O!!! This might be the best set of three albums you have ever posted! Holy crap!!
I am so, so glad you got into the Reigning Sound this year. Greg Cartwright is a genius! Their stuff is def more garage-rock inspired, though Shattered def leans into a more clean/Dap Kings-style. I like your description of the song haha! It fits! Damon Albarn is the greatest, and I like the new album. Glad you spotlighted some of his lesser known side projects like The Good The Bad & The Queen and Rocket Juice! And I hate to correct you, but The Both is actually with Teddy Rockstar himself, Ted Leo, not Segall. But hey, you will never, ever hear me complain about someone praising Ty Segall, so I still loved your write-up! And the choice of Rogers' "The Gambler" was perfect, as indeed The Both's "The Gambler" is one of the best songs on the record. And you must check out more of Aimee Mann's stuff! She is the best!
O!!! This might be the best set of three albums you have ever posted! Holy crap!!
I am so, so glad you got into the Reigning Sound this year. Greg Cartwright is a genius! Their stuff is def more garage-rock inspired, though Shattered def leans into a more clean/Dap Kings-style. I like your description of the song haha! It fits! Damon Albarn is the greatest, and I like the new album. Glad you spotlighted some of his lesser known side projects like The Good The Bad & The Queen and Rocket Juice! And I hate to correct you, but The Both is actually with Teddy Rockstar himself, Ted Leo, not Segall. But hey, you will never, ever hear me complain about someone praising Ty Segall, so I still loved your write-up! And the choice of Rogers' "The Gambler" was perfect, as indeed The Both's "The Gambler" is one of the best songs on the record. And you must check out more of Aimee Mann's stuff! She is the best!
Such an outstanding set!
Really? I was thinking it was Segall this whole damn time lol. Well I'll have to delete half the write up and .0000003% of my brain. I mean Segall does so many projects I guess it is hard to keep track.
Okay, I stand corrected. Random (though not THAT random) Kenny Rogers appearance is probably my new favorite moment of this Best of. Holy hell, I could not stop laughing when I saw that. Amazing.
This is my way of trying to get around the fact that I did not listen to these albums.
OK so I've been a fool who doesn't know who is in the bands he likes. I should end the list here and commit hari kari. Or I could perform a memory charm on all of you. Get 'em, Kenneth Branagh!!!
Goddammit. You're great at Shakespeare, but once again fail me in sorcery.
I guess I have no choice but to continue.
32. Bazaar by Wampire
Favorite Song: "Wizard Staff"
Damn that song is sexy smooth. The rest of the album isn't quite as Dr. Doggy as this, but by no means unpleasant. I enjoy hearing them go through a number of different sounds. A little bit of punkish with "The Amazing Heart Attack", a little bit of electronic, a little bit of Coldplay, a little bit of everything. A prime example of sonic variance. And yes, I did only check them out in the first place because their name is funny!
31. Wasted Years by Off
Favorite Song: Everything
Where else will you be able to get an incredible fast and furious sixteen songs in just 28 minutes? Well, a lot of hardcore bands probably do it, but none as well as Off! This is a great album to listen to on the way to work. The getting pumped/time to pump ratio is just off the hook. That's why I always look forward to this every two years!
OK we've made it to the top thirty! I really want to do an update of five next time, to get this thing moving along.
hahaha I love your intro! I am sorry you had to find out this way about Segall not being in The Both, so I kind of feel ****** for bringing it up. But yeah, whether you are praising Segall or Leo, I am on board either way!!
I like that Wampire a lot, which you brought up in the past. And OFF! **** yeah!
OK going for a big (relatively) update here, so no time for shenanigans.
30. Manipulator by Ty Segall
Favorite Song: "Tall Man, Skinny Lady"
OK so after my big goof earlier, we finally have the 5th appearance of Ty Segall on the Best Of lists. Sorry bout that Ted Leo! Anyways, this is more like Slaughterhouse than the three that were on here in between. Meaning a little heavier (although Fuzz was heavy too), a little darker, a little less produced. Great stuff. To the hardest working man on the list!
29. Ghost Stories by Coldplay
Favorite Song: "Ink"
So after cruising a few years on arena pop rock, Chris Martin got really sad. I mean, I can't blame him. Losing Gweneth Paltrow would make anyone sad. But you can't just compete with Iron Man. Even the big Avicii song is kind of a party pooper. However, I think musicians more than anyone else are the most skilled at channeling their sadness into my entertainment. So out of this divorce, we get great tracks like "Ink" , "Magic" , "Another's Arms" , "Sky Full Of Stars" and "O". Although if the rumors of Martin and Jlaw are true then I don't expect sad Coldplay to last.
28. G I R L by Pharrell Williams
Favorite Song: "Gust Of Wind"
Despite being released in summer 2013's Despicable Me 2, "Happy" waited until 2014 to really blow up and it was everywhere. So much so than it was kind of weird lol. No disrespect to "Happy", which is a fine song, but most of the others here outclass it. The opening orchestral "Marilyn Monroe", the funky "Hunter", the should be annoying but somehow is amazing "Come Get It Bae" , Daft Punk returning the favor with "Gust Of Wind". G I R L is absolutely loaded with quality pop songs!
27. The Outsiders by Eric Church
Favorite Song: "The Outsiders"
Yep, I'm posting two videos for the only country album on this list! Sometimes I don't listen to albums all the way through the first time, and then forget to finish them later. These albums usually end up in the close calls. Eric Church could've gone that way, but I'm so glad I came back and found the absolute gem that is "Give Me Back My Hometown" at the end of the album. Apparently this was a huge hit, but I'm totally clueless. So why isn't that my favorite song? Well the lead off "The Outsiders" is just too badass, possibly the 2nd most badass song of the year (wait till later). So country doesn't usually appear very often here, but I tried to have a more open mind this year. This was a nice little gateway, as Church is really a rock band with a country tweak. However, with just this one album and absolutely fantastic concert (2nd fav of the year) I'm bumping him all the way to #1 on my list of favorite country artists. I like the rock songs (the two I posted + "Rollercoaster Ride" and "That's Damn Rock And Roll") more than more traditional country half, but that stuff is fine too.
26. Rips by Ex Hex
Favorite Song: "Don't Wanna Lose"
This is a fantastic power pop album from a debuting artist. That's really all I know about them. So as I like to do, let's check wiki for more info. Oh it's a Mary Timony, of Wild Flag, project. No wonder I like it so much! So there you go, if you're a big Wild Flag fan, or a fan of powerpop, or female fronted rock bands check out the tube vid and then "How You Got That Girl" and "Waterfall".
I hit my goal! That's a pre-New Years resolution completed already. Next is the New Years Revolution.
Oh I also saw The Interview and it was great! More on this when I do the movies list.
Wow O!!! I said a couple sets ago how you outdid yourself and had such a fantastic group of albums. You did it again! Well, you always do it, but in particular these two sets are A+.
Happy to see Ty Segall for real this time on your list haha! Manipulator is such a good album, but you already know that as it charted at #30 for you. The Coldplay and Pharrell albums are very good, Eric Church (glad you are expanding your boundaries! Though you are very right to point out that Church has a lot of rock in him, so it's not that much of a stretch. Though who knows, maybe next year we'll see the first full-on country album chart haha! GATEWAY ALBUM!), and EX HEX! So good.
Eric Church is probably another of those albums I really should have listened to in full. What I HAVE heard from that album is fantastic country. Honestly, it's the way country SHOULD be in 2014.
I think Ghost Stories was a good album (not their best of course), but at least better than some of their recent stuff. I mean, "Magic" is the first song I like from them since... probably "Speed Of Sound"
G I R L! Nice album, "Gust Of Wind" is definitely my favorite track too!
You got some good album based on the songs I hearing from bands that I have no idea who they' are prior to this. Wampire and Ex Hex are the bands I should look out for. Oh, I've been meaning to listen to Eric, Pharrell, and Coldplay's albums for sometime now. Good stuff. Can't wait to read and listen more.
Quickish update today.Happy new year! Well almost. The top 25 is pretty daRn groovy this year. And then I'll do a little something extra at the end of the update.
25. Hesitant Alien by Gerard Way
Favorite Song: "Action Cat"
Mr. Way is certainly no stranger to these best of lists, having garnered a #1 song in 2005 and a #1 album in 2006 with his band My Chemical Romance. Admittedly however, I have since cooled on the mid aughts emo sound. Don't get me wrong, I'll still throw on a "Helena" or "Cute Without The E" every now and then, but I can't remember the last time I listened to an MCR or TBS album in full, when they used to be my favorite bands. So knowing this, I wasn't in any hurry to listen to Gerard's solo project. But then I just hearing over and over about how great it was, and they were damn right! Trading his old angst for a combination of powerpop, garage rock and David Bowie, Gerard Way creates a truly unique sound here. In my favorite song, he says "Don't ask a lot, you won't lose a lot." Well I didn't ask a lot but ended up gaining a lot! "Brothers" , "Zero Zero" and "Get This Gang Together" are also great songs for the time impaired.
24. Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q
Favorite Song: "Man Of The Year"
As with any hip-hop video, beware of naughty lyrics. So even though there was no Kanye (still 11 hours though!) , I felt hip-hop had its strongest year in ... well a long time. This is the first of five (!) hip-hop albums that made it into the top 25 this year, which is the most since ever. Schoolboy almost didn't make it though, after hearing an edited version of "Man Of The Year" (hands hands hands in the air) I nearly dismissed him as crap. I knew that was completely unfair however, as no hip-hop ever sounds good when it is censored, so I listened to friends and critics and checked out the absolutely brilliant Oxymoron. The sexy smooth "Studio" and "What They Want" ft. 2 Chainz would be my two biggest recs, outside of the lead single and the song with Kendrick I posted.
OK and now it is time for apology hour at the Apollo. First to two albums that should have made last years list.
Weekend by The Sounds
So around the top ten last year I realized that one of my favs had released an album with anyone telling me about it. Probably it only came out in their native Sweden, a place I live very far away from. I said last year that I would make room for it this year, but when assembling the list I realized then it wouldn't be fair to whoever got booted out of this years top ten. So instead The Sounds make the formal apology list, and get a promise that it won't happen again.
AM by Arctic Monkeys
Now this one I must have just been in a really bad mood when I listened to it, because I remember it as a very unpleasant experience. However, great songs like "One For The Road" , "Fireside" , "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High" and "Snap Out Of It" pushed their way into my world, to join up with the already classic "Do I Wanna Know" and "R U Mine". I still maintain that the middle of the album drags it down to their worst yet, but that worst is still higher than most highs and this should have been a top 20 album. Sorry!
And lastly, to you, my readers. I know it may seem like I'm neglecting the other year end lists and this is partially true. I'd like to say it's because I'm too busy getting laid, but that's not the truth. The truth that this website makes my laptop cry now lol, so just going through one thread makes things overheat. I posted on like 5 threads today and I think I'll have to do a full restart after this post. So don't fear, I will get to them all eventually, just little by little by little. Thanks for the patience.
I'm off tomorrow, so maybe another biggish update.
23. The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets by Marmozets
Favorite Song: "Why Do You Hate Me?"
I hate to call this group Paramore adjac, because they are so much more than that. My original description was "a less trashy version of Taylor Momson's band" but they are much better than that too. Those would be the quickest ways to get them over though. They're from the UK, it's a set of two siblings (3 Macintyres, 2 Bottomleys) , they are the third highest debuting (meaning first album) artist on this list and they have a lot of nice sounds on the album. The major is mostly at the pace of the vid I posted, a little bit heavier version of the euro-alt rock song, other standouts being "Weird and Wonderful" and "Move, Shake, Hide". They can also slow it down pretty well, demonstrated in "Captivate You", or even heavier with "Vibetech". I feel like these descriptions will be appealing for the major of you, so I'll just let the songs do the rest of the selling.
22. Cadillactica by Big K.R.I.T.
Favorite Song: "Cadillactica" / "King Of The South"
"F yo whip N word". Apparently KRIT stands for King Remembered In Time, which is pretty cool, and already halfway to being earned with his incredible second album. Sometimes hip-hop makes me feel old, not just because of the ever changing lingo (whip is a car I think), but because I always feel like it isn't as good as the hip-hop I grew up with in the 90s. So when Krit comes in sounding like old Outkast, UGK and other mid 90s southern greats I tend to believe him when he deems himself king of the south. You won't find any traces of the crunk, crump, jerk, or any type of crummy sound that has plagued hip-hop in recent years. Krit comes off like Reigning Sound or Gerard Way from earlier, he's being progressive by being regressive. I'm always for pushing ahead into the future, but when something works as well as this why fight it? "Angels" and "Mt. Olympus" should also be checked out right away.
21. After The Disco by Broken Bells
Favorite Song: "Perfect World"
Gosh, I'm sorry about the video, I couldn't help myself. "Perfect World" by Broken Bells is actually even better than the Huey Lewis song IMO, but Broken Bells don't have corny white guys dancing in suits. Anyways, earlier I said that Ty Segall was the most apprearingest artist on these lists (incorrect on many levels, Kanye actually has 6) , but the truth is that my boy Dangermouse actually dwarfs everyone. Ever since Gnarls Barkley hit back in 2006 I'm pretty sure he's had a song or an album on every one of these. Even when he isn't creating a new band like Broken Bells, he's heavily influencing their sound like with Black Keys or Beck. On the other hand, I don't James Mercer has ever appeared. The Shins are one of those bands that I've always watched from afar, enjoying their music but never falling in love with it. As for this Disco, posting the Huey Lewis video isn't all that inappropriate as he is the best comparison for the best songs on the album. But still, Broken Bells deserve better, so here is the real "Perfect World". If you like it check out the title track and "Medicine" right after.
OK so next I'm gonna do the Top 15 Television/Internet Shows of 2014. That will be in its own separate post though. For now, enjoy the new year. 2015!!