So I have really enjoyed the various top 100 lists that have been unfolding on the music board for the past few weeks. I’ve felt torn about getting involved myself; it does look like a lot of fun, but my faves are pretty basic ‘dis standard’ and does anyone really need another write-up on ‘In the Aeroplane’ or ‘Disintegration’ and how great they are? Probably not.
But what, I thought, if I chose my top 128 records and then, as I’ve done for a few years with my AOTY top 64, did a KNOCK OUT TOURNAMENT WHERE THEY COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER?
The records I’ve gone for are my personal favourites and they come with some caveats:
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It unfortunately skews rather white, male and ‘from the past’. I have only really gone for records I’ve loved for a long time and, because of my historical listening habits (thanks past me you womble) I didn’t, for example, listen to much hip-hop until recently.
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I have given myself a maximum of ONE record per artist (and I’ve been strict about Songs: Ohia meaning no Magnolia Electric Co or Molina solo but I’ve allowed both Godspeed and ASMZ as I think they’re different enough - you have to draw the line somewhere).
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I’ve gone for my favourite RECORDS not endorsing anything about favourite artists so, for example ‘The Queen Is Dead’ is a great record regardless of my feelings about Morrissey (see also ‘Frozen Niagra Falls’ and Prurient who I believe is also a wrong-un and ‘Red House Painters’ when Kozelek certainly is).
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I’ve almost certainly forgotten something really important to me.
The contenders (in no order)
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Is This Desire? - P J Harvey
RTJ2 - Run The Jewels
As The Roots Undo - Circle Takes the Square
Frozen Niagra Falls - Prurient
Jane Doe - Converge
Star - Belly
Diamond Mine - King Creosote & Jon Hopkins
Disintegration - The Cure
The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths
Millions Now Living Will Never Die - Tortoise
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
Madvillany - MF DOOM & MADLIB
F#A# - Godspeed You Black Emperor
As The Roots Undo - Circle Takes the Square
Leviathan - Mastodon
Jane Doe - Converge
And Their Refinement of the Decline - Stars of the Lid
() - Sigur Ros
Sakura - Susumu Yakota
Dirty - Sonic Youth
Swordfishtrombones - Tom Waits
Things We Lost In The Fire - Low
Panopticon - ISIS
Monoliths and Dimensions - Sunn O)))
Lost Wisdom - Mount Eerie, Julie Dorion, Fred Squire
You’re Living All Over Me - Dinosaur Jr
Music Has The Right To Children - Boards of Canada
UF Orb - The Orb
Ocean Songs - Dirty Three
The Lioness - Songs Ohia
In Rainbows - Radiohead
The Woods - Sleater Kinney
Boxer - The National
Souvlaki - Slowdive
All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood - The Body
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - Spiritualized
Let Aeroplanes Circle Overhead - Let Aeroplanes Circle Overhead
The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place - Explosions In The Sky
Young Team - Mogwai
The Lonesome Crowded West - Modest Mouse
Hospice - The Antlers
Songs for Babes - Talons’
Heartworm - Whipping Boy
United Colours of Trouble Books - Trouble Books
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot - Sparklehorse
Spiderland - Slint
The Boatman’s Call - Nick Cave
Life’s Rich Pageant - REM
Smog - Knock Knock
The Seer - Swans
Relatives in Descent - Protomartyr
Ys - Joanna Newsom
UFOF - Big Thief
At the Cut - Vic Chesnutt
Tindersticks 2 - Tindersticks
Time will die and love will bury it- Rolo Tomassi
Heaven or las Vegas - Cocteau Twins
Carrie and Lowell - Sufjan Steves
Ruins - Grouper
Going places - Yellow Swans
The Ichthyologist - Giant Squid
Les Voyages de L Ame - Alcest
Songs about Fucking - Big Black
Earth 2 - Earth
Advaitic Songs - Om
Mirror reaper - Bell Witch
Scenes from the Second Storey- The God Machine
Nevermind- Nirvana
Grey Area - Little Simz
Engravings - Forest Swords
Luxury Problems - Andy Stott
New Energy - Four Tet
Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery- The Comet is Coming
Enter the Wu Tang - Wu Tang Clan
When we All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go- Billie Eilish
Kelley Lee Owens - Kelley Lee Owens
Dummy - Portishead
Lp1 - FKA Twigs
Red House Painters (Rollercoaster) - Red House Painters
Carnavas - Silversun Pickups
House of GvsB - Girls Against Boys
Honey’s Dead - The Jesus and Mary
Bakesale - Sebadoh
Viet Cong - Viet Cong
Closer - Joy Division
Teen Dream - Beach House
Widows- Sennen
The Sophtware Slump - Grandaddy
Mines - Menomena
The Lonesome Crowded West - Modest Mouse
Navigator - Her Name is Calla
Dog Man Star - Suede
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
Hiding Fauna Are You The Destroyer? - Of Montreal
The Holy Bible - The Manic Street Preachers
Tigermilk - Belle and Sebastian
It’s a Shame About Ray - The Lemonheads
Any Other City - Life Without Buildings
This is It and I am it… - Marnie Stern
My love is Cool - Wolf Alice
Puberty 2- Mitski
The Real Ramona - Throwing Muses
Last Splash - The Breeders
Doolittle -Pixies
Forever- Cranes
I’m Your Man - Leonard Cohen
Peasant - Richard Dawson
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
I See a Darkness - Bonnie Prince Billy
A Seat At The Table - Solange
The Magician’s Private Library - Holly Miranda
You Are Free - Cat Power
Stranger in the Alps - Phoebe Bridgers
Sprained Ankle - Julien Baker
The Heavy Steps of Dreaming - Minor Pieces
The Fall of Math - 65daysofstatic
Horses in the Sky - A Silver Mt Zion
All is Falling - James Blackshaw
Does it look Like I’m Here? - Emeralds
Ravedeath, 1972 - Tim Heckler
Deep Listening - Pauline Oliveros
A Winged Victory For The Sullen - A Winged Victory For The Sullen
Endless Falls - Loscil
Dummy- Portishead
Pelagial - The Ocean
When I Die, Will I Get Better? - Svalbard
Any Human Friend - Marika Hackman
Next up: Random Result - Tournament draw and the draw!
