Drowned in Sound top tracks:http://www.drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4147252-dis-does-singles--our-teams-top-40-tracks-of-2013
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 10:38 (ten years ago) link
some weird writing there
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 10:40 (ten years ago) link
In these days of the digital download storm musical careers are never certain. The investment in musicians and their development is not so much there. Arguably it makes for a free for all where the bestest will rear their head, eventually. And then there is Foals, almost 10 years into their career, with their 3rd album and suddenly they just went and got their greatest hit to date. Who knew they had it in them to run the gauntlet and push themselves to the front of the British guitar queue? The key seems to be their syncopated bust a move rhythms featuring almost electronic sounds, awash with dreamy vocals and lyrics of entropy.
The writing on DiS is almost always dreadful. New design is awful too.
― I can still taste the Taboo in my mouth when I hear those songs (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 5 December 2013 10:48 (ten years ago) link
British guitar queue
― I like to think I have learnt a thing or two about music (Neil S), Thursday, 5 December 2013 10:52 (ten years ago) link
those crazy anarchists nominating every song on The National album
― Number None, Thursday, 5 December 2013 10:57 (ten years ago) link
This year I followed the Lex line when it came to voting for tracks and didn't include any that featured on my Top 10 albums, otherwise it would have been GMF, Get Lucky, Step/Ya Hey, etc. It's an artifical distinction but it did allow me to mention more stand-alone tracks, or highlights from less-than-great albums. I like most of the DiS list but it feels like there are no surprises when almost everything is drawn from an acclaimed album.
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:01 (ten years ago) link
Alternative Press - 10 Essential albums of 2013http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/10_essential_albums_of_2013
10. Jimmy Eat World - Damage9. Bring Me the Horizon - Sepiternal8. Fall Out Boy - Save Rock and Roll7. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks6. Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart5. Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!4. The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation3. Touche Amore - Is Survived By2. Paramore - Paramore1. Twenty One Pilots - Vessel
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:02 (ten years ago) link
we have a winner!
― I like to think I have learnt a thing or two about music (Neil S), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:03 (ten years ago) link
Frank Turner has been plucking away at his acoustic guitar since 2006, and this year quite a few more people caught on—including Interscope Records. Like his past work, the songs of Tape Deck Heart are about playing shows, drinking with friends and getting your heart broken, but it’s a little darker and more personal—and still just as poignant. Plus, who else used the word “fractious” in a song this year?
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:03 (ten years ago) link
Drowninedsound is such a wasted opportunity given how prominent it is/was but the writing is usually appalling and as far as I'm aware no one outside the music industry takes it seriously at all. It's still after all these years a poorly cobbled-together fanzine with pretensions of being a proper music site.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:04 (ten years ago) link
Okay my jaw did drop a bit when I saw what DiS had put at #1. I don't know what I was expecting but certainly not THAT.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:06 (ten years ago) link
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, December 5, 2013 11:01 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
it never feels more artificial as when i end up thinking things like "is the quadron album gonna make my list because if it isn't i have to put hey love in the tracks list"
― lex pretend, Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:17 (ten years ago) link
Rolling Stone Songs:http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-2013-20131204
50 Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell - Blurred Lines49 Lucius - Tempest48 Caitlin Rose - I Was Cruel47 Yo La Tengo - Ohm46 Britney Spears - Work Bitch45 Young Thug - Picachu44 Prince - Breakfast Can Wait43 Superchunk - Me and You and Jackie Mittoo42 Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers41 M.I.A. - Sexodus40 Kevin Gates - Wylin'39 Natalie Maines - Free Life38 Kurt Vile - Wakin on a Pretty Day37 J. Cole - Crooked Smile36 TNGHT - Acrylics35 Jim James - A New Life34 Kings of Leon - Supersoaker33 Kelly Rowland - Dirty Laundry32 Katy B - 5 AM31 Wavves - Demon to Lean On30 Beck - Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t Hard29 Thundercat - Oh Sheit It's X28 Ashley Monroe - Two Weeks Late27 Lonely Island feat. Adam Levine - YOLO26 Avicii - Wake Me Up25 Washed Out - All I Know24 The Julie Ruin - Oh Come On23 Elvis Costello and the Roots - Walk Us Uptown22 Ciara - Body Party21 Jake Bugg - Broken20 Kanye West - Blood on the Leaves19 Jay Z - Picasso Baby18 Katy Perry - Roar17 Lady Gaga feat R. Kelly - Do What U Want16 HAIM - The Wire15 Eminem - Rap God14 Miley Cyrus - We Can’t Stop13 Big Sean Feat. Kendrick Lamar - Control12 Tegan and Sara - Closer11 Arcade Fire - Reflektor10 Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?9 Drake - Started From the Bottom8 James Blake - Retrograde7 Justin Timberlake - Mirrors6 Parquet Courts - Stoned and Starving5 Disclosure - When a Fire Starts to Burn4 Vampire Weekend - Hannah Hunt3 Kanye West - Black Skinhead2 Lorde - Royals1 Daft Punk feat. Pharrell and Nile Rodgers - Get Lucky
― prolego, Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:20 (ten years ago) link
We should discuss the art of the grudging #50 slot: Lorde for Complex, Blurred Lines for Rolling Stone, James Blake for NME. It always feels driven by a need to recognise something significant that nobody at the mag is crazy about.
Why do people rate Drake's Started From the Bottom so highly btw? idgi
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:24 (ten years ago) link
disclosure's US PR must be incredibly strong
― lex pretend, Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:25 (ten years ago) link
Do people really rate "black skinhead" higher than "on site"?
― Beatrix Kiddo (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:34 (ten years ago) link
I rate maybe 5-6 songs on the RS list but none will be on my top ten
― Beatrix Kiddo (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:39 (ten years ago) link
So many of these brands/bands I haven't even gotten to hear!
Lorde for Complex, Blurred Lines for Rolling Stone, James Blake for NME
...Shitfucker for the Quietus
― screaming lord, such opinion (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 5 December 2013 11:55 (ten years ago) link
I know that was #100 but go with me on this
There was no way the Quietus could fail to mention Shitfucker, the band who defined 2013.
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:02 (ten years ago) link
There was no way the Quietus could fail to mention Shitfucker, the band who defiled 2013.
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:03 (ten years ago) link
xp I tried to buy/listen again to the Quadron album this week, but it's been deleted pending a 2014 re-release. Nothing on ITunes, Amazon, Spotify...
― mike t-diva, Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:05 (ten years ago) link
More Guardian albums:http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/dec/05/best-albums-2013-30-to-21
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:07 (ten years ago) link
!!!!
how completely bizarre
― lex pretend, Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:11 (ten years ago) link
“A beautiful reminder that we’re all doomed.”
It’s writing like this that got Fulham whacked 2-1 by Spurs last night.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:20 (ten years ago) link
Well at least they reviewed that entry.
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:27 (ten years ago) link
Well Jai Paul was a leak and Sky Ferreira's not out in the UK yet so there are only two omissions but yes it looks bad.
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:29 (ten years ago) link
I'm sure all the Guardian readers angry about Bangerz at #34 have heard it and have informed critiques.
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:32 (ten years ago) link
I'm sure they're all intelligent and interesting people.
― Legitimate space tale (LocalGarda), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:33 (ten years ago) link
personally i think ignoring autre ne veut was a sound decision
i don't think it looks bad, it shows critics are still listening to music beyond what they have an advance copy or foreknowledge of.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:34 (ten years ago) link
Some people's inability to understand the difference between one reviewer's opinion and a poll of dozens of writers is an annual disappointment. It's not advanced maths.
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:36 (ten years ago) link
i always wonder whether if they knew its placing genuinely wasn't some SEO-hungry diktat from on high but genuinely just the result of critics' votes, would that make them more or less angry
tbh though i think guardian commenters' EOY list outrage is never going to top the year beyoncé was at no. 4, that kind of high is impossible to replicate
― lex pretend, Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:36 (ten years ago) link
Some people's inability to understand the difference between one reviewer's opinion and a poll of dozens of writers is an annual disappointment
it's always so patiently explained every year and that doesn't seem to permeate ANYONE's brain, quite remarkable
oh yeah, it's nice to see julia holter in there. she didn't make my top 10 but after several albums that i found admirable but impenetrable, it was reassuring to genuinely get into this one. yes i need pop hooks what of it
― lex pretend, Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:38 (ten years ago) link
The problem is that some people are so utterly convinced there is no value in mainstream pop that the cynical clickbait theory makes more sense to them than the mundane truth that a bunch of people voted for Bangerz. Tbh if I was tasked with whipping up some SEO good times I'd try harder than putting Miley Cyrus at #34.
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:40 (ten years ago) link
WHERE OH WHERE IS JAKE BUGG
― I can still taste the Taboo in my mouth when I hear those songs (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:43 (ten years ago) link
kid at work just said "god this video's boring" re: Mr Bugg
― Noodzilla (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:45 (ten years ago) link
― Beatrix Kiddo (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, December 5, 2013 6:34 AM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yeah i know, nobody really seems to love "Black Skinhead" but it being a nominal 'single' i guess has made it the default year-end list pick, even over "New Slaves," which surprised me.
― deez the season (some dude), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:49 (ten years ago) link
the snubbing of 20/20 Experience and Magna Carta Holy Grail almost across the board is pretty fun to see
― deez the season (some dude), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:50 (ten years ago) link
SPIN's 40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2013http://www.spin.com/articles/best-rap-albums-2013/
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:51 (ten years ago) link
Black Skinhead came on my playlist in the office yesterday, and a colleague said "how is Kanye West so big? He's rubbish". I have to agree, by and large. His continued success baffles me, both critically and commercially.
― I can still taste the Taboo in my mouth when I hear those songs (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:51 (ten years ago) link
There are one or two more to come in the Guardian list that didn't get reviewed - one's a mixtape.
I'd rather we were honest and owned up to what we didn't review – because no one covers everything.
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:51 (ten years ago) link
LA Weekly - The 10 Best Metal Albums of 2013http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/12/best_metal_albums_2013.php
― exciting vampire castle (NickB), Thursday, 5 December 2013 12:54 (ten years ago) link
'black skinhead's been in a ton of ads plus that great scorsese trailer so it's got the highest profile (well, before the mystery of kim nipples at least). plus it has the added benefit of letting ppl think 'wow kanye's really breaking ground in new sounds for hip-hop/music/humanity' while actually giving them just another schaffel track to jam to. 20/20 snubbing is interesting since i think it's still the top selling album of the year right? then again there's fucking 'mirrors' somehow at #7 on rolling stone's list. pretty cool ciara made it though.
― balls, Thursday, 5 December 2013 13:01 (ten years ago) link
while actually giving them just another schaffel track to jam to.
i been sayin this while the blog narrative was "He """""sampled""""" Marilyn Manson"
― tuostprophets (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 5 December 2013 13:08 (ten years ago) link
the funniest thing about the Motorola ad with "Black Skinhead" in it is that 50% of the time i see it on TV they have "Little Green Bag" sync'd to the exact same visuals. so weird to think of those 2 songs being interchangeable in any context.
― deez the season (some dude), Thursday, 5 December 2013 13:15 (ten years ago) link
― Deafening silence (DL), Thursday, December 5, 2013 6:24 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
http://www.spin.com/articles/best-albums-2013/?slide=1
― tuostprophets (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 5 December 2013 13:20 (ten years ago) link
One year at Stylus we failed to review our eventual AOTY at all, never mind things that placed further down.
― I can still taste the Taboo in my mouth when I hear those songs (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 5 December 2013 13:34 (ten years ago) link