I'm with you on the Weather Station album. Whenever I put it on, I'm like "this is easily a top 10 album" and then by the second half, I'm not as invested. Though I will say that the closer, "Subdivisions," is one of the best on the album.
Yes, you've described a lot of things I felt as well. I listened to the Kacey Musgraves album a ton the week it came out, and then haven't touched it since then. It's fine, but not amazing. I also thought I liked the St. Vincent album, but it actually left me pretty cold. Where I differ from you is I adore the Low album.
I weirdly didn't love a lot of albums this year -- at least, not to the same degree as last year. Not sure if it's because the time I had for music listening this year was a lot more limited and a lot less immersive, so I didn't have time to fall in love with albums. That could be part of it, but I just think the quality of this year's albums wasn't quite at the same level as 2020.
Anyway, this is by no means final, but these are the 10 albums I liked the most. The two albums with the biggest chance of jumping into the top 10 after some more spins are Snail Mail and the Weather Station.
01. Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee
02. The War on Drugs: I Don't Live Here Anymore
03. Low: Hey What
04. Lucy Dacus: Home Video
05. Ryley Walker: Course in Fable
06. Tyler, the Creator: Call Me If You Get Lost
07. CZARFACE & MF DOOM: Super What?
08. The Antlers: Green to Gold
09. Deafheaven: Infinite Granite
10. The Killers: Pressure Machine
Biggest surprise: The CZARFACE/MF DOOM album is probably no better or worse than the average MF DOOM project, but for some reason it just really clicked with me. It's a really fun, breezy listen.
Love the shoutout to Rhapsody, Scott. Every CD I burned between 2002 and 2007 was comprised of songs I downloaded from Rhapsody. It's a big part of my life.
I still know the tracklist for the first CD I ever burned. I wrote "KROQ Hits" in Sharpie on the front.
1. Sum 41: "Still Waiting"
2. Queens of the Stone Age: "No One Knows"
3. Linkin Park: "In the End"
4. Sugar Ray: "Every Morning"
5. blink-182: "What's My Age Again"
6. Eminem: "Lose Yourself"
7. Green Day: "Basket Case"
8. Smash Mouth: "Walkin' On the Sun"
9. Everclear: "Father of Mine"
10. Puddle of Mudd: "Blurry"
11. The Strokes: "Last Nite"
12. Green Day: "Longview"
13. 3 Doors Down: "Kryptonite"
14. Green Day: "Brain Stew"
15. P.O.D.: "Youth of the Nation"
My parents moved out of Pasadena earlier this year (and moved out of SoCal completely), so I've been lamenting the fact that I won't find reasons to go back to Pasadena. Maybe I just found a reason.
A really good album that also pointed toward their slide to MOR mediocrity.
I actually put "Lonely Boy" as the #1 song of 2011 on my year-end list at the time. When I put together a "200 best songs of the decade" list, it didn't even make the cut. I do still like it, but I was tripping.
Seriously. Just went to her discography again and was like "Oh yeah, I liked that album. I liked that album. Oh yeah, forgot about that EP, I liked that too."
This isn’t a music opinion, but I played “Kick Push” by Lupe Fiasco at a family gathering once, prompting my dad to ask who it was. About an hour later, he asks me, “Hey, play that Felipe Disaster again!”
Here I am, just having enjoyed Moses Sumney play “cut me” in the Golden Gate Park fog, check the old gum, feel pleasant surprise to get the EIC, and then I see this attack! Lots of emotions.
Lots of overlap with mine here. I agree with Don’t You Evah, Inside Out, Do You, Finer Feelings, and The Mystery Zone. Would probably fill it out with Hot Thoughts, Black Like Me, You Got Yr Cherry Bomb, and..... I can’t decide on the last two. Too many.
Spoon sounds like they were designed in a lab for my brain. It's exactly what I would want my music to sound like if I were fortunate/talented enough to make music.
Yeah I saw them on the Hot Thoughts tour as well, and that was the show that convinced me that they're the greatest current working band, full-stop. "I Ain't the One" was a big reason why.
That is indeed the case. It was about avoiding the leak, not avoiding the singles. Though I like how it's morphed over time, but never forget, singles are Howse-approved.
This shreds. How effortlessly cool are these guys?
I'm getting a Spoon single, a War on Drugs album, and I'm seeing the Strokes and Vampire Weekend, all within a 3-day period. I'm in my own personal music heaven.
Going to Outside Lands next week and I'm stoked. Finally get to see the Strokes for the first time, with my second-ever helping of Vampy Weeks. Seeing the Strokes means I have to sacrifice seeing both Tyler, the Creator and Kaytranada at the same time, which is a gigantic bummer. Oh well.
I have two conflicts that I'm unsure about it. Sharon Van Etten on the main stage or Moses Sumney on a slightly smaller stage in the late afternoon? Love both of them, but I feel like Van Etten won’t translate as well in the afternoon on the main stage, so I'm leaning Sumney. Sucks that I have to decide though The second, lower-stakes one is Khruangbin (main stage) or Flo Milli (smallest stage) in the early evening? Khruangbin could be nice as the sun starts to set, but Flo Milli on a small stage could be fun, and I have to miss a lot of rap acts at this fest because of other conflicts. Anyone have an opinion there?
I'm not feeling the album at all as I'm listening, and I love most things they do (including The Waterfall II from last year). Maybe I'm not in the right headspace? For lack of a better word, it's not quite as "dreamy" as I want it to be.
Comments