Red's Best of 2016: The YECA (Top 5 Albums, p. 7) - Page 2

Red

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Originally posted by holyground

Wow that's a lot to read.

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Originally posted by Diarrhoea

The essay

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Originally posted by thecptz

aw the essay

I see that my casual style of writing has attracted keen eyes.

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Originally posted by Achilles.

Serving Cher Farewell Tour realness.

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Originally posted by jpow

yeah you're not allowed to stop doing these

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Originally posted by @michael

We all know this ain't your last one

Hey now, I'm only ending the YECA. The Top 100 will probably still be around, if nothing else.

Okay, I've decided to go with a slightly different look for this year's festivities. Yes, it's experimentation time! (This is going to end horribly, isn't it?)

2016 was, even more than previous years, a weird year for YouTube videos. One of my favorite YouTube videos of 2016 was a guy singing "All Star" to the tune of Adele's "Hello". I am nothing, if not consistent in my love for the weird. Sometimes, it gets even a little weird for *me*, though, and that's what brings us to this video. What seems like a normal interview for a news program turns into something altogether different the moment she brings up the "Vacuum Cleaner Man". This woman, out of nowhere, mentions that the "Vacuum Cleaner Man" has seen her breasts. Or, more accurately, "he's seen my ****". I have tried to figure out what inspired her to mention this factoid. If you can figure it out, by all means, let me know.

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Hey, remember Arthur the Laughing Weatherman? Remember how, for a brief period, he was a YouTube sensation? Well, I do. But that clip is, not in and of itself, why he's on this year's list. The reason that Arthur gets to make an appearance here is because someone, in their infinite wisdom, thought to themselves, "Hey, wait a second...can I make his laugh sync up to M83's 'Midnight City'?" The answer is...yes, you can. And it is something else. I never thought that this is something I would want...but here we are.

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Speaking of remembering things, remember when there was a big hoopla over the possibility of Foo Fighters breaking up after his performance of "Blackbird" at the Oscars? Yeah, that's a news story that quickly fell out of the spotlight, because, obviously, the Foos didn't break up. But my god, I remember those rumors being RAMPANT, to the point where there was going to be this huge announcement video, where Dave Grohl was going to say that the Foos were actually breaking up. Lo and behold, we get the video, and...if you know Dave Grohl, you know what you're actually about to get. If not, go in with no knowledge of what actually lies in the video. It makes the actual content of the video even sweeter.

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Okay, bear with me here, because this video is actually on the list because of another video that I saw for the first time this year. Still with me? Okay, this is Isaiah Dennis. He's going to make a teleportation noise. He does so. It's a cute video, but it's not really a "YouTube Top 10" video, you know? Now, let's take this video about making a teleporter noise and use it within the context of a popular television series where teleportation was a vital part of the show. This is the story of how someone took a seemingly innocent clip about a young kid making a "teleporting noise" and turned it into a Star Trek meme. Every time I watch this clip and I get to the "teleportation", I can't help but giggle.

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Stranger Things came closer than any other TV show of the last ten years to bringing me back into the TV fold. Even after just one eight-episode season, I feel confident in naming Stranger Things one of my favorite TV shows ever. I fell in love with all of the characters, particularly the kids, PARTICULARLY Eleven. So why WOULDN'T Stranger Things also inspire one of my favorite YouTube videos of 2016, as well? Spoofing the legendary Charlie Brown Christmas, A Stranger Things Christmas has the characters that so many of us love acting like the Peanuts characters so many of us...well, love.

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I forgot to place this video on my top 10 list last year. I am an idiot. Let's atone by putting it on this year's list instead! This Australian has one of THE most magnificent voices I have ever heard. I don't know who this guy is, and, honestly, I'm not sure if I want to know more. All I need is this voice, this truly wonderful voice, speaking incredible lines like "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest", "What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?", and, of course, "GET YOUR HAND OFF MY PENIS!" This video is wonderful in so many ways.

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As with last year, I got quite a bit of enjoyment out of wrestling-related YouTube videos. One of my favorite wrestling-related videos of the year was a clip from way back in 2008, back when Chris Jericho made his first return to WWE. What gets me about this clip is the impersonation of "JR", Jim Ross. If you've EVER watched a broadcast of WWE or WWF with Jim Ross commentating, you know that his style of commentary is quite fun to imitate, and this might be my favorite imitation, if only because of the incredible commentary being spewed. "STONE COLD IS THE CODE!" "10, 29, 30!" "STONE COLD! STONE COLD IS HERE!" "Can you SMELL what Rey Mysterio is cookin'?" And the best line...which I won't spoil, but it has become a bit of a meme on its own.

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This might be the most simple video to ever make this list. There's really nothing more to this video than an old man in Australia appearing on a news program and reciting the joke that made him famous around the world. What would that amazing, world-changing joke be? "What a joker!" There it is, the pinnacle of humor. Nothing will ever top that. This guy thinks it is so funny and mind-blowing that he breaks out into the funniest laugh I have ever heard. It has to be heard to be believed. I can't even do the laugh justice, you really have to watch the clip and just revel in its hilarity. I loved a love of offbeat videos in 2016, but this short clip might be the best of the lot.

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When I first saw this video, no lie, I thought that this was a shoo-in to be my #1 at the end of the year. As it just so happens, I found another video that found a way to top it. Even still, The Wrestling Proposal found a way to merge two of my favorite kinds of videos on YouTube (wrestling and surprises) and created something wholly its own entity. Joey Ryan and his girlfriend, Laura James, are in the middle of a hard-hitting, exciting wrestling match, when, out of nowhere, Ryan rips up the script, stops the match, grabs a mic...and gets down onto his left knee. He promptly asks for James' hand in marriage, and she accepts. Now, keep in mind, this is a real marriage proposal...which, meanwhile, IS ALL HAPPENING DURING A WRESTLING MATCH WHERE THE NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLE ARE FIGHTING EACH OTHER. So, what happens after a real, live marriage proposal during a wrestling match? What else: Joey Ryan takes the opportunity to use Laura James' emotions against her to win the match. Ahhhh, young love.

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My #1 video poses a problem for me: How do I talk about a video where talking about the video in-depth runs the risk of spoiling the moment that ultimately makes the video my favorite of 2016? The White Room is a singular video for me in 2016, a three-minute clip that takes all of your expectations of where everything is going to go...and then promptly swerves you violently into another direction that you couldn't possibly have predicted. Seriously, the first time I watched this video, by the end, I laughed harder than I have at ANY YouTube video I have ever watched...and the best part is that it wasn't just the big punchline that made me laugh. There's plenty of great jokes and one-liners before that point. It's a great clip made even better by an ending that takes you in a direction that just wraps everything up into one neat little package. Just watch the video already. It's my #1 video of the year by a mile. Go. Watch it. Now.

The first list is done and dusted. Next up is a new classic of the YECA: My Top 15 Songs From The Past. I'll see you tomorrow.

Wicked

Chris Jericho >>>
WWE >>>

(and yas Eric Andre >>>)

Nick Cave, Prince, Bowie. All Kings. Let me perch for this!

Oxygen

Red!!! I'll be following this closely

M A R N ✮

can't wait

AshleeSimpsonFan

Red! One of my favorite Best Ofs every year! Tbh I don't know those videos, let me check them out

Red

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Originally posted by Wicked

Chris Jericho >>>
WWE >>>

(and yas Eric Andre >>>)

Nick Cave, Prince, Bowie. All Kings. Let me perch for this!

No, seriously, where have you been all my life?

Going through the process of getting ready for the Songs From The Past post. If (and I do stress the word "If") you want to comment on the YouTube list before then, do so soon!

jose168

All of these senior members bidding adieu is making me kinda sad tbh

Red

2016 was more of a year of re-discovering, rather than new discoveries. I've listened to all but one of the songs on this top 15 multiple times in the past, but 2016 was the year where I really, REALLY got into them. Keep that in mind as you read this year's list celebrating the best from the past...

We kick off the 2016 Songs From the Past with a staple of these lists: THE ROCK BAND (or Guitar Hero) DISCOVERIES! "Metropolis - Part I" is an epic song in every sense of the word. Nearly ten minutes long, it's such a Dream Theater-like song that--oh, wait, IT IS BY DREAM THEATER. Boy, doesn't that explain a lot? This is the most Dream Theater-y Dream Theater song I have ever listened to. It's almost like they made this song with that in mind. "Hey...hey, guys, I think we should make a song that defines our sound this early into our careers!" I'm sure they said that, right?

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This was more of a "Guitar Hero" discovery, as I found myself playing rhythm games a lot more this year, especially the older titles, like Guitar Hero 5. Guitar Hero 5 is where I found myself falling in love with "Jailbreak" all over again. Thin Lizzy are mostly known these days for "The Boys Are Back In Town" and being the artist that inspired Metallica to cover "Whiskey in the Jar", but they're so much more than that. "Bad Reputation" and "Jailbreak" are both very solid songs worthy of checking out that aren't just, "Hey, it's that 'Boys Are Back In Town' band!"

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As with 2014, the artist who supplied the #1 from the previous year is back on the list in 2016, though they impacted this list far, FAR less so than Sigur Ros did in consecutive years. Dexys Midnight Runners, as a whole, probably impacted me more in 2016 than in 2015, despite "Come On Eileen" still lingering over 2016, just as it did in 2015, and nowhere was that more apparent than their OTHER big UK hit, "Geno". This song is what Dexys were for years in a nutshell, and it's a must-listen if you are wanting to get the gist of Dexys beyond "Eileen".

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Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers, simply complemented themselves so well that they couldn't help but record together. They have better and more omnipresent songs, but "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" deserves to stand by those songs as a titan of popular music in the 1960's. The song is also noteworthy for being the first single Medley and Hatfield released without Phil Spector producing it, but you wouldn't know it with how the song sounds. If anything, it mimics the "Wall of Sound" and fellow Righteous Brothers classic "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" REMARKABLY well.

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I readily admit that "House of Jealous Lovers" passed me by when it was first released back in 2003. Hey, what can I say? I was focused more on Linkin Park and Korn at the time. I think that I've atoned for my sins, though, especially after listening to "House of Jealous Lovers" many, many, MANY times in the last twelve months. What's most interesting, to me, is that I actually re-discovered this song thanks to another video game, NBA 2K15, but it took another twelve+ months for me to really sink my teeth into what is widely regarded as one of the great songs of the 2000's. Go figure.

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Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance has become a cornerstone of rock music in the decades following its original airing, and even long after MTV Unplugged itself fell off into the ether. In particular, the performances of "All Apologies" and "The Man Who Sold The World" have reached a level of popularity that only the biggest Nirvana songs, like "Smells Like Teen Spirit", could claim previously. It's a shame, though, that people have focused mainly on those two songs, because the entire Unplugged album is truly master-class, and nowhere is that more apparent than on the heartbreaking performance of Lead Belly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". You can feel the pain in Cobain's vocals, ESPECIALLY in the final minute or so of the song, as Cobain's vocals become howls to the sky, seemingly begging for release. It's Kurt Cobain at his most agonized, and it's breathtaking to listen to, even today.

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Man, Meat Loaf, you are truly something. For the longest time, I've simply respected you as a vocal force. In many ways, my relationship with your music remains the same. I think that Meat Loaf is a talented musician, but it's so difficult sometimes for me to really dive into his work, especially the lauded Bat Out of Hell. Even with all of this in mind, it's hard not to fall for "Paradise By The Dashboard Light", with both Meat Loaf and guest vocalist Ellen Foley trading turns trying to one up the other in the vocal department. It doesn't hurt that the music itself follows them on every twist and turn, helping to create the musical equivalent of a long, winding rollercoaster. It uses all of its eight minutes and twenty-eight seconds in the best possible way. All hail The Loaf.

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2016, as you may be aware, was a pretty terrible year for death in music. Some true giants of the world of music saw their lives come to an end in 2016, and this list is heavily reflective of that fact. This is especially the case with the top 8, where half of the remaining list consists of those who passed away in 2016, starting with one of the driving forces of one of America's most famous rock bands. I've always kind of liked the Eagles, but never loved. I mean, "Hotel California" can't be messed with, but the rest of their material doesn't QUITE do it for me on the same level. My second-favorite song involving an Eagle, believe it or not, is a solo song...and it's not by Don Henley. "You Belong to the City" is Glenn Frey's masterwork, a six minute piece of pop heaven with saxophone riffs, a catchy pre-chorus ("Nobody knows where you're going, nobody cares where you've been"), and a chorus that gets stuck in your head and doesn't let go.

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To me, this might be the most controversial choice on this list. Why? Because I've always loved "Beds Are Burning". It and "Power and the Passion" are the two songs that got me into Midnight Oil. So, why is "Beds Are Burning" on this very list? Well...because "Passion" has always, ALWAYS been my preferred Midnight Oil song of choice for years and years and years...but then, 2016 came calling, and "Beds Are Burning" finally pulled ahead. 2016 was the year where I finally found myself loving another Midnight Oil song more than "Power and the Passion", and it was an old friend hanging around, waiting in the wings to take over. I find it difficult to put into words just how much I love "Beds Are Burning". The only reason it's not higher on this list is because I did already love it before, and the extent that it grew in my estimation wasn't quite on the same level as, say, "Come On Eileen" last year. What a song, though.

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I readily admit that I've always respected Leonard Cohen more than enjoyed his music. Of course, my respect levels for Cohen were enormous even before his passing. He was, inarguably, one of the great songwriters of the 20th century. It took his death, as so many do, for me to really delve into his music. Surprise! I love it. (And you'll see how much I fell in love with his music later in the YECA...hint hint) Obviously, "Hallelujah" got the lion's share of focus upon Cohen's death, and deservedly so, but there's just so, SO many great Cohen songs to enjoy that are not "Hallelujah". Half of this list could have been just songs from Cohen. I decided to single out "Everybody Knows", though, because it feels like it could have been the theme song for the shitstorm that was 2016, even if the song was actually first released in 1988. I mean, just look at the lyrics for the first verse. Sound familiar?!

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As I expected, after "Trip Switch" took over my life near the end of 2015, I waited until 2016 to listen to their debut album. It's great, of course it is, and it would have been on the top 20 albums list last year, had I actually gotten around to it last year. To my surprise, I found myself liking some songs just a bit more than "Trip Switch". "Itch" is incredible, and I fell hard for "Ban All the Music", but the crown jewel of the album is "Graveyard Whistling". "Trip Switch", "Itch", "Ban All the Music"...those are all more up-tempo, catchy powerhouses that are driven by the band as much as the singer. "Graveyard Whistling" dials things down, and it becomes apparent just how important to the band singer Conor Mason is. The structure of the song is solid, the performances of the other band members are strong, but man, this song is just CARRIED by Mason on vocals. It's one of the best vocal performances I've heard in a long, long time. It was "Graveyard" that really helped me to fall in love with Nothing But Thieves as more than just the "Trip Switch" band...and Conor Mason is primarily to thank for that.

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Hey, not all was bad in 2016. I mean, I re-discovered Tool all over again! Yeah, I know, some of you are thinking, "Um, haven't you always loved Tool?" And that is true, I've always loved Tool. But the extent that I fell for Tool in 2016...I can say, definitively, that they are one of my five favorite bands ever now. I'd only absolutely put Muse, The Beatles and Deftones ahead, and I've seen two of those three in concert, so...yeah, big year for Tool. "The Grudge" was the BIG one for me, though, as it prepared me for my re-introduction to Lateralus with a bang. I don't think I can put into words just how I felt the first time I listened to that album in...lord, I think it had been seven, eight years, and this song popped up, and that drum beat from Danny Carey and that otherworldly riff from Adam Jones ensnared me all over again. And jesus, the vocal performance from Maynard James Keenan here...for most of the song, he's relatively calm, almost serene. But, as the song wears on, he starts to seem a little more unhinged, angry, fired up...and then, at around the seven minute mark...BAM. One of the most visceral, anger-fueled screams I can recall in any song, out of nowhere. It's as if all of the fury rumbles out in one go. God damn, I love this song.

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Remember, 2016 STARTED with the death of David Bowie. It's easy to forget that we were all kicked in the balls the entire year, not just at certain parts of the year, and even more than the death of another icon that will appear on this list very shortly, Bowie's death hit me hard. I didn't realize how much I was going to miss Mr. Stardust until I found myself listening to "Starman" a couple of days after his death. The thing that struck me on this particular listen is how it felt like I was actually listening to the Starman himself, bidding adieu to us all and taking Bowie with him. I'll have a lot more to say about Bowie when the top 20 albums rolls around, but "Starman", more than any song off of Blackstar, more than any other Bowie song, was the song that I listened to the most after his death. It's Bowie at his best.

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And then, three months later, we lost another icon. Just think about that for a minute. In 2016, we lost both David Bowie AND Prince. I still don't think we can grasp how truly insane it is that two of the biggest names in all of music suddenly were not here anymore, and months apart, no less. When I heard that Prince had died, my world seemingly stopped. Bowie's death was similar, but I don't remember just stopping everything that I was doing and jamming his songs for hours on end with Bowie like I did with Prince. I played "Purple Rain" on a loop for about an hour straight and just lost myself to the music, ignoring everything else around me at the time. Prince's death also came at a time when I was going through a really rough patch in my life, and "Purple Rain" helped to calm me down and soothe my soul in ways that nothing else could have at the time. Had this been any other year, with the impact this song had on me over the course of 2016, "Purple Rain" would have been #1 without a second thought. Alas, this wasn't any other year...

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I screwed up royally with "Let It Happen" last year. I've been saying something similar to that previous sentence multiple times over the course of 2016, and I think that here is as good of a place as any to atone for my sins. You may recall that I said that "Let It Happen" was not even one of my favorite songs off of Currents at the time when my top 20 albums was posted...but you also may have noticed that, when I placed "Let It Happen" #93 on the 2015 Top 100 Singles list, I was already regretting the low placement for the song. And I quote, "this will be my biggest mistake of 2015, more than any other album or song I did or did not listen to. By this time next year, this song will probably be a top 20 singles candidate. I am so stupid." One year later, and...yep. Every single part of that statement rings true. Let me take it one step further: Even with the strong competition this year, even with outside factors having a huge say in what made the list and how high certain songs and artists made the list this year, "Let It Happen" is the easiest choice for Songs From The Past #1 I have ever had. This song is exactly why this very list has become a yearly staple. Every year, I keep finding ways to screw up and rank songs or albums either too high or too low, or, more damningly, not listen to certain songs or albums at all. I may have reached a new pinnacle of "screw up", however, with "Let It Happen". This is a song that, now, for all intents and purposes, is my favorite song released in 2015, and, indeed, one of my favorite songs of all time. I screwed up so badly last year. Holy hell.

And that's the Songs From The Past list! As always, it was one of the most highly competitive lists of the YECA, and one of my favorites to put together every year. Next up is...well, a list that, admittedly, I was considering not even doing this year, because I simply did not play enough video games from 2016 to justify doing even a top 5...but screw it, we're changing things up this year. Tomorrow, it's the Top 5 Video Games...That I Played For The First Time...In 2016. Yep.

Sunderland 4ever

The energy with which I sang Let It Happen on this year's Tame Impala concert in Lima was unprecedented.

AlexisNeiers

Top 3 is goat

House of Jealous Lovers is still THAT song!

Dom

OMG Purple Rain is amazing

Achilles.

There is an overwhelming abundance of testosterone on this list.

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Remember, 2016 STARTED with the death of David Bowie. It's easy to forget that we were all kicked in the balls the entire year, not just at certain parts of the year

True. And "Starman" was also featured in the film The Martian, which I watched for the first time right after he died. I started tearing up during the movie.

Tom Vercetti

Lovely top 10. Musical legends that have unfortunately passed this year will be greatly missed. That #1 song is still epic.

Kavish

Midnight City is one of my long-drive-at-night songs, so I was really pleased to hear this weatherman's mix.

Here is another Australian video that I loved this year, mate.

Of course The White Room would be on a YouTube year-end list! The build-up and how you think it's so serious and some sort of epiphany will occur at the end and then...

~

I love almost everything on your 'Past' list. So many classics, and it's heartbreaking at the losses we had this year.

Nothing But Thieves is the apple in the box of oranges here but Graveyard Whistling is a really nice song - and also found on their Graveyard Whistling EP. Love the winter-esque atmosphere, and Emergency is my favorite from it. I like that feeling of vulnerability. From the debut album itself, my favorite is Honey Whiskey.

Mr.Link

The #1 video sounds like an interesting concept for a social experiment, just saying.

Rihlana

Perched

The essay was sweet

TheWayWeWere

Where Did You Sleep Last Night

it's great to see some Nirvana love on atrl

yeah, their Unplugged is low-key their best album

Starman

K$Ellie

Let It Happen is pretty good

I prefer Same Old Mistakes mostly because of Rihanna

Legend E

Let It Happen is pretty good

I prefer it to Same Old Mistakes

madonnas

Prince died on my birthday and I'm still BITTER