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| Jessie Ware leads with 4 wins. |
Last year I posted my top 10 albums of 2012 list, and I've thought about doing a ballot similar to the Grammys ever since. I've decided to do one with this year's top 10 list at the end of December, but I wanted to go ahead and do a small one for last year too. Some of my classifications are arguably category fraud, but I tried to fit everyone in.
Note: You can click on the images to enlarge them.
Updated: 8/21/15
Supremely cool post! I can't wait to listen to these songs - I needed some different tunes. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Hope you find something you like. :)
DeleteCool picks. I need to check some of these out.
ReplyDeleteThanks man. Let me know if you find anything you like.
DeleteI think about this every year, but I just don't listen to enough music (well, mainly it's that I don't have the patience to learn Grammy rules) and so I decide against it.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me 'Bangerz' is in your top ten of the year!
(I'm serious)
Why learn Grammy rules? You should do a ballot! I didn't go by Grammy rules. Their period of eligibility runs from September to September, which annoys me. I went by the calendar year. (For instance, Macklemore wouldn't be eligible for 2012 under Grammy rules.) Also, I didn't go by singles released. I just considered any song on any album released in 2012 as fair game.
DeleteHonestly, I'm flirting with a top 10 spot for Bangerz, which I never thought I'd say! My top 5 is currently:
Pure Heroine - Lorde
Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
Tales of Us - Goldfrapp
True Romance - Charli XCX*
Yeezus - Kanye West
I've been meaning to post my review of Bangerz on my blog. I should just do it. The more I listen to that album (it's my go-to running album) the more I'm convinced it's genius.
DeleteUGH, Yeezus is musically brilliant, but lyrically it's a mess.
Yes, you should just do it! I don't do many music posts because that's not the focus of the blog, but I've considered starting a music one.
DeleteHa, I do kind of love it. I'd love to see Bangerz get a few Grammy nods next year.
True, but I love it. I haven't heard a Kanye album I've disliked. MBDTF was actually my #1 album of 2010.
Bat for Lashes and The xx just missed in Best Alternative Album, actually. I dig 'em.
ReplyDeleteHa, no problem. I listen to a little bit of everything. I agree: Jay-Z can't touch Sinatra or Reed.
I feel like reading thevoid99's comment right now just sort of made me feel a little bit sad in a way; nothing complimentary for the list that Josh has put together at all, just 'this is what I like, and fuck everything else'.
ReplyDeleteI don't like pointing out comments like this on other blogs (it's not directed at me, so why should I put a two pence worth into it?) but this particular comment just felt, different, I guess, and not very friendly in the slightest to be honest.
While I am not a fan of a fair few of the songs that Josh has listened here, I feel like taking out your anger on genres and dismissing them as 'fucking shit' or that they 'fucking suck' isn't needed. There are great artists working in these genres at the moment - as Josh has pointed out one, Sky Ferreira. You can't completely shun a genre on the basis of some songs you've heard - music is music. If you like it, great, if you don't, listen to something else.
I completely understand in regards to Lou Reed and how upsetting that the news is - it is indeed a sad loss and he and The Velvet Underground really did change the landscape of music and as my mum said, popular culture too, but this post wasn't about him. If you feel you want to commemorate the man, write a wonderful essay dedicated to him. He is an artist that cared about music of today, regardless of the genre it fell into (look at his Yeezus review if you haven't already checked it out, it's a beautiful piece of writing and he is extremely aware about Kanye's work and how it is defying different genres, and hip-hop that you don't seem to care for).
Also, knowing a lot about Jay-Z, I feel putting him in the 'egotistical ass' category is extremely unjust. Jay-Z is a persona to that of Shawn Carter and, as a lot of artists do, they create a different version of themselves that they use on their albums - Jigga does just that - and he is talented in his own right. The Black Album is one of the best albums to have come out in the last 10/15 years.
Sorry for the long comment on this one, I just feel like it was an unnecessary to make a very negative comment about this post.
Anyway, moving onto the positives - I'd heard about the Cat Power song and it can be my sort of anthem now (as I'm also called Cherokee, too!)
Nice to see some music posts from you, Josh. Keep 'em up!
Thanks, Cherokee! I know my choices aren't for everyone, but it's nice to see more support for Sky Ferreira. And I'm glad you have an anthem now!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how to address the rest of your comment, as most of it seems to be targeted at Steven. Thanks again for stopping by!
No worries! I mean, that's not to say that some of these songs aren't extremely catchy (they certainly are), and that is one of the important elements of pop music in particular.
ReplyDeleteI've heard her album comes out this week I believe (possibly today actually) and I'm uber excited. I've been following her since I heard her version of Animal and then her track, 17, years ago, so it's nice to see that she is actually releasing a proper album after a lot of record label hassle and pressure that had been put on her before. (I urge you to check out her BEAT magazine interview, it's great.)
Completely agree on the Bangerz comments below, too. I was intending to write a sort-of review for it, but time has been eating away at me at the moment, so maybe over the next few weeks?
Haha, I guess I like my pop music catchy. Though, some of these I'd consider guilty pleasures, Bangerz included. (You should totally review it.)
ReplyDeleteI discovered her last year when her EP was released. Yeah, her album is out today. I can't wait. I love her single "You're Not the One". I'll check out that BEAT interview.
Very nice post, Josh! That "Can't Hold Us" is very popular in my Zumba classes, and I like that Rita Ora one as well. I quite like Pink too, nice picks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruth! Ha, I've loved "Can't Hold Us" since I first heard it around this time last year. Yay! Glad you like the P!nk and Rita Ora picks. :)
DeleteGreat post again! Fiona Apple would sweep for me, I adore her. You should really check out both her and Arcade Fire's earlier work. I think for Fiona, The Idler Wheel is my favourite, but Arcade Fire's Funeral is brilliant, and my personal favourite of theirs.
ReplyDeleteIt's also nice to see M.I.A., Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sandé showing up.
Thanks again! Love that Fiona Apple would sweep for you. I'm working on my 2011 SoundSpecs right now, and Ellie Goulding might sweep for me that year. Her first album (the US version) is one of my favorite pop albums in recent memory.
DeleteI definitely want to check out Fiona's and Arcade Fire's older work, particularly the latter.
I love M.I.A. (I really wanted to nominate Matangi in 2013, but I couldn't find room for her then.) Ed Sheeran's "The A Team" is one of my favorite songs in recent years, and I can't wait for Emeli Sandé's new album. She actually wins Best Original Song from me last year for "Here It Comes" from Trance.