2013 Year-End List

Best Albums of the Year

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
No other album transcended as many preconceptions as this one did this year. It turned casual listeners into music fans, taste-makers into radio listeners, radio listeners to music buyers and hardcore fans to music sharers. And it was all done by "getting back to the music" with meticulous attention to original sounds without ever losing focus on creating great dance music that happens to be infectiously catchy.

2. Majical Cloudz - Impersonator
At a time with so many artists making albums in their bedroom on a laptop one starts to either become desensitized to the sad and alone emotions on these records or you start to see past the mood lighting and can't help to feel like their plight is merely a hoax; inauthentic. Impersonator opens with woe-is-me crooning that rolls into an admission to the listener addressing just that: "See how I'm faking my side of it/I'm a liar/I say I make music". The delivery of the opening line ironically authenticates the art and also sets the tone for the rest of the album. It's a beautifully written opus about an artist's struggle with their medium set to complementary minimal and airy electronic melodies.

3. Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
Arthur Ashin's vocal imagery is drenched in tears cried multiple times over for a love long lost. The album is a story about a love so deep that it created paranoia about the potential loss of it. The anxiety is felt in every song, but slightly differently as the story moves. The emotion goes from anxious fear to anxious loneliness. A perfect album for and about coping with love and all of the shades of anxiety associated with it.

4. Jim James - Regions of Light and Sound of God

5. Solange - True
Solange re-invents herself with the help of Blood Orange's distinct sound of future funk made from the sounds of 90's R&B.

6. Jessie Ware - Devotion
Though technically this came out in 2012, it was new to most of us in the States this year. Like Solange's album, what is most striking about the album is the cohesive sound of the album provided by producer and touring bassist, Dev Hynes.

 
7. Justin Timberlake - 20/20
Just like Daft Punk's return to the scene, Justin Timberlake filled an album with hits that never feel contrived. Every song is a perfect pop record that feels like it became a hit not by design, but because the process was pure. The only intention was to create feel-good jams that you want to dance to in your bedroom.

8. Disclosure - Settle

9. Holy Ghost! - Dynamics
Holy Ghost! proved that intelligent lyrics and infectious dance music don't need to be mutually exclusive.

10. Sampha - Dual
While there are many other new producers with a similar post-dubstep, bedroom-house sound, nobody does it better. Drake agrees as he has enlisted Sampha for a few tracks including the best track from Nothing Was the Same "Too Much".

11. Sango - North
The equivalent of The Weeknd's excellent House of Balloons but less gangster.

12. Jonwayne - Cassette 3
The third and final installment in the cassette-only releases via Stones Throw records. There were better records than this, but not a more original and honest hip-hop record.


13. Zomby - With Love
Dilla's Donuts in a electronic/dance context.

14. M.I.A. - Matangi

15. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap

16. oOoOO - Without Your Love

17. DJ Koze - Amygdala

18. Jessy Lanza - Pull My Hair Back

19. Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye 17

20. King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath the Moon

2012 Year End

Top 10 Albums

10. TNGHT - s/t

Dynamic electronic production duo Hudson Mohawke and Lunice may not have created the trendy subgenre of "trap" music, but they set the standard for its overall sound.

Standouts: "Higher Ground"

9. Birdy - s/t

How this young lady wasn't talked about with the same intensity as Charlotte Church was a few years back is beyond me.  Both sickeningly cute winners of UK talent contests, Birdy has a much broader style range.  As unmistakable as some of the original songs are that she covers, she attacks them with an acute fragility that makes you listen to the lyrics for the first time and open your door to a helpless english lady with a heart of gold who's shivering standing in the rain.

Standouts: "Skinny Love"

8. XXYYXX - s/t

This young Florida producer embodies everything that is good about the post-dubstep genre.  While last year's genre-defining album by SBTRKT introduced the world to the genre, XXYYXX's album shaves off the sugar-coating that made the SBTRKT's introduction accessible to the masses.  There isn't a sound or note that doesn't envelop the listener in syrupy noire that fuses the seemingly polarizing moods of eroticism and the come-down from a high.

7. Cherub - Mom & Dad

If this list were based solely on how many times I listened to an album this would be #1.  It's impossibly catchy and danceable, but is equally appropriate for a party pre-game or chilling after-bar.  They are a more lyrical, less house-y version of Boombox and created an album that will never leave your summer home/cabin.

Standouts: "Doses & Mimosas", "Dear Body"

6. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

Killer Mike never went anywhere, but I'm sure he'd agree with me in saying that this is a comeback album.  It's an album so good, so unapologetic, so devoid of pretenses it was impossible for even the casual hip-hop listener to not catch wind of the record.  It definitely helped that future-producer El-P created the raw soundscape. 

Standouts: "Reagan", "R.A.P. Music"

5. Fiona Apple - Idler Wheel

How Fiona Apple can continue to write such deeply sad and introspective music after all of these years makes me worry for her mental health.  The plus side to her borderline insanity is that listeners continue to get some of the best songwriting of the year paired with a beautifully raw voice.  She also happened to give one of the best live performances I've seen in a long time at the State Theater.

Standouts: "Werewolf", "Jonathan"

4. Grimes - Visions

Forget sub-subgenres... Claire Boucher once described her style as "..a little like everything you've ever heard, the whole sounds like nothing you've ever heard."  None of these tracks should be on the same project and yet this album is one of the most cohesive albums I've heard all year.  Unlike the drug-addled nature of the sonics, taken in whole, the album leaves you satisfied... not wanting and not teetering on overdose.  It shows a tremendous amount of restraint and respect for the right dosage of elements.

Standouts: "Genesis", "Be A Body"

3. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d City

Who else would have the guts to have an arsenal of producers at their helm to create radio singles and instead choose to make a concept album... on their major label debut?  And who would do that and have the skills and credibility to pull it off?  Only Kendrick.  While I personally would prefer to listen to his mixtapes, the artistry of this album cannot be denied.

Standouts: "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", "Poetic Justice"

2. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

This is modern-day Sinatra balladry at its best, sung by the stereotype of Americana who touches upon the dark undercurrents of western society against decadent backdrops from Emile Haynie (Kid Cudi, Eminem, Kanye West).

Standouts: "Born To Die", "Summertime Sadness"

1. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

To show this must versatility on a major label debut is astounding.  From two-part songs with a house groove ("Pyramids") to a ballad about vaginas with a rapped verse from Andre 3000 ("Pink Matter"), the diversity of the album is overwhelming but handled like an industry veteran.  Each subject matter is approached from a refreshingly different point of view and treated with so much care that the listener can't help but wonder just how much of the inspiration was garnered from personal experiences.

Standouts: "Pyramids", "Crack Rock"

~honorable mentions~
Purity Ring - Shrines
Sean Price - Mic Tyson
Solange - True
Jessie Ware - Devotion
Beach House - Bloom
Thavius Beck - Heavens Bleed Sunshine
Dr. John - Locked Down 

Best Covers 

Best Mixtape

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Best Music Videos

10. Disclosure, "Latch"

9. JJAMZ, "Heartbeat"

8. D E N A, "Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools"

7. Danny Brown, "Grown Up"

6. Isaiah Toothtaker, "Champion Cuffer" (NSFW)

5. Jack White, "Freedom At 21"

4. Trinidad James, "All Gold Everything"

3. Major Lazer, "Get Free"

2. XXYYXX, "About You"

1. El-P, "Full Retard"
 

2009 Top Ten Lists

The year isn't quite over yet but to avoid any influences from other lists and get ahead of the crowd I'm compiling my list now. Enjoy! Debate!

Top 10 Albums (in particular order)

1) The xx, xx (Young Turks)

2) Metric, Fantasies (Metric Music Int'l)

3) Florence & The Machine, Lungs (Island)

4) Mayer Hawthorne, A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw)

5) P.O.S, Never Better (Rhymesayers)

6) Black Blondie, Do You Remember Who You Wanted To Be? (self released)

7) Lookbook, Wild At Heart (self released)

8) Exile, Radio (Plug Research Records)

9) Prof & St. Paul Slim, Recession Music (Stophouse)

10) Empire of the Sun, Walking On A Dream (EMI)

Honorable mentions...

...) Raveonettes, In And Out Of Control (Vice) *added 12/26 after finally getting a copy

...) Dam-Funk, Toeachizown (Stones Throw)

...) Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx pt. II (EMI)

...) Lee Fields, My World (Daptone Records)

...) Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, (s/t) (Honest Jon's Records)

...) Eminem, Relapse (Aftermath)

...) Gossip, Music For Men (Columbia)

...) Kid Sister, Ultraviolet (Fool's Gold)

...) Luke Vibert, Rhythm (Soundofspeed)

...) Cage, Depart From Me (Def Jux)

...) Fashawn, Boy Meets World (One Records)

Top 5 Shows (in particular order)

1) Bettye LaVette (headline), The Budos Band ("SummerStage 09", Central Park, NYC, July 24)

2) More Than Lights (headline), Prof ("Dinkytowner final show", Dinkytowner (R.I.P), Minneapolis, May 30)

3) Prof and Rahzswell (headline), Big Zach, DJ Fundamentalist ("Drunk 3", Nomad World Pub, Minneapolis, Aug 29)

4) The Roots (headline) and guests ("The Roots present JAM", Highline Ballroom, NYC, July 28)

5) Lookbook (headline), Zoo Animal ("Lookbook, Wild At Heart CD Release", Kitty Cat Klub, Minneapolis, Oct 3)

Top 10 Music Videos (in particular order)

1) Lookbook, "Over and Over"

2) Kerli, "Walking On Air"

Kerli - Walking On Air from Blessthefall on Vimeo.

3) Brother Ali, "Us"

4) Miles Fisher, "This Must Be The Place"

5) Jay-Z, "D.O.A"

6) Empire of the Sun, "Without You"

7) Mayer Hawthorne, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out"

8) Rhymefest, "Chicago"

9) Prof, "Rocketman"



10) Sha Stimuli, "Move Back" feat Freeway



10) Mr. J Medeiros, "Holding On"

Mr. J Medeiros : Holding On from Arthur King on Vimeo.

10) Alchemist, "Smile" feat Twista, Maxwell




Favorite video only I probably appreciate) Brown Bag Allstars, "Undeniable (Audible Doctor remix)" --- these guys run Fat Beats, the oldest hip-hop record store in NYC. I've hung out with most of the members and all of these shots were taken in the store.

Music Video of the Decade) Marco Polo/Masta Ace, "Nostalgia"

...now that is how you make a hip-hop video kids.