#hope kendrick releases again and fucking destroys him

[thelilylav]

I dunno man maybe I’m just built different but personally I would not piss off a pulitzer prize winner

[idontneednofuckinhug]

My 25 favourite albums of the 2010′s

When it came down to making a list of my favourite projects through the 2010's, it really became clear to me how difficult of a task this was - I've listened to hundreds and hundreds of albums, EP's and Mixtapes during this time frame with artists from different genres, during different times of my life, where I needed different types of music to soothe my soul. When I started writing down the albums I want to put in my decade list, the first thing I set as a rule to myself was that I'd have only one album per artist, just to avoid repetitiveness and so I can actually think about which artists really did leave a mark on me during this time frame and not just have a list of 10 artists with my favourite 2-3 albums from each. Even then, I originally had more than 35 albums written down as standouts for me during this time and I wanted to originally make a top 20 - I quickly realized that wouldn't be possible, but a top 35 or top 30 would be way too big, so I decided to settle on a top 25 and even then I realized I'd leave out some generational artists like Gambino, JID, 6LACK and more. After that I just decided I wouldn't rank them, it would just be 25 albums that were my favourite during the decade - no rankings, because really, how can I compare a hip-hop album to an Indie album for instance? I couldn't. I hope this list raises a discussion and we can talk about your favourite albums during this period as well or you can tell me I'm braindead for leaving out someone from the list. So in no particular order, I'll list the albums and leave some thoughts on each:

A$AP Rocky - AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP (2015) Althogh this album was released in 2015, it took me till about two years later to really appreciate it as a project - it was my coming of age album, where I realized that I need to love myself and focus on my own well-being, to have that self-confidence that reflects the reality of who you are as a person and that attracts others to be interested in what's going on with you. The album was and still is very relevant to the environment I didn't want to be in and to push myself to achieve what I've been dreaming of, as well as reflect on the existential topics I've always raised within myself regarding love, violence and pain.

Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (2018) I was a bit late to the party with this one, as I only started listening to it in 2019, a year after its release, but I have to admit, Twin Fantasy really reflects all of the impulsive emotions I have within myself regarding loneliness, being insecure and counting on the people you love so that you help each other out, outgrowing your childish opinions and understanding of relationships and realizing your partner struggles just as much as you do. This might be my favourite indie-rock project right now.

Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap (2013) This album was a big part of me during my teenage years - I remember it reflecting the issues I was facing when I was 16-18 and it really made me vibe with it, due to the appreciation I had for my friends and my free time during that time, at the same time addressing the inner feelings of whether you're doing the right thing with your life. Listening to it now, years later gives me an alternative view of it as well, as an adult who looks with nostalgia at his younger self and realizes how much emotions I've missed from this project.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Pinata (2014) Arguably the album with the best production of all time - the free-flowing jazzy and soulful beats from Madlib, underlined with Gibbs's absurd flow, the story-telling of him having to sell drugs and rob people to make a living, the absurd amount of genius features and the disgusting verses Gibbs had on songs like Harold's, Real and Robes just puts this project in a bracket of its own - I was wondering whether I prefer Pinata or Bandana, but as Bandana is a very fresh project still, this one has aged like a fine wine for me.

Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE (2012) Oddly enough, I'm one of those people who doesn't like Blonde as much as channel ORANGE. This album really hit home when it came down to my break-ups and realization I'd have to start all over again, both with myself and with someone else in the future - it really made me miss some people in my life time and time again and has brought me to tears more than you'd think. Frank's commentary on the album on different aspects of love and society really puts you in a frame of mind where you'll relate to almost everything he's experienced.

Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron (2014) This was the best story-telling album of the decade for me. The production which had a very modern take on old-school Gangsta rap really sticks to you with every song, the themes which Q explores with growing up in his ghetto neighbourhood, being part of the Crips, selling drugs and being part of gang-related crime really hits hard, combined with the realization he wants something better from life after growing up in poverty. Looking at Q grow up as a person after the release of this album and achieving all of his dreams really adds to this project as a modern day classic.

Flying Lotus - You're Dead (2014) Honestly, this one isn't for everyone - when making this list FlyLo had completely slipped my mind, even though I absolutely destroyed Flamagra with replays this year and had destroyed You're Dead in 2018 and 2017 due to the amazing production and vibe the album had. This project has an absolutely one of a kind take on combining modern jazz with psychedelic beats and hip-hop features, showcasing exactly why Flying Lotus is one of the best producers of modern times.

Danny Brown - Atrocity Excibition (2016) The culmination of Danny Brown's career for me, Danny addresses what it's like to completely hit rock bottom in this project, being a crackhead, who'd party, have sex with groupies and strangers and have no control over his life - there's a very neurotic and dark production on this album, combined with Danny's hilarious, but unsettling one-liners and verses which really could have been interpreted as a cry for helf, especially on songs such as "Ain't it Funny".`

Anderson. Paak - Malibu (2016) I recently wrote about Paak in a blogpost, discussing how he brought soul music back into the mainstream through a fantastic combination of rapping and singing with soul-inspired production and keeping a very funky vibe alive. This album was his best work for me and really showcased how much he's loving life, living to his best and enjoying every day of it, whilst at the same time addressing how difficult, but worth it love can be.

Mac Miller - Watching Movies With The Sound Off (2012) Mac was one of the first artists I wrote about, as I basically grew up with him, although he was a bit older than me (he's 92 and I'm 97). Every album of his was a part of my life and something I could relate to and live through, sometimes a bit later than its release, but no album has had such an eternal feel to it as Watching Movies. Both at 19 and at 22, I could find life lessons in this album and songs that could really describe what I'm going through, both on the end where my ego is taking over and I don't feel in control (Red Dot Music), to the downpoints of my life and addictions (Objects in the Mirror).

Earl Sweatshirt - I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside (2015) I love Earl. Realistically, I couldn't keep him out of this list, although none of his albums really are crazy standouts, as he has an extremely consistent body of work, but I decided to settle with this one. With its melancholic production, dark and slow beats and topics of depression, suicide and self-isolation, this album has been one of my main therapists every time life has absolutely killed me and had kept me afloat, thanks to having someone to relate to in those difficult, dark edgy times.

Denzel Curry - TA13OO (2018) Probably one of most inovative albums in the end of the 2010's, Denzel split the album up into three parts, all reflecting the emotions he felt during the proccess of creating it: Light, embracing his success and feelings of positivity; Grey, being introspective about his life and looking at the people trying to use him and hate him objectively; Dark, channeling all his anger and darkest emotions.

Vince Staples - Summertime '06 (2015) Vince really is one of the most complex artists of modern times for me personally, as his music is always very difficult to gauge and he always strives for innovation, rather than mainstream appeal. Summertime in reality is probably his most mainstream album, being an excellent storytelling project of his origins from Long Beach, California, the gang culture and harsh reality around him, his friends being shot down or turning into coke fiends and the way his environment has shaped him as a person of distrust and scepticism.

Sons of Kemet - Your Queen's a Reptile (2018) I really wanted to have a jazz project in this list and I was torn between this one, Everything's Beatiful and Drunk, but I always go back to this one the most. The avant-garde jazz-funk sound of this album, combined with traditionally african melodies and beats and progression each song goes through really makes this a multi-layered album which you will need to listen to again and again, as it also had a very political message in itself.

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) If anyone asks me what's the greatest pure hip-hop album of all time, I always answer and have answered "To Pimp a Butterfly". This album was and in my opinion still is very much before its time - the jazz-rap production, social and political messages and discussion, the absurd beats and flows, the rhyme-schemes, everything about this album absolutely shines and whatever I say, will not do it justice, you need to listen to this start to back.

Jpegmafia - Veteran (2018) Being one of the most experimental and non-fuck giving rappers in the game right now, this album was really a step in the right direction for hip-hop, as it had production that you'd probably hear nowhere else, DYI samples, political comments and messages in a very unfiltered manner, showcasing Peggy's no-fucks-given attitude to everything in music, something he has continued to prove to this day.

Tame Impala - Currents (2015) I originally listened to this project for the first time in late 2016, but I really wasn't too much into Indie back then, so I gave it little thought. 3 years later, after listening to it again I realized what a genius piece of art Kevin Parker had created with its topics of self-discovery, introspection on life and it's psychedelic indie-rock production, really creating something that no one else had heard before.

Joey Bada$$ - 1999 (2012) What really makes me not believe this project exists is that Joey released it when he was 17. Having some of the best old-school inspired production and beats, with a jazzy, soulful sound, this album showcases a very young man challenge the political climate of its time, as well as have very matures takes and opinions on gang-culture, smoking weed and needing to grow up, realizing he can't live a life of parties and drugs if he wants to leave something that's worth it in the world.

Kanye West and Kid Cudi - Kids See Ghosts (2018) I was really wondering if I should put this album in my list, as I'm not the biggest Kanye fan and I haven't really liked much of Cudi's work past 2010, but in the end, this album is one of a kind. It tells the tale of two people struggling with their mental illnesses, but in the end conquering them, loving themselves and realizing that they have so much to give in life. The album shares a very heavy inspiration from Tame Impala's production as it has a fantastic psychedelic rock production, combined with samples and yells from Cudi and Kanye which you'd never hear in another project, which people take seriously.

Death Grips - No Love Deep Web (2012) Disgusting. Raw. Overpowering. Back in 2012 when this project was released, Death Grips completely took the internet by storm, as nothing like this had ever been released even in the underground hip-hop scene. Glitchy production, combined with guitar riffs, sudden breaks, yelling and completely unrelated gibberish in most of the songs, topped off with an album cover of Zach Hill's dick, this album inspired a decade of experimentation in rap music, leading to albums such as Kanye's Yeezy and Tyler's Cherry Bomb.

Ab-Soul - Control System (2012) Lyrically one of the most complex projects I've ever heard, Ab-soul's rhyme schemes and punchlines deserve a place in a literature course in University, as you'd need multiple listens on his songs to catch every little reference the rapper makes. The album has a fantastic jazz-inspired production, songs with a very disjointed beat, showcasing his emotional instability during making it, as he references his past and the personal issues he had to go through during life, the suicide of his beloved Alori Joh, which has caused him to contemplate suicide himself and the references to his co-stars in TDE's projects makes for a project you'll spend hours on end to try and figure out.

The Internet - Ego Death (2015) One of the best contemporary R&B projects, the Internet combines a very blues and soul inspired production for this one, giving face to their fantastic members ability to create a vibe and atmosphere in their music - the most impressive part for me with them is that this album really was the start of multiple fantastic artists solo careers: Syd, Steve Lacy, Matt Martians.

Little Simz - GREY Area (2019) This and Tame Impala were my only projects by non-american artists and for a reason. Little Simz crafted a fantastic hip-hop album filled with a mixture of aggressive, eerie production and classical jazz and blues samples, showcasing her talent to both sing and rap in every single song, exploring the difficulties of being a female MC in the modern era, the pressure and negative emotions she experiences having to work much harder in the industry than men and the pain she's felt during the years of her coming of age.

SZA - Ctrl (2017) My favourite R&B album of the past decade, SZA created one of the rawest, most emotional albums I've ever heard, reflecting on modern romance from a very personal and subjective point of view, gives this project a very aunthetic and deep feel you'd have to dig deep to find elsewhere. The album also underlines SZA's struggles as a modern woman, jealousy and the anxiety of being in your 20's. The project's classic R&B production combined with its features from artists like Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar, really adds to an experience which could leave you heartbroken.

Isaiah Rashad - Cilvia Demo (2014) Although during the past year The Sun's Tirade has been my favourite and main album, it really is more of a vibe album and not as much as a personal abum as Cilvia. In Cilvia I found myself, Isaiah talks about his addiction issues, wanting to make it in a world full of hate, the horrible relationship with his father, thoughts of suicide, the lack of commitment he has in love and has received in his relationships and the social climate which makes him feel like he's less of a person. This isn't an album for everyone, but the people who can relate to what he's feeling will likely fall in love with this project.

[valleanenowe-music-walk]

Start album as soon as foot leaves far porch side

Try to estimate based on location and remaining album time when I should start walking home. Aim for album ending as soon as I get back

If album ends early, restart it and listen to the first couple tracks or so but at a very low background volume

On the 31st walk I listened to “Ancient Romans”, by Sun Araw. It took about an hour and 19 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Icon Give Thank” by Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras & The Congos, and “The Inner Treaty”, by Sun Araw.

On the 32nd walk I listened to “DAMN.”, by Kendrick Lamar. Oh yes, it’s finally time. It took about 55 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone

On the 33rd walk I listened to “Deconstructionist”, by Giles Corey. It took about an hour and a half I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Belomancie”, by Sun Araw, which is kind of a cheat album but has nonetheless jumped to the top of the list! And also “Gazebo Effect”, also by Sun Araw.

On the 34th walk I listened to “Belomancie”, by Sun Araw. Again, kind of a cheat album. It took about 1 hour and 19 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “The Saddle Of The Increate”, by Sun Araw

I have skipped “Deluxe”, by Internet Club. 

On the 35th walk I listened to “Destroyed”, by Moby. It took about an hour and 12 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add "Off Duty/Boat Trip" and "Houston Abstros", by Sun Araw. Thus ends Sun Araw’s long reign of terror over this blog! I have also added “the album that made me famous” and “federal”, by teeth made of glass I have ALSO added “ミッドナイトクルーズ“ and “日曜日DRIVE“, by TOYOTAセリカ! The former of which has... jumped to the top of the queue, I guess? As the first release by this artist, DoubleTwist seems to have interpreted the "01" in its folder name and put it at the top of the list. I'm just gonna do it next because it's really short and I don't want to put any more effort into sorting Japanese characters

On the 36th walk I will listen to “ミッドナイトクルーズ”, by TOYOTAセリカ. This is... One song, it’ll take about 5 minutes. I’m just gonna exit my apartment then walk back into my apartment. I guess I’m gonna do this. Okay, it’s done. I deleted it Surprisingly enough, it freed up just enough space to add “COSMIC漂流”, another album by TOYOTAセリカ

On the 37th walk I listened to "the album that made me famous", by teeth made of glass! It took about 19 minutes My friend Dakota made this album! Check him out at:  http://swervemobile.bandcamp.com http://glassteeth.bandcamp.com Except you won’t, because you aren’t a person reading this blog, because those don’t exist! I will now delete it from my phone. Sorry, Dak! I have used the freed space to add “冬”, by  TOYOTAセリカ

On the 38th walk I listened to “COSMIC漂流”, by TOYOTAセリカ. It took about 11 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “のためのショーケース The Eyes”, also by TOYOTAセリカ

On the 39th walk I listened to "Diamond Dogs", by David Bowie. It took about 38 minutes and it was fantastic! It was worth every second. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “THE END” and “リバイバル”, both by TOYOTAセリカ. Somewhat insulting!

On the 40th walk I listened to “Digital Water”, by SunCoast Web Series. Boy, the vaporwave is really coming down hard tonight. It took about 16 and a half minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. 

On the 41st walk I listened to "Discovery", by James Ferraro. Gee, that album cover is kinda giving me deja vu. It’s also literally 126x126, making it the only album cover that I haven’t needed to downscale to 150x150! It took about 40 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Drive In Movie”, by TOYOTAセリカ

I have incidentally cleared some space on my phone. I have used the space to add "サプリメント", by TOYOTAセリカ

42ND WALK. THE GODDESS. ANNIE LENNOX. DIVA. 55 MINUTES. DONE. DELETED. ADDED “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, by Brian Eno. SURPRISE! TOP OF QUEUE.

On the 43rd walk I listened to “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, by Brian Eno. It took about 49 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone.

On the 44th walk I listened to “Doris”, by Earl Sweatshirt. It took about 44 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “The Dreaming” and “Hounds of Love”, by Kate Bush (the former of which has jumped to the top of the queue), and “S O F T W A R E D R E A M S”, by  TOYOTAセリカ. Christ

On the 45th walk I listened to “The Dreaming”, by Kate Bush. It took about 43 and a half minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “I Came From Nothing”, by Trance Dot Biz 

On the 46th walk I listened to “Dreams”, by James Ferraro. It took about an hour and 14 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone

On the 47th walk I listened to “Dreams 3D”, by Internet Club. The long-awaited 3D remastering of James Ferraro’s 46th-walk classic, “Dreams”! It took about 35 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Magic Teens and the Return to Luxury”, by Magic Teens

On the 48th walk I listened to “Drive In Movie”, by TOYOTAセリカ. It took about 18 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone.

I have skipped “Drukqs”, by Aphex Twin... Aw that’s sad. Damn I have used the freed space to add “香港荒村”, by TRANCE.BIZ, and... Uh... “Cherry Bomb”, by... Tyler, the Creator. Which... Has jumped to the top of the queue. What a replacement for Drukqs

On the 49th walk I listened to... “Cherry Bomb”... By Tyler, the Creator. Yeah, I guess, that, this is happenin’, for about 54 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Ravedeath, 1972″, by Tim Hecker.

On the 50th walk I listened to “E-scape”, by Nyetscape. It took about 14 and a half minutes, which was distributed across one (1) tracks. I have now deleted it from my phone

On the 51st walk I listened to “Edward Flex Presents: Do You Believe In Hawaii?”, by James Ferraro. It took about an hour and 15 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Virgins”, by Tim Hecker

On the 52nd walk I listened to “Edward Flex Presents: Maui Black Out / Liquid bikini”, by James Ferraro. Ol’ James pullin’ a fast one on me by making a series of similarly titled albums huh ..... Yeah just wait!!!!! It took about 1 hour and 12 minutes... which was be distributed across one (1) tracks! I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Flower Boy”, by Tyler, the Creator ..... Okay look this is supposed to be his, his new one... that’s... better ..... just, Oh yeah I also added the albums “Warmer” and “t. to become, in some respects, different;”, the 2nd one now being the next album

On the 53rd walk I listened to “1. to become, in some respects, different;”, by Warmer. My awareness of this guy’s music goes way back. He also just let me put three punctuation marks next to each other in a weird way, which I appreciate. That satisfies me. It took about 43 and a half minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “1.1″, by Warmer. The sequel album has directly superseded it in the queue! Silly

On the 54th walk I listened to “1.1″, by Warmer. The Sequel. Or the ..... deciquel? Or would that be 0.1 ..... It! Took! About! 54! Minutes! I! Have! Now! Deleted! It! From! My! Phone! I! Have! Used! The! Freed! Space! To! Add!     “Bubblebath”, by Poppy Which! Has! J

On the 55th walk I listened to “Bubblebath”, by (That) Poppy. Her! About 13 minutes. I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the freed space to add “Poppy.Computer”, also by That Poppy, except without the that

On the 56th walk I listened to “The End”, by TOYOTAセリカ. It took about 22 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone

57. Scatman fucking John. 53′57 Deleted

10/15/2017 On the 58th walk I listened to “Everything Is Wrong”, by Moby. I have been curious about this album for a little while now. Maybe it will stand out from the other Moby albums... Maybe he, will prove himself... My trust in him is very strained..... About 47 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. 

10/16/2017 On the 59th walk I listened to “Fairlight”, by Com Truise. It took about 13 minutes, mercifully I have now deleted it from my phone

10/19/2017 On the 60th walk I listened to “Faith In Strangers”, by Andy Stott. Now this is one I’ve given a cursory listen before and am excited for. I've been looking forward to it, I’ve been in love with the 2nd track for a long time! It took about 54 minutes I have now deleted it from my phone. I have used the free space to add his preceding album, “Luxury Problems”.

Well, that’s album 60. That’s it for the 2nd post of me typing these. Sure hope you’ll tune in for season 3 of valleanenowe music walk

[shuabert]

Top 50 Albums of 2016

Despite all the ways 2016 was terrible (Brexit, the Syrian humanitarian crisis, extremist violence worldwide, Donald Trump, the deaths of so many of our heroes), one area where 2016 was a success was in terms of the quality of music released. Many of this year’s best albums were a direct response to the state of the world, some angry, some resolved, and some comforting. And others just allowed us to tune it all out and get lost in the sounds. Here is my 2016 year in review. 

Best Soundtrack/Score: Stranger Things Soundtrack (Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein)

Best Soundtrack/Compilation: Jack White - Acoustic Recordings: 1998-2016 (runner up goes to Carly Rae Jepsen for Emotion Side B, which is catchier than any b-sides record should be)

Best Live Album: (It was probably that massive Kate Bush box set, but I didn’t listen to that yet, so let’s go with...) Lissie - Live at Union Chapel

Best EP: Dan Mangan - Unmake

Worst Comeback Attempt: Blink-182 - California

The Carly Rae Jepsen Emotion Award for Most Bangers for your Buck: The Weeknd - Starboy (runners up: Kaytranada - 99.9% and Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman)

And, my top 50 albums of the year (out of the 134 I listened to)

50 - 41

50. Savages - Adore Life 49. Sarah Neufeld - The Ridge 48. Loretta Lynn – Full Circle 47. Låpsley - Long Way Home 46. Kendrick Lamar – Untitled.Unmastered 45. Crystal Castles - Amnesty (I) 44. Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial 43. James Blake - The Colour in Anything 42. Swans - The Glowing Man 41. Swet Shop Boys - Cashmere

40 - 31

40. Mitski – Puberty 2 39. Laser - Night Driver 38. PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project 37. River Tiber - Indigo 36. Dolly Parton - Pure & Simple 35. Jessy Lanza - Oh No 34. Drake – VIEWS 33. Angel Olsen – My Woman 32. Gord Downie -  Secret Path 31. Andy Shauf -  The Party

30 - 21

30. Santigold - 99¢ 29. Wintersleep -  The Great Detachment 28. Michael Kiwanuka -  Love & Hate 27. Majid Jordan - Majid Jordan 26. Blood Orange – Freetown Sound 25. Rihanna - Anti 24. Danny Brown -  Atrocity Exhibition 23. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool 22. Lissie - My Wild West 21. Alicia Keys - Here

20 - 11

20. Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3 19. Pup - The Dream Is Over 18. Case/Lang/Viers - Case/Lang/Viers  17. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo 16. Kaytranada - 99.9% 15. Hannah Georgas - For Evelyn 14. A Tribe Called Red - We Are the Halluci Nation 13. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree 12. Solange - A Seat at the Table 11. The Weeknd - Starboy

10 - 01

10. Anohni – Hopelessness

“I wanna burn the sky, I wanna burn the breeze / I wanna see the animals die in the trees / Ooh, let’s go, let’s go, it’s only four degrees”

Lines like “Let me be the one…you choose from above,” sound painfully romantic until they come in a song about drone warfare. And that’s only one example of the way Anohni’s Hopelessness blends the beautiful and the horrific. The album reads as the love letter to state-sanctioned violence (geopolitical, environmental, physical) that most of us won’t admit we’re living. Ahnohni’s dizzy croons over blissful electronics are more beautiful than something called “Hopelessness” has any right to be. 

09. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service

“You bastards overlooking street art / Better yet, street smarts, but you keep us off the charts / So motherfuck your numbers and your statisticians / Fuck y’all know about true competition?”

This never-expected final album from ATCQ exemplifies the phrase, “rolling in their graves,” like a legend resurrected (literally, in the case of Phife Dawg, who appears here posthumously) by a dark present. Making explicit reference to the campaign rhetoric of Donald Trump (even going as far as to sample the Oompa Loompa song from Willy Wonka), the album was timed as a middle finger to a candidate expected to lose. That he won makes it is a necessary balm to the political lesions of the next term. Effortless and full of life, We Got It… shows a group that feels like they never left at all. Legends never die.  

08. Leonard Cohen -  You Want It Darker

“I heard the snake was baffled by his sin / He shed his scales to find the snake within / But born again is born without a skin / The poison enters into everything”

The opening title track on Leonard Cohen’s final album feels prescient, a potent exploration of God and death from a poet who saw both on the horizon. “Hineni, Hineni, I’m ready my Lord,” he sings wearily, but it feels ambivalent. Shit, who wouldn’t be? The instrumentations from Cohen’s son Adam act as a guide for Cohen’s minimalist vocals, here at their most powerful and tired. The blending of romance and religion, the physical and the spiritual are classic Cohen. “I’m leaving the table / I’m out of the game” he says on “Leaving the Table.” You can’t help imagine him tip that iconic fedora with a subtle grin on the way out. You Want It Darker is a stellar album to cap off an unassailable legacy. 

07. Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is to be Nowhere 

“Would you stay with me / if you thought the war was over / and everything made right? / Would you still believe in us? / And would your love for me grow colder / with no one left to fight?”

Thrice’s first album in five years after announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2012 couldn’t have come at a better time. Steeped in politics and apocalyptic imagery, TBEITBN recalls some of the band’s best work while sounding like a perfect encapsulation of the tumult and fear of the past 18 months. With songs about drone bombing, whistleblowing, and foreign policy, this is an album wholly concerned with the state of geopolitics today, though not without its songs of love and hope, however tenuous. It is a blues-rock-meets-post-hardcore manifesto exploring reluctant complicity in state-sanctioned terror, abuse of power, and the fear of self-destruction. All of this with the tight creative energy of a band of best friends who have played together for almost two decades. 

06. David Bowie - Blackstar

“Just like that bluebird / oh, I’ll be free / Ain’t that just like me?”

It is difficult to separate Blackstar from David Bowie’s death, because the album was calibrated and timed so much to be a part of it, a final confrontation to mortality and the legacy of fame. For the first few days it almost felt like his alleged death might be part of some grand performance art piece — that’s so Bowie. A year later Blackstar feels, as it should, like a David Bowie album, full of cryptic imagery, bewildering lyrics, inspired musical flourishes, and emotional resonance. “Blackstar” is the best Radiohead song of the year, jazz inflections and unexpected absurdist turns of lyrical phrase demand repeated, concentrated listening, and the haunting “Lazarus” perfectly  denotes the way in which Bowie’s consistent reinvention has made him an artist outside of time and beyond death. “Everybody knows me now,” he sings on Lazarus. And they always will. 

05. White Lung - Paradise

“I’ve got a basic need / Kiss me when I bleed / They say I split my pride in two / when I became a bride for you / But what do they know?” 

 As deliriously melodic and powerful a punk rock racket as you’ll ever find, Paradise finds Vancouver’s White Lung sharpening their skills and their teeth. Mish Barber-Way’s vocals are more refined but no less sneeringly powerful as she spits over meticulously-arranged and elegantly-produced instrumentations that average under 3 minutes in length. Clocking in at 28 minutes, “Paradise” is the tightest and most purposeful rock record of the year, which is impressive considering how deeply the record explores the body horror inherent in being a woman in a patriarchal society. 

04. Frank Ocean - Blonde

“You showed me love / Glory from above / Regard, my dear / it’s all downhill from here.” 

 Frank Ocean’s long-anticipated follow up to Channel Orange is a challenging first listen, less immediate and more thoughtful than its predecessor. “RIP Trayvon. That nigga look just like me,” Ocean sings on the album opener “Nikes,” a disarmingly down-tempo number whose bittersweetness creeps up and sets the tone for a contemplative and deeply personal album of tonal lethargy and spare instrumentations. References to “pink and white” skies and “black and yellow” streets are prescriptive: this is an album for the fading days of summer, the fading hours of the day, when a twilight drive brings pains of nostalgia and regret to light. 

03. Beyonce - Lemonade

“They say true love’s the greatest weapon / to win the war caused by pain / But every diamond has imperfections / But my love’s too pure to watch it chip away”

Lemonade is the stuff of great drama, a kitchen sink story by way of an epic as it spins out a relationship story without a neat conclusion. It is a master-work of rage and heartbreak and, ultimately, hope, blind as it may be. But that pain is more alive for how Lemonade makes the personal political. This is about more than just Beyoncé and Jay Z, it is about fathers making their daughters tough and setting them up to be betrayed by men just like them. It is about survival and resilience in a world that doesn't care about you. It is a testament to the vision and production that Lemonade mines so many disparate genres (pop, blues, country, r&b, reggae) yet feels so cohesive. Beyoncé was a career milestone, a pop album about the thrills and joy of marriage, but Lemonade is transcendent, a genre-defying album about betrayal and the challenges of marriage as a metaphor for the ways relationships of all kinds destroy and sustain us. 

02. Tanya Tagaq - Retribution

“Sacrifice / Our blood goes back into the earth / In. Out. Womb. Core.” 

 If Mother Earth groaned in pain on Tanya Tagaq’s 2014 album, Animism, then she delights in the destruction of humanity on Retribution, an album that finds the Inuk throat singer croon with a trickster’s smirk that “Gaia likes it cold.” Here, at her most metal, she asserts that “the retribution will be swift” if humanity continues down a path of ecological devastation. Her most sonically-diverse album in vocal and collaborative terms (featuring producer Jesse Zubot’s haunting strings, Christine Duncan and the Element Choir, a cover of Nirvana’s “Rape Me” and a collaboration with rapper Shad), Retribution is a career milestone and the most stunning work of Indigenous art of the year. 

01. Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book

“I don’t make songs for free, I make ‘em for freedom.”

Coloring Book plays like the kind of album that could only have been written by someone experiencing the life-changing miracle of childbirth for the first time. Gospel choirs and horns back an album of ebullient joy that in sound and title suggests a blank space full of possibility. The religious fervor of Chance’s unabashed positivity was just what we needed in 2016. Chance’s desire to “give Satan a swirlie” reminded us not to take ourselves too seriously while fighting evil, and “All Night” might be the year’s hardest banger this side of Drake’s “One Dance.” Coloring Book was like a big hug in the face of a cruel year, an invitation for us all to be with family, to remember the good times and to help one another through the bad. By the time the album closes with the refrain “are you ready for your blessings; are you ready for your miracle?” it feels like both a challenge and a plea. Bring on 2017.