This one took me by complete surprise. I came across the news for this album back in 2014, but completely forgot this album was due for release until later in 2015. Since I downloaded it, the album has been a personal soundtrack.
It was a great re-discovery, sounding almost unlike anything else hip-hop had to offer in 2015. Chance The Rapper continues to prove himself as one of the most creative artists out there. The album itself is whimsical and playful: see that infectious hook on Slip Slide, and the kind of dorky self-empowerment album Wanna Be Cool. The album is mostly bright, with some moments of introspection, but it was a great reminder that hip-hop can deliver some excellent good times albums.
I'll check out Baronness since I only heard a couple of their songs.
Black Lake is great. I forgot to talk about that one. It's definitely one of my favorite Bjork songs
I think you might like Baroness.
Quote:
Originally posted by MP2K
I haven't heard either of the two but Vulnicura and Bjork is so love here that I need to take the time to check out for real.
Vulnicura is one of my favorite albums from her. It's a good one. It's a grower though.
Quote:
Originally posted by Flame Beat Z000
15-11: Well, I guess I can say Drake is a legend is in his own right, but he already got a legacy so I guess he can call himself a motherf**king legend. The song is great tho. Adventure of a Lifetime is such a blissful and adventurous that it is all no worries and just celebrate life. Better Better Have My Anti. Banger song tho. What is that #11? I don’t want to dare myself to take a listen.
10-1: Jungle is that sad sad Drake. The sound is deep and Drake lets it out. Gotta like that side of Drake. The sensual, slow jam of No Sl333p is so dripping wet. It is so damn smooth and the sultry charm of the song has me not sleeping and just enjoying listening to Janet want to f**k so bad with her out of town lover. We’re getting so much sex jams and it’s so sexy. Dance Like We’re Making a Baby is just wonderful and amazing. Ciara can’t do no wrong. The Ci puns tho! Why do you want to be My Love? My Love. My Love. My Love. Why you want too? The song had me thinking while enjoying the chill yet pulsing sound. Minimal music FTW! Four….Five…Seconds is great #1. Way out of left field and out of Rih’s comfort zone. I like it. She, Ye, and Paul did great work on this. Screw ATRL and their love for dance pop. You gotta wait for R8 a while longer. Ha.
I enjoy this Bitch Ass Best of. It’s one of my favorites to comment on. I would check out the albums list except I hear like 3 albums in 2015 so bye.
He's also got energy. Got a lot of energy that helps make him that legend. Keep that song and Drake in mind
I don't blame you for not wanting to listen to poot for the summer
I'm surprised you liked the number one! But yeah, the song is bitch ass. Gotta love all those bitch ass R&B cuts and 45S
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Originally posted by holocene
Not really.
But two new artists for you to know! That makes it, like 9 now, right?
You might want to save your GIF though
Quote:
Originally posted by sumthintoxic82
Catching up...
Million Years Ago is just Everything about this song is just amazing and stunning
All That Such an amazing track. I love her voice, her sound...just EVERYTHING about this track
No Sleep...I admist I slept on this track, but its extremtly sexy
Dance Like Were Making Love is just so sexy and that video I still prefer Body Party to this, but still holds up great
I didnt expect this...FourFiveSecxonds is a nice change for Rihanna...maybe not MY fav but still good
Unbreakable was GREAT...wasnt expecting this from Janet. Sad to say, but her last 3 albums werent that great imo (had good singles/and some good songs but overall were just meh) This one however is just
Amethyst was ok (I guess I just prefer more mainstream Tinashe...)
Thanks for catching up! Glad you agree on Adele and her dinosaur anthem
My number ones are kind of curve balls
And Janet completely delivered. My love for her new album is unbreakable
Quote:
Originally posted by holyground
Ooh Vulnicura I'm not into that album that much, but I like how you describe it (in fact I like how you describe everything)
Thank you, I always feel awkward about the write-ups because I do them really quick before I post
Vulnicura is... good. I could see it being a turn off though. If it clicks, it's pretty satisfying though.
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Originally posted by Wicked
Vulnicura, I have my gripes with 21st Century Björk, but its a great album even if self-indulgent.
Baroness I should check out ASAP.
I like Baroness a lot, I think they are very ambitious in their approach to their music and I respect that. You know?
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Originally posted by Mark Rih
idkha x2 Can't wait for top 6 tho
It's all good!
Thanks!
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Originally posted by enxe
Yay, stan for Unbreakable and Vulnicura.
Oh, and I love this last-minute inclusion of Purple.
I had to leave a spot open for Baroness I knew they would make it, I just wasn't sure where
Gotta love Janet and Bjork though
Quote:
Originally posted by feelslikeadream
I love Bjork but Vulnicura just didn't click for me Then again, I only listened to it once
But how you gonna include Unbreakable and not highlight it's VERY BEST song, Shoulda Known Better?!
I shoulda known better and included the Janet track for ya The Very Best is definitely The Great Forever or No Sleeep (solo) though
As for Bjork, I think it took me a couple listens before I even remembered what the album sounded like after I finished listening
Quote:
Originally posted by K$Ellie
I tried getting into Bjork but I didn't like her music
Fair enough! At least you tried. If you're interested... these are some of my favorite Bjork songs:
They were produced by Timbaland in 2007 and I think they're kind of fun. Still might not be the most accessible though
Quote:
Originally posted by Vilppu
Oh, so now I get why Honeymoon isn't on your main list, it was #52, but you had to kick it out in order to make place for Purple, and you didn't tell me earlier not to spoil the surprise. That's a good reasoning, actually
I need to give Purple a bit more time to sink in, but I love your write-up, it's really detailed, and kind of sums up the record perfectly.
And when it comes to Vulnicura, I'd call it anything but accessible I mean, the sound is pretty harsh and raw, also there are quite a lot of pauses, and it's all so slow and long... And Biophilia might be a stereotypical Bjork album, but for me, personally, the soundtrack with 9 in its title fits it much more. It was painful to sit through, and I say it as a stan
However, Vulnicura itself is brilliant, and her top 4 albums for sure, top 3 if in the right mood. With my newfound respect for Biophilia though, I can say that I at least like all but one of her main studio albums
Sure! We'll go with that! Surprise!!!
Thanks for the compliment on the write-up there I struggled with that one, but I've kind of been listening non-stop.
Really? I don't know about Bjork, I guess the songs are on the longer side, but there's not as many crazy sounds or weird vocal experiments on Vulnicura; plus, I think the emotion on the album helps it out. I don't know though, the first Bjork song I got into was Pluto, so I might not be the best person to talk about accessibility when it comes to her
I agree about it being top 4. I think if I had to rank them, I would say Homogenic > Biophilia > Vulnicura = Medulla > Vespertine > Volta > Post > Debut. I might be missing one or two, but it's kind of late.
I love Biophilia, it was the first Bjork era I anticipated and saw completely through as a fan. Cosmogny is one of the most beautiful songs
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Originally posted by Pedro
Bjork is an interesting artist but I never really paid attention to her. Are you playing with her next season of CTATAS?
I like a challenge, but, I think that might be a little too challenging for me
She's worth some attention though.
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Originally posted by Admiral Bobbery
Vulnicura is amazing! I love it so much.
It's a great album! I love the whole feeling of it and all the emotion she put into it.
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Originally posted by M A R N ★
I only heard of Bjork but like who hasn't haha. I prefer Kerli though.
E•MO•TION is the highest pop album here and for good reason also. It's a stellar pop album, and it really really really does function as an album.
Carly went all out on this album. Not only are the songs top notch, given a gleaming neon hued 80s sheen, but she also jam packed the album with an arsenal of hooks and as many little nuances as possible, and it's the little details spread throughout the album that make for a surprisingly complex E•MO•TION.
The album definitely works as a simple pop album. The themes don't really get any deeper than "I really really like you," or Carly's boy problems and the music itself doesn't really slow down too much (the album only has one ballad, the official best song on the album, All That), and the album is definitely an enjoyable passive listen: bright sing-along choruses explode, saxophones act as siren calls, Carly herself sounds as bubbly as ever; truth be told, all that could give the impression that the album is only one constant emotion: an undeterred near-cloying chipperness.
That's not quite Carly though, there seems to be a little more to the Carly of E•MO•TION than that. The opener Run Away With Me could just as easily be a romantic fantasy: Carly dreaming some crush will finally recognize her romantic pleas; as a siren call, enticing a romantic partner to just escape and get lost somewhere with her. There are no definites on E•MO•TION; fantasies, desires, and questions surround Carly through the album's tracks ("I really, really, really, really, really, really like you, and I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too? "In your fantasy, dream about me / And all that we could do with this emotion," "Baby, let's go get lost / I like that you're driving slow / Keeping my fingers crossed / That maybe you'll take the long way home," "Sometimes I wish that I could change / But not for me, for you / So we could be together, forever") and it all adds up to the point that you get the sense that Carly is a little desperate for love and affection and there's more going on that bubbly exterior. She comes across as desperate and lonely at times: pleading "gimme love," "When you need someone / Oh, let me be the one," and even offering to make offer herself and time up for somebody that is clearly not her type, going so far as to say: "I’m not the type of girl for you / And I’m not going to pretend / That I’m the type of girl you call more than a friend/ And I'd break all the rules for you / Break my heart and start again." It all becomes heartbreaking when you realize this girl offering up everything to somebody is the same one that enthusiastically stopped a crush to say "Hey I just met you / And this is crazy / But here's my number / So call me maybe."
E•MO•TION definitely deserves all the praise it's gotten this year. It's a surprisingly subtle album and a very lived in one that's enjoyable as the best big budget pop albums but one that also rewards close listening. All that being said, the album could lose the trashier Sia cuts like the Making The Most Of The Night and Boy Problems.
Current Emotion Ranking
1) All That
2) Your Type
3) Let's Get Lost
4) Warm Blood
5) I Really Like You
6) Run Away With Me
7) LA Hallucinations
8) When I Needed You
9) Black Heart
10) EMOTION
11) Gimme Love
12) Favourite Colour
13) Making The Most Of Sia's Talent
14) Trash Problems
15) I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance
I am sleepy. The last three albums will come sometime tomorrow. I'm gonna pull a If You're Reading This It's Too Late and surprise release them.
________________________________
4. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
I was just a little disappointed with this one at first in all honesty. I wanted another Age Of Adz. That album was constantly exploding with ideas and seemed to be the soundtrack to a person having a meltdown and falling apart at the seams. It was an imposing album that always made me think of what you would get if whoever is in charge of recording Disney soundtracks went crazy in studio.
This album, was the complete opposite, or at least the aftermath, to that album. Where Age Of Adz was a meltdown that was in public view, Carrie & Lowell seems to retreat back into Sufjan's head as he thinks about how he has gotten to the place he finds himself in. The album is lonely and sparse, delicate, fragile and haunted and intimate to the point that at times, it feels like you're listening in to Sufjan's inner thoughts as he thinks them: "Do I care if I survive this? " "**** me, I'm falling apart" "we're all gonna die," "should I tear my eyes out now before I see too much?" all float through the album, spectres in his head.
He thinks about how his parents has shaped him, looks to religion, and questions how life has worked out for him and if he can escape the things that haunt him. It's a profound, and at times, uncomfortable listen, but a very interesting one.
and it all adds up to the point that you get the sense that Carly is a little desperate for love and affection and there's more going on that bubbly exterior. She comes across as desperate and lonely at times
You didn't have to describe me like this!
Quote:
Making The Most Of Sia's Talent
Omg Bloomers I really like this and Boy Problems tho
Good top listing so far! Making the Most of Sia's talent would actually go to Boy Problems, but she actually shockingly gave Carly some good stuff. Not surprised to see Sufjan here either haha
Wow, slay. Emotion and C&L are among my fave albums of 2015 too. I gotta check the Surf one tho.
Your 'current Emotion ranking' is a bit of a mess tho. Boy Problems and IDJCHTD are in no way at the bottom of the album. All That & Your Type are where they are supposed to be tho.