best of Unoriginal's Best of 2017

[Mark Rih]

Quote

9. Lana

8. Taylor

delete delete delete

 

jk I like both

your highlights from Rep are the right ones, yes @ So It Goes especially, it's underrated.

[World Eater]

22 hours ago, Unoriginal said:

This is primarily what makes it feel that way but it also just sounds way more accessible than D or TL. That's not necessarily a bad thing but Glasshouse does sound like Jessie minus something she had on her previous two albums. I'd have gone into more detail but at this point I've done seventy writeups and I'm getting bored

I got you, I have the same problem. And being bored with it is one thing, I think I should have prepared the write ups beforehand instead of graphics (or find time to do both) because it's sometimes a struggle for me to come up with something clever or interesting to say in such short span of time  But back to Jessie, it definitely feels like it's her record and I can see why you like it

 

Anyway, love this update  Surprised to see republican so high It was a great pop album tho, top 5 (of the genre) for me for sure

Kinda expected you to put A Deeper Undestanding higher

[rvx]

Feel It Still + The Cure 

[Unoriginal]

4 hours ago, theblackestday said:

Republican above Lust for Obama??? WHITE SUPREMACY WON

 

 

I should spoil your top 5 just for that blasphemy

Spoiler

Tbf anyone could check my last and see

 

[Unoriginal]

3 hours ago, AlexisNeiers said:

Surprised to see republican so high It was a great pop album tho, top 5 (of the genre) for me for sure

Kinda expected you to put A Deeper Undestanding higher

The gap between No Shape and rep is massive  think of it as a jump from 4 stars to 4.5 for NS and then ADU (and everything after it) is a 5/5 

[bestfiction]

15 hours ago, Unoriginal said:

Pitch Black is probably my least favourite chapter  I love some of the songs on it but romantics, cycles and 9th of october  

 

cycles is my fav from the whole album  everyone's doing it so dirty

15 hours ago, Unoriginal said:

I'd say StTY is a small downgrade but nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be

 

I wasn't really impressed by it at the begginig (especcially considering the fact that it's been 4 years since DAG) but it has grown on me so much, whew.

 

On the update: I don't really get why would you want to drag Lana, LFL is pretty excellent. I personally wasn't really hyped. Love was cute and its video is Lana's best since... Blue Jeans? but I wasn't anticipating anything so LFL was a big surprise for me... Kinda agree that Love and LFL as tracks #1 and #2 don't really fit in and those collabs are... weird but decent tbh. Also stan for TNC, BPBP, GF as highlights heroin tho  don't really get the untimate love for this song

rep is just a great pop album, it's definitely a solid record and a step up from 1989 (which has already been a pop perfection) Getaway Car is one of the best Jack's productions this year. and I agree on Ed feture being tolerable

 

[Unoriginal]

so i think i'll do a live reveal of the top five because i'm bored and procrastinating and i'll start it in two or three hours? i'll reply to all the comments later too

[TheWayWeWere]

whew that top 10 opening

Truth was amazing I was a bit worried about that album, since RFY and BP was not as good as debut album, but they proved me wrong

LFL has some one of her biggest highs

Reputation was great pop album, but tbh it went old very quickly

 

[Dom]

reputation made it, only the kween on controversy. such a good album tho, glad you put it in, serving taste. haters can seethee.

[Unoriginal]

okay let's get this started 

[Unoriginal]

UNORIGINAL'S BEST OF 2017

2017's 20 Best Albums

5 - 1

 

#5

Lorde

Melodrama

Melodrama is a masterwork of a coming-of-age album. After Pure Heroine I was wondering where Lorde would take her sound because the sound of Pure Heroine felt very middle-teen and lyrically I didn't feel it was a route Lorde could viably explore on her next album. Green Light was the first taste of new Lorde since her songs for the Hunger Games soundtracks and it was explosive, cathartic, instantly incredible and all round immensely good. To say Green Light had me excited for the then-unnamed Melodrama would have been an understatement. Liability came next and it was simple yet stunning; pained and hurt but perfectly so. It was simple at its heart yet it worked beautifully to create one of 2017's rawest, most personal feeling tracks that bared all of Lorde's feelings in less than three minutes. Perfect Places and Sober were also released before the album and then the album was out. From the first listen I was stunned: the electropop production courtesy of Jack Antonoff is spot on for the most part an Lorde's lyrics are genius. Melodrama is a breakup album, an emotions album and a party album. It explores themes of loneliness, heartbreak, new love and parties in general. It feels like a modern enshrinement of the late teenage and early adult years and it does it perfectly. There's cathartic, euphoric songs in Green Light, parties and carefree attitudes in highlights Sober and Homemade Dynamite, infatuation in The Louvre, absolute openness on Liability and much much more after that. It all works and feels perfect, a flawless encapsulation of Lorde in these years but it also feels applicable to anyone who's been through these things. What Lorde and Antonoff created on Melodrama is something truly special and the feelings that flood the album, from the imaginary utopia of Supercut to the heartbreak and longing of the Kate Bush-inspired Writer in the Dark, are executed without a flaw.

Highlights - Sober, Homemade Dynamite, Liability, Sober II (Melodrama), Writer in the Dark

listen here

[Legend E]

talent slaying  

[Unoriginal]

Spoiler

18 hours ago, Lazuli said:

 Yeah it sounds like a Julia Michaels song but it doesn't sound objectively bad tbh tho it's one of the weakest on the album

Ugh YES! That outro is PERFECT. That's how you end an album 

to me it sounds like objectively the worst song in Jessie's discography

probably one of my favourite closers of the year tbh but I think it's overshadowed by a lot of people by I Dare You

 

16 hours ago, Zay said:

Ok bitch Mike did that 

he really ****ing did

 

10 hours ago, theblackestday said:

Republican above Lust for Obama??? WHITE SUPREMACY WON

 

 

I should spoil your top 5 just for that blasphemy

well was #5 predictable? 

 

10 hours ago, Eeveelution said:

These LIES. Stan card revoked!

 

 

Groupie Love, White Mustang, In My Feelings > Republican  

 

London Grammar was a disappointment for me tbh, Everyone Else was like my fav.

 

You didn't lie about No Shape having no lowlights.

LfL's quality is mostly contained within the second half so most of the first half feels pointless imho

ew @ that blasphemy. glad you remembered not to include coachella on that list of lies tho

I loved LG but i get why it wouldn't be for everyone

I was debating making one up to not look biased but it's literally quality through and through

 

10 hours ago, TayRianaPH said:

Lust For Life was a cute epic album! I'd say Summer Bummer deserves a highlight tho 

REPU

****IN

TATION!!! Love it!!

comment on mine too  

Summer Bummer held up incredibly well tbh

 

10 hours ago, Mark Rih said:

delete delete delete

 

jk I like both

your highlights from Rep are the right ones, yes @ So It Goes especially, it's underrated.

it's so overlooked and i really don't know why considering the two songs that sandwich it are some of the lows on rep

I felt the need to be petty with Lana bc LfL was such a downgrade after the dual magnum opuses that were UV and HM

 

9 hours ago, AlexisNeiers said:

I got you, I have the same problem. And being bored with it is one thing, I think I should have prepared the write ups beforehand instead of graphics (or find time to do both) because it's sometimes a struggle for me to come up with something clever or interesting to say in such short span of time  But back to Jessie, it definitely feels like it's her record and I can see why you like it

 

Anyway, love this update  Surprised to see republican so high It was a great pop album tho, top 5 (of the genre) for me for sure

Kinda expected you to put A Deeper Undestanding higher

most of my writeups just describe some part of the album. they're unprofessional and messy but idc it adds to the... charm... of it

 

4 hours ago, bestfiction said:

cycles is my fav from the whole album  everyone's doing it so dirty

I wasn't really impressed by it at the begginig (especcially considering the fact that it's been 4 years since DAG) but it has grown on me so much, whew.

 

On the update: I don't really get why would you want to drag Lana, LFL is pretty excellent. I personally wasn't really hyped. Love was cute and its video is Lana's best since... Blue Jeans? but I wasn't anticipating anything so LFL was a big surprise for me... Kinda agree that Love and LFL as tracks #1 and #2 don't really fit in and those collabs are... weird but decent tbh. Also stan for TNC, BPBP, GF as highlights heroin tho  don't really get the untimate love for this song

rep is just a great pop album, it's definitely a solid record and a step up from 1989 (which has already been a pop perfection) Getaway Car is one of the best Jack's productions this year. and I agree on Ed feture being tolerable

 

cycles feels like it's missing something imho

Lana's in the top line of my sig  I just felt LfL was a downgrade after HM and UV, especially HM. Calling Love the best video since Blue Jeans ignores Ride's video tho  

Heroin is stunning and psychedelic and just incredible  surprised you don't like it tbh

 

3 hours ago, TheWayWeWere said:

whew that top 10 opening

Truth was amazing I was a bit worried about that album, since RFY and BP was not as good as debut album, but they proved me wrong

LFL has some one of her biggest highs

Reputation was great pop album, but tbh it went old very quickly

 

RfY was simple but beautiful so I loved it but BP was DEFINITELY a let down. Thankfully there wasn't much on the album that was not as good as it.

TNC is like my second favourite Lana album so I'd have to agree on the highs

I still listen to rep like daily

1 hour ago, Dom said:

reputation made it, only the kween on controversy. such a good album tho, glad you put it in, serving taste. haters can seethee.

it is v good and a significant step up from 1989 so I was more than impressed with it

sorry if i double quoted you i just wanted to make sure i didn't miss anybody seeing as this live reveal thing is supposed to be an ~event~  

[Mark Rih]

I became a Lorde hater

 

 

can't wait for #4

[Unoriginal]

15 minutes ago, Legend E said:

talent slaying  

as it should be

 

2 minutes ago, Mark Rih said:

I became a Lorde hater

 

 

can't wait for #4

what happened

[Eeveelution]

Melodrama, an album.  

 

And honestly, Coachella > at least half of republican.  

[Unoriginal]

1 minute ago, Eeveelution said:

And honestly, Coachella > at least half of republican.  

oh... um... well... i love opinions!

[Mark Rih]

11 minutes ago, Unoriginal said:

as it should be

 

what happened

Melodrama was a major let down after PH which I loved

she tries to much to be an 'artist' for me, but I know that this is my very singolar point of view

also all the praise she got got on my nerves, like idgi

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by Mark Rih

[Unoriginal]

6 minutes ago, Mark Rih said:

Melodrama was a major let down after PH which I loved

she tries to much to be an 'artist' for me, but I know that this is my very singolar point of view

also all the praise she got got on my nerves, like idgi

 

oh  I liked PH a lot but I adore Melon. to each their own tho ofc

I think the praise was deserved, it extends itself out of the basic second album mould that seems to be a thing a lot of the time (not that Rih can relate, her second album Rated R was a dark masterpiece)

[Unoriginal]

UNORIGINAL'S BEST OF 2017

2017's 20 Best Albums

5 - 1

 

#4

St. Vincent

MASSEDUCTION

MASSEDUCTION is insane from start to finish. It's high energy, insane, full-on, in-your-face and it all works perfectly. Whereas Annie Clark's self-titled fourth album was focused very strongly on guitars and had an art-rocky edge to it, MASSEDUCTION invites Jack Antonoff in as the album's main producer, keeping the guitars but toning them down and bringing in synths galore to create a much poppier record that, whilst retaining a slight rocky edge, particularly on songs like Fear the Future, feels more new wave and arguably even electropoppy. Going into MASSEDUCTION, I had no idea what to expect: the three prerelease singles were all completely different from each other with New York being piano-led, Los Ageless bringing the distorted guitar front and centre of the song and Pills being completely off the wall with an almost psychedelic-feeling outro. The album as a whole works and flows stunningly well: the energy is slowly ramped up at the beginning of the album before Los Ageless' outro leads into the sombre, lyrically beautiful album highlight Happy Birthday Johnny before going into the ode to roleplay Savior and then slowing down for New York before ramping the energy up for Fear the Future and Young Lover and ultimately ending the album on a dramatic, suicidal (?) note on Smoking Section. Clark's lyrics feel personal but also seem to address society and technology; Los Ageless, for example, is a satirical look at Los Angeles' youth culture whilst Pills is 'a moral indictment of the state of the Pharmaceutical industry in the U.S.' The personal meshes with the broader very well but it's the more personal moments that are personal highlights for me. Hang on Me sounds like the audible representation of drunk calling an ex; Happy Birthday, Johnny heartbreakingly continues the Johnny saga from Prince Johnny on Clark's self titled, Savior is an odd look into roleplay and Slow Disco and Smoking Section are sombre notes to end a mostly high energy album on. The title track and Sugarboy - which is particularly 1000% high energy - are also standouts here, though when an album's this good anything could be called a highlight really.

Highlights - Hang on Me, Masseduction, Sugarboy, Happy Birthday Johnny, Savior, Smoking Section

listen here 

[Unoriginal]

UNORIGINAL'S BEST OF 2017

2017's 20 Best Albums

5 - 1

 

#3

Father John Misty

Pure Comedy

Pure Comedy is fascinating because it honestly sounds to me like it could be the soundtrack to a very dramatic movie about 2017. In a way, that's kind of what it is. Although Josh Tillman - the man behind the FJM persona - calls Pure Comedy a concept album, it feels like the perfect soundtrack to how 2017 has panned out. The album is dramatic from start to finish, with orchestral flushes every here and there, long instrumental passages, long songs in general, different energy levels on every song and a mood for everything that went down this year. Even though the album was released at the start of the year it still feels as relevant and fresh today as it did eight months ago. There's songs on here about technology and its implications and use in modern society (Total Entertainment Forever), general biting critique of humans on the title track, dealing with growing old and the taboo of it nowadays, serious songs about differing opinions (Two Wildly Different Perspectives) and songs that feel more personal like the highlight Smoochie. Pure Comedy is highlight after highlight full of clever lyrics, sarcasm, dry humour and wittiness that still all somehow feels despairing. Tillman managed to create a work of genius here that doesn't feel bloated despite being 75 minutes long at only thirteen tracks (blame the thirteen minute Leaving LA and the ten minute So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain). Every song could be a highlight and was an easy frontrunner for my album of the year and ultimately earned its very rightful place in my top three.

Highlights - Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution, Birdie, Smoochie, The Memo, So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain

listen here

[Unoriginal]

so that leaves the top two to be revealed... tomorrow 

[ultraviolence.xx]

19 minutes ago, Unoriginal said:

so that leaves the top two to be revealed... tomorrow 

oh no what will i do to occupy myself during this stressful wait

 

 

[Unoriginal]

2 minutes ago, ultraviolence.xx said:

oh no what will i do to occupy myself during this stressful wait

 

 

you could post the first of your 91 honourable song mentions 

[grandewhispers]

I don't know any of the top 5 so far