In case you need some new music, here are a couple of seeds for you to start stations on your preferred streaming service:
Jess Glynne: If you're looking for a sound that is best described as "Adele with less pain, but a little more attitude," then she's your seed artist.
Sometimes you just need to feel like an empowered woman ready to kick the world's ass. This station will make that happen with remixes, dance stations, and just straight up empowerment anthems. Ignore it at your peril.
Hamilton Leithauser+Rostam: And sometimes, you're looking for an indie sound that's indie-er than Vampire Weekend. For that, I give you Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam.
Their collaboration resulted in a sound that's somehow part-Vampire Weekend, part-Walkmen, but mostly their own thing. In addition to their awesome sound, this station brings in Vampire Weekend, The Walkmen, Hamilton Leithauser's solo work, ROSTAM's solo work, ROSTAM's other collaborations (like Ra Ra Riot, Solange, Frank Ocean, and so many others), and is a varied station that has so many different things going on in it.
Thought of the week:
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" - Isaac Asimov
Music writing is a very personal endeavor, and the best you can do is to find someone whose tastes you share so you can then trust their opinion. As a consequence, music reviews - especially "best of" or "top albums" posts tend to tell you more about the writer than the music. With that being said, here's my top 10 albums of the year. Feel free to psychoanalyze what that says about me as you read through the list below.
I have ordered the list alphabetically by first name, and not in any sort of order to indicate an album hierarchy. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service:
RIP Phife. This is hands down the second best album from this band... behind their Greatest Hits Album. They went out with their best work, and this album is so much more important than we thought it would be back when it was announced. "We The People..." is an anthem and a battlecry, and the rest of the album is a who's who of hip-hop - Kanye, Busta Rhymes, Kendrick Lamar, André 3000, Anderson .Paak, Talib Kweli, Consequence - and a who's who of music - Elton John, Jack White, Marsha Ambrosius - helping to push this album from "message" to "missive."
Don't forget to listen to "Dis Generation," and just enjoy Jarobi getting in on the action. Let it wash all over you. And then when you're good and angry, it's time to get to work.
Anderson .Paak - Malibu:
This album was released in January, and I'm really sad that I didn't hear about him until he killed it at the Soul Train awards. This is my punishment, because that's 11 months that I could have been listening to it that I didn't. The whole album is great, but "The Dreamer" has been on my "shit hot tracks I can't get off my mind" list for the last week. Listen, and you'll see why.
I know Anderson .Paak has been around the seams of hip-hop for a while, but I have to and will do better in the future on following and discovering new hip-hop.
Beyoncé - Lemonade:
There have been a million thinkpieces written on this album, but more of them focus on Beyoncé than the music, and damn the music is good. Anyone who doesn't think that Beyoncé could own ANY form of music needs to sit down and listen to this album. Again, and again, and again. I'd say to watch her CMA performance, but it looks like the racist country folks did a real good job of scrubbing it. "Daddy Lessons" was one hell of a country song, and the album included amazing collaborations with James Blake, Jack White, The Weeknd, and Kendrick Lamar. And just remember, she did all this without any input from Mr. Knowles. If she wanted, she could dominate the Pop, Rock, R&B, Electronic, and Country charts... JUST WITH THIS ALBUM, so here's "Formation," because why not.
Listen to the damn album. Just give into the fact that she's the Queen Bey, and we're all just lucky to be her peasants.
Bon Iver - 22, A Million:
My review has been unapologetically black so far, but you know, Justin Vernon was on Kanye's "Monster" track, so let's just go with that? This is an ambitious album, well worth the 5 year wait. From "For Emma, Forever Ago," to this album, Bon Iver has gone full experimental folk, and brought a richness and fullness to the sound that his previous songs have only hinted at. "22 (OVER S∞∞N)," pronounced 22 Over Soon, is an excellent first track, but it really is great all the way from opening track "22" to closer "Million."
This is an album to take in one song at a time, then one side at a time, then the whole album. I've listened to this album at least a dozen times, and I find something new in it every time.
Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love!:
I hesitate to overuse the term "shit hot" in this review, but this entire album is "shit hot." This is Donald Glover's (Uncle Donald to some people at this blog) Mad Max: Fury Road, versus his Babe (Camp) and Happy Feet (Because the Internet). It's tough to pick just one track to feature, because this is an album: just sit back and listen. The lyrical difference between "Sweatpants" (a treasure from Because the Internet) and "Redbone" (an important piece of the treasure that is Awaken, My Love!) is an evolution that most artists never complete, let alone in 3 years.
Also, watch Atlanta, because that show is great. I'm excited for every single project that he's working on, and will keep watching and listening until he gives me a reason not to.
Drive-By Truckers - American Band:
This is one of the most political albums I have ever heard, and I love it. I thought Drive-By Truckers couldn't get better after Jason Isbell left, but it turns out him leaving was the best thing for both of them. Hell, he's like their Peter Gabriel and Genesis. I don't know how to put it other than that this is one of the biggest acts of musical courage since the Dixie Chicks, and the songs are damn good, too!
These guys are only going to get better, and I'm ready to keep listening to them and Jason Isbell go their separate, awesome musical paths. (As an aside, if you haven't listened to Jason Isbell's Southeastern and Something More Than Free, go listen. I'll wait.)
Fitz and the Tantrums - Fitz and the Tantrums:
I thought long and hard about including this one over some of the honorable mentions, but Fitz and the Tantrums were smart enough to wait until they had an album that deserved to be self-titled, and this is it. In addition to the endlessly catchy "Handclap," there are more gems on the record, and the meet-cute video for "Roll Up" enhances what is already a great song.
This is the very definition of a solid album. Go listen. It's pretty great for a living room dance party, too.
Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker:
Musicians who know they're about to die - take note. This is how you write a love letter saying goodbye to your fans. I talked about this album earlier, and I'm not sure what else you can add: "You Want It Darker" is a perfect title track.
I'm just going to go with what I wrote before: "the title track is one of the weightiest songs you'll ever put into your ear-holes. He was ready to go, even if we weren't ready to lose him. It's our fault (or at least mine) for waiting until he was gone to listen to it."
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Friends - Hamilton Mixtape:
Because the original Hamilton cast recording was just so good, I was prepared to judge this harshly for being the pretty good Load on the heels of Metallica's Black Album, but then this blew me away. The Roots and Busta Rhymes on "My Shot," Queen Latifah's verse on "Satisfied," and Lin-Manuel Miranda's awesomely personal "Wrote My Way Out" were all phenomenal... and I'm not crying at Kelly Clarkson's "It's Quiet Uptown," YOU'RE CRYING. Andra Day slays "Burn," Wiz Khalifa owns "Washingtons By Your Side," and John Legend... is just John Legend. This album is so good that I'm barely mentioning the Roots, Ashanti, and Ja Rule! So just have all of it with the Album release Ham4Ham:
For my money, it doesn't get better than "Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)" with K'naan, Residente, Show Tha Product, and, as you'll see below, my newest crush, Riz MC.
Swet Shop Boys - Cashmere:
Heems and Riz MC just know how to spit it, but in addition to their flow and sound, this is a deeply personal album for me. Redhino's production is good, but just feeling the lyrics on T5, as a brown man who gets "randomly selected" at the airport all the time: "Oh no, we're in trouble/TSA always wanna burst my bubble/Always get a random check when I rock the stubble." Heems understands what it's like not to be Muslim and to be profiled, while Riz's face in the music video says almost as much as his lyrics. The entire video is a tribute to being brown in a white world, and, uh, about that psychoanalyzing thing I said above...
In addition to that, if you haven't seen "The Night Of" on HBO with Riz, you're missing out. Get this album, listen to it. Learn from it.
Honorable Mentions:
Bruce Springsteen - Chapter and Verse: He's still the Boss.
Bruno Mars - 24K Magic: So. Much. Fun.
David Bowie - Blackstar (RIP): Just a really, really, really good goodbye letter.
Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness: Perfect rock symphonies for 45 minutes.
Frank Ocean - Blonde: This was the toughest omission for me.
Leslie Odom, Jr. - Simply Christmas: Dat voice doe.
Pentatonix - A Pentatonix Christmas: Doze voices doe.
Solange - A Seat at the Table: Almost knocked her sister out of my top 10.
Snarky Puppy - Culcha Vulcha: A really great album from a really good funky jazz band.
Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth: If Drive-By Truckers hadn't released their career work this year, Sturgill Simpson would have taken the alt-country spot above.
St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Sea of Noise: Does it show that I have a soft spot in my heart for Southern Rock?
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Let Me Get By: Does it show now?
The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It: It was a pain to capitalize the name correctly, but it just got edged out by Fitz and the Tantrums.
Viola Beach - Viola Beach (RIP) - Sadly, the entire band died in a car crash earlier this year, but their posthumous, self-titled album sounds like so much unrealized promise.
As usual, here's a couple of seeds to start stations with if you need to change up what you're listening to:
Coleman Hell: This genre-bending musician can give you a station that will drop anywhere from banjo riffs to deep house cuts on you... and that's just from his own music! This station is great for anyone that wants a more varied and eclectic station, but doesn't want to spend the time expanding the station sound by curating it with lots of clicks. Yes, I'm lazy like that.
The Southern Gothic: This group of musicians have put together a damn fine southern rock/country band (yeah, a running theme with me), and it's really sad to me that they haven't gotten more recognition for it. Their station will provide you a nice bit of new alt-country, as well as a strong dose of southern rock (the non-racist Drive-By Truckers type). The Southern Gothic used to go by "Connor Christian & Southern Gothic," but the Connor Christian is still fronting the band despite the name change. They're a solid band to build an alt-country/southern rock station on, so go do it!
Thought of the week: “Motherfuckers will read a book that’s one third Elvish, but put two sentences in Spanish and white people think we’re taking over.” - Junot Díaz
Wyndham's new EP can be described as "wow, that's good." Not quite fitting into a single genre of music, the four-song EP goes from mellow acoustic guitar (the wistful "Morning After"), to Black Key's type riffs on the guitar in "Shot Up," to the almost ukulele sounding chords of "Gypsy," and ends on the jazzy "Bad Luck."
However, to talk only about the instrumentals is to sell his lyrics and sound short. Wyndham's breathy voice and smart vocals complement his myriad musical styles perfectly.
He's grown a lot musically since his previous EP, "Made in Voyage." The thing that I'm saddest about is that there are only four songs on this EP, and I look forward to him having a complete album for us to listen to soon!
Here's some station seeds if you're in need of music for the weekend!
Jimmy Eat World: These guys have been around the emo and pop punk scene so long that they pretty much helped invent the genre. They've also had so many different sounds that the station goes everywhere from Weezer to Yellowcard to Hoobastank, and pretty much everything in between. If you're looking for a station that has the perfect blend of alternative, emo, pop punk, and late 90s-early 2000s pop, these are your guys.
Their newest single "Sure and Certain" is also a great new sound from these guys.
The Script: I'm weirdly in an alt-emo mood, but I promise it has nothing to do with anything personal. That being said, if you've just had your heart broken, The Script are perfect for that pathetic point where you're just thinking "please come back to me, I'll do anything." They'll take you on a tour of powerful pop songs, with your Kris Allen, The Fray, OneRepublic, a hint of my singer-songwriter station, and also a smattering of late 2000s-early 2010s pop. It's a weirdly fun station, unless your heart just broke: then it's a weirdly therapeutic one.
Thought of the week:
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou
'Til next time... keep on listening, keep on singing, and keep live music alive.
Here's your "station seeds" if you're looking for a couple of good sounds to build a station around.
The Chainsmokers: the best part about this station, beyond all the great songs themselves, is that they've collaborated with so many different people that the station brings in variety just from that. You'll get EDM, house, electropop, trap, and even some good old fashioned pop music on this station. It's perfect music to program, edit video, or have a living room dance party to. And, honestly, if you're not doing any of those things on a regular basis, you probably should start.
The Head and the Heart: This is more of a dose of soothing indie rock station that can help bring the beat down from the previous station. You'll run into the Lumineers, Bon Iver, Vance Joy, Mumford and Sons (with and without the banjo) on this station, and
Thought of the week: Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world -- No, YOU move. - Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man #537
'Til next time... keep on listening, keep on singing, and keep live music alive.
