so I mean maybe it was a bad year for "pop" music, but jazz, drone, ambient, and *weird stuff* were all really great imho.
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 19:52 (two years ago) link
I figured some people were holding off on new releases until touring was back in swing
― Chappies banging dustbin lids together (President Keyes), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:06 (two years ago) link
also vinyl manufacturing delays etc.
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:15 (two years ago) link
nice list tables!
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:22 (two years ago) link
Yeah, there are a fair number of things on table's list that are candidates for mine as well, but I got them as promos and didn't have to buy them. Those Luke Stewart solo albums in particular are really cool.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:27 (two years ago) link
gonna make a playlist for work from that list for sure
haven't had much time this year to look for new stuff myself, but i the three albums i kept coming back to were tirzah, nite jewel and suzanne kraft - all quite understated, off-ish, slightly emotionally drained-sounding pop albums, i guess
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:32 (two years ago) link
Anne Bourne the Toronto cellist? Didn't know she released something.
― treat the gelignite tenderly for me (Sund4r), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:40 (two years ago) link
Cool to see the Wau Wau Collectif album at #50 on the GvB list, a personal favorite that I've had a hard time explaining to anyone else. Senegalese folk-dub-jazz-?? but that makes it sound difficult when it's actually super warm and surprisingly catchythis sounds great!
this sounds great!
Don't know if you mean the description sounds great or the album itself. Listening to it now and it does indeed sound great!
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:49 (two years ago) link
Anne Bourne the Toronto cellist? Didn't know she released something.― treat the gelignite tenderly for me (Sund4r), Wednesday, December 1, 2021 12:40 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
― treat the gelignite tenderly for me (Sund4r), Wednesday, December 1, 2021 12:40 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
Simply the most sublime drone/deep listening experience I've had in years, I sometimes just leave it playing on a loop for hours at a time. Gorgeous stuff.
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:56 (two years ago) link
xp i meant the description, planning to check out the album when i have a free moment
― grove street (party) direction (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 21:20 (two years ago) link
All of today's lists very on-brand
― Indexed, Wednesday, December 1, 2021 bookmarkflaglink
As I made my way through the Paste list I actually thought there was a higher degree of aggro albums than I'd expect from them.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 21:34 (two years ago) link
https://www.complex.com/music/best-albums-of-2021/
― Chappies banging dustbin lids together (President Keyes), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 21:39 (two years ago) link
Yeah, curious to read that Complex list but I noped the fuck out when no less than five different ads immediately popped up.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 21:40 (two years ago) link
same
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 21:46 (two years ago) link
there's rap on it
― Chappies banging dustbin lids together (President Keyes), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 21:58 (two years ago) link
also Adele at #3
― rob, Wednesday, 1 December 2021 22:00 (two years ago) link
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, December 1, 2021 4:40 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
Same except not curious to read
― licorice in the front, pizza in the rear (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 23:15 (two years ago) link
lol
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 23:16 (two years ago) link
Thanks for the heads up on Wau Wau Collectif. This is super trippy, Loving it so far.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 00:17 (two years ago) link
appreciate your list of "career best" albums, Brad, and agree on most, but do you really think the GYBE album is their best??
i like it, but...
― alpine static, Thursday, 2 December 2021 01:41 (two years ago) link
UPROXX BEST SONGS
https://uproxx.com/music/best-songs-2021-list/
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 02:24 (two years ago) link
I like that it’s unranked. Also cool they chose “Michelangelo” as the Cassandra Jenkins track (that’s the one on my Faves playlist).
― quiet coyote (morrisp), Thursday, 2 December 2021 02:33 (two years ago) link
The Godspeed is very good, it’s not a top ten of the year but will likely be in my top 25.
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 2 December 2021 02:46 (two years ago) link
this feels like a pretty standard year in terms of overall quality
there's only a fairly small number of lists so far, seemingly a lot of those from the uk so there's quite a bias towards acts the uk press loves much more than the us in the minor consensus so far, like little simz
but idk really who's going to end up near the top of the consensus this year except floating points? this year feels relatively light on big critical consensus event albums but that's not the same as it being a weak year
the last year i remember being notably weak was probably 2014?
― ufo, Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:01 (two years ago) link
weather station and tyler will surely be up there too, but idk the weather station album was underwhelming after how good the singles were
― ufo, Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:02 (two years ago) link
Japanese Breakfast will be way up there
strong year, standard year, weak year, however you want to characterize it ... i think when you look across the consensus top 10 or 20 or whatever, you will see a year where many big/great artists are holding on to albums until touring is more certain. i mean, most years we are looking at Beyonce and Fiona Apple and Kendrick Lamar and Kacey Musgraves and Radiohead and on and on, and this year it's Floating Points and Japanese Breakfast and Little Simz? that's a full level or two down from the profile of artists that you usually see dominate these things.
i'm not saying that's a bad thing, btw
― alpine static, Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:16 (two years ago) link
there weren't the same number of big event albums as usual to get to the top of these lists, and those that did come out often flopped, relatively (lorde, kacey, etc)
but it was still a very solid year, i found just as much to love as usual
― ufo, Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:30 (two years ago) link
Plenty of big profile artists released albums this year but they got a bit of a lukewarm response, top of my mind:
Drake, Kanye West, Lorde, Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, Adele … I guess Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber too but noone is expecting them to do a decent album at this point
The one I think was the best received “event” albums were Taylor’s Red but that’s a remake and Olivia Rodrigo but she’s a newcomer.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:53 (two years ago) link
Did people not like Billie Eilish? I think that album is terrific.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:56 (two years ago) link
Lil Nas X, Silk Sonic also were sort of “event albums”, considering “old town road” was massive and Silk Sonic has Bruno Mars in there. I saw a lot of hype for both albums before they were released.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 03:58 (two years ago) link
Xpost: In my view several critics and fans loved the Billie Eilish album but the singles were a hard sell for the general populace to pay attention to it.
I think Lorde and Adele suffered similar fates, they’re not bad albums but at their level of profile and given what they did on their past albums I guess people expect a hit single.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 04:03 (two years ago) link
Artists like Olivia Rodrigo or Lil Nas X per example delivered, “driver’s license” and “old town road” were so big that without a second hit single they would’ve faded out of the conversation.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 04:10 (two years ago) link
I actually liked the Billie Eilish record better than the debut, but it’s usually a bad omen whenever this happens.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 04:12 (two years ago) link
the billie eilish album was great, a big step up from her debut, and id be a lsurprised if it isn't high up on these aggregate lists before too long
― ufo, Thursday, 2 December 2021 04:25 (two years ago) link
Her first EP was also much better than When We…, IMO. It’s kind of a “funny” situation where an artist’s big, Grammy-winning debut album represented a significant dip in quality.
― quiet coyote (morrisp), Thursday, 2 December 2021 04:33 (two years ago) link
happier than ever didn't spawn a million hits like her debut but i don't think it really flopped, critically or commercially, it's just a little weird for radio i guess?
while the lorde album underwhelmed both fans and critics
― ufo, Thursday, 2 December 2021 04:34 (two years ago) link
I wouldn't be surprised to see consensus on Little Simz, Magdalena Bay, Cleo Sol, Low, Arooj Aftab, Erika de Casier, Richard Dawson, Yola, Tinashe, Eilish, Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan, Olivia Rodrigo. And there are tons of things I'm hearing only now and I definitely plan to have several jazz albums in my year-end list.
― Nabozo, Thursday, 2 December 2021 07:23 (two years ago) link
haven't had much time this year to look for new stuff myself, but i the three albums i kept coming back to were tirzah, nite jewel and suzanne kraft - all quite understated, off-ish, slightly emotionally drained-sounding pop albums, i guess― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Wednesday, December 1, 2021 9:32 PM (yesterday)
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Wednesday, December 1, 2021 9:32 PM (yesterday)
No Sun
About You
Colourgrade
― willem, Thursday, 2 December 2021 08:11 (two years ago) link
lol sorry for shitty formatting
― willem, Thursday, 2 December 2021 08:12 (two years ago) link
Carmanica's list
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/02/arts/music/best-pop-albums.html
or
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/1750-the-new-york-times-jon-caramanicas-best-albums-of-2021/
― Chappies banging dustbin lids together (President Keyes), Thursday, 2 December 2021 14:46 (two years ago) link
more NYT
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/1751-the-new-york-times-lindsay-zoladzs-best-albums-of-2021/
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/1749-the-new-york-times-jon-pareles-best-albums-of-2021/
― Chappies banging dustbin lids together (President Keyes), Thursday, 2 December 2021 14:47 (two years ago) link
I like Mdou Moctar, but the votes do seem a bit "not arsed about exploring music from here usually, but it has a rock component"
"his band plugs North African rhythms and modal vamps into rock amplifiers and drums" - Pareles
"shredding is a universal language" - Zoladz
etc.
― Position Position, Thursday, 2 December 2021 15:13 (two years ago) link
Plus, his last album was better so add some "mainstream/generalist critics late to the party" to that equation.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 2 December 2021 15:44 (two years ago) link
I mean, Mdou Moctar is probably among the best contemporary rock guitarists and there is a whole tradition and genre of guitar rock/blues from that region. I don't think rock fans or critics who are otherwise voting for shit like Adele and Olivia Rodrigo need to be exploring non-rock Tuareg music to recognize Moctar as a great rock artist.
― treat the gelignite tenderly for me (Sund4r), Thursday, 2 December 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
ufo and alpine static otm
― Indexed, Thursday, 2 December 2021 15:58 (two years ago) link
NPR 100 best songshttps://www.npr.org/2021/12/02/1054377950/the-100-best-songs-of-2021-page-1
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 17:47 (two years ago) link
Exclaim top 30 songs
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/best_songs_of_2021
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 2 December 2021 17:49 (two years ago) link
xp Wet Leg #2, lol
― quiet coyote (morrisp), Thursday, 2 December 2021 17:49 (two years ago) link
NY Times' Best Jazz Albums of 2021
Two of these titles will also appear on the Stereogum list, which will be running next week, I think.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 2 December 2021 17:50 (two years ago) link
unperson, I'm a little confused by the love for "Son Beans," despite having a deep affection for Wadada Leo Smith. Certainly not one of the best jazz albums of the year. But maybe this is more for the jazz thread.
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Thursday, 2 December 2021 17:55 (two years ago) link