TRF. Posted January 2, 2018 Posted January 2, 2018 Bodak Yellow is unbelievable. also LOVE to see Blissing Me, 16 Psyche and Onanon too (and so high!)
SLIME Posted January 2, 2018 Posted January 2, 2018 Zeltron, Slide, Onanon, This Country, Nyakinyua, Lemon ... wow! I love Rihanna too.
Vxspertine Posted January 2, 2018 Posted January 2, 2018 I love your taste so much Enjoyed pretty much all of these tracks, and your highlights from Utopia, WHEW
Tom Vercetti Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 Big Fish, 16 Psyche, American Dream, Rolling Stone (!) Ready for that top 10
Mr. Loco Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 Lemon is catchy and Rihanna helped the song a lot Comment my CD please
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 Sorry for the break I took, New Years stuff went on a bit longer than I expected haha. Will get that top 10 done tomorrow and then move into albums list, try to get it done before the deadline. Thanks guys for your comments btw, appreciate them I wrote responses to all the comments, clicked post and it came up with 'This field is required' (what does this even mean) and deleted all the responses and they wouldn't come back, so I wrote them again but they might be a bit blunt sorry =/ hate ATRL Spoiler On 02/01/2018 at 6:07 AM, Pink Matter said: Been meaning to check out your list for a while now. Some great picks from what I've seen perusing through the thread (noticed XXX. was low on your list though ). Top 20's looking good too (except for BY). Faves Onanon thanks for checking it out XXX. is a consequence of multiple songs per artists, won't be an insult to kendrick but wanted to highlight something even better On 02/01/2018 at 7:23 AM, Navyofbadgals said: Pills, Lemon, 911/Mr. Lonely, Blissing Me, BOdak Yellow and onanon whew the taste On 02/01/2018 at 8:07 AM, madonnas said: WHEW, lots of good stuff on this page. Big Fish, Rolling Stone, Onanon, American Dream, THIS COUNTRY!!! this country is so great, miss karin really made that statement On 02/01/2018 at 8:13 AM, AlexisNeiers said: This might be my favorite Best Of list yet, I like so many of these Nice to see A Private Understanding on another list though Relatives in Descent might be my favorite album from Promomartyr! thanks so much, loved your list too DEF protomartyr's best album imo and a strong point of the year 17 hours ago, theblackestday said: Whew what a set Big Fish, American Dream, Bodak Yellow, Blissing Me (questionable choice), 16 Psyche, Star Roving and Onanon are all excellent. The Star Roving and Bodak Yellow writeups are pretty accurate and I love the fact you chose Onanon for Kelela, such a flawless masterpiece. I can't explain it right? onanon is lke a spiritual experience but not the same as the spiritual experiences of some other songs, it's like a post-spiritual experience. loving the taste as alvvays wonder if you'd guess any of the top 10. prob 1 17 hours ago, Topmaster 2 said: Slowdive and Kelela two of the best artists EVER 12 hours ago, TRF. said: Bodak Yellow is unbelievable. also LOVE to see Blissing Me, 16 Psyche and Onanon too (and so high!) BY is such a major banger and onanon totally deserves that spot, it's such a perfect song 11 hours ago, Kang. said: Zeltron, Slide, Onanon, This Country, Nyakinyua, Lemon ... wow! I love Rihanna too. same rihanna makes every song amazing 9 hours ago, Vxspertine said: I love your taste so much Enjoyed pretty much all of these tracks, and your highlights from Utopia, WHEW thanks, yours too of course and while utopia may not be bjork's best album, he has highlights from every album that stand with the rest of her work 6 hours ago, Tom Vercetti said: Big Fish, 16 Psyche, American Dream, Rolling Stone (!) Ready for that top 10 top 10 tomorrow and rolling stone i thought would be my SOTY on first listen, but #11 is still respectable. it's a magnificent song 6 hours ago, Mr. Loco said: Lemon is catchy and Rihanna helped the song a lot Comment my CD please rihanna was DEF the highlight of lemon
theblackestday Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 23 minutes ago, volition said: I wrote responses to all the comments, clicked post and it came up with 'This field is required' (what does this even mean) and deleted all the responses and they wouldn't come back, so I wrote them again but they might be a bit blunt sorry =/ hate ATRL This happened to me every time lol, no idea why. I think it’s because you put them all in a spoiler, so I make sure to ctrl+a and ctrl+c before posting in case this happens
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 15 minutes ago, theblackestday said: This happened to me every time lol, no idea why. I think it’s because you put them all in a spoiler, so I make sure to ctrl+a and ctrl+c before posting in case this happens bless you ill do this next time
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 top 10 right now! lets go 10. Dusty Eyes - Bedouine This song makes me feel so warm. That's the best way to describe it, it's cozy and relaxing and comfortable. Azniv sings with a voice with a hint of huskiness, so mellow and humid, she's got to be one of my favourite voices ever. It's kind of like a 'dustier', broader Karen Carpenter voice. It's a slow song, but interest is always kept because of her gorgeous voice (seriously can't get enough of it) and the beautiful melody and universally relatable sentiment of the song. The way her voice almost bends outwards in a kind of echoing way on the final 'the way that I feel 'bout you now' is a stunning moment, and the short outro is kind of like, country/folk with all the American-ness sucked out of it. That's probably overdoing a simple guitar moment but that's what I'm gonna say about it. Sometimes my gauge for these kind of simpler guitar-based songs is 'if Ed Sheeran sung this, would it still be good', and the answer is obviously no because his personality is too imbibed in his annoying, deeply plastic dishwashing liquid voice, but it would at least be the best song he's ever sung. I'm gonna try to not let that comment taint the impression of this song, it's too good to ignore.
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 9. Desafío - Arca The guy that was pretty polarising on ATRL this year. To some people on here, he is definitely one of ATRL's most disliked figures at the moment, but no matter what goes on between him and Bjork, you can't deny his solo music, especially not this song, which achieved the perfect balance between experimentalism and beauty and is a highlight of Arca's career so far. Seriously, this thing is so beautiful and poignant, with Arca's venture into the world of vocals being a success in my eyes, his singing is quite emotive and touching. His production is excellent here as well, and it kind of feels like 'flashing', like sheets of sound are moving forward and back like the way a light goes from dim to bright and back again. As you can see I'm not great at describing sounds, but that makes me feel like those sounds must have been difficult to create, so power to Arca. The chorus may not be in English, but that doesn't stop it from being magically powerful. As a whole, the song is a subtle and careful moment of pure beauty.
theblackestday Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 Desafio is overrated imo but I still love it
Eeveelution Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 Dusty Eyes, a song, ahh my ****ing fave! Ed doesn't have the range.
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 8. Chanel - Frank Ocean Frank has got to be one of the most nuanced lyricists of our generation. He comes up with lyrical concepts and phrases that I could never think of in my life, he's a complete genius, and both Channel Orange and Blonde are beyond worthy of their modern classic statuses. He's also a fantastic singer with a uniquely affecting voice that I could listen to for days and days in a row. I don't know how even his random single releases out of album cycles can be so great, but they are. He's adressing his bisexuality through a metaphor that in the wrong hands, could sound forced (transitioning from "I see on both sides" to "C on both sides" is one misstep away from "into me you see... intimacy" lbr), but the wrong hands could've never even conceived it in the first place. Lyrically it's incredible throughout, and Frank shows his natural musicianship throughout the variety of phrasing and vocal nuances during the song, such as the melody falls in the very beginning lines, the long notes in the Visa/Mastercard sequence, the rapping, and the best moment of the song, the 8 lines where he puts his voice on show, hear that bending echo effect at the end of line 5? The song itself, just a simple non-album single, subtly addresses a meaningful topic while being incrdibly nuanced musically. I adore the song and Frank himself so much and I can't wait for his next work.
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 7. Top Of The World - Kimbra Of all the songs in my top 10, I'd consider this one the most surprising, since it's not exactly being touted on here as a masterpiece or anything above a merely good song. Well, it is good. Great, in fact. Kimbra continues to prove herself as one of the most mercurial forces in contemporary pop music, consantly changing her style from song to song, experimenting with a huge variety of different sounds. Her debut album Vows flicked through basically every existent pop subgenre with grace, and follow up The Golden Echo saw her take a more experimental electronic turn, working with a variety of interesting musicians and presenting an experimental sophomore record. Standalone single 'Sweet Relief' was a slinky piece of Prince-inspired synth funk. This song though, is a new direction even for her, with its pop rap vibe a definite stylistic change. There's more in the lyrics here than simple bragadoccio, but the production is what gathered my interest, there's tune-yards vibes here, a little bit of Kanye, and was worked on by Skrillex of all people (does not sound like that though). It's a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's certainly not vapid, and while my love for Kimbra in general may have influenced this placement, the song is still great and it deserves its spot.
ATRL Moderator madonnas Posted January 3, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted January 3, 2018 Just now, volition said: 7. Top Of The World - Kimbra Of all the songs in my top 10, I'd consider this one the most surprising, since it's not exactly being touted on here as a masterpiece or anything above a merely good song. Well, it is good. Great, in fact. Kimbra continues to prove herself as one of the most mercurial forces in contemporary pop music, consantly changing her style from song to song, experimenting with a huge variety of different sounds. Her debut album Vows flicked through basically every existent pop subgenre with grace, and follow up The Golden Echo saw her take a more experimental electronic turn, working with a variety of interesting musicians and presenting an experimental sophomore record. Standalone single 'Sweet Relief' was a slinky piece of Prince-inspired synth funk. This song though, is a new direction even for her, with its pop rap vibe a definite stylistic change. There's more in the lyrics here than simple bragadoccio, but the production is what gathered my interest, there's tune-yards vibes here, a little bit of Kanye, and was worked on by Skrillex of all people (does not sound like that though). It's a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's certainly not vapid, and while my love for Kimbra in general may have influenced this placement, the song is still great and it deserves its spot. Surprised its this high placement. It's a very good song though, it won't make my list though cuz I deleted it to put it in another placement and then forgot what I deleted until just now
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 6. DNA. - Kendrick Lamar XXX. being so low wasn't a diss to Kendrick here, it's the advantage of multiple artist placements allowing me to highlight an excellent song from DAMN. as well as a goddamn masterpiece. This track is phenomenal and is far and away the best song on DAMN. and the one that deserves the most attention. He takes no prisoners here, it's like a ****ing hurricane of incredible lyricism, flow, and passion. Winning moments: the couple of times he changes his flow in the first verse brilliantly, the sample from some idiotic commentator I'm not familiar with, that countdown into a more aggressive verse, and then at 2.49 when he gets even more acrimonious, it's a damn tour de force of fantastic artistry and it deserves to be remembered as a classic and one of the reasons why DAMN. should not be overlooked in the future as a lesser work of Kendrick's, because DNA. is up there with the best material he's ever recorded.
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 5. Black Fly - Circuit des Yeux Haley Fohr has an undeniably stunning voice. You just can't question that; it's so deep and androgynous, very unique, and chilling, with an excellent and moving vibrato. It starts off with a simple guitar strumming, but her talent manifests in an opening line so simple I'm surprised no one had come up with yet: "nobody said it was easy. but it was so easy", taking the song immediately in the opposite direction to expectation. The production is simple, especially the guitar, but it's understated in a good way, in the beginning. This song builds up though, with some bone-haunting higher notes and more anxious strumming, with the fall to the lower note in the way she sings "a black fly" being so climactic and a huge moment of the song. From here the vocals stop, and the percussion builds up through a great outro with the electronic buzzing of the titular 'black fly' making a feature, as the song continues to build tension towards a second climax, which eventually just makes way to a final bit of buzzing over the beginning of a small string section delicately closing out the song. There's not much lyrical content here, but what is there is well-written, especially the final verse which is excellently written. I really hope she gets much more critical attention: "You're buzzing round Below you can see the town All the little people in their little lives Looking down if they could just Look up and see You're not the dark star they want you to be You're just a black dot in the sky A black fly"
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 4. Truth - Kamasi Washington I never would've expected to include a jazz single on this list, as usually these kinds of things eschew jazz and classical music, I guess due to comparative struggles or something like that. I personally didn't explore many jazz or classical SOTY contenders with the intention of including them on here, but Kamasi gets a lot of hype and so I listened to his EP, and Truth made me gasp. At the beginning I was marvelling at how bright and colourful it seemed; the majority of jazz I've ever heard has ever been old (so on poorer recording technology), or in real life, so I wasn't used to how vibrant and three-dimensional it could sound, it definitely feels very polished and refined, which can sometimes be a bad thing, but it definitely wasn't here. This song is of course notable for the fact that is a spiritual experience that takes you to a higher plane of existence through the sheer gloriousness of its musicality. It's so melodically accomplished, while it's definitely not groundbreaking in the world of more avant-garde jazz, it's almost indescribably pleasant and so gorgeous, I can't say anything to its face, cause look at its face.
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 3. Jenny GoGo - Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu have had a long and notable career up until this point, and have long proved themselves to be a relentlessly experimental force. Their album this year, Forget, was a discography highlight, and featured many songs that showed off their impressive talents and musicianship. Jenny GoGo is surely the song that impressed me the most. It's incredible in a twisted, haunting, and utterly disturbing way. It's scary from the first accentuated 'gogo' with all those little scrapes and sounds coming in from all directions. Jamie Stewart's voice is naturally creepy, and all of the group's talents come together to produce this song that could feature perfectly in a horror movie. There's so much built into this track, including Jamie's guttural and primal screams, the little 'gogo's, industrial swooshes, some almost gunshot-sounding beeps, the voices being distant and filtered, and some characteristically nonsensical lyrics that are no less creepy than the production: "too dumb to be this dumb, too young to be this young... too dead to be this dumb, too dead to be this young". It could be ghostly in the most obvious way, but instead it's carefully realised, meticulously crafted, and deliberately composed. Everything about this track was so emotionally manipulative in the most creative way, and it appealed to me greatly. I think it's an incredible feat of composition.
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 (edited) 2. Undercover - Susanne Sundfør God, Susanne really outdid herself with this one. It deserves classic status and I am mad at all the publications who ignored her this year. After a trifecta of excellent electronic-influenced pop albums, Susanne took a left turn into the chamber folk category, the crown jewel of her album obviously being Undercover. For a good portion after the release of this song, it was my SOTY, and it's easy to see why. Susanne's distinctive voice is the kind that will elevate any work of hers for me, so I was never going to be disappointed on that end, but I was still surprised at the stunning vocal performance she delivered. The song can basically be divided into two parts. The first part would be fantastic on its own; it has a gorgeous melody, is sung well, and the backing instrumentation is lush and gorgeous. I think it's safe to say though that the thing that makes this song so extraordinary is its climax, which as I've stated before, is a true Kamasi Washington-esque spiritual experience that ascends me to heaven every single time. Once she sings 'to tell me what is real' slightly differently, you know it's going down (fantastic moment btw), and she launches into "IT WOULDN'T EVEN MATTER" and that's it, I'm gone. She just destroys that ending, and it's a joy to listen to every single time, without fail. What's keeping this song from number one? It's surely fantastic, but there is a single song from this year that has more emotional value to me, and Undercover misses out because while it is obviously amazing to listen to, and worthy of full admiration, in spite of the relationship-inspired lyrics, it doesn't latch itself to specific personal experiences in my mind, and maybe that's my own fault, but there's just one song that hits me even harder. Edited January 3, 2018 by volition
volition Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 1. Drew Barrymore - SZA And here it is, my very number one song of 2017. I've been hanging onto this one for a while, it did come out at the very beginning of the year, and it was an immediate SOTY contender, but it was passed by Undercover for a good middle section of the year. In the end though, the last few months, it prevailed. This song means a great deal to me. It was my first exposure, not to SZA, but to her confessional tone of lyricism. Every part of this song is utter perfection to me. Her vocals are unique and impassioned. The instrumentation offers something different to the swathes of R&B out there, with that opening guitar providing an immediate touch of melancholy. But ultimately, it's the lyrics and the way they are delivered melodically, that make the song the true standout it is. First lets address that chorus, which on its own provides a new spin on a relationship through presenting it as 'warmth', and it's delivered incredibly; the way her voices rises on "warm" hits straight in the heart. You also have verses which show just what I love about SZA's lyricism, the little flair shown through small specific experiences scattered throughout: "mum jeans and her new vans", "start the Narcos off at episode 1", "bring the gin (got the juice), bring the sin (got that too)", "I'm sorry I don't shave my legs at night", bringing us into her world, making her life resonate with us. The bridge is completely fantastic, she bares her vulnerability here, and those two growls near the end give me goosebumps every time. Drew Barrymore's cameo appearance in the video at this part hits me hard too. The guitar at the end of the brige and those strings in the outro complete the song and everything just overall had come together in a big swirling mass of feelings, of anxiety and depression, insecurities, and the actual realities of life and the things we sort of brush over in our heads. It brings to the surface all the nuances and vicissitudes of your life, and how our mental health is brought into that. All of our feelings, and the things we can't explain, distilled into pure feelings and exhibited through a single song. EVERY lyrical moment can not be overlooked; it's all important and contributes to the story she is trying to get across. I know everyone may not have the same emotional connection to this song as me, and maybe my experiences around the time of discovering it contributed to this reaction. But I just feel like it can be so meaningful to anyone struggling with insecurities and worries on a siple day-to-day basis, things you wouldn't want to talk about because they might not seem serious enough, but they still heavily affect your thinkings and very way of life. I am thankful to have discovered this song and it will always hold a special meaning to me.
Pink Matter Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 This top 10 is definitely a different from the ones I've seen here Some great picks nonetheless Drew Barrymore, Undercover, Truth, DNA., and Chanel are my faves here I don't really remember the Arca song well and I figured I'd wait to listen to Kimbra's new album instead of listening to the new single. Might have to check it out. Overall, a great top 10 and singles list
Tom Vercetti Posted January 4, 2018 Posted January 4, 2018 Haven't heard a couple of these DNA & Chanel are my favorite pair, but I like the others too. A Respectable top 10 nonetheless and the writeups are really detailed. Enjoyed following this.
Vxspertine Posted January 4, 2018 Posted January 4, 2018 Amazing top 10 Desafío Really is a beauty Chanel He really came thru with this one and it's true that he comes thru with basically everything he releases Quote This track is phenomenal and is far and away the best song on DAMN. and the one that deserves the most attention. SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE FADS IN THE BACK Ugh, Black Fly, a hym Truth If a Jazz single should make anyone's top 5 it's a Kamasi single Jenny GoGo honestly is mindblowing Undercover Drew Barrymore is a great choice for #1, It's definitely SZA's best song and one of the best R&B singles of the year for sure I'll definitely give a listen to the ones I haven't heard, loved your list!
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