TOP 10 NOW: \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\shawty got poll poll poll poll poll poll poll (part II: 2008 ALBUMS)/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Also, check out "Closer" off the new one. (that's the house song, it placed in the singles poll. it's great) xp

Tuomas, if you're actually interested in Ne-Yo you should check out his first album, which is way better than YOTG (which is actually my least favorite of his albums), and has his signature solo song "So Sick".

i was actually surprised to realise recently, given how much i love in my own words, that year of the gentleman has pretty effectively supplanted it as my favourite ne-yo album.

ah crap i see that i have now tarnished torche with the "getting mentioned in the same sentence as nirvana/melvins" grunge brush.

they arent that at all, i hear more jawbox filtered through sludge/drone maybe?

And here's the father of Finnish folk-rock, Pekka Streng. I think all these nu-folk artists are influenced by him:

I think I'll check out Ne-Yo, sounds like it's the sort of rnb I enjoy.

hey hey my my
torche are grunge band

^ trolling

If you have heard the previous band Floor you will hear where Torche came from.

Also, check out "Closer" off the new one. (that's the house song, it placed in the singles poll. it's great) xp

'closer' is very great but i don't feel it's particularly representative of YOGH. 'single' and 'mad' are, but i think the album's heart is in the more delicate, thoughtful second half - 'part of the list', 'back to what you know', 'lie to me'.

Yeah, Ne-Yo's whole sound (less so now than when he appeared tho) is basically based on Michael Jackson's "Human Nature", if that gives you an idea.

xps

'closer' is very great but i don't feel it's particularly representative of YOGH. 'single' and 'mad' are, but i think the album's heart is in the more delicate, thoughtful second half - 'part of the list', 'back to what you know', 'lie to me'.

― lex pretend, Thursday, February 12, 2009 2:10 PM Bookmark

Not representative, but I didn't say that. I just said Tuomas would probably like it.

"So You Can Cry" is my favorite track off of YOTG... but nothing on that album really touches the hilights of his other albums to me, like "Mirror," "Say It," "Because of You," "When You're Mad," "Make It Work",... overall I found it pretty boring. And I found myself more annoyed by Ne-Yo's limited vocals than usual.

SO happy for Los Campesinos! I know it's a marmite thing but it's pretty much perfect for me right now.

Also, really need to check out the Ne-Yo. I liked the singles, but for some reason, I've never really paid attention to male rnb singers the way I have to the ladieez. I guess I should check out the dream as well while I'm at it.

Torche got 3 #1's. That's a lot for a non-top twenty placing album.

Because of You didn't do much for me. By far his leastest album, but I will rep for his first above the new one and for "Closer" until I die. "-/

ha! i just remembered i had downloaded torche like a long time ago. i think i only listened to it a couple of times then forgot...but yeah this is awesome.

Are there any bands to come you haven't heard of, musically?

xxp: Ne-Yo's album is alright, but The-Dream's is like blazing brilliance all over the place, but not in a way you'd probably understand if you aren't into mainstream r&b in the first place.

i think YOGH feels more...sumptuous than the debut, hence me loving it more. agree that the second is the weakest (out of three great albums!) but it still has 'because of you' and omg 'addicted' on it. "no / i / am / not / i'm not / ADDICTED TO SEX! / but girl i guarantee / that if you lay with me / you just might be, ayyy"

like floor, esp teh real crumbly, grimy (uh, sludgy) drawn-out stuff, like towards the end of that dove record. awesome. plus torche are basically the same thing, only like a hundred times tighter/poppier/better, though i have to admit that i'm sometimes on the fence WR2 dude's voice/lyrics. some stuff on the 1st LP is awful goofy, and relative production clarity v. floor was in that sense doing no favors.

still, meanderthal = my favorite thing on the list so far, along with glass candy

wish i'd voted in this poll :(

I guess Ne-Yo's album, or all of his albums really, are only the sum of their parts, some of which are a bit sketchy on this one, but The-Dream just kind of builds his own world of sound for you to get lost in. Sorry if that sounded corny.

(Other parts of the Ne-Yo album are great, I should add. I voted for it, at any rate.

)

I was listening to "Mad" last night and I couldn't help but think "damn, this is such a great song... what if Mario or Brandon Hines were singing it?"

He's obviously a great songwriter but I feel like his voice holds back the material sometimes, and I don't feel the same way about The-Dream or R. Les or any of the other songwriters-turned-artists who can't really sing.

besides Sean Garrett lolz

i'm not sure anyone here is actually have a conversation with each other. not thats new or anything, it just seems a bit odd reading it.

Ne-Yo is a much better singer than either Dream or R-Les, tho.

I guess Ne-Yo's album, or all of his albums really, are only the sum of their parts, some of which are a bit sketchy on this one, but The-Dream just kind of builds his own world of sound for you to get lost in. Sorry if that sounded corny.

i would sort of agree, but there's far greater potential for emotional resonance with ne-yo - some of those songs just ring so true, whereas there's always this (v appealing) element of theatricality with the-dream

He's obviously a great songwriter but I feel like his voice holds back the material sometimes, and I don't feel the same way about The-Dream or R. Les or any of the other songwriters-turned-artists who can't really sing.

really? r-les is so far beneath the other two it's not even funny

a hoy hoy, the thread is moving fast and things are getting disconnected, that is all. Plus there seem to be two (three?) seperate conversations happening at once.

given that understatement is such an important part of ne-yo's overall aesthetic, i think ne-yo's understated voice is pretty much perfect for it

otm

i would sort of agree, but there's far greater potential for emotional resonance with ne-yo - some of those songs just ring so true, whereas there's always this (v appealing) element of theatricality with the-dream

― lex pretend, Thursday, February 12, 2009 2:23 PM Bookmark

Yeah, Ne-Yo's worldview is a lot more grounded obv. There's no way a pre-fame Dream's life was anything like what is portrayed on his record, but the fantasy apect of it is a large part of the appeal.

i know. i dunno why i posted that comment actually. listening to the ne-yo now, let's hope its as good as you guys waxing lyrical are saying it is.

i would sort of agree, but there's far greater potential for emotional resonance with ne-yo - some of those songs just ring so true, whereas there's always this (v appealing) element of theatricality with the-dream

^^this was a slightly cack-handed way of saying that i get far more weepy/emo/sentimental when listening to ne-yo than the-dream

songs which will be your dream date vs songs which will be your best friend

Studio got 5 #1s a couple of years ago and that propelled them way up into the top 10. Some albums must have got a lot of votes, considering Los Campesinos only got to #25 with three aesthetically bankrupt people voting them #1.

The-Dream isn't trying to get weepy or emo or sentimental, he's trying to get punanny.

Even the song about the girl that broke his heart is about how good the sexin' is with his rebound chick.

dream date!

the girls whose hearts the-dream breaks are all at home listening to ne-yo's album on repeat

^^^how I break it down to an extent

I tried writing about the LC! but no matter what I said, it pretty much looked like a long version of 'i'm white btw'. It's just perfect for a rubbish student indie fake-vegetarian wanting to hear something, well, joyful.

I'm only 4 tracks into the Ne-Yo on spotify so I can't really form anymore of an opinion other than enjoyment.

Did The-Dream's Love/Hate suffer from a weird release date or what? I'm surprised I haven't seen it on any list. Didn't see it listed on this year or last years P&J or anywhere else other than a couple personal list... I figured it would get more love.

It did suffer a weird release date (late December '07), but I think it's only really CANON on ilm.

Lex/Tuomas I want to know what you thought about Earth & Torche!

24 - Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up The Hill
126.5 points, 10 votes
108 in P&J, 37 in p4k

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/8756/1104962ct2.jpg

Finally got the new one today...So amazing. Like, one of the best things I've heard all year. Its been a long time since I've been able to just sit down and let an album wash over me, but this has done it. "Stuck" in particular just makes me swoon. The melodies on this are amazing! I just ordered the re-release of the split with Inca Ore from Aquarius. Can't wait.

― jonathan - stl

I want to say something about how this album unfolds it's pleasures like a flower, at about the same speed, without it sounding dirty.

Possibly the most gorgously intimate and non "produced" sounding thing I've heard all year too. She might as well be in the room.

― fandango

that is one creepy freaking cover.

a little late to the party here, but i want to say i basically agree with lex 100% on everything w/r/t YOTG, especially this

'closer' is very great but i don't feel it's particularly representative of YOGH. 'single' and 'mad' are, but i think the album's heart is in the more delicate, thoughtful second half - 'part of the list', 'back to what you know', 'lie to me'.

― lex pretend, Thursday, February 12, 2009 5:10 PM (32 minutes ago)

lex and i agree that 'single' and 'mad' are the two best songs here, but it's important to really engage with the second half of the album, which doesn't have as many knockouts but is essential to recognizing the album's true character

i also second his recommendation of matos' idolator post, it's wonderful