Eeveelution Posted January 11, 2018 Posted January 11, 2018 Wildheart grew on me on my second spin, yes Harem is that song. Rose was a cute girl, I love that album's title track. Melodrama and Masseduction are albums. You haven't listened to Strange Mercy? Honey you got a big storm coming. Poor Lana. I feel like the only one who placed LFL high on their list.
Pink Matter Posted January 12, 2018 Author Posted January 12, 2018 3 hours ago, Latinazza said: Your comments about the album by Tennis are so on point. I love that record to pieces Listening to Rose Elinor Dougall and LOVING it already. Glad you agree! And glad you checked out Rose's album! She's so underrated. 3 hours ago, rvx said: Melodrama A fantastic album 2 hours ago, Eeveelution said: Wildheart grew on me on my second spin, yes Harem is that song. Rose was a cute girl, I love that album's title track. Melodrama and Masseduction are albums. You haven't listened to Strange Mercy? Honey you got a big storm coming. Poor Lana. I feel like the only one who placed LFL high on their list. dd; but yeah it kept getting better with each listen for me too. And there are a whole bunch of artists whose discogs I haven't delved into yet Hoping I work on that this year. And Lana was just barely hanging on to my top 10 I think you'll like who replaced ha though
Pink Matter Posted January 12, 2018 Author Posted January 12, 2018 5 hours ago, Pink Matter said: Top 50 Best Albums of 2017 Albums 15-11 15) Miguel|War & Leisure Genre: Alt. R&B I was at Townhouse down in Venice Beach, oh no Stealing moments with you know who We won the war but not a day goes by That I don't think I shoulda been with you So I know I said in my OP that my deadline was from 1/1/17 to 11/30/17 so that I could spend time with the music that I already listened to and prepare for my countdown but I figured I'd highlight Miguel nonetheless because a) his album was only released one day later and b) who knows if I'll be listening to this album 11/12 months from now. Maybe I'd grow tired of it and exclude it from my 2018 countdown, or maybe he'd put out something that's even better than War & Leisure by this time next year? Who knows. All the more reason to give his latest effort the dues it deserves. If I'm being honest though, coming into this album, I had pretty low expectations and didn't think he was going to deliver another great album like he did with Kaleidoscope Dream or Wildheart. Skywalker and Shockandawe were just okay and with Told You So being a great jam, it made me uneasy in that there might only be a few good songs on the album. Hitting play on the sandy, guitar-laden Criminal erased many of the concerns I had about the album, and after listening to it in full, I was glad to be proven wrong. Keeping up with its last two predecessors, War & Leisure has hints and moments of psychedelia and funk all over from the intro, to Pineapple Skies, to Harem, to Caramelo Duro, among other songs on the album. Unfortunately, unlike its predecessors, War & Leisure doesn't aim to be as ambitious as either KD or WH and decides to scale it back, which still works out well because the album is still fun to listen to. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of Kendrick's DAMN. in that it's more scaled back from their previous works in the effort to be a bit more easy to listen to/mainstream leaning, but the end product is still wonderful. The production is still wonderful, his vocals are still wonderful, and his songwriting is still as sharp as ever. He has a way of singing about sex that's not totally overt (Wolf) and on this album in particular, he brings up topics about war, politics, and even impending nuclear fallout and destruction (Pineapple Skies, Told You So, City of Angels). War & Leisure indeed Miguel. Listen to: Pineapple Skies, Harem, Anointed 14) Rose Elinor Dougall|Stellular Genre: Indie Pop Try to see through a miasma of tearsYou lose yourself if someone tells you what you want to hear *cue another comment stating this album was old but managed to hold up well for me throughout 2017* I will say this though. This is easily one of the most underrated albums I've listened to in 2017. It's actually criminal how this flew under the radar. Catchy hooks, wonderful melodies, interesting production that sort of feels like folk mixed with elements of electronic music (folktronica. maybe? Don't quote me on that), new wave, a bit of funk here and there, that all combines to make one fresh pop album. There's a sense of longing and romanticism that is felt so much more because she sings with such conviction. And it's not because she's blowing or belting her heart out. It's just that she knows when to be wistful (Colour of Water), when she needs to be hopeful (Space To Be), when she needs to be coy (Closer), and when she needs to get down (All At Once), and I think that, the range of emotions that she expresses and I, in turn, feel, is what I love about this album the most. Listen to: Colour Of Water, Poison Ivy, Space To Be 13) Lorde|Melodrama Genre: Art Pop In your car, the radio up In your car, the radio up We keep trying to talk about us I'm someone you maybe might love I’ll be your quiet afternoon crush Be your violent overnight rush Make you crazy over my touch So for the longest time, I was an obsessive Melodrama hater. Ever since Green Light got released, I was left wondering why the hell is anything she's doing this era getting so much acclaim. I was one of those people who thought Pure Heroine, even though I don't love the album like that, was light years better than Melodrama. This album wasn't even scraping my HM's up until last October. Then one day... it clicked! I still don't get why or how it happened but I was raking leaves out from my parents front lawn and wanted to listen to something to pass the time. Next thing I know, I'm out in public bopping my ass to Green Light Long story short, everything just popped into place. The production at times is incredibly energizing and euphoric, and overall is very sophisticated even when the lyrics themselves make reference to the feelings she's dealt with due to breaking up with her ex-boyfriend. A coming-of-age album at its finest, Ella manages to express her feelings in such a way that's incredibly captivating and that it's almost years beyond what she should be able to accomplish. Her voice in my opinion is her most powerful tool on this album though. To many, it may seem overly hoarse and gravelly (in the best way possible) but I think that lends itself to adding power to the things she says. Writer In The Dark would not hold the same power that it currently has if not for the vocals she laid down, regardless of how sharp the songwriting is. And this power and conviction I feel in her voice on Writer In The Dark can be felt all over this album. In the end, I feel like this was a real Lemonade moment for her, in that she was able to take a painful moment that occurred in her life (as well as many other things she experienced over the past four years), turn it into something beautiful and cathartic, and as a result, was able to truly let go and move on with herself. I remember I posted in a thread on here I really wouldn't care if she disappeared for another five/ten years like she stated at some point last year; now I hope she doesn't take too long to put forth her next album! Listen to: The Louvre, Sober II (Melodrama), Supecut 12) St. Vincent|MASSEDUCTION Genre: Art Pop And sometimes I go to the edge of my roof And I think I'll jump just to punish youAnd if I should float on the taxis belowNo one would notice, no one will know *cue another comment stating this album is one of my first introductions into this artist in particular* This isn't exactly my first introduction to St. Vincent though. I had first listened to her s/t album back in 2014 and was very pleased with what I heard. I never ventured back to her previous work though (I'll make sure to get on that at some point in the future ). In regards to MASSEDUCTION, I'll say the same thing I said about LCD's and Beck's work: I believe it's important to take an album for what it is and not for what it isn't. I also believe it's important to see an album as its own individual entity. You'll enjoy more music that way. Getting into the nitty gritty though, Mass was one of the most eccentric and colorful albums I've had the pleasure of listening to in 2017. This album is all over the place, and that's what I like the most about this record. The album moves from something somber (Hang On Me), to something just plain silly (Pills), to a something sort of like regret (Happy Birthday, Johnny), to something sensual (Savior), to something just plain suicidal (Smoking Section). The production is electric and energizing at certain points, giving off this essence of mania, madness, and debauchery (Masseduction, Fear The Future) and slow, calm, and steady, allowing for Annie and the individuals listening to be more reflective (New York, Slow Disco). All in all, Annie covers a wide range of feelings, bares her heart out on this album, and takes the listener on one heck of a ride. Listen to: Pills, Fear The Future, Smoking Section 11) Lana Del Rey|Lust For Life Genre: Dream Pop, Art Pop Life rocked me like Mötley Grabbed me by the ribbons in my hair Life rocked me ultra-softly Like the heavy metal that you wear I was surprised to see the mixed reception for this one... and then I wasn't. Further proof of a deep generational chasm that divides ATRL into two camps; the twentysomething pop sophisticates with 15 to 20 years of top-shelf pop consumption to their name, and an unruly kid crew with Lorde avatars and tributes to Halsey in their signatures. It's not that the latter generation is a lost cause entirely, but they've clearly never heard a "Lana Del Rey" — that is, they've never encountered a voice quite as distinctive as Lana Del Rey's. "But I know Lana Del Rey! Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix) was the first single I bought!" First off, ask for a refund. And no, you don't know Lana Del Rey, you know a very stilted and subdued version of the iconic performer. The Lana Del Rey of "Lust For Life" is Lana as Lana is intended to sound. She very skillfully vacillates between a range of tones; she's nasally, then guttural, then grainy, then nasally again, then delicate. (And yes, that's how she's supposed to do it.) She's sultry. She's goofy. She's sounds slightly absurd. She's fully engaged. She's expressive in ways that "technically superior" vocalists just aren't. She is brilliant. You have no idea how brilliant she is.This is the probably purest attempt Lana has made to harness some of that ineffable charm that made her early work so irresistible. I adore it. Listen to: Lust For Life w/ The Weeknd, White Mustang, Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind - Reveal hidden contents Okay, so now that I got that out of the way, I can get down to business lmao (shoutouts to @Eeveelution for using this in ha countdown). It just... fits so perfectly Off topic, but it pains me to have to do this to Dalai, but another album grew on me so much that it leap-frogged its way into top 10, knocking Lust out Getting into my actual thoughts on this album, I do believe that certain parts of my previous post, does have some merit. I feel like this is the most engaged I've heard Lana sound in a long time. She just seems to be having a lot of fun doing things differently, things that she hasn't really done on her previous records. For one, the insertion of guest performances ranging from long time buddies The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky, to new collaborators in Sean Lennon Ono and Stevie Nicks allowed Lana to take on different styles of music that she's never really done before. From the urban-banger Summer Bummer to the folk-tinged Tomorrow Never Came, she's expressing herself in ways she's never done before. In addition, the use of these guest features worked wonders, in my opinion, because she was able to mesh her style well with the artists she was working with. Whether that's performing a sort of back and forth with Abel on the titular track, woozily swaying in the hypnotic production of Groupie Love with Rocky, or performing as Stevie's "little echo" on Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems, all things considered, it was quite charming! I also think the fact that she's singing from a more general, universal perspective allowed her to be able to cover topics that she's never discussed in her music before and that in itself shows growth that many people would never have believed she'd experience. Her singing about feminism and female empowerment on God Bless America..., being aware of the civil unrest occurring in America on When The World Was At War..., and even discussing the possibility of nuclear fallout on Change, is something that I never would've imagined she would do myself. Even with all that being said, Lana still manages to start and end this album in an incredibly hopeful manner. Hope for a brighter future for the people of the world, and hope for herself, that one day she may truly find happiness (or be able to hold onto whatever happiness she's been finally able to grasp). With everything I just said, this seems like the album could and would be a clunky mess. It is, but personally I don't really care. I do appreciate albums that are and strive to be cohesive but it's not really a necessity to me. What matters most is if the music is good. Are the songs good? In this case, mostly (Coachella and White Mustang are... songs, and I could sacrifice LFL for the sake of the quality of the album) but given the quality of the songs I did like, I'm more than satisfied with the final product. I have a lot more thoughts on this record but I think that pretty much covers everything I have to say. In short, Lana can't come to the phone right now. Why? Because she's... happy Listen to: Cherry, When The World Was At War..., Heroin, Get Sued Don't forget to check out the set if you haven't Spoiler @Kang. @DangerousSwiftie @theblackestday @ultraviolence.xx @Eeveelution @Same Ol' Mistakes @Pacaveli @Love Drought @Maddox @Tom Vercetti @Mark Rih @Unoriginal @Lucas32 @Vxspertine @jose168 @Zay @Wicked @Phoenixstar @MP2K @Kiss It Better @Lazuli @montrealxo @Reinvention @rvx @madonnas @TRF. @volition @Navyofbadgals @Playa Playa @TayRianaPH @Clueless
Eeveelution Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 ff I'm TIRED. Poor Miguel. Excited for the top 10. I'm not sure who will make it.
Playa Playa Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 You are knocking these OUT and they are all good More of a fan of the set before this one tho, American Dream & Big Fish Theory >>>
Pink Matter Posted January 12, 2018 Author Posted January 12, 2018 24 minutes ago, Eeveelution said: ff I'm TIRED. Poor Miguel. Excited for the top 10. I'm not sure who will make it. I think you'll know some of them. There are only 3 real surprises. Bet you can't guess my #1 though 23 minutes ago, Playa Playa said: You are knocking these OUT and they are all good More of a fan of the set before this one tho, American Dream & Big Fish Theory >>> Glad you like em I do feel like their positions are too low for their level of quality but as a whole I think everything worked out!
Lazuli Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 I LOVE the story you have about Melodrama Stan a bit! MESSEDUCTION Lust For Life, its writeup Personally I would flip the order of these 3 albums and everything would be good
Kiss It Better Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 Melodrama is too low Lust For Life her best album
MP2K Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 Good placements. The way I haven't legit listened to W&L in its entirety but I've been playing soem songs heavily. Lana hasn't GOT ME since West Coast.
Love Drought Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 6 hours ago, Pink Matter said: In a lot of ways, this reminds me of Kendrick's DAMN. in that it's more scaled back from their previous works in the effort to be a bit more easy to listen to/mainstream leaning, but the end product is still wonderful. Spot on ....... I love all these albums, especially War & Leisure, Melodrama and Lust For Life
Tom Vercetti Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 no top 10 for lana eh, poor dat. lfl had more than one thing holding it back. miguel/vincent/lorde
TRF. Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 Ahhhh I really liked Stellular but it kinda wore off me later in the year Love to see Lana, Lorde and St. Vincent though
Pink Matter Posted January 12, 2018 Author Posted January 12, 2018 11 hours ago, Wicked said: Big Fish Theory >>>> Wish it was a bit more consistent Would've been even higher without the duds there 9 hours ago, Lazuli said: I LOVE the story you have about Melodrama Stan a bit! MESSEDUCTION Lust For Life, its writeup Personally I would flip the order of these 3 albums and everything would be good It's honestly so ridiculous how that 180 happened Glad it happened though And Lana has to come out on top some how 9 hours ago, Kiss It Better said: Melodrama is too low Lust For Life her best album Maybe it is. But I didn't start to really appreciate until much recently. And UV's wig is still very much intact 7 hours ago, MP2K said: Good placements. The way I haven't legit listened to W&L in its entirety but I've been playing soem songs heavily. Lana hasn't GOT ME since West Coast. W&L is definitely made for both full listens and picking out individual tracks so I feel ya. I think Lana's next album will be another UV (since she's transitioning into a new head space) so hopefully that'll be more your speed. 6 hours ago, Love Drought said: Spot on ....... I love all these albums, especially War & Leisure, Melodrama and Lust For Life That didn't come to me until I actually started doing W&L's write up lol Glad you like the set! I think you'll like my top 10 even more 5 hours ago, Tom Vercetti said: no top 10 for lana eh, poor dat. lfl had more than one thing holding it back. miguel/vincent/lorde I forgot to say this in my write up but I think Lust is simply a transitional record. One reason I appreciate Lust is for what it represents for Lana's future in her music and in her life. I feel like she will (or at least should) be writing music from an entirely new perspective (i.e. happier perspective). So it makes me excited for what we'll get in the future. 4 hours ago, TRF. said: Ahhhh I really liked Stellular but it kinda wore off me later in the year Love to see Lana, Lorde and St. Vincent though Fair enough. The album was released back in January of last year lol And I agrih
Pink Matter Posted January 12, 2018 Author Posted January 12, 2018 Hey y'all. I'll be using today to do my write up for my entire top 10 so I'll finish my countdown tomorrow. Most likely around noon tomorrow, but I'm not sure on that yet. Stay tuned! If you haven't commented yet, please do so Spoiler @Kang. @DangerousSwiftie @theblackestday @ultraviolence.xx @Eeveelution @Same Ol' Mistakes @Pacaveli @Love Drought @Maddox @Tom Vercetti @Mark Rih @Unoriginal @Lucas32 @Vxspertine @jose168 @Zay @Wicked @Phoenixstar @MP2K @Kiss It Better @Lazuli @montrealxo @Reinvention @rvx @madonnas @TRF. @volition @Navyofbadgals @Playa Playa @TayRianaPH @Clueless
Lucas32 Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 Haven't heard #14 but love the rest Also happy to see Smoking Section getting some deserved acclaim. An overlooked track and in my Top 5 from the album.
Phoenixstar Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 Girl I haven't been using atrl for a while or checked in your thread but come on, stop with mentions. It's clogging up my notifications
Pink Matter Posted January 12, 2018 Author Posted January 12, 2018 4 hours ago, Lucas32 said: Haven't heard #14 but love the rest Also happy to see Smoking Section getting some deserved acclaim. An overlooked track and in my Top 5 from the album. I think you'd like it actually. lmk if you decide to check it out And yeah I used to see Smoking Section at the bottom of a bunch of people's lists when Mass came out That always confused me. 2 hours ago, Mark Rih said: Lana > Lorde? I... LOVE this bitchmetoothef*ck 58 minutes ago, Phoenixstar said: Girl I haven't been using atrl for a while or checked in your thread but come on, stop with mentions. It's clogging up my notifications nn my bad Unless people told me not too, I always @'d people who showed any interest in my threads. I only have one more update so there won't really be anymore notifications
Lucas32 Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 4 hours ago, Pink Matter said: I think you'd like it actually. lmk if you decide to check it out And yeah I used to see Smoking Section at the bottom of a bunch of people's lists when Mass came out That always confused me. nn my bad Unless people told me not too, I always @'d people who showed any interest in my threads. I only have one more update so there won't really be anymore notifications The song is quite dark and has a very specific mood and I guess that's not everyone's thing. And don't feel bad about doing promo at least that always reminds me to see the results
Pink Matter Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Lucas32 said: The song is quite dark and has a very specific mood and I guess that's not everyone's thing. And don't feel bad about doing promo at least that always reminds me to see the results I'm always in the mood for Smoking Section Glad I can't relate And thank you bb
Maddox Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 Quote 11) Lana Del Rey|Lust For Life 12) St. Vincent|MASSEDUCTION 13) Lorde|Melodrama 14) Rose Elinor Dougall|Stellular 15) Miguel|War & Leisure This back to back quality whew Perched for your top 10
montrealxo Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 Miguel, Lana, St. Vincent Lorde is too low, but stan. glad she made you a believer. it's the best written album of the year to me
Pink Matter Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 Top 50 Best Albums of 2017 Albums 10-1 10) SZA|Ctrl Genre: Alt. R&B Starting off my top 10 we have the lovely (or not so lovely depending on how you talk to) First Lady of TDE, SZA! Ctrl is an album that I've been anticipating for a long time. Ever since her S EP, she's been on my radar. Having been used to her "glitter trap", as she phrased it, sound from her past material, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard, as there is quite a stark difference between her debut album and past EPs. Though I do miss the glitter trap style, I do appreciate it when artists step outside of their comfort zones and do something different, though the sound is still easy on the ears. On her debut album, there are a lot of different elements at play (there's a lot of trap and hip-hop inspired beats being used as well as synth based styles of production, acoustic instrumentation, and pop leaning songs). The thing that stands out the most from her album in comparison to a lot of other albums that have been released, is her stream of consciousness style of songwriting. It's not really something that I've heard all that much so it gives Ctrl a sense of uniqueness to it. I love the use of the skits with her mom and grandmother that help to push the narrative of 'ctrl' and essentially taking control of your life and how you let others see you and how much you let other peoples thoughts affect you. It's a narrative that every person should learn to live by. Great easy listening that made for one of my most played albums of 2017. Listen to: Doves In The Wind (feat. Kendrick Lamar), Garden (Say It Like Dat), Pretty Little Birds (feat. Isaiah Rashad)
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