#thank you kendrick metro and future for this

[frogalor]

nothing like the hatred of Drake to bring me back to rap music

[rikiws]

GANG!

I have one of those silly little moot thingies!

(No pressure you don't have to do it if you don't wanna!)

But! What music you automatically assume your moots listen to😼😼

To me, I imagine you fw brent faiyaz or the arctic monkeys, maybe some Daniel Caesar

Dude how did you know that... I fw Daniel Caesar and Brent Faiyaz HEAVY dawg are you psychic 😨 (Kendrick and Don Toliver TOO THE ENTIRE DAMN. ALBUM SIGH... ALSO KESHI I like too many artists this yap won't end so let me just stop myself) I never really got into the Arctic Monkeys but I still think they're awesome musicians, even if the music doesn't hit for me that much personally

I love this game though thank you for this, forgive me if I get any of you guys horribly wrong I'm a terrible judge of character...also I really like to talk about music so best believe I'll be listing a few songs out and explaining them too, very sorry if its a lot to look at 😭

@sugariricookies : you first ofc. I'd say you'd be into something fresh, I don't want to say cutesy bc its not exactly that but close yk. Beabadoobee FOR SURE and New Jeans too. Glue Song - Beabadoobee : its very quiet coffeeshop meetcute with a ton of flowers involved ykyk Melting - Kali Uchis : honestly any song by her bc CMON. I think it matches what you're like really well, if you don't listen to her much How Sweet - New Jeans : can we bfr this song is so heart emoji and you're also very heart emoji are we making sense

@sungbyhoon : Idk bit I feel like you'd be into something a little darker...? Not maybe something like Alt or Grunge, actually maybe yes if its something like Cade Clair or something, but more like Cigarettes After Sex and Chase Atlantic. Also very chill but less upbeat and more mature sounding I'm so sorry if this makes no sense, Another thing I feel like you'd also judge songs not just on the melody but also the lyrics so: Sunsetz - Cigarettes After Sex : Any song by them man bc they're lyrics are basically always so 🙏🙏🙏 Heavenly - Cigarettes After Sex : "Tell me it's love, tell me it's real" MAN 😢😢 LET ME SEE YA MOVE! - Lumi Athena & Cade Clair : HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT IT'S JUST REALLY GOOD OKAY I'M NOT PROJECTING (I might be)

@copyhanni : hey...😼😼 okay but you're giving me Chase Atlantic, The Weeknd, and Tory Lanez full stop. You'd be more chill but also upbeat?? but like less cute and more roadtrip-with-your-headphones-in-esque: Out of My Mood - brian mantra & gate 문 : I think indie would be up your alley too, esp brian mantra I love him sm Bloody Hands - brian mantra : another one, his songs don't have too much going on I think instrumentally and his tone is AWESOME it's just 🔥🔥 Swim - Chase Atlantic : need I say more the synth and drums are EVERYTHING.

@suneng : okay just because you said you like Sunflower I want to think that you really like Metro and Swae Lee (bc SAME.) Also these songs imo seem really nice to study to, and to me you come off as an academic in a way so I think this fits (STEM girlies 🙏): Too Many Nights - Metro Boomin, Future & Don Toliver : the bass the BASS god I love the bass SO MUCH. I remember being a trap hater when I was like 11 chat I was WRONG. I think you'd fw this honestly I'd say its pretty easy to like and super catchy and just very chill Love me Harder - WOODZ : this is a very bassy music selection I'm gonna be so embarrassed if you don't like bass 😭😭 but the guitar here was life changing I think you'd love this Link up - Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, wow there's a lot of people involved in this one hold up: Afrobeats/Raeggaeton I'm not very sure but its really good sigh...honestly I think any spider-verse soundtracks you'd probably love.

@stariikis : not sure what it is but imo you'd be into maybe something softer ykwim? Def have wave to earth on your playlist somewhere there has to be 👊👊 Kind of similar to riri I'd say something a little calmer ykyk: daisy. - wave to earth : such a good song wave to earth man GOODNESS. I think this is such a perfect song for the vibes you give off The Long Drive - tv room : okay tv room is a little eccentric with the hyperpop and everything but I think this is one of the tamer songs from him, much slower tempo than his usual ones but still super upbeat in a way An Art Gallery Could Never Be As Unique As You - mrld : long name alert 🚨🚨 jokes aside I think you'd be into songs with less synthetic instruments in it instead and this song is perfect for that

@nishiriki : okay I really had to squeeze out the brain juice for this one and its gonna be such a huge stretch but hear me out you sound like you like rap,,, maybe nothing too dark lyrics wise like JID but something sort of playful-ish... okay let me just get the songs out I think i'll make more sense then: Two Tens - Cordae & Anderson .Paak : see like something a little silly but still nice to listen to, like the kind of songs you'd play in the car with your friends, otw to some random place to hang out LOVE. - Kendrick Lamar : again, the entire damn album still has me in a chokehold to this day there's no way. This is def my favourite from them all though (and a huge obsession of mine rn) and I think it matches you really well PICK IT UP - Famous Dex & A$ap Rocky : I was obsessed with this like a few years ago and then that dance challenge came and I got obsessed again. I don't think I've ever seen so many interludes in just one song before and it's so well done like its so goofy oml, no but I'd think you'd be into rap that's a little more upbeat, less serious ykyk ++Blueberry Faygo honorable mention here

chat I may have yapped just a tiny bit...okay but I fs missed a few moots since I haven't interacted with them enough to justify the music they'd be into I think 😭 nah but if you want me to write you in too please let me know bc I'd be more than happy to :)

[mollyhale]

i was tagged by @glasstown-resident to list 5 songs I like to listen to! thank you for tagging me friend!! 🩵

espresso by sabrina carpenter

dopamine by sum 41

porcellana by jacquie

like that by future, metro boomin, and kendrick lamar

taking over me by maggie lindemann feat. jasiah

tagging with no pressure: @borntobewondering @flippinfins @channelrat @seancamerons @bl33ditout @cottoncandywhispers @bethestars @prettiest-poison @lonelydncers @inkymkk and whomever else wants to !!!

[90363462]

Being a Drake hater is a great thing to be honest

Pusha t: drake is a biiich

Kendrick: Drake is a biiich and I hate him

metro boomin and future: Drake is a biiich and we don’t trust him and if metro don’t trust you then imma shoot you

Megan: Drake is a biiitch who has this vendetta against me because I didn’t give him the sex he felt entitled to and he sluts out for my abuser and he had bbl scars

Btw shout to Megan for kicking off this Drake hatred back in January of this year ever since he disrespected Megan it’s almost as if her ancestors were striking him down, they were like “AHT AHT!!!! we’re not finna let your biracial biiiich arss treat our good sis like that and get away with it scot free! You tried to have the industry turn against Megan but now we’re gonna pull the uno reverse card and turn the industry against you!”

Like I said yesterday she threw the first brick like she was Marsha p Johnson at stonewall riots in 1969

Everyone has said everything that she and Drake haters been saying for years now and I bets she is like

Everyone say thank you Megan thee stallion

[moltenwrites]

SONG URL TAG GAME

Thanks @willtheweaver for the tag

This one seems fun. This one is simple, find a song in your playlist for each letter of your url. Mine is moltenwrites, so let’s begin!

M - Murders ( Miracle Music - Hawaii part ii )

O - O my Heart ( Mother Mother - O my Heart )

L - Like That ( Future & Metro Boomin - We Don’t Trust You )

T - The Spiteful Chant ( Kendrick Lamar - Section 80 )

E - Everybody dies in their nightmares ( XXXTentacion - 17 )

N - Not the Same Anymore ( The Strokes - The new Abnormal)

W - WAR ( Heaven Pierce Her - ( ULTRAKILL OST )

R - Romantic Homicide ( D4VD - Halloween Party 2022 )

I - Illiest of our time ( Ren - Illiest of our time )

T - Television/So Far, so good ( Rex Orange County - Apricot Princess )

E - ECHO ( CRUSHER - ECHO )

S - Stranded Beyond ( Yoko Shimomuura - Kingdom Hearts 3 OST )

That was a fun little exercise! Thanks again for the tag. I know this one isint exactly writing, but it’s good fun. Also all of these songs rock, I’m especially fond of murders and not the same anymore, so if you want some great new music give em a listen!

Tag list ( also real question; are tag lists supposed to apply when you post your own writing? I didn’t add one to paintings CH1 because I felt weird about that, but is that a normal thing to do here? )

@thatuselesshuman @ddgraywrites @juliana-jones @revenantlore @aintgonnatakethis @yourpenpaldee @illarian-rambling @autism-purgatory @gioiaalbanoart @the-letterbox-archives @theverumproject @noxxytocin @joseph-hooser @mk-writes-stuff @yrndrgn

+ Open, as always!

[latibvles]

FANCAM TAG

thanks @wexhappyxfew & @hesbuckcompton-baby for the tag <33 i had a whole lot of fun with this. as a video editor this was very fun to think on. also please ask me meta questions they’re so fun. will be tagging @xxluckystrike , @upontherisers , @shoshiwrites , @mercurygray & @derry-rain for this >:) ( no pressure )

Rules: Pick 5 songs you think would be used for fancam videos if your OC was canon and tag 5 people.

—

the archer - taylor swift ; the bridge but it’s viv’s stalag spiral over not being able to do much of anything in the stalag.

tough love - gracie abrams ; mouse hole girls being cute! it’s what we deserve. “no chance I waste my 20s on random men not one of them is tougher than all my friends.” :)

like that - future, metro boomin, kendrick lamar ; sexy viv edit. plot twist from buck / rosie / bucky to viv. “fuck the big three it’s just BIG ME!” for y’know . feminism.

i wanna be yours - arctic monkeys ; that edit trend but it’s june and benny and every time he’s making heart eyes at her onscreen. it’s that serious.

softly - clairo ; cute Carrie edit. BABY FAWN WHO NEEDS HER CHEEKS PINCHED!

honorable mention : willie getting back in the pilot’s seat to daddy’s home, a-la-this style

[cyarsk5230]

ALT

View on Twitter

Being a Drake hater is a great thing to be honest

Pusha t: drake is a biiich

Kendrick: Drake is a biiich and I hate him

metro boomin and future: Drake is a biiich and we don’t trust him and if metro don’t trust you then imma shoot you

Megan: Drake is a biiitch who has this vendetta against me because I didn’t give him the sex he felt entitled to and he sluts out for my abuser and he had bbl scars

Btw shout to Megan for kicking off this Drake hatred back in January of this year ever since he disrespected Megan it’s almost as if her ancestors were striking him down, they were like “AHT AHT!!!! we’re not finna let your biracial biiiich arss treat our good sis like that and get away with it scot free! You tried to have the industry turn against Megan but now we’re gonna pull the uno reverse card and turn the industry against you!”

Like I said yesterday she threw the first brick like she was Marsha p Johnson at stonewall riots in 1969

Everyone has said everything that she and Drake haters been saying for years now and I bets she is like

Everyone say thank you Megan thee stallion

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: EUROVISION SPECIAL 2024 (18/05/2024) - also feat. Post Malone/Morgan Wallen, Myles Smith, Gunna and... Macklemore?

For the third week on the UK Singles Chart, Sabrina Carpenter reigns at the top with “Espresso”, and it’s the one week where my two main interests of pop music and geopolitics combine: the Eurovision final. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: Israel-Palestine conflict, sex, language, Morgan Wallen

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40 and this week, we bid farewell to… “These Walls” by Dua Lipa? Already? Yikes. Aside from that, we can bid adieu to “Feel It” by d4vd, “Outside of Love” by Becky Hill, “Type Shit” by Future, Metro Boomin, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, “Worth It.” by RAYE, “Training Season” by Dua Lipa, “Thank You (Not So Bad)” by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, Dido and W&W, “Whatever” by Kygo and Ava Max, “Back on 74” by Jungle, and of course, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Honestly, not much I can complain about, and I’d predict some of it ends up coming back anyway.

As for our gains, we see some notable boosts for “The Door” by Teddy Swims at #58, “Love Me JeJe” by Tems at #45, “As it Was” by Harry Styles at #33 (yep, it’s still around), “Saturn” by SZA at #32 and “Slow it Down” by Benson Boone at #16. Sure, that doesn’t seem like a lot, but this is quite a busy week so naturally, the gains are minimal, and there are no returns, but a bunch of new songs.

And in our top five this week on the UK Singles Chart, we have “Too Sweet” by Hozier at #5, Shaboozey at #4 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Tommy Richman shooting up to #3 with “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”, and a star-studded debut right at #2, with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen on “I Had Some Help”. “Espresso” of course is at #1 but more on Post and Morgan later… for now, let’s discuss the biggest night of the year when it comes to gay people representing war criminals in a competition to see who wrote and performed the better track: the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Naturally, I end up talking about this every year, and this Eurovision was particularly controversial - at least amongst the very online, though very much also amongst the Eurovision fans who have protested some rulings by the European Broadcasting Union and their chairman in relation to the participation of Israel amidst the ongoing invasion of Gaza, as well as the disqualification of the Dutch participant for being aggressive towards a camerawoman, allegedly, though apparently there wasn’t any violence, he didn’t want to be filmed - it’s a bit of hearsay involved. I’m not here to discuss that though, I’m not a gossip blog - even if that last episode about the Kendrick-Drake beef might have teetered on it. Instead, I’ll focus on the music presented this year at Malmo, Sweden, and its impact on the UK charts, which remains relatively uncontroversial. Our entry, “Dizzy” by Olly Alexander of Years & Years, returns to #48 after peaking at #42 earlier this year - kind of embarrassing it couldn’t land in the top 40, especially since there are several other Eurovision songs in that region - though not many - this very week. A muted Eurovision year for sure when it comes to its tangible impact on the charts, but also just a messy overall Eurovision year, here’s me ignoring the vast majority of that and telling you all these songs kind of sucked.

#67 - “Doomsday Blue” - Bambie Thug

REPRESENTING: Ireland

Ireland sent a non-binary witch to Eurovision. If that isn’t woke going too far, I don’t know what it is. Jokes aside, it was a very theatric performance that gained traction simply for being weird, out there, extraordinary and camp, as well as having a soundtrack that, to many people I’m sure, was listenable. The performance, the staging, the camera work, it was all amazing. This alt-metal joint produced by Tylr Rydyr fell into what many heavier acts do at Eurovision: try and fit everything in the short time they have allocated. Norway fantastically avoided this by making a slower and more dramatic, maybe even epic, track but that cost them any chance of winning so from Ireland - and Croatia, we’ll get to it - we have some vaguely industrial mess and yes, I know the dynamic shifting between the two “modes” is most of the point, but I’m sorry, I just can’t stand this. It’s not a good metal song because it fails to reach any catharsis in its refusal to progress upon itself, and it’s not a good pop song simply because it refuses to construct itself as such. It’s not awful, at least by an objective standpoint, but apart from a pretty solid bridge where Mx. Thug devolves into the screeching noise of the outro, the song just teeters into different ideas without gaining a tight grip on any of them, and it’s probably a result more so of ESC limitations than Bambie Thug’s artistic intent, which makes it all the more frustrating.

#37 - “Europapa” - Joost

INTENDED TO REPRESENT: The Netherlands

My favourite Eurovision songs were Czechia, the Netherlands, Norway and Greece. Greece did okay, Norway… made the final at least, Czechia didn’t and the Netherlands were disqualified from performing. Just my luck, hey? Maybe I should stop making endorsements. Regardless, I still really like the Dutch entry, performed by Joost Klein and produced by Tantu Beats and Paul Elstak. It frames itself as a bit of a meme but it’s really one of the few entries that connects to the contest’s theme this year of uniting by music, narrating a story of an orphan travelling Europe getting the chance to prove himself, a story that has its origins in Joost himself losing his parents at a young age and now attempting to prove himself at Eurovision, which of course, sadly didn’t occur and makes the song even more bittersweet than it already was. There’s an even harsher dissonance at play, but outside of the context, it’s just an undeniable Eurodance jam. He even goes for the exact cheesy rap flow every Eurodance rent-a-rapper would use, and the nonsense chorus and vocal chop over the delightfully predictable happy hardcore pianos and synths are just a cherry on top, especially before it sprinkles into the messy instrumental outro. The fact that the lyrics are personal and cleverly written, with a reference to a Stromae song that is also about lacking a father figure, as well as a sample of a classic Dutch film, adds that little speck of intimate detail that makes a goofy song like this hit the right note. It’s fantastic, it’s a damn shame it couldn’t be performed at the final.

#36 - “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” - Baby Lasagna

REPRESENTING: Croatia

This one should be easy to ring off, because it is incredibly one-note. A self-produced Neue Deutsche Harte record from Croatia with goofy lyrics and an impassioned yet somewhat restricted performance that I feel is a bit tied up in the grinding, danceable nature of its unmoving instrumentation that it can’t have nearly as fun as it should. The chorus is a bit self-serious as well, and whilst tonal clash is definitely not stranger to Eurovision, and can be implemented well like with “Europapa”, it’s only when the goofiness comes as a direct result of the more serious backstory or they’re inseparable, and given this barely constructs a full song out of just repeating yourself, it feels half-baked.

#18 - “The Code” - Nemo

REPRESENTING: Switzerland

This one I don’t really like either, and I’ll admit that it’s purely because it’s not my favourite brand of camp: the operatic performance is bombastic and impressive, sure, but it just annoys me. The breathing especially from Nemo, it feels a bit much, if there is a limitation for that in Eurovision. I should mention, probably, that this is the winner for Eurovision this year, and Nemo is another non-binary individual from Switzerland, but they also rap so that’s like five woke points detracted. Their performance once again is impressive but comes from a very Disney-esque school of theatrics and I’ve never been able to relate too well to lyrics about triumphantly finding yourself, mostly because it’s a lot messier of a process than this streamlined breakbeat over soaring strings would have you believe. You would clearly be able to tell that Nemo is one of six producers (the others are Lasse Nymann, Benjamin Alasu, Tom Oehler, Wojciech Kostrzewa and NYLAN) and that’s far from a bad thing: it sounds epic. I absolutely understand why it won, it’s got the energy, the bombast, the straight-up talent, it’s just far from my thing. I think I just watch Eurovision for the politics and Graham Norton at this point, so the songs that’ll hit closer to home are those that try for subtlety, which we honestly didn’t get a lot of this year.

New Entries

#70 - “Miles on It” - Kane Brown and Marshmello

Produced by Digital Farm Animals, Earwulf, Connor McDonough and Marshmello

We really don’t have to do this, guys. If we’re going to actually import some country from Stateside, let’s stick to their biggest and brightest. I’ll take Luke Combs, I’ll take Morgan Wallen and I’ll take Zach Bryan and then some. Kane Brown making yet another half-hearted pop pivot - if you can even call it a pivot at this point - with a slowly fading Marshmello at the helm does not need to be included in the shipment. Given how many fully competent producers are here, I question what Melloboy even did, apart from maybe the grating, ugly processed guitar in the drop because that sounds straight out of his playbook. The snap intro sounds more like Loud Luxury’s “Body” than it does anything even resembling country and I don’t think the decidedly unsubtle lyrics from Kane Brown here as he elbows you asking if you know what it means, or the tropical house wank vaguely pretending to be in any way related to Nashville, is going to make for a fitting sex song separately, let alone together. I’m usually one that complains about songs being too short but this one loses steam a minute and a half in, and just ends up embarrassing for Kane Brown and… more of the same garbage for Marshmello. At least “Body Like a Back Road” had the kindness to keep it more relaxed.

#68 - “Take a Bite” - beabadoobee

Produced by Rick Rubin and Jacob Bugden

So this new beabadoobee song is about finding peace and comfort in toxic or negative situations that are simply the norm, feeling like you have to repeat behaviours that may be unhealthy or unwieldy, with an introspective chorus where she wonders why she’s stuck in that cycle, never truly finding an answer but she still wants to do it over and over again in spite of her ambitions. It’s a great conceit for a song that’s convincingly sold by beabadoobee’s constantly uncertain, softer tone often buried by the production, which is my main issue with this track: Rick Rubin’s on the boards, which means the dreamy gaze of these guitars doesn’t shine nearly as well as it should, and the overdubs feel a bit… random? It’s hard to describe, but despite the chaotic tone of the song, I think it would benefit from being more refined and less scrappy, primarily because that is an absolutely killer chorus even if, like much of the rest of the song, it’s pure worship of 90s and 2000s adult alternative. That’s a genre I miss being on the charts though, I love all that kind of stuff, so I’m fully happy with this being here. I wish there was either a poppier or crunchier sound to it - feels a bit weird lodged between the two extremes, and the fact the guitar doesn’t get to really roar in the bridge does bother me - but as a song, still fantastically written and infectious. Even if I doubt it’ll stick around, I hope more of this sound is coming, because if this is close to being great, I imagine what beabadoobee has left might just reach that.

#64 - “on one tonight” - Gunna

Produced by Kenny Stuntin and Nash Beats

We actually have two Gunna songs. His most recent album One of Wun debuted at #4 on the albums chart and took that week it was out to grow on me. I was initially very lukewarm on it but a few surprisingly impactful experiences with the album - namely, being sleep deprived and trying to use it force me to sleep - have allowed me to gain a respect for it. Sadly, my favourite tracks haven’t debuted, at least not in the top 75 - “hakuna matata” is in the top 100. What we do have still isn’t bad, and definitely contributes to the semi-motivational oceanic feeling of the record overall. In fact, I will say the album is better experienced as a whole due to the seamless tracklist sequencing and overall mood that carries on way more effectively when spread out across 20 tracks. Without each other, sole songs can definitely feel a bit empty, and this is absolutely a great example since it’s only one and a half minutes. Its watery Dirty South beat is slick, Gunna is surprisingly focused in his rags-to-riches story that involves a cute little melodic hook towards the end of his one verse, as well as some genuine lines about staying independent and keeping a relationship with God to stay motivated. It’s a real bite-size example of what I liked about the Gunna album, but not too impressive as a sole piece.

#55 - “one of wun” - Gunna

Produced by Kenny Stuntin, Byrd and ProdByQue

Yup, two consecutive Gunnas, and I hate to say it but it’s more of the same, as the title track is one of my least favourites here, mostly because it tries to be a “banger” with its unmoving, frankly quite dull trap beat and cheap percussion that falters when it comes to replicating the wavy atmosphere of much of the rest of the album. Gunna is still fun here declaring that he’s not a lil-bitty shrimp but I’ve never been anything but repulsed by his brand of sex bars, and they’re not exactly anything fancier here, so it’s just a bit of a dud. Sorry. Wish I could talk about some of my preferred tracks at length but I’ll just shout out my favourites, those being the opener “collage”, “whatsapp (wassam)”, “treesh”, “conscience”, “let it breathe” featuring Roddy Richh and the very genuine closer “be careful what you wish for”.

#51 - “HIND’S HALL” - Macklemore

Produced by Macklemore

I do feel pretty damn good about how the Israeli entry to Eurovision failed to chart but raising funds for the United Nations relief agency in Palestine can take Macklemore of all people nearly in the top 50 with a very non-commercial song. It may seem petty but hey, I’d rather be petty on the side of freedom, and I’ve been caring about Palestine’s independence long before the recent war in Gaza - you can check my coverage of Israeli Eurovision entries from even just last year - so part of me is really happy that this song exists and is charting. In fact, all of me is, and I’m surprised that Macklemore has taken such a public and assertive stance on this considering he’s mostly a comedic rapper, whose political statements I remember most being 1.) the time he wore an antisemitic costume because he thought he was Humpty Hump, and 2.) the time that he thought he was gay because he liked drawing. I’m hyperbolising those events, obviously, they’re both just mismanagements of genuinely good intentions, but that’s kind of been what Macklemore is defined by, at least to me, and “HIND’S HALL” is a much more focused attempt at expressing those feelings in a cohesive way. I still don’t like it.

The idea to sample a respected Lebanese Arab singer is clever, but the beat is droning and aggressive in a very old-school rap way, which means it can get on the nerves easily if the guy over it is struggling to keep compelling - see Eminem’s “Mosh”. I agree with the vast majority of what Macklemore says about white supremacy and I absolutely agree that Palestine should be free - and I think he makes a very good point not many are doing in comparing Israel’s treatment of Gazans to police brutality in the USA, even if he doesn’t really expand on that, and makes it more about himself than it probably should be. That’s the main issue with this song for me, and it’s clear even in Macklemore’s delivery, which can be aggressive and gritty, clipping in the mix, but can also just sound goofy, especially in the intro where the rhyme schemes are a bit dragged out. Otherwise, whilst I have no problem with the vast majority of his lyrics, some nitpicks get to me in a way they wouldn’t if it weren’t for the unavoidable corniness of Macklemore and a song that teeters on obnoxious, mostly through the TikTok references, the idea that white supremacy wasn’t on blast until Macklemore made this song, the random Drake mention that feels attention-grabbing, the plea not to vote for Biden as if a good third party exists and the other option isn’t going to make Gaza worse and embolden white supremacy domestically, and most annoyingly for me, “You can pay off Meta, but you can’t pay off me!”… You’re fucking Macklemore! As much as I really don’t like the song, I do recommend it. Stream it, buy it, give the lyrics a read, there’s not much art being made about this in the public eye and even what we are being given is by imperfect allies (if there is such thing as a perfect ally), it should give us the opportunity to raise money and awareness by the suffering by those on the ground, corniness be damned. I have a lot of respect to Macklemore for trying this out and what he does, even if I don’t like it, is way more impactful than anything I could even try. It’s free Palestine until the colonisation and murder stops, and my hope is that eventually, it will, though the suffering faced in that excruciating timespan may not even balance the eventual freedom when so many who struggled won’t get to live a second of it.

#41 - “360” - Charli XCX

Produced by A.G. Cook and Cirkut

I think I’m supposed to know who, well, any of the women in this music video are. Regardless, it had a bit of a viral moment and helped propel Charli’s newest single from her upcoming Brat album to nearly reach the top 40. Here, the Eurodance keys are placed alongside a demanding electroclash beat that makes it sound a lot darker than they would in a more upbeat, party-friendly context, and this is really an example of A.G. Cook taking elements of electronic dance music and either blending them with different ideas or taking them so far out of context that they emit an entirely different idea than would be otherwise intended. It’s a brilliant idea, especially with the vaguely Jersey club percussion effects in the chorus and that weedy 2000s synths-- did she shout out Sewerlsvt? No? Okay, thank God. Uh, swiftly moving past that, I think this is a very effective way of balancing the carefree and paranoid elements of showbiz together into a relatively ugly yet still accessible and catchy, even hypnotic, tune with a cute little reference to her producer in the second verse and hooks out the wazoo. This is more lowkey perhaps than what the album’s title and cover would imply, but for me, its brattiness is much more charming than in “Von dutch”. Also, apparently there’s a remix with Robyn and Yung Lean coming which is insane and I desperately need to hear that.

#12 - “Stargazing” - Myles Smith

Produced by Peter Fenn

I had no idea who this guy was until just a few weeks earlier and now we’re giving him a free top 20 hit. Sure… man, we’re really back in 2013 pop, aren’t we? This doesn’t directly sample or interpolate anything, but it sure felt derivative and looking back towards a monogenre we ditched back in 2015. It mixes the stomp rock of that time with the dance-pop of that time in a blend that could potentially be interesting if this wasn’t just something that Avicii did back in the day, and by keeping the fake claps, anthemic choruses, ugly vocal processing and wooshing sound effects but not the commitment to electronic sounds, it ends up sounding less like an attempt to warp genres together like Avicii was doing and instead just a mangled attempt to manufacture a pop version of what Hozier and Noah Kahan are already doing to great success without dumbing themselves down. Also, the mix is just terrible, that lifeless yet still inexplicably propulsive kick drum frightens me. This’ll probably be a hit but God, it’s not deserving of it. Next.

#2 - “I Had Some Help” - Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

Produced by Charlie Handsome, Hoskins and Louis Bell

To anyone surprised that Post Malone is able to pull the streaming and radio numbers he has in the past week for this single… to quote a great post on the Pulse forums, “he had some help.” It’s not fair to say it’s all Morgan though - after all, he’s not a massive pull globally. The song has genuinely latched on pretty well and had an amazing couple first days, it could still stick around, and I honestly think that sometimes a song’s success can be explained pretty simply: it’s just good enough. There’s a lot you CAN hate about this, especially given Post Malone’s origins in rap that I’ve already seen start discourse about this single, and Morgan Wallen as a presence is always going to turn people off… but this is just a driving-down-main country pop-rock sing-a-long, and I feel that’s really difficult to mess up. The drums don’t sound that organic, even if they are - they could very well fit in a synthpop tune as well - but Post has never been one for organic instrumentation, more so an immersive blend between the acoustic guitars he’s familiar with and soundscapes that prefer synthbeds, strings and trap percussion, so this is considerably more organic for the guy, who warbles through the verses and pre-choruses that are probably about a breakup but… does it matter? Once the drum fills into the undeniable chorus that really only has one flaw in that it might be too wordy, but is otherwise an anthemic ode to teamwork more than anything else, I could not care less about what the song is actually about. The fiddle that backs Morgan Wallen is a nice touch, even if a bit on-the-nose that designate that he’s the country singer on the track, and the chorus sounds perfectly written based on both artists’ catalogue. I can see right through this in terms of it being a slight reinvention of Post’s image, a clear attempt at being a surefire hit, but the song backing it all up has too much genuine chemistry and is way too well constructed for that opaqueness to ever get to me. Especially with that chorus, God, it’s a great chorus.

Conclusion

Best of the Week goes to Joost here for “Europapa”, with Charli XCX grabbing the Honourable Mention for “360” though, again, those Post Malone and beabadoobee songs are pretty damn good. As for the worst, it should be pretty damn clear which two tracks are there, but it’s a toss-up to who gets what. I think Kane Brown and Marshmello get Worst of the Week on the pure egregiousness of “Miles on It”, but Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” might just sound worse and takes the Dishonourable Mention. That was a heavy few weeks but hopefully things will calm down, for now - thank you for reading, rest in peace to Steve Albini, free Palestine and I’ll see you next week!

[tyrianludaship]

rules are to answer and tag some people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with! thank you for the tag @dwarfdyke :D <33 !

Favorite Color: I really like pinks (obvious I know) and also some reds and blues (the type where it's blue/green)

Last Song: Relistened to Like That by Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar (I am still unable to shut up about kendrick lamar on my main)

Currently Watching: Re-watching the Lil Pootis series since it's been a few months since then.

Currently Reading: I got a physical copy of this old western book called The Ox-Bow Incident. I initially planned to read it back in senior year of highschool but I never got the motivation. So I'm trying again.

Currently Craving: Water. I just like how it feels.

Coffee or Tea: Coffee; I drink it more often (1 cup in the morning) though I do like cold tea as well.

Anyone can be a part of this since it's getting late for me ^^

Proships DNI

[gcslingss]

🎶 🍦

hi anon, thank you for the ask!!

🎶 - fave song atm

i've got wit no rn by Mofe. and uhh Like That by Metro Boomin, Future, ft. Kendrick on reapeat rn - SUCH BANGER SONGS

🍦 - fave sceneted candle

OMG IM SORRY BUT I ACTUALLY DONT LIKE SCENTED CANDLESSS T_T

[harmslength]

Rules: 🎶✨when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favourite follower🎶✨

Thank you for the tag dear @kiss-me-cill-me 💕💘

I’m going to try and follow the original rules because I can’t think of enough movie/tv/game based songs. But this is just what’s been on repeat for the past week.

I Want You by Kings of Leon

Wicked Game by Chris Isaak

Like That by Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar

To You by Andy Shauf

Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number by Aaliyah

No pressure tag to @cillianhead !! And to everyone else who wants to do this :) 💗

[stenka-razin]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers🎶✨

Thank you!

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Theia (EXTENDED)

Dean Ween Group - Showstopper

Limp Bizkit - Shotgun (It's Fred Durst's birthday)

Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar - Like That

Lord Belial - Enter the Moonlight Gate

[cowboybuckleys]

from the gfm’s description:

We're raising money to rebuild MIGIZI Communications Inc.'s building and any donation will help make an impact to our mission of serving disadvantaged Native youth in and around the Twin Cities metro area. Early morning Friday, May 29th our building in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN (one street over from the 3rd precinct) went up in flames in the midst of ongoing protest over the senseless killing of George Floyd. As an organization and circle of support, MIGIZI is heartbroken over the tragic death of Mr. Floyd. We stand with the family and friends of Mr. Floyd, as well as with our African American brothers and sisters, and all the peaceful protesters. We too understand the rage and distrust others hold and have displayed. We've been fighting for justice and equality since 1977! As we drive for change, we now are faced with the task of rebuilding our sacred space to continue to serve our community, our future. We built this building last year with the goal and vision of creating a home for urban Native youths. Our community joined us in development meetings and conversations on what they wanted and what they needed to explore their potential. Upon opening in the summer of 2019, we were ecstatic to make quick use of our space. We hosted musical arts, media training, green energy training, graduations for our Native seniors, celebratory achievements in our community, and most importantly, our community members and their well-being. By supporting us, you invest in the future of our Native community. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us and the Indigenous community! For more information about MIGIZI, please click on the following link to visit our organization's website. Thank you for making a difference and investing in the future of our community! MIGIZI Website (migizi.org) Facebook Instagram

[cafefleurs]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟!! xo

i got so happy doing this ngl

i. first love ; btsii. all i know (feat. future) ; the weeknd iii. n y l a ; blackbear iv. anpanman ; bts v. where are you (english version) ; cnblue

vi. too young ; post malone vii. converse high ; bts viii. whose pills are these? (which bag were they in?) ; $uicideboy$ ix. rockstar (feat. 21 savage) ; post malone x. dna ; bts

xi. watch ; billie eilish xii. best of me ; bts xiii. secrets ; the weeknd xiv. honestly ; lil peep xv. the seasons ; cnblue

xvi. nobody knows ; mansionz xvii. nye; blackbear xviii. silence ; khalid & marshmello xix. 700 main street ; dat adam xx. pop style ; drake

xxi. i sip ; tory lanez xxii. ric flair drip ; offset & metro boomin xxiii. curve (feat. the weeknd) ; gucci mane xxiv. all the stars (with sza) ; kendrick lamar xxv. notice me ; migos & post malone

xxvi. where you from ; bts xxvii. stigma ; bts xxviii. icarus ; eden xxix. tony hawk pro skater 4 ; $uicideboy$ xxx. sleepless night ; cnblue

xxxi. simon dominic ; simon dominic xxxii. won & only (feat. jay park) ; simon dominic xxxiii. let you go ; machine gun kelly xxxiv. don’t leave me ; bts xxxv. hopeless (feat. cashmere cat) ; halsey

this is long as shit but thank you! send a 🌟for a 5 song playlist (or more obviously damn)

[condoonmywrist]

2017 Songs

1. Young Thug - Safe

2. Future - Fresh Air

3. Frank Ocean - Chanel

4. Playboi Carti - Magnolia

5. Swae Lee - Unforgettable (Feat. Wizkid)

6. Migos - T-Shirt

7. Playboi Carti - Dothatshit!

8. Gunna - Belly of the Beast

9. Ty Dolla $ign - Lil Favorite (Feat. MadeinTYO)

10. 03 Greedo - Never Bend

The rest:

2 Chainz - OG Kush Diet

03 Greedo - Small Dollas

03 Greedo - Would U Mind

03 Greedo - Mei Mei

018 Lane - What U Know (Feat. Jimmy Wopo)

21 Savage - Bank Account

21 Savage - FaceTime

21 Savage - Numb

21 Savage - Dead People

21 Savage - Whole Lot

21 Savage - Issa (Feat. Young Thug & Drake)

21 Savage - Run Up The Racks

21 Savage & Offset - Rap Saved Me (Feat. Quavo)

30 Glizzy - RTN

A$AP Mob - RAF (Feat. Playboi Carti, Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert & Frank Ocean)

Baka Not Nice - Live Up To My Name

Cardi B - Bodak Yellow

Chance The Rapper - Big Bs (Feat. Young Thug)

Chief Keef - Text

Chief Keef - Told Y’all

Chief Keef - Can You Be My Friend

Chief Keef - My Baby

Chief Keef - You & Me

Chief Keef - Whoa

Chief Keef - Grab a Star

Chief Keef - Slow Dance

Chief Keef - Empty

Chief Keef - Reefah

Chief Keef - Knock It Off

Desiigner - Thank God I Got It

Drake - Free Smoke

Drake - Sacrifices (Feat. 2 Chainz & Young Thug)

Drake - Ice Melts (Feat. Young Thug)

Famous Dex & Rich The Kid - No Noise

Fmb Dz - The Truth

Frank Ocean - Biking

Frank Ocean - Lens

Frank Ocean - Provider

Fredo Santana - Go Live (Feat. Chief Keef, Ballout & Tadoe)

Future - Good Dope

Future - Draco

Future - Mask Off

Future - High Demand

Future - I’m So Groovy

Future - Might as Well

Future - Extra Luv (Feat. YG)

Future - My Collection

Future - Lookin Exotic

Future - Damage

Future - Hallucinating

Future - Solo

Future - Sorry

Future - Feed Me Dope

Future & Young Thug - All da Smoke

Future & Young Thug - 200

Future & Young Thug - Real Love

G Herbo - Lil Gangbangin Ass

Gucci Mane - I Get The Bag (Feat. Migos)

Gunna - Drip or Drown

Gunna - Phase

Jacquees - Sink (Feat. FYBTevin, Boakie & DC DaVinci)

Kap G - Slumped

Kehlani - Piece of Mind

Kendrick Lamar - Element

Kendrick Lamar - Loyalty (Feat. Rihanna)

Kendrick Lamar - Pride

Kendrick Lamar - Lust

Kendrick Lamar - Love (Feat. Zacari)

Kendrick Lamar - God

Kodak Black - U Ain’t Never

Kodie Shane - NOLA

Koly P - Back Again

Koran Streets - Fired Up

Lil Baby - Narcs

Lil Baby - Rider (Feat. Young Thug)

Lil Baby - Freestyle

Lil Durk & Lil Reese - Distance

Lil Peep - No Respect Freestyle

Lil Pump - Flex Like Ouu

Lil Uzi Vert - Dark Queen

Lil Uzi Vert - XO Tour Lif3

Lil Uzi Vert & A$AP Rocky - Metro Boomin Freestyle

Meek Mill - Save Me

Meek Mill - We Ball (Feat. Young Thug)

Migos - Call Casting

Miguel - Sky Walker (Feat. Travis Scott)

Mike Will Made It - Bars of Soap (Feat. Swae Lee)

Mike Will Made It - Come Down (Feat. Chief Keef & Rae Sremmurd)

Mozzy - The People Plan

Mozzy - Sleep Walkin

Nef The Pharaoh - Back Out (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

Nef The Pharoah - Bass Head

Nef The Pharoah - My Way (Freestyle)

OMB Peezy - Talk My Shit (Feat. Yhung TO)

Peewee Longway - Rerocc

Peewee Longway - Creep

Playboi Carti - Location

Playboi Carti - Wokeuplikethis* (Feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

Playboi Carti - Let It Go

Playboi Carti - Other Shit

Playboi Carti - No. 9

Playboi Carti - Lame N****z

Playboi Carti - Flex (Feat. Leven Kali)

Playboi Carti - Kelly K

Pologang Kentae - Backstreet Baby

Pressa - Flashy (Feat. FridaiNite)

Rae Sremmurd - Perplexing Pegasus

Rich Gang (Birdman & Young Thug) - Bit Bak

Rich Homie Quan - Heart Cold

Rich The Kid & Famous Dex - Windmill

RJmrLA - Is It Mine (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

Sahbabii - Purple Ape (Feat. 4orever)

Sahbabii - Pull Up wit ah Stick (Feat. Loso Loaded)

Sahbabii - Marsupial Superstars (Feat. T3)

Sahbabii - Chit Chat

Shy Glizzy - GG Worldwide

Skooly - My Brother Had Dope Before He Left

Smino - Anita (Remix) (Feat. T-Pain)

Smino - Father Son Holy Smoke

Smino - B Role

Smino - Blkoscars (Feat. Jay2)

Smino - Amphetamine

Spaghetti J - Give It To Her (Feat. Slimelife Shawty, Slimeball Kelly, Lil Reek, Maja Got It & Zack Slime Fr)

Thouxanbandfauni - Lessgetit

Travis Scott - Butterfly Effect

Travis Scott & Quavo - Saint Laurent Mask

Trippie Redd - It Takes Time

Trippie Redd - Hellboy

Trippie Redd - Owee (Feat. 6ix9ine & UnoTheActivist)

Trippie Redd - Deadman’s Wonderland

Ty Dolla $ign - Famous

Ty Dolla $ign - Don’t Sleep On Me (Feat. Future & 24hrs)

Ty Dolla $ign - All The Time

Ty Dolla $ign - Side Effects

Ty Dolla $ign - Message In A Bottle

Ty Dolla $ign - In Your Phone (Feat. Lauren Jauregui)

Tyler, The Creator - I Ain’t Got Time!

UnoTheActivist - FreeSmoke

Valee - Diamonds

Valee - Acid

Yhung T.O. - Slidin

Yhung T.O. - Shots Fired

Young Scooter - Cook Up (Feat. Young Thug)

Young Thug - Family Don’t Matter (Feat. Millie Go Lightly)

Young Thug - Daddy’s Birthday

Young Thug - Relationship (Feat. Future)

Young Thug - You Said

Young Thug - On Fire

Young Thug - Get High (Feat. Lil Durk & Snoop Dogg)

Young Thug - Oh Yeah

Young Thug - Best Thing Of All Time

Young Thug - Free Blac Youngsta

Z Money - Two 16′s (Feat. Valee)

Zoey Dollaz - Bad Tings (Richmix) (Feat. Future & Tory Lanez)

Zona Man - Cold World (Feat. Future & Bump J)

[vinyloftheyear-blog]

Vinyl of the Year 2017

It’s that time of year once again for a music recap! I know I’ve pretty much abandoned the “First Impressions” thing, but I realized that I prefer to let my opinions ferment for some time and serve them up all at once at the end of the year, so that’s what I’ll be doing instead from now on--and in lieu of those posts being reminders of what albums I like, I made a “Best of 2017” playlist out of selected songs from my favorite records of the year. You can listen to it here on Google Play.

I’ve done my album rankings a bit differently this year as well: I’ve compiled a Short List of every album that had at least one song I liked on it, and I’ll be going through all of them one at a time, getting a bit more descriptive the higher up the list I go.

Here’s the Short List, sorted roughly by release date:

And without any further introduction, let’s do this!

36. Joji - In Tongues EP

Joji is George Miller aka Filthy Frank aka Pink Guy’s moniker for more-serious music, and his record debut is a collection of mellow, lo-fi beats with some shallow lyrics on top. I like some of the sounds on here, especially the ukulele sampling on Worldstar Money, but overall this just sounds like any other amateur lo-fi artist on SoundCloud.

35. Electric Guest - Plural

Electric Guest’s second album features more indie-pop tunes, most of which are completely forgettable in the sea of similar music--but Oh Devil and Back For Me are a couple of rare exceptions that return with the magic and groove of their much-better first record.

34. XXXTENTACION - 17

After hearing about how X seriously abused his ex-girlfriend, I pretty much gave up on liking him and instead hope his mental health improves. The 20-minute album he released is mostly some super-low-effort “I’m depressed” music, but the one stand-out track is Jocelyn Flores, and that’s much more thanks to the potsu song it heavily samples. So at least I can thank X for introducing me to potsu before I never listen to him again.

33. Migos - CULTURE

The Atlanta trap trio climbed to the top of the game with this album, and Bad and Boujee will be remembered for a long time for popularizing their flow and production style (provided by Metro Boomin), for better or worse. T-Shirt is another catchy track with a wonderfully unique flow throughout, but the album pretty much drops off after that for me.

32. SZA - Ctrl

SZA’s debut full-length album is critically acclaimed as a soulful and personal take on modern urban romance and the role she takes in it. I can appreciate the album for that, but it’s not really a concept that I can connect with personally, so this album doesn’t stick with me like it did others. However, the songs with more blatant concepts like The Weekend and Doves in the Wind are more replayable--especially the latter, with its hilarious Kendrick Lamar feature.

31. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me

I really think this album should be labeled ‘FOR EMOTIONAL EMERGENCIES ONLY’. As the listener, you are taken through what is effectively just cathartic music-therapy for Phil Elverum after the very recent death of his wife, Genevieve. No deepy-contemplated lyrics or music here, just somber mostly-guitar ballads with very straightforward “lyrics” on top about his personal thoughts on various aspects of his life now that she is gone. It’s hardly music, but it’s not for the faint of heart--the first song, Real Death, however, is a good summary of the album’s aesthetic for those who don’t want to sob for 40 minutes.

30. Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

OME is very hit-or-miss in my opinion: he is capable of some excellent flows and lyricism, and can really knock it out of the park with the right production behind him. This album didn’t completely hit--it was mostly too slow, and I admittedly don’t like it when he sings sometimes--but Tldr (Smithing) and Brick Body Complex both had enough of a driving beat to keep me listening.

29. Pink Guy - Pink Season

I was honestly surprised when the In Tongues EP came out that it didn’t have production nearly as good as Pink Season’s: regardless of whatever offensive thing he raps on top, Pink Guy has several solid beats on this album, especially in the food-based songs where the raps are more typical and less off-the-wall raunchy. Adding a few comedic diamonds in the rough, like She’s So Nice and Small Dick, makes the album worth coming back to every so often.

28. The Shins - Heartworms

The Shins have really carved out their own bubbly-indie-rock niche in music and made themselves comfortable, and Heartworms is no departure from that in the slightest. The result is an album that’s both easy to enjoy but hard to really celebrate. A few stand-out tracks are Rubber Ballz, Name For You, and Mildenhall, which each have a slightly different tone, but belong well within the Shins’ signature aesthetic.

27. Portugal. The Man - Woodstock

It must have been one hell of a year for PTM since they’ve gone from a lesser-known indie-rock group to Top 40 hitmakers, since it’s been weird to hear Feel It Still on the radio even as a fan of theirs. Besides that song and a couple others though, Woodstock just feels like a more popped-up and watered-down version of the slightly-less popped-up and watered-down Portugal that I grew to like when Evil Friends released.

26. Alt-J - RELAXER

The indie-rock powerhouse returned this year with a woefully underwhelming third album, stuffed with nicely-composed but lullaby-worthy tracks following in the wake of the more ambient sounds from their second record. In Cold Blood is by and large the standout track, bringing back the punchy rock feel and dynamic shifts that made An Awesome Wave so catchy and groundbreaking. Deadcrush also lends to this with its tough drum beat, but beyond that, a strange and ill-fitting attempt at garage-rock, and a much gentler cover of House of the Rising Sun, this album can be missed with no regrets, even for an Alt-J fan.

25. San Fermin - Belong

The eight-piece baroque-pop outfit came to my attention when opening for Alt-J live, and their infectious stage presence and unique ensemble led me to find their studio recordings, which were good in concept but unfortunately poorly-mixed for the most part. Their newest record, however, seems to be mixed and recorded much better, with songs like Dead and Cairo bringing that live energy properly into my earphones. Many tracks are good enough but a bit poppy and smooth for my taste, like Belong, but overall this is a great album for anybody who wants more horns and violins in their pop music.

24. N.E.R.D. - NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES

N.E.R.D. finally explains their name on their latest album, which still brings the experimental genre-mixing hip-hop that got them their initial fame, but the experiments seem to be overcooked a bit: there are some interesting samples and beats here, even going so far as combining an 80s new wave style beat with a Future feature on 1000, but most of the songs drag the beats out too long for me to stay interested. Lemon is an exceptional standout track, with one of the bounciest beats of the whole year, and Rihanna with an unprecedented rap feature.

23. Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog

The New York indie-rocker popularized his own “slacker rock” genre with his excellent album Salad Days, and This Old Dog proves that Mac is still the master of his own domain. He branches out his song foundations on this record to include acoustic guitar and piano, among other things, but maintains the psychedelic guitars and wavy synths that characterize his style. His lyrics also get more somber and personal than usual, a rare side to Mac’s music that slows it down a bit too much for my liking, but not enough that this album should be ignored.

22. Gorillaz - Humanz

Pretty much all of the singles from Humanz were great examples of genre-defying instrumentals with fitting rap features on top--Vince Staples does an awesome job on Ascension, DRAM gives Andromeda a nice bit of depth, and Let Me Out is a wonderful gospel-rap-fusion track with Pusha T and Mavis Staples (and the album’s De La Soul and Danny Brown features are good too). Unfortunately, the rest of the album is overloaded with production so all-over-the-place you can never stay immersed for more than a little while before you’re either bored or confused.

21. Smino - blkswn

The underground St. Louis rapper’s debut album is full of wavy beats that have a neo-R&B feel to them, similar to Chance the Rapper or Noname’s recent work, and flows in his own slightly-off-kilter sometimes-singing-sometimes rapping style. The whole album is definitely worth a listen, but most of the tracks are a little too off-balance in their beats and rhythms to really stick; the flow overtakes the underlying rhythm and makes it sound messy. Some tracks, however, like Blkoscars, Innamission, and Spitshine, strike a much better balance--and the soulful final track Amphetamine makes a wonderful closer, especially with Noname’s feature.

20. Vallis Alps - Fable EP

The Australian electropop duo released another EP that is wonderful in every sense of the word, with the only true crime being its short length. As with their self-titled EP, Fable is loaded with glittering synths and Parissa Tosif’s beautifully-airy voice on the high end, with driving percussion in varying amounts to balance it out and change the tone. Sometimes the composition is a little samey, like the repetitive chords in East and Fading, but that doesn’t stop me from coming back.

19. Lorde - Melodrama

Lorde needs no introduction at this point, and her newest album chronicling a relationship and subsequent breakup brings more of her personal side out, which is a welcome change--but the tone of the album is much more poppy, and most of Lorde’s characteristic darkness is washed out. Tracks like Homemade Dynamite and The Louvre show how the production behind her has improved and diversified, filling in the gaps in her old minimalist music quite nicely, but it is a balance that not a lot of the album strikes.

18. Foster the People - Sacred Hearts Club

Foster the People went much more electronic for their newest installment, bringing to the front lines what was once just some background effects. In many ways the change is great for the dancey energy of the band’s music, like in Doing It For the Money and Pay the Man, but other times it just makes the songs less interesting. The rare punk-rock track Lotus Eater also brings the band’s typical energy with a welcome new style that I hope to see more of in future albums.

17. Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, James McAlister - Planetarium

Stories of eponymous Roman myths with Sufjan’s poetic twist are sung through several effects on top of grandiose and often-overwhelming production throughout this technically-huge album. The main setback of this record is its length and overindulgence in its composition, like a musical all-you-can-eat that just keeps coming (and it’s a slight thorn in my side that the track order seems meaningless). In moderate doses though, tracks like Jupiter and Mars serve up lots of beautiful soundscapes with interesting dynamic shifts throughout.

16. 21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Offset - Without Warning

The back end of 2017 saw the release of several collaboration albums between various trap artists and producers--and this surprise Halloween-themed album is the only one worth coming back to. Metro Boomin provides beats that are as spooky as they are sticky for 21 Savage to rap on, but Offset is the true star of the album, bringing crazy flows that amplify the groove of the whole record, especially on Ric Flair Drip and Ghostface Killers.

15. Tame Impala - Currents B-sides & Remixes

The remixes on this album are okay, but it mostly has this rank because of its bonus material from my 2015 Vinyl of the Year. The three tracks sound from a time between Lonerism and Currents, where real drum beats dominate the driving percussion but synth leads take over the instrumental. List of People (To Try and Forget About) and Taxi’s Here are both excellent tracks that are better than some that actually made it to the real Currents, but I’m happy they hold their own separately, too.

14. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up

Fleet Foxes continuously push the boundaries of folk music to new heights, and this album is no different, featuring an impressive amount of dynamic switches (especially in I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar), strange time signatures, and of course the characteristically-angelic harmonies and ambient guitars. Third of May / Ōdaigahara is the best blend of complexity and accessibility that Fleet Foxes has yet produced, with the rest of the album leaning a bit heavy toward the former, but I’m excited to see what they’ll do next.

13. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

The ex-Fleet Fox brings another dose of well-composed irony to the record press, this time focusing the negative energy of Americans everywhere in 2017 into a concentrated mass of pure sarcastic cynicism. The theatrical compositions Father John is known for get even better on this record as he places it in the modern age by singing about having VR-sex with Taylor Swift and updating his status one last time before dying. The result is a wonderfully relatable and over-the-top message about the folly of man and just how funny it can all be sometimes.

12. Jaden Smith - SYRE

I still can’t take Jaden seriously after this album came out, but the production on it is so good it makes me almost wish I could. Lido’s beats and instruments, especially in the opening medley BLUE, are impressive enough that they bring up the album quality by themselves, and while Jaden’s lyrics range from platitudinous to cheesy to insane, his flow is usually a pretty good fit with the beats, so not all is lost--though he could stand to use the triplet-style a little less.

11. Richard Dawson - Peasant

If Lord of the Rings is high fantasy and Game of Thrones is gritty low fantasy, then Peasant is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Dawson’s folk songs each discuss a different story from 6th-century Britain, most dealing with brutal subjects like a child prostitute or a poor beggar losing his dog. The compositions are also period-authentic with amazingly erratic guitar work and some modern production scattered throughout, for a wonderfully unique and just-accessible-enough blend of old and new.

And now, on to the Top 10!

10. The National - Sleep Well Beast

I heard rumors that this album would be more electronic before it came out, and I was hoping for more of a 22, A Million-type situation combined with Matt Berninger’s characteristically deep and smooth vocals. That did not happen (yet) but this album is still a great addition to the National’s catalogue, bringing their downtempo slow-burners like Guilty Party alongside more traditional tracks like Day I Die--a welcome change from their slightly-too-mellow previous record. The National also had their own foray into faster rock music with Turtleneck, which gives the album a nice dynamic change.

9. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory

Quick disclaimer: I have yet to listen to Vince’s earlier and more-acclaimed album Summertime ‘06, so I can’t really discuss comparisons to it--but in a vacuum, Big Fish Theory is a grimy, groovy rap record in all the right places. Dirty industrial beats carry Vince’s top-notch flow while he raps about darker perspectives on fame and his current position. A lot of tracks are repetitive--sometimes making the song catchier and increasing overall bump-ability, other times dragging it out into a monotone--but both are seemingly by design, which shows that the producers really know their stuff, though I hope that Vince branches his sound out somewhat in his next (or previous) records.

8. Sampha - Process

This album is a real masterpiece of electrosoul: lyrically founded on Sampha’s personal struggles and tragedies, and musically ranging between punchy drums and soulful piano, the one-of-a-kind compositions on this album are still seriously impressive, and vary enough that there’s something for everyone to enjoy, from the trap-head to the chorus singer. What’s more, the production fits the mood of each song to the point where you’re joining Sampha on his cathartic journey across the record--and that immersion only makes Process more memorable.

7. Rapsody - Laila’s Wisdom

Rapsody entered my radar with her features on To Pimp A Butterfly and Malibu, and I’ve been waiting for a project from her ever since--and now that it’s here, it satisfies pretty much every expectation I had. The raps are personal and candid but also inspirational and confident, showing how Rapsody lets her past strengthen her present. She also hosts a huge variety of features that all fit very well where they’re placed, including a strong verse from Kendrick Lamar, a couple of choruses from Anderson .Paak, and a slightly-discomforting love rap from Busta Rhymes. The production is also top-notch, making great use of tempo shifts, sampling, and sound effect transitions. The thing that keeps me from really bouncing to these tracks though is Rapsody’s casual, off-tempo flow--it’s enough to make the raps sound more genuine but it also throws off their rhythm. That’s a small gripe for an overall-solid project, though.

6. Everything Everything - A Fever Dream

One of my favorite indie rock bands released their fourth album this year, and it did not disappoint. Like their past records that have a loose theme, this one roughly revolves around the crazy society that seems to have developed in the past year or so (as a lot of music this year also focuses on). Unlike their past records, however, the quality seems to be more in the slow-burner tracks than the energetic ones, which are seemingly more under-written than ever. That isn’t to say I don’t like them, though--the louder songs really punch with amped-up guitars, a driving rhythm section, and the band’s characteristically choral vocals. However, the mellower tracks have much more interesting and introspective lyrics, as well as instrumentals that are unique to the group’s discography and make for a unique tone in each song.

5. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time

There isn’t a lot about this album that really breaks any molds, or pushes any boundaries--it’s just a very, very solid rap project. The production is some of the best on any album this year, and most of it is done by Big K.R.I.T. himself, and his flows are marvelous whenever he raps. Tracks like Subenstein and Big Bank bring the hard beats on the first disc of the double-album without being overbearing, and the second disc has more melodic tracks like Miss Georgia Fornia (with some excellent vocals from Joi) and Bury Me in Gold (a wholesome wrap-up for the whole project). 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time is a mighty long album, though, so anyone listening might want to split it up into its two discs so they’re not too tired of it before it’s even finished (both are self-titled, the first his rap name, the second his real name). Oh, and the two skits are both hilarious.

4. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

The legend returned this year with an album that is equal parts evocative and enigmatic. Ignoring the lyrics/narrative for a moment, the production is very different from any prior project of Kendrick’s: he brings in instrumentals founded on guitars, ambient and/or erratic samples, and even U2, with the vocal effects varying across the album, matching Kendrick’s own vocal virtuosity. He even tries singing a few times, which is more fitting on some tracks than others. Lyrically, it feels like Kendrick is also getting more repetitive, but he uses that repetition to his supreme advantage when conveying ideas he wants to stick in your head, like his feelings of anxiety with fame and his worst fears throughout his life. The album’s narrative also takes different directions depending on how you listen, which is an amazing feature of this album that shows Kung-fu Kenny’s genius storytelling once again and reminds everyone why he’s staying on top.

3. BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION trilogy

Out of nowhere, this fourteen-person boyband collective hailing mostly from Texas saturated rap music with three full-length albums in the past six months, and they’re all insanely good. Mostly produced by Romil Hemnani, the instrumentals are incredibly eclectic and use an insanely wide variety of sounds, drums, and effects, that somehow blend really well together into a solid beat. Each of the rapping members of the group then use that beat to its maximum potential with their own characteristic style, akin to boybands of the past: Kevin Abstract gets passionate about his homosexuality and leads the group, Ameer Vann discusses his drug-dealing past to solidify his tough-guy persona, Dom McLennon brings fast, rhythmic, and candid bars, Matt Champion raps with infectious confidence and bravado, Merlyn Wood adds a not-usually-serious energy to the mix, and JOBA is a wild-card that can go from singing beautiful harmonies on one track to screaming about breaking necks on the next. I am confident that this type of prolific, eclectic, and personalized rap is where the genre is headed, especially now that this group is around, and I can’t wait for their next album--already slated for early 2018.

(The albums themselves are pretty similar, but I would rank them 2, 3, 1 (descending), which is really just based on the number of less-memorable tracks they have.)

2. Joey Bada$$ - ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$

Lots of musicians had their take on the current events of the past year or so, but I don’t think anybody had a political message that was as focused, thought-out, and powerful as Joey Bada$$ did on this album. For starters, the instrumentals are really immersive, with triumphant horn sections and choirs leading some of the more confident tracks and grimy samples backing the more passionate and angry beats--and it’s all mixed pretty much perfectly, leading to a combination that keeps you moving to the beat. On top of the stellar production, Joey raps about what it’s like to be a black man in modern America, taking perspectives on fear of the police, gang violence, and hatred of the current government, all with the incredible rhyme schemes and flow that he is known for, even singing a few of the choruses pretty well. The overall theme is a duality between anger and disappointment at the current system and an inspiring call to action to improve the future, which is a large chunk of why I think this album is both firmly rooted in the present and timeless in its quality.

1. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy

Tyler has always been one of my favorite rappers in the abstract, with his lyrical schemes, unpolished production, and unconventional narratives being the driving force behind his work--but Flower Boy is a newer, more mature Tyler than the one that’s been heard before. Both his lyrics and his production have stepped up so much on this album that it’s hard to even believe it was all done by Tyler himself. The lyrics are incredibly candid and rooted in Tyler’s own anxieties about fame, friends, and relationships, with his uniquely dynamic, almost chaotic rhyme schemes adding to the fittingly-awkward aesthetic of the lyrics. The production is also butter-smooth and usually based on laid-back, jazz-like piano or psychedelic guitar chords, with soulful vocal performances from Tyler, Frank Ocean, Rex Orange County, and Estelle to name a few--all of this culminating in a sound that’s just as much chill psychedelic rock as much as it is hip-hop. Tyler’s talent and maturity have really bloomed with this album, and its message connected with me personally: in a year that was filled with worries, loneliness, and shifting friendships, I could put this on and find peace in the moment--and that is why Flower Boy is my Vinyl of the Year for 2017.

That about wraps it up! If you liked what you read and are interested in any of these albums, remember you can listen to most of the music I just talked about in my Best of 2017 playlist. I’ll see you again this time next year with another playlist, countdown, and Vinyl of the Year.

Thanks for reading, and happy listening!