How gan you do a Game of Thrones gif party without including this one:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/587f2ad99bab547070b88d744754ac90/tumblr_mm4j9mQtW81rfycljo1_400.gif
I don't know why 2013 has been a (half-)year of mostly let-downs for me so far. While none of my most anticipated releases turned out to be bad at all, none of them managed to really live up to my expectations. (I'm looking at you, Disclosure, Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) The first pleasent surprise of the year for me – Jai Paul's debut album – turned out to be a fake as well, even though even this fake album would still top my list at this point.
The biggest surprises for me this year so far were Baths, Laura Marling and Phosphorescent. Jenny Hval's second album was pretty amazing as well. But yeah... It's very hard to actually compile a list for me at this point because "good, but not as good as I'd hoped" makes for an unsatisfying list.
don't forget though that Farrah Abraham's album from last year, which is a masterpiece, was only possible because the monkey had a typewriter (and other musical equipment, I suppose).
...or sang the incredibly slut-shaming "Nasty Girl" or the submissive "Cater to U" or the horrible "Upgrade U", which is basically about hoa a woman is a perfect accessory for a man next to "purple label" neckties.That song actually contains the unbelievable line: "It's very seldom that ur blessed to find ur equal / Still play my part and let u take the lead role, believe me" Which basically says: I am happy to be your subordinate because you're a man. And now her tour is named the "Mrs. Carter Show World Tour"... I think you can say that Beyonce (or at least her writers and producers) are
anti-feminists... which is quite a shame.
Beyonce is an incredible musician... "B-Day" is such a great Album, musically... but when it comes to progressive stances on being a woman, you shouldn't turn to Beyonce.
See, but the quality of the music on Centipede Hz. was somewhat foreshadowed by the hideous album cover (well, no, it wasn't THAT bad) . What if this fate repeats itself here?
2012 was a great year for R'n'B and Rap. But we should not forget that for every Frank Ocean there is a Chris Brown. I see the R'n'B revival more as a response to all the Eurodance-infused trash-pop that is sold as R'n'B nowadays. And as great as Usher's Climax was, it hit so hard because it stood out so much from the rest of mainstream R'n'B rather than feeling like being a part of it.
This will get tons of downvotes, because it contains a link and most will identify it as the selfish self-promotion this probably is. (but then again, this is Stereogum, what if not self-promotion is this comments section even about?)
Anyway. On my tumblr, I started posting my 20 most-listened to albums of 2012. Had I decided on my favourite albums, the list would have looked a bit different and a bit more pretentious . Now it's only what I actually LISTENED to the most, which is probably really the best indicator for these kinds of things anyway...
So far the list has been:
20. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
19. Solange – True EP
18. Josephine Foster – Blood Rushing
17. Holly Herndon – Movement
16. Azealia Banks – 1991 EP
15. Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
14. Doe Paoro – Slow to Love
13. Beach House – Bloom
12. Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror
11. Julia Holter – Ekstasis
.
.
.
http://mycolouredkingdom.tumblr.com/
This list summarized in one word: meh.
Albeit a solid best of 2012 list, unlike their best songs of the year, there is hardly a single surprise on this list, which is a shame.
I also think that each album that got away with an "honorable mention" should actually have been on the main list. Especially Holly Herndon's "Movement", Lauren Halo's "Quarantine" and Matthew E. White's "Big Inner" were stellar.
Also,This guy:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcpjeditgc1qab1bgo1_500.gif
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