Ewan Chaos Posted December 23, 2020 Author Posted December 23, 2020 #1 Alright! Gonna finish my write-ups and post the top 5!
Ewan Chaos Posted December 23, 2020 Author Posted December 23, 2020 I'll be posting the full ranked 229 chart probably later this week for everyone and then most likely come back either the end of the year or in 2020 to talk about missed songs, albums, and EPs. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! "Sometimes I feel okay, some days I'm so frightened..." 5.) Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now (Bubblegum Bass/Electropop) Picture: Lukas Graham, his terrible, TERRIBLE hit song 7 Years, this album has a song called 7 Years. Let me also start this by saying I really, REALLY love 7 Years even though people seem to hate it and - yes - it's not the most ~experimental~ song or anything. I love the chorus, I love the lyrics, I love the vocal breakdown at the end. Oh yeah. I prefer Anthems a bit because it SLAPS though. I'd also like to highlight C2.0 because I am tired of the hate! It made the original Click not only better, but it much easier fits the theme of the album "quarantine is making me think about the good times with my friends and how I miss them so much." I do find songs like Detonate & Enemy a little boring, but they're still good. More about the album as a whole, I love seeing people say stuff like "HIFN" is Charli's Yeezus, because that is my favorite of his albums. And I can see the comparisons too: Pink Diamond is a roaring and loud opener like On Sight (ON SIGHT), the singles both have higher energy but also fit their respective albums' themes early on in the tracklisting, other people seem to think one other specific album is a masterpiece instead of this (MBDTF/Pop 2). I've also always been a bit of a slut for Charli, even if her self-titled contained some missteps (as did Sucker and the Angel mixtape), but I truly am excited whenever she releases new music. This is definitely the best "lockdown/quarantine-created" piece of content for SURE. Listen to: Anthems, 7 Years, Claws, Visions, C2.0 "Baby, keep on dancing like you ain't got a choice..." 4.) Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Dance-Pop/Nu-Disco) Picture: Lily Allen and her vibrator, the Lily comparisons to Good in Bed which has a sex theme. Dua Lipa. I generally follow a pretty standard line as the rest of y'all: I really liked New Rules and liked IDGAF but she was a bit meh outside of that. One Kiss and Electricity were fun Dua-assisted songs, but she's not one of those people I'm gonna actively check up on, you know? October 2019 rolls around and we're treated with a little teaser of new Dua Lipa, which gets me all :eyesemoji:, as a MASSIVE fan of disco and funky music. The song comes out, ****ing IMMEDIATE banger and I'm in love. A month later, we get the title track. Swooning over that too. But you never know about full albums... gotta hold your breath and wait right? 2020 arrives and Physical is released. I'm shaking. Even as a bigger disco/funk fan than like "dark pop" or whatever LOL I heard this and was SHAKING. I off-hand played it around my boyfriend and he loved it and it kinda became our song too Dua leapt ahead in interest and the payoff was so worth it when the album came out. Another one that I'll always associate with the early days of the pandemic (I have one specific memory of playing this album and playing beer pong with my roommates). It is a shame that the last two songs are... what they are (I could live with Boys Will Be Boys but UGH I really do not like Good in Bed), but they really aren't THAT much of detractors when the rest of the album is 10/10. I'm really proud of her and I'm happy she's been keeping at the era even during stupid COVID times. Thank you for bringing back disco bops to the mainstream, queen. All hail. Listen to: Phyiscal, Pretty Please, Levitating, Love Again, Don't Start Now "Evil is a relay sport, when the one who's burned turns to pass the torch..." 3.) Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Art Pop/Singer-Songwriter) Picture: Karl Marx, Fiona's drummer looks kinda like him after a meme I saw. Fiona Applebottom Jeans is interesting to me because I've always incrementally liked her albums with each new release, but before 2013 I only heard her albums in ATRL rates (Extraordinary Machine and then The Idler Wheel). I loved and still love The Idler Wheel, but idk... I wasn't like a HUGE stan who was sitting and waiting for some new Fiona music. But, it was April, so we were all sitting around waiting for SOMETHING. I was VERY happy that Fiona didn't end up waiting until October to release FtBC like her label seemed to want because I had TIME to listen to an album like this back then. What an album, too. Even though Shameika was the first song that STUCK to me (everyone say "thank you Shameika" for encouraging Fiona), Relay had to take the top spot because the lyrics are so good. How did she write that refrain when she was 15-years-old? What the ****? Initially I had a song like Ladies ranked a bit lower, but I don't understand how people can't like this song when it's 100% lyrically the centerpiece of the album of "**** men." Misogynists! For Her FLOORED me the first time I heard it, obviously because of that line but also the multiple changes within the song in less than 3-minutes. I also wanna give props to that opening song. It's sooooo beautiful. Makes me want Marina to take back to the piano and make songs like that (not that she could make a song like this nnn). Listen to: Relay, Shameika, Ladies, For Her, I Want You To Love Me "I feel my story's still untold... but I'll make my own happy ending..." 2.) Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine (Nu-Disco/Deep House) Picture: A blue ruby, Ruby Blue is a Roisin album. Roisin has been my queen since the Moloko days (specifically the 2000 album Things to Make and Do). The best way I can describe this album for someone who's been following this queen for a while, the last decade especially, is that it's so COOL! I mean, she was able to place 8-year-old Simulation on here and with the right changes it not only fits flawlessly into the mix, but also sounds fresh again. I do understand that the girlies who prefer bops that someone like Dua provides wouldn't appreciate the sophistication of a nu-disco record like this, but it's a shame because they're truly missing out. Murphy's Law is a bit of an obvious top pick, but my GOD once it finally hit me (it needed like a month to grow on me nnn) it immediately snagged itself a spot at #2 on my list of favorite Roisin songs. Something More, especially in its album form with the cult-like chants of "I WANT SOMETHING MORE" in the beginning, also absolutely hits (lovely single cover too). That PIANO in the breakdown **** YES. It's funny because I prefer Incapable, but the album mixes made me switch and prefer Nacrissus nnn. Even though I was happy to spin the 11-minute version of Jealousy I'm SO HAPPY to have something a bit shorter (I wish there was one last bit of the chorus though, maybe at the beginning). The day this album came out was so glorious. Trump got COVID the same night that I was dancing my arse off.DuaLipa, and that dance party continued all night! Still don't know if I prefer this over Ruby Blue, but since the fight between the two is so close, I do see Roisin Machine edging ahead of it maybe even next year. Listen to: Murphy's Law, Something More, Jealousy, Shellfish Mademoiselle, Narcissus "Baby, it's automatic, we touch and it feels like magic..." 1.) Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? (Disco/Dance-Pop) Picture: Woman cooking, Jessie and her mum have an amazing podcast about food/cooking. I. am. so. proud. of. Mrs. Ware! Devotion has always hung over Jessie as her best album since 2012 and I was worried that I was "always gonna like her follow-ups but continue to say Devotion is her best album," but Jessie really pushed herself into the creative direction that not only suits her writing and voice, but is just so ****ing fun! I even payola'd this album to my dad and it's one of his favorites this year too (his favorite is Read My Lips b/c the Prince vibes). It was hard to decide which songs were my favorite, but I knew I had to pick one of the 5 songs in the 1-2-3-4-5 opening punch of the album. Soul Control found itself at #1 because I just literally cannot stop playing this and dancing around whenever it's on, my GOD! What's Your Pleasure (song) also gets a bit of edge being the "first new song/non-single on the album" but I remember gyrating around to this when I first listened LOL. It's sooooo sexy and sultry omg I should have told Jessie that this was the song that made my ***** shimmer like light off a lake. Save a Kiss makes me a little teary-eyed when I listen to it, especially the jubilant, soaring second chorus with the pronounced strings. I also HAVE TO give a massive shout-out to the Stevie Wonder/Earth Wind and Fire-inspired, Obama-sponsored song Remember Where You Are. My God that song is HUGE. I have one memory of being in a hotel/club so late that when I left at 5:30am the sun was slowly rising and Remember Where You Are evokes those feelings sooooo perfectly. No bad song on here. 10/10s across the board. Really hoping she comes to the States in like 2025 when we're allowed to have concerts again and to dance my ass off to these songs. For now, the kitchen when I'm cooking chicken in my instant pot will have to do. Listen to: Soul Control, What's Your Pleasure, Save a Kiss, Remember Where You Are, Ooh La La 2020 in a nutshell
GreatestLoveofAll Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 FN in the top five perfection Jessie and Roisin, we love acclaimed album tbh
Ewan Chaos Posted December 23, 2020 Author Posted December 23, 2020 Comments under the spoiler~ Spoiler On 12/22/2020 at 10:53 AM, KasioKas said: Speak on the poisitons bandwagon hate Sawayama top 10 as it deserves Wow you really liked Petals The girls in here just wanna knock down successful women idgi! Yeah I really really love Petals LOL probably the most out of everyone on the forum. On 12/22/2020 at 11:11 AM, TheWayWeWere said: nnnn you sis serving another bunch of TASTE! After Hours acclaim I love how cohesive both album and era were! Rina one of the most diverse albums in my recent memory, especially debut one nawt Hayley's Part 1 above Part 3, when Sugar was released on 3rd one Part 1 was just BARELY above Part 3 just because it came out first! Glad you stan Sugar on the Rim tho. Can you believe the gays in the album thread were calling it FILLER?! On 12/22/2020 at 11:22 AM, Remmy said: Georgia & Victoria are cute so far. Ariana is generally great but not really this year The Aces, Miley and Rina YUP "I am TIRED of seeing Bad Friend so high on people's lists and Paradisin' so low on people's lists!" Well both were top 10 on both of my lists so what now my hair, Paradisin', Midnight Sky are my favorites from those albums I have The Beths on my list of artists to get into. #8-6 all in a row oh baby!! Ooh your PFA EPs ranking is a spill as well, but Part 2 isn't thaaat far behind. Hardest to Love, Blinding Lights, Paradisin', Dynasty, Cinnamon, Why We Ever, Pure Love, Sugar On the Rim & Dead Horse You had Paradisin' above Bad Friend so I give you props for that I would have been more confused if you had Chosen Family where Bad Friend is. Definitely check out The Beths's first album when you get around to it! Definitely a top 20 of 2018. Idk I just really found songs like My Friend and Over Yet to be... pretty boring. Roses/other flowers is good too but I don't really go back to it much. But Why We Ever is GLORIOUS and Dead Horse BOPS, so Part 2 is still good. 20 hours ago, GreatestLoveofAll said: IYE deserved! Hmmmmmmmmmm (jk it's a great song) 20 hours ago, dreamofyou said: sawayama Queen! 17 hours ago, Sunderland 4ever said: The five albums either didn't make it to my Top 100 or were heard just once and fell into oblivion. I really, REALLY wanted to like RTJ4. omg! You need to get more into Spanish Love Songs based on your general taste b/c I lowkey understand why you didn't care for the other albums nnn 17 hours ago, Legend E said: okay yas at after hours, sawayama and petals for armor. king of taste wbk no clue what the #1 could be tho! Am I that predictable Yes. 17 hours ago, dweebz said: YOU BETTA WORK BITCH! Haley in top 10. MUCH deserved! YES wish I could have fit Hayley into the top 5 tbh but ah well. 15 hours ago, Ava Max said: Sawayama A QUEEN 14 hours ago, potent said: After Hours Too Late is a great choice for the best track, that was always among my favorites too I think I remember all your PFA highlights except Why We Ever, but I see other people listing it too so let me relisten Pure Love is a BOP, Sugar on the Rim is great too YES glad to see more Too Late stanning of course. Interesting you don't like Why We Ever as much; that's the one I ALWAYS see people saying that they like, even if they didn't care for the album nnn. 13 hours ago, Claw said: Ok it's coming along lol, I was obsessed with that 2 chainz verse for like a week and you just made me remember. I love Abel's mixtapes but After Hours, yep that's definitely his best album. And I wonder what could be #1 YAS someone else stans 2 Chainz on that song nnn. Am I that predictable? [2] 12 hours ago, Insanity said: Sawayama and After Hours Here we come top 5 Two greats! 10 hours ago, M A R N ✮ said: midnight sky Miley finally releasing good music! 8 hours ago, geodancefreak said: Sawayamaaaa A QUEEEEEEEEEEEEN! 5 hours ago, Mr. Duff said: I guess I'm the only one who doesn't like Sayamawa. After Hours and Petals for Armor Interesting! I definitely see people preferring her first EP/mini-album/whatever but haven't seen too many people not like Sawayama much. STAN Abel and Hayley though!!!!!! 4 hours ago, BlackoutZone said: I'm a bit torn with petals still! I don't think I expected an album like After Laughter and I'm glad she went in this indie rock mixed with dance pop mixed with chamber pop whatever direction, but I think she is still capable of much more and the whole project does feel like a collection of songs, the 3 part split also doesn't really give us anything But I do like the project for sure! Hmm respectable opinion! I do hope it grows on you. The split part thing in terms of album rollout really pissed me off tbh but I do think it makes sense "thematically" with the album and I enjoy that. 3 hours ago, Pink Matter said: HMs: Some appropriate picks! Surprised Rina only made HMs though Idk if this is controversial but Sawayama>Rina a few of my other faves (Kali, Thundercat, Victoria) are also HMs but you seemed to enjoy them! I still have that Spanish Love Songs album saved so hopefully I'll get to it. I didn't know if the Miley praise was justified or not but since you have it at least as an HM, I might give it a shot Off topic but I read Jack Garratt as Jack Harlow and was super confused Albums: I feel I've gotten tired of RTJ lol I think once you've heard one, you've heard them all tbh Abel and Rina (??) though Glad to see them in your top 10 Lowkey confused by the HM thing from before but I'm gonna roll with it sksksk I tossed in some of the top 10 into the HMs so that it would be a bit of a surprise what the top 10 would be. That did not land clearly LOL so I will not be doing that again! I think most people prefer Sawayama over Rina honestly. YES please check out the Spanish Love Songs album. Millennial depression rolled up into one album. Miley's album was actually worth the listen as an OMH. Funny with RTJ I felt the same way with 1-3, but 4 just felt different to me.
BlackoutZone Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 What a surprising winner Anyway the top 4 is literally PERFECT! but you already know So glad you mentioned that DSN teaser video, it's the moment I knew she is coming to stomp Great picks from all the albums too (apart from overrated Ladees ) Thank you for doing this, it was super fun and I loved your write ups
Mr. Loco Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 Future Nostalgia Dua's career has been very consistent so far, and she really delivered with her album!! I also agree with your top tracks on the album
Remmy Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 Now why do you gotta remind me of 7 Years like that Click and c2.0 both suck! how i'm feeling now is good, the midsection isn't the best though (including songs like detonate and enemy.) anthems + visions close things out really nicely. Future Nostalgia was #4 on my list as well, okay twin Aww at Physical become you & your BF's song instead of the slam of screen doors, cute! Your faves are on point except for Love Again. Peeped songs from Fiona + Róisín's projects before but they weren't for me. Whew at disco taking over this list! Another Jessie #1 in the basket, she dominated Best Of this year WYP? is a worthy winner + we have the exact same top 4, pretty sure it's even the same order! Quote You had Paradisin' above Bad Friend so I give you props for that I would have been more confused if you had Chosen Family where Bad Friend is. Definitely check out The Beths's first album when you get around to it! Definitely a top 20 of 2018. Idk I just really found songs like My Friend and Over Yet to be... pretty boring. Roses/other flowers is good too but I don't really go back to it much. But Why We Ever is GLORIOUS and Dead Horse BOPS, so Part 2 is still good. Chosen Family is overhated! It reminds me of Jessie J's Flashlight (in a good way ) As long as it sounds good, I will Over Yet boring!?! Interesting Yeah, MF & Roses are my bottom 2 from the album so that's why II is at the bottom for me, but it does give us the best track (WWE) so there's no way I could say it's way behind the others.
ARTPØP Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 How I'm Feeling Now, Future Nostalgia, What's Your Pleasure? great top 5!
Mark Rih Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 The #1 isn't surprising at all but it's absolutely deserved Dua top 5 too
potent Posted December 23, 2020 Posted December 23, 2020 Don’t use Charli and not interested in Roisin, but the other 3 are great! I agree with your highlights from FTBC the most. I honestly never really liked Pretty Please and DSN is in the middle to lower half of the album for me, Love Again and Levitating are bops though Whats Your Pleasure (song) and Ooh La La
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted December 24, 2020 ATRL Moderator Posted December 24, 2020 truly a shocker i will never understand why the gays enjoy charli top 4 is great!
TRF. Posted December 24, 2020 Posted December 24, 2020 This top 5... the female excellence we share a lot in common in this top... that's all I'm gonna say!
Lazuli Posted December 24, 2020 Posted December 24, 2020 the REACH and mental gymnastics between your hints and the actual album anyways, what a wonderful top 5. future nostalgia, nothing more can be said about it, one of the few albums that atrl unequivocally loves hifn your writeups for the albums SNAPPED (sans the unnecessary yeezus comparison ) what's your pleasure ugh i'm probably one of the few people who actually liked glasshouse but i'm so glad she went back to her dancier roots and improved it WHAT a run for your lists. perfect chefs kiss
TheWayWeWere Posted December 24, 2020 Posted December 24, 2020 22 hours ago, Ewan Chaos said: Part 1 was just BARELY above Part 3 just because it came out first! Glad you stan Sugar on the Rim tho. Can you believe the gays in the album thread were calling it FILLER?! that's why I'm rarely go into album threads posting, I felt pressed all the time t hat top 5 YOU DID IT WITH TASTE! HFIN getting praise It's amazing album that captured one of the most weird periods of our lives, and yeah, Yeezus remains my favorite Kanye album was well Lily Allen vibrator being promoted in FN write-up bitch better return herself with sexy bops next year Roisin and Jessie released best disco albums tbh, so I'm so ****ing glad they're slaying here Roisin making her old songs sounds fresh and better than before Jessie ****ing slaying every other pop girl
pinknblue Posted December 24, 2020 Posted December 24, 2020 The Hifn/pop2 and yeezus/mbdtf comparison is spot-on. Charli is quite overhated on here huh. Glad to see her on top 5, wel deserved
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted December 25, 2020 ATRL Moderator Posted December 25, 2020 12 hours ago, Lazuli said: what's your pleasure ugh i'm probably one of the few people who actually liked glasshouse but i'm so glad she went back to her dancier roots and improved it the way i knew deep down you have some taste
Lazuli Posted December 25, 2020 Posted December 25, 2020 11 hours ago, Legend E said: the way i knew deep down you have some taste bitch dont make me drag you!
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted December 25, 2020 ATRL Moderator Posted December 25, 2020 6 hours ago, Lazuli said: bitch dont make me drag you! and why would you do that?
Mr. Duff Posted December 26, 2020 Posted December 26, 2020 Really have to get time to listen to Jessie Ware. Future Nostalgia
Pink Matter Posted December 26, 2020 Posted December 26, 2020 What a picture perfect top 5 (I actually haven't checked out the Charli album yet but I have it saved for later!). And great lists overall! Not much else to say except the clues made me scream when you explained them
ATRL Moderator madonnas Posted December 28, 2020 ATRL Moderator Posted December 28, 2020 our top 5s are VERY VERY similar sorry for flaking, i dipped from this section will finish soon.
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