Daniel Johns is incredibly talented. He's a pretty fascinating guy if you've followed him over the years. The fact that Silverchair made Frogstomp when they were 14 is fucking awesome. Sure, their 90's stuff isn't the most creative music in the world, but it was still good - everything they've ever made is good.
Aerial Love still has to grow on me a bit, but it's great to hear his voice again (I also think that Daniel is a really underrated vocalist).
Really good interview.
I like what Wes said about nu-metal being a time of experimentation. Go listen to Korn's first album again; the bagpipes, the down-tuned bass, some of the lyrical content, Jonathan's made-up scatman language.... it was a weird experiment and a melding of influences that connected with a lot of people, myself included. Nu-metal was trying new things; some of those things were jockish, and a lot of the lyrics were terrible, but hey, not everything needs to be high art. Same with 80's hair metal; it hasn't aged that well, and a lot of it was ridiculous, but it meant something to so many people that it shouldn't be discarded or laughed at. Who cares if hipsters don't think it's cool?
Bottom line, Wes shouldn't feel ashamed of anything.
Some thoughts:
- Welcome To New York is the worst song on the album.
- I really wish that Shake It Off didn't have that obnoxious try-hard spoken/rap bridge; without it, it's actually a fantastic song and one of the best pop singles of the year.
- I like that the album has a singular style and vision. It's a really cohesive piece of work that streams nicely from front to back.
-I also like how Taylor could have very easily gone the trendy pop route (i.e. hip hop beats, guest rappers, kind of like Ariana's latest) but chose her own path instead. The lack of 'urban' influence in a 2014 pop album is refreshing, and that style wouldn't have worked for Taylor anyway.
Overall, an enjoyable album. Nothing groundbreaking, but definitely solid.
I'm actually loving the new album. I like that it isn't a carbon copy of their first album. I figured that this whole thing would be a cash grab and that they would just rip off their first album song for song, but they really stepped up their songwriting for this thing.
Holy shit, this is good!
I like that they didn't put out a carbon copy of their debut. They've grown as songwriters, and the melodies are catchier than ever. I am really impressed.
This is a great idea for an article, so I applaud you guys for assembling the list!
I agree with a lot of your choices, but seeing Britney's Piece of Me at number 20 instead of number 30 is pretty insulting to the videos that placed below her. The Boys of Summer? Losing My Religion? The art direction in those videos completely blows Piece of Me out of the water. I love Britney, but Piece of Me never even deserved a nomination. The fact that MTV gave her the win because they were proud of her for growing her hair back out and not being a complete disaster for the video is hilarious.
Love Me Harder is awesome!
It borrows more than a few ideas from Gaga & Kelly's 'Do What U Want,' but it still bangs; plus it makes the Weeknd relevant again.
I think that FKA twigs is overhyped as an artist, but her art director and team of producers have definitely created something special and unique here. How did this album end up sounding like it was all produced by one person? Very cool. About half of these songs are underwritten, but the production saves most of it.
Excellent album, really impressed. I agree that this is one of the year's best so far.
Do you guys recognize the sample in "Precious Love?" I used to work as a phone operator and that opening riff was the hold music for a bunch of different companies!
The Cold Mailman video is one of the year's best so far, without a doubt.
Good list overall, but I'm stunned that you guys missed Sacrilege and Childhood's End.
First off, I'd like to say that I love Foals.
Their first album was hipstery and a little one-dimensional, but it had some seriously cool riffs and ideas. The artistic leap that they made from Antidotes to Total Life Forever was staggering, and reminded me of Radiohead's progression from Pablo Honey to The Bends. It was bursting with fire and ambition, boasted some incredible production, and most importantly, introduced a more emotive and relatable tone.
I was really excited to see where Foals would go next. With album number 3, would they make their OK Computer? The answer is no. I'm pretty disappointed with it. It sounds gorgeous, shiny, and expensive, but it's all window dressing for a bunch of generic tunes that sound like Coldplay meets Temper Trap's Sweet Disposition. It isn't a bad album; it just isn't particularly inspired.
Good choice for album of the week, btw.
I'm a little meh on this one as well.
Youth Lagoon is cool, and I'm hoping that the new album will be as good as his last one, but this song just isn't that interesting. I'm not detecting real growth in the songwriting; it kind of just sounds like he got a new synthesizer and is having fun with all of the squiggly samples.
This song sounds like leftover Hamburger Helper from 2006.
Justin is a really good singer, and Timbaland is an iconic producer, but they both sound complacent and out of touch here.
Disagree with me all you want, but I have a weird feeling that Justin Bieber will release something along the same lines as FutureSex/LoveSounds in a few years. He will grow hungry for artistic recognition, just like Timberlake once was.
JT's at a different place in his life now, and I think that he's just in it for the fun (...and because millions of people kept bugging him to make more music). He doesn't have anything to prove anymore.
Don't expect too much from the new album.
Do you guys remember when Pitchfork BNM'ed Avicii's Silhouettes? And hipsters went fucking bonkers, calling P4K sellouts for championing an EDM track?
That's the ballsiness that I was looking for in their Top 100 list this year. It's an excellent list, but Grimes at #1? Oblivion is a great song and deserves a spot in the Top 20, but Pitchfork seriously needs to get over their boners. Their obsession with her this year has been hysterical.
Oh, and Silhouettes is so good. So is How To Dress Well's & It Was U, which was weirdly omitted from the list.
Well done, Stereogum! Awesome list. I'm also a little bit surprised that Death Grips didn't make the cut, but hey - maybe you guys didn't like it that much.
Taylor Swift is annoying, but she totally delivered with her latest album. It might not cater to your specific tastes, but her target audience completely loved it.
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