I kinda disagree on dangerous donut, i think this is her most ~fashionable~ album yet. Everything is pristinely produced, while most are going for more atmospheric, airy/breathy minimalist tunes, she churned out a glossy, high energy, top notch max martin bop machine. So it stands out in 2k16
for me that's what makes it more individual, the fact that she's making something that most others are not u know. while the likes of bieber and rihanna are being moody and contemplative, ariana's being brash and kitsch which i feel not a lot are doing in the charts right now (altho i have no clue what's cool and hip/down with the kids so i'm probs wrong)
but yes agree re: carly = TALENT
Quote:
Originally posted by Kang.
Oh do tell
my worst of year rants are still pending release, a most-songs-on-tlop tea
I really love every song on this album, but, amidst all its guest features, I feel like Track Uno is the song that truly gives focus to Kaytranada himself. The beginning really underlines his style effectively while the beat change towards the end showcases his versatility. It's nice to hear an album of productions where the producer really makes his presence known.
19 BURN THE WITCH
RADIOHEAD
Everything and nothing has changed about Radiohead, but that may speak a lot more about the world in which we live, which hasn't changed that much since the days of OK Computer. Burn The Witch recalls a lot of Radiohead's earlier works in both sound and theme, but the frantic strings that echo throughout bring new ideas to their style. The song creates an eerie connection between the old and the new to remind us that the things we retroactively decry still exist today. We may have done away with burning at the stake, but when we've seen political movements in 2016 prevailing on xenophobic grounds, it's easy to understand how relevant scapegoating - 'burning the witch' - still is.
18 NEVER EVER
RÖYKSOPP FT SUSANNE SUNDFØR
After delivering a pretty great dance EP last year, Royksopp return with the unexpected electropop bop of the year. Susanne sounds really great here and shows how well she can apply herself to more upbeat tracks, and although at first it felt a little busy to me, when has pop music ever been about limiting your indulgence?
17 WITHOUT YOU
ANDERSON .PAAK
The king of features in 2016 also gave us an album which had a really great personal spirit that invested him with as much character as he's given to other tracks. Without You is a really earnest moment on the record where Anderson proclaims his love for his wife(?) even in spite of their worse moments. When someone blows up it's particularly nice to hear songs from them which celebrate a committal relationship that's worked in spite of everything, and Without You captures this honest, humble moment perfectly.
16 BLACKSTAR
DAVID BOWIE
Even in spite of all the different personae he's adopted over the years, David Bowie, the dying man, may be Bowie's greatest one yet. Blackstar opens with a haunting, ten minute journey into the end of the proverbial tunnel. The song moves between electronic stutters, dying saxophones and jazz drums, and it works brilliantly as a melodramatic way to frame Bowie's epitaph. The way Blackstar meanders through these different places feels like we're journeying through a creative world in its final moments, knowing that when the ten minutes are up we'll be ushered away, with Bowie remaining inside and closing the doors indefinitely.
15 AIN'T IT FUNNY
DANNY BROWN
Danny Brown brings an amazing sense of energy to his songs, so it's pretty fitting that Atrocity Exhibition's most bombastic moment comes with a song that narrates addiction and substance abuse. He's aware of his own limitations here, "But Satan the one who laughing" shows that in spite of his rampant hedonism, his inner demons will have the ultimate victory. However, Ain't It Funny recognises the futility of worrying about the future and a time that is not yet in effect. It doesn't dwell on these matters and steamrolls through in under three minutes, enjoying every second in spite of its fleeting moments of self-awareness - there's no time like the present.
14 HANDS UP
BLOOD ORANGE
Freetown Sound is not about placing your art in second position while you politicise, but moreover it's about how the art - as an intrinsic part of the self - has to adapt along to political awakenings. You could probably fool the hook in Hands Up for being atypical of a pop song - "Hands up, get up" - but by the end of the song we're given a stark reminder of its true connotations as we hear "Don't shoot, don't shoot". In a moment, the world feels devastatingly real, and cruel.
13 NO PROBLEM
CHANCE THE RAPPER
Chance doesn't channel gospel music and religious tones for a sanctimonious effect, but rather he attempts to elicit their (better parts of) spiritualism and optimism. No Problem narrates Chance's problems in the music industry but it isn't plagued by bitterness, instead it looks forward with a sense of optimism which is nice to hear in today's climate. The hook's pretty amazing too js
12 INTO YOU
ARIANA GRANDE
Ariana really, truly understands pop music, and how to make great songs that don't necessarily fit in all too much with today but are completely formidable on technique alone. Into You is a pretty monolithic pop song, it manipulates atmosphere and builds up towards huge choruses which overflow with energy. The way the first verse moves in slowly is dark and brooding, like a thunderstorm waiting to erupt. Ariana's vocals elicit this palpable tension in the air, the oooh's in the prechorus ascending until the chorus crashes down like a thunderstorm, and our bodies rush with electricity.
11 HOLD UP
BEYONCÉ
Pray You Catch Me was a nice start, but the Lemonade film's true introduction to the world came bursting through double doors in bright, incandescent yellow. Hold Up is just, like, impossibly good. It's the perfect blending of commercial pop and indie songwriting, and in today's climate of course Beyonce would be the perfect curator to bring it together. Beyonce's voice works perfectly with the dancehall beat which throbs with the force of a baseball bat smashing into a fire hydrant. Lyrically, Beyonce asks for humanisation, "What's worse, lookin' jealous or crazy? .... Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately / I'd rather be crazy", it's a song that refuses to be pigeonholed into the role of the crazy, fallen woman, expressing herself in spite of existing in a society which demonises that. Hold Up, and the part it plays in a wider political piece, recognises that, as much as people need politics, they also deserve humanity.
Not really here for that overrated tripe Into You beating great songs like Blackstar, Burn the Witch or No Problem but other than that, a fantastic update
Without You
Burn The witch
No Problem: inwas watching the performance on the Ellen Show last night. So amazing
Into You is pop perfection
Hold Up Iconic video
Another set where I like all the songs so i'll highlight a few.
Ain't It Funny was super crazy when I first heard it. An instant standout. Blackstar is an experience. The Hiatus sample on Without You was really well done.
Quote:
Royksopp return with the unexpected electropop bop of the year.
I didn't know about Never Ever until these lists so thanks guys but I am a fan, slay with the Girl and the Robot sequel. I might like Pray You Catch These Hands better than Hold Up lol which is probably like my #6 from the album but I still appreciate it for all the reasons you outlined/ppl have said
I swear that album feels like it has 200 songs for me but Hands Up was always one of the most memorable, Ain't It Funny is simply jkhfkkkkjskklklnklklnlknhlhllhhhhMANNNN ofc + Into Chu is a jackhammer to the pleasure sensors. can't wait for top 10
Hold Up The weakest Lemonade single (so far?) but still a cute bop.
Into You Obviously pop perfection, there's nothing about it that isn't wig-snatching.
YES to everything on the last 3 pages. And you're writing here is just too much, good god.
Blackstar would've probably been my song of the year if I had included it on my list.
The thing you said about Tegan & Sara's evolution and about genre just being an accessory is so true. LIKE I still think the people that thought T-Swift's lyrics got worse from Red -> 1989 were just hung up on the sonic change.
thx for the comments, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, might possibly finish the albums today
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Originally posted by madonnas
No Problem also is a really good song, but I wish the rest of his release wasn't so disastrous. If all songs were that direction maybe I'd like it.
disastrous is strong dontcha think?
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Originally posted by Superpower
No Problem: inwas watching the performance on the Ellen Show last night. So amazing
i haven't seen this performance but i'll def watch it!
Quote:
Originally posted by Tom Vercetti
Ain't It Funny was super crazy when I first heard it. An instant standout. Blackstar is an experience. The Hiatus sample on Without You was really well done.
i wasn't even aware it was a sample nn, but it's one of the best parts of the song and upon hearing the original dare i say i think he probably improved on it and brought something new to it
Quote:
Originally posted by Penk
The thing you said about Tegan & Sara's evolution and about genre just being an accessory is so true. LIKE I still think the people that thought T-Swift's lyrics got worse from Red -> 1989 were just hung up on the sonic change.
the OPH (obsessed pop haters) are a mess! but tru tho
omg, i love this set never ever, blackstar, into you, hold up, and hands up are all soo good
and yas @ the carly inclusion in the last set
i still need to listen to that radiohead album tho
love these 3 so much
my favorite from this album . Truly a masterpiece
The weakest Lemonade single (so far?) but still a cute bop.
never ever, blackstar, into you, hold up, and hands up are all soo good
