(c) Youtube
Ever had a group that you listen to remind you of someone else but you couldn’t quite figure out who it was? Remember when you couldn’t exactly understand why you really liked a band? That was how I felt when I first listened to “Ode to Sleep” by Twenty One Pilots. Reminded me a bit of Panic @ the Disco mixed w/ a bit of Hollywood Undead. But, that’s just me, tell me what you think about them.
-See you on the flip side-
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:
(c) TDCC
I’m quite sure that you can totally guess what’s about to happen. I’m about to toss up a new Soundtrack of Our Lives post. Not going to say much but, here’s what’s my life has been like for the past few weeks. It’s coming along swimmingly. I suppose. Yeah, something like that. I’m going to be doing an album review sometime next week. Maybe, if I can finish. If not, then it will def be the next week. Also, a new surprise sometime soon too.
Here you go: What you Know by Two Door Cinema Club
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.
Howdy folks! I’m here to welcome you to a brand new category of days for the blog. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and I hadn’t really figured out a way to do it properly until around 3:30 a.m. This idea is going to go great well at least it will in my head. And that’s the important part. Well, let’s get into it more after the jump. I’ll explain everything there.
Hello everyone. As I promised a couple weeks ago, I am here to present you with songs ripped from my other song page. You will now receive a much more frequent dose of musical suggestions from me, though they will not be talked about in near as much detail. Don’t worry, I will occasionally come back with a large post, but for now, we’re showing flashbacks of a simpler time.
In addition, since these posts have already been previously made on my other music page, I will not necessarily be required to post them. As such, sometimes you may get a word or two from XIV as an introduction before moving on to my flashbacks, because he might be posting them instead of me. In fact, don’t be surprised if this happens frequently. Rest assured though that the content of the actual flashbacks is mine.
Today, we begin at the beginning. Here’s hoping you all enjoy it!
(c) Gogomix.com
Howdy folks, it’s about time for another S.O.O.L. post. (Yeah, I’m gonna start abbreviating that. I like it that way.) Today, we’re going to throw a few tracks from one of the artists on the b-side of my album on the set. The topic for today is: St. Vincent. I’ll see ya after the jump.
Our countdown to Album of the Year continues today with spots 3 and 2 on The List!
Our countdown to Album of the Year continues today with the next three spots on The List! Continue reading
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 