The Poptimists 2006 End Of Year Poll: ALBUM OF THE YEAR

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The Poptimists End of Year polls kick off with the unimportant, but still intriguing, category of Album of the Year. Thankyou for your nominations, which have been distilled to a shortlist (by the scientific means of "most mentioned") as follows:

Paris Hilton - Paris: The year's most controversial release - frothy R&B-pop from the heiress-turned-renaissance-woman.
Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra Of Bubbles: Luscious electronic pop and atmospherics from German boffinette and henchbeing.
The Knife - Silent Shout: Shrieksome electro artpop from Scandinavia.
Marit Larsen - Under The Surface: Scando singing-songwriting popstrel spans country, twee and Euro-pop.
Beyonce - B-Day: Quickly recorded relationship dissections from the reigning queenbot of R&B.

You, the Poptimists Voting Academy, can grace ONE of these with your tick. Do so!

[Poll #891029]

Another category tomorrow - if you didn't nominate you STILL CAN in the other categories by going here!

Comments

REALLY TOUGH CHOICE

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Four of those are totally, totally deserving of a win! I really don't think I can decide properly!

Re: REALLY TOUGH CHOICE

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

total kudos to poptimists though for having all three of my own top three in there...

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

WOT NO LILY

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Two people mentioned Lily but! different records (the album and "My First Mixtape").

She may well get other nominations though (as will several of these).

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I haven't filled in any album-of-the-year slots on the various polls I've been doing - I like most of these well enough but very much for their standout tracks, with two exceptions:

- The Knife I don't like much at all, I've decided. I don't think her voice is good, and I think their 'art' impulses overwhelm their 'pop' impulses, or maybe that they're simply not good enough at the latter to justify the former. Something like that anyway.

- The Paris Hilton (which I voted for) I do like more as an album than a collection of tracks - the whole has a playful mood and the tracks taken on their own or in the context of non-Paris music often sound flimsy.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if The Knife have very many 'pop' impulses at all - there is the 'dancefloor' impulse to be considered here though...

I'm surprised at how many of these I like as albums.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Grrr, I've been trying to find a CD of the Marit Larsen alBUM (at a sane price, I mean) for about six months now with no luck.

So I can't vote for that, much as I'd like to, since I've only heard a couple of tracks. I would be surprised if it's better than Bubbles even so.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

Voted for Marit Larsen over all those without particularly much nail biting. Marit, Paris, and Amy Diamond are my top 3 o' the year, though I am much more up on singles than albums this year.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Easiest choice ever for me - this is my favourite album of the year by maybe the biggest distance ever, and in any case none of my next 15 made the shortlist here!

RE THE LAST Q

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

Does it mean records from 2006, or just RECORDS? As I bought loads of records, but I don't think that many were from THIS YEAR IYSWIM.

Re: RE THE LAST Q

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I was rub and didn't make it clear. I was thinking "from 2006" though.

[graciousviv.livejournal.com]

Sorry to put this here but have already filled my categories in so don't think I can go the poll route. Musn't leave out "Ghosthunting with girls aloud" for other pop thing of the year.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i have yet to watch it (it's on the mac at home) and i will review on FT asap

Attention to detail!

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

Whoops! I thought it said "How many of these albums did you buy?", so I shouted NONE! I have actually bought around 40 albums released in 2006, plus around another 40 that aren't 2006 releases.

I'm going to write a long list of the 2006 released albums I bought and stick it on Sukrat.

Hobgoblins

[koganbot]

The Paris album is the most consistently great album I know of since Autobiography and Horse Of A Different Color in 2004. And I didn't tick it!

Tom, Please Vote For The Paris Album In Jackin' Pop and Pazz & Jop

[koganbot]

Unless you've locked your ballots, it's not too late, and you are allowed to vote for only one album. There was a year when I voted for only two albums.

Re: Tom, Please Vote For The Paris Album In Jackin' Pop and Pazz & Jop

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I have locked the JP ballot! I did think about just voting for the Paris album and no others, but I didn't want it to be taken as some statement about Paris-ness or Album-ness.

I may think a bit harder about albums for Pazz and Jop, though.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Grue, I think mine would have been none of the above (voted for The Knife based on the fact I generally like them) but I forgot to vote in the poll so have only myself to blame etc., etc.

I still don't like the Paris album. I'm sorry but it's just not very good, if you ask me. I tried again with it recently but gave up and deleted it off my computer- clearly it and I are not intended to enjoy each other's company.

{I think my vote would have actually been for 'Opheliac' by Emilie Autumn, which needs at least the last minute of a lot of the songs cutting off in order to make them listenable and to be honest, the songwriting isn't really as good as her first album in a lot of places but 'Swallow,' 'Opheliac' and 'Shalott' are total industro-classical-pop triumphs like wot Tori Amos would be releasing now if she had any sense at all)

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Well if you ever have the heart to give poor Paris a second chance try starting the album at track 4 and ending it at track 9. That's the same sort of technique I used for The Ark - State of the Ark (which might be the most underrated album of the year), finding the one or two songs I really clicked with and then working my way out. Or you could just not listen to it anymore.

I have to say...

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Although my vote was for The Knife, I think it's kind of ridiculous to call them "pop." I find very little pop about Silent Shout as a whole, and if so, then why aren't we talking about, say, Secret Machines as well?

Re: badly-argued defense of The Knife

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

For me it's just that they sing songs over synth-led rhythmic music with a strong avant-garde element. A bit like...the Pet Shop Boys! I know it's more complicated than that really but perhaps it needn't be?

My threepence worth...

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

a) People are taking this too seriously. It's albums. ALBUMS! Who gives a fuck, eh?

b) Some of y'all buy *way* too many records.

c) I have not heard the marit album so it has to be Paris from me!

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

So not one of the five albums is by a British artist. Whither exciting British pop...why can't someone from this country make something like any of the above albums?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

the entire British music press, every sector of it, seems DESPERATE for this to happen (hence way-too-early crowning of Jamelia as National Institution off back of rub album) - I have no idea why it matters!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

What amazing symmetry to these results!!!

It is funny, four of these five albums have sold, what, ten copies between them? Not that it matters of course.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I see The Knife has just topped the Pitchfork albums list too. Truly the indie consensus pick of the year then.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I can't be the only person who is greatly amused by this.