Like you, I enjoyed Mosquito, but I saw it as disappointing. The good tracks are pretty damn good, though! Sadly, don't feel the same way about new Lonely Island.
I've had a bit of a rocky relationship with EDM this year. I feel like the genre hit stagnation a bit too early. Instead of keeping up with the progressiveness that I enjoyed so much, many people are simplifying it to better suit pop music. Pretty Lights, a vet in the genre, avoided this though. While this isn't a huge step for mankind, "Color Map of the Sun" doesn't just rely on tried and true formulas. It's a mix of dub, house and the soundtrack to Tron Legacy. It's the type of album that I expected Daft Punk to put out this year (more on this waaaaaaayyyyy later .) By that I mean it's a great electro album that you do not need molly to enjoy.
38. Old by Danny Brown
Favorite Song - "Dip"
And speaking of molly .... Everyone is singing about that stuff nowadays, no matter which genre you fall in to. Probably because they can afford it. I love "Dip" because it is beyond catchy and Danny Brown is flowing at his best. There is another song, "25 Bucks", with Purity Ring that also would have deserved a favorite song mention. "Dip I dip you dip" is just too infectious though and it stays in my head all day. I should mention, if it wasn't obvious, that this is very weird for a hip-hop album, and maybe just an album in general. Not exactly something that anybody could walk in to and have the patience to enjoy. If you can make it through the album though I highly recommend it. It's incredibly unique.
Had to cut things off a bit early last night due to indecisiveness... It was a really great year for music, but putting some of these in the 30s feels insulting. Yet there is nothing to move down either...
37. Comedown Machine by The Strokes
Favorite Song - "Welcome To Japan"
Strokes are no strangers to my year end lists, they go as far back as .. I wanna say 2004? I know Reptilia was my shiz, so whenever that came out and every album since. Julian Casablancas also contributed to a great song on Daft Punk's album, which is probably better mentioned here then there. So while it was a very quiet return for The Strokes, they still managed to make an impact. "Comedown Machine" attempts to merge their old alt sound with the modern alt sound, and it does not work as well as I'd have liked, but they still nailed it if that makes sense? It probably doesn't since I'm full of contradictions.
36. B.O.A.T.S. II-MeTIme by 2 Chainz
Favorite Song - "Fork"
2 chains and I got me a gold ring. Mr. Chainz would probably have placed around the same spot last year had I heard BOATS 1 in time. Both albums have very high highs and some very meh middles. Now if we combined the best songs of both albums in to one, we'd have a top ten album. Imagine "Fork", "Used 2", "Fed's Watching" and "Where U Been" alongside with "Birthday Song", Would be epic! Not on this album, but worth mentioning in case the song list doesn't work out, is "We Own It". That song is great, but only available on the Fast 6 soundtrack. You can also hear the song TWICE in the movie.
Aww ****, I missed a lot! And a lot of GREAT stuff, which comes as no surprise.
Let's see: I like the Yeahs record, but I echo your thoughts. Certainly wasn't nearly as good as It's Blitz or their previous records. I love The Lonely Island album! They are the greatest, forever and always. And then it's TY SEGALL! The greatest! I just called TLI the greatest, but Segall is as well. Many greats! But anyway, nice thoughts on Sleeper, and I look forward to him FUZZILY making another appearance. I haven't heard of Pretty Lights, but i'm listening to the embed now. I'm enjoying it! Love seeing Danny Brown on the list! Glad the album grew on you. Strokes, 2 Chainz, both good choices! it was indeed a great year for music!
Looking forward to the next 35 (and other sidelists)!
Well here we are on the last day of Part 1 and I did about half of what I intended to post. Seems about right.
35. Run The Jewels by Killer Mike and El-P
Favorite Song - "Run The Jewels"
I think the group name might be Run The Jewels as well, I've always been a little confused about that. And since it's Christmas season, I'm passing that confusion down to you, my readers. Killer Mike was on Outkast's "The Whole World" if you still aren't sure what's going on. And El-P is white! Great year for white rappers, both the ones I like and the ones I don't. Great year for hip-hop in general. I think there was only one album on my entire 2012 year end - Kendrick Lamar - and this year we already have four! Anyways Run The Jewels is great. Not very poppy, but some of the songs are still infectious. It's a much easier listen than say Danny Brown. These dudes just tear it up. "There will be no respect for thrones" is a good line to sum it up. Absolutely nothing like the hip-pop greatness of Watch The Throne, but the same spirit and energy is here.
34. Miracle Mile by STRFKR
Favorite Song - "Atlantis"
Here is a band that I think would be played and known more if they had a name you could say on the radio/TV without needing to be censored lol. Just fill in the vowels if you don't see it. And you'd think a band named star*ucker would be like this heavy destroy all faces type band. Not at all the case! "Miracle Mile" takes place in a dream, where stars are sentient beings that happen to *uckable. A listen to the above "Atlantis" should make everyone fall in love right quick. Follow that up with the wonderful "While I'm Alive" or "Malmo" and you have a good day ahead of you. This is one of those albums I felt terrible putting so low, but the strength of 2013 is working against it! Last year this is top 25 easy. Keep that in mind about all the upcoming records!
33. Bankrupt! by Phoenix
Favorite Song - "Trying To Be Cool"
The remix is not on the album, and I actually prefer the original, but I don't have heard the remix and therefore it's worth posting. R Kells does a great verse on an already great song. They slightly change the chorus though, which makes him prefer the original. "Trying To Be Cool" is about as close as they come to creating a megahit on this album, which their last album had two of. "1901" and "Liztomania" are both still amazing, and top everything on here. The rest of the album matches up quite well with the rest of their last one though. The epic title-track instrumental "Bankrupt!" in the middle of the scene might have been the most impressive song on the album, even if I list "Trying To Be Cool" as my favorite. Phoenix really hit it out the park on that one, which I wasn't sure they could do. A catchy as hell song I knew very well they could do.
32. Major Arcana by Speedy Ortiz
Favorite Song - "No Below"
Here is some new music for everyone! That sure is an ugly music video, but just pay attention to the song. I sure love Sadie Dupuis' voice. So that and those guitars combined created a big winner for me. I really wanted to see them live last month, but no one wanted to go with me and I didn't know how to get to the place by myself. /cry /whine /cheese . I wish all concerts came within a five minute walk from me. I'm getting sidetracked here, but I don't really have much else to say about Speedy. Lovely voice, strummin guitars, punk rock. Listen to it!
So I'm once again indecisiveness about what album comes next, so this is the stopping point. If I update I'll actually beat my album list projections, but the song list still isn't working. If I don't update, I'll see y'all in about eleven days!
STRFKR... I though at first it was SBTRKT (which I love) Really liked that Atlantis song! I should check out their music
Phoenix! Trying To Be Cool is so amazing
My favourite from this set is Run The Jewels (JEWELS JEWELS JEWELS JEWELS). And yes indeed, that is the name of the group! So great. I like the Phoenix album, and you told me about Speedy Ortiz! I really like them. I should have listened to them more, so they could have made my list. And I listened to the STRFKR embed, and that's another good song!
If you update again before you leave, i'm excited! If you don't, and this is the end of part one, I look forward to seeing the rest in eleven days!
Happy 2014 everybody! I am back and ready to complete this shizz. Part 2 begins in 3 .. 2.. NOW
31. Save Rock And Roll by Fall Out Boy
Favorite Song - "The Phoenix"
First off, it's always dangerous when a pop artist starts talking about Rock N Roll. Avril Lavigne made a mockery of the term earlier in the year, yet her version is pretty much the standard. The title track on this album is just as awful. Despite all that, Fall Out Boy still managed a return to form in 2013. Last year (or maybe it was 2011) Patrick Stump delivered an excellent solo album, but the last real Fall Out Boy album was all the way back in 2008, and it wasn't that great. What really keeps me coming back to Fall Out Boy, unlike all the other pop-emo-punk bands I used to like, is Stump's huge choruses. He excels on "The Phoenix" , "Alone Together" and "Just One Yesterday" . My other two favorites "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" and "Young Volcanoes" don't have the huge chorus, but are still fun anyways.
30. Awayland by Villagers
Favorite Song - "Judgement Call"
Straight outta Dublin come Villagers. I was really into this album at the beginning of the year, and due to the relative weakness of the last couple years I had actually thought this would end up in the top ten of the year. 2013 proved me very wrong though and I'm happy for it. If anyone likes Death Cab For Cutie check out the above "Judgement Call". The singer sounds like Ben Gibbard, which adds a sense of familiarity to a new artist. The lyrics are also pretty strong, discussing the group think / conformity / obedience that comes with organized religion or cults. "When the school says go we go". A school of fish that is. Actual school should be listened to and attended most of the time.
29. The Terror by The Flaming Lips
Favorite Song - "Look ... The Sun Is Rising" / "Be Free, A Way"
I cheated on the favorite song because the two sort of blend into each other, making one giant song in my mind. This was actually one of my biggest disappointments of the year up until about a month ago. I remembered thinking that it started and ended great, but the middle section is such a long trek that the album was ultimately a fail. A couple relistens have bumped it into the top 30, even though I still kind of stand by my old stance. The first three songs and the last four are brilliant, and I think I forgot how brilliant they were. That "All You Need Is Love" cover took me by surprise. You'd think, if the Lips were going to cover any Beatles song on this crazy album it would be "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" or "Tomorrow Never Knows" (I believe they have actually covered both in the past). Yet they bring their heady fwends back and absolutely kill it .. just beautiful. The real issue with this album remains "You Lust" though. On first listen I hated it. In a vacuum it is a solid song, but plopping that twelve minute monstrosity in the middle of the album was a bad choice, like milk. It's a momentum breaker no matter which way you look at it. Without it I think this could be placed among their best, as is it's still a really great record that's worthy of a top 30 placement on a very strong year-end list.
Need to listen to these albums. I didn't like the first single from FOB and I lost all the interest on that album but I need to listen to the full thing I guess, maybe it's not that bad
Glad that you found a place for the Fall Out Boy album! To me it didn't live up to the Patrick Stump solo album, but I enjoyed it all the same. You did a good job of highlighting the best songs on it. I don't know about Villagers, but it sounds good from the YouTube sample. The Death Cab influence is heard.
And then the Flaming Lips. I am very glad you gave it another chance. I think very highly of the record, but I won't bore you with my thoughts now. Again, i'm just glad you gave it another listen, as it is one of the best Lips albums I have ever heard.
YAY FOR THE START OF PART TWO! Excited for the next twenty eight!