Acclaimed Music Forums

Nick wrote:And here are the SOTYs as chosen by the AMF!

2008) Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal
2009) Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks
2010) Kanye West (featuring Pusha T)- Runaway
2011) The Black Keys- Runaway
2012) Frank Ocean- Pyramids
2013) Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Get Lucky
2014) Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You)
2015) Tame Impala- Let It Happen
2016) David Bowie- Lazarus
2017) Kendrick Lamar- HUMBLE.

and now...

2018) Janelle Monáe- Make Me Feel

Welcome to the club, Janelle!

I'm pretty happy to see Janelle as the first female to win the Songs poll. We had a few win Albums in the past, but never songs. It's about time.

Nick wrote: 2011) The Black Keys- Runaway

Think you meant Lonely Boy there.

I’m shocked Fireworks made the top 10. That’s the best surprise for me. I was about equally shocked that the critics snubbed it completely.

andyd1010 wrote:

Nick wrote: 2011) The Black Keys- Runaway

Think you meant Lonely Boy there.

I’m shocked Fireworks made the top 10. That’s the best surprise for me. I was about equally shocked that the critics snubbed it completely.

Are you telling me that you’ve never heard The Black Keys mashup of the Del Shannon and Kanye West songs of the same name???

Kidding, kidding. Good catch! Just edited my original post.

Nick wrote:

andyd1010 wrote:

Nick wrote: 2011) The Black Keys- Runaway

Think you meant Lonely Boy there.

I’m shocked Fireworks made the top 10. That’s the best surprise for me. I was about equally shocked that the critics snubbed it completely.

Are you telling me that you’ve never heard The Black Keys mashup of the Del Shannon and Kanye West songs of the same name???

Kidding, kidding. Good catch! Just edited my original post.

Haha, someone needs to get them to do that. I’d be down to hear it.

Cool! "Malamente" must be the first Spanish song in a AMF Top Ten, right?

andyd1010 wrote:I’m shocked Fireworks made the top 10. That’s the best surprise for me. I was about equally shocked that the critics snubbed it completely.

And, honestly, I was shocked last year when the critics (and just about everyone), given the social and political times we're living in, snubbed "You Are the Problem Here" by First Aid Kit. It made me think people don't want to be made uncomfortable by music anymore, even when it's an important, uncomfortable truth. (Please see notbrianeno's quote in the 2019 albums thread.) Okay, I'm done venting now.

(Before, I was so frightened of speaking my mind, worried I'd offend someone. But after what I've been through the past half year or so - hence my absence from my beloved AM forum - I've learned that it's okay to speak your mind. As long as I'm not rude or disrespectful, which I never would be, I think I'm okay.)

a slight edit..."Fast Slow Disco" by St. Vincent rises from #64 to #50!

Thanks for the presentation, notbrianeno. These gifs make this on of the most enjoyable poll roll-outs in the forum.

Immaterial missing top ten is surprising; I thought it would've gotten more than 10 votes.

Unpopular opinion: Immaterial is one of the weakest tracks of the album. What drew me to SOPHIE's album initially was the great Faceshopping, a song I still feels summarizes the album both musically and lyrically. It feels like something completely new. Immaterial though, is the single one conventional song, almost a riff on Madonna. Like SOPHIE decided to throw one bone to the mainstream. And of course, that is the one everybody loves. I can't say it's the worst track on the album exactly, as there are some tracks that don't work on their own. It's more that saying that this is the obvious stand-out is almost like saying: "Thanks for you extremely weird album, SOPHIE. Yet what we really liked is that one normal song. More of that please." I'm exaggerating for clarity of course, but I'm still disappointed that this had become the go-to SOPHIE song.

Make Me Feel makes me feel Prince.

Jirin wrote:Make Me Feel makes me feel Prince.

Good comparison. No wonder I don't feel it.

I in general don't like Pearl's Un-Insides. Maybe I'm out of touch, but I don't understand in what universe it can be considered a pop album. I mean, there are pop songs on there, particularly the bland and un-impactful "Immaterial," but the rest of the album is electronic or industrial or ambient or singer-songwriter. While I don't like the album as a whole, I do quite like "Ponyboy." That's a freakin' crazy track (in sound and theme), especially coming right after the suck-in-the-listeners opener "It's Okay to Cry."

Here's a playlist of our top 100.

Highest Appearing Song by Number of Votes:

1 Vote
D'Angelo - "Unshaken"
Karen O - "Yo! My Saint"
Cobra Man - "Bad Feeling"
Jack White - "Ice Station Zebra"
Cryoshell - "Slipping"
Maroon 5 - "Girls Like You"
Neneh Cherry - "Faster Than the Truth"
Young Fathers - "Lord"
Clergy and Valerie Broussard - "The Beginning of the End"
Gruff Rhys - "Negative Vibes"
Deafheaven - "Glint"

2 Votes
John Mayer - "New Light"

3 Votes
Thom Yorke - "Unmade"

4 Votes
Car Seat Headrest - "Beach Life-in-Death"

5 Votes
King Princess - "1950"

6 Votes
Anna Von Hausswolff - "The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra"

7 Votes
Mitski - "Geyser"

8 Votes
Parquet Courts - "Wide Awake"

9 Votes
Janelle Monae - "Pynk"

10 Votes
Sophie - "Immaterial"

11 Votes
The 1975 - "Love It If We Made It"

12 Votes
IDLES - "Danny Nedelko"

13 Votes
Kamasi Washington - "Fists of Fury"

14 Votes
Robyn - "Honey"

15-19 Votes
N/A

20 Votes
"This Is America"

21-23 Votes
N/A

24 Votes
Janelle Monae - "Make Me Feel"

Interesting breakdown of which songs found individual deep love versus which ones hit a large contingency of voters. Only the top four songs had 20 or more voters. The beginning of this list just features the list of unique number ones that notbrianeno already helpfully posted, and the ending mirrors the list itself's top, but the middle section features those songs that may not have interested every listener, but deeply connected with those who did. Will probably see more interesting results trying this again with the albums poll.

Rob wrote:Thanks for the presentation, notbrianeno. These gifs make this on of the most enjoyable poll roll-outs in the forum.

Immaterial missing top ten is surprising; I thought it would've gotten more than 10 votes.

Unpopular opinion: Immaterial is one of the weakest tracks of the album. What drew me to SOPHIE's album initially was the great Faceshopping, a song I still feels summarizes the album both musically and lyrically. It feels like something completely new. Immaterial though, is the single one conventional song, almost a riff on Madonna. Like SOPHIE decided to throw one bone to the mainstream. And of course, that is the one everybody loves. I can't say it's the worst track on the album exactly, as there are some tracks that don't work on their own. It's more that saying that this is the obvious stand-out is almost like saying: "Thanks for you extremely weird album, SOPHIE. Yet what we really liked is that one normal song. More of that please." I'm exaggerating for clarity of course, but I'm still disappointed that this had become the go-to SOPHIE song.

I've been following Sophie's career for a while now, and to me the main appeal of her aesthetic is that she makes "normal" pop songs with unusual or uncanny twists. I still think "Bipp" is her best song, and that is in somewhat of a similar vein to "Immaterial."

If we did the vote over now I’d put Neko Case - Sleep All Summer in my top 3.

Same thing for the songs (why not?). My year-end rank in parenthesis:

2013) Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Get Lucky (2)
2008) Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal (5)
2011) The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (4)
2016) David Bowie- Lazarus (10)
2014) Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You) (7)
2015) Tame Impala- Let It Happen (7)
2017) Kendrick Lamar- HUMBLE. (17)
2012) Frank Ocean- Pyramids (43)
2009) Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks (18)
2018) Janelle Monáe- Make Me Feel (47)
2010) Kanye West (featuring Pusha T)- Runaway (NA)

None of these are my SOTYs (though Get Lucky was at the time), but there aren't any songs here that I dislike.

Songs list rankings:

1. Runaway
2. Get Lucky
3. Seasons (Waiting On You)
4. Let It Happen
5. Pyramids
6. Lazarus
7. Two Weeks
8. Make Me Feel
9. Lonely Boy
10. White Winter Hymnal
11. HUMBLE.

I like all these songs. The top 4 songs are also my SOTYs for those respective years.

1) - 2013) Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Get Lucky (my 2053rd favorite of all time)
2) - 2014) Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You) (2900)
3) - 2016) David Bowie- Lazarus (3064)
4) - 2009) Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks (3106)
5) - 2018) Janelle Monáe- Make Me Feel (lower than 6100, likely in my top 9000)
6) - 2015) Tame Impala- Let It Happen (lower than 6100, likely in my top 9000)
7) - 2008) Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal (lower than 6100, likely in my top 9000)
8) - 2012) Frank Ocean- Pyramids (lower than 6100, likely in my top 9000)
9) - 2011) The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (lower than 9000)
10) - 2017) Kendrick Lamar- HUMBLE. (lower than 9000)
11) - 2010) Kanye West (featuring Pusha T)- Runaway (lower than 9000)

2012) Frank Ocean- Pyramids
2010) Kanye West (featuring Pusha T)- Runaway
2009) Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks
2016) David Bowie- Lazarus
2013) Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Get Lucky
2015) Tame Impala- Let It Happen
2018) Janelle Monáe- Make Me Feel
2017) Kendrick Lamar- HUMBLE.
2011) The Black Keys- Lonely Boy
2014) Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You)
2008) Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal

Same system as before ...

An all-time personal favorite:
David Bowie- Lazarus
Frank Ocean- Pyramids

Great:
Kanye West (featuring Pusha T)- Runaway
Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal
The Black Keys- Lonely Boy
Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You)
Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks

Good:
Tame Impala- Let It Happen
Kendrick Lamar- HUMBLE.

Okay:
Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Get Lucky
Janelle Monáe- Make Me Feel

I may be wrong, but I think there has been only one time in music history that my #1 song of the year has matched the most acclaimed ("Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division). For me, my favorite song of the year is typically something completely personal and unrelated to any judgement of quality the critics attach to their choices. "I Want You Here" and "Pray for Newtown" were two of my choices from this decade due to the effect mass shootings have had on my emotional state. Nobody outside the Contemporary Christian community has ever heard of Plumb; and the critics loved lots of songs from Sun Kil Moon's album, but they sure stayed away from that one. Of my 9 songs of the year this decade, the only one even on AM is "Love & Hate" by Michael Kiwanuka, #117 for 2016. I suspect this trend will only grow more polarizing with age, but that certainly doesn't mean I can't still enjoy a lot of "acclaimed" music, as my ratings above show.