09 - The Horrors 'Still Life' - 420 points (15 votes)

Nominated by: Alin

 

 

Top 10 positions: JakeWild, Orpheus (1st), Titty, West (3rd), Alin, ▲▲▲ (5th)

 

In 2009 The Horrors stepped up a notch, moved away from the horror that was their nu-rave debut which made them NME darlings into something much better, they'd grown up with songs like 'Who Can Say' and 'Sea Within A Sea' and they continued that with third album 'Skying', the lead single 'Still Life' developing their sound further and being wonderfully melodic.

Haha @ Holocene's position

Edited January 26, 201213 yr by tonyttt31

08 - Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx 'I'll Take Care Of U' - 424 points (16 voters)

Nominated by: ✖ leww____

 

 

Top 10 positions: ✖ leww____ (4th), Gretchen Withers (5th), ▲▲▲ (9th), RabbitFurCoat, Brett-Butler (10th)

 

This is probably the top 10 entry I'm most surprised at. Jamie Smith of The xx remixing the hugely acclaimed 2010 Gil Scott-Heron album 'I'm New Here' and releasing it as 'We're New Here'. It was a collaboration that worked incredibly well, especially on this song. On an album that was stellar throughout this seemed to be a cut above the rest of it, It didn't take long before it was a mainstream hit though before being bast*rdised by Drake and Rihanna. It's not even bad, just FAR TOO SOON TO MESS WITH BRILLIANCE. Although Gil can apparently be mistaken for Timbaland sounding 'like a paedophile'.

This means that even in the Alternative forum we end a countdown in 'typical BuzzJack' fashion with 4 of the top 7 by FEMALE SOLOISTS.

Holocene! :(

 

I was really hoping for a top 3 finish for it, it's the most beautiful song of last year for me.

07 - PJ Harvey 'The Words That Maketh Murder' - 426 points (15 voters)

Nominated by: Severin

 

 

Top 10 positions: Dandy* (3rd), SKOB, Severin (4th), Andrew* (6th), Titty, Medicated Soap (7th)

 

It's the second entry for Peej, the single 'The Words That Maketh Murder' being the song from her 'Let England Shake' album that got the most praise, I'm far from a fan of hers but even I don't mind this!

Holocene! :(

 

I was really hoping for a top 3 finish for it, it's the most beautiful song of last year for me.

 

I'm sure it's a song which within a couple of years will be right up there with my all time favourite. It's stunning.

'Holocene' is overrated and one of my least favourites from the album, still good though. 10th is about right.

06 - Lykke Li 'I Follow Rivers' - 455 points (19 voters)

Nominated by: Grebo

 

 

Top 10 positions: SKOB (2nd), West (7th), Liam, Cremey, JakeWild (8th), Alin (9th), NickF1 (10th)

 

And the second entry for Lykke too, close to the first song to be voted for by 20 people but not quite. A single at the beginning of the year, following 2010's 'Get Some' and to lead the album 'I Follow Rivers' continued the more poppy direction 'Get Some' had gone, giving her more new fans but at the same time being easily good enough to appeal those that enjoyed her 2008 debut album.

The top 5 will be posted tomorrow. I shan't post what they are so feel free to speculate, as you'd expect they're all fairly obvious, although one less than the other 4 which are all blindingly obvious. The 5 were never really in doubt though, the top 4 were the top 4 pretty much the entire was throughout voting whilst #6 was neck and neck with 'I Follow Rivers' until the latter failed to register anything from the final five voters.

6-8 have all finished far higher than I'd expected!

Holocene :cry:

 

Lykke Li is still BLAH.

05 - Lana Del Rey 'Born To Die' - 532 points (18 voters)

Nominated by: Pavel

 

 

Top 10 positions: Eyes (2nd), Charlie (3rd), Liam, Pavel, Tonyttt31 (4th), X Leww___ (6th), Gretchen Waters (7th), Gooddelta, Severin (8th), CW, Dandy (9th)

 

A controversial inclusion perhaps as it was only properly released this week as the lead single to her debut album of the same name, but with the amount of attention and love she's received over the last few months I felt it was worth including as so many people had been loving it for the whole of the last month of the year. Its position and number of voters probably justifies its inclusion, if it were saved for next year I'm not sure it would've scored any better? Although I suppose it would be at least attributed to the right year if left behind. All of the top 5 will be in the UK top 40 announced this forthcoming Sunday.

Born To Die is much better than Video Games for me, although I don't think it should have won, despite me placing it higher than any of the 4 left. I have been loving it for the last month of 2011 though, you're right, so its inclusion I think is justified. Especially since all the ones above it will be in the top 40 as well.

 

Quite surprised I placed it the highest, though. :o ^_^ I seem to be one of only a few, if any at all aside from me, who prefers it to Video Games, though, it seems.

04 - Gotye & Kimbra 'Somebody That I Used To Know' - 587 points (20 voters)

Nominated by: Liam

 

 

Top 10 positions: Gooddelta, Liam, Randomfurlong (1st), Horatio (2nd), JakeWild (3rd), Andrew (5th), West, Thomsen, Charlie (6th), Eyes (7th)

 

Perhaps it's a surprise that this is quite so high, although it was always nailed on for a decent finish. The Australian-Belgian soloist had been around making music for a decade without making any real waves anywhere, a top 20 album in his native Australia in 2006 was all the chart success he'd got anywhere. But in 2011 he teamed up with New Zealander Kimbra Johnson to make 'Somebody That I Used To Know'. It's wonderfully effective and simple and has slowly gone around the world to become a smash hit, number one in 8 countries so far, it's started the year climbing up the UK and US charts and looks set to be one of 2012s biggest hits in the UK.

I'm probably being incredibly thick but I can only remember one of the songs left. I would have thought it'd be top 5 alongside "Holocene" actually, "Paradise" has underperformed a little as well although given I refused to accept for ages that I preferred it to "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" I'm not THAT surprisedto see it miss the top 10.

 

OH, just remembered one of the others.

 

...and now the other one, which I think I put quite high up.

03 - Foster The People 'Pumped Up Kicks' - 649 points (23 voters)

Nominated by: Brett-Butler

 

 

Top 10 positions: NickF1, West, Gretchen Withers (2nd), Brett-Butler (5th), CW, (6th), Charlie, Eyes, Horatio (9th), Gooddelta (10th)

 

After winning the 2011 Ultimate Unknown Pleasures competition ran by Tony it's no surprise this finishes as the highest song that was entered to it. It also became the biggest hit of the year from its genre, a top 5 smash in the US and although it never made the UK top 10, it's only been outside the top 75 for five weeks since it first entered last June.

All of the top 5 will be in the UK top 40 announced this forthcoming Sunday.

 

Dat sentence.

 

Hopefully this means that the various strands that you could call 'alternative' have turned something of a corner in terms of mainstream recognition. Given that of that top 5 one was thought to be a big contender to be a #1 (how wrong we were) and another looks like a massive #1 in the making, the signs are good.

 

 

Oh, and "Video Games" to win although "Midnight City" is fantastic as well.

 

02 - Lana Del Rey 'Video Games' - 668 points (21 voters)

Nominated by: Grebo

 

 

Top 10 positions: Severin (1st), Goodelta, X Leww (2nd), West, JakeWild, Andrew* (4th), Dandy*, Liam, Doctor Blind (5th), CW, Charlie (7th), AaronTM, Tonyttt31 (9th), Titty, Thomsen (10th)

 

Finishing just ahead of 'Pumped Up Kicks' but never in any contention for victory is Lana Del Rey with 'Video Games'. She'd released material as Lizzy Grant sporadically in previous years but 2011 was the first taste we got of a new direction, image and sound. 'Video Games' paid homage to the 50s & 60s whilst managing to sound fresh and fit in today, being a cut above 'The New Boring'. It lead to a hell of a lot of discussion and debate about her, the authenticity and originality of here, and about marketing in music but the consensus was if the songs are this good then do people really care?

I just don't GET 'Pumped Up Kicks' whatsoever. There's just nothing to it?