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Album of the Year 2012 revisited

K

Knotted

Bet the horse knew his name
Well lets give this a go. The Wire says, NME says, Rolling Stone says, The Quietus says, Rate Your Music says and of course Urban 75 says

Send me a list. With the format Artist - Album (or if necessary Performer [Composer] - Album). Any length of list is fine. Best at the top. No compilations, no EP's. Live albums are fine. Archival albums are also fine but it's release date not recording date that counts. Digital albums are fine. I will count DJ mixes if I wanna.

You have April.

I have a feeling The Seer will fall. No killer b, no butchersapron. Looking grim.
 
The only ones on the NME list I have are Cat Power and Spiritualized. Village Voice also have Actress, and Squarepusher's one from 2012 is pretty good.
 
Gonna need a ruling...

Ny5qcGVn.jpeg


This is one of the best albums I own. In the 10+ years since it came out it's never been far from my CD player. One of the best record labels in all music gets remixed by one of the greatest remixers in all music. Over 4 hours of non-stop philly soul, a story of disco from the early 70s to the early 80s, it's breathtakingly amazing, these tunes still melt my heart and move me every time I hear them.

Now, you might think wtf, this is clearly a compilation, but 18 of the 31 tracks are brand new remixes for this comp, never before available in this form, and Tom Moulton knows how to remix a song, turinng them from 3 minute soul songs into sprawling 10 minute plus epics. These are as much Tom Moulton tunes as The O'Jays, Three Degrees or Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.

Do I get to vote for it or not?
 
Can't do 2012. Can only think of one album listed that year that I actually listened to - Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball", which I'm not a huge fan of.
 
Gotta be Money Store, innit? There's loads of great records from that year, but only one of them's Money Store. Oh, and Born to Die as well. Turns out Born to Die and Born to Die: The Paradise Edition both came out in 2012, so you should probably vote for both of them.
 
Youse can all redeem yourselves for your philistine behaviour on the 2002 thread by voting for another Mountain Goats album. "Really great albums with really shit cover art" is perhaps a bit of niche category, but hard to think of a greater contrast between excellent music and absolute dogshit cover art than this:
5406cf38.jpg
 
Youse philistines who didn't vote for a Tragedy album in the 2002 thread can redeem yourselves on this thread, cos the godlike greats of 21st century crust returned in 2012 with Darker Days Ahead:
 
Youse philistines who didn't vote for anything twee and whimsical on the 2002 thread can redeem yourselves on this one, cos Allo Darlin released Europe in 2012, a fantastic and heartbreakingly beautiful record that I think got exactly one vote last time around:


Looking it up for this post led to me learn that they've reformed, which is a nice surprise. But their only scheduled gig is in London, and it's sold out, swings and roundabouts.
 
I guess there's a few reasons for revisiting a year that's already been polled: some different people will take part, bringing different perspectives on the year; to see what's stood the test of time and what proved to be a brief infatuation, all hype or a quick sugar rush that got old quickly; and to see what people have discovered from the year since.

With that last one in mind, there's Frankie Rose's Interstellar. I didn't hear this til a couple of years after it came out and really liked it - indie-ish synthy pop songs from the former Vivian Girl/Dum Dum Girl/Crystal Stilt. It would have probably faded from memory a bit had my daughter not discovered it, loved it and played it relentlessly on car journeys ever since. Because of that it's one of my most played albums from 2012. Luckily it's good enough to stand repeated listens. It's burrowed it's way into my conciousness and now feels to me like one of the biggest albums of 2012 even though hardly anyone else has heard it or ever mentions it.

 
Spandex said:
I guess there's a few reasons for revisiting a year that's already been polled: some different people will take part, bringing different perspectives on the year; to see what's stood the test of time and what proved to be a brief infatuation, all hype or a quick sugar rush that got old quickly; and to see what people have discovered from the year since.

With that last one in mind, there's Frankie Rose's Interstellar. I didn't hear this til a couple of years after it came out and really liked it - indie-ish synthy pop songs from the former Vivian Girl/Dum Dum Girl/Crystal Stilt. It would have probably faded from memory a bit had my daughter not discovered it, loved it and played it relentlessly on car journeys ever since. Because of that it's one of my most played albums from 2012. Luckily it's good enough to stand repeated listens. It's burrowed it's way into my conciousness and now feels to me like one of the biggest albums of 2012 even though hardly anyone else has heard it or ever mentions it.

Click to expand...

Ah, I think I have a Frankie Rose EP somewhere but didn't realise she'd been in all those bands (never heard of Crystal Stilt but love the other two). Will definitely give this one a listen.
 
Revisiting the albums I voted for in 2012, in the order I voted for them:

1. Philadelphia International: the Tom Moulton mixes

Like I said up there ⬆️ this is one of my favourite albums. It still gets played loads. It's still number 1, if I can vote for it, which didn't get tested in 2012 as no-one else voted for it, so whether it was allowable or not was moot.

2. Mungolian Jetset - Mungodelics

This is still a fucking great album that I play from time to time. Sags a bit in places, but at its best is everything I want from Scandinavian cosmic disco.

3. Legowelt - Paranormal Soul

I haven't played this for ages. It's excellent. I should listen to it more often.

4. VCMG - VCMG

I probably over rated this because I loved the idea that two of the biggest names in synth-pop, Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, reunited after 30 years to make an album of anonymous bouncy euro-techno. Eleven years later I'm left with an album of anonymous bouncy euro-techno, which is fine but it could be by anyone and I doubt I'd put it so high if it was by some bloke called Jurgen.

5. School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

I love SVIIB. I miss SVIIB. RIP Ben Curtis. They had so much more to give, so anything by them is to be treasured. Maybe not their best start to finish album, but still excellent and closing track When You Sing is an absolute monster tune, as good as anything they, or anyone else, did.

6. Andrew Weatherall - Masterpiece

I voted for a mix album and don't appear to have been told off. I still play this. It's Weatherall. It's brilliant.

7. Blondes - Blondes

Another one I haven't listened to for ages. It's pretty good techy-house. I smoked more weed in 2012, so that would've helped with this.

8. Prins Thomas - ii (mixed version)

A couple of good tracks on this, but not one of his best. I think I voted for it because it's by Prins Thomas and I like Prins Thomas, even when he's making a sub-par album.

9. Lone - Galaxy Garden

Lone is great. This is great. Should have put it higher. Retro-not-retro rave music.

10. Orbital - Wonky

A post-millenium Orbital album that isn't all bad. I really like the track with Zola Jesus. They should make more music like that than continually try and fail to recapture their 90s glory days.

11. Matthew Dear - Beams

It's so long since I listened to this that I couldn't really remember quite what it sounds like. It sounds excellent. Now I want to listen to 2010's Black City. None of his other albums have clicked with me, but those two when he was doing punk-funk influenced stuff and his voice was at its most Bowie/Byrne are when he was at his best. Deserves to be higher than tacked on at no.11
 
Spandex said:
Revisiting the albums I voted for in 2012, in the order I voted for them:

1. Philadelphia International: the Tom Moulton mixes

Like I said up there ⬆️ this is one of my favourite albums. It still gets played loads. It's still number 1, if I can vote for it, which didn't get tested in 2012 as no-one else voted for it, so whether it was allowable or not was moot.

2. Mungolian Jetset - Mungodelics

This is still a fucking great album that I play from time to time. Sags a bit in places, but at its best is everything I want from Scandinavian cosmic disco.

3. Legowelt - Paranormal Soul

I haven't played this for ages. It's excellent. I should listen to it more often.

4. VCMG - VCMG

I probably over rated this because I loved the idea that two of the biggest names in synth-pop, Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, reunited after 30 years to make an album of anonymous bouncy euro-techno. Eleven years later I'm left with an album of anonymous bouncy euro-techno, which is fine but it could be by anyone and I doubt I'd put it so high if it was by some bloke called Jurgen.

5. School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

I love SVIIB. I miss SVIIB. RIP Ben Curtis. They had so much more to give, so anything by them is to be treasured. Maybe not their best start to finish album, but still excellent and closing track When You Sing is an absolute monster tune, as good as anything they, or anyone else, did.

6. Andrew Weatherall - Masterpiece

I voted for a mix album and don't appear to have been told off. I still play this. It's Weatherall. It's brilliant.

7. Blondes - Blondes

Another one I haven't listened to for ages. It's pretty good techy-house. I smoked more weed in 2012, so that would've helped with this.

8. Prins Thomas - ii (mixed version)

A couple of good tracks on this, but not one of his best. I think I voted for it because it's by Prins Thomas and I like Prins Thomas, even when he's making a sub-par album.

9. Lone - Galaxy Garden

Lone is great. This is great. Should have put it higher. Retro-not-retro rave music.

10. Orbital - Wonky

A post-millenium Orbital album that isn't all bad. I really like the track with Zola Jesus. They should make more music like that than continually try and fail to recapture their 90s glory days.

11. Matthew Dear - Beams

It's so long since I listened to this that I couldn't really remember quite what it sounds like. It sounds excellent. Now I want to listen to 2010's Black City. None of his other albums have clicked with me, but those two when he was doing punk-funk influenced stuff and his voice was at its most Bowie/Byrne are when he was at his best. Deserves to be higher than tacked on at no.11
Click to expand...
I re-listened to the Weatherall mix (prompted by tweets for his birthday ) a couple of days ago, it's ace.
 
I can't remember half the albums on my list from 2012

1. Actress - RIP
2. Recondite - On Acid
3. Robert Hood - Motor: Night time world 3
4. Swans - The Seer
5. Voices from the Lake - STL
6. Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, The Congos - FRKWYS - Vol. 9
7. Instrumental Tourist - Tim Hecker and Daniel Lopatin
8. Claro Intelecto - Reform Club
9. Lukid - Lonely at the top
10. Lee Gamble - Diversions.

Very electronic. Still play the Robert Hood and Recondite albums a lot. I've not played Voices from the Lake in yonks but remember it well. I reckon Swans was on my list as a result of seeing them play at Koko touring the album which goes down as one of the most memorable gigs of all time - I've rarely listened to it since though...

Will be nice to revisit my list and see what I was on about!
 
Travis and Fripp- Discretion.

Ambient Fripp soundscapes with haunting wind instrumentals from Travis. Almost orchestral. Like No Pussyfooting on steroids

 
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