best of FINISHED | vilppu faves of 18

[Vxspertine]

5 hours ago, Vilppu said:

People say this is / Kylie M but when did she / have a song this great?

Falling Into Me snapped 

I'm so glad I gave that  Wednesday Campanella EP a listen it's so good  Bamboo Princess is amazing 

[Tom Vercetti]

IYKYK feels like a classic-in-the-making,

Rosebud is really good for a Kylie song.

I'm not into Behemoth anymore so i'm not aware of that track 

[Dom]

Okay, Okay.

If You Know, You Know is dat song. i shall say, I stan.

[Pink Matter]

You have venmo re: to those who want me / to play abel's mixtapes, how / much will you pay me

I kinda screamed oh wow at everything until I hit Behemoth. Those were classics, those were classics.gif

 

And Kiss Land gets so much disrespect  An album with a song like Love in the Sky and Wanderlust doesn't deserve that.

[Lazuli]

Not everything being written in haiku style  

fffff do NOT come for Kylie like that tho Rosebud really is a huge slay 

Falling Into Me  

[Mark Rih]

Idk 10-6 but I'm excited for the top 5

 

 

[Vilppu]

21 hours ago, Wicked said:

You didn't lie but there were gems then! Ciara sux tbh.

there for sure were! even tropical house and pop girls piano ballads can be non-awful if you look hard enough

 

21 hours ago, ChapelHooker said:

Level Up is a ****ing KNOCK, i stanned for it but lowkey forgot about it

 

I think A Moon Shaped Pool is excellent, but Suspirium lowkey ***** on it so... points

 

The Distance is such a good song, whew. she truly snapped with that one

 

Rosebud and Falling Into Me are each in the top 3 of their records, points were made

idc for AMSP as a whole and the two songs i rly liked (witch, true love waits) were both written ages ago so odds were not in thom's favour for me

 

21 hours ago, Eeveelution said:

I want to drag but it's what she deserves after golden.

 

Falling and Bamboo Princess. ❤️ Classics. Pusha's song is good too.

 

Behemoth... i didn't know that she sang.

aphro highs are like almost as good as this song but it's been 8 yrs since and in pop music 8 yrs is an eternity

 

19 hours ago, Kang. said:

IYKYK was definitely the rap song of the year or at least close. I forgot them both on my own list unless I kick something else off but Lotus and Catch it are both cool. Sicko Mode, well that was a classic. Barbie Tingz was the best thing Nicki did this year as well. No Angel 

 

U reaalllllyy need to listen to House of Balloons also

i feel like most ppl prefer chun li but us barbie tingz supremacists shall not be silenced

 

19 hours ago, theblackestday said:

we love minimalism. is there a reason random slashes were shoved in every sentence of yours

 

I'm only unfamiliar with Bartzabel (you're really a metalhead huh), but I've just listened to it so I can now say that I stan every song this set

 



 

as others have said, House of Balloons is an R&B decade essential and the best mixtape of all time so x

i WAS a metalhead in middle school, this throwback...

 

19 hours ago, madonnas said:

Zombie Chang and KOTO deserved over Wednesday, love them tho. 

maybe next year

 

18 hours ago, World Eater said:

Chyba ukradnę pomysł z haiku na przyszły rok



 

Ile tu talentu tak w ogóle  Caution mi się spodobało do tego stopnia, że prędzej czy później sprawdzę całą dyskografię Mariah. No Angel i praktycznie cały dzisiejszy update, whew 

pluję sobie w brodę, że wcześniej na to nie wpadłem, bo to zmienia lenistwo w artistic choice  myślę, że po dyskografię moo warto sięgnąć, nie wszystkie albumy są dobre, ale każdy ma przynajmniej jedną czy dwie bardzo fajne piosenki

 

16 hours ago, Maddox said:

No Angel, Rosebud, Level Up, The Distance, FIM  Amazing set!

thanks ^-^

 

16 hours ago, Vxspertine said:

Falling Into Me snapped 

I'm so glad I gave that  Wednesday Campanella EP a listen it's so good  Bamboo Princess is amazing 

glad you enjoyed it! the album wednesday released last year was also pretty good if you're interested ^-^
 

16 hours ago, Tom Vercetti said:

IYKYK feels like a classic-in-the-making,

Rosebud is really good for a Kylie song.

I'm not into Behemoth anymore so i'm not aware of that track 

behemoth definitely fell off but imo their last two records retrieve some of what made them great in the first place
 

14 hours ago, Dom said:

Okay, Okay.

If You Know, You Know is dat song. i shall say, I stan.

you know!
 

12 hours ago, Pink Matter said:

You have venmo re: to those who want me / to play abel's mixtapes, how / much will you pay me

I kinda screamed oh wow at everything until I hit Behemoth. Those were classics, those were classics.gif

 

And Kiss Land gets so much disrespect  An album with a song like Love in the Sky and Wanderlust doesn't deserve that.

wanderlust is fine i suppose. the only other song i remember is live for which is trash and i have no idea how anything else sounds but ik i didn't like it n
 

3 hours ago, Lazuli said:

Not everything being written in haiku style  

fffff do NOT come for Kylie like that tho Rosebud really is a huge slay 

Falling Into Me  

i may have overdone it with the replies but i had too much fun  

LOVE kylie, i rly do, but nothing she's done after aphro did anything for me ?


 

29 minutes ago, Mark Rih said:

Idk 10-6 but I'm excited for the top 5

 



 

it's coming !

so i listened to house of balloons

[Vilppu]

 

SONGS 5-1

 

Quote

5. Anderson .Paak – Bubblin // I think we can all agree that „Oxnard” was at least to some degree a disappointment. It may not be stylistically that far off „Malibu” but it completely lacks the gentle touch that made Anderson’s previous work so wonderful. Thankfully, the artist still found a way to do his talent justice with the standalone single „Bubblin”. After Bradley Cooper’s „Shallow”, it just might be the second most accurate songtitle of the year as this song really is bubbling – it’s bright, colourful, uptempo and cheerful, and at points it almost feels like it’s about to explode. It’s a pretty big departure from what made his earlier work so well both musically and lyrically – in its own, .Paak’d way you could almost maybe even make a point it’s his own braggadocios track – but the heavy drums and bass put in the front in the mix along with Anderson’s self-assured, engaging performance kick ass arguably even harder. As we all know, this more straight in your face and maybe even slightly aggressive approach did not stick with him for a long as really nothing off his recent record is anywhere close to it but I hope this doesn’t mark the last time he’s doing a track like this. It’s exactly what he needs to keep his core sound interesting and highlight his strengths in a different, yet equally captivating manner.

4. Beach House – Lemon Glow // All Beach House songs sound the same – therefore they all sound amazing. I’m repeating myself but Beach House is an excellent example of how similarity in music is by no means a bad thing and an artist who takes their time expanding on and polishing their defined style can be incomparably more worthwhile than someone who tries on a different genre each album but the results are all over the place. On „7” the duo became a bit more adventurous than per usual showcasing some new (for them) quirks but nothing else grabbed me quite as effectively as „Lemon Glow”. To be fair, I never expected them to outdo the melodically stunning „Zebra” and the heavier, unexpected „Sparks” but I was absolutely gagged at how this track effortlessly did just that. There’s honestly only really one element that works super well about it – the damn synth looped all throughout the track, sometimes played at a higher volume, sometimes shoved more to background – but hell, does it work well. It creates a peculiar hypnotic atmosphere that completely sucked me in and brainwashed me, in a positive way however, as I could absolutely play it for hours on repeat and never get enough. What’s more, the synth elevates everything else about the song to a higher level. What would musically be one of Beach House’s more compelling and advanced numbers either way (the guitar!) is tightly tied up with the synth and honestly only then does it become apparent how masterful the entire thing is, as each layer compliments every other and each is given just enough space to fully shine on its own. ****ing gorgeous.

3. Julia Holter – Words I Heard // If I were to go solely by what my brain tells me, „Aviary” would probably be my album of the year – it’s one of the most ambitious, straight up beautiful records I’ve heard all year where Julia challenges herself as an artist in a truly admirable way. However, there’s also heart and, well, attention span and God help me, she evidently challenged me as well as so far I’ve only once managed to get through the entire thing in one sitting. It’s just… entirely too much. That’s not to say, however, that individual songs did not creep on me, as evidenced by „Words I Heard”. Would it be a pretty confident statement but I think of all songs Holter’s ever done, this is the one that’s stunned me the most. It’s not her most musically adventurous track – hell, it’s not even the most musically adventurous „Aviary” single – and she’s probably done better in terms of lyrics and vocal, but there’s nothing that quite matches „Words I Heard”’s elusive atmosphere. As a sucker for strings, this is obviously pure heaven to me, but they’re all constantly very cleverly used to either highlight Julia’s vocal performance or compliment the subtler piano playing alongside. All the elements are breath-taking on their own but it’s only this exact specific combination of them that makes each truly unravel and blossom to their full potential. It’s a gorgeous soundscape that plays up to all of what I truly love and respect about this type of music and simultaneously, it actually makes for a listen way easier than most other things on the album, the almost 7 minutes pass in a blink of an eye.

2. Mitski – Geyser // „You’re my number one”, sings Mitski right at the beginning of „Geyser” which may just be the only important thing I have to say about it (until the song I initially put at #2 creeped on me enough to confidently switch the top 2 around at least). Over the course of the few countdowns I’ve done here, I’ve always kept mentioning how evolution is key to win me over so „Geyser”, a song which doesn’t remain the same for even two consecutive seconds, is pretty much tailored for me. From the monumental, cold, organs-driven intro it erupts into something way more emotive, passionate and warm. Every instrument, every guitar riff, every percussion bang has a clear purpose. Whereas they could make for a great song on their own, on top of that, they also keep the track constantly going forward. There’s no conventional structure here, it just constantly lunches forward growing bigger and bigger until the explosive final, subtracting and adding just the right touches to never lose any of its flow. It’s an absolute monster from a songwriting point of view – especially given it’s been squeezed into such a short time frame – and it’s not just something barely any one could pull off – I’m sure others would try if they possessed the skill – it’s a composition so breath-taking that I don’t think it would be stretch to say it provides more emotional and melodic value than certain full albums, discographies even. I’m not going to argue with people who think that in general, ideas presented on „Be the Cowboy” are half-baked, but no matter how hard I try, I can hardly recall anything more fully fleshed-out than this track released this year. Or, looking below, maybe I can…

1. Moses Sumney – Rank & File // While last year’s „Aromanticism” wasn’t an album that particularly grabbed me, it portrayed Moses as a delicate, vulnerable artist with tons of respect towards art as a form and even more potential to deliver a truly outstanding piece. What he truly needed to get my, at least, attention was to set free of the quite limiting R&B ballad format, he had everything else. On „Rank & File” he does just that and evidently he skyrockets. It’s one of the most socially engaged tracks of the year being a police-centred protest song and does what all protest songs should – even without understanding the lyrical content, it feels absolutely monumental, powerful and important. In just under 4 minutes Moses switches between exciting, thrilling, urgent and unsettling, each of them accented by a different song part, whether it be the verse which doesn’t fully prepare for how explosive the whole track is, the brilliantly executed, chanting call-and-response part which even more brilliantly evolves into a powerful falsetto in its second repetition, the chorus which may be the most eventful one sentence chorus I’ve ever heard or the bridge happening after a brief slowdown almost mirroring an injured soldier pushing to keep fighting. There’s a really frantic background based primarily on fingers’ snapping pushing all the tracks’ sections forward, tying them together and multiplying all the emotions the composition encloses. Allegedly, Moses was inspired to write this after attending his first political demonstration and it really shows. The thrill of feeling you’re doing something important with an underlying sense of uneasiness is, in addition to everything else mentioned above, captured perfectly. It might seem like a whole damn lot for a track that’s not as instrumentally varied and rich as many other which try to make a statement but that’s exactly where its success lies. It’s supposed to make you feel and think, and its apparent simplicity only serves to strengthen that. If his next full length project shares this song’s characteristics then, ladies and gentlemen, we may very well be looking at the album of the decade.

with this lovely accent, my best of 2018 thread is done

i would like to wish everyone happy christmas/new year and a good 2019

i think we all deserve it + and i'm v thankful for everyone sticking

with me and my, in the grand scheme of things, irrelevant opinions,

hope to interact with you more next year!

Edited December 24, 2018 by Vilppu

[Lazuli]

Oh wow your writeup for Lemon Glow is a slay  

Geyser  

Oh I didn't know Moses Sumney had a standalone song this year. Aromanticism was cute tho! 

[Blue Rose]

WoW you’re the first person who wasn’t underwhelmed by Bubblin  

Beach House  

 

[FameMonsters]

geyser is... the mother i never had. she is the sister everybody would want. she is the friend that everybody deserves. i don't know a better song.

[Tom Vercetti]

Wasn't expecting that #1 but it's a great song. Every song in the top 5 is a highlight from those retrospective artists  

 

Agreed on the Bubblin writeup too. 

 

Quote

After Bradley Cooper’s „Shallow”, it just might be the second most accurate songtitle of the year 

 

[Tsareena]

geyser and words I heard

[Pink Matter]

A very interesting top 5! Geyser and Lemon Glow are great highlights and Bubblin' certainly does stomp on a lot (but not all!) of Oxnard. Don't really remember Julia's album that much so no comment on Words I Heard. Rank & File is an interesting #1 but I enjoy it too. R&F gives me a sort of an early 20th century call and response gospel track w/out the gospel aspect teas and I agree the franticness and erraticness of the song makes it all the better. Great songs and list and a great countdown as a whole! This was great to follow along with + your write ups were nice to read  

[theblackestday]

these essays after the haiku-style writeups are sending me

 

Quote

After Bradley Cooper’s „Shallow”, it just might be the second most accurate songtitle of the year

I gasped. but yeah it seems like the general consensus is that Bubblin > all of Oxnard and that's kinda the tea

 

this is a flawless top 5, I knew you would come through. the praise for all these classics

 

 

you also got the right song choice from each of those artists, which is hard to get, not everybody has that

the best Best Of of the year? maybe so

merry xmas

Edited December 24, 2018 by theblackestday

[Eeveelution]

Bubblin... great gowns

Lemon GOD  

Words I heard... y'all hear sumn? Jk it's good x

Geyser is not my fav on Cowboy but it's great + the best single, no matter what the Little Nobodies say.

Inch resting #1  It's a great song tho I ain't mad.

 

Great countdown as expected xoxo

[Vxspertine]

7 hours ago, Vilppu said:

After Bradley Cooper’s „Shallow”, it just might be the second most accurate songtitle of the year as this song really is bubbling

Words I Heard is most definitely my favorite song from Aviary aswell. Definitely agree about it being a very taxing listen.

Geyser 

Surprised to see Moses at #1 but can't say I disagree with what you said about it, that song is excellent 

7 hours ago, Vilppu said:

glad you enjoyed it! the album wednesday released last year was also pretty good if you're interested ^-^

It's been on my wishlist for a while will definitely try it out some time

 

Loved your countdown and read pretty much everything, can't wait for next year  

Edited December 24, 2018 by Vxspertine

[xrosup]

Great countdown. I've discovered many songs because of it  

[Kingie]

Oopsie Doopsie I missed quite a bit.

 

H&Ms: Tongue is amazing, shame the rest of the album was not up to par at all. Barbie Tingz has grown on me like a rash. X was one of the songs I liked the least on Poppy's album, I think some of the other songs on the album do the metal/pop transition in a much smoother way but I also get that she was deliberately going for an abrupt thing. Sticky has a gorgeous music video, this is the first time I've heard it not really my cup of tea musically though. I hated Bloom for so long too, it's so corny and the comparisons to the (extremely overrated) Teenage Dream did it no favours in my eyes, but it really an incredibly sweet song when I put my f*g hating aside. 

 

20-16: Quiz is AMAZING. Love that she finally picked out a great beat. 

 

15-11: Love The Distance. Def agree re: its fusion of old&new without trend-hopping. Glad you're like...the only person I've seen who preferred No Angel to Focus, it's a lot more fun and Focus is kinda dull to me, lacks any sort of engaging melody. I thought Level Up was cute but it didn't get me to renew my stan card that I threw away at some point after Jackie. Idk if it's just from it being so overplayed over here that it's lost its shine but it always kinda amuses me when I see any non-UK song that incorporates Garage receive acclaim when there's seemingly not much that different about it from the **** they spam on the radio here (see: 4 Walls, the worldwide reception to Disclosure's stuff, even just No Tears Left to Cry from this year alone). Also shocked & hurt at you not seeing the power of her past material!!

 

10-6: didn't know anything from this update! Checked out Rosebud and it's not my scene, a little too dull for my tastes but I guess I can see the Kylie comparison as a Fever via easy listening sorta gig. Falling into Me was a lot better though idk how much I'll replay it with its general incoherentness. 

 

And finally, I like Geyser even though Nobody kinda outshined everything on that album for me by miles because I'm basic x

 

Overall lovely list! Your opinions are very interesting to read, you know how to make your point without rambling on (unlike this long ass post ) and your taste is a nice mix of genres and scenes. Also give me some Prince recs at some point hihi. 

[volition]

omfg i love all these songs so much and the write-ups slay. your #1 is a bold and unique choice, i love it. the others are undeniably some of the very best songs of the year. complete pure excellence in song form (words i heard i guess would be my ultimate favourite. beyond stunning)

[Bubble Tea]

Gaga shade? 

 

[World Eater]

Ten niespodziewany drag Shallow  Szczerze to dosłownie wszystko, co .Paak wydał w tym roku nie wzbudziło we mnie żadnych emocji. Reszta top 5 za to cudowna  Osobiście częściej słucham Rank & File w suicie z pozostałymi dwoma trackami z epki, ale samo działa równie dobrze. Tak w ogóle, to kocham, że na żywo on robi ten track właściwie od nowa, od podstaw, bawiąc się loopami, ahh my f*cking talented fave

[Maddox]

Loving ur top 5; Bubblin, Lemon Glow and Mitski  

 

Also great pick for a n1!! It's a good song tho don't remember much about Aromanticism aside from Doomed/Plastic. But like you said he does seem to show some great potential.

 

I really enjoyed reading your write-ups  looking forward to next year!!

[Vilppu]

everyone being surprised with the #1... flashback to 2016 when my SOTY was Sigur Rós's Óveður which appeared on a whole one other list (Tom's i think? he had the tea)

 

last time i'm posting here and also a shameless plug for anyone interested, i posted kpop HMs here and will post top 20 worst / best songs tomorrow and the day after respectively ^-^ hope everyone had nice holidays

 

On 12/24/2018 at 2:20 PM, Lazuli said:

Oh wow your writeup for Lemon Glow is a slay  

Geyser  

Oh I didn't know Moses Sumney had a standalone song this year. Aromanticism was cute tho! 

thank you ❤️ and he did a 3-track EP, it's worth a listen just for this song

 

On 12/24/2018 at 2:32 PM, Superpower said:

WoW you’re the first person who wasn’t underwhelmed by Bubblin  

Beach House  

 

wait i thought it was pretty universally liked?  

 

On 12/24/2018 at 6:02 PM, FameMonsters said:

geyser is... the mother i never had. she is the sister everybody would want. she is the friend that everybody deserves. i don't know a better song.

i think we both know one (1) better song

 

On 12/24/2018 at 6:17 PM, Tom Vercetti said:

Wasn't expecting that #1 but it's a great song. Every song in the top 5 is a highlight from those retrospective artists  

 

Agreed on the Bubblin writeup too. 

 

 

 

On 12/24/2018 at 6:30 PM, Tsareena said:

geyser and words I heard

those songs had the tea

 

On 12/24/2018 at 7:04 PM, Pink Matter said:

A very interesting top 5! Geyser and Lemon Glow are great highlights and Bubblin' certainly does stomp on a lot (but not all!) of Oxnard. Don't really remember Julia's album that much so no comment on Words I Heard. Rank & File is an interesting #1 but I enjoy it too. R&F gives me a sort of an early 20th century call and response gospel track w/out the gospel aspect teas and I agree the franticness and erraticness of the song makes it all the better. Great songs and list and a great countdown as a whole! This was great to follow along with + your write ups were nice to read  

glad to hear someone enjoyed my bs ^-^

 

On 12/24/2018 at 7:08 PM, theblackestday said:

these essays after the haiku-style writeups are sending me

 

I gasped. but yeah it seems like the general consensus is that Bubblin > all of Oxnard and that's kinda the tea

 

this is a flawless top 5, I knew you would come through. the praise for all these classics

 



 

you also got the right song choice from each of those artists, which is hard to get, not everybody has that

the best Best Of of the year? maybe so

merry xmas

what can i say i don't like being predictable

 

it can be 2nd best after yours ^-^ am kinda the missing link between indieheaux and pop gays huh

 

On 12/24/2018 at 7:19 PM, Eeveelution said:

Bubblin... great gowns

Lemon GOD  

Words I heard... y'all hear sumn? Jk it's good x

Geyser is not my fav on Cowboy but it's great + the best single, no matter what the Little Nobodies say.

Inch resting #1  It's a great song tho I ain't mad.

 

Great countdown as expected xoxo

nobodies nation is valid... dancershive are the real losers

 

thank you ❤️

 

On 12/24/2018 at 9:22 PM, Vxspertine said:

Words I Heard is most definitely my favorite song from Aviary aswell. Definitely agree about it being a very taxing listen.

Geyser 

Surprised to see Moses at #1 but can't say I disagree with what you said about it, that song is excellent 

It's been on my wishlist for a while will definitely try it out some time

 

Loved your countdown and read pretty much everything, can't wait for next year  

a huge chunk of what i wrote was v dumb so good chance the parts you didn't read said nothing of worth x

 

On 12/24/2018 at 9:25 PM, maurixrosup said:

Great countdown. I've discovered many songs because of it  

am glad!

 

On 12/25/2018 at 2:12 AM, Kingie said:

Overall lovely list! Your opinions are very interesting to read, you know how to make your point without rambling on (unlike this long ass post ) and your taste is a nice mix of genres and scenes. Also give me some Prince recs at some point hihi. 

thank you, it means a lot ❤️ and i enjoyed what you had to say too dw. i'll try and make a prince playlist a few days sohyeanticipateit.png

 

also re: us girls the kylie comparison was vocal mostly, it's not as evident in rosebud but in some other songs on her album she sounds exactly like kylie. i'd recommend the entire thing too, there's some things faster and harder than this one

 

On 12/25/2018 at 7:18 AM, volition said:

omfg i love all these songs so much and the write-ups slay. your #1 is a bold and unique choice, i love it. the others are undeniably some of the very best songs of the year. complete pure excellence in song form (words i heard i guess would be my ultimate favourite. beyond stunning)

words i heard is def the most impressive objectively from my entire list really, gorg stuff

 

On 12/25/2018 at 7:44 AM, Reinvention said:

Gaga shade? 

 

twas for the kicks and clout and it worked

 

23 hours ago, World Eater said:

Ten niespodziewany drag Shallow  Szczerze to dosłownie wszystko, co .Paak wydał w tym roku nie wzbudziło we mnie żadnych emocji. Reszta top 5 za to cudowna  Osobiście częściej słucham Rank & File w suicie z pozostałymi dwoma trackami z epki, ale samo działa równie dobrze. Tak w ogóle, to kocham, że na żywo on robi ten track właściwie od nowa, od podstaw, bawiąc się loopami, ahh my f*cking talented fave

oglądałem filmiki na żywo parę dni temu omg tylko umocniło jego #1 pozycję... trochę zbyt powerful jak dla mnie

 

6 hours ago, Maddox said:

Loving ur top 5; Bubblin, Lemon Glow and Mitski  

 

Also great pick for a n1!! It's a good song tho don't remember much about Aromanticism aside from Doomed/Plastic. But like you said he does seem to show some great potential.

 

I really enjoyed reading your write-ups  looking forward to next year!!

yeah i'll have to come back to the album at some point

 

thank you ❤️

 

[madonnas]

Woah I was not expecting this.

I haven't heard the #1 song, will listen to it probably sometime. 

 

Love dragging BH for making the same song over and over though I can't say I think they're all equally amazing.  However, Lemon Glow is truly one of their best.