Albums of 2014

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Luke JR68
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Luke JR68 »

irreduciblekoan wrote:Run the Jewels 2 was released for free today. I really enjoyed their first album, and this one is even better. It's easily the best hip-hop album of the year so far and I foresee lots of great reviews and a high (top 1500) placement on AM. It's angrier, darker and more sonically adventurous than their first one.
I'm still in the middle of the first run-through (so feel free to take my commentary with a grain of salt), but I can agree that RtJ2 seems to be a sizable improvement over the original. El-P's production choices sound more varied and unique this time around (while for the most part maintaining the same level of polish that made RtJ so impressive), he and Mike switch up their flows more often to fit the constantly evolving beats, and the pacing of the album is a little smoother (there isn't as much of a cut and dry "light-hearted half" and "serious half"). It is too early in the process to judge the lyrical content, but their trademark wordplay still seems to be intact (Mike even took a leaf from Jamie's book and is a little more obtuse on some of the tracks). It is also to early to judge the impact that the guest artists had on their individual tracks, but Zack de la Rocha was a tiny bit on the underwhelming side (partly because I spent a good portion of "Close Your Eyes" expecting Zach Hill instead :? ), while Gangsta Boo provided a rather hilarious verse on "Love Again" that adds some much needed variety to an otherwise straightforward track.

Overall, I would highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoyed the original *Run the Jewels*, and I second irreduciblekoan's hopes that critics will pay more attention to this one :music-listening:

Edit: At the moment, the main flaw with the whole experience is some rather under-whelming album artwork...
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nick »

I think it's about time for a new list. In the past month or two there's been some really good releases, but nothing really challenging my top 5.

1. Todd Terje- It's Album Time: 90
2. Sun Kil Moon- Benji: 90

3. Swans- To Be Kind: 85
4. St. Vincent- St. Vincent: 85
5. LCD Soundsystem- The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live at Madison Square Garden: 85
6. The War on Drugs- Lost in the Dream: 85

7. Flying Lotus- You're Dead!: 80
8. Aphex Twin- Syro: 80
9. Run the Jewels- Run the Jewels 2: 80
10. Cloud Nothings- Here and Nowhere Else: 80
11. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib- Piñata: 80
12. A Sunny Day in Glasgow- Sea When Absent: 80
13. Perfume Genius- Too Bright: 80
14. Spoon- They Want My Soul: 80
15. Weezer- Everything Will Be Alright in the End: 80
16. Damon Albarn- Everyday Robots: 80
17. Perfect Pussy- Say Yes to Love: 80
18. Iceage- Plowing Into the Field of Love: 80
19. How to Dress Well- "What Is This Heart?": 80
20. Angel Olsen- Burn Your Fire for No Witness: 80

21. Caribou- Our Love: 75
22. Parquet Courts- Sunbathing Animal: 75
23. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra- Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything: 75
24. Future Islands- Singles: 75
25. Real Estate- Atlas: 75
26. Tune-Yards- Nikki Nack: 75
27. Duck Sauce- Quack: 75
28. Mr Twin Sister- Mr Twin Sister: 75
29. Elbow- The Take Off and Landing of Everything: 75
30. "Weird Al" Yankovic- Mandatory Fun: 75
31. Clipping- CLPPNG: 75
32. Jack White- Lazaretto: 75

33. Schoolboy Q- Oxymoron: 70
34. FKA Twigs- LP 1: 70
35. Vince Staples- Hell Can Wait (EP): 70
36. Against Me!- Transgender Dysphoria Blues: 70
37. Beck- Morning Phase: 70
38. Neneh Cherry- Blank Project: 70
39. Mac DeMarco- Salad Days: 70
40. Phantogram- Voices: 70
41. Thom Yorke- Tomorrow's Modern Boxes: 70

42. Tweedy- Sukierae: 65
43. The Black Keys- Turn Blue: 65
44. Interpol- El Pintor: 65
45. U2- Songs of Innocence: 65
46. Fucked Up- Glass Boys: 65
47. Hercules and Love Affair- The Feast of the Broken Heart: 65
48. Lana Del Rey- Ultraviolence: 65
49. Broken Bells- After the Disco: 65
50. Fear of Men- Loom: 65

51. Coldplay- Ghost Stories: 55
52. Bruce Springsteen- High Hopes: 55
53. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Days of Abandon: 55

54. Metronomy- Love Letters: 50

55. Foxygen- ...And Star Power: 35
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Romain
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Romain »

Aphex Twin - Syro 0,5 Unlistenable… but it's not the kind of music I like. I tried and I failed to like. It's maybe an excellent album but too far to what I like.
Caribou - Our Love 3 This kind of ultra repetitive electronic music is not my taste.
Ben Watt - Hendra 5,5 This is horribly soft.
Augustines - Augustines 5,5 U2, get out of this body !
Woods - With Light and With Love 8 What a beautiful album full of beautiful melodies and wonderful voices.
Alt-J - This is all yours 8,5 Whaouh! What a masterpiece! Two or three of the best songs of the year.
The Goast Of A Saber Tooth Tiger - Midnight Sun 9 This touch of psychedelism always make me happy. If you like the Beatles, some songs can remind you a little je ne sais quoi.

Moodoïd - Le Monde Moo 9
Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
The Goast Of A Saber Tooth Tiger - Midnight Sun 9
Alt-J - This is all yours 8,5
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
King Tuff - Black moon Spell 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
Woods - With Light and With Love 8
The Horrors - Luminous 8
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8
Malachai - Beyond Ugly 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Arthur H - Soleil Dedans 7,5
Prince - Art Official Age 7,5
Prince & 3rdeyegirl - Plectrum Electrum 7,5
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Kid Francescoli - With Julia 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Interpol - My Desire 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
U2 - Songs Of Innocence 6,5
Gush - Mira 6
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 6
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 5,5
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 5,5
Spoon - They Want My Soul 5,5
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 5
Augustines - Augustines 5,5
Ben Watt - Hendra 5,5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5
EMA - The Future's void 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Liars - Mess 4
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3
Caribou - Our Love 3
Sia - 1000 forms of fear 2
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2
Aphex Twin - Syro 0,5
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whuntva
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

When we last left Whuntva, he had heard a new album from a nostalgic favorite. After this, he saw an insurgence of hype for certain albums. So, he decided to write the ones he saw the most love for down and listen to them when he had a free moment.

I have heard TWO albums since that last post.

Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Iceage-Plowing into the Field of Love 3.5/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Sun kil Moon-Benji 5/5
Swans-To Be Kind 5/5
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

Yeah, I hadn't heard Benji yet. It is every bit as good as you were hyping it up to be, even having two or three of the best songs of the year. I could totally see it making the EOY list. Thanks!
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nick »

I gave the new Grouper album a listen. It made me want to fall asleep, and I don't mean that in a good way (can you even mean that in a good way??). It was pleasant enough music, but I really needed something to grab me for me to fully enjoy it, and it just didn't grab me at all. Good music for indie inclined teenage makeout parties, or something to fall asleep to. Not much else.

The new Run the Jewels album fucking rules though.
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bootsy
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by bootsy »

Nick wrote:I gave the new Grouper album a listen. It made me want to fall asleep, and I don't mean that in a good way (can you even mean that in a good way??). It was pleasant enough music, but I really needed something to grab me for me to fully enjoy it, and it just didn't grab me at all. Good music for indie inclined teenage makeout parties, or something to fall asleep to. Not much else.

The new Run the Jewels album fucking rules though.
LOL I felt the exact same way. I saw some of the reviews for it and thought I would give it a chance. My goodness so boring.

And yes RTJ2 is absolutely fantastic. What an album.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

Just listened to Run The Jewels 2.

Musically it's awesome but it's one of those rap albums that makes me wish I could submerge my knowledge of the english language while listening to it. Some of the lyrics are violent and disgusting. I have no desire to listen to the words 'Dick in her mouth all day' for five minutes straight, nor more songs about murdering cops.
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bootsy
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Re: Albums of 2014

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Jirin wrote:Just listened to Run The Jewels 2.

Musically it's awesome but it's one of those rap albums that makes me wish I could submerge my knowledge of the english language while listening to it. Some of the lyrics are violent and disgusting. I have no desire to listen to the words 'Dick in her mouth all day' for five minutes straight, nor more songs about murdering cops.
A rap album with vulgar/violent lyrics? No way. :o Is this your first time listening to a rap album? The lyrics are going to be offensive to some people. I suggest if you are that offended by it then you probably shouldn't listen to any rap albums or not take it seriously.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Gillingham »

bootsy wrote:
Jirin wrote:Just listened to Run The Jewels 2.

Musically it's awesome but it's one of those rap albums that makes me wish I could submerge my knowledge of the english language while listening to it. Some of the lyrics are violent and disgusting. I have no desire to listen to the words 'Dick in her mouth all day' for five minutes straight, nor more songs about murdering cops.
A rap album with vulgar/violent lyrics? No way. :o Is this your first time listening to a rap album? The lyrics are going to be offensive to some people. I suggest if you are that offended by it then you probably shouldn't listen to any rap albums or not take it seriously.
He said 'it's one of those rap albums' which implies he has listened to more rap albums than this one.
I do listen to rap albums, but it's not like I don't take them seriously at all. I'm not really offended by them, but I don't appreciate some of the violence and women/gay bashing either.
There's nothing wrong with being aware to what you're really listening to, which doesn't mean you interpret every lyric literally.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by irreduciblekoan »

I can understand if someone is taken aback by the lyrical content on Run the Jewels. However, I actually think RTJ2 is one of the most lyrically accomplished rap albums I've heard. If one looks past the violence, misogynism and braggadocio, the album has some of the best line-by-line wordplay and lyrical density of any kind of music out there right now. Killer Mike and El-P are both incredible wordsmiths even if you disagree with what they are writing about.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

bootsy wrote:
Jirin wrote:Just listened to Run The Jewels 2.

Musically it's awesome but it's one of those rap albums that makes me wish I could submerge my knowledge of the english language while listening to it. Some of the lyrics are violent and disgusting. I have no desire to listen to the words 'Dick in her mouth all day' for five minutes straight, nor more songs about murdering cops.
A rap album with vulgar/violent lyrics? No way. :o Is this your first time listening to a rap album? The lyrics are going to be offensive to some people. I suggest if you are that offended by it then you probably shouldn't listen to any rap albums or not take it seriously.
I didn't say it was surprising, and I didn't say it was offensive. I said I find it aesthetically displeasing.
irreduciblekoan wrote:
I can understand if someone is taken aback by the lyrical content on Run the Jewels. However, I actually think RTJ2 is one of the most lyrically accomplished rap albums I've heard. If one looks past the violence, misogynism and braggadocio, the album has some of the best line-by-line wordplay and lyrical density of any kind of music out there right now. Killer Mike and El-P are both incredible wordsmiths even if you disagree with what they are writing about.
This I agree with. The album does have some great wordplay. Just the particular song where the phrase 'Dick in her mouth' is repeated over and over is not one of those cases.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by irreduciblekoan »

Yeah, "Love Again" is my least favorite song on that album, although the production on it is great as usual. The Pitchfork review gave me a second interpretation of that song. Whether I fully agree with it or not, I don't know, but the song has grown on me a little. Here's what the review said:
The most unconventional social study occurs on "Love Again (Akinyele Back)"; as Yeezus proved, consensual, unorthodox sex is instantly heard as misogyny and the he-said, she-said hook of, "She want that dick in her mouth all day" certainly courts trouble. At least until Gangsta Boo steals the track with a verse of even greater demands and vulgarity, in the same way she made filthy Three 6 Mafia songs like "Tongue Ring" and "Hit It From the Back" sound strangely progressive in their gender politics.

Referring to "Put It in Your Mouth", the most infamous track of "Love Again"’s parenthetical namesake, El-P commented, "i feel lucky to have grown up in a time when filthy/stupid/funny rap songs could be hits like that one."
Still, that tune is the exception. The rest of the album is lyrically brilliant even if it's also pretty violent and cocky.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

Two more in the books!

Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Disparition-Granicha 4.5/5
Iceage-Plowing into the Field of Love 3.5/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 4/5
Spoon-They Want My Soul 4/5
Sun kil Moon-Benji 5/5
Swans-To Be Kind 5/5
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

They Want my Soul was just a fun album. "Do You" is getting all the attention, but I actually think "Rent I Pay" and "Outlier" are better.

If RTJ2 is great, then I just cannot connect with it. It's a masterpiece I can't get behind. I want to like it more, but I cannot bring myself to. Sorry.
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bootsy
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by bootsy »

Gillingham wrote:
bootsy wrote:
Jirin wrote:Just listened to Run The Jewels 2.

Musically it's awesome but it's one of those rap albums that makes me wish I could submerge my knowledge of the english language while listening to it. Some of the lyrics are violent and disgusting. I have no desire to listen to the words 'Dick in her mouth all day' for five minutes straight, nor more songs about murdering cops.
A rap album with vulgar/violent lyrics? No way. :o Is this your first time listening to a rap album? The lyrics are going to be offensive to some people. I suggest if you are that offended by it then you probably shouldn't listen to any rap albums or not take it seriously.
He said 'it's one of those rap albums' which implies he has listened to more rap albums than this one.
I do listen to rap albums, but it's not like I don't take them seriously at all. I'm not really offended by them, but I don't appreciate some of the violence and women/gay bashing either.
There's nothing wrong with being aware to what you're really listening to, which doesn't mean you interpret every lyric literally.
You shouldn't take them seriously but most rap albums/songs are based of real life experiences. Most albums of any genre are but rappers grow up in very different environments than other musicians so what they rap about is going to be vulgar sometimes. I would rather a person not listen to it at all than complain about it. It's what you get with a rap album. Either deal with it or don't.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by bootsy »

Jirin wrote:
bootsy wrote:
Jirin wrote:Just listened to Run The Jewels 2.

Musically it's awesome but it's one of those rap albums that makes me wish I could submerge my knowledge of the english language while listening to it. Some of the lyrics are violent and disgusting. I have no desire to listen to the words 'Dick in her mouth all day' for five minutes straight, nor more songs about murdering cops.
A rap album with vulgar/violent lyrics? No way. :o Is this your first time listening to a rap album? The lyrics are going to be offensive to some people. I suggest if you are that offended by it then you probably shouldn't listen to any rap albums or not take it seriously.
I didn't say it was surprising, and I didn't say it was offensive. I said I find it aesthetically displeasing.
irreduciblekoan wrote:
I can understand if someone is taken aback by the lyrical content on Run the Jewels. However, I actually think RTJ2 is one of the most lyrically accomplished rap albums I've heard. If one looks past the violence, misogynism and braggadocio, the album has some of the best line-by-line wordplay and lyrical density of any kind of music out there right now. Killer Mike and El-P are both incredible wordsmiths even if you disagree with what they are writing about.
This I agree with. The album does have some great wordplay. Just the particular song where the phrase 'Dick in her mouth' is repeated over and over is not one of those cases.
That's pretty much the same as offensive in my eyes.

Also as I said in my previous post it just comes off very picky to complain about that song. Do you get upset at movies that have violence and vulgar. It's like a person going to rated R movie and complaining about there was too much violence or sex. You know what you are getting into.. You know what you are getting into when you listen to a rap album. The lyrics are most likely going to be of a vulgar, violent. That's the way it has always been. Me being a longtime hip hop fan I get so tired of people complaining about the lyrics. You know what you are getting into when you listen to a hip hop album. Just don't listen to it. If you listen to rap albums like you say you do I don't know why you are so taken aback and surprised by this.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

There is a big difference between having a personal aversion to something and having a political aversion to something. If I was offended by it, I wouldn't just have a problem with me listening to it, I would also have a problem with *you* listening to it. I in no way think that this album will lead to people getting together and murdering cops.

If I need to list rap albums near the top of my all time list. It Takes A Nation Of Millions, Fear Of A Black Planet, 3 Feet High And Rising, Paid In Full, Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Stankonia, Marshal Mathers LP. Some deal with sex, some deal with violence, some with self promition, none of them just arbitrarily throw out vulgarity for shock value.

I liked 'Old' by Danny Brown, that doesn't mean I need to like listening to lyrics about having pit bulls lick peanut butter off of a vagina.

I am not 'taken aback' by this. I just don't like it. This is an aspect of the rap genre that I expect, but don't like.
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Re: Albums of 2014

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Jirin wrote:There is a big difference between having a personal aversion to something and having a political aversion to something. If I was offended by it, I wouldn't just have a problem with me listening to it, I would also have a problem with *you* listening to it. I in no way think that this album will lead to people getting together and murdering cops.

If I need to list rap albums near the top of my all time list. It Takes A Nation Of Millions, Fear Of A Black Planet, 3 Feet High And Rising, Paid In Full, Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Stankonia, Marshal Mathers LP. Some deal with sex, some deal with violence, some with self promition, none of them just arbitrarily throw out vulgarity for shock value.

I liked 'Old' by Danny Brown, that doesn't mean I need to like listening to lyrics about having pit bulls lick peanut butter off of a vagina.

I am not 'taken aback' by this. I just don't like it. This is an aspect of the rap genre that I expect, but don't like.
OK whatever.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by irreduciblekoan »

Kind of like the film Salo or the book Tropic of Cancer, I don't really mind what a work of art is about, as long as it does a good job of being about it. Basically, Ebert's famous quote about the quality of a film not being based on the "what," but the "how." I don't mind shock merely for shock value if it's still well-done.

Even the most debauched lyrics on Run the Jewels 2 are cleverly constructed (ok, besides the chorus of "Love Again," but the rest of that song has quality verses). I understand that not many people think like I do. They would watch movies by Lars von Trier and think, pure trash, no redeeming value, etc. I watch them and I see some of the most well-crafted trash ever, and I can't turn away, and I watch them again and again in between Casablanca and Forrest Gump.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

^^^Pauline Kael said something similar.

"Movies are so rarely great art, that if we cannot appreciate great trash, then we should not go at all."

I do have an appreciation for Run the Jewels. I was a bit kinder in my blurb than the debate has gotten. I can appreciate its creativity and art, even if I wasn't a huge fan of it.

Great trash? Perhaps. I try to avoid trash, but I can see good in most of it when I do.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Gillingham »

bootsy wrote: You shouldn't take them seriously but most rap albums/songs are based of real life experiences. Most albums of any genre are but rappers grow up in very different environments than other musicians so what they rap about is going to be vulgar sometimes. I would rather a person not listen to it at all than complain about it. It's what you get with a rap album. Either deal with it or don't.
I don't mind vulgarity at all. I'm not particularly attracted to it, but it generally doesn't put me off either. I don't even mind lyrics about violence, abuse and machoism, because, like you said, they are definitely part of life, even if that isn't true for all of us. A lot of art that I appreciate a lot has some or quite a bit of violence in it. But then again, I'm not very fond of art glorifying these things. And that's not just true for rap music, but in general.
Although the line between somehow documenting and gloryfing violence/abuse etc. can be very thin indeed. Art balancing on that line can be really interesting.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

irreduciblekoan wrote:Kind of like the film Salo or the book Tropic of Cancer, I don't really mind what a work of art is about, as long as it does a good job of being about it. Basically, Ebert's famous quote about the quality of a film not being based on the "what," but the "how." I don't mind shock merely for shock value if it's still well-done.

Even the most debauched lyrics on Run the Jewels 2 are cleverly constructed (ok, besides the chorus of "Love Again," but the rest of that song has quality verses). I understand that not many people think like I do. They would watch movies by Lars von Trier and think, pure trash, no redeeming value, etc. I watch them and I see some of the most well-crafted trash ever, and I can't turn away, and I watch them again and again in between Casablanca and Forrest Gump.
I agree with this, that absolute vulgarity can be great if it's really well done.

With a lot of the more vulgar or violent rap lyrics though it feels like the intent is exploitation or shock value rather than art. I would put excess, exploitative vulgarity in the same category is excess sentimentality as a form of pandering. Songs about murdering cops are the same as schmaltzy Michael Buble love songs or patriotic Toby Keith songs, the only difference is which demographic they're pandering to. It's really the pandering I object to, just this form of pandering happens to create really unpleasant mental images.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by DocBrown »

Finally caught up with some second half listening; thank you, Spotify, for finally coming to Canada, now I won't have half as much trouble chasing stuff down.

Owen Pallet - In Conflict 80
Lucinda Williams - Where the Spirit Meets the Bone 79
Grouper - Ruins 77 Am I the only one, or is the upright piano just a bit strange sounding?
Robert Plant - Lullabye and... The Ceaseless Roar 77
Tinariwen - Emmar 76
Tres Bien! - Soleil Swing 75
Nikki Yanofsky - Little Secret 75
Flyleaf - Between the Stars 74
Lykke Li - I Never Learn 74
Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred 73
My Brightest Diamond - This Is My Hand 71
Robyn Hitchcock - The Man Upstairs 68
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 68
Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems 65
Interpol - El Pintor 65
Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland 64
Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright 62
Jennifer Castle - Pink City 58
Aphex Twin - Syro 58 Moments of brilliance, but like Romain, not really my thing.
Puss N Boots - No Fools, No Fun 52 Disappointing C&W from Norah Jones fronted band.

Really looking forward to listening to Mark Lanegan's Phantom Radio and Damien Rice's My Favorite Faded Fantasy.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Harold »

It doesn't look like anyone's discussed Scott Walker & Sunn O))) 's Soused yet, so - even though I don't post in this thread much - why not me?

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from a collaboration between the legendary Sixties pop star turned avant-garde cult hero and the Dukes of Drone, but I'll tell you this much: it sure as hell wasn't an album that opens with a guitar riff that sounds like a beginning student trying to play "Sweet Child O' Mine." But that's what we get at the opening of "Brando," and it sets the tone for a surprisingly accessible album. Now, I'm using the word "accessible" in the most relative sense possible - I mean, neither of these artists is going to be headlining the Jingle Ball anytime soon. All five tracks are well over eight minutes in length, and there's plenty of downtuned sludge and cryptic-bordering-on-impenetrable wordplay to go around. But for the most part these come off like actual songs, and a couple actually have something resembling hooks (I guarantee that after hearing "Bull" once, you'll be yelling "Bump the beaky! Bump the beaky!" all day, whatever the hell it means). So, a not entirely unpleasant surprise from an album that I wasn't necessarily looking forward to listening to.
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Matski
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Matski »

Nick wrote:I gave the new Grouper album a listen. It made me want to fall asleep, and I don't mean that in a good way (can you even mean that in a good way??). It was pleasant enough music, but I really needed something to grab me for me to fully enjoy it, and it just didn't grab me at all. Good music for indie inclined teenage makeout parties, or something to fall asleep to. Not much else.

The new Run the Jewels album fucking rules though.
Completely agree about 'Ruins'.

Every year there's always at least one (but often a few) critical acclaimed album(s) that I don't understand what the fuss is about. This year it seems it's going to be the new Grouper album. Stylistically I can see why it's popular with other listeners and normally I enjoy ambient/dream pop but even after a few determined listens through I found it incredibly dull and unmemorable.

Haven't checked out the new Run the Jewels album yet. Would you say it's better or worse than their first album?
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nick »

Matski wrote:
Nick wrote:I gave the new Grouper album a listen. It made me want to fall asleep, and I don't mean that in a good way (can you even mean that in a good way??). It was pleasant enough music, but I really needed something to grab me for me to fully enjoy it, and it just didn't grab me at all. Good music for indie inclined teenage makeout parties, or something to fall asleep to. Not much else.

The new Run the Jewels album fucking rules though.
Completely agree about 'Ruins'.

Every year there's always at least one (but often a few) critical acclaimed album(s) that I don't understand what the fuss is about. This year it seems it's going to be the new Grouper album. Stylistically I can see why it's popular with other listeners and normally I enjoy ambient/dream pop but even after a few determined listens through I found it incredibly dull and unmemorable.

Haven't checked out the new Run the Jewels album yet. Would you say it's better or worse than their first album?
The new Grouper album sure is boring.

However, I think Run the Jewels second album is much better than their first. I liked their first, but their second is an improvement in basically every dimension. I highly recommend it.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

By the way, if anyone got the impression I don't like Run The Jewels because I don't like the lyrics, that's a wrong impression. It's already my #12 of the year after two listens. I think it's the best rap album since Sir Luscious Let Foot.

My current list (Probably last one before EOY):
1. Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Easier To Paint 94
2. Fennesz - Becs 94
3. St Vincent - St Vincent 93
4. Somi - The Lagos Music Salon 92
5. Sun Kil Moon - Benji 92
6. Beck - Morning Phase 88
7. Squarepusher x Z Machines - Music For Robots 87
8. Todd Terje - It's Album Time 87
9. Black Prairie - Fortune 87
10. Quilt - Held In Splendor 85
11. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold 85
12. Run The Jewles - Run The Jewels 2 84
13. Neneh Cherry - The Blank Project 84
14. Sondre Lerche - Please 83
15. Danilo Perez - Panama 500 82
16. Steph Cameron - Sad Eyed Lonesome Lady 82
17. School Of Language - Old Fears 81
18. Swans - To Be Kind 81
19. Iceage - Plowing Into The Field Of Love 81
20. Flying Lotus - You're Dead 80

21-50
Alt-J - This Is All Yours 80
Ex Rex - Rips 79
Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love 79
Aphex Twin - Syro 78
Pere Ubu - Carnival Of Souls 77
Kelis - Food 76
Ought - More Than Any Other Day 76
Carla Bozulich - Boy 76
Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line 75
Sohn - Tremors 75
Perfume Genius - Too Bright 75
Rodrigo y Gabriela - 9 Dead Alive 75
The Black Keys - Turn Blue - 75
Polar Bear - In Each And Every One 74
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witnesses 74
War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream 74
Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like A Bell 73
Mirel Wagner - When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day 73
White Lung - Deep Fantasy 73
Metronomy - Love Letters 72
My Glorious - Hold What We Can Hold 72
Shovels And Rope - Swimmin Time 72
Spoon - They Want My Soul 71
Owen Pallet - In Conflict 70
Sarah Jaffe - Don't Disconnect 70
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams - 68
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 67
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights 65
Jucara Marcal - Encarnado 64

Other:
FKA Twigs - 62
Foxygen - ...And Star Power 58
How To Dress Well - Waht Is This Heart? 57
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whuntva
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

Guess who's back!

Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Black Stone Cherry-Magic Mountain 2/5
Disparition-Granicha 4.5/5
Iceage-Plowing into the Field of Love 3.5/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 4/5
Scott Walker and Sunn O)))-Soused 3/5
Spoon-They Want My Soul 4/5
Sun kil Moon-Benji 5/5
Swans-To Be Kind 5/5
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

I like Scott Walker, I like Sunn O))), but I don't think this album is among my favorites.
" Ah, yes! Our meager restitution"
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by HRS »

I have no idea what some of you were expecting from a Grouper album. It's like going into one of Julianna Barwick previous recordings expecting beats. I don't find Ruins boring at all. It's just a completely different listening from the misogynist Run the Jewels 2. The only contemporary I can think of this album is PJ Harvey's White Chalk – and even this comparison doesn't make any justice. What Ruins really is, as Grouper has said, is a black and white photograph of the psycho-emotional moment of a mind in rumination. This is perfectly encapsulated by Labyrinth, in which Grouper plays in a minimalist drone on her piano, ruminating with her fingers until the microwave is heard and stops the moment. That's pure stream of consciousness, communication without words. Ruins is supposed to be intimate. I had some problems earlier this year with Sharon Van Etten and they were herr phrasing and the Starbucks-filtered-through-Pitchfork-approved production of her new recording; it sounded cynical and distant , straight out of Grey's Anatomy. Grouper goes the opposite way, creating a faded picture of her psychological state in Portugal. This is pure spontaneous music, recorded on a Four Track. The songs are skeletal because that's what her concept orders from them.

Grouper reveals as much as she hides; she's naked, but at the same time we can't figure out many of the words she's singing. Clearing is devastatingly beautiful in its reflections on fading, falling into indifference and even the thin line between loving much and not loving at all. Grouper's phrasing is perfect throughout the song, breathing some of the last words away as if they are undoing themselves on air as the relationship itself. When she repeats the final verse, she does it in a self-discovering way that the first time lacked. Anyone familiar with Anne Carson's work on the sublime will see how much the concept created relating Monica Vitti to the aesthetic thinking of Kant is similar to what Grouper does it here: she has uncovered the sublime by revealing that maybe he was right that she never been in love and then she watches it astonished, making quick stops along the verse, as if slowly recoiling from it in an act of fear of the sublime.

Called Across Rooms is the sound of solitude and echo inside ruins as much as Lighthouse and its choral of frogs and nature happens a wider space, as the object of its title happens to exist, and the open field where it remains. When we arrive at Holding, the most beautiful track on the record, we dissolve the first wanting of disappearing into someone's arms into the mortality of everything, the idea that there's nothing left to hold to. Then we listen to a storm overcomes the piano. Soon Grouper follows with an ambient track, eerie and airy as that storm. As if now we are part of the composition of the portuguese beach that inspired the previous track.

I think some people didn't get the concept-execution of Ruins. It won't make it any less boring to those who expect music to be in-your-face about its intentions, but I think it's unfair to discredit the project – a well-thought one. It was a highly emotional ride. I've been there. I have ruminated. I have sit and created out of pain. This is what this record encapsules well and better than any other love-related of its year. It's smarter emotionally than Benji to me. The articulation of droning and minimalist piano playing is a genius replication of the state of mind of a relationship that has just ended. The eerie playing overwhelms her vocals to the point in which emotional communication remains intact even when the words aren't clear, which I believe is the most consistent characteristic of the Grouper project since her first recordings. The first track is called Made of Metal and its repeatitive patterns soon open a portal that leads the listener to strong, earthly, lonesome and nocturne piano tracks that suddenly by the end of its natural cycle as human creation dissolves into air, giving space to another song called Made of Air. And then we have a Ruin.

Like Anne Carson, which wrote the epytaph of her brother in the shape of a box as a poetry book, this record is Grouper's Ruin. Grouper is not only walking through the architectural residues of love, but also working out the ways her music itself disintegrates – or memory and every material things that sprung from human beings, everything surrounding us. She used to take a walk into the beach and watch the ruins, but soon it was her relationship and consequently the arms of the one that used to hold her that were also ruins. This recording screams human decadence – in sound and substance.There's this concept of decadence, something like pictures of Detroit , that holds me as a listener. The subjectivity of the place it inhabits – the Portuguese beaches she went and the home she stayed – is perfectly captured, since she's as much of a ruin as those that surrounded her. It is grippingly emotional. It's raw and a bravura of a record because there's no one doing something like it. People want to reduce this to dream pop and ambient as if a girl on a piano was everything going on here, but there's so much more. Grouper is a visual artist foremost and many forget this; her records are not ambient, they are atmospheric because she evokes moods and images. Grouper mixes field recordings and songs to create beautiful images that connect her tracks to a larger work of art happening. The artwork, the atmosphere, the construction of the songs, the place they were recorded, the concept, everything combines to create this whole project. This is such a richly detailed record with a well-executed concept; It's the equivalent of Loud City Song from last year without sounding remotely like it. It's far more out there than some records that seem more out there just because they have beats. Boring to some, richly rewarding to my ears.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by GucciLittlePiggy »

Dark horse candidate, Everyday Robots, sprints to the front of the pack, while Spoon leapfrogs Sun Kil Moon. If the rumors are true, though, come November 24th we may see a new frontrunner...

Yeezy season approaching...

1. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots (90)
2. Spoon - They Want My Soul (90)
3. Sun Kil Moon - Benji (90)
4. Wild Beasts - Present Tense (85)
5. Jack White - Lazaretto (80)
6. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence (80)
7. St. Vincent - St. Vincent (80)
8. Beck - Morning Phase (80)
9. Caribou - Our Love (80)
10. alt-J - This Is All Yours (75)
11. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream (75)
12. FKA Twigs - LP1 (75)
13. Mac Demarco - Salad Days (75)
14. Interpol - El Pintor (75)
15. Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (75)
16. Swans - To Be Kind (75)
17. Porter Robinson - Worlds (75)
18. The Black Keys - Turn Blue (75)
19. Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland (65)
20. The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt (60)
21. The Kooks - Listen (55)
22. Linkin Park - The Hunting Party (50)
I just wanted to be one of those ghosts
You thought that you could forget
And then I haunt you via the rear view mirror
On a long drive from the back seat...
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nick »

I'm really glad you can get all of that out of "Ruins", HRS. That was certainly an interesting read, and it definitely helped me gain some insight into an album that I'm not quite fond of.

I'm listening to some songs off the album again, but to me it still sounds like unintelligible whispering over a piano. I'm not really sure where any connections with Anne Carson (the only Carson work I've read is "Autobiography of Red" though) or Kant or Portugal come in if only 10% of the albums lyrics are decipherable, and a searching online for lyrics to the songs has turned up fruitless, but I'll trust you.

It's not even that I don't like ambient music. I like James Blake, Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, and Julia Holter. But whenever I hear something off "Ruins" my immediate reaction is...boredom. I'm open to indecipherable lyrics (I'm a huge My Bloody Valentine fan), and I'm open to simplicity and ambiance, but Grouper just combines these elements in a way that leaves me totally cold. "Ruins" can be intimate at times, but there's only so much of its aesthetic I can take at once.
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HRS
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by HRS »

That's okay, Nick. I fully respect your opinion. I just didn't like the way the album was being described here after so many thoughts came over it and my experience. The connection to Carson was more of a allegory to the record. The more I listen, the more I understand the lyrics and Portugal was somethinf Grouper spoke in lenght on interviews. It's fine. It's okay to find it boring, I just wanted to defend the record and show another side of it. :)))
In the end, if I didn't enjoy it I wouldn't have figured a lot out. So, enjoyment is definitly the key to explore a record! :)
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Matski
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Matski »

Nick wrote:...

It's not even that I don't like ambient music. I like James Blake, Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, and Julia Holter. But whenever I hear something off "Ruins" my immediate reaction is...boredom. I'm open to indecipherable lyrics (I'm a huge My Bloody Valentine fan), and I'm open to simplicity and ambiance, but Grouper just combines these elements in a way that leaves me totally cold...
Thanks Nick. You've hit the nail on the head.

Sorry HRS, the problem for me was not with the concepts used to construct the piece, so much as the execution of the music itself. Neither the piano arrangements or vocal harmonies captivated me as they did you and many others.

It's a shame because as I said previously, the genres in play on this record are normally right up my alley and indeed some of the comparisons you've used - Julianna Barwick's Nepenthe and Julia Holter's Loud City Song were in my top fifty favourite albums of the last year, with the latter in my no.1 spot. Both of these albums were very memorable to me and were amongst the best works their respective artists had put out. I just feel that unfortunately the same can't be said for Ruins.
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Rob
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Rob »

Anybody else listened to the new and apparently final Pink Floyd album yet. I just gave it a first try and I liked it. It has some particularly outstanding moments, like Anisina, It's What We Do and the only song with real singing: Louder Than Words. It'salso something I have to listen quite a few more times to to decide whether my appreciation for it will deepen or it in the end will be just another Floyd album.

I have to admit I never heard any of the albums after the The Wall before, so I don't know how this compares, but I like that the sound is closer to personal favorites like Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Where Here, instead of Animals and The Wall. I like these last two too, but they've never become favorites of mine. So at least The Endless River is on the right track for me.
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whuntva
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

And now for another edition of my albums list.

Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Black Stone Cherry-Magic Mountain 2/5
Dan Bern-Songs of Fall 4.5/5
Disparition-Granicha 4.5/5
Grouper-Ruins 4/5
Iceage-Plowing into the Field of Love 3.5/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 4/5
Scott Walker and Sunn O)))-Soused 3/5
Spoon-They Want My Soul 4/5
Sun kil Moon-Benji 5/5
Swans-To Be Kind 5/5
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

Songs of Fall is a good album. Funny, Satirical, and have great points all around. Listen to "Break Up the USA" if you are to only hear one track. It really show's Bern's sense of humor and satire.

Grouper was good as incidental music, but I couldn't "love" it. I "liked" it though, just like with Run the Jewels.
" Ah, yes! Our meager restitution"
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by irreduciblekoan »

The new Pink Floyd album is nice-sounding, but after a few listens I'm already feeling like I won't be coming back to it often. It's ultimately unremarkable, but it's worth a listen.

Right now the album on repeat is Big K.R.I.T.'s Cadillactica. I thought Run the Jewels 2 was the best rap album of the year, Cadillactica may just give it a run for its money. Big K.R.I.T. has always been a hip-hop artist I've admired, but I felt like he was inconsistent. I admired him because he rapped about bigger themes than just money and girls, and he produced most of his own tracks and had an adventurous ear. His best work was some of the best rap of current times, but he had never made a truly excellent album yet. Until now. Cadillactica may just be the work that gains him more recognition, widespread acclaim, and an AM placement, and it's like the album he's been building towards ever since he released his first mixtape in 2010.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by bootsy »

irreduciblekoan wrote:The new Pink Floyd album is nice-sounding, but after a few listens I'm already feeling like I won't be coming back to it often. It's ultimately unremarkable, but it's worth a listen.

Right now the album on repeat is Big K.R.I.T.'s Cadillactica. I thought Run the Jewels 2 was the best rap album of the year, Cadillactica may just give it a run for its money. Big K.R.I.T. has always been a hip-hop artist I've admired, but I felt like he was inconsistent. I admired him because he rapped about bigger themes than just money and girls, and he produced most of his own tracks and had an adventurous ear. His best work was some of the best rap of current times, but he had never made a truly excellent album yet. Until now. Cadillactica may just be the work that gains him more recognition, widespread acclaim, and an AM placement, and it's like the album he's been building towards ever since he released his first mixtape in 2010.
Just listened to this and you are right it's very good. Very glad because his last album was not that good and that was disappointing because I was a huge fan of his mixtapes.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

whuntva wrote:And now for another edition of my albums list.


Dan Bern-Songs of Fall 4.5/5
Listened to that one today. I agree it's really good, it has a Dylanesque lyrical quality to it.

There are a few points where he comes off as pompous, like he's trying to be tongue in cheek and ends up just spewing out angry regional stereotypes. (At least I prefer to think that's what he's doing and it's not Jarvis Cocker style moral arrogance). But if you ignore those moments, easily one of the stronger albums of the year.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Andre »

The following three albums are currently topping my 2014 album chart:
1. Sea Pinks - Dreaming Tracks
2. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
3. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by irreduciblekoan »

Some of you may laugh at me, but I would like to nominate the soundtrack to the film Interstellar as an album recommendation. I'm not usually a fan of soundtrack albums, and I certainly am no fan of the movie, but I think the album just may be one of my favorite classical recordings of the year. It's ethereal, ambient and well-paced, flowing well from first track to last. And it begins in an unorthodox way for a soundtrack album, being almost silent for the first minute. It may just crack my top 20 of the year, which is strange for any soundtrack to do.
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bootsy
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by bootsy »

irreduciblekoan wrote:Some of you may laugh at me, but I would like to nominate the soundtrack to the film Interstellar as an album recommendation. I'm not usually a fan of soundtrack albums, and I certainly am no fan of the movie, but I think the album just may be one of my favorite classical recordings of the year. It's ethereal, ambient and well-paced, flowing well from first track to last. And it begins in an unorthodox way for a soundtrack album, being almost silent for the first minute. It may just crack my top 20 of the year, which is strange for any soundtrack to do.
Great soundtrack. Couldn't wait to hear it again after seeing the movie. Love the organ. Gone Girl's soundtrack is very good as well.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nick »

For the longest time I had put Azealia Banks' "Broke With Expensive Taste" on my list of upcoming albums as a half-joke. Her single "212" was great, but that was released all the way back in 2011, and as the months began to pass, it began to look more and more unlikely that Banks would ever release her long awaited debut studio album.

Well Banks released "Broke With Expensive Taste" with no warning earlier this week, and although "212" was great, this album exceeds all expectations I had for it. "Broke With Expensive Taste" is just so damn eclectic, it sounds like walking around New York City at all different times of day in a dozen different neighborhoods, and catching every piece of music that comes out of every window and turning it into a rap album.

"Gimme a Chance" sounds like combination of turntablism, the music of Latin America, and traditional hip-hop over a bassline straight out of Liquid Liquid's "Cavern". Oh, and there's even a verse where she raps entirely in Spanish.

"Desperado" is a song with some jazz and off kilter piano loops in the beginning, that gradually turns into a combination of Burial and The Prodigy with Banks' rapping ever present.

"Heavy Metal and Reflective" sounds like a combination of hip-hop, house music, and the current wave of industrial hip-hop spearheaded by the likes of Death Grips.

It's easy to see why Banks' label was so reluctant to release this album. It's sonically diverse, only a few songs could even qualify as potential hits, it has no guest features at all (Lazy Jay and Theophilus London are given credit on one song each, but only as producers), and it certainly sounds nothing like our current crop of female rappers, from the just plan bad Nicki Minaj to the just plain unlistenable Iggy Azealia. But given your time and attention, "Broke With Expensive Taste" is a rewarding listen, not a perfect one- the album peaks early and runs on a bit too long, but rewarding and very good nonetheless.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jackson »

I remember I spent much of last year's version of this thread hyping Dean Blunt and The Redeemer, so this might sound like a broken record, but...Black Metal is just another masterpiece. Beautiful, creative, eclectic, emotional...I feel like he's been building up to an album like this his whole (brief) career. You just have to listen to it, I don't know anything else like it.
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

I heard not one, but TWO new albums today alone.

Alt-J-This is All Yours 3.5/5
Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Black Stone Cherry-Magic Mountain 2/5
Dan Bern-Songs of Fall 4.5/5
Disparition-Granicha 4.5/5
Grouper-Ruins 4/5
Iceage-Plowing into the Field of Love 3.5/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Pink Floyd-Endless River 3/5
Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 4/5
Scott Walker and Sunn O)))-Soused 3/5
Spoon-They Want My Soul 4/5
Sun kil Moon-Benji 5/5
Swans-To Be Kind 5/5
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

Yeah, Pink Floyd, who made two albums in my top 100 (six in the top 500), just gets a 3/5. It's good as an ambient, but not as a Pink Floyd album. I was generous with the rating, as I tried to feign disappointment

As for Alt-J, their soft-rock sound never moved me. I'm surprised "Breezeblocks" got the acclaim it did. It's a surprise my favorite song on here is "Left Hand Free", all about the pleasure of selling out. "Hunger of the Pine" is okay, but this album isn't for me.
" Ah, yes! Our meager restitution"
Nick
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nick »

Ariel Pink just got a couple really positive reviews from Pitchfork and The Needle Drop. I was pretty into "Before Today", but I haven't heard his newest yet. Has anyone here heard it? If so, how does it stack up against "Before Today"?
Jirin
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Jirin »

Nick wrote:Ariel Pink just got a couple really positive reviews from Pitchfork and The Needle Drop. I was pretty into "Before Today", but I haven't heard his newest yet. Has anyone here heard it? If so, how does it stack up against "Before Today"?
I found it unlistenable, based on the first two tracks I was able to get through. It's all over the place in a mishmash of schoolyard twee, like tune-yards without the catchy melodies. I have no idea what Popmatters saw in it.

I agree with the general consensus of TV On The Radio's new one. It's a par for the course TVOTR album.
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whuntva
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by whuntva »

Yep! I'm back.

I probably listened to more albums this year than any other. As a single's guy, I'm still listening to individual songs. But I just now began to appreciate the Album as a legitimate art form also. And I'm not even listing the Moderately finalists, Rank the Tracks albums, or the ones I played catch-up to when they appeared in the polls.

Alt-J-This is All Yours 3.5/5
Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Black Stone Cherry-Magic Mountain 2/5
Dan Bern-Songs of Fall 4.5/5
Disparition-Granicha 4.5/5
Flying Lotus-You're Dead 4.5/5
Grouper-Ruins 4/5
Iceage-Plowing into the Field of Love 3.5/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Pink Floyd-Endless River 3/5
Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 4/5
Scott Walker and Sunn O)))-Soused 3/5
Spoon-They Want My Soul 4/5
Sun kil Moon-Benji 5/5
Swans-To Be Kind 5/5
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
War on Drugs-Lost in the Dream 5/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

War on Drugs, along with Sun Kil Moon, had the most hype on this forum it seems like. I think this is my new favorite album this year, overtaking To Be Kind even! Never thought I'd put Swans at #2 this year!

As for Flying Lotus...
Patrick Star wrote:Now you must acquire a taste for...freeform Jazz!
I kinda like it, but I was expecting something totally different. I'm not much for rap albums as a whole (only about six make the Top 100), but again, to me this is more of a jazz album. So that works.

I'm going after TV on the Radio Next. But after this, I dunno what I should listen to. Any more recommendations?
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by jamieW »

whuntva wrote:I'm going after TV on the Radio Next. But after this, I dunno what I should listen to. Any more recommendations?
I'd be curious to hear what you (or anyone) thinks of "Do To the Beast" by The Afghan Whigs. It was certainly one of my most pleasant surprises of the year, but I haven't heard much of a reaction about it, either good or bad...
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notbrianeno
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by notbrianeno »

A rough ordering, some of those 85's might jump up into 90's by the end of the year.

Against Me!-Transgender Dysphoria Blues(90)
Spoon-They Want My Soul(90)
Caribou-Our Love(90)

Azealia Banks-Broke With Expensive Taste(85)
Alt-J-This Is All Yours(85)
Ariel Pink-Pom Pom(85)
Swans-To Be Kind(85)
The Antlers-Familiars(85)
St. Vincent-St. Vincent(85)

FKA Twigs-LP1(80)
Kelis-Food(80)
Taylor Swift-1989(80)

Interpol-El Pintor(75)
Jenny Lewis-The Voyager(75)
The War On Drugs-Lost In The Dream(75)
TV on the Radio-Seeds(75)
Lana Del Rey-Ultraviolence(75)
Sun Kil Moon-Benji(75)

Ryan Adams-Ryan Adams(70)
Manchester Orchestra-Cope(70)
King Tuff-Black Moon Spell(70)
Beck-Morning Phase(70)
Real Estate-Atlas(70)
First Aid Kit-Stay Gold(70)
Aphex Twin-Syro(70)

Run The Jewels-RTJ2(65)
Coldplay-Ghost Stories(65)

Katy B-Little Red(60)
U2-Songs of Innocence(60)
Future Island-Singles(60)
Stars-No One Is Lost(60)
Metronomy-Love Letters(60)
Todd Terje-It's Album Time(60)
Bryan Ferry-Avonmore(60)

Brody Dalle-Diploid Love(55)
The Gaslight Anthem-Get Hurt(55)
Calvin Harris-Motion(55)
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga-Cheek To Cheek(55)

Shakira-Shakira(40)
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Romain
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Romain »

Chrissie Hynde - Stockholm 3 Not for me… at all… beurk.
Chapelier Fou - Deltas 6,5 Not unpleasant, beautiful melodies.
Esben and the Witch - A New Nature 6,5 Loud, dark, but very melodic. I'm surpise myself but I love this album.
Cold War Kids - Hold My Home 7 Some very good songs but some other too simple. The last two songs are the better.
Glass Animals - Zaba 8 Very great with the fifth first songs… and not so good after. Too bad. 9 for the first songs and 8 with all the songs.
Ty Segall - Manipulator 9 How to say that.. In a perfect world this album, in fifty years this album should be in the top 25 of acclaimed music. It's a futur classic. So much hits, it's insane.


Moodoïd - Le Monde Moo 9
Ty Segall - Manipulator 9
Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
The Goast Of A Saber Tooth Tiger - Midnight Sun 9
Alt-J - This is all yours 8,5
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
King Tuff - Black moon Spell 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
Glass Animals - Zaba 8
Woods - With Light and With Love 8
The Horrors - Luminous 8
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8
Malachai - Beyond Ugly 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Arthur H - Soleil Dedans 7,5
Prince - Art Official Age 7,5
Prince & 3rdeyegirl - Plectrum Electrum 7,5
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Kid Francescoli - With Julia 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Interpol - My Desire 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
Cold War Kids - Hold My Home 7
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
Esben and the Witch - A New Nature 6,5
U2 - Songs Of Innocence 6,5
Chapelier Fou - Deltas 6,5
Gush - Mira 6
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 6
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 5,5
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 5,5
Spoon - They Want My Soul 5,5
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 5
Augustines - Augustines 5,5
Ben Watt - Hendra 5,5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5
EMA - The Future's void 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Liars - Mess 4
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3
Chrissie Hynde - Stockholm 3
Caribou - Our Love 3
Sia - 1000 forms of fear 2
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2
Aphex Twin - Syro 0,5
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Re: Albums of 2014

Post by Nassim »

jamieW wrote:
whuntva wrote:I'm going after TV on the Radio Next. But after this, I dunno what I should listen to. Any more recommendations?
I'd be curious to hear what you (or anyone) thinks of "Do To the Beast" by The Afghan Whigs. It was certainly one of my most pleasant surprises of the year, but I haven't heard much of a reaction about it, either good or bad...
That's my favorite rock album of the year, partly because the year hasn't been strong imo but also because it is very well written and executed. There's nothing groundbreaking in there, it's fairly classic modern rock with a touch of indie, but it's full of great hooks and clever arrangements... It's not witty and brash like their early album but to be honest I like them better this way, old and wise.
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