#Coldplay plus Instagram

[lilolilyr]

random questions ♡

Tagged by @elizabeth-mitchells, thank you very much!

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav color: I don't really have one favorite, it depends on what it's for, plus lots of colours are just really pretty, especially combinations! but the one I always claim as 'mine' for board games and such is yellow :)

: ̗̀➛ how long have u been on tumblr for: literally half my life.

: ̗̀➛ wheres a place u always wanted to travel to: I always wanted to go to South Africa because my parents were there during their university days, and last year i got to go as well! :D

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav clothing brand(s): I haven't got one. I have 0 brand loyalty. Mostly shop second hand anyway

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav singer/band(s): been listening to a lot of classic rock lately (every year a local-ish radio station does a 'top 1000 songs' thing and there is always a lot of classic rock in there and every time I get stuck on it for a while), Deep Purple, Metallica, The Cure, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Genesis, ... Apart from that the one band I've been listening to entire albums of for a while now is Dirt Poor Robins, they're doing very theatrical rock, I love it! More long term favs of mine are Annie Lenox, Hayley Kiyoko, The Pretty Reckless, MCR, Stevie Nicks, Måneskin, Florence & The Machine, Eric Clapton, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Sting, Sarah Connor, Amy MacDonald, oh gosh I could go on... Definitely don't have one Fav, just many many great musicians I listen to! :D oh, and the Instagram guy who does the 'green socialist vampire/free range organic humans' music reels, he's so on point and hilarious. Never do remember his name until I come across a video again though.

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur current phone lockscreen: standard fairphone 4 background design. never got around to changing it and at this point it's grown on me... I usually stick to one background the entire time I have a phone, but usually it's at least something I picked xD I've had this phone for two years now, so I think it's stuck now xD

: ̗̀➛ most recent/current hyperfixation: star wars! Specifically, fanfiction either about time travel or mandalorians. Or both. Usually featuring some combination of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jaster Mereel, Jango Fett, Ahsoka Tano, Commander Cody, Yan Dooku... Well, and others too, but I think those are my favs lately! Before that it was more Anakin/Tatooine centric fics but I'm back on the Mando train now, also have a whole list of all the mando'a vocab mentioned in fic, at this point I probably know more words in that made up language than i do in Spanish (my 3d language in school, nothing bloody well stuck. Should've tried teaching it to me by telling me it's from Star wars hmm xD), if you're interested in Star Wars fics check out my 312 bookmarks on the topic, nearly all of them from this year! Also, NCIS because I've been watching the first seasons on DVD. Also also, twilight memes, specifically all the hilarious fake names for the demon spawn! (& prev re your answer, thank you for telling me who elizabeth mitchell is xD I do try to at least keep up with your urls!)

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur relationship status: single

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur dream job: being paid for tumblrin (more realistically tho, I do genuinely like building social media presences, doing video editing, and a lot of other parts of online marketing, plus it tends to be a job that can be done partially or completely in home office... So I hope I can find some job that a) I don't hate and b) leaves me enough time to actually live my life lmao)

: ̗̀➛ outside of tumblr, fav social app: telegram messenger where my irl friends are <3 also atm Instagram but not for the social aspect, oh no, it's November which means it's my yearly quest of entering every single giveaway in the hope of winning an advent calendar or at least some other trash. Usually works, too, lmao, I mean it's just math, if I enter a couple hundred giveaways each entered by a couple hundred people, I'll probably win sth xD yeah yeah I'm gambling but at least I'm just wasting time on my phone instead of betting money? Instagram has currently restricted me from commenting though for a whole week, apparently it's convinced I'm spam now xD I mean I could switch to my cosplay account but then I'd have to clean that up too in January, I mean I do need/want fo unfollow all those giveaway brand accounts again -_-

: ̗̀➛ do u have pets (if u do have pets, what kind/how many): no

: ̗̀➛ do u prefer tea or coffee: tea, preferably rooibos or green tea, assam in the mornings to wake up

: ̗̀➛ whats ur fav ice cream flavor: this year I discovered hazelnut ice cream and it's brilliant!

: ̗̀➛ tag at least three other tumblr accounts: @toboldlynerd @squishmittenficfan @jackwolfskid @mindless-mars @hereforamediocretimenotalongtime @lavendelhummel @asstraightasau-turn @purlturtle @viharistenno only if you want to of course :)

Blank for ease of copying: : ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav color: : ̗̀➛ how long have u been on tumblr for: : ̗̀➛ wheres a place u always wanted to travel to: : ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav clothing brand(s): : ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav singer/band(s): : ̗̀➛ what’s ur current phone lockscreen: : ̗̀➛ most recent/current hyperfixation: : ̗̀➛ what’s ur relationship status: : ̗̀➛ what’s ur dream job: : ̗̀➛ outside of tumblr, fav social app: : ̗̀➛ do u have pets (if u do have pets, what kind/how many): : ̗̀➛ do u prefer tea or coffee: : ̗̀➛ whats ur fav ice cream flavor: : ̗̀➛ tag at least three other tumblr accounts:

[kronosa113]

when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)

Aaaahhh, sorry this is late! I'm just going to list 5 songs that I've been listening to on repeat lately and say a little blurb about each

1. One of my closest friends shared this with me because it "describes [her] love languages". I can't get it out of my head and I think it's one of the most gently romantic songs.

2. I found this by watching If (the movie was basically a ripoff of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends) and it instantly caught my attention. It's just really catchy and sounds like another song I love, although I can't put my finger on it...

3. Let me start by saying I don't normally listen to Taylor Swift but, even though I personally don't get the hype, I support those who do! I first heard this song during the height of the pandemic (there was nothing else to do and I decided to see what all the fuss around TS was about) but it didn't really click with me until a few months ago.

Most of TS's songs don't particularly resonate with me, but this song... The origin, the message, the stringed instruments in the background... I just really enjoy the thought that was put into it.

4. This popped up in an Instagram reel and I just couldn't stop listening to it. Plus, one of my best friends adores INK and I've always thought the original song needed a bit of something extra that this version has.

5. There are many Coldplay songs that are significant to me. But a) this one is from my favorite album of theirs, b) the guitar in it is absolutely gorgeous, and c) is about how longtime friendship is something that has simplicity and history, and only gets better with time. (I don't think it's a coincidence that I have known most of my friends for over 15 years)

[underachievers-please-try-harder]

Review // Lizzo - The O2 - 16 March 2023

Appeared in the Evening Standard. Read online.

Part performer, part life coach, Melissa “Lizzo” Jefferson was preaching the radical power of self-love long before it was in fashion. A decade on from her debut, the multiple Grammy-winner has now firmly infiltrated the mainstream with her agenda, influencing millions with her body-positive bangers.

Finishing up her European tour at the O2 Arena last night, the US singer-songwriter remained resolute in her mission to uplift and empower. Supported by an all-female backing band and the plus-size dance troupe she recruited on her Emmy-winning Amazon series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, she delivered a set of relentlessly joyous disco-pop regularly interspersed with motivational speeches, both live and pre-recorded.

Subtle it wasn’t, and by the third time she’d told the crowd they were beautiful, more cynical audience members might have been forgiven for rolling their eyes. That it didn’t occur to those in attendance last night is testament to Lizzo’s immense charisma and the environment of pure fun she fostered.

The Eighties-inspired 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) came complete with aerobics-style choreography, and Soulmate saw her twerking in blue diamante to bars delivered by her DJ, Sophia Eris. There were Chaka Khan and Lauryn Hill covers, featuring Lizzo’s powerhouse vocals embellished by exquisite harmonies from backing vocalists Little Bigs. During Coldplay she solo-ed on Sasha Flute (a flute that has its own Instagram account), while Naked saw her underscoring a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, projecting “My body my choice,” onto her flesh-coloured catsuit.

Interestingly, the night’s most powerful moments arrived when the music stopped. Moved to tears at the end of Special, she told the audience, “I’m milking this,” and enjoyed an arena-wide ovation that steadily grew in intensity. Then, following a barnstorming rendition of Truth Hurts, she spent upwards of eight minutes complimenting audience members on their outfits, before autographing a woman’s breast to provide a template for a tattoo.

This overwhelming atmosphere of love and acceptance more than made up for any of the less inspiring material from her latest LP, and succeeded in elevating Lizzo-classics like Juice and Cuz I Love You to another level entirely.

Which all augurs extremely well for this summer’s co-headline slot at Glastonbury. Because if performances like these prove anything, it’s that a good Lizzo show ranks up there with the very best of life’s natural highs.

[queen-in-the-shadows]

“big things coming”

Hobi does Hobipalooza and Jack In The Box

Yoongi and “That That”

Taehyung and “In The Soop: Friendcation”

Yet To Come Busan

Jin announces military enlistment

Jin and Astronaut

Astronaut at the Coldplay shows

Photofolios

Joonie and Indigo

Indigo around SK

Hobi and NYE

Jimin and Vibe

Jimin and Taehyung working on their solo albums

YTC IN THEATERS in february

Jungkook being basically MIA amidst all of this

BTS Monuments: Beyond The Stars on the Mouse-plus stream service

Edit:

J-hope in the Box in February

JUNGKOOK lives via multiple Weverse and Instagram Lives on February 1st 😭😩

[nazaningosili]

2. The unofficial anthem of a revolution

The song “Baraye” (translation: “because of” or “for”)by the Iranian singer, song writer Shervin Hajipour, is an R&B/Soul single released on 28th of September 2022. Inspired by the death of “Mahsa Amini” and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in 2022 Iran. It received huge critical acclaim for Vocals and the portrayal of the emotions of Iranian people all around the world.

The lyrics consists of tweets from users, explaining their personal reasons for protesting and wishing for regime change. The culminating song, touches upon topics including: theocracy and outdated social and religious taboos, freedom of speech, woman’s right, children’s rights, animal rights, environmental concerns and local and political corruption. But how does a song, made with tweets, with a minimalistic piano melody, becomes the anthem of a revolution overnight?

Imagine you are a 25 years old singer, songwriter. Your country is in the beginning stages of nationwide protests. People are angry. You are angry. There is a twitter trend, among the people of your country, where everyone is giving a one sentence reason for wanting to fight.

“because of the polluted air that we breath.”, “because we need to protect our heritage for future generations”, “because of all the rotten brains that dictate our every move.”, “because I want to be able to dance in the streets without being arrested.”, “because of the boy who asked: ‘what is a dream?’”, “because of hope.”, “For woman, life, freedom.”

Imagine you take all these tweets and make a song with them. You post it on Instagram. And the song resonates with your people. Because these are not just tweets. Because these are not just sentences. These are the collective memories of a whole nation. Of why they are angry. of why they want to fight. Why they need to fight. Why the must fights.

In less than 24 hours, your Instagram post gets 40 million view. And then… you are arrested. They force you to take down your video. You are in prison. But once something is online, you can never truly erase it. Even after taking down the original post, the song still spreads like wild fire.

With each word, with each sentence, certain incidents come alive in the listener’s mind. They go back to that moment when the news came on and announced the death of 176 civilian passengers of a flight that was “accidentally” shot down “twice” by the government. They go back to that moment, when the “police” killed 1500 people in two weeks, because they were protesting the rise of gas prices. They remember the trauma. They feel it.

In the coming months, your song is used as a backdrop for hundreds of audiovisual art works relating to the revolution, it becomes the single most covered protest song in Iranian history, worldwide. Roger Waters retweets your music video with the phrase “Hey Ayatollah, leave them kids alone”. You make bail. Coldplay covers the song in their concert. It receives nearly 100,000 submissions for a new category at the coming Grammy Awards. On February 5, 2023, Baraye becomes the first ever song to be awarded a Grammy for “Best Song for Social Change.”

“We Won.” Wrote Shervin Hajipour, on his first Instagram post after his arrest.

How does a song, made with tweets, with a minimalistic piano melody, becomes the anthem of a revolution overnight? When forty plus years of socio-political injustice is summarized in 29 sentences, when the collective anger of a whole nation is backing it. When art symbolizes hope and recognition. That’s how.

“woman, life, freedom.” That’s what it’s all about.

[betweendevilanddeepbluesea]

Well, I'm going to try to reblog more often here but I don't promise anything, because I have to publish the second part of my fanfic called Triangle, starring the Coldplay guys; You can find it on Wattpad the first part. In the name of Coldplay I put the link of my Wattpad page (I feel very sorry for the Anglo-Saxon people, all my fanfics are in Spanish). And I'm also writing a new story involving the Coldplay guys and the Killers guys, but I'm eating my head with this, as people in Spain say. My new story is still an embryo, there is still much to say; It's just the beginning of a new friendship. And because of this, and my other tumblr plus my Instagram, it's hard for me to be here all the time. 😩 Another thing, sometimes I don't go here because I get nostalgic, because Coldplay and The killers are no longer as famous as before, and this is similar to going back to your ex-boyfriend, you remember the happy times but in the deep down you know it's not even remotely the same anymore. 😢 And you get nostalgia, melancholy and that bitter-sweet taste; and that's why I don't come back here. This sentiment is just as annoying as Guy Berryman's Instagram; I'm so sorry, Guy, make up your mind my love. 😉

[ulstersnapper]

G O O D B Y E 2 0 2 2 🎉 My Top Nine - all from the first 5 months as Instagram decided to hide photos from followers after that 🤷‍♂️ Also popped in a few of my personal highlights from 2022 (also in my stories) Pic 2 - Binevenagh hike Pic 3 - Skiing in Whistler BC, Canada 🇨🇦 Pic 4 - Fermanagh/Sligo staycation Pic 5 - Completed Mourne "7 Sevens" Pic 6 - Ibiza trip 🇪🇸 Pic 7 - Got hitched! Plus Coldplay in London and trips to Wexford/Wicklow Pic 8 - 2nd Ibiza trip plus hiking in Sierra de Guadarrama 🇪🇸 Pic 9 - Causeway Coast Way Pic 10 - Mournes hike in the snow ❄️ I hope everyone had a great 2022 and here's wishing you all a happy and healthy 2023. You got this! 😁🙌 (at 2022) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm1gzg0Ic2U/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[coldplayfeels]

Chris Martin x Instagram

[hatsukeii]

Hi! 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14 for Kageyama from the headcanons list?? If it's too many, just choose whichever interest you the most! Thank you! 💜

Hhhhh ty for requesting!!

I have so many ideas from Kageyama after seeing the latest few chapters all over my explore page on ig, this should be fun~

Btw just because I crave fluff and made up romantic scenarios I will be including you as a female s/o, I hope you’re fine w that bc I’m terrible at writing same sex fanfics and I feel like including you might be fun too, sorry if it’s not what you prefer, I’ll write up another one if you want!!

(You aren’t mentioned excessively though, so don’t worry!!)

Warnings: Mild manga spoilers that have to do with Kageyama’s backstory, nothing too major though, and angstangstangstangstangst-

2. How are they like on social media?

- Kageyama’s probably one that doesn’t really have that much regarding social media.

- However he would probably have the most common ones.

- Instagram, snapchat, maybe twitter too.

- He also has tiktok now that you’ve basically forced him to download it.

- Definitely uses instagram the most out of everything he has.

- Username: milkboykags

- Followers: 992 (Since he’s pretty popular through playing volleyball.)

- Following: 745 (He tries to follow most of his followers back if they have mutual friends between them, even if it’s a fan.)

- Profile pic: Probably one of those grunge shaky pics of him with a few of the Karasuno team members and you with a dark background and stuff.

- Bio: If you don’t have milk, don’t bother looking for me. ~Me, 2k19 (He hasn’t updated his bio a year lol.)

- His instagram feed is actually pretty aesthetic.

- He has one volleyball post of the entire team at the beach playing beach volleyball while the sun sets.

- He’s way too proud of that post.

- Another one of his posts was taken when you two were on an arcade date (At that time he hadn’t confessed yet, but he asked you out just to do that) and he sneaked a photo of you trying to get a unicorn plush from one of those claw machines.

- That one he’s gonna be keeping in his feed forever.

- He has a collection of highlights.

- There’s one for volleyball practice shenanigans, one for those little dates he takes you on, another one for full on group hangouts, then one of camera wars with random people that try taking photos of him, most likely you or Hinata.

- His feed basically revolves around this filter recipe he made for instagram, which makes his photos look cooler toned and more faded.

(P.s dm me if you want the recipe bc i made it on vsco lmao no I’m not a vsco girl don’t worry.)

- He doesn’t really use snapchat and twitter.

- Only does streaks with you and the volleyball team.

- Tiktok though, is a whole other story.

- Username: givemethecows

- Followers: 1405 (People from both tiktok and instagram.)

- Following: 200

- Bio: I make videos and shit.

- Profile pic: Bass boosted you like jazz meme (Bass boosted but photo if you get me.)

- Kageyama has this whole lowkey eboy thing going on with his tiktok.

- Most the time his videos are just a way to show his weird sense of humour or his sense of style that screams casual eboy.

- Since you forced him to get tiktok, you also forced him to learn dances with you.

- He’s terrible at those.

- Like very bad.

- He managed to break a pair of Tsukishima’s glasses while doing the renegade at break.

- And almost twisted his hips trying to throw it back as a joke.

- Needless to say it’s both hilarious and embarrassing for Kageyama.

- There are also tiktoks of him doing insane volleyball tricks on camera like the demon quick, the synchronised attack, and his jump serve etc.

- Which have gained him quite the following on the platform.

- In conclusion, Kageyama is generally pretty good at social media, but sucks ass at dancing.

4. What is Kageyama’s preferred weather?

- Surprisingly, Kageyama doesn’t like sunny weather. At all.

- For him, it’s the absolute worst thing.

- He think that sunny weather is way too annoying and hot and stuffy and gross.

- Plus, going out for morning runs in sunny weather is like wearing 10 jackets in hell.

- Like you can put on an extra layer if you’re cold but you can’t just strip naked if you’re hot.

- Oh my god he hates it so much it pains him to even think about it.

- He likes rainy days.

- Definitely not his favourite though.

- Rainy days usually mean staying home for the entire day.

- He can just laze around in his house, do whatever he wants.

- The sound of rain against glass windows soothes him.

- The constant sounds of droplets hitting the windows give him a sense of tranquility and peace.

- He will quite literally, fall asleep to those sounds.

- However rainy days do have their drawbacks.

- One of them, is having to stay home.

- Kageyama likes going for runs just to take in some fresh air, but that won’t work when it’s raining cats and dogs now will it.

- Plus, it means everything he does is restricted in his house unless he can get to an indoor gym that’s open.

- Boring.

- So he prefers windy days, when the cold breeze grazes his skin and the sun hides behind the fluffy clouds.

- It’s those days where he doesn’t have to suffer the heat that the sun brings upon him, nor does he have to suffer the feeling of rainwater dripping from the tips of his hair.

- He can do whatever he wants and still feel at ease and comfortable.

- Quite literally everything he asks for in a day.

6. Favourite music?

- Let’s be real, Kageyama probably isn’t good at music.

- He can’t dance or sing to save his life.

- However, he does enjoy how listening to music calms his nerves and gives him a chance to relax, even if he’s in a situation where he should be focused on an assignment or a piece of class work.

- People would expect him to enjoy listening to EDM or alternative rock, but no.

- This boy likes to listen to lofi and love songs.

- This doesn’t mean that his playlist only consists of these two genres, but the majority of songs in his playlist are either chill lofi beats or songs that give you the feels.

- Some of his favourite artists are Jeremy Zucker, Blackbear, Conan Gray, Billie Eilish, Lauv, Clairo, Wallows, Khalid, BENEE, Post Malone, Coldplay, Rex Orange County, Green Day, Shiloh Dynasty, Kina, love-sadKID, and the Arctic Monkeys.

- Has like 5 different playlists for different moods and events.

- One for moody times, one for study beats, one for when he wants throwbacks, one for firing him up before volleyball matches, and one for if he ever has to DJ in the front seat of someone’s car.

- Prefers to listen to music by himself.

- You’re an exception though.

- If he’s with you, you get one earbud, but he’ll be the one choosing the music still.

- You two have pretty contrasting tastes when it comes to music.

- He likes softer songs and lofi the most, whilst you prefer old rock and alternative rock. Oh and also a lot of throwback songs.

- I feel like Kageyama has definitely cried to a few songs when he was going through hard times.

- To him, listening to music is also a way of releasing all the inner conflict and frustrations.

- (Spoiler for backstory) When his grandfather died, he put Fix You on loop for at least 20 minutes.

- He was just numb, curled up into a ball on his bed, staring at the wall. He couldn’t feel anything. Nothing in his mind registered properly. All he could think of, was everything his grandfather had taught him, before he eventually passed away.

- Submerging himself into the melancholy song he was listening to, he didn’t even feel the tears that were now streaming down his face.

- The salty tears were now staining his pillow, creating little wet spots.

- He listened to every single lyric in the song, clutching his sheets harder every time the chorus came up.

- He punched his mattress repeatedly, still unable to accept the fact that someone he held so dear to his heart had just left like the wind.

- It wasn’t long until he was a sobbing mess, shaking and whimpering as he knelt on the bed.

- Silently sang to the lyrics, plopping back to his bed in defeat.

- His sister lingered in front of the door for five whole minutes, eventually leaving to let Kageyama sort out his feelings himself.

- You introduce a ton of new songs to him, since he doesn’t know that much about anything else other than lofi and sad songs.

- Just please no one let him listen to Nickleback. Please. He doesn’t need to know about it.

8. Movie that he would choose for a move nigh?

- The monthly Karasuno volleyball team movie night was finally here, and it was Kageyama’s turn to choose a movie this time, much to Tsukishima’s dismay.

- He’s put a lot of thought into this, not wanting to disappoint his teammates by choosing a shitty movie.

- He basically tried to figure out what everyone wanted to watch.

- However, everyone had very contrasting requests.

- Tsukishima wanted to watch Jurassic Park, Yamaguchi wanted a Disney movie, Hinata wanted something Marvel, Tanaka and Nishinoya wanted a horror movie, (Mainly so they could hit on you whilst you were still single) Sugawara wanted a romcom, Yachi wanted a comedy, and the others were fine with anything.

- He stressed himself out way too much trying to choose one movie.

- He finally got an idea after 3 entire days of thinking.

- And it wasn’t anything the team expected.

- Kageyama pulled up with Pulp Fiction.

- He’s seen that movie at least 5 times already.

- It was the perfect mix of comedy, gore, action, and philosophy.

- Plus, anything that starred Samuel L Jackson was worth a watch.

- Till this day, it remains one of his go to movies, alongside any MCU movie. (Captain America: The First Avenger is definitely his favourite though.)

12. Something small that they enjoy?

- One of the two small things Kageyama enjoys doing is baking cookies.

- Cookies in particular.

- I mean, there really is no detailed explanation.

- He’s pretty good at baking in general, even Tsukishima enjoys the cookies he bakes.

- Plus, he gets to dip the cookies in milk, what’s there not to enjoy?

- Another little thing he enjoys a lot is actually photography.

- Most the time, when he sees a pretty sky, or a city street at nighttime.

- He can’t help himself but snap a few photos here and there.

- Something about a well shot photo just hits different.

- Sometimes, he brings his camera out just to takes nice photos.

- Whenever you two are on dates, he’ll be able to capture candid or motion shots of when you’re just looking out the window of a bus mindlessly, or when you’re twirling around on the street playfully.

- Photos speak a thousand words, and honestly? He lives by that.

14. What is enough to bring him to tears?

- Support.

- Kageyama really needs support from someone he cares about.

- And no, not like support from his teammates.

- That’s different from hearing someone cheer from the stands.

- (Spoiler for backstory) Kageyama’s parents never gave much attention to him, since they were always busy with work. The only person that ever showed support for him was his grandfather, who passed away while he was still young.

- As if that wasn’t enough shit directed towards Kageyama, his teammates abandoned him during a match in junior high not long after the death of his grandfather.

- Which means that Kageyama now has lowkey abandonment issues.

- All through his volleyball journey he never got the support and reassurance he needed.

- He watched in envy as people from opposing teams, or even his own teammates, waved at their family members after they won or lost a match.

- All he could do was stare at the stands, hoping to catch just a glimpse of a family member.

- Nothing.

- Nobody realised how alone Kageyama felt during and after matches, until they watched him break down in tears after a particular match.

- It was the Spring Match against Seijoh, and Karasuno was playing like normal.

- Kageyama was insanely good as usual.

- What he didn’t notice then, was that you had dragged his sister Miwa to the match just so you both could cheer for him.

- In addition to that, you were also wearing his jersey.

- It wasn’t until the final point was scored, did he hear you and Miwa scream from the stands.

- Hearing the familiar voices, his head basically snapped in your direction, scanning the stadium for someone familiar, before landing his eyes on you and his older sister.

- His eyes widened for a hot second, his mind running in circles.

- Nobody has ever cheered for him.

- But here you two were, cheering for him from the stands.

- And you were wearing his jersey.

- A hand went up to cover his mouth, a huge grin spreading.

- One drop.

- Two drops.

- Then came the waterworks.

- The entire team was shocked.

- Like shookth.

- The two of you ran down to the arena, engulfing Kageyama in a huge hug.

- Best moment of his fucking life.

- From then on, the Karasuno team members made sure to notify you of any matches they had against other schools, hoping you and Miwa could go cheer.

- You two haven’t missed a single match since.

Whoooo three hours of work and going straight to Netflix at 2:30am, what a life.

I couldn’t resist I’m sorry casual or slight angst is my favourite genre of hc and fanfic-

I hope you liked this xx😗👉👈

[changarroo]

Honey Bee Records // Felix AU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE AUSSIE FELIX! You and I (admin Solo) we been through a lot together. You were my first bias in the group and I will always have a special place in my hear for you! You make me smile whenever I see you playing with a bubble wand, your so pure and you care so much about your members! Happy 18th Birthday!!

The final bell rang and classes were over for the day. You were so excited cause that means you can go to your favorite music shop Honey Bee Records.

It was your go-to play listen to the newest tracks.

Plus there was an amazing boba shop right next door so it’s a win-win.

“Hey Y/N, I didn’t expect you to be here so soon,” said Joey.

Joey was the owner of the shop. He was in his mid-twenty be he still has a soul of a teenager. He started Honey Bee Records because he felt that the town was lacking the old fashion record shop. But he put a twist on it and his girlfriend Amanda turned it into a modern “Instagram worthy” record shop.

“Wow Joe that’s stings a bit, do you need any help with anything?” you asked walking over to the counter.

You didn’t have an official job at the shop but you felt like you work there. It was almost like a second home to you.

“Not really Y/N. I actually hired a few a couple of students to help handle the shop and I was wondering if you can help me train them?”.

“How many guys do I have to train?”

“Well they’re three new employees but since you have other commitment I’ll let you train only one”.

“Okay I can handle just one,” you said looking through the rock records.

“That’s great Y/N because they are starting today,” Joey said pointing to the doors.

You look and show three boys standing outside of the shop. One of them seems to be the same age as Joey so he probably hired him to run the shop when Joey can’t. The other two look your age so they probably will work part-time.

“Hey Chan, Jisung, Felix welcome to the hive,” he said walking over to them This is Y/N she doesn’t officially work her but she comes in often and helps.

You waved to all of them. It was certainly weird seeing new faces in the shop.

“So Y/N how about you start Felix training and I’ll show Chan and Jisung to the storage room.” Joey walked to the back of the shop followed by the one who looked about Joey’s age and a blonde haired boy.

You were left in the main part of the shop with Felix, he was about your height and has golden blonde hair.

“Hey I’m Y/N” you reached your hand out for a handshake.

“Felix” he shook your hand.

You were shocked at his deep voice for the way that he looks you had no idea he was capable of making a sound that deep.

“So I basically your job is to greet the first customer who enters the shop, restock the records that are low, to the general check out stuff. All the basics”.

“Sounds simple enough,” Felix said crossing his arms with confidence

“Okay, let’s test you,” you said walking out of the shop.

You walked back in acting like a regular customer.

“Hey! Welcome to Honey Bee Records,” Felix said with a grin on his face “Is there anything I can help you with?”.

“Hey, I’m looking for any Coldplay albums that you may have in the shop?”.

“What holds up pause, you listen to Coldplay?”

“Felix focus! You can’t do that on the job,” you said hitting his arm.

“Ouch, okay okay fine. Yeah, I believe we do have some follow me”.

He guided you to the correct section and find all of the Coldplay records.

“We should have most of the older albums and then some of the new ones. But they will be located right here.” he flipped through the pile of records.

”Nicely done Felix. Not too bad” you said crossing your arms.

“Thank you I try” he jokingly flipped his hair back which cause you to laugh.

“Hey Y/N it’s 3:45 you can go soon if you're almost finished,” Joey said from the counter.

“You don’t work here?” Felix asked.

“Nope I have too much on my plate to work here but I’m close friends with Joey and his girlfriend so I help out when I can,” you said grabbing your bag from behind the counter.

“Will you come back and visit?” he asked with puppy dog eyes.

“We will see,” you said with a large grin on your face before walking out of the shop.

A couple of days had passed since you helped in the shop.

“Welcome to Honey Bee Rec- YOUR BACK Y/N,” Felix said from behind the counter.

“Haha yeah, I had some time today to help”.

“Well glad to have you here!” Felix said throwing you a rag “now the windows need cleaning”.

You rolled your eyes before throwing the rag back at Felix.

“In your dreams Felix”.

The afternoon went on and the shop was fairly busy. When it wasn’t you and Felix joked around or suggested music to each other.

Soon his shift was over and you were about to head home as well.

“Hey Y/N wanna go get something to eat?” he asked grabbing his stuff from the back.

“Sure, have you been to the boba shop next door?”.

“No, not yet, I haven't had the time. Is it good?”.

“Good? They have the best boba in town”.

“Well then let go,” Felix said grabbing your hand and dragging you next door.

“Welcome to Young Boba.” said a mid-twenties man its young k. “What can I get for the two of you today?”.

“Can I get a strawberry lemon green tea with regular boba pearls.” you said to the barista.

“Okay got it,” he said writing your order on the cup. “And for you sir?”.

“Can I get an orange blend with regular boba pearl” Felix said to the barista.

“You got it, that will be 8803.23 wons.” the young barista said ringing up the orders.

You started to look in your bag for your wallet went Felix held out cash to pay for the drinks.

“Don’t worry I got it,” he said smiling out you “Let’s go find a place to sit.”.

“What about over here.” you pointed to a table that was next to a giant oak tree with fairy lights string in the branches.

“Perfect,” he said grabbing your arm and guiding you to the table.

Some time had passed and you both finally got your boba.

“Wait we should poke the straws in together,” Felix said grabbing your hand.

“Okay,” you said. Once he held your hand you felt butterflies in your stomach. You never felt this way before.

“One”

“Two”

“Three,” you both said at the same time poking the straws into your boba.

Some time had passed since you entered the shop and it was night time when you left.

“I can’t believe it’s already 21:00,” Felix said exiting the boba shop.

“Yeah we were there for like eight hours straight,” you said still holding onto his hand.

“I had fun tonight Y/N”

“I did too, ��Felix said as he leaned in and kissed you on the cheek

[newscoldplay]

JOIN US FOR OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF TONIGHT’S #AHFODTOUR FINALE

Tonight in Argentina, the band will play the 115th and final show of the record-breaking A Head Full Of Dreams Tour in the Estadio Unico De La Plata in Buenos Aires, the same venue where the tour began back in March 2016. To celebrate the last night of the tour, we'll be offering special behind-the-scenes coverage direct from the venue, with a live blog on Coldplay.com, plus regular updates, photos and videos on the band's Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat accounts. Please do join us to celebrate the finale of this amazing journey. If you're one of the 5,000,000+ people who've come along to an #AHFDOtour show, then we'd love you to add your photos to the Coldplay Timeline where you can also relive our posts from each and every show. You can, of course, also still pick up a range of #AHFODtour T-shirts and souvenirs from the Coldplay Store. We'll see you for the live coverage later on. Until then, a heartfelt thanks for your incredible support and for helping to make this tour the adventure of a lifetime. The Coldplay Messenger

[bendoesblogs]

CovAid-20 - Festival of the Future

With the constant development of the internet, and the increasing popularity of communication between networked computers, we currently reside in the most transforming technological event since the capture of fire (Smith and Kollock, 2006, p.168). A global pandemic may have posed a threat to this, however, online communities have never been so active. The music industry has managed to coexist alongside covid-19 and formed the most unlikely postmodern relationship. Moreover, it is true to say that the media have historically coevolved with the public that uses them, as well as with the larger economy of inscription (Dijck, 2013, p.5). 

Roussel (2016) in Craig and Cunningham (2019, p.120) explain that “The triangular relationship between artists, talent representatives, and production professionals is at the heart of the making of cultural products and careers.” The desire for agents to keep their artistic talents relevant, whilst maintaining the artists relationship with the fans, in the midst of covid-19 could have been career threatening, however, due to the advances in technology and the public sphere, the ability to communicate with each other has maintained the same level, if not preceded it. 

With online communities increasingly becoming accepted into the lives of internet users, which serve to gratify the need to interact and communicate with others, whilst being able to discuss particular subjects using instant messaging tools (Bishop, 2007, p.1882), modern convergence may have played directly into the hands of agents attempting to keep their talents busy. 

Social media, in an unprecedented time can be seen to have saved the careers of emerging young talents, whilst sustaining the relationship between artists and fans. Instagram live has currently replaced live concerts, and gratifies the need to communicate with one another. Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay performed a 30 minute live concert from his home for fans, in which they could comment and interact with each other, whilst simultaneously offering the hashtag #TogetherAtHome (Bakare, 2020), to offer cross platform communication. 

(Source Global Citizen https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/connect/togetherathome/)

Moreover, you would have thought a pandemic would be a horrifying time to release an album yet young British talent Dua Lipa released her new album Future Nostalgia whilst at the same time participating and commenting with fans on each song live on YouTube (Frank, 2020). This postmodern style of releasing music in times of such uncertainty furthers the concept that online services have changed from offering channels for networked communication to becoming interactive, two-way vehicles for networked sociality (Dijck, 2013, p.5).

Meanwhile, the biggest success story and proof that the public sphere during the course of the pandemic can be used for great success, is Epic Games’ Fortnite featuring Travis Scott. On April 23rd, over 12 million gamers watched Travis Scott perform a 10 minute virtual concert, in Epic Games’ biggest event ever. The success of the livestream saw the release of Scott’s new song “THE SCOTTS” premiering as part of the Fortnite set, and debuted at No.1 on the Hot 100 chart (Hogan, 2020). Showing how both humanity and online public spheres adapt and work together to maintain success.

(Source Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2020/04/22/fortnite-travis-scott-concert-dates-venue-location-and-how-to-watch---plus-everything-you-need-to-know/#6e4a026a5f8b)

References

Bakare, L. (2020). Musicians head online as Covid-19 puts live shows on pause. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/20/musicians-head-online-as-covid-19-puts-live-shows-on-pause.

Bishop, J. (2007). Increasing participation in online communities: A framework for human–computer interaction. Computers In Human Behavior, 23(4), 1881-1893. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2005.11.004.

Craig, D., & Cunningham, S. (2019). Social Media Entertainment. New York: NEW YORK University Press.

Dijck, J. (2013). The culture of connectivity. New York: Oxford University Press.

Frank, A. (2020). How "quarantine concerts" are keeping live music alive as venues remain closed. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/4/8/21188670/coronavirus-quarantine-virtual-concerts-livestream-instagram.

Hogan, M. (2020). Where Can Virtual Concerts Go After Travis Scott’s Fortnite Extravaganza?. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/virtual-concerts-travis-scotts-fortnite-100-gecs-minecraft/.

Smith, M., & Kollock, P. (2006). Communities in cyberspace. London: Routledge.

[everythingwillneverbeokay]

I just realized something. Remember that interview that RDJ had about bringing back Gwyneth Paltrow into the MCU?

(I have so many feelings under this cut. Plus spoilers!)

Well guys, I really have newfound respect for the man. He really does live up to whatever he says he wants to do, doesn't he? I mean look at this face:

That, my dear friends, is the smug face of accomplishment and success.

Also, look at Gwyneth's smile. LOL I can hear the running commentary in her head: "Seriously? I'm only here at the request of this guy because he wants to make out with me!". It doesn't even look like it's a scripted smile as well you know? Because Pepper's actual reaction at first was like: "Wow", and then, slight disgust because the ring must've been in Happy's suit for like almost a decade, and it must've gone through a lot of things - explosion in IM3 included. When I was watching the movie, I didn't even notice that part because she turned so fast and next thing you know, she's sauntering back into the press conference. So as I see this now, she basically cannot contain the giggles that are for real because Robert has just managed to get her to kiss him despite not having been in a Marvel movie in the last 4 years.

Really - look at it. I follow Gwyneth Paltrow in Instagram and her Goop website / fanpage in Facebook. I see the posts. I see the live interviews and what she's concentrating on. She was just in Italy the other week and attended a Coldplay concert with her kids. To be able to squeeze in a scene like this despite her busy schedule, AND a staged "breakup" during Civil War... I really thought that maybe she would've been done with the MCU already, just like how Natalie Portman basically faded into oblivion.

The fact that RDJ is such good friends with her, and that they really care about their fans... They have heard our cries and have looked at all the tags we post on their profiles in IG, and the comments we leave on their pages. They've stayed true to the core of the characters, as well as never rescinding from the statements they've made during press conferences or interviews. I love the honesty and the legitimacy to it. It's a testament to their character, to be honest:

I have so many feels about this, and to think it's only a fucking 5-minute cameo, that is not even within an Ironman movie in itself. They hijacked Spiderman and even though, yes, the movie was freakin' awesome, this scene really finished it all for me. I mean really, he has managed to squeeze in an engagement and a make out session within a less than a conversation. If that is not genius, I don't know what is.

ALSO. ALSO. ALSO. The picture below is a post he made on June 1 this year, around month before the premiere. I wanna think that maybe they were already on post-production and he wanted to give fans a hint. His caption even was: "What's going on here??"

I know it's a long shot but dammit. If RDJ weren't so happily married to his wife, I would swear up and down anything and everything that Gwybert is real.

[wallpapernifty]

Why You Should Not Go To Miley Cyrus | Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus fabricated an actualization as the agreeable bedfellow on “Saturday Night Alive at Home” over the weekend, and able admirers with a soulful arrangement of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”

Miley Cyrus delivered the achievement from a bivouac ambience at her home, as lockdown restrictions abide imposed in deathwatch of coronavirus pandemic. The “Wrecking Ball” accompanist was accompanied by Andrew Watt who kept a safe ambit and played a 12-string acoustic guitar, letters Mail Online.

“Wish You Were Here” originally appears on Pink Floyd’s 1975 anthology of the aforementioned name. While the aboriginal song is a accolade to Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett, Cyrus’s achievement gave the song a new acceptation in times of lockdown and amusing distancing. “How I wish, how I ambition you were here. We’re aloof two absent souls. Swimming in a angle bowl. Year afterwards year. Running over the aforementioned old ground. And how we found. The aforementioned old fears. Ambition you were here,” reads the lyrics of the song.

UP NEXT

“Saturday Night Live” appear its “at Home” episodes afterwards assorted lockdowns were appear in deathwatch of COVID-19. While SNL is about performed alive in-studio, “at Home” episodes are actuality recorded accidentally to advance amusing break norms. Tom Hanks who was himself diagnosed with the affliction and has been convalescent now, hosted the aboriginal adventure of “at Home” division on April 11. The episode, which had “Coldplay” affiliate Chris Martin as its agreeable guest, paid accolade to adept music ambassador Hal Willner, who died of COVID-19.

The appropriate featuring Cyrus is the additional adventure and did not accept any host. Apart from the 27-year-old pop-star, the adventure featured Pete Davidson’s achievement of “Stuck in the House,” with camerawork abetment by Pete’s mom Amy.

“Stuck with my fam I can’t get out, it’s apprehension in my house,” the accompanist said from the couch in his bedroom. SNL veterans Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider additionally fabricated abruptness appearances in the video. Another articulation featured the bold appearance “What’s Up With That?” hosted by SNL adept Keenan Thompson, co-starring Charles Barkley, DJ Khaled, Fred Armisen, and Jason Sudeikis.

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[obtusemedia]

The 50 greatest albums of the 2010s

These 50 albums are the records that stuck with me the most in this past decade. There are albums here that grew on me slowly over time, and others that I instantly clicked with. Some of these records are constantly on repeat; some I only pull off the shelf at a certain time of year, or when I’m in a certain mood.

Regardless of why I love them, these are my 50 favorite albums of the 2010s.

#50: In Colour by Jamie xx (2015)

Instrumental electronic music is really not my thing, but In Colour is one of the few exceptions.

Jamie xx — also a member of indie icons The xx — has said In Colour is meant to evoke the emotions of a night out in London’s nightclubs, but not work as typical dance music that would actually be played in those clubs. That description is dead on. 

With the exception of the bouncy Young Thug and Popcaan collab “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times),” which serves as a fun break from the album’s moody atmospheres, none of these songs are danceable. Standouts like “SeeSaw” and “Girl” sound like the half-remembered soundtrack of a blacked-out night, with haunting whispers of vocals throughout. And the more pop-centric, heartbreaking ballads with fellow The xx members Romy and Oliver Sim prove Jamie can write stellar conventional tunes as well.

Best songs: “Loud Places,” “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)”

#49: Days Are Gone by HAIM (2013)

In their influential debut album Days Are Gone, the Haim sisters fused together ‘70s/’80s radio-friendly pop-rock, early ‘90s pop melodies and a modern Instagram sheen to create a collection of 11 instant indie-pop classics.

The San Fernando Valley-based sisters — Este, Danielle, and Alana — have both the songwriting and instrumental chops necessary to create the closest thing Millennials will get to a Fleetwood Mac album. Each song has approximately 40 hooks, plus some smooth guitar licks, just-funky-enough grooves and analog keyboards to get the job done. 

Given that 2013′s pop scene was more about disco throwbacks and Miley Cyrus riding construction equipment, it’s unsurprising yet a bummer that should-be hits like “The Wire” or “Forever” never became mega-smashes. But HAIM’s retro pop sound on Days Are Gone would serve as a playbook for the rest of the 2010s for pop stars seeking an indie edge and more pop-inclined indie artists alike.

Best songs: “The Wire,” “Days Are Gone”

#48: Teens of Style by Car Seat Headrest (2015)

Teens of Style is almost more of a sampler record than a proper album. Released after Car Seat Headrest signed to the legendary indie label Matador, the record consists of select songs from Will Toledo’s low-fi Bandcamp recordings, re-recorded.

But let’s be honest — those Bandcamp albums are rooooough. Toledo could write great tunes, but the sound quality was so bad that the songs sounded like they were recorded with a Game Boy Color. The re-recording was necessary.

The tracks here are still appropriately fuzzy, with Toledo singing them through a distorted vocal filter. But with actual production values, the massive guitars and energetic choruses of grunge bangers like “Times To Die,” “Something Soon,” and “The Drum” come to the surface. And it also features one of Toledo’s best songs, the Pet Sounds-meets-Pavement power ballad “Strangers.” It’s a must-listen for any ‘90s nostalgists or sad bastards.

Best songs: “Strangers,” “Something Soon”

#47: AM by Arctic Monkeys (2013)

This was an interesting experiment that seemed doomed to fail: Taking an aggressively British rock band whose previous formula had gotten stale, and transforming them into slick, swaggering American rock gods. But somehow, AM works. Alex Turner channeled a greasy charm in his winking croon, nearly developing a Western drawl. And although the production is significantly smoother, the Arctic Monkeys didn’t forget how to RAWK — the clanging guitars of “R U Mine?” and “Arabella” will wake you right up.

Yes, AM is one of those Urban Outfitters-core albums that was a favorite amongst suburban faux-hipsters. It’s not nearly as cool as it thinks it is. But it’s still the closest thing the ‘10s have to a classic rock masterpiece.

Best songs: “R U Mine?,” “Do I Wanna Know?”

#46: Charli by Charli XCX (2019)

This decade has seen two versions of London pop visionary Charli XCX: The glitched-out weirdo behind “Vroom Vroom” and “Track 10,″ and the snotty popstar who sang the hook on an Iggy Azalea hit and wrote a bubblegum track for a teen romance. What makes Charli such a fun listen is it’s her only project that masterfully balances her two sides. 

Do you prefer radio-friendly hook machine Charli? Here’s some synthy duets with Troye Sivan and Lizzo. If you want the experimental side of Charli, there’s the jagged “Click” and a song that sounds like it samples the THX theme. And the best songs take a little from both of Charli’s strengths (like the two tracks below).

Best songs: “Gone,” “Cross You Out”

#45: Harry Styles by Harry Styles (2017)

When Harry Styles, arguably One Direction’s most beloved member, announced his first solo album, I can’t imagine many fans expected it to be so...dad rock. 

Styles’ self-titled debut goes down easy, with its gentle guitars and singer-songwriter odes to love. It’s the kind of record that’s easy to scoff at — the pretty one in a boy band tries his hand at ~serious~ music — but remember, critics didn’t love Paul McCartney’s first couple solo albums either. Harry Styles’ impeccable pop-rock songwriting will cement its legacy,

Best songs: “Sign of the Times,” “Two Ghosts”

#44: Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay (2011)

Mylo Xyloto is unabashedly corny, and that’s what makes it great. You’d expect a Coldplay album to already have a high level of cheese, but Mylo Xyloto takes it to another level. Unlike the similarly poppy A Head Full Of Dreams a few years later, Xyloto’s head-first dive into synths and dance beats is actually memorable. There’s technically a loose connecting story tying the songs together, but all you need to enjoy the album is a love for massive, world-conquering choruses and a love of Chris Martin’s heart-on-sleeve emotions.

Best songs: “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall,” “Charlie Brown”

#43: Everybody Works by Jay Som (2017)

Plenty of great dream-pop albums were released this decade, but none of them feature as many variations on that style as Jay Som’s Everybody Works. All of Oakland singer-songwriter Melina Duterte’s songs are hazy and catchy, but she still manages to dabble in the sounds of grunge (“1 Billion Dogs”), Latin pop (“One More Time, Please”) and even early ‘00s soccer-mom pop (“The Bus Song”). And other than an overly-long closing track, Duterte nails everything she tries. Everybody Works is a little slight, but the music is too hypnotizing to resist.

Best songs: “The Bus Song,” “(BedHead)”

#42: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire (2010)

The Suburbs is an album that seems to sprawl out forever, just like its namesake. And with apologies to The Hold Steady, this album is the closest thing Millennials got to creating a Springsteen classic of their own. 

The classic-rock and new-wave influences that Arcade Fire melded create a feeling of both comfort and dread, perfectly encapsulating the feelings of someone trapped in endless housing developments and strip malls. The tension builds and builds, until it all gloriously climaxes with the ‘80s pop throwback “Sprawl II” — a triumphant anthem about feeling trapped. Arcade Fire’s follow-ups to The Suburbs might have dimmed the band’s reputation, but their Grammy-winning masterpiece still holds up.

Best songs: “Sprawl II” “Suburban War”

#41: Era Extraña by Neon Indian (2011)

The first sign that Neon Indian wouldn’t be a flash-in-the-pan unlike many of his chillwave peers, Era Extraña is a glitchy new wave pop masterpiece. Tracks like “Halogen (I Could Be A Shadow),” “Hex Girlfriend” and “Suns Irrupt” sound less like traditional synthpop songs than hallucinatory memories, yet they’ll never leave your head. And Texas keyboard wizard Alan Palomo’s biggest crossover hit is also on this album, the burbling gem “Polish Girl.” Jump into any point in the album — it’s likely a stellar tune stuffed with analog synth riffs.

Best songs: “Halogen (I Could Be A Shadow),” “Fallout” 

#40: MASSEDUCTION by St. Vincent (2017)

Indie hero St. Vincent made a sharp pivot into pop with MASSEDUCTION, her fifth album and first collaboration with super-producer Jack Antonoff. But given her art-rock leanings, this wasn’t going to be a typical pop album.

MASSEDUCTION is a gonzo record that manages to balance tearjerking ballads like “Happy Birthday, Johnny” and “Slow Disco” with new-wave freakouts like “Fear The Future” and “Sugarboy.” I’d call it one of those pop albums with an undercurrent of darkness under the shiny sheen, but the darkness on this album is more than an undercurrent. Panic is the overwhelming emotion throughout MASSEDUCTION, and Annie Clark was the perfect artist to convey that feeling through her weirdo pop jams.

Best songs: “Los Ageless,” “Happy Birthday, Johnny”

#39: Gossamer by Passion Pit (2012)

Gossamer sounded cutting-edge in 2012, with its warped vocal samples and fizzy synthpop production. Unfortunately, that production has already aged badly less than a decade later.

But that doesn’t mean that Michael Angelakos’ songwriting has suffered with time. His morose, depressed lyrics still sync masterfully with the sugary synthpop that backs them up. And even though Angelakos is writing about dour topics like the Great Recession, bipolar disorder and suicide, he doesn’t forget the hooks. Songs like “Carried Away,” “Cry Like A Ghost” and of course, the big hit “Take A Walk,” could easily slide into Top 40 radio if they weren’t so grim lyrically. And I’m sure once early ‘10s production comes back in vogue in a decade or two, Gossamer will once again sound fresh.

Best songs: “Take A Walk,” “I’ll Be Alright”

#38: Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown (2016)

Danny Brown’s music always seemed a little unhinged. But Atrocity Exhibition — one of the decade’s most unique, haunting albums — is a true look into his demented mind. The production is warped and fried, and the Detroit rapper’s inimitable whacked-out flow is pushed to its breaking point. The result is a record that sounds both cartoonishly fun and absolutely terrifying.

Brown’s hedonistic-yet-chaotic lifestyle detailed in Atrocity Exhibition is wildly entertaining to listen to, but it’s not a world you want to live in. It sounds like both dropping acid and getting curb-stomped at the same time. And it’s a sonic achievement I’m not sure Brown will be able to top.

Best songs: “Ain’t It Funny,” “When It Rain”

#37: Born This Way by Lady Gaga (2011)

Listen, I love Gaga. She’s my favorite pop star of all time, point blank. But she only has one perfect album: 2009′s sharp, concise The Fame Monster, which missed the decade cutoff by only two months. Every other record Gaga’s released has at least a few filler tracks. But Born This Way’s highs are so dizzyingly high that it’s impossible to not recognize this album.

Imagine if Gaga kept Born This Way to only 10 tracks or so, cut out the fluff. It would be wall-to-wall early 10s pop masterpieces: “Marry The Night.” “Born This Way.” “You And I.” And of course, “The Edge Of Glory.” And that’s not even counting the many solid deep cuts sprinkled throughout — there’s a biker song about riding goddamn unicorns. How could you hate that?

Born This Way is still an exhausting listen in its full, but that’s partly because it’s so exhilarating that you couldn’t possibly have any energy left afterwards.

Best songs: “The Edge of Glory,” “You And I”

#36: To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar (2015)

Like Gaga, Kendrick Lamar is one of the decade’s great visionaries, but he also tends to overstuff his albums (with one exception, we’ll get to it later). And To Pimp a Butterfly definitely has some filler in its back half. But when Lamar is firing on all cylinders, the album reaches heights that 99% of albums couldn’t even dream of.

The album’s eight-song first half is a stunning masterwork of songs that have wildly different tones and emotions, yet still manage to piece together a running theme of the confusing, troubled black experience in modern America. And even the rougher second half has furious cuts like “Hood Politics” and “The Blacker The Berry.”

I have to give Lamar all the props for having a grand vision with To Pimp a Butterfly. The best albums require a sky-high vision. But, like with Born This Way, if it had been trimmed by three or four songs, it could’ve been top-10 of the decade.

Best songs: “The Blacker The Berry,” “King Kunta”

#35: 1989 by Taylor Swift (2014)

There was a lot of anger when Taylor Swift won the Album Of The Year Grammy for 1989 over To Pimp a Butterfly. But, at the risk of sounding like I have no taste — maybe the Grammys actually got it right?

I know Red is the fan and critic favorite of Swift’s albums, but I’ve always found it to be wildly inconsistent (despite some incredible high points). 1989, meanwhile, doesn’t waste a single second. It’s a perfect pop album, delivering the gargantuan hooks and leaving before it lingers around too long. It’s one of those records where nearly every track could’ve been a hit single. And even if it isn’t Swift’s peak lyrically, it’s certainly her peak in terms of mastering pop music craft and production.

Best songs: “Style,” “Blank Space”

#34: I like it when you sleep, because you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it by The 1975 (2016)

This might be the most frustrating album on the list. On I like it..., a massive leap of a sophomore album from The 1975, there are so many untouchable pop classics: “The Sound.” “Somebody Else.” “Love Me.” “UGH!” “A Change of Heart.” “She’s American.”

But there are also some mind-boggling choices, like adding two lengthy, pointless instrumental interludes and ending the record on a couple of painfully boring acoustic guitar numbers — not The 1975′s strong suit. But the ‘80s retro flair of I like it... is so charming, and its sheer scope so ambitious, that I still find myself returning to the record over and over again. It was the album where The 1975 proved they were more than just pretty British bad boys, but true Millennial pop icons.

Best songs: “Somebody Else,” “A Change of Heart”

#33: They Want My Soul by Spoon (2014)

They Want My Soul is an album by Spoon, the world’s most consistent rock band since 1998. So naturally, it’s good — all Spoon albums are.

But They Want My Soul is a perfect back-to-basics record, returning to that classic crisp, uber-catchy indie rock sound that Spoon perfected in the prior decade. There’s a few new production flourishes, but for the most part, the Austin band just deliver an updated version of the goods. Why fix something that ain’t broken?

Best songs: “Do You,” “Rainy Taxi”

#32: House of Balloons by The Weeknd (2011)

Before he started pumping out Michael Jackson pastiches, The Weekend was mysterious and depraved as hell. His introduction to the world, House of Balloons, is still just as haunting and impactful as it was in 2011. Abel Tesfaye’s helium vocals contrast masterfully with his dark lyrics and the nocturnal, grimy production.

House of Balloons is certainly an album that needs to be listened to at certain points of the day/year — listening to it at noon on a sunny July day is just wrong. Wait until it’s nighttime and when the temperature drops — Tesfaye is from Toronto, after all — and embrace the darkness.

Best songs: “House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls,” “The Party & The After Party”

#31: Soft Sounds From Another Planet by Japanese Breakfast (2017)

Japanese Breakfast — AKA Eugene indie rocker Michelle Zauner — is Oregon’s finest musical project of the century (no, bands that moved to Portland don’t count; sorry Modest Mouse, The Shins and Sleater-Kinney). And Soft Sounds From Another Planet is both her high-water mark and proof that Zauner has the potential to become an all-time indie great.

The songs on Soft Sounds take the classic dream-pop/shoegaze sound and tweak it a bit, fusing it with alt-rock and sci-fi new wave. The album’s centerpiece, “Boyish,” sounds like a gorgeous prom ballad from the ‘50s. But Zauner herself is who brings Japanese Breakfast’s songs to light. Her deeply personal and emotional songwriting strikes a chord, and her flexible vocals cut through the cloudy production like a foglight.

Best songs: “12 Steps,” “The Body Is a Blade”

#30: Run The Jewels 2 by Run The Jewels (2014)

RTJ2 starts with Killer Mike screaming in the studio. That furious, profane and chaotic energy carries throughout RTJ2, an apocalyptic hip-hop masterpiece.

Killer Mike and El-P had no shortage of political targets to spray their anger at with, from corrupt, violent cops to an unjust capitalist system. Songs like “Early” and “Crown” are tragic, paranoid retellings of police brutality that would leave even Fox News viewers sympathetic. But the key to RTJ2 is that Mike and El are still clearly having a blast. When they rip apart their enemies, they do so with glee, and El’s energetic dystopian production was at its peak with this record.

Best songs: “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry,” “Early”

#29: IGOR by Tyler, The Creator (2019)

IGOR is one of those albums that creates its own sonic universe. The blend of fuzzed-out synths, aggro hip-hop and sweet retro soul that Tyler, The Creator cooked up on this album is truly one of a kind.

The former enfant terrible of rap put his raw emotions to use by telling the story of a brutal story of unrequited love. Tyler perfectly captured the rollercoaster of emotions of that scenario, from queasiness to vengeful anger to dejection to finally acceptance. Every second is packed with hooks, ear-grabbing production and the relatable narrative. 

Flower Boy might have been the world’s introduction to a more thoughtful Tyler. But IGOR is when that potential was fully realized.

Best songs: “EARFQUAKE,” “A BOY IS A GUN*”

#28: Guppy by Charly Bliss (2017)

What if ‘90s rockers, instead of heroin, were addicted to Pixy Sticks? That’s what Guppy sounds like: Angsty lyrics and crunchy guitars, but all in the service of incredibly energetic and catchy pop-rock songs. Lead singer Eva Hendricks’ piercing, squeaky vocals just add to the rush of excitement each song has — it sounds like a literal child is singing sometimes.

Guppy isn’t going to be for everyone; not every person wants to down a king size bag of Sour Patch Kids in one sitting. But for a fun sugar rush with some legitimate heft, you can’t do much better than Charly Bliss’ electric debut album. 

Best songs: “Westermarck,” “Scare U”

#27: Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens (2015)

On the exact opposite end of the emotional and energy spectrum from Guppy sits Carrie & Lowell. Sufjan Stevens’ acoustic masterpiece is about the death of his mother, and the complicated feelings that arose from that moment. It’s a haunting, dark collection of songs that grapple with Stevens’ relationships with his deceased mother and God.

Fair warning: Carrie & Lowell is insanely sad. If you’re not in the mood for some downer songs, you’ll likely switch it off. But sometimes, we all need a good tear-jerker. And if you squint at it right, it might be the greatest Christian album of all time (that’s a stretch, I realize...but I’m sticking with it).

Best songs: “The Only Thing,” “Fourth of July”

#26: Late Night Feelings by Mark Ronson (2019)

When was the last time that a producer-driven album was this good? Or more miraculously, this cohesive?

Late Night Feelings is exactly what you think it is based on the title: a collection of nocturnal songs about heartbreak. Ronson mostly abandoned his trademark ‘80s and ‘70s retro sounds for a more modern pop sound (for the most part), with each track perfect for a night drive. And he gathered a murderer’s row of female singers and songwriters to accompany him. He got megastars like Miley Cyrus and Camilla Cabello to deliver some of their best-ever work, and gave indie darlings Angel Olsen and Lykki Li massive platforms to work their magic. Late Night Feelings is a blueprint for any other pop producers who want their album to be more than just a grab bag of singles and filler.

Best songs: “True Blue,” “Find U Again”

#25: Bloom by Beach House (2012)

Picking the best Beach House album is like picking the best Skittles flavor — they’re pretty much all great, and there’s not too much difference between any of them. But pound for pound, Bloom is the best Beach House record in my book, delivering as much hazy dreampop goodness as one could handle. More than perhaps any other record the Baltimore duo released, it’s all-killer-no-filler; the perfect bridge between the band’s early guitar-driven sound and their more recent reliance on keyboards. Even the secret closing track is great! But the album’s strongest section is its first four songs, arguably all of which could be a top-10 Beach House song. “Myth” in particular is the moment when it became clear that the duo had established themselves as perhaps dreampop’s greatest act.

Best songs: “Myth,” “Other People”

#24: Take Care by Drake (2011)

Almost all of Drake’s albums are famously overlong and stuffed with filler. Take Care, the Canadian icon’s sad-boy masterpiece, only commits one of those sins: It’s a bit on the long side, but nearly all of the 19 tracks are great. 

Take Care is probably best known for the tear-jerkings moments when Drake allowed himself to get aggressively mopey, such as the drunk-dial lament of “Marvins Room,” the mournful R&B of “Doing It Wrong.” But there’s plenty of fiery bangers amongst the tears — who hasn’t used “Lord Knows” or “HYFR” to get hyped? Take Care was the foundation that built Drake’s 2010s empire, and will likely be remembered as his ultimate classic record.

Best songs: “Marvins Room,” “Lord Knows”

#23: Currents by Tame Impala (2015)

If Take Care is the definitive hip-hop sad-boy album of the decade, Currents is certainly its indie rock counterpart. Aussie psych-rock wizard Kevin Parker took Tame Impala into synthier territory on this album, jamming as many '80s Casio riffs as possible next to his guitar grooves. Some Tame Impala fans might have decried the poppier sound on this album at the time, but I believe Currents will go down as Parker’s finest moment.

Best songs: “The Less I Know The Better,” “Let It Happen”

#22: Take Me Apart by Kelela (2017)

The perfect marriage of off-kilter, nocturnal indie pop and R&B, Take Me Apart is one of the top-tier night-driving albums of the decade. The production, led by indie heavyweights Ariel Reichstaid and Arca, along with Kelela herself, is masterful. It calls back to ‘80s and ‘90s R&B sounds while sounding like an alien transmission. And Kelela is the perfect vocalist for this style, managing to sound both sensual and robotic. Take Me Apart should’ve been a blockbuster hit, but for now, it stands as R&B’s most underrated album of the ‘10s.

Best songs: “LMK,” “Truth or Dare”

#21: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming by M83 (2011)

You can’t casually listen to Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. From the second you press play on the majestic opener “Intro,” you have to buckle up for a breathtaking 73-minute experience. Calling M83′s bombastic synthpop/post-rock mix “cinematic” has become a cliché at this point, but there’s no better descriptor for it. Especially when Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is nearly the length of a feature film. Standouts like “Midnight City,” “Wait,” and “Outro” haven’t lost their luster after years of overplay, and there’s plenty of deep cuts to discover with each listen. Even the frog-themed acid trip is enjoyable! It’s no wonder Anthony Gonzalez followed up this album with the goofy and low-stakes Junk — there was no way he’ll ever be able top the bombastic, nostalgic glory of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

Best songs: “Midnight City,” “Intro”

#20: Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey (2019)

It’s about damn time that Lana Del Rey, one of the decade’s most iconic and influential figures, started getting some critical acclaim. And it makes sense that the rave reviews started arriving with Norman Fucking Rockwell! this summer. It’s easily her most singer-songwriter-y album, stuffed with clever turns of phrase and devastating lines. NFR is also Lana’s most somber album, with a focus on depression, romantic dissatisfaction and the death of the American Dream. And yet, it ends on a note of tentative hope, mirroring the disposition of many nervous Millennials and Gen Zers. It’s not my favorite album of hers, but undoubtedly, Rockwell is the moment when Lana established herself as a generational icon.

Best songs: “The greatest,” “Mariners Apartment Complex”

#19: Lemonade by Beyoncé (2016)

Some may prefer Beyoncé’s more R&B-focused self-titled surprise album, but I’m always going to point to Lemonade as her towering achievement. Beyoncé created a blueprint for a flawless breakup album here: There’s songs detailing her disbelief at Jay-Z’s affair, a group of fiery kiss-off anthems, some somber ballads about her grief, and finally, a triumphant moment of reconciliation. And throughout the story, Beyoncé masterfully samples a variety of genres, from reggae to hard rock to even country. And just when you think the album ends on a perfect note, Beyoncé tacked on her greatest-ever single, “Formation.” I’m always a sucker for albums that tell a complete story, and Lemonade was an instant classic in that format.

Best songs: “Formation,” “Don’t Hurt Yourself”

#18: Antisocialites by Alvvays (2017)

In contrast to Lemonade, Alvvays’ sophomore record Antisocialites only sticks with one musical style: ghostly, uber-catchy dream pop. It’s like Chromatics, but for the daytime. Good thing the Toronto group are masters of that sound. 

Their early-R.E.M.-meets-Beach House vibe was never been better than on Antisocialites, where every song is a melancholy gem. None of the songs are overly ambitious, but that’s not a problem when Alvvays’ simplistic beauty is irresistible regardless.

Best songs: “In Undertow,” “Dreams Tonite”

#17: DAYTONA by Pusha-T (2018)

Virginia hip-hop legend Pusha-T somehow made sounding in his comfort zone sound like the coolest thing in the world with his magnum opus, DAYTONA. At only seven songs and 21 minutes, the record is a textbook example of a tight and focused classic. Push’s coke-dealer bars and Kanye West’s dusty, sample-heavy production fit perfectly. The album at times almost sounds like a nihilistic The College Dropout. Late-era Kanye is nobody’s favorite, but DAYTONA proved that he and Push are still one of hip-hop’s best teams.

Best songs: “If You Know You Know,”  “Santeria”

#16: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett (2015)

Courtney Barnett cemented herself as one of the finest songwriters of her generation with her debut record, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett’s dry Aussie wit rarely feels too snarky, she just has a matter-of-fact view of the world that’s refreshing and unique. The album plays like a series of indie rock vignettes, with gloomier songs about coral reef destruction and imposter syndrome balanced out by goofy rock bangers like “Aqua Profunda!,” in which Barnett describes trying to impress a hot woman at the pool and accidentally passing out in the process. Sometimes is a truly fun, one-of-a-kind album that’s a perfect summer road trip listen.

Best songs: “Pedestrian At Best,” “Elevator Operator”

#15: A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships by The 1975 (2018)

As much as I adore The 1975′s three albums, all three of them unfortunately have a few fatal flaws. Their self-titled debut is consistent, but never transcendent. Their sophomore album is brilliant — except for the few painfully boring acoustic ballads and instrumental tracks. The Manchester group’s third effort is their closest to perfection, despite one or two pointless numbers (looking at you, “Surrounded By Heads and Bodies”). Matty Healy and co.’s thirst for genre experimentation is rampant here, with songs aping *inhales deeply* Oasis-esque arena rock bombast, wiry post-punk, tropical pop, gospel, cheesy ‘80s synthpop, melodramatic R&B, wonky electronica, and even jazz. And considering they nail all of those efforts, and threw in the generation-defining political anthem “Love It If We Made It” just for kicks...yeah, I’d say this album, and The 1975, are pretty damn incredible.

Best songs: “Love It If We Made It,” “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)”

#14: Clean by Soccer Mommy (2018)

Clean is on the opposite end of the ambition spectrum from The 1975 — it’s mostly standard indie rock and singer-songwriter folk. But what Soccer Mommy, AKA Nashville artist Sophie Allison, did within those narrow confines was magnificent. Allison spent 10 tracks detailing heartbreak, anger and jealousy with spare, relatable lyrics. And the lilting, gorgeous melodies she paired them with on tragically beautiful songs like “Scorpio Rising” and “Wildflowers” could reduce anyone to tears. Clean is both a display of raw potential and a memorable statement in its own right.

Best songs: “Scorpio Rising,” “Cool”

#13: Blonde by Frank Ocean (2016)

I could never get into Channel Orange (besides “Pyramids”... that song goes HARD), but Blonde hypnotized me immediately. Maybe I just prefer Frank Ocean’s weirder side, as Blonde has very few concessions to the radio. It’s an atmospheric trip through Ocean’s mind, and the closest R&B got to dreampop this decade. It doesn’t all work for me— “Futura Free” is a weak closer, and the interludes like “Facebook Story” are pointless — but when whe record on point, it’s the best work of Ocean’s career. If you don’t feel goosebumps when listening to the silky smooth “White Ferrari” or when the harmonies come out at the end of “Self Control,” I’m not sure what to tell you.

Best songs: “Ivy,” “Self Control”

#12: Strange Desire by Bleachers (2014)

Jack Antonoff is likely the decade’s greatest pop producer, producing career-defining masterpieces for multiple artists on this list. But he still left some of his best tunes for himself. Strange Desire, the debut album for his side band, Bleachers, is a gloriously bombastic ‘80s pop fever dream. It sounds like a John Hughes movie soundtrack infused with Pop Rocks. 

Antonoff isn’t the world’s greatest singer, but his utter commitment to the cheese of his tunes makes up for that entirely. A more jaded person will probably listen to Strange Desire, shake their head, chuckle and move on. But as a proud cornball, I love this ridiculous, passionate pop album, random Yoko Ono cameos and all.

Best songs: “Rollercoaster,” “Like A River Runs”

#11: Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira (2013)

New wave and grunge shouldn’t go together. They’re diametrically opposed: one is bright and quirky, the other is morose and grimy. But in her debut album — and sadly, her only album so far — alt-pop genius Sky Ferreira melded the two genres seamlessly. Ferreira’s vocals and angsty attitude are a natural fit for alt-rock’s clanging guitars and angry lyrics, but she can also play the synthpop diva when needed. And on some of the albums’ best tracks, like “Heavy Metal Heart” and “Ain’t Your Right,” she comes off as a Seattle-friendly revamp of ‘80s stars like Pat Benatar or Joan Jett. It’s truly tragic that Ferreira’s second album has been in development hell, as Night Time, My Time is the kind of assured, rugged debut that signals the start of a brilliant career.

Best songs: “I Blame Myself,” “24 Hours”

#10: Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey (2014)

Lana Del Rey is certainly one of the 2010s’ defining artists. But which album is her best work? It depends on your taste: the critics seem to prefer the more subdued, songwriter-y Norman Fucking Rockwell! The album with the strongest singles and most striking style is certainly her polarizing debut, Born To Die. And for those who have difficulty sleeping, I’m sure the boring-as-hell Honeymoon helps with that. (There’s also Lust For Life...that one’s fine, I guess.)

But for me, Ultraviolence is still Lana’s pinnacle. From the album-opening psych-rock freak-out “Cruel World” to the tear-inducing melodramatic album closer “The Other Woman,” it’s her most complete album. Her tragic retro California vision is fully realized here, as it explores the dark side of her persona. Even when the music sounds triumphant, like on the James Bond-esque “Shades of Cool” or G-Funk-evoking “West Coast,” there’s a strong undercurrent of misery. And Lana’s haunting vocals sell even the most ridiculous lyrics here. Most artists would sound silly singing “Pretty When I Cry,” but Lana sells the hell out of it. 

And if you still don’t get the Cult of Lana after hearing Ultraviolence — well, as she sings on “Brooklyn Baby,” “If you don’t like it, you can beat it.”

Best songs: “Shades of Cool,” “The Other Woman”

#9: Yeezus by Kanye West (2013)

Do you realize how difficult it is for an album to still sound abrasive, shocking and futuristic nearly seven years after its release? I remember a time when “Like A G6″ sounded like the future — now it’s just a goofy early-’10s hit. But I imagine Yeezus, Kanye West’s likely final masterpiece (sorry, Life of Pablo stans), will continue to freak out and delight future generations.

Working with fellow producing legends Rick Rubin (!) and Daft Punk (!!!), West decided to finally embrace how much of Middle America saw him with Yeezus. If crowd-pleasers like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch The Throne wouldn’t change some people’s minds, then fine — he was more than happy to play the villain.

Yeezus’ distorted, pitch-black production still sounds fantastic today, and is a perfect fit for the album’s bitter, furious attitude. But despite all of West’s tirades, he still found time to let his humor shine through, giving us scores of funny moments, including his greatest-ever one-liner: “HURRY UP WITH MY DAMN CROISSANTS!!” And even if you missed the Old Kanye, there’s something here for you too: the soulfully profane “Bound 2,″ a crass love letter to Kim Kardashian with a gorgeous chipmunk soul sample.

This album is absolutely not for everybody, but its alienating and combustable nature is what makes Yeezus a masterwork to this day.

Best songs: “New Slaves,” “I Am A God”

#8: MY WOMAN by Angel Olsen (2016)

Angel Olsen, the greatest singer-songwriter of her generation, rarely sits still. Her three best albums all have a sharply different feel: 2014′s Burn Your Fire For No Witness is more traditional, sticking with fuzzy indie rock and hauntingly spare acoustic ballads. Her most recent album, All Mirrors, is the opposite — a maximalist, theatrical outpouring of emotions with a full orchestra on most tracks. But Olsen’s greatest work so far is the album she recorded between those two. If Burn Your Fire is a tad too minimalist, and All Mirrors is a bit too over-the-top, then MY WOMAN fits snugly between those two extremes.

But production is not what makes Olsen a genius, although she typically has good taste in it — it’s her songwriting. MY WOMAN has some of her sharpest pop-leaning tracks in the first half, like the fiery “Shut Up Kiss Me” and country slow-dance “Never Be Mine,” then some sprawling slow-burn ballads in the second half. In particular, “Sister” is a folk-rock rollercoaster that works perfectly for driving on a long trip alone, with the hushed opening gradually turning into an expansive, cinematic climax with an incredible guitar solo. And that song’s lyrics are a relatable document of self-disappointment and resentment.

From Courtney Barnett to Soccer Mommy, the late ‘10s have seen an explosion of insanely talented singer-songwriters. But none had the ambition, scope and operatic vocals of Olsen and MY WOMAN.

Best songs: “Shut Up Kiss Me,” “Sister”

#7: good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar (2012)

Arguably the greatest hip-hop concept album of all time, good kid, m.A.A.d. city is still Kendrick Lamar’s most consistent work to date. Lamar, who normally has a problem with overstuffing his records, only has one filler track here — the drowsy “Real” — and everything else either moves his narrative forward in a compelling manner, or it’s an unstoppable banger (or both!). 

The storytelling techniques Lamar uses to tell his autobiographical coming-of-age tale in Compton, complete with drugs, gangs and lots of anxiety, are fascinating and clever. Lamar raps as though he’s in that moment, adding in lots of random, world-building details about his life and twisting his voice in various ways to fit the scene. Even the voicemail and audio recording clips aren’t a distraction, but a clever way to add context to his story without dragging things down.

With his elastic flow and the record’s eclectic production, Lamar is able to have the listener feel exactly how he felt in certain teenage moments. From the dreamlike, gauzy high points of “Money Trees” and “Poetic Justice” to the adrenaline-pumping chaos of “m.A.A.d. City” and “The Art of Peer Pressure” to the murky low points of “Swimming Pools” and “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst,” he absolutely nails each and every specific emotion.

But unlike many concept albums, a majority of good kid’s songs still sound fantastic out of context. “Swimming Pools” may be a song about alcoholism disguised as a party anthem ... but it’s a pretty damn great party anthem. And the triumphant finale, the Dr. Dre-featuring “Compton,” doesn’t have anything to do with the narrative, but it’s still insanely fun.

With good kid, Lamar managed to have his audience eat their veggies while not even knowing it. It’s both incredibly ambitious, yet still restrained just enough to not feel too heavy. You couldn’t ask anything more of a major-label debut.

Best songs: “m.A.A.d city,” “The Art of Peer Pressure”

#6: Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend (2013)

Modern Vampires of the City bored me when I first heard it. I was so excited for its release, right before my high school graduation. I’d listened to Vampire Weekend’s debut album and their sophomore record, Contra, over and over again, and was thrilled for another collection of peppy, preppy indie rock. That’s not what Vampire Weekend gave us with Modern Vampires.

Their decision to take a more somber and mature tone with Modern Vampires turned out to be the smart one, as the album is a major grower. On first listen, its ballad-heavy tracklist doesn’t grab you, but Ezra Koenig’s contemplative lyrics and Rostam Batmanglij’s stunning production reveal themselves on repeat listens. From the swaying breakup anthem “Hannah Hunt,” to the baroque, vulnerable “Step,” this album is when the two were at their peak creative partnership.

Koenig was about to turn 30 during this album’s writing, and you can tell he felt mortality creeping up. The album’s most blunt song about death, “Don’t Lie,” uses iconography of headstones and ticking clocks to show Koenig’s nervousness on the subject. Faith plays a major thematic role as well. But despite these heavy topics, the band managed to deliver a gorgeous, eminently listenable experience. It’s the prime soundtrack for any anxious 20-something fully entering adulthood.

Best songs: “Hannah Hunt,” “Step”

#5: VEGA INTL. Night School by Neon Indian (2015)

Remember how I said that Tyler, The Creator’s IGOR created a unique world of its own? So does VEGA INTL. Night School. And its neon-drenched, warped ‘80s nostalgia trip is a world I could live in forever.

The magnum opus both of Neon Indian and the entire chillwave movement, VEGA is unlike anything else. Ideally, one listens to it while driving down Los Angeles streets after 9 p.m., when the roads are mostly empty but the heat and the light pollution still fill the air. Neon Indian mastermind Alan Palomo stuffed VEGA with melted synths and off-kilter grooves that sound like a 1986 Jazzercise tape stuck in a microwave. The lyrics don’t mean much, but they convey this winking retro sleaze that Prince mastered back in the day.

But all the quirky production choices in the world don’t make a great record unless you’ve got the tunes to back it up. And Palomo brought the tunes. Every single song here is insanely catchy or has a killer dance beat or both. It’s like Thriller for an alternative dystopic universe — every song could’ve been a single. In fact, the tropical haze of “Annie” predicted a wave of similar-sounding (and worse) pop hits in 2016 and 2017.

It’s a shame Palomo hasn’t been able to follow up VEGA with a new album since 2015. Perhaps he knew he couldn’t top this instant, subgenre-defining masterpiece.

Best songs: “Slumlord,” “Dear Skorpio Magazine”

#4: Emotion by Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)

‘80s nostalgia was all the rage in the 2010s. And with apologies to Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Neon Indian, Daft Punk, The 1975 and many more who dabbled in Reagan-era throwbacks, that sound has a modern queen. And her name is Carly Rae Jepsen.

Emotion is such a perfect ‘80s pop album that it might be better than just about every actual ‘80s pop album (except Purple Rain and Thriller – I’m not that contrarian). Each song is deliriously catchy and stuffed with more hooks than should be legal. From the braying sax intro of the legendary album opener “Run Away With Me” to the glittering synths and slap bass of the energetic closer “When I Needed You,” every moment is euphoric.

Of course, we can’t talk about Emotion without discussing that technically, it flopped as far as sales go. Did Jepsen take too long to follow up the mega-smash “Call Me Maybe”? Did the label not promote it enough? Was the public just determined to define the British Columbia singer as a one-hit-wonder? Personally, I think it’s the latter — “Call Me Maybe” just sounds like the kind of goofy novelty song that comes as the singer’s only hit.

But Emotion is a defiant middle finger to anyone to who wants to define Jepsen by one song. At least a third of this album is better than “Call Me Maybe,” and the rest is on the same level. If you love synthpop, and you still haven’t heard Emotion, please do yourself a favor. Spend some time with the defining bubblegum pop album of the 21st century — I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Best songs: “Run Away With Me,” “Your Type”

#3: Melodrama by Lorde (2017)

On the surface, Melodrama and Emotion have a lot in common. Both Lorde and Carly Rae Jepsen took a long time to follow up their gargantuan, decade-defining hits with new albums. Both struggled to get a follow-up hit on their sophomore records (although at least Lorde had a second hit off her debut — remember “Team”?). And these two sophomore records happen to be the best two pop albums of the decade.

But that’s where the similarities end. Just like how “Royals” is an entirely different animal than “Call Me Maybe,” Melodrama is brilliant for very different reasons than Emotion.

In some ways, it makes sense that Melodrama didn’t pump out any hit singles. It’s a whispery, nocturnal concept album that doesn’t sound anything like 2017′s hits. Even the catchier tunes, like “Homemade Dynamite” or “Perfect Places,” have an undercurrent of nihilistic hopelessness to it, and not in the trendy “rich and sad” style that made Lil Uzi Vert and Post Malone stars. It’s more “holy shit, we’re coming of age while the world is burning down and we can’t do a thing about it.”

Earlier, I said Angel Olsen was the best songwriter of the decade. That’s still true, but Lorde is right behind her. Her lyrics are rich with detail and emotional resonance on Melodrama, relatably describing both a breakup and the subsequent partying in an unsuccessful attempt to forget about that breakup. “Liability” might be the decade’s most heartbreaking ballad — and this decade included an entire album about Sufjan Stevens’ dead mom.

“Royals” and Lorde’s debut album, Pure Heroine, showed a lot of promise. But it’s unfortunately all too common for budding pop artists to not meet those expectations. But with Melodrama, Lorde shattered the sky-high expectations she delivered for herself. We thought she could be another solid pop star. It turns out she’s actually the first Gen Z generational icon, and deservedly so.

Best songs: “Green Light,” “Liability”

#2: Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest (2016)

Like many Millennials and Gen Zers, I occasionally struggle with depression and anxiety. And although I can’t entirely relate to every moment on the album, there wasn’t a record this decade that encapsulated those emotions better than Teens of Denial, the decade’s greatest indie rock album.

Car Seat Headrest frontman/songwriter Will Toledo’s lyrics are painfully personal and embarrassing. It’s not entirely clear if these lyrics are based on his experiences or if he’s just an insightful storyteller, but Teens of Denial is powerful either way. The album’s loose narrative is about a guy who is not only depressed, but is surrounded by a world that seemingly heightens his depression at every step. 

This is most bluntly shown on the roaring, angsty opening track “Fill In The Blank” — where the chorus is literally someone telling him, “You have no right to be depressed/you haven’t tried hard enough to like it” — as well as the snarky faux-campfire singalong “Drugs With Friends,” where a bad trip results in the protagonist realizing he’s terrified of his peers and then he imagines Jesus himself casting shame upon him. But half the time, the protagonist brings his problems upon himself, most notably with getting a DUI in the epic, U2-meets-Nirvana arena-grunge anthem “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales.”

Much of the record is Toledo (or his character) wallowing in sadness, which admittedly doesn’t sound like a great time. But like Toledo’s predecessor in Seattle angsty rock, Kurt Cobain, these songs of profound sadness are told via some incredibly catchy, singable (and moshable!) tunes. And Toledo’s vocals are perfect for this style of music, as his voice is both off-kilter and shredded, but still genuinely melodic when the song requires it.

Teens of Denial is an unforgettable experience, something that has to be listened to from start to finish. You might enjoy it more if you find its themes relatable, but the songwriting and ‘90s retro rock sounds are so incredible that almost anyone could find it irresistible if they’re willing to get angsty for an hour.

Best songs: “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales,” “Destroyed By Hippie Powers”

#1: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West (2010)

The first words sung in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are, “Can we get much higher?” The answer is no. This album is the peak not only of Kanye West’s confusing career; not only of the decade; but of the entire genre of hip-hop. 

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of those all-time classic untouchable albums that will soon be required listening for any budding music nerd, up there with Sgt. Pepper, Born To Run, Purple Rain, OK Computer and The Blueprint. To name it as my favorite album of the 2010s is a painfully obvious, and possibly even dull pick. Pitchfork, which gave the album an insanely rare 10/10 upon release, had it at #2 on their decade-end list — possibly to be cheeky, possibly as retribution for West’s recent heinous actions. 

Kanye West is an extremely flawed man, as we all know. I don’t need to recap his wrongdoings. But in some ways, his numerous mistakes just make Dark Twisted Fantasy even more resonant today. The album is partly about Kanye being a deeply troubled person, being aware of that, and yet being unable to change that no matter how hard he tries. He didn’t embrace his megalomaniacal tendencies like on Yeezus, but instead the album feels like an anguished cry for help. The three-minute autotune outro to the album’s breathtaking centerpiece, “Runaway,” literally sounds like that. And even the brag-rap bangers, like “Monster,” “So Appalled” and “Hell of a Life” have a menace to them.

Dark Twisted Fantasy is West at the full extent of his powers. Every single one of his strengths is amplified here. His lyrics, always a little corny and random, are entertainingly and quotably so. He brought out magical performances from guest stars, from Rick Ross’ smooth-as-hell verse on “Devil In A New Dress” to Nicki Minaj’s unhinged, career-best performance on “Monster.” There’s never been better production on a hip-hop album — impressive, considering the record jumps from style to style frequently.

But most importantly, Dark Twisted Fantasy is insanely ambitious. West had a vision, he exiled himself to Hawaii with his team, and he put his nose to the grindstone. It was when his music was the only thing he cared about — not his shoes, not the Kardashians, not Donald Trump. And that dedication was rewarded with a true masterpiece. West will never get any higher than this. And arguably, nor will music in the 21st century.

Best songs: “Runaway,” “Gorgeous”