I hope that’s the trend because otherwise 2018 is the year I’m officially old.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Sunday, 25 November 2018 19:02 (five years ago) link
I’ve also never heard of most of these publications or blogs or whatever... I’m assuming that Pitchfork and Rolling Stone’s lists will be more “populist” (i.e., feature albums/artists I’ve actually heard of)?
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Sunday, 25 November 2018 19:07 (five years ago) link
(NB – I’ve heard of Time magazine, and their list illustrates my point)
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Sunday, 25 November 2018 19:10 (five years ago) link
2) the second edge of that sword is there’s definitely been a backing away from populism (a dirty word in a political sense bleeding over into this one?), from “trash culture,” from poptimism, moving towards a kind of tastefulness, respectability, aesthetic conservatism, art that exists in a kind of private, undisputable space... like critics have in response to the broader cultural arguments, become more conflict-averse
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40)
i think of this in the sense that i've read about russian aestheticism, in particular the thing about being apolitical being a political act... i don't know if there's a russian world for "self-care" but things there long ago reached a point where engaging politically became both futile and immensely self-destructive. the post-hippie era in america had the same sort of disillusioned disengagement, which was roundly denounced by the political radicals at the time (before the political radicals all wound up killing themselves).
― dub pilates (rushomancy), Sunday, 25 November 2018 19:15 (five years ago) link
I haven't heard of many of these artists/publications, but it's been that way for a few years now. At peace with it.
― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 25 November 2018 19:27 (five years ago) link
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Sunday, November 25, 2018 1:07 PM (forty-three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
To be clear I’m partly looking at this through the stuff that I *do* know on these lists & all the stuff I’m seeing excluded
I’m sure mainstream mags will include more pop but i feel like there was way more consensus earlier years among these smaller pubs when it came to ie rap music (cf the year everyone decided Lil b was a genius or w/e)
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Sunday, 25 November 2018 19:54 (five years ago) link
There are countless bands doing what RBCF (who are good though) and Parquet Courts (who are not good) do but yeah those two have publicity and labels and money behind them so you're gonna see them on these lists and not, say, the Goon Sax or the Woolen Men or whatever.
― charlie brown from outta town (GM), Sunday, 25 November 2018 20:30 (five years ago) link
The Parquet Courts album seemed to get a lot of positive press when it came out, but I’m wondering if list-makers will have come to their senses in the cold light of December.
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Sunday, 25 November 2018 20:48 (five years ago) link
This PQ album the first one of theirs where I actively felt non-plussed, and just couldn't grasp the hype at all.
― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 25 November 2018 20:51 (five years ago) link
That’s insane. Wide Awake is my favorite record of the year easy
― kornrulez6969, Sunday, 25 November 2018 20:57 (five years ago) link
I mean, it's great that you like it and others do too! (Not mad, not everything's for me obviously.) It's just not the sound I come to this band for at all. Did kinda like the first single though.
Interesting to see that people really are into the lyrical content. This record is teaching me that to some extent - at this point in my life anyway - the music has to sell me before the words register, and the music isn't getting there.
― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:02 (five years ago) link
Wide Awake! is their best album, IMO.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:08 (five years ago) link
Whatever man, you love CHVRCHES.
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:11 (five years ago) link
It'll be interesting to see if Cardi B tops a lot of album lists.
― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:13 (five years ago) link
I think the lyrics sound like a Twitter feed I wouldn’t care to follow, but to each their own (per Raymond, if I liked the songs otherwise, I wouldn’t care).
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:16 (five years ago) link
(wouldn’t mind the lyrix)
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:17 (five years ago) link
Whatever man, you love CHVRCHES.― Johnny Fever, Sunday, November 25, 2018 9:11 PM (eighteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, November 25, 2018 9:11 PM (eighteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Well, I'm certainly not going to deny this. They also released a very good record this year.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Sunday, 25 November 2018 21:32 (five years ago) link
thanks 2 Fastnbulbous for helping me get a head start on sorting through all this stuff. it's so stressful trying to cram for the january ilm exam. this year i'm getting a head start!
― budo jeru, Sunday, 25 November 2018 23:11 (five years ago) link
parquet courts so so boring imho
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Monday, 26 November 2018 08:50 (five years ago) link
I also feel like there was a lot more rap in general on most other lists from earlier this decade. It feels like we've reached a bit of a saturation point, and the quality of music has suffered - I think rap in 2018 will be remember for everything except for the quality of music released. I made a similar point in another thread, but it really felt like this year was the first time in a while that the worst excesses that the genre is capable of (pointless deaths, beefs, too much low effort music, style over substance) pushed creativity and interesting music out of the spotlight. Undeniable that it remains the most popular pop idiom, but aside from a couple of releases, I haven't really enjoyed too much rap from this year.
― triggercut, Monday, 26 November 2018 10:11 (five years ago) link
eh i think there's some truth to the idea that everything feels saturated & it might take longer than usual to sort out what's really sustained from this year but there are plenty of dope projects out IMO -- they just failed to generate any real critical consensus
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Monday, 26 November 2018 10:16 (five years ago) link
xpost what a silly argument
― Tim F, Monday, 26 November 2018 10:31 (five years ago) link
Without wanting to start handwringing about how algorithms are killing pop music or whatever, we're now at the stage where the artists that are the most popular, the most trashy, are also the ones whose careers are the most dependent on streaming. As a result they've either become less album-centric or or the albums themselves have become way too baggy and undefined. The Cardi B album felt like it struck the perfect balance there but I haven't heard too many others that have nailed it like that.
― Matt DC, Monday, 26 November 2018 10:38 (five years ago) link
Which is my way of saying that it sort of stands to reason that the albums lists are coalescing around a kind of middlebrow worthiness best encapsulated by that Fopp list, and that more places should be doing tracks lists.
― Matt DC, Monday, 26 November 2018 10:39 (five years ago) link
I know bloat has been an off-and-on problem with hip-hop albums for decades now but this did seem like a particularly bloated year with artists trying to game the streaming charts by putting out these behemoth records like Drake, Rae Sremmurd, Wayne, and of course every permutation of Migos. and this is always a push-and-pull for me when it comes to ranking, like I am always going to gravitate towards ranking an album higher when it has 10 tracks and 7 of them are good as opposed to it having like 22 tracks and 9 of them are good. which is at least a little weird because the latter album did have more good songs so I'm basically just punishing it for making me skip tracks a bunch.
― evol j, Monday, 26 November 2018 15:40 (five years ago) link
BBC 6 Music Albums
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5b2YkzSbF7wfvDxL0SR9fdS/6-music-recommends-albums-of-the-year-2018https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/1026-bbc-radio-6-musics-albums-of-the-year-2018/
10. She Drew The Gun - Revolution of the Mind9. The Orielles - Silver Dollar Moment8. Sons of Kemet - Your Queen is a Reptile7. Beak> - >>>6. Gabe Gurnsey - Physical5. Low - Double Negative4. Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino3. Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth2. Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo1. Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 26 November 2018 17:44 (five years ago) link
Glide 20 best albums (unranked)
https://glidemagazine.com/217222/the-glide-20-glides-20-best-albums-of-2018/https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/1028-glides-20-best-albums-of-2018/
Becky Warren - UndesirableCaroline Rose - LonerColter Wall - Songs of the PlainsCourtney Marie Andrews - May Your Kindness RemainErika Wennerstrom - Sweet UnknownFrank Turner - Be More KindGhost - PrequelleGlorietta - GloriettaIsrael Nash - LiftedJonathan Wilson - Rare BirdsKing Tuff - The OtherParquet Courts - Wide Awake!R+R=NOW - Collagically SpeakingRainbow Kitten Surprise - How To: Friend, Love, FreefallShannon & The Clams - OnionThe James Hunter Six - Whatever It TakesThe Marcus King Band - Carolina ConfessionsThe Wood Brothers - One Drop Of TruthTrampled By Turtles - Life is Good on the Open RoadWayne Shorter - Emanon
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 26 November 2018 17:47 (five years ago) link
Revolver's 30 Best Albums of 2018
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/30-best-albums-2018https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/1027-revolvers-30-best-albums-of-2018/
30. At The Gates - To Drink From The Night Itself29. The Black Queen - Infinite Games28. Underøath - Erase Me27. Tribulation - Down Below26. ZillaKami & SosMula - City Morgue Vol. 1: Hell Or High Water25. CANDY - Good To Feel24. Horrendous - Idol23. Emma Ruth Rundle - On Dark Horses22. Old Wounds - Glow21. Ghostemane - N / O / I / S / E20. YOB - Our Raw Heart19. Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms18. Cane Hill - Too Far Gone17. Harm's Way - Posthuman16. Nothing - Dance on the Blacktop15. High on Fire - Electric Messiah14. Kælan Mikla - Nott eftir nott13. Pig Destroyer - Head Cage12. Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love11. Cult Leader - A Patient Man10. A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant9. Gouge Away - Burnt Sugar8. Behemoth - I Loved You at Your Darkest7. The Soft Moon - Criminal6. Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit5. Sleep - The Sciences4. Judas Priest - Firepower3. Turnstile - Time & Space2. Vein - Errorzone1. Ghost - Prequelle
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 26 November 2018 17:50 (five years ago) link
I've definitely heard the guys at the Ringer banging on about RBCF for a few years so I figured they'd make some lists when they released a full length. ilm reaction to them here no surprise of course.
― President Keyes, Monday, 26 November 2018 17:54 (five years ago) link
hey here's Paste's list
― charlie brown from outta town (GM), Monday, 26 November 2018 18:14 (five years ago) link
That Revolver list is pretty interesting. I like Tribulation, Ghostemane, High On Fire, The Soft Moon, Judas Priest, and Ghost, and I'm checking out the Kælan Mikla record now; it's kinda dark synthwavey post-punk. I'm into it.
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 26 November 2018 18:22 (five years ago) link
the Vein album is super fun if you can deal with some bro-y heft in your metal, like a slightly more melodic Code Orange. Emma Ruth Rundle is an inspired inclusion
― resident hack (Simon H.), Monday, 26 November 2018 18:26 (five years ago) link
Paste list hits almost every irritating mark it could have. Stand by, I'm going to develop a theory about this
― imago, Monday, 26 November 2018 18:51 (five years ago) link
paste's no. 1 (lucy dacus historian) is a fucking amazing album at least
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Monday, 26 November 2018 18:52 (five years ago) link
placing the decemberists at 15 is sort of a "what, did you run out of good albums" choice though
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Monday, 26 November 2018 18:53 (five years ago) link
lol before I even clicked the link I thought, "Lucy Dacus is probably number one."
― President Keyes, Monday, 26 November 2018 18:53 (five years ago) link
US Girls, Camp Cope, Caroline Rose, Haley Heynderickx and a bunch of other stuff I like on there too
― President Keyes, Monday, 26 November 2018 18:59 (five years ago) link
gonna really have to stump for Natalie Prass in the ILM poll cause her consistent snubbing in these lists is upsetting
― resident hack (Simon H.), Monday, 26 November 2018 19:15 (five years ago) link
everyone fronting that TFS didn't toss all the rest of Australian indie into a blender this year is basically an ideological enemy of mine
― imago, Monday, 26 November 2018 19:19 (five years ago) link
They might end up as my #1 tbh. are there any Aussie-centric lists out yet?
― resident hack (Simon H.), Monday, 26 November 2018 19:23 (five years ago) link
Definitely top 5 material as far as I'm concerned.
― pomenitul, Monday, 26 November 2018 19:32 (five years ago) link
idk i want to find a non-asshole way of indicating that some of these lists might have been compiled with more than half an eye on what looks right as opposed to the actual quality of music, while simultaneously observing that if there magazines did their jobs properly and listened to enough goddamn music they could solve both problems by putting Black Dresses on top of all their lists
― imago, Monday, 26 November 2018 19:37 (five years ago) link
I really like the Kelly Moran record on Paste’s list
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Monday, 26 November 2018 19:38 (five years ago) link
Man, Amanda Shires is getting hosed in these. She released what is easily one of the best records of the year with To the Sunset.
― kornrulez6969, Monday, 26 November 2018 19:43 (five years ago) link
can we all agree that ppl responding to these lists with "it's only November!" or w/e is *the worst*
― alpine static, Monday, 26 November 2018 19:57 (five years ago) link
where's the ilm list? It's AFTER thankgiving ffs
― President Keyes, Monday, 26 November 2018 20:03 (five years ago) link
xp - I mean, it IS only November... (I'm sure there's a reason why these lists are coming so early now, I don't really care either way, but...)
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Monday, 26 November 2018 20:08 (five years ago) link
there were at least a few years where albums that made the top 5 in our list came out after all of these other lists had dropped
― President Keyes, Monday, 26 November 2018 20:11 (five years ago) link
― imago, Monday, November 26, 2018 2:19 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
who?
― twin sinema (voodoo chili), Monday, 26 November 2018 20:14 (five years ago) link
xp I remember best-of-the-year lists (for movies, music, etc.) traditionally being a "week between Xmas and New Year" feature -- but I'm sure someone will inform me that in the current Web economy, the only scalable model of monetizing reader enthusiasm for listicles requires a timeframe suitably in advance of the annual attention-consuming flood of Cats Wearing Santa Hat content, etc.
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Monday, 26 November 2018 20:15 (five years ago) link