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Media Your favourite albums?
- Thread starter antemortem
- Start date
Not sure why people are saying it's a dry year for hip-hop. There's so much great, lesser known stuff out there that I can guarantee you'll love. Personally I got 8 great records out of this year compared to last year's 5.
billy woods' collaboration with Kenny Segal, Hiding Places, proves he might be the best writer in hip-hop right now. Although you might have to get used to his off-kilter flows, his commanding presence and synergy with the production make it impossible not to hear him. What sets woods apart is his unique style of painting vivid pictures with his poetry, tying into the greater theme of anxiety that is Hiding Places.
woods' follow-up, Terror Management, is more disjointed and has woods returning to his vignette style which might be off-putting for its abstractness and potentially a lack of cohesion. Although I don't find the scattered Terror Management equally impressive, it's very much a powerful follow-up and worth several listens as there's a wealth of depth hidden here.
Charlotte rapper MAVI dropped his debut project, Let the Sun Talk, at age 19 a couple of months ago. One might instantly race to trite comparisons with Earl Sweatshirt, but the latter's approach to lo-fi hip hop is much more muddied. MAVI interjects lots of life in a sub-genre that often risks being a bit too morose for its own good. MAVI too paints vivid pictures that take several listens to fully understand. Like Mavi says himself on sense, "I make the songs you gotta read, baby".
I'd never expect to enjoy a Drain Gang release, but its instantly noticeable Ecco2k stands very far above his Swedish peers. e is a tightly written record about drug abuse, vulnerability, racism, and futility. Ecco isn't a great writer in a typical sense, but what makes e work is the subtlety and genuine emotion that meshes with the ethereal production. Anything more verbose would be an ill-fit over these hollow soundscapes.
Benny the Butcher proves himself yet again with The Plugs I Met, a brutally consistent 6-track EP with Daringer at the top of his game. Benny isn't doing anything particularly new, but the way he does it is so madly refined and enjoyable. It might be a bit on-the-nose sometimes but when he pairs up with GOAT rapper Black Thought, there's just no way you don't bob your head to it for its entire runtime.
slowthai's Nothing Great About Britain embodies the punk I feel often lacks in the United States scene. Many parallels run between the US & UK political situations -- and slowthai, a boy from a less wealthy neighborhood, has the perfect vision and energy to make this blunt political statement work. That's not to say slowthai is blindly angry; he also paints pretty pictures about his own life over slower beats, like on stand-out track Gorgeous or the emotional Northampton's Child.
And there's many many more I could still touch on -- Rapsody's Eve is a celebration of the black woman who have often been phased out of art canon, and is an exclamation mark that Rapsody ranks among the hip-hop's upper echelon, not just for women. Lizzo's Cuz I Love You, although a bit media prepackaged, is a powerful celebration of self-acceptance in a society that suffers increasingly from insecurity. Tyler, the Creator's IGOR continues the trend of well-made art pop, this time it being a more conceptual record about a gay relationship. There's the early Aesop Rock and Tobacco collaboration, Malibu Ken. Quelle Chris' Guns. Wilma Vritra's Burd. And shit, I haven't even had the time to get around to clipping, Mach-Hommy, Gang Starr, Little Brother, Griselda's Shady debut, Slauson Malone, Medhane, Roc Marciano, Your Old Droog...
pretty good year, I'd say.
billy woods' collaboration with Kenny Segal, Hiding Places, proves he might be the best writer in hip-hop right now. Although you might have to get used to his off-kilter flows, his commanding presence and synergy with the production make it impossible not to hear him. What sets woods apart is his unique style of painting vivid pictures with his poetry, tying into the greater theme of anxiety that is Hiding Places.
woods' follow-up, Terror Management, is more disjointed and has woods returning to his vignette style which might be off-putting for its abstractness and potentially a lack of cohesion. Although I don't find the scattered Terror Management equally impressive, it's very much a powerful follow-up and worth several listens as there's a wealth of depth hidden here.
Charlotte rapper MAVI dropped his debut project, Let the Sun Talk, at age 19 a couple of months ago. One might instantly race to trite comparisons with Earl Sweatshirt, but the latter's approach to lo-fi hip hop is much more muddied. MAVI interjects lots of life in a sub-genre that often risks being a bit too morose for its own good. MAVI too paints vivid pictures that take several listens to fully understand. Like Mavi says himself on sense, "I make the songs you gotta read, baby".
I'd never expect to enjoy a Drain Gang release, but its instantly noticeable Ecco2k stands very far above his Swedish peers. e is a tightly written record about drug abuse, vulnerability, racism, and futility. Ecco isn't a great writer in a typical sense, but what makes e work is the subtlety and genuine emotion that meshes with the ethereal production. Anything more verbose would be an ill-fit over these hollow soundscapes.
Benny the Butcher proves himself yet again with The Plugs I Met, a brutally consistent 6-track EP with Daringer at the top of his game. Benny isn't doing anything particularly new, but the way he does it is so madly refined and enjoyable. It might be a bit on-the-nose sometimes but when he pairs up with GOAT rapper Black Thought, there's just no way you don't bob your head to it for its entire runtime.
slowthai's Nothing Great About Britain embodies the punk I feel often lacks in the United States scene. Many parallels run between the US & UK political situations -- and slowthai, a boy from a less wealthy neighborhood, has the perfect vision and energy to make this blunt political statement work. That's not to say slowthai is blindly angry; he also paints pretty pictures about his own life over slower beats, like on stand-out track Gorgeous or the emotional Northampton's Child.
And there's many many more I could still touch on -- Rapsody's Eve is a celebration of the black woman who have often been phased out of art canon, and is an exclamation mark that Rapsody ranks among the hip-hop's upper echelon, not just for women. Lizzo's Cuz I Love You, although a bit media prepackaged, is a powerful celebration of self-acceptance in a society that suffers increasingly from insecurity. Tyler, the Creator's IGOR continues the trend of well-made art pop, this time it being a more conceptual record about a gay relationship. There's the early Aesop Rock and Tobacco collaboration, Malibu Ken. Quelle Chris' Guns. Wilma Vritra's Burd. And shit, I haven't even had the time to get around to clipping, Mach-Hommy, Gang Starr, Little Brother, Griselda's Shady debut, Slauson Malone, Medhane, Roc Marciano, Your Old Droog...
pretty good year, I'd say.
my favourite albums released this year
1. norman fucking rockwell! - lana del rey
2. thank u, next - ariana grande
3. fine line - harry styles
4. lover - taylor swift
5. k-12 - melanie martinez / when we all fall asleep, where do we go? - billie eilish
i'd say it was a pretty good year for music (from the perspective of someone who mainly listens to pop / indie / r&b), although im disappointed rihanna and adele didnt release anything (so far ig)
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my favourite albums released this decade
1. sweetener - ariana grande
2. norman fucking rockwell! - lana del rey
3. thank u, next - ariana grande
4. brol - angèle / dangerous woman - ariana grande
5. dont smile at me - billie eilish / anti - rihanna / reputation - taylor swift
ok that's all, i might edit this with a chart thingy later
1. norman fucking rockwell! - lana del rey
2. thank u, next - ariana grande
3. fine line - harry styles
4. lover - taylor swift
5. k-12 - melanie martinez / when we all fall asleep, where do we go? - billie eilish
i'd say it was a pretty good year for music (from the perspective of someone who mainly listens to pop / indie / r&b), although im disappointed rihanna and adele didnt release anything (so far ig)
-----
my favourite albums released this decade
1. sweetener - ariana grande
2. norman fucking rockwell! - lana del rey
3. thank u, next - ariana grande
4. brol - angèle / dangerous woman - ariana grande
5. dont smile at me - billie eilish / anti - rihanna / reputation - taylor swift
ok that's all, i might edit this with a chart thingy later
Didn't really want to order them, but here's my Top 10 of 2019!
Spiritual Instinct- Alcest (blackgaze)
Schlagenheim- black midi (experimental rock)
Angels- The Novembers (alt rock/metal)
Nothing Great About Britain- slowthai (grime)
Norman Fucking Rockwell- Lana Del Rey (folk pop)
Young Enough- Charly Bliss (indie rock)
Eve- Rapsody (hip hop)
Infest the Rat's Nest- King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard (thrash)
GINGER- BROCKHAMPTON (hip hop)
Crush- Floating Points (electronic)
Spiritual Instinct- Alcest (blackgaze)
Schlagenheim- black midi (experimental rock)
Angels- The Novembers (alt rock/metal)
Nothing Great About Britain- slowthai (grime)
Norman Fucking Rockwell- Lana Del Rey (folk pop)
Young Enough- Charly Bliss (indie rock)
Eve- Rapsody (hip hop)
Infest the Rat's Nest- King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard (thrash)
GINGER- BROCKHAMPTON (hip hop)
Crush- Floating Points (electronic)
PsyducksChili
Banned deucer.
my aoty
igor - tyler the creator
death race for love - juice wrld
jackboys - travis scott
my aotd
rodeo - travis scott
die lit - playboi carti
currents - tame impala
4 your eyez only - j cole
igor - tyler the creator
death race for love - juice wrld
jackboys - travis scott
my aotd
rodeo - travis scott
die lit - playboi carti
currents - tame impala
4 your eyez only - j cole
I couldn't possibly make a top 10 for any specific year but since the 2010s are over I think my top 10 of the decade came out nicely.
EDIT: I forgot Making Mirrors by Gotye
EDIT: I forgot Making Mirrors by Gotye
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Then I figured, why not update my topsters since it has been a few years
If it would be songs alone there would be way more punk rock and more modern stuff. For me personally a really good album needs more than a few good songs but an overall structure that can carry even the weaker ones (and most punk rock albums miss that imo). First row are definetely my favourite ones, the rest is in no particular order.
Still homogenous af since the last time
Did a new one of these, and not as a 3x3 or 5x5 this time! Tried to semi order this early on but kinda gave up somewhere around row 3 or 4. Even then not sure about the order lol.
For classical stuff, I've used the album cover for my favourite recordings. The Nutcracker is Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the New World Symphony is Karl Böhm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
I'm not particularly explorative—I usually stick with what I'm used to—but if anyone has recommendations for any of the following genres I'm very open to them:
For classical stuff, I've used the album cover for my favourite recordings. The Nutcracker is Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the New World Symphony is Karl Böhm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
I'm not particularly explorative—I usually stick with what I'm used to—but if anyone has recommendations for any of the following genres I'm very open to them:
- Jazz / J-Jazz
- Funk
- Punk
- Rock
- Rock and Roll
- J-Indie
- 70s–90s J-Pop
Some standout albums ive heard recently
Mm...food by MF DOOM
Sayonara Wild Hearts by Daniel Olson
Simple Mind + GENERASIAN by Lim Kim
Little Dark Age by MGMT
Flamboyant by Dorian Electra
1000 gecs by 100 gecs
Charli by Charli XCX
Year of the Snitch by Death Grips
Tetra by C2C
Pang by Caroline Polachek
I dont see any of these albums ever losing their inherent listenability for me. Glad i have been more proactive abt finding new music in these last few months
Mm...food by MF DOOM
Sayonara Wild Hearts by Daniel Olson
Simple Mind + GENERASIAN by Lim Kim
Little Dark Age by MGMT
Flamboyant by Dorian Electra
1000 gecs by 100 gecs
Charli by Charli XCX
Year of the Snitch by Death Grips
Tetra by C2C
Pang by Caroline Polachek
I dont see any of these albums ever losing their inherent listenability for me. Glad i have been more proactive abt finding new music in these last few months
props on including the gsc soundtrack, it is truly magical.
I'm a beginner in this myself but miles davis' bitches brew is sublime. in a silent way is pretty perfect too.
also:
dead kennedys - fresh fruit for rotting vegetables, plastic surgery disasters, in god we trust inc
charged gbh - city baby attacked by rats
black flag - nervous breakdown, damaged
bad brains - s/t
bad religion - no control
adolescents - s/t
rudimentary peni - death church
suicidal tendencies - s/t
the stranglers - rattus norvegicus
la's wasted youth - reagan's in
husker du - zen arcade
misfits - static age
sex pistols - never mind the bollocks
the stooges - funhouse, s/t, raw power
mc5 - kick out the jams
the doors - s/t, la woman, morrison hotel, strange days
talking heads - remain in light, fear of music
uriah heep - demons and wizards
joy division - unknown pleasures, closer, substance
the smiths - the queen is dead
sonic youth - daydream nation
pink turns blue - if two worlds kiss
nirvana - nevermind, bleach
the strokes - is this it, room on fire
beatles - white album (aka s/t)
alvvays - s/t, antisocialites
I primarily listen to Jambands só can’t really list albums since all the best stuff is live. Still check out Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Trey Anastasio Band, Phish, twiddle, goose, Pidgeons playing ping pong. and String Cheese Incident live shows. I’ve been to all of them at least once n they’re always great. I tried listening to a phish album and it wasn’t at all similar to a live show so yeah I’d just avoid albums. Except original grateful dead, their studio work is just fantastic too.
as for favorite albums:
Shpongle - Museum of Consciousness
Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
Alice In Chains - Dirt https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6ogdCG3tAWjo_2ljw--dgT5N-DU5Ybyc
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Beach Boys - Smiley Smile https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKX9Zml-wQe8YOu--uZXivHBH4Iz9nKp-
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Metallica - Black Album
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyI3z-7R4O1khpd8nxPuVg4T-oT9s2BD9
I bolded my top 5. But I still prefer Jambands to any of that.
as for favorite albums:
Shpongle - Museum of Consciousness
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Metallica - Black Album
I bolded my top 5. But I still prefer Jambands to any of that.
here's some recs, adding youtube/spotify links so u can sample the music easily if u wish, hope there's something in here for you!
if ur looking to get more into the genre i think contemporary fusion albums are very approachable, some examples are:
badbadnotgood - BBNG2 (these guys do a lot of jazz covers of hiphop songs but u dont have to like the original songs to like their covers or anything)
Mouse on the Keys - An Anxious Object (japanese band btw)
Niechec - Smierc w miekkim futerku
i see u like time out by brubeck so i assume ur also cool with checking out some classics, some i particularly like are:
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (also check out Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, Olé Coltrane)
Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Study in Brown
Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots (bkc already posted a song from this one)
Ryo Fukui - Scenery (not actually a "classic" but it blew up on youtube a while ago fsr and if u like comfy piano-driven jazz this should be up ur alley)
im usually more into more unconventional jazz tho, here's some faves of mine that should still be approachable enough:
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (especially recommend this one)
The Pyramids - King of Kings
Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages
Eberhard Weber - The Colours of Chloe (this is borderline modern classical, if that sounds like ur thing u should generally explore the albums released on the ECM label)
Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda
here's some shit u can check out if u really wanna go off the deep end (first 3 are japanese!):
Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Ensemble - Dreams (just linking the full album cuz the album varies a lot in what it does and how accessible it is)
Masayuki Takayanagi - Complete "La Grima" (this one's a lot)
Kaoru Abe & Hiroshi Yamazaki - Jazz Bed (this one's a lot too)
Pharoah Sanders - Black Unity
The Jazz Composer's Orchestra - self-titled (this is more or less what you might call a jazz supergroup so if this is even remotely your thing go through the names on this album and check their stuff out)
badbadnotgood - BBNG2 (these guys do a lot of jazz covers of hiphop songs but u dont have to like the original songs to like their covers or anything)
Mouse on the Keys - An Anxious Object (japanese band btw)
Niechec - Smierc w miekkim futerku
i see u like time out by brubeck so i assume ur also cool with checking out some classics, some i particularly like are:
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (also check out Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, Olé Coltrane)
Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Study in Brown
Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots (bkc already posted a song from this one)
Ryo Fukui - Scenery (not actually a "classic" but it blew up on youtube a while ago fsr and if u like comfy piano-driven jazz this should be up ur alley)
im usually more into more unconventional jazz tho, here's some faves of mine that should still be approachable enough:
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (especially recommend this one)
The Pyramids - King of Kings
Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages
Eberhard Weber - The Colours of Chloe (this is borderline modern classical, if that sounds like ur thing u should generally explore the albums released on the ECM label)
Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda
here's some shit u can check out if u really wanna go off the deep end (first 3 are japanese!):
Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Ensemble - Dreams (just linking the full album cuz the album varies a lot in what it does and how accessible it is)
Masayuki Takayanagi - Complete "La Grima" (this one's a lot)
Kaoru Abe & Hiroshi Yamazaki - Jazz Bed (this one's a lot too)
Pharoah Sanders - Black Unity
The Jazz Composer's Orchestra - self-titled (this is more or less what you might call a jazz supergroup so if this is even remotely your thing go through the names on this album and check their stuff out)
funk: i can be a lot shorter about this one cuz i dont listen to a lot of funk, but there are some excellent albums out there that i highly recommend:
Parliament - Funkentelechy vs the Placebo Syndrome (p-funk)
Fela Kuti - Zombie (afrobeat/jazz-funk)
Baby Huey - The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend (soul/funk)
Marijata - This Is Marijata (afro-funk)
i dont rly care for the more popular punk bands (the most famous punk bands of the original '77 movement and pop punk bands like green day) but there's a ton of cool subgenres and scenes within punk that are worth checking out:
US hardcore:
Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown (also check out their full-length "Damaged")
Minor Threat - Complete Discography (for the record, their complete discography compilation album amounts to about 45 minutes of material so it's basically a regular full-length album)
Germs - (GI)
j-hardcore (note: j-hardcore tends to be very fast, noisy, and lo-fi so know what you're getting into):
Tranquilizer - self-titled
Disclose - A Mass of Raw Sound Assault
Conga Fury - Bullshit Disaster
UK anarcho-punk:
Crass - Stations of the Crass
Flux of Pink Indians - Neu Smell
Rudimentary Peni - Death Church
post-punk (this genre is extreeeeemely broad so i'll restrict myself to the more overtly punk-sounding stuff here):
Wipers - Is This Real? (their album Youth of America is even better but a little less punk, also check out Over the Edge)
Wire - Pink Flag (same deal as Wipers, check out Chairs Missing and 154 for albums that are less punk but certainly not less good)
Gang of Four - Entertainment!
The Fall - Live at the Witch Trials (not actually a live album, also check out their Slates EP, also Hex Enduction Hour for something that is as much krautrock as it is punk)
Mission of Burma - Vs.
misc.:
Discharge - Fight Back (also check out Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing)
Iceage - You're Nothing (contemporary danish punk, not immediately accessible but very very good)
Lower - Walk On Heads (another one from the danish scene, this EP is really their only worthwhile project but it's seriously great)
NoMeansNo - Wrong (exists somewhere inbetween hardcore and post-hardcore i guess, extremely fun album)
US hardcore:
Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown (also check out their full-length "Damaged")
Minor Threat - Complete Discography (for the record, their complete discography compilation album amounts to about 45 minutes of material so it's basically a regular full-length album)
Germs - (GI)
j-hardcore (note: j-hardcore tends to be very fast, noisy, and lo-fi so know what you're getting into):
Tranquilizer - self-titled
Disclose - A Mass of Raw Sound Assault
Conga Fury - Bullshit Disaster
UK anarcho-punk:
Crass - Stations of the Crass
Flux of Pink Indians - Neu Smell
Rudimentary Peni - Death Church
post-punk (this genre is extreeeeemely broad so i'll restrict myself to the more overtly punk-sounding stuff here):
Wipers - Is This Real? (their album Youth of America is even better but a little less punk, also check out Over the Edge)
Wire - Pink Flag (same deal as Wipers, check out Chairs Missing and 154 for albums that are less punk but certainly not less good)
Gang of Four - Entertainment!
The Fall - Live at the Witch Trials (not actually a live album, also check out their Slates EP, also Hex Enduction Hour for something that is as much krautrock as it is punk)
Mission of Burma - Vs.
misc.:
Discharge - Fight Back (also check out Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing)
Iceage - You're Nothing (contemporary danish punk, not immediately accessible but very very good)
Lower - Walk On Heads (another one from the danish scene, this EP is really their only worthwhile project but it's seriously great)
NoMeansNo - Wrong (exists somewhere inbetween hardcore and post-hardcore i guess, extremely fun album)
if u want recs that specifically sound similar to one thing or another feel free to ask cuz i can usually link u up with something + i like giving ppl new music to listen to
it's hard for me to rank things so the order here is kind of fast and loose. i kind of think maybe i don't actually want TWO dead south albums in my top ten, but also, they are both very good, so who cares.
i tend to think of myself as an alt-rock/metal/punk or a folk/bluegrass person and there's a lot of both those things up there but at the same time there's also shit like lemon demon so really who knows.....
i've listened to a little bit of like. the dead kennedys and the violent femmes, and also some woody guthrie and johnny cash, but not enough so far tbh
i think the defining trait of a lot of what i like is that it's Spooky. rubberneck by the toadies is my absolute favorite grunge album for this very reason.
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Denzel curry + kenny beats unlocked is awesome
