Mikal Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Alright, lets do this ish. It's 2017, I've somehow become my father and I'm itching for a fight. So why not do that as a theme for the Best and Worst of the Year! Granted, there is a lot of good music this year, for a change. But I'm also taking a more free-flow onto my lists rather than forcing it into a Top 50 (or 75...100...200...473...912....) list in which I'd have to add songs or albums that I don't like as much. So don't be shocked that the Best Songs list is only 37 songs I'll post the full schedule later on, as per tradition I'm not done yet and I do all my stuff at the end of the year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted December 27, 2017 Author Share Posted December 27, 2017 the silence is deafening, and yet here I am again Top 12 Best Songs From People Who Usually Fail At This So there are many many many artists and groups who fail miserably at the whole "making things Mikal" likes. And this year a few succeeded in making me...um...hate them less? Well Nadine figured out how not to suck but that's different. So these 12 would be on the "Songs I Like But Aren't Worth Putting In The Best Songs" usually but why not gives snaps and applause for sucking less than usually! 12 "Go To Work," Nadine Coyle Let's be honest, Nadine was a bit hateable during the Insatiable era, from the random Tesco deal to everyone holding her responsible for the blandness of Out of Control since she was so resistant to participating on it to the whole kerflufle over who got a solo manager first. But with some years behind her and Nadine clearly loving every second of the Ten Tour (while Sarah was...there, Cheryl was interested in killing Nadine, Nicola clearly wanted to do bleach and Kimberley is doing whatever Cherola want to do #teamNadine4ever) it makes sense that after doing some droll Michael Flatley nonsense she'd go back to Xenomania. Yes yes yes, this is pisspoor Xenomania. Brian Higgins clearly needs Miranda to push the right spark. But damn it to hell, this was far more glorious than I'd expect it to be. It's dumb fun, it's bouncy, Nadine finally jets to unleash that North Irish drawl for all to hear (and be confused by) AND THE VIDEO IS SO RIDIC IT'S ADORABLE. If this is her last single, it's at least a good one to head out with. 11 "Ni Tu Ni Yo," Jennifer Lopez (ft. Gente de Zona) Huh, Jennifer learned how to be interesting in Spanish. For the longest time I've been driven insane about how BAD she is at singing in Spanish. Like, really bad. I didn't care for her ballads, her attempts at dance was weird and eh, and I never cared. And then in 2017 she decided to try. Well, "try." NTNY isn't really all that good of a song (on the 14 Spanish Songs Not Called Despacito this is nowhere near it) but it's far more interesting than Jennifer has been in either language in years. More this (and sure, "Amor Amor Amor" and less everything from AKA onwards). 10 "Now or Never," Halsey Halsey is rather annoying as a popstar. All identity but it feels completely made by committee. "Colours" made me question that "Closer" made em realize one thing: Homegurl cannot sing. So how does NoN work? It plays up to her weaknesses by keeping her more in the speak-sing range. It works to make it more static and haunting than she probably intended and in turn more interesting. Which makes it weird that it seems like everyone else hates it critics-wise. 09 "Touch," Kehlani Look who finally got a career going! I feel like we as a society have been hearing about Kehlani for a while And then she got on the Suicide Squad soundtrack and we have progress! And while her debut album is mad boring, "Touch" finally getting played helps to cement her as a singer on the rise, rather than just a idea we're waiting on. 08 "Find You," Nick Jonas I keep waiting on him to justify having a solo career. And he never really does. He's not interesting to listen to - pleasant, sure, but not interesting - and his creatine cycles are really the only reason many are willing to give him a pass. But on FY (and also "Remember I Told You") he actually almost gets there. It's a different melody than what he goes and his soft vocals complement the track rather than let him get drowned out for a change. It would be wise to go this route but I doubt he's that clever. 07 "Likey," Twice I for one CANNOT. STAND. TWICE. Every single they have done is cloyingly stupid, poorly produced and the marketing drives me bananas. And that says something for a kpop act. However, with Likey they have continued the push away from their old sound (which I guess started with "Signal" but that song makes me punch babies so yeah...) and done something I didn't think possible - make a pop song that properly harkens back to the Golden Age of the Hallyu Wave. Considering Twice is being positioned as the new Girls Generation songs like this (and, sure, "Heart Shaker" although I hate this one as well) (seriously, why do I hate Twice but like far more girl groups) will help to position them towards the top. 06 "Get Low," (Zedd ft.) Liam Payne Zedd's got better songs getting chatted about later. But Liam's other two songs this year suck balls. "Strip That Down" seems to think Liam is sex. And Liam is many things, but sex is nowhere near that list (hell, Niall is hotter than Liam and Niall looks like what Ed Sheeran thinks he looks like). "Bedroom Floor" tries to hard to be interesting. But on GL Liam sort of shines, which is more due to Zedd than to Liam. 05 "Attention," Charlie Puth Huh. You did an ok song. Congrats! Granted we're talking about the remixes which tend to cut most of the chorus which I do hate. 04 "There's Nothing Holding Me Back," Shawn Mendes Huh, I don't actually despise this song. Congrats! Although I'm still trying to figure out why everything he's releasing sounds like was actually a rejected Azerbaijani entry for Eurovision. The build on this song, though, is key. 03 "Congratulations," Post Malone (ft. Quavo) Don't get comfy cuz you will be roasted. But considering I hated this song last year I have to say Post and Quavo grew on me with this number. It's more due to how damn long it was on the charts, also due to Post sounding...sincere. Not cocky. Not like a douchecanoe. More this, less "Rockstar." And a whole lot less talking to the press. 02 "Havana," Camilla Cabello (ft. Young Thug) God damn it. Granted I called her having a career last year, I just didn't think it would actually include anything I'd be willing to listen to in a club. And the beat is the right side of slick (especially when mixed with Santana's "Smooth") to help lift Camilla's...um...range and ....um...style to make her more engaged with the melody than she was on any other non-starting single. Granted the verses go nowhere and Young thug easily outshines her on his guest verse, but good on her. 01 "Paris," The Chainsmokers Can I say I'm honestly surprised how many critics hate this? Yes yes the lyrics are dumb, there's no chorus, neither guy can sing and are flat for the whole duration of the song. But the melody is properly melancholy and yet flighty and Emily Warren's non-credited backing work (apparently at her request since the tools that are The Chainsmokers didn't want this as a duet...) gives this meat. Honestly, just give her the song like Frendship did with "Capsize" and it's completely golden. Tomorrow...brings another list I've never done. One that might annoy a certain segment of the ATRL nation since I don't post over in their subsection usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 Well...this is going swimmingly! Top 22 K-Pop Tracks Yep, did a list after a few years of just rating them within various other lists! Special Shout: "Cactus," ACE Just for DEM LEGS THO! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 "Watch Me Move," Uhm Jung Hwa Bless the true Queen of the Gays in Korea. 21 "New," Yves (LOONA) I have to say the LOONA experience has been interesting. Can you really drum up interest in 11 girls by making each one have their own solo feature and then spin them into multiple groups (and throw them on TV to be other subunits)? I think the answer is sort of (I mean it is K-Pop) but their label's gamble has at least international interest and that's more than most have. Yves, the most recent reveal, has probably the most "American" sounding song and is probably the one most primed to be a star so it makes sense she was saved til now. 20 "Gucci," Jessi Yes yes, K-Rap is trash. But this is fun trash at least and she clearly has spunk, personality and cash flow to work. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe less self tanner next time but otherwise I'm gucci. 19 "Lip & Hip," HyunA HyunA likes to be hit and veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery miss on her singles. And while "Babe" was delightfully 90s and yet bad at the same time, L&H is her attempt to chase down Sunmi and while not as good, it's better than anything since "Roll Deep." 18 "Flower (You)," VAV I could have easily listed all their releases this year. Them and Astro are easily guilty pleasures in the genre, since I can't tell if we're supposed to take them seriously or not. Flower is the best of the three thanks in part to the melody in the chorus and the video, which is so overdone it has to be a joke they were let in on. 17 "What's My Name," T-ARA With what should have been their "goodbye" track T-ARA might have tripped into their second life thanks to Korea finally giving them the OK and China still being all on their tip. Not to shabby for a band that continues their every-other-single push for relevance and interest to me. 16 "Spring Day," BTS Yes yes "Blood Sweat and Tears." Yes yes "DNA." Yes yes "Mic Dro......." Um...well. We all know this was their best release. 15 "Really Really," Winner So this was the k-pop entry that got play in the gay scene of New Orleans this year. You're welcome. Seriously, though, they work so well with the trop-house sound here but then everything else is such a mess I just don't get it. 14 "Sweet Crazy Love," Odd Eye Circle Can...can they just go solo? I mean Choerry is useless but serves just the same and the High Battle of Supremacy between Kim and JinSoul would be MAGNIFICENT! Plus this song is cute, the decision to make the video actually the prequel is clever and...yeah. I like it a lot. 13 "Don't Recall," K.A.R.D. First things First: BM is the sex. Period. Secondly, can we discuss the drop in quality KARD hit after this? "Rumor" was fine if boring retread, "Hola Hola" was a disaster and the less said about their current boring track of boringness the better. DR is a fab trop-house merger and the group sell each part well, which makes the badness that followed even more stark. 12 "Peak-A-Boo," Red Velvet FINALLY! FINALLY THEY RELEASE A TRACK BETTER THAN "DUMB DUMB"! I DIDN'T THINK THEY COULD. This song is flawless and I will hear no dissent. 11 "Remember," 9Muses Granted we don't know if we have to pretend "Love City" is the end (but lets be real it is) at least Remember continues 9Muses ability to release very good singles. Shame I was so late to the game (got into them at "Glue") cuz all iterations sell it. 10 "DDD," EXID Look, they CAN do a song that's not just an "Up Down" cover! 09 "Singing In The Rain," JinSoul JinSoul is here to eat your soul. This is a STAR. Point blank period. 08 "Excuse Me," AoA Of course, NOW Ace of Angels wants to be interesting and the Choa realizes her mental health is worth more than the five bucks she's earned as a k-pop star and Jimin still can't figure out how to be the best squeaky rapper ever. Shame, this pops with a proper disco aestetic that k-pop would be wise to mimic. 07 "All Night," Girls Generation As the Divine Nine became the Hateful Eight, and now the Partitioned Four, lets at least celebrate that they had one more proper party jam in them and forget about how damn boring "Holiday" was as a thing. AN has the same disco sheen Excuse Me has but dialed up to 11, making it more interesting and fun than the Girls have had in a while. And the video was an actual thing and not just a damn commercial. That's something worth celebrating. 06 "Likey," Twice I have no idea why this works and every. other. thing. Twice. has. ever. done. gives. me. hives. The choreography just works, going to Vancouver is smart (cuz they work better in a real setting) the beat is hella catchy, they don't sound like total ass. It's sorta brill how good this is when everything preceding would suggest otherwise, ESPECIALLY since this feels like a proper remake of "TT." 05 "Gashina," Sunmi Three-for-Three. Sunmi really does no wrong (well.....except be able to do this live....) as she sells the hell out of a kiss-off song and making finger guns hot. 04 "Shall We Dance," Block B" Not only makes up for the horrible "Yesterday" (serious BB and Korea, the hell is your deal with cutesy songs?) it becomes easily the best thing they've ever released. 03 "Eclipse," Kim Lip (LOONA) JinSoul might be the STAR and Choerry the accessible one, but Kim will go the farthest. Easily the class of the OEC test period and one of the most striking videos of the year. 02 "A Girl Like Me," Gugudan Look Korea, I get you like to punish groups when they leave the safety of their presumed musical type. But "Wonderland" was trash and now they are suffering with that damn "Chocolate" song. Next time take the early 90s club banger and appreciate what the Lords give you. 01 "Last Night's Story" IU Easily my most played K-Pop entry this year. Head and shoulders above the boring as hell "Pallet," this has pulse and beat and attitude for your nerve and these are things I appreciate in an IU entry. The drumming is also A+ and deserves its own special mention. As does the dopey guy dancers behind her randomly. Come Friday, I guess I can talk about the stuff I like that I know is bad, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 25 Songs Not Quite Great Yay, Questionable Taste Time!!! "Bodak Yellow," Cardi B Yeah yeah yeah she can barely rap and we can write this off as her trying to mimic the utterly useless Kodak Black. But the beat still knocks and she does something most rappers don't: SHE SELLS THE HELL OUT OF IT. Sure they're nonsensical but you actually believe her when she raps it. "Breathe," Jax Jones (ft. Ira Wroldsen) Jax had the continued breakout this year but this slinky dance number, featuring criminally underrated dance artist Ira (who also sparkles on Martin Solveig's "Places") is by far the most interesting. It's dark and moddy and sexy and shows Jax, unlike A LOT of djs, isn't as pegged to one specific beat to sell a track. "Ciao-Adios," Anne-Marie Anne-Marie's vocals are all over the year really and while "Heavy" is boring and "Rockabye" is actually a useless track by Clean Bandit (#sorrynotsorry #donttellyourmother #kissykissybooboo) her kiss-off track to a caught ex is the kind of thing she should do more of. It also is a lovely slow blend of trop house, making the song age better as the Norweigian sound begins to die off. "Down," Marian Hill Shout out to Applle for getting a jazz track into the top 20. Oh, you thought it was an experimental dance-pop entry? Nah, straight up jazz with a synth. And it's rather fetching. "Etats d'amour," Amir Amir has proven to stay relevant in France after Eurovision with this lovely and yet torturous entry. "Heartline," Craig David I'm rather interested in the Second Renaissance of Craig David. Since the weird mash up that spead like wildfire over 2015-2016 Craig has been able to release two albums and play around with his r&b-lite sound. While this is more pop-sound than I'm used to from him (and it's really soft), hearing him still get play is lovely to see after so long. "Human Touch," Betty Who "Mama Say," Betty Who One: had Katy Perry released The Valley she'd have had a wonderful year. Two: "Human Touch" is almost the best thing Betty has ever done (that actually belongs to "Pretend You're Missing Me.") Three: Girl is taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall. "I Feel It Coming," The Weeknd (ft. Daft Punk) While it's supposed to be about The Weeknd finally giving in to Abel's desires and destroying the past so he can have a normal future with one girl, I like to imagine this is about the bump he just did starting to hit. Cuz lets be real, everything The Weeknd sings about is coke. "I Miss You," Clean Bandit (ft. Julia Michaels) To be fair Julia sounds better here drowned out in autotune and synth compared to "Issues" or "Uh Huh" but Clean Bandit has not sounded this melodic and good in at least a year and a half. "Rockabye" is droll cop-out for a #1, "Symphony" tries way too hard, and I already slammed "Tears" last year. More this, less everything else. "If I'm Lucky," Jason DeRulo Speaking of more this, who knew Jason could make a smart pop song about stalking your ex in the next life? "Just A Boy," Astrid S While Zara Larssen's trying to figure out her next step (and being a delight on Twitter), Denmark has unleashed her rival onto the world. Astrid S has a similar cool vibe to Zara but is clearly rooted in pop-land and doesn't let it overwhelm her. If she keeps her head down, the small fanbase might just explode with the right song. "Lemon," N.E.R.D. (ft. Rihanna) THANK YOU FOR YOUR RETURN. That is all. "Little of Your Love," HAIM Yes yes, everyone liked the lead single. But I prefer this little California AM number that glistens with a bit of disco. "Origo," Joci Papai My winner from Eurovision. An entry in Roma that was boring until on stage, at which point Joci went at it with such full force he was able to hold his own against Italy, let alone Bulgaria in the semis, regardless of the jury's very weird "ehness". I wish it wasn't geolocked in the US cuz the live performance in Kyiv is astounding. "Rack It Up," Yo Gotti (ft. Nicki Minaj) Yep. I like it. Yes it's dumb. But I like it. And really like Nicki on this, even though she rhymes around China far too much. "Rejoice," Herculese and the Love Affair A love song to the dirty side of drag, the song and video give me proper 1989 New York release and should push the babies growing up on Drag Race to rethink just what drag is - cuz it's not just a pretty face and lacefronts. "Remember I Told You," Nick Jonas (ft. Anne-Marie and Mike Posner) Well this is a hodgepodge I didn't think would work. "Swish Swish," Katy Perry IF SHE WOULD JUST DO A PROPER EARLY 90S DANCE DISS TRACK I'D BE HAPPY BUT NO LETS DO WHATEVER THE HELL THAT VIDEO WAS. SERIOUSLY GIVE ME A BALL SCENE VIDEO WITH A DAMN BLACK WIG ON. Ahem. "The Lourve," Lorde I went back and forth as to putting this and "Supercut" on the Best list (Supercut made it) since they aren't really releases but are brilliant songs that highlight Lorde's personal growth. "The Lourve" highlights the weird atmosphere within Lorde's psyche as well as how getting lost within the party is perfectly fine when you're 19. "Too Much To Ask," Niall Horan Hey, a better Ed Sheeran cover than "This Town"! "Unforgettable," French Montana (ft. Swae Lee) Swae Lee sounds AMAZING on this, so when he goes solo he'll have a career. French sounds....good *cough* but he should have just given the whole thing to Swae. The beat is sick, the chorus is properly haunting, the visual is so pretty. "What Lovers Do," Maroon 5 (ft. SZA) Oh, so NOW you can do a less garbage song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 20 Rather Good Albums Lets do this quickly, shall we? 20 The Valley, Betty Who 19 Glasshouse, Jessie Ware 18 American Teen, Khalid 17 The Nashville Sound, Jason Isobell & the 400 Units 16 The Order Of Time, Valerie June 15 Lust For Life, Lana Del Ray 14 Southern Blood, Gregg Allman 13 Colors, Beck 12 Soul Of A Woman, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 11 Funk Wave Bounces, Vol. 1, Calvin Harris 10 Humanz, Gorillaz 09 Process, Sampha 08 Bicycle EP, BC Unidos 07 Mura Masa, Mura Masa 06 Ti Amo, Phoenix 05 4:44, Jay Z 04 Ctrl, SZA 03 Take Me Apart, Kelela 02 DAMN., Kendrick Lama 01 Melodrama, Lorde Tomorrow brings Best Songs. There could be a couple surprises... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 35 Songs for the Year No...I don't know how I got this many songs either. 35 "Scared Of The Dark," Steps 34 "Feels," Calvin Harris (ft. Pharrell, Katy Perry & Big Sean) 33 "Crybaby," Paloma Faith 32 "Lost In Your Light," Dua Lipa (ft. Miguel) 31 "Every Little Thing," Carly Pearce 30 "Disco ****," Tove Lo 29 "Last Night Story," IU 28 "Midnight," Jessie Ware 27 "Told You So," Miguel 26 "Bad Liar," Selena Gomez 25 "Me Rehuso," Danny Ocean 24 "Bad and Boujee," Migos (ft. Lil Uzi Vert) 23 "Drinkin' Problem," Midland 22 "Loyalty." Kendrick Lamar (ft. Rihanna) 21 "It Ain't My Fault," Brothers Osbourne 20 "Praying," Kesha 19 "Trouble In The Streets," BC Unidos (ft. Carly Rae Jepsen) 18 "Castle On The Hill," Ed Sheeran 17 "The Weekend," SZA 16 "No More Sad Songs," Little Mix 15 "Someone," Anna Of The North 14 "Boys," Charlie XCX 13 "Stay," Zedd (ft. Alessia Cara) 12 "Still Got Time," ZAYN (ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR) 11 "1Night," Mura Masa (ft. Charlie XCX) 10 "I Know A Place," MUNA 09 "Slide," Calvin Harris (ft. Frank Ocean & Migos) 08 "LMK," Kelela 07 "Cut To The Feeling," Carly Rae Jepsen 06 "Plot Twist," Sigrid 05 "Alone," Jessie Ware 04 "New Rules," Dua Lipa 03 "Supercut," Lorde 02 "HUMBLE." Kendrick Lamar 01 "Green Light," Lorde Tomorrow I'll insult some videos. Over two pages. I think the worst is obvious but the rest is a lovely mix of chaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator feelslikeadream Posted January 2, 2018 ATRL Moderator Share Posted January 2, 2018 FIND YOU DESERVED BETTER And wow @ this overlap between our lists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 8 hours ago, feelslikeadream said: FIND YOU DESERVED BETTER It really did. But after having it on my Goodish list I decided to do the Hey You Didn't Suck list and there it went! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 29 Best Music Videos I might as well push through to finish things, right? Here's other good things. 29 "Swalla," Jason DeRulo 28 "Lonely Together," Avicii (ft. Rita Ora) 27 "Wyclef Jean," Young Thing 26 "Your Song," Rita Ora 25 "It Ain't Me," Kygo (ft. Selena Gomez) 24 "Lust For Life," Lana Del Rey (ft. The Weeknd) 23 "Woman," Kesha (ft. The Dap-King Horns) 22 "That's What I Like," Bruno Mars 21 "Saturn Barz," Gorillaz 20 "More Than You Know," Axwell Λ Ingrosso 19 "Lost In Your Light," Dua Lipa (ft. Miguel) 18 "Praying," Kesha 17 "Bad & Boujee," Migos (ft. Lil Uzi Vert) 16 "Everyday," Ariana Grande (ft. Future) 15 "LMK," Kelela 14 "Bad Liar," Selena Gomez 13 "Still Got Time," ZAYN (ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR) 12 "Mi Gente," J. Balvin (ft. Willy Williams) 11 "The Gate," Bjork 10 "Last Night Story," IU 09 "Drew Barrymore," SZA 08 "Wild Thoughts," DJ Khalid (ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller) 07 "Eclipse," Kim Lip 06 "Boys," Charli XCX 05 "The Story Of OJ," Jay Z 04 "Humble." Kendrick Lamar 03 "New Rules," Dua Lipa 02 "Green Light," Lorde 01 "Element." Kendrick Lamar We'll try that whole "badness" list again tomorrow. Ya know, life happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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