Year-End Critics' Polls 2013

i thought RTJ was gonna be my hands-down favorite rap record of the year, but Pusha is "pushing" hard *zing*

I honestly can't fathom going gaga over a Pusha T album

Pusha album is in my top 5, it's that good

Yeezus didn't make the cut at all

i'm probably putting Ylvis on my Pazz & Jop ballot I'm just being honest

weird to see "Upper Echelon" on both the Spin and Complex song lists, what a generic-ass flop song to champion

you should enjoy RTJ for "get it" alone
that song totally dominated the summer for me

Who's it by?

The sad part is I wouldn't say I'm necessarily gaga over the Pusha T album. Not a great year for me and rap; admittedly I am far from an expert.

harvi11a doing work on this spin list, btw. love it. the "control" blurb had me rollin'.

lmao awesome

are diamonds and 22 eligible?

"22" wasn't released as a single until well into 2013 so that seems fair game. "Diamonds" was a worldwide chart-topper by this time last year, though.

the Pusha T track I love is "Nosetalgic" because of Kendrick Lamar. The rest of the album is bleh besides "King Push."

ditto

20 best cassette releases of 2013 http://www.factmag.com/2013/12/02/the-20-best-cassette-releases-of-2013

― flopson, Tuesday, December 3, 2013

really interesting list.

20 best cassette releases of 2013 http://www.factmag.com/2013/12/02/the-20-best-cassette-releases-of-2013

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but any best-of 2013 cassette list that doesn't have Perfect Pussy on it is a sham.

You can stream below. These kids are not fucking around.

http://prrfectpussy.bandcamp.com/

another Fact list today. they did mention that some of the more obvious omissions here will show up on their main list

The 20 Best Mixtapes of 2013

20 Cassie – RockaByeBaby
19 Starlito – Fried Turkey
18 Katie Got Bandz – Drillary Clinton
17 Tinashe – Black Water
16 Da Mafia 6ix – 6ix Commandments
15 Future & Freeband Gang – F.B.G.: The Movie
14 Amber London – Tru 2 Tha Phonk
13 Peewee Longway – Running Around The Lobby
12 Key Nyata – Shadowed Diamond
11Le1f – Fly Zone
10 Rich Homie Quan – Still Goin In
9 Lil Durk – Signed To The Streets
8 Teeflii – AnnieRUO'Tay 2
7 Caleb James – The Jones
6 Gucci Mane – Diary of a Trap God
5 Migos – Y.R.N
4 Gorgeous Children – Ice
3 Kevin Gates – Stranger Than Fiction
2 Young Scooter – Street Lottery
1 Young Thug – 1017 Thug

and a summary of deej's link to Complex:

Complex 50 Best Songs of 2013
50 Lorde – Royals
49 Young Jeezy feat. 2 Chainz – RIP
48 Earl Sweatshirt feat. Frank Ocean – Sunday
47 ZMoney - Regular
46 Justin Bieber – Hold Tight
45 Travis Scott feat. 2 Chainz & T.I. - Upper Echelon
44 Tyler, The Creator feat. Domo Genesis & Earl Sweatshirt – Rusty
43 Chinx Drugz feat. Diddy, French Montana & Rick Ross – I'm a Coke Boy (Remix)
42 Run The Jewels feat. Big Boi – Banana Clipper
41 Eminem – So Far
40 Vic Mensa – Lovely Day
39 Kanye West – I'm In It
38 Miley Cyrus – We Can't Stop
37 Action Bronson feat. LL Cool J & Lloyd Banks – Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix)
36 A$AP Rocky feat. Gunplay & A$AP Ferg – Ghetto Symphony
35 Lana del Rey – Young & Beautiful
34 Drake – 5AM in Toronto
33 August Alsina feat. Trinidad James – I Luv This Shit
32 G Dragon feat. Missy Elliott – Niliria
31 James Blake – Retrograde
30 YG feat. Young Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan – My Nigga
29 Disclosure feat. AlunaGeorge – White Noise
28 ScHoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar – Collard Greens
27 Chance the Rapper – Acid Rain
26 Childish Gambino – Pound Cake Freestyle
25 Danny Brown – Dope Song
24 Lil Durk – Dis Ain't What U Want
23 Mike Will Made-It feat. Miley Cyrus, Juicy J, & Wiz Khalifa – 23
22 Pusha T feat. Kendrick Lamar – Nosetalgia
21 French Montana – Ain't Worried About Nothin
20 Jay Z feat. Rick Ross – FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
19 Ariana Grande – Baby I
18 Lil Wayne feat. 2 Chainz – Rich as Fuck
17 Arcade Fire – Reflektor
16 Blood Orange – Chamakay
15 Ace Hood feat. Future & Rick Ross – Bugatti
14 Eminem – Rap God
13 Drake feat. Majid Jordan – Hold On, We're Going Home
12 Rocko feat. Future & Rck Ross – U.O.E.N.O.
11 Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell Williams – Blurred Lines
10 Big Sean feat. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica – Control
9 Autre Ne Veut – Counting
8 J. Cole feat. Miguel – Power Trip
7 Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams – Get Lucky
6 Rich Homie Quan – Type of Way
5 Haim – The Wire
4 Migos feat. Drake, Meek Mill, & Tyga – Versace
3 A$AP Ferg feat. A$AP Rocky – Shabba
2 Drake – Started From the Bottom
1 Kanye West – New Slaves

nice to see Fact list Kevin Gates's retail album Stranger Than Fiction over the mixtape Luca Brasi Story, but it seems weird/willfull to do so on a list of mixtapes

I'm not even sure what technically qualifies as a mixtape. Weren't they both self-released and then picked up by Atlantic?

my impression from the blurb that the Luca Brasi Story would be showing up in the main list

iirc, Luca Brasi was released as a mixtape and later a pared down version was given a retail release, whereas STF was always just an independent album.

NME album top three:

1. Arctic Monkeys – AM
2. Kanye West – Yeezus
3. Queens Of The Stone Age – ... Like Clockwork

Lol.

Like I understand that the Arctic Monkeys album is meant to be better than their others if you like that sort of thing, and everyone is voting for Yeezus anyway, but I can't fathom enough people liking that really quite dull and mid-paced QOTSA album enough to vote it top three, and I fucking love everything they put out up until around 2003.

Yesterday the NME Twitter was promoting a band called "Cerebral Ballzy".

If there was a window in my office when I read that I'd have looked out.

They've been around for years, more in hardcore/punk focussed mags than NME themselves though. From the worst band name thread:

cerebral ballzy

― livin' next door to phallus (electricsound), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 22:06 (43 seconds ago)

that's a neat deconstruction of the alt/bro, apollonian/dionysian schism of ROCK, and not without paranomastic elan

― calpolaris (nakhchivan), Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:11 PM (3 years ago)

Shit, I'm not up on my offensive band names.

no worse a name than 'Arctic Monkeys' when you get down to it and imho

while typing that I looked out of the window too conspicuously and my neighbour's mother waved at me cheerfully

Peeping Tom.

arctic monkeys is one of the most embarrassing band names ever

dunno, arctic monkeys isn't really offensive in the same way as cerebral ballzy. not that it's particularly great.

arctic monkeys is wacky student "humour" of the most basic sort

cerebral ballzy is a nadir of a different kind i guess

you listen to pavement
^ Future AC song title.

It's just a name. Jamie, the guitarist, came up with it at school before we were in a band. He just always wanted to be in a band called Arctic Monkeys.

he did it!

it seems a strange choice for them, like they're not "wacky" in what they do musically.

What's then name of those monkeys that live in the snow and hang out in hot spas and are total dicks to the monkeys that they force to stand out in the cold? I'm pushing for more taxonomic accuracy in band-naming here.

Japanese macaques

i can't bring myself to get upset or offended by a punk band who call themselves cerebral ballzy, sorry.

Japanese Macaques would probably be a worse band name than Arctic Monkeys, in fairness.

Sinospheric Simians

Isn't Japanese Macaques a Spoon song?

Also a worse band name than the Arctic Monkeys. And Cerebral Ballzy.

It SHOULD be a Spoon song if it isn't

NME Best Albums of 2012
http://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-50-best-albums-of-2013/326689/1/1

1. Arctic Monkeys - 'AM'
2. Kanye West - 'Yeezus'
3. Queens of the Stone Age - '…Like Clockwork'
4. Foals - 'Holy Fire'
5. Savages - 'Silence Yourself'
6. Daft Punk - 'Random Access Memories'
7. Arcade Fire - 'Reflektor'
8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 'Push This Guy Away'
9. Laura Marling - 'Once I Was An Eagle'
10. David Bowie - 'The Next Day'

11. Jon Hopkins - 'Immunity'
12. MIA - 'Matangi'
13. Drenge - 'Drenge'
14. Vampire Weekend - 'Modern Vampires Of The City'
15. Peace - 'In Love'
16. Jagwar Ma - 'Howlin’'
17. Waxahatchee - 'Cerulean Salt'
18. Hookworms - 'Pearl Mystic'
19. Disclosure - 'Settle'
20. The National - 'Trouble Will Find Me'

21. Iceage - 'You’re Nothing'
22. Deerhunter - 'Monomania'
23. Chvrches - 'The Bones Of What You Believe'
24. Parquet Courts - 'Light Up Gold'
25. Haim - 'Days Are Gone'
26. Factory Floor - 'Factory Floor'
27. Earl Sweatshirt - 'Doris'
28. These New Puritans - 'Field Of Reeds'
29. My Bloody Valentine - 'm b v'
30. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Mosquito'

31. Merchandise - 'Totale Nite'
32. Parma Violets - '180'
33. Tegan And Sara - 'Heartthrob'
34. Janelle Monae - 'The Electric Lady'
35. Bill Callahan - 'Dream River'
36. Deap Vally - 'Sistrionix'
37. Kurt Vile - ‘Wakin On A Pretty Daze’
38. Courtney Barnett - 'The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas'
39. The Julie Ruin - 'Run Fast'
40. Fuck Buttons - 'Slow Focus'

41. The Strokes - 'Comedown Machine'
42. Cate Le Bon - 'Mug Museum'
43. The Knife - 'Shaking The Habitual'
44. Speedy Ortiz - 'Major Arcana'
45. Future Of The Left - 'How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident'
46. Primal Scream - 'More Light'
47. King Krule - '6 Feet Beneath The Moon'
48. Pusha T - 'My Name Is My Name'
49. Daughter - 'If You Leave'
50. James Blake - 'Overgrown'

what is drenge it sounds gr8

1. Arctic Monkeys - 'AM'
2. Kanye West - 'Yeezus'
3. Queens of the Stone Age - '…Like Clockwork'

Glad to see NME has caught up with the hot artists of 2005.

Drenge are just-okay nu-grunge stuff except the USP is they're from Scotland or Cumbria or something IIRC. Like Yuck but more drengey.

Drenge are chiefly noted for having been namechecked in Tom Watson's resignation letter to Ed Miliband. I wasn't aware that anyone other than a few Staggers-reading wonks actually bothered to listen to them.

Bar the usual sins of omission and a largely ropey top 10 that NME list doesn't strike me as particularly objectionable but that's maybe because it looks like the list of a publication and a scene that's accepted its reduced standing the world.

Glad to see NME has caught up with the hot artists of 2005.

as much as I'm personally indifferent to all those albums this doesn't really work as a zing

8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 'Push This Guy Away'