equippedwithtowel
Member
Well that's not the example I'd use, but I agree with the idea.
MVOTC was bloody amazing.
2013 Album of the Year Voting Thread - Voting ends Sunday 1/19
- Thread starter Servbot24
- Start date
- Status
Well that's not the example I'd use, but I agree with the idea.
MVOTC was bloody amazing.
The Interrobanger
Member
Nope, it was a full vinyl/CD release in 2011. The re-release this year is the same only with 5 "new" tracks, most of which are from 2012. Anyways, it's a great album that would have made my list if I thought it was "2013 enough".
It's a good album but let's not be comparing it to RiL, goodness.
ThisWreckage
Banned
Tremendously shitty year if you're an electronica or rock fan. Rock music is in complete disrepair. When one of the best rock albums of the year came from a geriatric David Bowie you know the entire genre is in serious trouble.
I also hated the Daft Punk abum. I'd rate it slightly higher than Human After All.
I also hated the Daft Punk abum. I'd rate it slightly higher than Human After All.
Eh? Every year is a great year for electronic music these days (not sure what electronica is, maybe you're talking something specific). And there are plenty of great rock albums if you dig. Thee Oh Sees is the obvious big one, but plenty of others.
equippedwithtowel
Member
I though the new Speedy Ortiz and CHVRCHES debut were great, but then again I liked RAM so take that however you want.
Electronica has been great this year. RAM is ass, Vampire Weekend are okay.
It will probably make my top ten too.
I feel like there is more rock music I've really liked this year than just about any other I can think of.
I don't think that's true at all for electronic music. I could take just the catalogue for two labels - Opal Tapes and L.I.E.S - and still walk away from this year completely satisfied.
brianjones
Member
I kind of feel like everything's been done in rock at this point
it's just about finding bands that remind you of other bands you like
maybe that's naive idk
I barely listen to any electronica but Cut Copy's latest effort (Free Your Mind) was one of my disappointments of the year.
Not a fan of the new QOTSA or NIN albums?
Saw the comment and came to post this but you beat me to it. We should be friends
ThisWreckage
Banned
The Queens of the Stone Age album was a severe disappointment. NIN's new album was better than their past couple of efforts, but Reznor is still living in the shadow of Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, and The Downward Spiral.
No album by PJ Harvey or Radiohead was a major hit for me. Then Jack White was pretty much silent as well. The Arcade Fire are trying their damndest, but there's not so much they can do.
Now if this is the scope of your rock music, then yeah, that would be a bit depressing. But there is a LOT more out there to be found.
Pontoon is the best song of the year.
Fernando Fernandez
Member
This is my favourite time of the year! I have to listen to every album on these lists I haven't heard before making my own though.
SecretMoblin
Member
Ha, thanks. Honestly, I need to give more time to some of those Opal Tapes. I like what I've heard, but the only two I've stuck with are Lumigraph and Nikolai.
Face it Tiger..
Banned
1. The Weeknd Kiss Land
2. Drake Nothing Was the Same
2. Lorde Pure Heroine
3 Love in the Future
4.. Robin Thicke Blurred lines
6. DJ Khaled Suffering from Success
7. Reserved for Childish Gambino's album
8. Lady Gawgod Artpop
9. Reserved for Britney Spears album that comes out tomorrow (YAAasssS)
10. Katy Perry's Madea goes to listen to Prism.
2. Drake Nothing Was the Same
2. Lorde Pure Heroine
3 Love in the Future
4.. Robin Thicke Blurred lines
6. DJ Khaled Suffering from Success
7. Reserved for Childish Gambino's album
8. Lady Gawgod Artpop
9. Reserved for Britney Spears album that comes out tomorrow (YAAasssS)
10. Katy Perry's Madea goes to listen to Prism.
80% of the pop I posted I don't give a shit about, I just don't care about albums.
The Interrobanger
Member
beato_angelico
Member
you're just not trying enough to go outside the mainstream. and I don't know what "electronica" means to you because everywhere you look you can find very good electronic stuff. also, "rock" as a genre is utterly meaningless these days.
01 | MS MR | Secondhand Rapture
02 | AlunaGeorge | Body Music
03 | Haim | Days Are Gone
04 | CHVRCHES| The Bones Of What You Believe
05 | How To Destroy Angels | Welcome Oblivion
06 | Twenty One Pilots | Vessel
07 | Krewella | Get Wet
08 | Eminem | MMLP2
09 | OVERWERK | Conquer
10 | Matthew Good | Arrows Of Desire
Notes:
- I think HTDA has completely replaced NIN for me. I just have no desire to listen to Hesitation Marks.
- Each new Matthew Good LP seems to be worse than the last. It's still a relatively high bar though.
- OVERWERK's conquer just came out today, but its pretty good.
- Strange to see lots of CHVRCHES but no MS MR. Maybe people forgot their LP came out this year?
02 | AlunaGeorge | Body Music
03 | Haim | Days Are Gone
04 | CHVRCHES| The Bones Of What You Believe
05 | How To Destroy Angels | Welcome Oblivion
06 | Twenty One Pilots | Vessel
07 | Krewella | Get Wet
08 | Eminem | MMLP2
09 | OVERWERK | Conquer
10 | Matthew Good | Arrows Of Desire
Notes:
- I think HTDA has completely replaced NIN for me. I just have no desire to listen to Hesitation Marks.
- Each new Matthew Good LP seems to be worse than the last. It's still a relatively high bar though.
- OVERWERK's conquer just came out today, but its pretty good.
- Strange to see lots of CHVRCHES but no MS MR. Maybe people forgot their LP came out this year?
yikes.
i put together a list of the albums i'm considering for my 25 (more than 30 so far), and 18 of them i would put under the fucking massive umbrella of 'electronica'.
you haven't listened to enough if you think it's been shitty. i can't speak for rock since i don't listen to it, though.
Soooo good to see more HTDA fans! Although I kinda disagree with your note, because I loved HM
Nothing1016
Member
01 | Yeezus
Its the only correct answer. Everything else might as well never existed.
Its the only correct answer. Everything else might as well never existed.
equippedwithtowel
Member
Well now I feel much less inadequate about my own list.
01 | Clouds | Ghost Systems Rave
02 | These Hidden Hands | These Hidden Hands
03 | SHXCXCHCXSH | STRGTHS
04 | House of Black Lanterns | Kill The Lights
05 | The Range | Nonfiction
06 | Eprom | Metahuman
07 | Dadub | You Are Eternity
08 | Zomby | With Love
09 | Forest Swords | Engravings
10 | Ø [Phase] - Frames Of Reference
11 | Floorplan | Paradise
12 | Prince Of Denmark | The Body
13 | Ta-ku | Songs To Break Up To
14 | Jon Hopkins | Immunity
15 | DJ Koze | Amygdala
16 | Four Tet | Beautiful Rewind
17 | Subjected | Zero
18 | Gesaffelstein | Aleph
19 | SCNTST | Self Therapy
20 | DJ Rashad | Double Cup
21 | oOoOO | Without Your Love
22 | Akkord | Akkord
23 | Recondite | Hinterland
24 | Om Unit | Threads
25 | A$AP Ferg | Trap Lord
This year was amazing, especially when it comes to electronic music <3
02 | These Hidden Hands | These Hidden Hands
03 | SHXCXCHCXSH | STRGTHS
04 | House of Black Lanterns | Kill The Lights
05 | The Range | Nonfiction
06 | Eprom | Metahuman
07 | Dadub | You Are Eternity
08 | Zomby | With Love
09 | Forest Swords | Engravings
10 | Ø [Phase] - Frames Of Reference
11 | Floorplan | Paradise
12 | Prince Of Denmark | The Body
13 | Ta-ku | Songs To Break Up To
14 | Jon Hopkins | Immunity
15 | DJ Koze | Amygdala
16 | Four Tet | Beautiful Rewind
17 | Subjected | Zero
18 | Gesaffelstein | Aleph
19 | SCNTST | Self Therapy
20 | DJ Rashad | Double Cup
21 | oOoOO | Without Your Love
22 | Akkord | Akkord
23 | Recondite | Hinterland
24 | Om Unit | Threads
25 | A$AP Ferg | Trap Lord
This year was amazing, especially when it comes to electronic music <3
Yeah, I know. It really bums me out.
I think the rise of the bedroom producer might have something to do with the death of rock.
For the record, I wasn't saying VW's album is as good as Remain in Light. That was just an example.
Roland Deschain
Member
01 | Kanye West | Yeezus
02 | Pearl Jam | Lightning Bolt
03 | The National | Trouble Will Find Me
04 | Arcade Fire | Reflektor
05 | Manic Street Preachers | Rewind The Film
06 | Haim | Days Are Gone
07 | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds | Push The Sky Away
08 | Arctic Monkeys | AM
09 | Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampires of the City
10 | David Bowie | The Next Day
02 | Pearl Jam | Lightning Bolt
03 | The National | Trouble Will Find Me
04 | Arcade Fire | Reflektor
05 | Manic Street Preachers | Rewind The Film
06 | Haim | Days Are Gone
07 | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds | Push The Sky Away
08 | Arctic Monkeys | AM
09 | Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampires of the City
10 | David Bowie | The Next Day
Mushroomer25
Member
01 | Arcade Fire | Reflektor
02 | Daft Punk | Random Access Memories
03 | Fall Out Boy | Save Rock And Roll
04 | The Joy Formidable | Wolf's Law
05 | Arctic Monkeys | AM
06 | We Are Scientists | Business Casual
07 | Bastille | Bad Blood (only released in US this year, IIRC)
08 | Cage The Elephant | Melophobia
09 | Sleigh Bells | Bitter Rivals
10 | How To Destroy Angels | Welcome Oblivion
02 | Daft Punk | Random Access Memories
03 | Fall Out Boy | Save Rock And Roll
04 | The Joy Formidable | Wolf's Law
05 | Arctic Monkeys | AM
06 | We Are Scientists | Business Casual
07 | Bastille | Bad Blood (only released in US this year, IIRC)
08 | Cage The Elephant | Melophobia
09 | Sleigh Bells | Bitter Rivals
10 | How To Destroy Angels | Welcome Oblivion
01 | The Melvins | Tres Cabrones
02 | Big Business | Battlefields Forever
03 | Ghost B.C. | Infestissumam
04 | Kadavar | Abra Kadavar
05 | Klub des Loosers | Last Days
06 | The Melvins | Everybody love Sausages
07 | Daft Punk | RAM
08 | Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats | Mind Control
09 | Tomahawk | Oddfellows
10 | Foals | Holy Fire
11 | Ghostface Killah | Twelve reasons to Die
12 | Justice | Access All Arenas
13 | Black Sabbath | 13
02 | Big Business | Battlefields Forever
03 | Ghost B.C. | Infestissumam
04 | Kadavar | Abra Kadavar
05 | Klub des Loosers | Last Days
06 | The Melvins | Everybody love Sausages
07 | Daft Punk | RAM
08 | Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats | Mind Control
09 | Tomahawk | Oddfellows
10 | Foals | Holy Fire
11 | Ghostface Killah | Twelve reasons to Die
12 | Justice | Access All Arenas
13 | Black Sabbath | 13
For sure, good to see another Zomby fan. We could definitely do a electronic-specific AOTY thread for those of us whose idea of "electronica" isn't limited to like three artists.
Complex Shadow
Cudi Lame
hey des can you help out someone who doesn't know where to start with electronic and is too lazy to do any research?
i kinda liked ram...i guess. didnt listen to vamp weekend yet so.... help?
VW isn't really electronic
some electronic records i really liked that you can check out:
Luke Wyatt - Teen Hawk
The Field - Cupid's Head
The Knife - Shaking the Habitual
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Kyle Hall - The Boat Party
Classixx - Hanging Gardens
Cosby - Hands Together
Omar S - Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself
those are all drastically different records since i dunno what kind of electronic thing you want
1) Russian Circles - Memorial
2) Destroid - the Invasion
3) Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind
4) Datsik - Let it Burn
5) Foals - Holy Fire
6) All Pigs Must Die - Nothing Violates this Nature
7) Cult of Luna - Vertikal I & II
8) Protest the Hero - Volition
9) Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
10) Justin Timberlake - 20/20 Experience
11) Queens of the Stone - ...Like Clockwork
12) Dillinger Escape Plan - One of us is the Killer
13) Deafhaven - Sunbather
14) Touche Amore - Is Survived By
15) J. Cole - Born Sinner
16) Pretty Lights - Color Map of the Sun
17) Sadistik - Flowers for my Father
18) City & Color - the Hurry and the Harm
19) Uncle Acid - Mind Control
20) Mandroid Echostar - Citadels (Fucking AMAZING EP)
This is all I can think of right now, I still need to listen to the new Arcade Fire, Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros - among others. I didn't really care for Yeezus, which seems to be a pretty unpopular opinion in this thread. Any other Hip-Hop I should check out? I feel like I fell out of the loop this year.
2) Destroid - the Invasion
3) Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind
4) Datsik - Let it Burn
5) Foals - Holy Fire
6) All Pigs Must Die - Nothing Violates this Nature
7) Cult of Luna - Vertikal I & II
8) Protest the Hero - Volition
9) Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
10) Justin Timberlake - 20/20 Experience
11) Queens of the Stone - ...Like Clockwork
12) Dillinger Escape Plan - One of us is the Killer
13) Deafhaven - Sunbather
14) Touche Amore - Is Survived By
15) J. Cole - Born Sinner
16) Pretty Lights - Color Map of the Sun
17) Sadistik - Flowers for my Father
18) City & Color - the Hurry and the Harm
19) Uncle Acid - Mind Control
20) Mandroid Echostar - Citadels (Fucking AMAZING EP)
This is all I can think of right now, I still need to listen to the new Arcade Fire, Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros - among others. I didn't really care for Yeezus, which seems to be a pretty unpopular opinion in this thread. Any other Hip-Hop I should check out? I feel like I fell out of the loop this year.
Soundcloud is the place to go for electronic music. You could lose yourself for days in it. I'm not Des but here's a handful of my faves:
https://soundcloud.com/mr_carmack
https://soundcloud.com/com-truise
https://soundcloud.com/flume-1
https://soundcloud.com/clammyclams
https://soundcloud.com/teendaze
https://soundcloud.com/submerse
https://soundcloud.com/shlohmo
https://soundcloud.com/giraffage
https://soundcloud.com/elaquent
https://soundcloud.com/lunice
https://soundcloud.com/sinjin_hawke
https://soundcloud.com/teengirlfantasy
https://soundcloud.com/blackbirdblackbirdsf
Pickles the Firecat
Banned
Too much good music this year. Albums can go deeper, and there were so many dope singles and tracks. I'd be real happy if there was a tracks/live performances/mixtapes/draft/anything else to participate in. Anyway, this is preliminary.
1 | The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
Successfully challenged my expectations and desires in a way no album has since Portishead released Third.
Full of Fire, Raging Lung
2 | Banks | London
Powerfully emotional songs born out of a strict adherence to restraint and minimalism.
Waiting Game, Bedroom Wall (Bonus: Warm Water, Snakehips remix)
3 | Arca | &&&&&
What the year 5016 sounds like. Not music, just the universe in general.
Harness, Hallucinogen
4 | Danny Brown | Old
Ratchet, introspection, ratchet, introspection, ratchet, introspection.
Side [A], Dope Fiend Rental (Bonus: Danny Brown and MNDSGN - Sweeney Song)
5 | Fuck Buttons | Slow Focus
Power. Lust. Hate. Sadness. Anger. Happiness. Hopefulness. Desire. Need. Confusion. Fear. Anxiety. Every feeling you can have clicked to expand all at once.
The Red Wing, Prince's Prize
6 | Rhye | Woman
Sensual like Tina Belcher and sensual like Prince at the same time. Funkier than I expected after their first two singles.
The Fall, 3 Days (Bonus: The Fall, live)
7 | Son Lux | Lanterns
Grandiose maximalist arrangements with a wide array of oddly placed instruments combined with moments of scaled back minimalist grooves.
Lost It to Trying, Easy (Bonus: Lost It To Trying, alternate arrangement)
8 | Chance the Rapper | Acid Rap
Unique flow and style, fucks it up sometimes but succeeds much more than he fails.
Juice, Acid Rap
9 | Iamamiwhoami | Bounty
However pretentious the shit around her music might be, you cant change two things: those synths. Those bass lines. Mmmmm.
U-2, Y
10 | Pusha T | My Name Is My Name
Push makes it look and sound too easy.
King Push, Nosetalgia
11 | Autre Ne Veut | Anxiety
Yo, sometimes you want to belt out some mid 90s ass R&B jams at the top of your lungs. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR????
Play By Play, Don't Ever Look Back
12 | Savages | Silence Yourself
Abrasive, confrontational, and sincere.
Shut Up, I Am Here
13 | Blue Hawaii | Untogether
Got me with the soft vocals. Got me with the dance beats. Got me with the quieter live sets. Got me all over the place.
In Two II, Reaction II (Bonus: Try to Be, live)
14 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
Go back to 2003 and tell me that El-P is going to be the indie rap dude that continues to be relevant and kind-sorta makes it somewhere so I can laugh in your face and feel real stupid this year.
DDFH, Job Well Done
15 | Disclosure | Settle
Too many arguments about them being commercial. Fuck do I care if theyre commercial? Shit has me dancing, man. Thats all that matters.
When A Fire Starts to Burn, White Noise (Bonus: Apollo)
16 | Zomby | With Love
I don't know what to say. It's Zomby. His shit is his shit the same way FlyLo's shit is FlyLo's shit, right?
If I Will, Isis
17 | Black Milk | No Poison No Paradise
Amazing beats + "It must be sumn in the water in Michigan tho cuz its like eybody n they moms can rap out there b " -- Big Ghost
Ghetto DEMF, Perfected On Puritan Ave.
18 | Kanye West | Yeezus
As the year went on more and more dudes that were on Yeezus dropped more and more shit that was doper than Yeezus. You got Arca, Evian Christ, Daft Punk, Lunice, No ID, HudMo, etc in the studio and you gotta come out looking better than this. Sum was less than its parts. Still good, amazing at moments. Ye ain't never going to learn how to rap though.
New Slaves, Blood On the Leaves
19 | PAPA | Tender Madness
I CAN FEEL THESE DUDES PUTTING THEIR HEART AND SOUL INTO EVERY SONG THEY FUCKING MAKE IT MAKES ME FEEL THE WAY THIS SENTENCE LOOKS LIKE FUCK I CAN DO GODDAMN ANYTHING I WANT IN THIS WORLD.
Put Me to Work, I Am the Lion King (Bonus: I Am the Lion King, St. Lucia remix)
20 | Local Natives | Hummingbird
Kinda sappy story alert: I wasn't feeling these guys until I caught their set before Beach House at Coachella and they killed it. Put the crowd in a whole different world. Doesn't come across that strongly on the record, but it's still there.
Heavy Feet, Airplanes
21 | James Blake | Overgrown
If James Blake wasn't so far up his own ass that he trips over the massive amount of talent he has, he might have hit number one this year. He did in 2011. Instead he felt like crooning me to sleep on half his tracks. But hey, his live show went hard and Life Round Here might be track of the year.
Retrograde, Life Round Here (Bonus: Drake - Come Thru, James Blake remix)
22 | Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampires of the City
How does a band drop two God awful albums and then the third is this good? When has that ever happened? I was almost mad that this record was good. At least Ezra Koenig is a cool dude.
Unbelievers, Step (Bonus: Major Lazor featuring Ezra Koenig - Jessica)
23 | Jagwar Ma | Howlin
This isn't so hard to explain: you just groove. Your hips like so, your shoulders like so, and you groove.
Uncertainty, Come Save Me
24 | Haim | Days Are Gone
It's clean-cut perfect timing pop. Nothing wrong with that.
The Wire, Don't Save Me (Bonus: The Wire, Farhot remix)
25 | Dirty Beaches | Drifters/Love Is the Devil
You wake up at 4 AM in a neon-lit motel room two hours from home. You don't remember the past three days. There's a dead body in the tub. Dried blood on your gloves--how did you get gloves? Drifters/Love Is the Devil is playing in your mind.
Night Walk, Mirage Hall
1 | The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
Successfully challenged my expectations and desires in a way no album has since Portishead released Third.
Full of Fire, Raging Lung
2 | Banks | London
Powerfully emotional songs born out of a strict adherence to restraint and minimalism.
Waiting Game, Bedroom Wall (Bonus: Warm Water, Snakehips remix)
3 | Arca | &&&&&
What the year 5016 sounds like. Not music, just the universe in general.
Harness, Hallucinogen
4 | Danny Brown | Old
Ratchet, introspection, ratchet, introspection, ratchet, introspection.
Side [A], Dope Fiend Rental (Bonus: Danny Brown and MNDSGN - Sweeney Song)
5 | Fuck Buttons | Slow Focus
Power. Lust. Hate. Sadness. Anger. Happiness. Hopefulness. Desire. Need. Confusion. Fear. Anxiety. Every feeling you can have clicked to expand all at once.
The Red Wing, Prince's Prize
6 | Rhye | Woman
Sensual like Tina Belcher and sensual like Prince at the same time. Funkier than I expected after their first two singles.
The Fall, 3 Days (Bonus: The Fall, live)
7 | Son Lux | Lanterns
Grandiose maximalist arrangements with a wide array of oddly placed instruments combined with moments of scaled back minimalist grooves.
Lost It to Trying, Easy (Bonus: Lost It To Trying, alternate arrangement)
8 | Chance the Rapper | Acid Rap
Unique flow and style, fucks it up sometimes but succeeds much more than he fails.
Juice, Acid Rap
9 | Iamamiwhoami | Bounty
However pretentious the shit around her music might be, you cant change two things: those synths. Those bass lines. Mmmmm.
U-2, Y
10 | Pusha T | My Name Is My Name
Push makes it look and sound too easy.
King Push, Nosetalgia
11 | Autre Ne Veut | Anxiety
Yo, sometimes you want to belt out some mid 90s ass R&B jams at the top of your lungs. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR????
Play By Play, Don't Ever Look Back
12 | Savages | Silence Yourself
Abrasive, confrontational, and sincere.
Shut Up, I Am Here
13 | Blue Hawaii | Untogether
Got me with the soft vocals. Got me with the dance beats. Got me with the quieter live sets. Got me all over the place.
In Two II, Reaction II (Bonus: Try to Be, live)
14 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
Go back to 2003 and tell me that El-P is going to be the indie rap dude that continues to be relevant and kind-sorta makes it somewhere so I can laugh in your face and feel real stupid this year.
DDFH, Job Well Done
15 | Disclosure | Settle
Too many arguments about them being commercial. Fuck do I care if theyre commercial? Shit has me dancing, man. Thats all that matters.
When A Fire Starts to Burn, White Noise (Bonus: Apollo)
16 | Zomby | With Love
I don't know what to say. It's Zomby. His shit is his shit the same way FlyLo's shit is FlyLo's shit, right?
If I Will, Isis
17 | Black Milk | No Poison No Paradise
Amazing beats + "It must be sumn in the water in Michigan tho cuz its like eybody n they moms can rap out there b " -- Big Ghost
Ghetto DEMF, Perfected On Puritan Ave.
18 | Kanye West | Yeezus
As the year went on more and more dudes that were on Yeezus dropped more and more shit that was doper than Yeezus. You got Arca, Evian Christ, Daft Punk, Lunice, No ID, HudMo, etc in the studio and you gotta come out looking better than this. Sum was less than its parts. Still good, amazing at moments. Ye ain't never going to learn how to rap though.
New Slaves, Blood On the Leaves
19 | PAPA | Tender Madness
I CAN FEEL THESE DUDES PUTTING THEIR HEART AND SOUL INTO EVERY SONG THEY FUCKING MAKE IT MAKES ME FEEL THE WAY THIS SENTENCE LOOKS LIKE FUCK I CAN DO GODDAMN ANYTHING I WANT IN THIS WORLD.
Put Me to Work, I Am the Lion King (Bonus: I Am the Lion King, St. Lucia remix)
20 | Local Natives | Hummingbird
Kinda sappy story alert: I wasn't feeling these guys until I caught their set before Beach House at Coachella and they killed it. Put the crowd in a whole different world. Doesn't come across that strongly on the record, but it's still there.
Heavy Feet, Airplanes
21 | James Blake | Overgrown
If James Blake wasn't so far up his own ass that he trips over the massive amount of talent he has, he might have hit number one this year. He did in 2011. Instead he felt like crooning me to sleep on half his tracks. But hey, his live show went hard and Life Round Here might be track of the year.
Retrograde, Life Round Here (Bonus: Drake - Come Thru, James Blake remix)
22 | Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampires of the City
How does a band drop two God awful albums and then the third is this good? When has that ever happened? I was almost mad that this record was good. At least Ezra Koenig is a cool dude.
Unbelievers, Step (Bonus: Major Lazor featuring Ezra Koenig - Jessica)
23 | Jagwar Ma | Howlin
This isn't so hard to explain: you just groove. Your hips like so, your shoulders like so, and you groove.
Uncertainty, Come Save Me
24 | Haim | Days Are Gone
It's clean-cut perfect timing pop. Nothing wrong with that.
The Wire, Don't Save Me (Bonus: The Wire, Farhot remix)
25 | Dirty Beaches | Drifters/Love Is the Devil
You wake up at 4 AM in a neon-lit motel room two hours from home. You don't remember the past three days. There's a dead body in the tub. Dried blood on your gloves--how did you get gloves? Drifters/Love Is the Devil is playing in your mind.
Night Walk, Mirage Hall
Jackben
bitch I'm taking calls.
Prince's Prize by Fuck Buttons sounds to me like what the boss level music of a futuristic prince of persia game would be. I can just imagine the theme beginning with a mentor turning evil and revealing that he has been using you the entire time.
"You have done very well, my prince. And now...for your prize."
*cue maniacal laughter and music*
"You have done very well, my prince. And now...for your prize."
*cue maniacal laughter and music*
Pickles the Firecat
Banned
So now I'm stuck with this visual for the rest of my life. Fits too well.
Yo this was dope. I'm working through shit I haven't heard from this thread. It'll take a while but yeah...this was dope.
I was thinking about it while I worked today and I have some honorable mentions. These would make up my list post #25 if I had kept going. I wasn't exhaustive in plotting it out though so there's some stuff I probably missed. I'll get to most of it at some point in the thread I'm sure. Not in any order, just some thoughts. I want to do a most disappointing and maybe overrated/didn't get it list when I have some time too. Later tonight maybe. Edit: I sound real critical of most of these, but I totally enjoyed them a lot. They're all good records. I guess someone just pissed in my Cheerios between this morning and now, I don't know.
| MGMT | MGMT
Need more time with it tbh. Your Life Is A Lie is an A+ tier song. They were great live at FYF. I even did a 180 on Congratulations and suddenly enjoy it (It's Brian Eno! Brian Eno!). So with more time it could creep up.
| Sampha | Dual
Without is an A++++, got me swiveling in my chair and looking like a fool level song, but the rest can't compare to it. Still pretty good though.
| Ka | The Night's Gambit
This could end up on my list actually. Need more time with it. Real, real good and there's nothing else like it. I'm just not in a place to listen to it all that often, you know? Like I gotta be alone, put on a hoodie, dim the lights, get some whiskey, and be in a real serious and dark mood to throw this on.
| Four Tet | Beautiful Rewind
Was expecting too much. Didn't live up to what I wanted. Has moments of brilliance though. Parallel Jalebi is good as hell.
| Ryan Hemsworth | Guilt Trips
Expectations were too high for this as well. Dude was killing it for so long and everything on his actual album just felt poorly thought out and without meaning. No energy at all. I want more Day 'N Nite and less of this, man. I GOT FAITH IN YOU RYAN YOUR COLLABS ARE ALL DOPE AS HELL KEEP TRYING.
| Baths | Obsidian
Expectation game strikes again. I don't know, just wasn't feeling it much. Cerulean was so good and this just seemed like b-sides that weren't ready for prime time.
| The Field | Cupid's Head
Eh. Ehhhhhhh. Eeeeeeehhhhhhhh. I like it more now than I did the first two or three times I listened through. It's just, From Here We Go Sublime was perfect and precise. Yesterday And Today was amazing and more organic. Looping State of Mind was a pretty good medium between them. And now it feels like he's out of shit to explore so he went for more texture and drone-ish and it's whatever. Cupid's Head still gets me going though.
| Major Lazer | Free the Universe
Best part of a Major Lazer show: the confused look on dudes who showed up because of Get Free. Priceless. Major Lazer isn't about the album, it's about the live experience, but tell me Watch Out for This doesn't get you going and I'll tell you you don't have a soul.
| A$AP Rocky | Long. Live. A$AP.
| A$AP Ferg | Traplord
For real neither of these dudes can rap worth a damn but they do what they do. PUT IN WORK, WORK, PUT IN WORK, WORK
| Atoms for Peace | AMOK
Thom York needs stop making beats and get back to Radiohead. Too much talent on the record not to have moments though, like I listened to Ingenuine for a week straight.
| AlunaGeorge | Body Music
Lesson for the future: don't ever feature on a track as hot as White Noise the same year you're dropping your own album. Most memorable thing they did this year sold another artists' album. It's a good record but it isn't Settle and it never had a chance with White Noise out. Hey I forgot about the HudMo remix of White Noise in the bonus section before so listen to it. Did I mention White Noise? White Noise is the fucking jam.
| Charli XCX | True Romance
This should really be in my top 25. I need to find a place for it. I don't know why I left it out but the more I think about it the more that was dumb. Check out this track she did with J£zus Million, llusions Of. Check out the J£zus Million mixtape, too. It was a'ight but I wouldn't list it.
| Kavinsky | Outrun
It's good. That's about all I have to say.
| Bonobo | The North Borders
Every Bonobo album is in the same range for me. Dude is remarkable consistent in being just above-average.
Can't even imagine what it's like to expect something from Four Tet.
Give Cupid's Head a couple more tries! I was initially quite underwhelmed by it but now it's my second fav record of his behind LSoM.
Yes Charli should be in your top 25, fix it
Kavinsky is a fucking embarrassment to humanity, fuck that garbage.
I have spoken.
Give Cupid's Head a couple more tries! I was initially quite underwhelmed by it but now it's my second fav record of his behind LSoM.
Yes Charli should be in your top 25, fix it
Kavinsky is a fucking embarrassment to humanity, fuck that garbage.
I have spoken.
Pickles the Firecat
Banned
Kavinsky just makes me feel like...cooler. Like I'm liable to suit up in some deep red leather pants with a matching jacket (no shirt) and drive aimlessly on the 101 at 3 AM with the windows down when I got his shit in. Vitalic used to do that to me.
I wasn't expecting a particular sound out of Four Tet, just a better album. I don't know. I get inside my own head sometimes and don't know what the fuck is up or down.
I wasn't expecting a particular sound out of Four Tet, just a better album. I don't know. I get inside my own head sometimes and don't know what the fuck is up or down.
Last year my list featured Carly Rae Jepsen and Ke$ha in the top 10 so no one should necessarily be listening to me btw.
Beautiful Rewind was fine and all, Four Tet is just the definition of a 6 out of 10 artist. He shoots to be the common denominator of scarf music and I guess he does it but how anyone could really care about that is a bit beyond me.
Beautiful Rewind was fine and all, Four Tet is just the definition of a 6 out of 10 artist. He shoots to be the common denominator of scarf music and I guess he does it but how anyone could really care about that is a bit beyond me.
Buckethead
Banned
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Slight conjecture coming so I'm letting everyone know ahead. I could be spewing nonsense, and I could be way off base from the poster.
So if you are of a certain age or ilk electronica was a genre with certain key known sub genres. I'm assuming this person probably fits this mold. If you are younger I'll be honest that his post probably makes no sense to you.
I'd also say in the sense of what scope of music electronica use to cover I'd probably not totally disagree. It also seems most artists in this category of old don't really do many full albums anymore. They just release shit as comes, and they throw out a ton of mixes. It was always about the live show anyways, and so it continues to be.
They key thing is that's the past. Electronica WAS a genre, but it ISN'T a genre in today's world. There also is a ton of electronic based music out in the world. So it's so broad it is hard to say if it had a good of bad year. To much stuff can fit the electronic music category so it's all about if you personally found stuff you like.
I'd say rock is in a similar position though even back in the day rock was much more broadly based.
On a side note I'd argue the old NIN was a rock band with electronic influence. I'd argue new NIN is electronic with rock infleuence. I also can't believe I'm saying this, but I like the HTDA album better.
PS: If you told me some of my favorite artists like NIN, Phoenix, and BoC were releasing albums this year I'd been off the chain hyped. If you told that same person none of these albums stood out to me or would make my top 10 I'd be stunned. Yet here I am...
PPS: If people all knew Sirius XM and the channels I could easily use that for genre stuff past and present.
- Status