL OF THE TIES.

The following albums received one 15th place vote for 11 Points

Ty Segall – Manipulator
Desertshore – Migrations of Glass
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Only Run
Jason Aldean – Old Boots, New Dirt
La Sera – Hour of the Dawn
Demi Lovato - Demi

 

The following albums received one 14th place vote for 12
Ratking – So It Goes
Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
Shellac – Dude Incredible
Sturgill Simposn – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Slash – World On Fire

 

The following albums received one 13th place vote for 13 Points
Lily Allen – Sheezus
The Coathangers – Suck My Shirt
Porter Robinson – Worlds
Hospitality – Trouble
Thom Yorke – Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

 

The following albums received one 12th place vote for 14
Clipping. - CLPPNG
Weezer – Everything Will Be All Right
Sunny Day Real Estate/Circa Surive Split
Frazey Ford – Indian Ocean
Triptykon – Melana Chasmata

 

The following albums received one 11th place vote for 15
Bryan Ferry – Avonmore
Iceage – Plowing In The Fields of Love
Fennesz – Becs
How To Dress Well - “What is this heart?”
The Men – Tomorrow's Hist
Lana Del Ray – Ultraviolence
Young Fathers – Dead

 

The following albums received one 10th place vote for 16
Thou – Heathen
Spoon – They Want My Soul
Joyce Manor – Never Hung Over Again
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Mended With Gold
Liars – Mess
Monster Magnet – Milking the Stars

 

The following albums received one 9th place vote for 17
Exodus – Blood In, Blood Out
Lower – Seek Warmer Climes
Daniel Lanois – Flesh and Machine
Run The Jewels 2
The Hotelier – Home, Like NoPlace Is There
Beck – Morning Phase

 

The following albums received one 8th place vote for 18
Busdriver – Perfect Hair
Fucked Up – Glass Boys
The Menzingers – Rented World
Aphex Twin – Syro
Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Occultation – Silence in the Ancestral House

 

The following albums received one 7th place vote for 19
Moetar – Entropy of the Century
Interpol – El Pintor
Restorations - LP3
Dads – I'll Be The Tornado
Banks – Goddess
Carla Bozulich – Boy

 

The following albums received one 6th place vote for 20
Mesita – The Phoenix
Tom Petty – Hypnotic Eye
Nothing – Guilty of Everything
Perfect Pussy – Say Yes To Love
S. Carey – Range of Light
Flying Lotus – You're Dead!
John and the Volta – Empirical

 

The following albums received one 5th place vote for 21
Dub Spencer & Trance Hill – William S. Burroughs in Dub
Gruff Rhys – American Interior
Woods of Desolation – As The Stars
Pianos Become The Teeth – Keep You
FKA twigs – LP1
Pregnant – John Raw

 

The following albums received one 4th place vote for 22
Gazelle Twin – UNFLESH
Andrew Jackson Jihad – Christmas Island
Strand of Oaks – Heal
Caribou – Our Love
Chad Vangaalen – Shrink Dust
La Roux – Trouble In Paradise

 

The following albums received one 3rd place vote for 23
Alunah – Awakening The Forest
Glass Animals – Zaba
A Winged Victory for the Sullen – Atomos
Tony Molina – Dissed and Dismissed
Eric Chruch – The Outsiders
White Suns – Totem

 

The following albums received one 2nd place vote for 24
milo – a toothpase suburb
Phantogram – Voices
Inventions – Inventions
Jungle – Jungle
Young Widows – Easy Pain
Rokysopp & Robin – Do It Again

 

The following albums received one 1st place vote for 30 Points

Lamb – Backspace Unwind
Spoonboy/Colour Me Wednesday Split 12”
Merchandise – After The End
Black Keys – Turn Blue
B L A C K I E All Caps With Spaces – IMAGINE YOUR SELF IN A FREE AND NATURAL WORLD

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MI0003713437.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

 

16. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There (2 votes, 24 points)

 

Listen: Taking Chances

 

And then the five 1st Place Vote Only albums tie for 11th place. Once again, they are:

Lamb – Backspace Unwind
Spoonboy/Colour Me Wednesday Split 12”
Merchandise – After The End
Black Keys – Turn Blue
B L A C K I E All Caps With Spaces – IMAGINE YOUR SELF IN A FREE AND NATURAL WORLD

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Like yeah, that's a function of music. The easier that it's become to put out music, the more music there is out there. I'm sure there's plenty you don't know about. I know there's a ton I don't know about. There was a pimping thread that was open for months, and you didn't put anything in there. So like, if you want to wear your music taste as some kind of armor, I can't really stop you. But like, I used to do that, and no one wanted to listen to the music I like. 

 

I mean, what good does that attitude do versus trying to put people up on the music you like? Like, yeah, I only like two albums out of the top ten (CEG, Hval/Susanna) and I want people to listen to the things I think are good, but I don't berate people for not listening to what I like (aside from that weird period where it felt like I was about to fistfight Fowler?). I just... share the music, and share how I feel about it, and maybe someone's looking for that.

 

For example, B L A C K I E is my favorite artist and I think everyone should listen to B L A C K I E. So whenever B L A C K I E has a new thing, I post it here and say "hey, this is like this, maybe check it out." And the thing is, it's worked out. I've had a couple of people roll up on me in PM and like they've told me in conversation that they like B L A C K I E and in at least one case it was me who turned them onto it. That's awesome! Now other people have some meaningful experience with this music that matters to me too. I love that.

 

What I'm trying to encourage here with stuff like this and the apparently imminent DVDVR Album Club is finding and sharing new stuff people might like. If you shared your stuff, hey, people might like it! Then everyone wins! But this thing you're doing is just going to make you unhappy.

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Thanks for doing this, even if the input just wasn't there. There are a few albums that didn't make the cut that I'm going to track down.

 

How many people who submitted really got into music in the 90s? Just wondering.

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Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit that you people don't know shit about.

 

Feel free to enlighten us instead of being a dick about it since you didn't bother to submit a ballot.

 

Thanks for doing this, even if the input just wasn't there. There are a few albums that didn't make the cut that I'm going to track down.

 

How many people who submitted really got into music in the 90s? Just wondering.

 

Born in 85, so I guess this applies to me.

 

And yes, big thanks to BL88 for doing all this while juggling school.

 

Here's my ballot: 

 

1. Merchandise – After the End
2. The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream
3. Future Islands - Singles
4. Cymbals Eat Guitars – LOSE
5. Pianos Become the Teeth – Keep You
6. Nothing – Guilty Of Everything
7. Dads – I'll Be The Tornado
8. Fucked Up – Glass Boys
9. The Hotelier – Home, Like NoPlace is There
10. Spoon – They Want My Soul
11. The Men – Tomorrow's Hits
12. Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
13. Hospitality – Trouble
14. Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
15. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Only Run
 
Yeah, obviously not too many people bothered this year - anyone that didn't participate want to chime in and tell us why?
If anyone wants to pick up and do this next year, there are probably some changes that could be made to encourage more participation. I think the cutoff date shouldn't go past January, for example.
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Sorry about not submitting a ballot. I just have not had the time and wasn't sure I heard enough albums to submit a fair ballot.

 

I may take a stab and share what my rough draft would have looked like tonight and highlight albums that maybe did not make this top 16.

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Basically I could have shuffled around most of my list and still have been pretty happy with it. My number one (St. Vincent) was thus ranked because of the fact that I've still got it on my phone and still listen to it weekly, rather than any more sophisticated form of measure.

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Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit that you people don't know shit about.

 

Feel free to enlighten us instead of being a dick about it since you didn't bother to submit a ballot.

 

 

actually he was the last person to submit a ballot. It's more that all of the albums on his list are in all those ties, with no one else voting for them at all.

 

As for opinions on the top ten, I feel the same way about Jenny Hval finishing over Jack White that I did about Janelle Monae finishing above Yeezus last year- something like relief and pride. Same time, pretty dismayed about a total lack of rap representation considering last year had a bunch of rap albums that I felt really strongly about. Maybe it's cuz I took so long in having a thing to say about a toothpaste suburb, or Busdriver's Perfect Hair, but hey.

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As for opinions on the top ten, I feel the same way about Jenny Hval finishing over Jack White that I did about Janelle Monae finishing above Yeezus last year- something like relief and pride. Same time, pretty dismayed about a total lack of rap representation considering last year had a bunch of rap albums that I felt really strongly about. Maybe it's cuz I took so long in having a thing to say about a toothpaste suburb, or Busdriver's Perfect Hair, but hey.

 

First things first, thank you for putting this together B!  We definitely have quite the varied tastes here.

 

I thought it was one of the worst years for rap that I can remember since the 80s, maybe ever.  Like RTJ2 was good, I liked the Primo/Royce album and then.... lots and lots of trash. 

 

This year in rap has already blown last year out of the water with good albums from Kendrick, Action Bronson, Da Mafia Six, Drake, a Juicy J mixtape and much more to come.

 

I still kind of feel like rap is a dying genre, there certainly seems to be more rap available than ever before, but it's such a watered down pool of talent and even the best stuff today is nowhere near where the music was in the 80s & 90s.

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Maybe so, but like RTJ2 wasn't even in my top ten for rap. I actually think that record sorta blows- Like, if you're going to position yourself as revolutionaries, why are you still using nothing but insults centering around gender? At that point you're just campaigning to become The New Police.

 

for reference, my top ten of 2014 rap

1. milo - a toothpaste suburb

2. Busdriver - Perfect Hair

3. Young Fathers - Dead

4. clipping. - CLPPNG

5. Ratking - So It Goes

6. God - The Bible

7. Death Grips - niggas on the moon

8. ANTWON - Heavy Hearted in Doldrums

9. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty

10. Big KRIT - Cadillactica

 

and really that's out of date. Open Mike Eagle and Jeremiah Jae should probably be in there.

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Maybe so, but like RTJ2 wasn't even in my top ten for rap. I actually think that record sorta blows- Like, if you're going to position yourself as revolutionaries, why are you still using nothing but insults centering around gender? At that point you're just campaigning to become The New Police.

 

for reference, my top ten of 2014 rap

1. milo - a toothpaste suburb

2. Busdriver - Perfect Hair

3. Young Fathers - Dead

4. clipping. - CLPPNG

5. Ratking - So It Goes

6. God - The Bible

7. Death Grips - niggas on the moon

8. ANTWON - Heavy Hearted in Doldrums

9. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty

10. Big KRIT - Cadillactica

 

and really that's out of date. Open Mike Eagle and Jeremiah Jae should probably be in there.

I'm not sure what you mean...probably something El-Producto said?  But if you're listening to rap you realize using words like bitch or ho or whatever is pretty much a staple for 90% of rappers.  And not sure what that has to do with The Police (Sting's group?)

 

Of those i've only even heard of Big Krit, which was a good album.  And I think I heard about Death Grips from you on this board a couple years ago, but haven't heard their newest disc.  I wouldn't say they are a rap group per se, but they do use rap in their music. And I saw you pimped that milo album but haven't heard it yet.

 

But none of that stuff you mentioned is getting any rotation from places i listen to and get reviews.  To me, and even among people who do listen to lots of rap, those albums are all very very underground.  Like I listen to a LOT of rap, and have for decades...and for me to not even know who the people are you're talking about is baffling to me, this is like under the underground to me.  Remember when you could hear good rap on the radio or in the club without having to go on a scavenger hunt to find these people you're talking about.  That is to say, I like popular rap the same way I like popular music in general, if it's not at least somewhat popular it's probably not worth listening to most of the time IMO.  I'd rather listen to a rap album that I know other people are listening to, something that's making money, something that's getting airplay, something I can listen to w friends or at a party...I just don't care to invest time or energy into researching these obscure artists until they blow up.  I guess i'd rather wait for the bandwagon to roll by then to be the first one on it anymore.

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Sorry I didn't contribute but I've been way out of the loop and basically I've heard like 2 albums from 2014 and I'll get around to it someday. I've really fallen totally off the map with keeping up on new stuff.

 

Also yeah it's a given when you run these polls someone always walks in after the fact HERP DERP THESE RESULTS SUCK AND NO I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE THREADS YOU HAD UP FOR SIX MONTHS. My favourite when I ran the big polls was the guy that pulled that same gimmick twice on back to back polls, both times claiming he had no idea it was going on. I won't call who it was out by name but lol try harder.

 

My other favorutie was the "last minute ballot full of random bullshit nobody has ever heard of" followed by complaining nobody voted for said random bullshit.

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Like, yeah, I get that language is part of the genre, and that's fine as a genre trope. Shit, I listen to E-40 all the time. But, I think using that shit while also claiming to be fighting for justice or whatever is fucking lame. And like the way that rap has expanded in the last few years, I don't have to put up with that if I don't want to.  also I was just capitalizing "the new police" for dramatic effect, I wasn't trying to invoke that band.

 

And like, right now popular rap is total fuckin' Hair Metal. It's a necessary phase, but it is what it is. And even then, there's still some stuff worth listening to in amongst it (Migos leaps to mind) but that's what we're doing right now. Meanwhile the underground is exploring noise and industrial, cloud rap exists, there's the Beast Coast crew (Joey Badass & Pro Era, Flatbush Zombies, and The Underachievers), so like what you're looking for is absolutely out there. But the local radio stations got absorbed by the major media conglomerates, so now we're where we are. That wack Funkmaster Flex rant last year should've been like the "abandon ship" alarm of the rap fan, because shit needs to change and the industry aint invested in doing it right now.

 

I dunno. Like the roots of hip hop are the most DIY shit ever, of people going to each other and trading tapes and asking who's heard of who, getting exposure like that. The pop stuff was always an outlier.

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Sorry I didn't contribute but I've been way out of the loop and basically I've heard like 2 albums from 2014 and I'll get around to it someday. I've really fallen totally off the map with keeping up on new stuff.

 

it's all good dude. I think the combination of that experience and the low turnout is what calls for an album club thing going forwards, instead of the usual ballot process. I've been working out how to make a thing like that work in my mind-space and I'll probably act on it this weekend.

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