#because she has been bobby’s no. 1 champion for so long Precisely because she will not turn away from him

[buckboi]

I can’t help but think about the culture of turning a blind eye that Bobby grew up in and the ways that hurt him like… like give it a few years (6 or 7 at most) and he’s made it through the academy, he’s a probie, maybe in his dad’s old firehouse. and those same men - the ones who ignored Tim’s drinking, the way he spoke to his wife - they’re Bobby’s coworkers now, or they’re his superiors

And so what if he shows up to the station smelling like a distillery because “It’s Tim’s boy, you remember what he was like,” and so the problem goes ignored and goes ignored

And we know Bobby tried (and succeeded in) getting clean, but how hard must that have been? Because you take this boy, this kid, who’s too young to know that he couldn’t have saved his father, no matter how hard he tried. And all he knows how to do is follow in those stumbling footsteps. And he’s in so much pain and the only way he knows how to numb it is just hurting him in other ways and you can’t tell me that he wasn’t given special treatment, that he was given grace where he shouldn’t, that he was allowed to take his father’s place in the eyes of the men he held up as heroes

And maybe they thought it was a kind of penance, an effort to smooth over the scar that Tim’s death had left in their lives. But Bobby didn’t need them to look away, to enable his bad behaviour, he needed them to look at him, to see him and how hurt he was.

He needed someone to say “It’s not your fault.”

Instead he was left all alone,

And he thinks that’s what he deserves

[cousinmarcustalkswrestling]

The Five WWE MVPs of 2020

5

Asuka

It feels like WWE views Asuka as a skilled utility player instead of one of the elite talents in their company. There’s a level where that’s disrespectful and indicative of their problems, but also with a company this size it’s not the worst idea to have an elite talent bounce around different positions. No matter what was going on, Asuka approached her role with the same quirky intensity and she was a joy to watch throughout the year. She gave Becky Lynch two great matches to further legitimize her year long title reign, then had one of the best moments of the year when Becky announced her pregnancy and relinquished the title to her. She became the main opposition to the Golden Role Models in the summertime and had great matches with both Bayley and Sasha. She even gave a lot to a motivated Zelina Vega in their Clash of Champions match. Very few people are ready for Asuka.

4 

Drew McIntyre

Talk about bad timing. Imagine the biggest moment of your professional career happening at the biggest show of the year without any fans there. McIntyre had probably the biggest starmaking moment of the year when he eliminated Brock at the Royal Rumble. But instead of the epic showdown they should’ve had at Raymond James Stadium, they had a 4 minute finisher fest in front of no fans. Ay it is what it is. But even with the up and down quality of Raw throughout the year, not an iota of blame can be placed on Drew. His charisma and strong talking was on display nearly every week and he never really had a misstep the entire year. He had a great match against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank and an underappreciated brawl against Bobby Lashley at Backlash. His Orton feud suffered from Orton problems and a stupid title switch, but their Ambulance match was great. His epic clash against Roman Reigns was one of the best matches of the year and he ended the year with a great TLC match against AJ Styles. Great job, Drew!

3

Bayley

DING DONG!! WHAT A YEAR!! Bayley really didn’t have a lot of quality opposition for her Smackdown title all year. Lacey Evans just isn’t at that level and booking didn’t put enough effort behind her feuds with Naomi and Nikki Cross. But it didn’t matter because Bayley (with Sasha) was a one woman army of entertainment this year. She was brash, enthusiastic, and almost maniacal in her heeldom. Honestly, she didn’t even need a murderers row of talent and great matches to get her over, just put a microphone in front of her and let her go. Once her and Sasha won the tag titles, they were given free reign to go to all three shows and they were the clear highlight of the company in the Summer. Her match against Asuka on the July 5 Raw is one of the best TV matches of the year and shows how refined her heel game has become in contrast to her being one of the best pure babyfaces in history. Her attack on Sasha added a brutal edge to her character and it resulted in two of the best matches of the year. Her booking post Sasha has been a little so-so, but she’s begun a fun feud with Bianca Belair to carry over into the new year. Great job, Bayley!

2

Roman Reigns

Forget everything that happened before Summerslam. He was in a terrible feud with Corbin and then he was set to face fucking Goldberg at Wrestlemania before he went on his COVID vacation. He returned at Summerslam looking super jacked and super mean. On the Smackdown between Summerslam and Payback, Roman revealed his partnership with Paul Heyman and I knew we would be getting something special from there. Roman’s cousin, Jey Uso, becoming #1 Contender for the Universal Title unleashed the Tribal Chief and he’s been a blast to watch ever since that moment. He’s a brutal dictator driven by the survival of his family which is completely dependent on his success and his reign as Universal Champion. He and Jey had two of the best matches of the year that were driven by Roman’s determination in Jey acknowledging him as the Tribal Chief of the family.

Roman really deserved this character. For the years and years that he was treated with inexplicable scorn from “fans”, he deserved to have a character arc that is treated with tremendous care and precision. Every segment involving him shows perfect characterization in how he reacts to whats going on in his world like members of Jey Uso’s survivor series team not respecting him or Kevin Owens having the unmitigated gall to have no fear in challenging him. In the ring, Roman is a brilliant blend of the vicious Shield Roman and the more dynamic Big Dog Roman. He’s brutal and mawling, but he’s still a tremendous seller and never looks unstoppable. His interpromotional match against Drew McIntyre was one of the best matches of the year and just a great display of two great modern talents locking horns and his TLC match against Kevin Owens is one of the best one on one TLC matches we’ve seen. He’s on the run of his career and we should be grateful. I acknowledge you, Roman, I acknowledge you.

1

Sasha Banks

The year started very weird for Ms. Banks. She didn’t participate in the Women’s Royal Rumble and she was absent from the Elimination Chamber card. She was just kinda floating along being Bayley’s primary support until it felt like creative actually flipped the switch and decided to A) give them more time to be the hilarious obnoxious tag team of the year and B) subtly show Sasha constantly saving and sacrificing for the team to build to an inevitable break up and feud. This rub really breathed life back into Sasha’s career which wasn’t dead at all, but was too stagnant for a talent of her caliber. They captured the tag team titles and spread their ridiculous heel joy all over the company, even returning to NXT where Sasha showed some instant electric chemistry with a future star in Shotzi Blackheart.

 The moment everything changed was the Monday Night Raw where Sasha issued a challenge….to Raw Women’s Champion Asuka. It instantly became one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year and it was Sasha’s first solo PPV match of the year. On the way to that, she returned to NXT and had a banger with the NXT’s top dog Io Shirai. They main evented that night and to date is one of only nine nights where NXT defeated AEW in total viewers. Despite the terribly booked finish, her Extreme Rules match against Asuka was one of the E’s best straight up wrestling matches of the year and ended with her as Two Belt Bankz. Her world came crashing down as she was once again unable to successfully defend the title and lost it right back to Asuka. The Golden Role Models also lost the women’s tag titles and after an unsuccessful rematch, it finally happened; Bayley snapped and assaulted her best friend, attempting to break her neck and end her career.

 Their split instantly made Sasha the biggest babyface in the company and everything from that point seemed like good old fashioned catharsis from being held back and misused through the years. She ended Bayley’s year plus reign as Smackdown Women’s Champion in one of the best Hell in a Cell matches in history. For the first time in her main roster career, she successfully defended her title and defeated Bayley in one of the best TV matches of the year. At Survivor Series, she finally cleanly defeated Asuka in a great champion vs champion match and she ended the year by having Carmella’s best match ever at TLC. This final quarter of the year was just all around tremendous for her as she had classic matches, exorcised some of her booking demons, displayed her aptitude for making anybody look great in the ring and even outside of the subjective realm of wrestling, becoming one of the primary reasons for Smackdown’s ratings surge and arguably the face of the company. This was the year of the boss, where the E finally realized the star that they had and put the power of the machine behind her. The sky is truly the limit.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Prospects, Newbies and an old school TV card” The UFC’s 25th Anniversary (but not quite) in Denver

Joey

November 4th

Well folks, we've got a mere TWO months left in this Fox deal. That shakes out to two PPVs, four FS1 events, one Fight Pass Fight Night and one Fox event remain. Our first FS1 trip takes us to Denver, Colorado for a UFC Fight Night anniversary deal. In many ways, this event DOES feel like a throwback to the past. If you cut this show down to a four fight main card with no televised prelim slate, this would be a killer Fight Night. Yair vs Zombie is a fantastic main event on paper that should be an absolute gas while it lasts, the same goes for the action fighter vs action fighter clash as Mike Perry takes on Cowboy Cerrone and then the card is rounded out by two very intriguing battles between proven fighters and former title contenders (one champion!) in GDR vs Rocky Pennington and Ray Borg vs Joe Benavidez. It's not though and so plenty of folks will look at the lack of recognizable names and say "WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!?" which while fair, also neglects how many top flight prospects they've got on this undercard. It's a four fight great card and then a combination of prospects vs prospects and newbies vs proven gatekeepers. It's actually a not bad fight card even if it's not the love affair many UFC fans probably want for their 25th Anniversary show. We've also got to get a face to face look at what seems to be a two month long farewell tour at 125 lbs as well. I'm not saying you HAVE to watch it but you'd be pretty darn happy TO watch it.

Fights: 13

Debuts:  Maycee Barber, Hannah Cifers, Thiago Moises, Julian Erosa, Devin Smith, Bobby Moffett

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 6 (Frankie Edgar OUT, Yair Rodriguez IN vs Chan Sung Jung/Ricardo Ramos vs Ricky Simon CANCELLED/Chris Greutzmacher OUT, Thiago Moises IN vs Beneil Dariush/Maia Stevenson OUT, Hanna Cifers IN vs Maycee Barber/Alonzo Menifield vs Saparbek Sarafov CANCELLED/Jordan Espinoza OUT, Joby Sanchez IN vs Mark De La Rosa)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 9 (Chan Sung Jung, Yair Rodriguez, Mike Perry, Donald Cerrone, Germaine De Randamie, Rocky Pennington, Ray Borg, Joe Benavidez, Beneil Dariush)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: (Ashley Yoder)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: (Germaine De Randamie, Davi Ramos)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC):  26-11

Yair Rodriguez- 1-0 Korean Zombie- 3-1 Mike Perry- 5-3 Donald Cerrone- 5-4 GDR- 2-0 Rocky Pennington- 3-1 Ray Borg- 2-2 Joe Benavidez- 2-1 Maycee Barber- 0-0 Hanna Cifers- 0-0 Mike Trizano- 1-0 Luis Pena- 1-0

Divisional Breakdown:

Lightweight- 4 Flyweight-3 Women's Strawweight- 2 Featherweight- 2 Welterweight- 1 Women's Bantamweight-1

Too Low- Beneil Dariush vs Thiago Moises

Let us begin with this fight, sitting comfortably at the very opening of the televised prelims. On a card full of debutantes, high level prospects and four really really good fights, this is one prelim fight that sort of kind of should be a lot higher and potentially as high as the main card. Thiago Moises is a pretty solid regional lightweight who got called up after a spot on the Dana White's Contenders Series in Brazil. At the very least, this has the potential to be a very fun back and forth grappling contest. It's far better than just assuming that these prospects in their debut won't have a slip up or get lost in their nerves.

Too High Up- Maycee Barber vs Hannah Cifers

Okay so this is actually a really good fight. I had a chance to watch Hannah Cifers throughout her Titan Fighting run. She's an articulate striker who often combines precision offense with pressure. She didn't do a ton of grappling in those fights but I'm going to bet she'll be okay there as well. There were basically three fighters given ample hype time going INTO the second season of the Contenders for Dana White; Greg Hardy, Nick Newell AND Maycee Barber. Barber walked through Jaimee Colleen who has a win over Danielle Taylor and outnumbered in her terms of experience. Barber has something different about her and it's not a surprise she's getting the O'Malley treatment given her age, talent level and the need for more fun things at 115 lbs. It just FEELS like you're asking a lot of her here and the same for Ciphers on short notice.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 27-35-1):  Maycee Barber, Hannah Cifers, Thiago Moises, Bobby Moffett, Julian Erosa, Devonte Smith

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 28-23):  Hannah Cifers, Thiago Moises, Joby Sanchez, Yair Rodriguez

Second Fight (Current number: 36-28-1): Mike Trizano, Luis Pena, John Gunther

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 21-36):  Yair Rodriguez, Korean Zombie, Germaine de Randamie, Ray Borg, Chas Skelly

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 30-21-1): Maycee Barber, Mike Trizano, Luis Pena, John Gunther

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really:

The UFC Win Check Test The records of fighters who have 4 or more UFC fights (or three full calendar years in the organization) but 0 wins against people still in the UFC:  Amanda Bobby Cooper

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Are we TOO optimistic about this main event? On paper, Yair Rodriguez vs Chan Sung Jung is a fight for the ages. The all pressure power punching Zombie vs the super flashy Mexican star seems like the sort of shit you'd get excited about. There are just three key aspects about this fight that I'm having a tough time getting my hands around. The FIRST is the location. Yair Rodriguez has fought at altitude countless times before so it'd be unfair to assume he can't do it BUT it is worth remembering that he was absolutely dead tired in Mexico both times and he slowed down quite a bit in the 4th or 5th rounds in Utah. The Korean Zombie has never struck me as a dude who has had issues with his conditioning but that was a military assignment and a few knee surgeries ago plus I don't think he's ever had a real big altitude fight like this one. The second aspect is just the all around concern or confusion on Yair Rodriguez's mindset. Yair was crushed by Frankie Edgar in his sole UFC loss and that was in May of 2017. He admittedly opted to take a year off to heal up/get better/train around before getting cut from the UFC for a short spell due to Yair either turning down a succession of fights or just not wanting to get bullied into taking a fight. He took a fight vs Zhabit in September, pulled out due to injury and now he's back in early November with no mention of the injury. When Dana was asked about Yair after he pulled out of the Zhabit fight, Dana implied in so many words that Yair was a guy who just didn't want to fight. I think wondering where his head is at relative to taking a fight like THIS one is worthy of asking. Lastly, I think it's 100% fair to say we're not going to see the best version of either dude. The Zombie has fought just ONE time since 2013 and he's now officially beyond 30 years old. Injuries and a military service took him away from MMA for a looong time now and against Bermudez, he looked pretty rusty before he snapped back into it to end the show early. Yair Rodriguez is taking this fight on short notice plus  a year away plus the questions around his career plus the fact that the last time he saw him, Edgar was punching his face into the canvas. I'm not saying this fight will suck, I'm saying we should temper our expectations a bit.

2- How valuable will Yair Rodriguez's kicks be if he's to pull off this upset?

3- So much of Donald Cerrone vs Mike Perry feels like a matter of determining how washed up Donald Cerrone is vs how much you believe Mike Perry can improve under the watchful eyes of Jackson-Wink. Cerrone is what he is and he was able to fight at a frenetic pace against Leon Edwards, giving us an occasional glimpse of what he's good at while reminding us of all the things he's been bad at for his entire career. Mike Perry's upside is of the Chris Leben variety; a high level fun brawler who is going to throw down until the sun goes down on him. That said you'd have to hope an elite gym can iron out some of the weaknesses he's got, primarily his over aggresiveness and his defensive lapses. Would be the hope, riiiight?

4-  If you read this and you're rooting for Cerrone to win so you can get Diego vs Cerrone? Shame on y'all, man.

5- Anybody feel really bad about Ray Borg vs Joseph Benavidez? On paper, this is a really intriguing fight between the inconsistent Borg and the declining Benavidez; the sort of fight that could get Borg back on the winning track or maybe open the door for Benavidez to have one last run to the title. The problem is that there may be no title---and the problem may be that a really good fight on paper will be meaningless because the division is gone. That draws the air out of the building so much for me. The same goes for all three of these fights. Are the winners basically fighting for spots in the 135 lb division?

6- The Contenders Series is really about churning out quantity with some hype vs turning out future champions BUT they've got a few guys on here who could at least be in the conversation of potential title contenders. Maycee Barber is just 20 years old, undefeated and blessed with all sort of skills. Devonte Smith is getting a put together short notice fight vs Julian Erosa to pad the card but he's VERY good and figures to show out against a quality journeyman (fighting out of his weight class). Lastly Thiago Moises could develop into a quality lightweight who can be relied on to draw fights in Brazil.

7- Davi Ramos has won two straight in the UFC, both by submission. Normally that gets you a nice step up but the reality is that it's not happening here. He's getting John Gunther in what feels like an opportunity to run Gunther out of the UFC after his awful win vs Allan Zuniga.

8- GDR totally disappeared off the face of the Earth after her win vs Holly Holm, citing hand problems and an unwillingness to fight Cyborg to go along with a pull out of a fight vs Marion Reneau. She returns against Rocky Pennington who had an equally lengthy lay off prior to her fight vs Amanda Nunes. This feels like a last chance fight for two ladies with different issues.

9- Why is Amanda Bobby Cooper vs Ashley Yoder the featured prelim? Is there some sort of Mackenzie Dern victim prize at stake?

10- Chas Skelly vs Bobby Moffet is the Spiderman pointing meme of this card.

11- The TUF Undefeated Season was...something. It was a grueling watch live and the finale is easily the worst TUF finale I've ever seen. This is a big bounce back opportunities for guys like Mike Trizano and John Gunther. Luis Pena got hurt and was pulled off the show but dominated Richie Smullen so he's sort of safe. Trizano vs Pena is going to be a very interesting fight worth keeping an eye on.

12-  Would there be any interest in Holm vs GDR 2 if she wins?

[jmsa1287]

A Year in Review: The Best 25 Albums of 2017

Having recorded my listening habits for a decade now, this is the first time since 2007 that I could not make a top 50 albums list. Usually listening to over 100 albums in a year, this was the first time in many years that I listened to a very small number of albums. Perhaps this has to do with turning 30 and being busy, having less time to spend time with music. Nevertheless, I enjoyed what 2017 had to offer more than last year. 

Unlike the last few years, 2017 was not a consensus year for music. There was not a single album that critics and music fans championed; this year was more fragmented, where pockets of people lauded various albums. Artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Bon Iver, Run the Jewels, Beyonce, and Frank Ocean ruled year-end lists over the past decade but no musician or album "popped a wheelie on the zeitgeist" in a staggering way in 2017.

Albums by big pop stars failed to be an event this year. Katy Perry's exhausting rollout of "Witness" was a train wreck (and the music wasn't great either), Miley Cyrus's back-to-basics album "Younger Now" was an unfortunate flop and Kesha's comeback record only made a small splash. And then there's Taylor Swift, who didn't do her typical media bombardment to promote "reputation." She instead opted for a reserved albeit calculated attempt to get the word out there about her new music, which included cryptic snake videos on social media, ads on UPS trucks and not a single interview.

The winners of music in 2017 were men: Billboard published its year-end chart/top artists of the year list this week and the first 14 spots go to men, including Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Placing 15th is Ariana Grande, whose latest album "Dangerous Woman" dropped last year. Female pop stars who had albums debut in 2017 are further down on the list, including Halsey (24th), Taylor Swift (25th) Demi Lovato (39th), Katy Perry (49th), SZA (57th), Miley Cyrus (64th), P!nk (78th) and Kesha (95th), which points to the interesting state pop music is currently in; perhaps a bleak reflection of our political climate.

That men dominated music in 2017during President Donald Trump's first year in the White House may not surprise those keeping an eye on culture. And whether or not you enjoyed albums by Sheeran, Lamar and The Chainsmokers is obviously completely subjective. But this list features several women musicians of varying genre, including pop, indie rock and experimental.

25. Yumi Zouma - Willowbank

24. Taylor Swift - reputation 

23. Julia Michaels - Nervous System EP

22. Sampha - Process

21. Real Estate - In Mind

20. Paramore - After Laughter

19. Ariel Pink - Dedicated to Bobby James

18. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Echo of Pleasure

17. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest

16. Terror Jr - Bop City 3: The Girl Who Cried Purple

15. Jessie Ware - Glasshouse

14. Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder

13. St. Vincent - Masseducation

12. LCD Soundsystem - american dream

11. The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding

10. Destroyer - ken

Since his breakthrough 2012 album "Kaputt," Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Bejar, who performs under the name Destroyer, has continued his brand of smooth indie rock that's one part scuzzy rock and one part romanticism. On his 11th album "ken," Bejar is most clearly inspired by New Order, basking in the glow of thick synths, heavy guitar riffs and thumping bass. Bejar's take on new wave is at its best with the stellar melodramatic track "Tinseltown Swimming in Blood." Tying the music together on "ken" is Bejar's unmistakable voice, a husky and beautiful sound that only gets better with time.

09. HAIM - Something to Tell You

The sisters who make up the California indie pop trio HAIM perfected their sound with their long awaited sophomore album "Something to Tell You." Distilling their Wilson Phillips meets Fleetwood Mac meets Sheryl Crow meets Amy Grant inspirations, HAIM's latest effort is a breezy, melodic album with groovy highlights, like singles "Want You Back" and "Little of Your Love." "Something to Tell You" is a well-crafted album, proving the HAIM sisters are growing as artists. "Something to Tell You" is an effortless album; one of the most-fun listening experiences of 2017.

08. Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors

Once a band consisting of several members, David Longstreth's Dirty Projectors project is now a solo one. After a tumultuous breakup with former Dirty Projector's singer Amber Coffman (who put out her own solo record this year, too), Longstreth details the end of their relationship with self-reflective precision. Over experimental songs, Longstreth examines himself and where he went wrong while re-contextualizing Dirty Projectors' discography, like on "Up in Hudson," a sweeping epic that chronicles the ebbs and flows of his relationship with Coffman. Or like "Keep Your Name," which samples the band's 2012 song "Impregnable Question" (that song prominently featured Coffman). Despite it being an extremely personal album, "Dirty Projectors" offers some of Longstreth's snappiest and catchiest music, including "Cool Your Heart," featuring R&B chanteuse Dawn Richard. The album is as revealing as it is assessable.

07. The xx - I See You

The xx's third album "I See You" is the U.K. trio's most vibrant effort. The band injects their quiet and minimal sound with some big surprises, thanks to Jamie xx, the band's producer who released his house-inspired dance album in 2015. Here, he brings his dance floor-ready sound to the band's new album while Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim pen some of their most personal songs. "I See You" features introspective tracks detailing addiction, death and queerness. It's a polished album finding the xx at their most confessional - and most exciting.

06. Charli XCX - Number 1 Angel

Considered a mixtape, "Number 1 Angel" by pop princess Charli XCX is a 10-track party. Produced by experimental avant-pop musicians from the PC Music crew (A.G. Cook, Danny L Harle, Life Sim and Sophie), Charli's mixtape is full of unrelenting bangers. From the rapturous "3 AM," featuring singer MØ, to the euphoric "Roll with Me" and marvelously glitch-y "ILY2," "Number 1 Angel" is an addictive collection of jams. What makes the tape one of Charli's best works to date is because it's a collaborative effort. Not only does Charli work with some of the most interesting producers today, but she also enlists the help of alternative pop/rap stars like Raye, Abra and Cuppcakke, making "Number 1 Angel" simply a good time.

05. Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now

It's been a decade since Swedish musician Jens Lekman broke through with his lush album "Night Falls Over Kortedala." Lekman has bounced back-and-forth from lo-fi singer-songwriter records to vibrant albums that draw from tropical sounds (with varying success) but his fourth album "Life Will See You Now" finds him back in a sweet spot. Known for his diary-like and personal songwriting, Lekman is at his most confessional here, penning songs about faith, tragedy, breakups and a 3D molding of a tumor. Lekman always adds a dose of comedy to his music, and "Life Will See You Now," full of warm melodies and dazzling production, is a lovely album carved out of earnest emotion.

04. Terror Jr - Bop City 2: TerroRising

Terror Jr has been quietly making some of the most interesting pop music of the last few years. On their second album "Bop City 2: TerroRising" - a sequel of sorts to their excellent debut "Bop City," the mysterious band shares their dark and twisted take on Top 40- hits. Provocative and forward thinking, Terror Jr explore addiction, sexuality and romance on introspective songs with blunt lyrics a la seminal avant-garde band Xiu Xiu. The combination of radio-friendly production and confessional lyrics makes Terror Jr's "Bop City 2" a tour de force.

03. Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life

Lana Del Rey was perhaps the most aware artist of 2017. Not only was she self-reflective of her place in the world, her status and what she, as a musician and celebrity, means to her fans, but Del Rey also documented herself reacting to today's political climate: Threats of nuclear war with North Korea deeply concerned her. The way in which women are treated in Hollywood, or Hollyweird as she'd call it, was at the top of her mind (she revealed she'll no longer perform her song "Cola" at her shows because it references Harvey Weinstein). Donald Trump elected to office sickened her - so much so that she joined witches around the nation in casting a spell on him and later banned the U.S. flag from her live shows; a shocking move from an artist who built a career at honoring Americana. All of Del Rey's tumultuous and agonizing feelings about 2017 are weaved into her beautiful fourth album "Lust for Life." It's Del Rey at her most Del Rey; an album that looks back at her debut "Born to Die" with its sweeping string arrangements and nods to hip-hop, while being completely fresh, finding Del Rey concerned for her fans but still full of hope.

02. Phoenix - Ti Amo

Indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens provided the music to this year's Oscars frontrunner, the coming-of-age gay romance "Call Me By Your Name." But it's the French indie rock band Phoenix that created the soundtrack to summertime in Italy. Their sixth album "Ti Amo" is simple and pure; exploring love, desire, lust and food while being inspired the Italian disco. The fuzzy single "J-Boy" is slick and cool like gelato, the title track dazzles with sparkling synths and fizzes like cream soda, "Tuttifrutti" is a sweet banger and highlight "Fior di Latte" is as rich as the cheese itself. Each song on "Ti Amo" is exciting as the last, with closing track "Telefono" being one of the Phoenix's catchiest songs to date. The album may not be the band's most innovative but that's OK - "Ti Amo" is an undeniable delight, perfectly capturing a sound and feeling unlike any record in 2017.

01. Lorde - Melodrama 

Not long before he died, David Bowie apparently said Lorde is "the future of music." Wise beyond her 21 years, the New Zealand musician would be make Bowie proud with her impressive sophomore album "Melodrama," a stunning and cohesive concept album that subverts pop expectations of pop music. Tracking the ups and downs of a house party, Lorde's "Melodrama" explores every facet the emotional impact a breakup can give you. With her odd lyrical phrasing, jarring whispers and precise production from Jack Antonff, "Melodrama" is a radically raw album that exposes itself with each listen. It is also an achievement for Lorde herself; she sheds the teenage persona she created on her massively successful debut "Pure Heroine" (and that song's "Royals") and announces herself as an adult. With "Melodrama," Lorde is more profound than she's ever been.