2016, the year no one really wants to remember right? A year marked with the rise of the new age despot - Farage at home and Trump across the Atlantic, and the fall of some of the greatest - Bowie, Cohen, Ali, Prince amongst others. A year coined by the Oxford dictionary as 'post-truth'; the rejection of 'experts'. Alas, 2016 feels increasingly like The Titanic - i.e can this year just ****ing end already.
Despite this film and music somewhat prevailed and it's that time again where we come to 'countdown' the best of the year. This year I intend to finish for the first time - I hope. However, as I've grown older (god help me) I've learnt that listing things in order of 'goodness' is 'reductive' - for lack of a better term. Depending on my mood I may like one song more than another so how can I legitimately say that 'x' is better than 'y' so this year I will simply be doing three lists of recommendations as follows:
20 Songs to listen to from 2016
10 Albums to listen to from 2016
10 Movies to watch from 2016
The idea is to finish this before Christmas, so that gives me 8 days to finish all three lists. I don't know If I will keep a schedule or not I am undecided but trust me I will finish!
I can't really recall my first thoughts when I heard this song but I do remember being quite inebriated and being blown away. The songs works with its brilliant contrast. Starting out with tinny chords that reverberate between the wonderfully, trippy background female vocals it builds into this stark, distant breakdown that then clashes with the energetic chorus; bitcrushed drums drawn out to suddenly become 'real'. A play on electronic music, it feels very similar to IDM such as Aphex Twin, its twisted and distorted and glitchy. The lyrics in the same vein are haywire, sinister and are snippets of thoughts but the vocals contrast this and make these snippets sound beautiful.
#2 -Traumprinz - 2 The Sky (Metatron's What If There's No End And No Beginning Mix)
Released as part of a record that sold out in literal minutes it is clear that the electronic music community has gone a bit nuts for Giegling releases but this proves that maybe they are right to be so. It's a whole 10 minutes 25 seconds but at no point does any part of you want to stop listening to it. It's simple too - built around a beautiful pad, a distant piano, a pulsing synth line, reverb drums and a wonderful vocal sample. But its the way the pieces evolve and come together that make this song seem almost transcendent, imagining this being played at 6am when the sun is coming up and everyone else is coming down sends shivers down my spine.
#3 -Carly Rae Jepsen - Roses
A bit of a change in pace now. Carly's had another good year and this highlight from her 2016 release ticks all the boxes that makes her music so brilliant. Its a no frills pop song about still being in love with your ex and pretending its all ok. Its got a catchy hook, a beautiful chord progression and wonderful floaty synths. It doesn't take itself too seriously either. Need I say more. Give it a listen
But I'm still ready!
It's a pretty slow and lowkey weak ending after the 7 bops she served us before iT. Still a good one though.