Admiral Bobbery Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 Videos 20-11! 20: Perfect Places - Lorde This video is just gorgeous. Lorde looks amazing. I love the scenes in the cornfield and the beach. It just compliments the song so well. One of her better videos. 19: Selfish Love – Jessie Ware This is a beautifully shot video with an interesting plot with a twist at the end. Jessie looks beautiful here. 18: Chained To The Rhythm – Katy Perry A fun video that pokes some light commentary about society. I love the amusement park theme. 17: Mic Drop - BTS Love the intense atmosphere and cool visuals. 16: Bon Appetit – Katy Perry At least Katy stayed consistent with her visual quality this era (HHH aside). A video with a bit of an interesting message compared with striking imagery. Sometimes feels a bit self-indulgent. She looks the best she looked the entire era.
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 15: John Wayne – Lady GaGa This is such a fun, kooky video. Balls to the fall craziness and fun. I love the coloring and the aesthetics. It really blends old school over the top Gaga with the more country/rock leaning Joanne Gaga. Her best video in years. 14: Saturnz Barz - Gorillaz Yet another great video from Gorillaz. I love all the set ups and gags going on throughout the video. It’s just such a trippy video yet it really complements the song well. 12/13: Crybaby/Guilty – Paloma Faith An epic start to Paloma’s video series for this era. As of the time of writing this the story hasn’t yet finished though. It has a very interesting set up with the child soldier theme. I love the twist that Guilty brings to the story as well. I’m paring them together since they’re telling the same story. 11: I’m better – Missy Elliot Lot’s of awesome visuals and interesting choreography. Another worthy edition to her stellar videography. Just wish it was paired with a better song.
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 3, 2018 Author Posted January 3, 2018 9 hours ago, K$Ellie said: Meaning Of Life is great, my favorite on the album and a cute #1 Strangers is overrated but still amazing Sober and Told You So The Red Summer was nice, I'm starting to get into them Tell Me You Love Me is Demi's best American Teen was meh I should have checked out Mabel but Finders Keepers was kinda trash Dua Lipa is my favorite album in the top 10 After Laughter is kinda trash CollXtion and Melodrama have some since sings Rainbow slaying Thanks!
jacklovesyou1 Posted January 4, 2018 Posted January 4, 2018 I remember when the John Wayne video got released and everyone though the old gaga was back lmaoo
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 4, 2018 Author Posted January 4, 2018 Videos 10-1! 10: A Little Work - Fergie I love this video for the emotional story it’s telling of her fall to and recovery from drug addiction. The visuals in this video are really nicely done and the ideas presented are good. One of the more impactful stories in a mainstream video this year. However, it does lose points for being way too long. It’s a four-minute song and yet you somehow stretch it out to an 11-minute video (mostly be repeating the chorus over and over). Like a third of the video could have been removed without anything of value lost. Also, the blatant high fashion of the outfits was a bit distracting for me. Most of my gripes come from the former issue though. The video is overstuffed. A lot of good once you trim the fat though. I know there’s a 4-minute version but that honestly cuts out a bit too much. 9: Love So Soft - Kelly Clarkson Finally, a video where Kelly actually tried again. It’s only been about a decade or so since the last time she did that. There are a lot of really cool shots and visuals here, and she manages to not make it feel overstuffed. The visuals and pacing really compliment the song. The part where her dress turns into birds is such an amazing effect. My only complaints are the pacing in the city section where the are scrolling past the army of Kelly’s and the house looking a little bit too fake. I hope this mean’s she’s back to giving a crap about her visuals again and that this wasn’t just a one off miracle. 8: Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift The song’s a hot mess but this video is really good. Many different eye catching scenes and moments. Some of them are a bit corny, such as zombie Taylor and dominatrix Taylor. I really like the mountain of Taylors and the argument bit at the end. The snake/throne scenes are a delight, too. The video has a ton of energy to it as well. The main weakness of this video for me is that it feels a bit overstuffed at times and maybe they could have cut out some scenes to allow more time to shine on other ones. I’ll give her credit for making this video feel like an event. Something most others didn’t really do last year. 7: Praying - Kesha This video has some really beautiful shots, such as the scenes with her on the shipwreck and where she walks on water. There’s loads of interesting symbolism throughout the video. I love the use of colors and visuals to help empower the impact of the song. A great comeback video. 6: Loyalty - Kendrick Lamar ft. Rihanna There are so many cool/beautiful shots in this video. It also has a few very interesting visual ideas, such as the people sinking into the asphalt. Rihanna looks amazing in this video. The shots of her hanging onto Kendrick while dangling off the side of the building are breathtaking. The symbolism of them sinking into the asphalt-quicksand also adds an interesting element to the video.
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 4, 2018 Author Posted January 4, 2018 5: As If It’s Your Last - BLACKPINK One thing K-pop does really well is delivering colorful eye candy. This is no exception. It’s a fun video with cool settings. I love how color coordinated everything is here. It’s just such a pure, fun, and innocent video. 4: New Rules - Dua Lipa Dua really delivered with this video. Her visuals have never really been all that great, but she showed up here. The colors for everything are well coordinated and the story she’s telling is cute. The concept is nice and accentuates what the song’s about. The choreography in places is a bit hit and miss though (cue energetic dancing gif). Many of the shots are really cool, especially the scene where she walks on water. It’s simple, not many special tricks or set pieces (it’s all done in one cheap looking motel), but done right. 3: 1-800-273-8255 - Logic ft. Alessia Cara, Khalid From a storytelling standpoint, this is the most powerful video of the year. It’s really a mini movie chronicling the life of a gay African American teen and his struggles with his sexuality. It shows him contemplating suicide but eventually choosing not to give in and going on to live a happy life. A very powerful and needed message. 2: Humble - Kendrick Lamar There are a lot of interesting camera tricks in this video, from the world being shot as a circle as he’s riding a bike, to the cut shots as he’s rapping under the bridge. Ther are a lot of cool visuals here too, such as his hair being set on fire, recreating The Last Supper, the scene in the hair salon, and the scenes where he’s golfing on the car. Everything is just shot perfectly in time with the music. It’s an incredibly well executed video. 1: Not Today - BTS I know I’m probably gonna get a bit of flack for putting a K-pop video at number 1 (especially since #2 was Kendrick) but screw it. If it’s one thing K-pop certainly does well is their visuals and music videos. This video is just intense. I love the visuals from the parking garage to the ice/mirror scene in the desert. I love the choreography in the video too. Everything from the dancing, to the cinematography is just so well edited and put together. Easily the most aesthetically pleasing video of the year for me and it made me like the song a lot more. It manages to deliver a lot of visuals without feeling overstuffed, not every video has that. That's it for this year's video list. Tomorrow will begin Most Played Artists! Thanks everyone for following along and commenting!
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted January 4, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted January 4, 2018 sis this list those pop girls delivered. some of the videos will be seen on my list too
TheWayWeWere Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 amazing top 5 After Laughter is so underrated it's my 2nd fave from them after ST Rainbow and Melodrama whew, what a comebacks! MOL too this album was such an unexpected slay from Kelly I hope she makes something in this wave in future
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 5, 2018 Author Posted January 5, 2018 Most Played Artists 35-21! 35: Within Temptation Plays: 77 Peak Month: February I hadn’t listened to them in a while so I decided to get back into them. A lot of their music has held up well for me, but I have to be in a certain mood to really listen to them. 34 CHVRCHES Plays: 78 Peak Month: January I binge listen to this band at times. Sometimes I forget they exist though. 33 Zhu Plays: 84 Peak Month: August Quite a few of these plays are from his album from last year. He also released a few good standalone songs this year, plus his Ep. 32 Daft Punk Plays: 84 Peak Month: November These guys have a great discography that I need to listen to more than I do. November was a binge month for them with me. 31 Usher Plays: 89 Peak Month: April He gets really good recurrent plays from me. Confessions is one of my favorite male albums and it stays on semi-regular rotation with me. 30 Pat Benatar Plays: 98 Peak Month: March Most of her plays came from me getting into her discography for the first time. I came to the conclusion she’s a bit of a singles act bar one or two really good albums. Her iconic hits will probably stay on good rotation with me. 29 The xx Plays: 101 Peak Month: January 28 Dolly Parton Plays: 103 Peak Month: January She’s remained on good rotation with me. She was so high on my last year’s list because I was starting to get into her discography. She’s quickly become my favorite female country artist ever. 27 BTS Plays: 115 Peak Month: September I started getting into their music this year so they got a good amount of plays. I haven’t really gone too far back into their discography yet though.
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 5, 2018 Author Posted January 5, 2018 26 Mabel Plays: 116 Peak Month: October She’s exploded on my play counts this year. Not surprising since she released a mixtape and an Ep. Really looking forward to her debut album. 25 Linkin Park Plays: 117 Peak Month: July I hadn’t really listened to them in years but Chester’s death inspired me to re-listen to them as their music used to be a big part of my life. I still really like quite a bit of it. 24 George Michael Plays: 120 Peak Month: January Sadly, I never really got into him before his death. His passing inspired me to finally get into his music. He had few albums but they were mostly good ones. 23 The Weekend Plays: 124 Peak Month: July Starboy got a lot of plays early on this year. There was also a discography rate that gave me an excuse to listen to him more over the summer. 22 Jessie Ware Plays: 129 Peak Month: October Her new album got quite a few plays for me when it came out. 21 Ariana Grande Plays: 130 Peak Month: October Good recurrent plays for me. She’ll probably be much higher this year when she puts a new album out. Tomorrow I'll update the rest of the artists, probably sometime in the morning.
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted January 6, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted January 6, 2018 Jessie, Ariana, Dolly
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 Most Played Artists 20-11! 20 Miguel Plays: 133 Peak Month: December His new album really helped him get a lot of plays during the last two weeks of the tracking period. Though even before it he would have been on this list I think. 19 Ellie Goulding Plays: 135 Peak Month: June Good recurrent plays. Like Ari, she’ll be much higher this year if she puts out a new album. 18 Foster the People Plays: 152 Peak Month: July Their new album got a lot of plays from me over the summer. I also found myself listening to their debut on and off this year. 17 Kanye West Plays: 158 Peak Month: August Great recurrent plays. Though I think there was a Kanye discography rate earlier this year so that help boost his play count. 16 Beck Plays: 159 Peak Month: October His new album helped him rise up in the fall but even before then he was getting regular play since I haven’t been listening to him for that long yet. 15 Allie X Plays: 176 Peak Month: June Her new album was one of my obsessions over the summer. 14 Paramore Plays: 203 Peak Month: May Their new album remained on replay for quite a lot of this year. I also gave their past albums a re-listen to see how they held up since I hadn’t been listening to them since their last album came out. 13 Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit Plays: 224 Peak Month: June Most of his plays come from his new album, which is easily in my top 3 country albums this decade. I haven’t even listened to his previous albums yet so he’ll probably still be high on plays for me next year once I go back to listen to them. 12 Gorillaz Plays: 230 Peak Month: May Their new album really got me back into them since I hadn’t listened to them in a while. 11 Kendrick Lamar Plays: 240 Peak Month: April Damn is my 6th most played album of the year and his previous ones also got decent plays too. He’s quickly cementing himself as my favorite rapper from this decade. That's it for today. Tomorrow will complete the most played list! Thanks for commenting and following.
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 15 hours ago, Legend E said: Jessie, Ariana, Dolly Thanks! 10 hours ago, Brandon said: Linkin Park, George Michael & The Weekend Thanks!
Remmy Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 Videos: Bon Appetit I'm Better Love So Soft Perfect Places, Chained to the Rhythm, John Wayne Praying and New Rules HUMBLE. + Look What You Made Me Do Plenty of solid choices! Most Played Artists: Usher (well, his old stuff) Kanye Ariana, Ellie, Foster the People Allie X + Paramore
Lazuli Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 Kendrick delivered 2 great videos indeed LWYMMD Praying Now that I think about it, Kelly really hasn't had an interesting video is a LONG time Thank god for LSS! Kendrick, Paramore
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 7, 2018 Author Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) Most Played Artists 10-1! 10 Paloma Faith Plays: 261 Peak Month: November Good recurrent plays plus a new album is a formula for a high placement on here. 9 Kesha Plays: 264 Peak Month: August Most of these plays are for her new album, though her older material did get some plays too. I need to listen to her older stuff more as I do like most of it. 8 David Bowie Plays: 265 Peak Month: December He’s getting absolutely amazing recurrent plays from me. Then again, he also has like 20+ albums so it makes it a bit easier to get a bigger play count. 7 Chris Stapleton Plays: 280 Peak Month: December He released two different albums this year, so it’s kinda like he cheated a bit. Both albums are easily in my top 15 most played for the year. As I said in one of my album reviews for him, he's quickly cementing himself as my main country male fave this decade. 6 Anastacia Plays: 281 Peak Month: September Her album might not have been my favorite for her but it was still full of enough bops to give her a lot of plays. That and her back catalogue stays having pretty good recurrent play from me. 5 Dua Lipa Plays: 298 Peak Month: June Her album was my obsession this summer. New Rules and the 80’s remix combined probably make it my most played song ever. 4 Shakira Plays: 306 Peak Month: January I didn’t really get into her discography until early this year. She has a really good one. She’ll probably remain high next year despite no new album. In fact two of her older albums have more plays form me than her new one anyway. 3 Prince Plays: 378 Peak Month: March This year was the first year I really got the chance to get into his work with his estate giving spotify the rights to his catalogue. I actually did try getting into his music a while back but it was the exact week he had his music taken off of spotify Now that I’ve really gotten the chance to listen to his stuff I have to say he’s quickly become of my favorite acts ever. 2 Lorde Plays: 516 Peak Month: June Lorde came through with Melodrama this year. Plus her return got me back into Pure Heroine which I hadn’t really played much since 2014 so that helped her gain a lot of plays. 1 Kelly Clarkson (Shocker) Plays: 847 Peak Month: October With Kelly being my #1 most played last year despite no new music, no one else really stood a chance with her releasing a new album. Funnily enough, before MOL came out she fluctuated between 19-17 on my most played list for the year but once her album came out she rocketed up the ranks. The last two weeks of the tracking period being during the Christmas season also helped her extend her lead as I began playing WIR a lot. That's it for this year's most played artists. Tomorrow I'll post the throwback songs list and that will be the end of this year's best of! Thank you all for following along and commenting! Edited January 7, 2018 by Admiral Bobbery
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted January 7, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted January 7, 2018 An unexpected winner
Remmy Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I actually didn't notice you were a Kelly stan, so the #1 is lowkey a shocker for me ATRL loves Meaning of Life but it was just alright to me, I can understand the praise at least. Dua's album has some great stuff. Kesha and Lorde 2 queens that came back after long breaks and gave us some of their best + most powerful material. We love a good legend!
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 8, 2018 Author Posted January 8, 2018 (edited) Throwback Songs 25-11! 25: Tennis Court - Lorde - 10 A very underrated song that deserved to be much bigger. 24: Raspberry Beret - Prince - 10 It’s a good song, but I’m surprised I played it this much. 23: Conquest - The White Stripes - 10 Plays I love the horns and intensity of this track. I also love the lyrical twist it has. 22: Nostalgic - Kelly Clarkson - 10 Plays This song just bops. Easily one of her catchiest 10's songs and has a lot of personality to it. 21: Buzzcut Season - Lorde - 10 Plays This is probably Lorde’s best song from a lyrical standpoint. Just as a side note. Many of these songs are tied in plays so for this list, if there is a tie, I've arranged the list in order of my favorites. Edited January 8, 2018 by Admiral Bobbery
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 8, 2018 Author Posted January 8, 2018 20 Figure 8 - Ellie Goulding - 10 Plays This has always been a fan favorite of her’s for a good reason. 19: The Light - Adam Lambert - 11 Probably my favorite song from Mr. Lambert. 18: Loud Places - Jamie xx & Romy - 11 Plays An interesting electronic mid-tempo about breakups. The bridge gets me every time. 17: Let’s Go Crazy - Prince - 11 Plays This song is just incredibly catchy. 16: Kiss - Prince - 11 Plays A fun, breezy, Prince classic.
Admiral Bobbery Posted January 8, 2018 Author Posted January 8, 2018 15 Dare - Gorillaz - 11 Plays Such a fun, quirky, twisted dance song. Incredibly catchy. 14 Because of You - Kelly Clarkson 11 Plays Such a quintessential 00’s ballad. 13 Stay Awake - Ellie Goulding - 12 Plays This song is a jam and is fun to run too. Which is good because I don’t like running much. 12 Ribs - Lorde - 12 Plays This has always been a favorite of mine from her first album. The production on this song just snaps. 11: Parachute - Chris Stapleton 12 Plays Probably my favorite Stapleton up-tempo. Also, in spite of my announcement yesterday, I've decided to finish up the throwback song's list tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the true finale to this year's list. Thanks to everyone who's followed this so far!
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