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http://larkinmusic.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/top-things-of-2013-musically/
Hi TL,
I was blogging a couple months ago with reviews of albums that I liked, but being at university left me a bit occupied and unable to blog consistently. Over the holidays I've been working on a bumper collection of my favourite albums, tracks and biggest disappointments of the year. It's a big post (also I have to reformat everything to be posted on here which takes ages cause it's like 5000 words long), so I won't drop it all here, visit the link above to read it all. I'll just post the top 10 albums here for your viewing pleasure. As always, feel free to comment, criticise, offer suggestions etc. I'd love to hear what you guys' top tens etc are, what you think of mine, and so on.
Top 10 Albums of 2013
Ten albums chosen from a shortlist of thirty (one of which was in the ‘disappointments’ section) representing the very best of the year, in my humble opinion. From punk to gloomy electronica, hip hop to neo-psychedelica, these ten albums are a diverse collection of fantastic music released this year. Every single one, shortlist included, is worthy of a lot of love and attention. Take everything I say, as ever, with a large grain of salt, as I don’t believe my opinion to be objective or final in any way. In a few years’ time, I may well look back on this list and wonder why I included/didn’t include some things. But for now, these are my top ten of 2013.
1. Iceage – You’re Nothing
Iceage’s second full length avoids all the pitfalls of the sophomore album, and does everything it should. Their production is cleaner, their claustrophobic punk sound more refined and mature. Iceage have a wonderful ability to tease their listeners but never quite give in to convention, always staying fresh and original. You’re Nothing has a consistency to it New Brigade lacked, with great songs throughout an album less than 25 minutes long. The band’s youthful vigour combined with a feeling of being trapped and a desire to find meaning in the world exemplifies the punk/post-punk movement in Denmark and is the ultimate record of disenchanted 2010s youth. 88%
2. Darkside – Psychic
Dave Harrington and Nicholas Jaar combined to create something spectacular in Darkside. On their full length debut, Psychic, the mix of Harrington’s guitar and Jaar’s synthesisers along with vocals provided by the both of them result in a wonderful collection of downtempo tunes. At times they can be uplifting, even rocky – ‘Paper Trails’ has hints of The Velvet Underground to it – and at others they can be ethereal and atmospheric. A truly unique record to come out of the pair of them, and there looks to be a lot of promise in their coupling. 86%
3. Arcade Fire – Reflektor
There were a lot of worries about Arcade Fire’s next album after the enormous commercial success of The Suburbs, winning a Grammy (to much outrage) and generally making thousands more fans. People feared they would cater to their new fans rather than their old, but on Reflektor these fears are alleviated. It is a different album, certainly – it features far longer, more ambitious songs than what came before. James Murphy has his hands all over it, and the LCD Soundsystem veteran offers something unique to it, as does David Bowie, who offers a few lines on the title track. Win Butler’s lyricism is sometimes pretty weak here, often just focusing on one relatively meaningless word (Reflektor, Afterlife, Supersymmetry) or picking a character to make a song about (Joan of Arc, Orpheus, Eurydice). But the Canadians’ ability to make a song is as sublime as ever, and though their sound is markedly different, on this record they have made some songs that really stand out as among the best in their discography, enough to keep the lengthy record at a high standard despite a few weaker tracks. 84%
4. Baths – Obsidian
Will Wiesenfeld’s production as Baths takes a darker turn with his third full length release. It is gloomier and more atmospheric than Cerulean, but punctuated with the same clattering percussion and pulsating synths, all of which are neatly and concisely wrapped together into 10 superb songs, tied in with imaginative sampling and his own singing. Baths has a unique blend of electronic instrumentation and singing that remains fresh and interesting. 84%
5. Foxygen – We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Foxygen came out of almost nowhere on this album from Jagjaguwar Records. Their debut album was generally well received but failed to make a huge impact – this announces that Foxygen are here to stay. Their brand of psychedelic rock could really fit in thirty or forty years ago, yet sounds fun and refreshing today, appealing to fans of The Velvet Underground and Tame Impala in equal measure. Exuberant in title and sound, the duo have made an album with a huge amount of replay value and promise for things to come. 84%
6. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap
Chicago rapper Chance offers his scene some much needed invigoration with his second mixtape that has exploded, leaving many tipping him to be the next “big thing”. He’s already collaborated with a number of musicians including James Blake, Lil Wayne, Childish Gambino and, um, Justin Bieber, and much is to come from the 20 year old. Acid Rap is full of great beats, funny and moving lyricism and some excellent guest features. Clocking in at 54 minutes, this is a record that has you laughing, dancing and in some places very moved, and still leaves you wanting more. 84%
7. Sigur Rós – Kveikur
Sigur Rós demonstrate a superb return to form, despite being one band member fewer, with Kveikur, a far darker and harder hitting record than their previous efforts. Though they are often criticised for failing to come close to the scope of their sublime sophomore release, Ágætis Byrjun, but they aren’t really trying to – instead focusing on the darkness of the earth and the black ethereal nature of the mind. Might be hard to communicate such themes in music, but no band is better to do it than the Icelandics. 84%
8. Fuck Buttons – Slow Focus
Fuck Buttons take another direction with their third LP. Their first was harsh and abrasive at times, with hints raw tribal emotion, littered with screams and thunderous drums. Their second explored the heavens, creating lengthy soundscapes of epic proportions, even finding themselves featured in the Olympic Games opening ceremony in 2012. Their third explores something else, with more hip hop driven beats, repetitive droning synths and elements of both of their previous records, but not quite being able to match Tarot Sport’s brilliance. With superb closer ‘Hidden XS’ used on a trailer for an upcoming film, it seems that the only way is up for the British duo. 83%
9. Kanye West – Yeezus
Kanye’s latest album is the antithesis of his previous effort, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Whereas that was an acceptance, Yeezus is a declaration. Yet for all the pomp and swagger it has about it, it can also be brutally honest in its self-deprecation, wonderfully funny in its self-realisation, and evocatively romantic in its cheesy movie-like love songs. Kanye’s rapping is not (and never has been) his strong point, but he showed what he could do on Fantasy, here he’s flatter and less imaginative. But his beats and composition with samples and features are as superb as ever, and a record as ambitious as Yeezus that in no means falls flat in its objectives is worthy of recognition. 83%
10. Jon Hopkins – Immunity
Jon Hopkins is a name that’s been around forever, but here he finally made a splash with an album of house music pretending to not be house music. Starting off with rhythmic dance music it progresses into slower tracks, culminating in the greatly moving piano based titular song. It is one of the better things to happen in electronic music this year. 81%
 
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the only album i recognized on this list was yeezus..not a fan of the new kanye ( he was a lot better without auto tunes)
And jon hopkins......????? electro music??????? what??????
have you even heard of armin van buurens 2013 year end mix?
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On December 31 2013 01:54 Smurfett3 wrote:
the only album i recognized on this list was yeezus..not a fan of the new kanye ( he was a lot better without auto tunes)
And jon hopkins......????? electro music??????? what??????
have you even heard of armin van buurens 2013 year end mix?
If you don't think Immunity is electronic music, I'd love to hear what you think it is.
Isn't that just a collection of trance songs? I'm talking about albums here, not mixes.
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Well I'll share my picks so we can see how different they are. And I usually listen to hip-hop and electronic music too (house, progressive, trance
These are just my top 5, not in any particular order
1) Armin van buuren - intense
2) B.o.B - underground luxury
3) Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP 2
4) Above and Beyond Acoustic album
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On December 31 2013 02:51 Smurfett3 wrote:
Well I'll share my picks so we can see how different they are. And I usually listen to hip-hop and electronic music too (house, progressive, trance
These are just my top 5, not in any particular order
1) Armin van buuren - intense
2) B.o.B - underground luxury
3) Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP 2
4) Above and Beyond Acoustic album
That's only four, but thanks for sharing! I really didn't like the new Eminem record, but I can't claim to have listened to the other three. Certainly we have very different tastes.
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On December 31 2013 03:26 Larkin wrote:Show nested quote +On December 31 2013 02:51 Smurfett3 wrote:
Well I'll share my picks so we can see how different they are. And I usually listen to hip-hop and electronic music too (house, progressive, trance
These are just my top 5, not in any particular order
1) Armin van buuren - intense
2) B.o.B - underground luxury
3) Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP 2
4) Above and Beyond Acoustic album
That's only four, but thanks for sharing! I really didn't like the new Eminem record, but I can't claim to have listened to the other three. Certainly we have very different tastes.
Let me just put it this way, I think an album is good when I will put more then 90% of songs onto a playlist and listen to it on repeat :D
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On December 31 2013 03:28 Smurfett3 wrote:Show nested quote +On December 31 2013 03:26 Larkin wrote:On December 31 2013 02:51 Smurfett3 wrote:
Well I'll share my picks so we can see how different they are. And I usually listen to hip-hop and electronic music too (house, progressive, trance
These are just my top 5, not in any particular order
1) Armin van buuren - intense
2) B.o.B - underground luxury
3) Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP 2
4) Above and Beyond Acoustic album
That's only four, but thanks for sharing! I really didn't like the new Eminem record, but I can't claim to have listened to the other three. Certainly we have very different tastes. Let me just put it this way, I think an album is good when I will put more then 90% of songs onto a playlist and listen to it on repeat :D
I never do that. I listen to the album. Mixing and matching is like having a slice of pizza and a bite of a burger and the end of a hot dog for a meal. It might be nice, but it's just a bit weird.
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I have no idea about most of these but I'm just gonna comment on the hip hop albums you listed.
In my opinion there were several releases this year that are worth listening to and have more longevity than acid rap:
betteroffDEAD(technically a mixtape but it's too good not to mention it.)
12 reasons to die
run the jewels
doris
the nights gambit
my name is my name
again I agree with acid rap being really good and deff worth listening too.
Yeezus is bad,not just because Kanye West has grown into a incredible nut job and shameless hypocrite(he was one before but still had the decency to admit it here and there and show a little humility) but because if you listened to albums such as Venomous Villain by MF Doom or anything Death Grips have put out than you realize the "forward thinking" praise he gets for this album is just because Kanye West sits on the mainstream throne and most people have never heard the type of sound that he tried to pull off with Yeezus.Kanye did nothing special with Yeezus other than try to feed his megalomania and manages to ruin a number of really good beats along the way.
If you can completely isolate your experience with the album from the real persona of Kanye and you have never heard any kind of decent "progressive" hip hop or how ever you want to call it,than yea,I can see how you could like Yeezus.
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This blog made me realize how few albums I went through in 2013. Only Jon Hopkins and Fuck Buttons were on my radar and the latter sounded significantly superior than the former. Reflektor had very poor opinion on the indie-rock website I dig CDs on, so I didn't bother. Kanye and Sigur Rós don't excite me enough to try and I never heard about the other ones.
Anyway, a short list of recommendations from what I had on my headphones:
The Haxan Cloak - Excavation
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
James Holden - The Inheritors
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Cult of Luna - Vertikal
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On December 31 2013 04:27 TheKefka wrote:
I have no idea about most of these but I'm just gonna comment on the hip hop albums you listed.
In my opinion there were several releases this year that are worth listening to and have more longevity than acid rap:
betteroffDEAD(technically a mixtape but it's too good not to mention it.)
12 reasons to die
run the jewels
doris
the nights gambit
my name is my name
again I agree with acid rap being really good and deff worth listening too.
I definitely agree that those are worth listening to (I haven't listened to My Name is My Name though) but I preferred Acid Rap personally. I thought Doris was okay. The Nights Gambit was really good, as was betteroffDEAD.
Yeezus is bad,not just because Kanye West has grown into a incredible nut job and shameless hypocrite(he was one before but still had the decency to admit it here and there and show a little humility) but because if you listened to albums such as Venomous Villain by MF Doom or anything Death Grips have put out than you realize the "forward thinking" praise he gets for this album is just because Kanye West sits on the mainstream throne and most people have never heard the type of sound that he tried to pull off with Yeezus.Kanye did nothing special with Yeezus other than try to feed his megalomania and manages to ruin a number of really good beats along the way.
If you can completely isolate your experience with the album from the real persona of Kanye and you have never heard any kind of decent "progressive" hip hop or how ever you want to call it,than yea,I can see how you could like Yeezus.
I haven't praised Kanye for being "forward thinking" on Yeezus. I praised him for having a clear agenda and doing exactly what he set out to do. I thought Death Grips' Exmilitary and The Money Store were great but I think their newest album is poor, in the proper blog post I talk about it.
Obviously in terms of progressive hip hop things like Madvillainy and Exmilitary are more forward thinking, and I agree that Kanye does take inspiration for some of his tracks (particularly 'On Sight') from the success of Death Grips' later albums.
I like Yeezus BECAUSE of Kanye's persona. He's very self-aware, and that comes off in his music. His megalomania is exactly the point of Yeezus. I feel like people in the mainstream only see the Yeezus he shows off, not the Kanye inside. It's like the reaction to the 'Bound 2' video - people laughed at it for how cheesy and badly shot it was. Few people realised he was taking the piss out of white American stereotypes and making a statement about how black people have taken them over. That's what he talks about on 'New Slaves' and 'Black Skinhead'.
It is wilful provocation, and a lot of people are only provoked. They don't see the real intention behind it.
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On December 31 2013 04:53 wingpawn wrote:
This blog made me realize how few albums I went through in 2013. Only Jon Hopkins and Fuck Buttons were on my radar and the latter sounded significantly superior than the former. Reflektor had very poor opinion on the indie-rock website I dig CDs on, so I didn't bother. Kanye and Sigur Rós don't excite me enough to try and I never heard about the other ones.
Anyway, a short list of recommendations from what I had on my headphones:
The Haxan Cloak - Excavation
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
James Holden - The Inheritors
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Cult of Luna - Vertikal
Haxan Cloak, Boards and Hecker are all on the shortlist in the blog post proper.
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On December 31 2013 04:56 Larkin wrote:Show nested quote +On December 31 2013 04:27 TheKefka wrote:
I have no idea about most of these but I'm just gonna comment on the hip hop albums you listed.
In my opinion there were several releases this year that are worth listening to and have more longevity than acid rap:
betteroffDEAD(technically a mixtape but it's too good not to mention it.)
12 reasons to die
run the jewels
doris
the nights gambit
my name is my name
again I agree with acid rap being really good and deff worth listening too.
I definitely agree that those are worth listening to (I haven't listened to My Name is My Name though) but I preferred Acid Rap personally. I thought Doris was okay. The Nights Gambit was really good, as was betteroffDEAD. Show nested quote +
Yeezus is bad,not just because Kanye West has grown into a incredible nut job and shameless hypocrite(he was one before but still had the decency to admit it here and there and show a little humility) but because if you listened to albums such as Venomous Villain by MF Doom or anything Death Grips have put out than you realize the "forward thinking" praise he gets for this album is just because Kanye West sits on the mainstream throne and most people have never heard the type of sound that he tried to pull off with Yeezus.Kanye did nothing special with Yeezus other than try to feed his megalomania and manages to ruin a number of really good beats along the way.
If you can completely isolate your experience with the album from the real persona of Kanye and you have never heard any kind of decent "progressive" hip hop or how ever you want to call it,than yea,I can see how you could like Yeezus.
I haven't praised Kanye for being "forward thinking" on Yeezus. I praised him for having a clear agenda and doing exactly what he set out to do. I thought Death Grips' Exmilitary and The Money Store were great but I think their newest album is poor, in the proper blog post I talk about it. Obviously in terms of progressive hip hop things like Madvillainy and Exmilitary are more forward thinking, and I agree that Kanye does take inspiration for some of his tracks (particularly 'On Sight') from the success of Death Grips' later albums. I like Yeezus BECAUSE of Kanye's persona. He's very self-aware, and that comes off in his music. His megalomania is exactly the point of Yeezus. I feel like people in the mainstream only see the Yeezus he shows off, not the Kanye inside. It's like the reaction to the 'Bound 2' video - people laughed at it for how cheesy and badly shot it was. Few people realised he was taking the piss out of white American stereotypes and making a statement about how black people have taken them over. That's what he talks about on 'New Slaves' and 'Black Skinhead'. It is wilful provocation, and a lot of people are only provoked. They don't see the real intention behind it.
All the things you just said about him,ask yourself,but what if Kanye West is retarded?
Jokes aside,kanye was self aware when he said stuff like
"always said if I rapped I'd say somethin' significant
but now I'm rappin' 'bout money, hoes, and rims again"
and
"It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold
Spend ya whole life tryna get that ice
On a polo rugby it look so nice
How could somethin' so wrong make me feel so right, right?"
New Slaves is just shameless hypocrisy that talks about stuff he himself is pretty ignorant about.
The problem is he isn't taking a piss most of the time,he chooses the wrong subjects to be dead serious about and it's kinda sad what comes out of it.
As I said,Kayne once upon a time was very self aware when he stuck with subjects he understood,nowadays not so much.
If you don't believe me just watch any interview ever Kanye does after Yeezus where he talks about the album and motives behind it and some of its songs.The guy became so incredibly clueless and disingenuous with his art it just hurts my brain.
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Sadly I haven't heard most of your top 10, besides Yeezus, Acid Rap and Reflektor. I'd replace Yeezus with MMLP2, as Kanye's production, although good, sometimes felt kind of hectic and the lyrics on some songs just didn't live up to his 'level'. I like it, but I like MMLP2 better, it doesn't feel so cocky, or obnoxious.
My top 10
Disclosure - Settle
Avicii - True
James Blake - Overgrown
Stromae - Racine Carrée
Black Sabbath - 13
Eminem - MMLP2
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Katy Perry - Prism
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
David Bowie - The Next Day
Lets make it top 11
Burial - Rival Dealer
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On December 31 2013 05:36 Bunn wrote:
Sadly I haven't heard most of your top 10, besides Yeezus, Acid Rap and Reflektor. I'd replace Yeezus with MMLP2, as Kanye's production, although good, sometimes felt kind of hectic and the lyrics on some songs just didn't live up to his 'level'. I like it, but I like MMLP2 better, it doesn't feel so cocky, or obnoxious.
My top 10
Disclosure - Settle
Avicii - True
James Blake - Overgrown
Stromae - Racine Carrée
Black Sabbath - 13
Eminem - MMLP2
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Katy Perry - Prism
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
David Bowie - The Next Day
Lets make it top 11
Burial - Rival Dealer
I thought Eminem's latest was really poor. There have been a lot of good rap albums out this year, I wouldn't put Eminem anywhere near my top 10. As I said before, I like the cocky, obnoxiousness of Yeezus. That's the point of it.
An interesting list. I was massively disappointed by David Bowie's new album (as talked about in the blog post proper). James Blake almost made it into mine, and I don't really understand the hype on Disclosure. I also think Arctic Monkeys have just repeated the same tired sound with no heart or passion and it's just very dull to me now.
I loved Burial's latest EP though, but didn't include it as it is just an EP. Granted, it's actually longer than Iceage's album but going into EPs opens up a whole new level of things to explore. I didn't quite like it as much as I did Kindred, so it's my second favourite of his EPs I think.
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On December 31 2013 05:08 TheKefka wrote:Show nested quote +On December 31 2013 04:56 Larkin wrote:On December 31 2013 04:27 TheKefka wrote:
I have no idea about most of these but I'm just gonna comment on the hip hop albums you listed.
In my opinion there were several releases this year that are worth listening to and have more longevity than acid rap:
betteroffDEAD(technically a mixtape but it's too good not to mention it.)
12 reasons to die
run the jewels
doris
the nights gambit
my name is my name
again I agree with acid rap being really good and deff worth listening too.
I definitely agree that those are worth listening to (I haven't listened to My Name is My Name though) but I preferred Acid Rap personally. I thought Doris was okay. The Nights Gambit was really good, as was betteroffDEAD.
Yeezus is bad,not just because Kanye West has grown into a incredible nut job and shameless hypocrite(he was one before but still had the decency to admit it here and there and show a little humility) but because if you listened to albums such as Venomous Villain by MF Doom or anything Death Grips have put out than you realize the "forward thinking" praise he gets for this album is just because Kanye West sits on the mainstream throne and most people have never heard the type of sound that he tried to pull off with Yeezus.Kanye did nothing special with Yeezus other than try to feed his megalomania and manages to ruin a number of really good beats along the way.
If you can completely isolate your experience with the album from the real persona of Kanye and you have never heard any kind of decent "progressive" hip hop or how ever you want to call it,than yea,I can see how you could like Yeezus.
I haven't praised Kanye for being "forward thinking" on Yeezus. I praised him for having a clear agenda and doing exactly what he set out to do. I thought Death Grips' Exmilitary and The Money Store were great but I think their newest album is poor, in the proper blog post I talk about it. Obviously in terms of progressive hip hop things like Madvillainy and Exmilitary are more forward thinking, and I agree that Kanye does take inspiration for some of his tracks (particularly 'On Sight') from the success of Death Grips' later albums. I like Yeezus BECAUSE of Kanye's persona. He's very self-aware, and that comes off in his music. His megalomania is exactly the point of Yeezus. I feel like people in the mainstream only see the Yeezus he shows off, not the Kanye inside. It's like the reaction to the 'Bound 2' video - people laughed at it for how cheesy and badly shot it was. Few people realised he was taking the piss out of white American stereotypes and making a statement about how black people have taken them over. That's what he talks about on 'New Slaves' and 'Black Skinhead'. It is wilful provocation, and a lot of people are only provoked. They don't see the real intention behind it. All the things you just said about him,ask yourself, but what if Kanye West is retarded?Jokes aside,kanye was self aware when he said stuff like "always said if I rapped I'd say somethin' significant but now I'm rappin' 'bout money, hoes, and rims again" and "It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold Spend ya whole life tryna get that ice On a polo rugby it look so nice How could somethin' so wrong make me feel so right, right?" New Slaves is just shameless hypocrisy that talks about stuff he himself is pretty ignorant about. The problem is he isn't taking a piss most of the time,he chooses the wrong subjects to be dead serious about and it's kinda sad what comes out of it. As I said,Kayne once upon a time was very self aware when he stuck with subjects he understood,nowadays not so much. If you don't believe me just watch any interview ever Kanye does after Yeezus where he talks about the album and motives behind it and some of its songs.The guy became so incredibly clueless and disingenuous with his art it just hurts my brain.
I don't really like the use of the word 'retarded', so I'm not really going to take that angle with any seriousness.
I think Lou Reed's opinion on it is more qualified than the both of us, so I'll just leave it with him:
http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed
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I don't know how far Lou Reed is into hip hop but judging by the opening lines "No one's near doing what he's doing, it's not even on the same planet." not so much and that he thinks "people are getting upset about "Put my fist in her like a civil rights sign"? is pretty funny,because no one that's seriously into hip hop was upset about that line.
Just because he is an acknowledged artist in a certain art form that doesn't make him anymore qualified than you and me to talk about another one.
Only connection I can find between hip hop and Lou Reed is that article and that tribe called quest sampled his walk on the wild side(which I didn't know actually!).
I mean he has some valid points and the stuff that he dislikes I agree with but overall it reads like someone who has a lot of musical experience talking about something they usually don't talk about and can't clearly judge in the grand scheme of things.Obviously he knows Kanyes body of work well enough that he can say some of it is the same old bs,which again is funny because it's kinda also not true because this time around Kanye tackles subjects that are way bigger than those which he usually talks about and it ironically ends up being the lyrically worst performance lol.Parts of the article tell me he doesn't really listen to other stuff that's further out there so he's kinda lacking stuff to compare and scale with.
like a man can have an opinion but if he thinks " "Hold My Liquor" is just heartbreaking, and particularly coming from where it's coming from — listen to that incredibly poignant hook from a tough guy like Chief Keef, wow. At first, West says "I can hold my liquor" and then he says "I can't hold my liquor." " ,I can just kinda giggle at that idk.
It comes down to taste I guess and this one just misses me personally.
if we are to compare other peoples reviews I'm more on the side of the needledrop when it comes to yeezus
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On December 31 2013 06:14 Larkin wrote:Show nested quote +On December 31 2013 05:36 Bunn wrote:
Sadly I haven't heard most of your top 10, besides Yeezus, Acid Rap and Reflektor. I'd replace Yeezus with MMLP2, as Kanye's production, although good, sometimes felt kind of hectic and the lyrics on some songs just didn't live up to his 'level'. I like it, but I like MMLP2 better, it doesn't feel so cocky, or obnoxious.
My top 10
Disclosure - Settle
Avicii - True
James Blake - Overgrown
Stromae - Racine Carrée
Black Sabbath - 13
Eminem - MMLP2
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Katy Perry - Prism
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
David Bowie - The Next Day
Lets make it top 11
Burial - Rival Dealer I thought Eminem's latest was really poor. There have been a lot of good rap albums out this year, I wouldn't put Eminem anywhere near my top 10. As I said before, I like the cocky, obnoxiousness of Yeezus. That's the point of it. An interesting list. I was massively disappointed by David Bowie's new album (as talked about in the blog post proper). James Blake almost made it into mine, and I don't really understand the hype on Disclosure. I also think Arctic Monkeys have just repeated the same tired sound with no heart or passion and it's just very dull to me now. I loved Burial's latest EP though, but didn't include it as it is just an EP. Granted, it's actually longer than Iceage's album but going into EPs opens up a whole new level of things to explore. I didn't quite like it as much as I did Kindred, so it's my second favourite of his EPs I think.
Eminem's lyrics are in my opinion more relatable, and personal - something which Kanye hasn't managed to do. His lyrics feel more mature (if one can say that about Eminem) as well, or at least have more depth (to me). Perhaps I'm just tired of Yeezus. I liked it when it was released, and listened to it very heavily, but over time I just got tired of it. For obnoxius, I'd rather listen to Tyler The Creator's Wolf. It may not be his best album, but I enjoyed it.
Disclosure may have an 'old' sound, but amongst all other club music it just sounded fresh. That and the heavy use of reverb. That's my theory at least. Perhaps AlunaGeorge's Bodymusic would be a better fit in my list, they did a great album imo.
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What is the appeal of Iceage? I love post-punk and nearly everything they are influenced by but they bore the shit out of me. Psychic was amazing though. Foxygen, I never listened to because I became aware of the fact that the singer is a real piece of shit before I ever heard any of their stuff.
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OP I don't know any of your stuff, I just came here to say:
On December 31 2013 05:36 Bunn wrote:
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Fuck Yeah Artic Monkeys!
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On December 31 2013 08:58 DoctorHelvetica wrote:
What is the appeal of Iceage? I love post-punk and nearly everything they are influenced by but they bore the shit out of me. Psychic was amazing though. Foxygen, I never listened to because I became aware of the fact that the singer is a real piece of shit before I ever heard any of their stuff.
Yeah, they're pretty huge douches. But I'd really recommend the album, it's so fun.
Iceage... I suppose for me it comes through my friend and how they basically express everything he was feeling a couple years ago and I can relate to them for that. But that said they make pretty damn good music anyway. I listed a bunch of my favourite songs of theirs on the whole post, maybe you can relisten and try and see the appeal in them? I can understand criticism of them but not just "boring". I can't see how that kind of music can possibly be boring.
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Surprised that Random Access Memories hasnt surfaced yet. Its quality is not the best but the replay value is way better than anything else
1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
2. Kanye West - Yeezus
3. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
4. James Blake - Overgrown (Retrograde is imo the best song of 2013)
5. John Legend - Love in the Future
6. Elton John - The Diving Board
7. Cold War Kids - Dear Miss Lonelyheart
8. MS MR - Secondhand Rapture
Suddenly cant think of the last two 
Too bad new Broken Bells wont hit the store until mid Jan '14, otherwise it would round up an awesome year in music (albeit the huge disappointment called MMLP2)
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My Top 5:
5. The Natonal - Trouble will find me
4. Washed Out - Paracosm
3. Jai Paul - Leaked album (if it doesn't count then Blood Orange's album)
2. Haim - Days are gone
1. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Great list btw OP, definitely agree with Jon Hopkins
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Edit: Posted a double comment, sorry.
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
wingpawn has the best list since it has Haxan and Tim Hecker
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On December 31 2013 15:17 Arceus wrote:Surprised that Random Access Memories hasnt surfaced yet. Its quality is not the best but the replay value is way better than anything else 1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories 2. Kanye West - Yeezus 3. Arcade Fire - Reflektor 4. James Blake - Overgrown (Retrograde is imo the best song of 2013) 5. John Legend - Love in the Future 6. Elton John - The Diving Board 7. Cold War Kids - Dear Miss Lonelyheart 8. MS MR - Secondhand Rapture Suddenly cant think of the last two Too bad new Broken Bells wont hit the store until mid Jan '14, otherwise it would round up an awesome year in music (albeit the huge disappointment called MMLP2)
I did like RAM, and it did make the shortlist. But I didn't like it enough to make the top 10. Check out the post itself to see what I said about it. But that's a good list. I love Retrograde, it's a fantastic song. I prefer the remix of Life Round Here with Chance the Rapper though. Just.
On December 31 2013 18:34 TameNaken wrote:
My Top 5:
5. The Natonal - Trouble will find me
4. Washed Out - Paracosm
3. Jai Paul - Leaked album (if it doesn't count then Blood Orange's album)
2. Haim - Days are gone
1. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Great list btw OP, definitely agree with Jon Hopkins
All good albums (apart from Vampire Weekend who I really don't like). Very poppy. I didn't like Paracosm as much as Within and Without though. And I've never really understood the hype of The National. I like The Boxer and High Violet but not like on a "omg so good" scale. Haim made a splash too.
On December 31 2013 19:43 lichter wrote:
wingpawn has the best list since it has Haxan and Tim Hecker
Both of which were on my shortlist! They both came very close to getting into the top 10, in the end I decided that I won't be listening to them as much because it's more an appreciation type thing than a proper dancing enjoyment type thing. Haxan Cloak's 'The Drop' is one of my favourite songs this year though. And he was phenomenal when I saw him live, supporting Fuck Buttons.
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Mine is probably something like:
1. Kanye West - Yeezus
2. Darkside - Psychic
3. Deafheaven - Sunbather
4. Monosweszi - The Village
5. Burial - Rival Dealer
6. Danny Brown - Old
7. Migos - Young Rich Niggas
8. Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory And Injury
9. Gorguts - Colored Sands
10. The Knife - Shaking The Habitual
honorable mention to tim hecker, ghostface killa, three six mafia (under a new name), and kode9 though
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Reading this thread made me realize how little new music I listen to. Gonna go through everyone's lists now and check it all out. This is why TL is awesome.
Here are a few of my favourites in no particular order.
Armin van Buuren - Intense
Aly & Fila - Quiet Storm
Russian Circles - Memorial
Typhoon - White Lighter
Caspian - Hymn for the Greatest Generation
Hammock - Oblivion Hymns
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Hymn for the Greatest Generation is probably my favourite on this list, but Armin van Buuren's 2013 trance year mix is the best thing I've listened to this year. I'd recommend it to anyone who has time to listen to all of it's 6+ hour glory.
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On January 01 2014 04:21 DoctorHelvetica wrote:
Mine is probably something like:
1. Kanye West - Yeezus
2. Darkside - Psychic
3. Deafheaven - Sunbather
4. Monosweszi - The Village
5. Burial - Rival Dealer
6. Danny Brown - Old
7. Migos - Young Rich Niggas
8. Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory And Injury
9. Gorguts - Colored Sands
10. The Knife - Shaking The Habitual
honorable mention to tim hecker, ghostface killa, three six mafia (under a new name), and kode9 though
That's a cool list. I liked Da Mafia 6s new release (though definitely prefer the old name), and we should all give a moment's respect to Lord Infamous, RIP dude.
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EPT
