Ok folks, I’ve got something relatively new for you guys. Here’s something new from my current artist obsession. Spark Master Tape: Proprecia. It’s a banger, great for bumping loud in the headphones or car. One of the reasons that I love listening to most of Spark’s music is that it reminds me of old rap. It’s loud and it just rolls in the ride. It’s great music. But, you don’t have to take my word for it:
Play it loud,
Hey, guys. I’m feeling a bit money hungry today. So, I felt that this would be a great song for today. It’s my soundtrack for this evening. This is the first song that I actually remember buying the CD for.
Real talk, I took this album to a party in my CD player, (I did awkward shit like take my own music to house parties just in case I didn’t like the music they were playing. I guess I’ve always had a knack for this.) And, It got jacked from me. That was a sad day. Fuck whoever did that. I’m still holding a grudge.
Bump it with me.
Back when things were simple. Swishahouse was my first group that I really enjoyed.
“Been acting like this since last week.”
The time has come to reveal the 8th edition of “The List,” my ranking of the top ten albums of the past year. The List has grown in terms of scope, design, and credibility since it’s inception, but it still serves essentially the same purpose: it is my way of sharing the music I found to be the most impressive and to have the most impact on me over this past year. That’s really all there is to it when you get down to the basics. Ranking music is always going to be somewhat subjective, so tastes will vary, and just because we disagree, it doesn’t mean that one of us is wrong about the quality of an album. I do try to use some objective means to rank these albums, but in the end a lot of it still comes down to the feelings I have in my gut. I would imagine that most music ranking lists work the same way, and if they don’t I think it might be worth questioning their legitimacy. After all, is not the most important aspect of music the effect it has on its listener?
To give you an idea of what I look for in an album, I will list a few of my qualifications. First, I think that popular music genres such as those represented on this list should be judged not only upon the quality of the music, but also on the quality of the lyrics and the message put forth by the album. Because this is a music list and not a poetry list, the music element weighs more heavily in my decisions than the lyrics do, but it is never the only quality by which I appraise an album. Furthermore, I appreciate cohesiveness. The lyrics should match the music in terms of feeling, and the songs should preferably be related to each other to make the album feel like a connected work. This second idea is not necessary for a great album, but it does make it much easier for the album to be considered great in my mind. Another common tool used for judging the quality of albums is their uniqueness. While uniqueness can affect my rankings, it is not automatically considered a good thing, nor is it considered the most important thing. I think people often fall into the trap of giving more points to something just because they have never heard it before. While this is fine and good if it is something truly great, new ideas can be unimpressive just as easily and ideas that were good before can remain good.
Hopefully that gives you guys some insight into my thought process. Now, it’s time to present the albums of the year. I love commentary, so if you like what I put on the list, comment and tell me why. If you don’t like it, tell me that too! Just make sure your comments are thoughtful. Don’t just say something is stupid. No one wants to read that.
2013 was a solid and surprising year in music for sure. Most of the albums that made this list were not on my radar to begin the year. Hopefully, if you haven’t heard them already, this will be a great introduction for you. Without further adieu, here are this year’s choices:
Clock is ticking down guys, 3 days left. Today we’re going to do a track off of the Ratatat Remixes: Vol. 1. Here’s your dose. Take it twice and call me in the morning.
Yo, we’re here for day 2. Apparently I still don’t know what the fuck tomorrow means. This time we’re going to be hearing a track that Ratatat is featured on. With Kid Cudi and MGMT on the album Man on the Moon, here’s “Pursuit of Happiness”
XIV here. So, Pt. 2 is after the jump. However, I’m going to spend my little blurb right here at the top to take this time to ask if if you accepted the good music into your life? Oh you have? Interesting. Well, in that case, let’s get to the real music. Er- Flashbacks of the good music beginnings or whatever you’d like to call it.
(c) Chance the Rapper
Good Evening. Back to school time is back up. Works gonna suck. The soundtrack is getting drowned by the noise of the corporations. I’ve been sitting on this track for three weeks. Tried to think of something really awesome to say about it. But, the song itself is too awesome and nothing I can say will give it real justice. I’m probably gonna come back and give you guys a full Record Coating later because the whole mixtape might be the best thing that came out this year so far. But, that’s all for later. Here’s the song for the day:
Chance the Rapper, “Lost” ft. Noname Gypsy
That was one hell of a list, eh? 13 did a bang up job on his list. Kinda hard to follow up something that awesome. So, I’m just gonna inch into it w/ the renewed vigor of a set of Roman Numerals that has bills to pay. (Although we’re not getting anything from this other than the love of our fans). This one is dedicated to one of my favorite artist, Asher Roth:
Two tracks coming down the tracks for you tonight. From his mixtape “Pabst and Jazz”
Our countdown to Album of the Year concludes today as we announce the winner!
Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for the 7th annual edition of The List, or my ranking of the top ten albums of the year. I have been doing this in some form since 2006, when all I did was post a simple list which was headed by My Chemical Romance’s classic The Black Parade. Since then my list has grown to be a full-on review with commentary, which I have posted each year* to my blog on MySpace, or more recently Facebook. This year The List will realize it’s best presentation yet, as this blog on WordPress gives me the opportunity to include pictures, video, and other formatting wonders (welcome to last decade, huh?). Actually, as excited as I am to have The List finally looking both thorough and official, the best part to me is that it’s now public, and people who don’t know me in any other way than through this blog will be able to peruse it and maybe find some great new stuff, as well as discuss why or why not the albums I pick should be here, and what might have deserved a place instead.
Yes, I love to talk about these things. If you disagree with my list, tell me! Comment below the article. Tell me why you didn’t like what I picked, or what is out there that was better. (But please, make the comments thoughtful. Don’t just tell me something sucks. No one cares to read that.) Likewise, if you like something I picked, comment about that too. I love talking about my reviews about as much as I like giving them, so bring it on.
The year 2012 was a good one for music. Unlike some years, I had no trouble filling out this list. So without further adieu, here are this year’s choices:
13 & xiv 