#same with jason isbell these guys are BORING

[cahootings]

really coming to resent noah kahan because algorithms are trying to tell me I like him and are not understanding that I do not. I need my folk to be weirder. begone normie

[flatheadfilms-blog]

The Oscars 2019

Oscar noms came out today...my thoughts go to......

First Reformed -- Ethan Hawke should have gotten a best actor nod, 100%.   Incredible work on his part.  I think he was better than all the guys who got nominated.

The Favourite - I agree with all those noms. Awesome movie.

Roma - I agree with all those too.  Loved it!  And I didn’t even get to see it in the theater.

Blackklansmen - You gotta see it.  It's brilliant.  If Spike wins he will not only deserve it for all the movies he made that haven't been nominated, He will also deserve it for this.  Adam Driver, finally good again!

Blindspotting - Didn't get anything, but should have gotten Best Supporting Actor and best Original Screenplay

Burning - Korean film, amazing!!  Didn't get any noms though.... A shame.

Eternity's gate - This film that is SOOOOO Julian Schnabel!  And I mean that in the best way.  Nobody else tries and succeeds at conveying what it is to be an artist the way he does.  I felt like I was in a Van Gogh painting and sometimes in Van Gogh himself.  Of course Dafoe is amazing, hypnotic and enthralling.  A well deserved nomination.  (This entry was added since my original posting)

Shoplifters - Also great, Japanese film.  Glad it got Best Foreign Nom.

Cold War - So many times during this movie I thought of Michael Haneke.  Maybe it was the gorgeous black and white, maybe it was the lack of score in a film about musicians, maybe it was the sympathetic but not sappy way he dealt with the characters.  A great film with captivating lead actors.

Minding The Gap - Great doc.  Really happy for them, especially Bing!! Woo Hoo!

Free Solo - Another great doc.  This movie was visceral and emotional.  I was at the edge of my seat with sweaty palms the whole time.

Vice - Definitely should get best makeup - but otherwise I found it kind of forgettable.  I think they missed the boat with the acting noms, should have been Steve Carell not Rockwell.

Green Book - A lovely movie.  It felt a little Hollywood and sanitized, but I was okay with that.  It’s a great story of friendship and why the division and cruelty in our society is so fucking stupid.  Plus I could watch Viggo and Mahershala chat it up all day.

Black Panther - 100% should win best costume.  Beyond that, it was basically the same as other Marvel movies as far as I'm concerned.  Still glad it's popular though.  Seemed to really empower people, which is great!

A Star Is Born - DISCLAIMER:  I love Gaga, but.... I thought it was a pretty lame, boring and not remotely contemporary movie. All the hype has made me kind of hate it now.  So that's definitely the movie that I think got the most absurd noms, especially Cinematography!

The one award I would have gotten behind for Star is Born is Best Song IF “Maybe It’s Time” had been nominated. It's written by one of my fave songwriters, Jason Isbell, and it's actually about something interesting and related to the themes of the movie. I think the one that did get nominated is super lame.

Also not nominated but a must see is The King - a doc about Elvis and America in the 20th century.  It's great!

Movies I have to see:

If Beale Street Could Talk

All 3 of the docs that I haven't seen

The Wife and Can You Ever Forgive Me - I'm sure both performances are great.

Bohemian Rhapsody -  Looked so lame and pointless, but I guess I gotta see it.

So there you have it!

[vescoisland]

Daybe's Thoughts on The New Jason Isbell Record, Without Research

H/T to Mr. Thoughts on The Dead

I wanted to like this album. Well, at first I was wary, but by the time they FINALLY released it, after holding it for 8 weeks during national quarantine, the whole time which the record had been finished, mastered and pressed, I had talked myself into wanting to like it. 

  I don’t hate it so much as….

  I WANTED TO LIKE IT. 

  I have a friend who hates slow music. This isn’t the thing where I’m “asking for a friend.” She really says “even fast songs that are actually slow music are terrible.”

  About 86% of the time I 100% agree with her. This is where we get to the heart of my problem with Jason Isbell solo records. 

  This is boring music. 

  I get it, it’s Poignant. Keep mining the purity of the south with a gothic twist. Tell me again how sobriety is hard. 

  Either that or have the courage to be a drunken buffoon – which makes you poetic. 

  Overall this is a boring samey-sounding album, and I would argue his second misstep in terms of music that I’ll return to, after The Nashville Sound, which is a fucking snoozer.

  After his dig in the press about Ryan Adams, I learned that there is a song on The Nashville Sound called “Chaos and Clothes” which is about Ryan Adams. I had to look up the song and listen to it upon hearing the title, because I didn’t have any recollection of having heard it. 

  It’s not a good song.

  Or a remarkable song.

  Despite being about a guy he’s obviously obsessed with, amirite?

  I do like the line about “Death Metal T Shirts” though. 

  Be better if it was The Eagles of Death Metal. 

  Or All Night Drug Prowling Wolves. 

  You were doing a good job of keeping this on track

  Oh yeah, Reunions. New album by Mr. and Mrs. Jason Isbell and The 400 Units

  That’s not fair. You barely mention Yoko Tammy in your song by song review bit you stole from Thoughts on The Dead after Chrid and Chaz made fun of you. 

  AHEM

  Released to much fanfare and press ogling. 

  So much press ogling that I got caught up and started to ogle. 

  In politics there’s The Full Russert. 

  So what do we call Koppleman Pod, Hyden Fawning, New York Times Article and a full length story on The CBS Sunday Morning Liberal Good Time Power Hour?

  “Pay attention to this one Southern guy who let’s you in on the jokes we tell about our neighbors?”

  You’re such a dick 

  I didn’t love any of the songs I heard that were released as a teaser. I thought they were all pretty meh, for pretty much the same reasons.

  They weren’t terrible but they also led me to not pre-order the album. 

  I pre-ordered it but you heard it before me!

  Howzat?

  I ordered direct from the label and it finally just got here yesterday

  Shoulda ordered it from an Indie™ Record Store, from the approved list of Stores Tammy Likes

  Shouldn’t the label be treated the same way? It’s direct from them. No Middleman. More change to jingle in the coin purse between her tits!

  Now you’re starting to sound like me.

  Quiet you. I still haven’t listened. Sorry they changed the rules on my halfway through not releasing their album. They sure weren’t in a hurry.

  It’s a slower pace of life down here, Gar. 

  I hate you – I’m just saying they could have included people like me who ordered direct from the label and gave them more money for her Tammy Tops and his terrible sneaker habit

It’s not about MONEY, MAAAAANNN! They’re supporting indie shops. The Plandemic is wreaking havoc on the economy, and we gotta save the dudes who made enough in banking during the last crisis to open over priced record stores to sell hipster douchebags like us vinyl copies of stuff we used to own on CD. 

  I’m losing patience. You told me you had “some thoughts” on the new record. I accused you of having a weird obsession, to show me you don’t you stole an idea we gave you about a dumb blog…

  Yeah

  I only listened to three of the four songs released before the full record was put out.

  I didn’t listen to Only Children. Keep reading – I guess I still haven’t.

  THE POINT! 

  Oh yeah. 

  The other day, in the run up to the release, I flashed to a long forgotten review of Wilco’s “Summerteeth” from the time it was released that said something to the effect of “Jeff Tweedy still thinks repeating the name of the same over and over is a good stand in for a real chorus” 

  The same might be said for Jason Isbell on Reunions

  What Have I Done to Help? 

            Jesus Christ Trump has broken everyone’s brains. 

This song was written after reading the Mr. Rogers anecdote “Look to the helpers too many times”

            This is better than I thought

            The lyrics are better than I thought 

            It’s too repetitive

            It’s too long 

  Dreamsicle

            Did they make the vinyl orange because of this song?

            Or is it called dreamsicle because they wanted Orange vinyl?

            This is very dangerously close to being a Cracker Barrel country song. 

            Did granddaddy take you fishin? 

            Lightning Bugs?? 

            Where’s Dave Daniels?

  Only Children

            I’m listening to this as I write my thoughts in real time

            I forgot to write anything down here

            Unremarkable

  Overseas 

            The sound is interesting at first 

This is where I can hear what he was talking about in interviews about chasing an 80s sound 

            Whooo boy 

            Lyrics bad

            Chorus worse

  Eyes Closed

            80s Soundz!

            Are we sure this isn’t produced by Ryan Adams?

            Sounds like Isbell cum Kcor and Llor Era DRA 

            Still just repeating the name of the song as the chorus 

  River

            He’s a slave owner?

            CANCELLED!

            OK he’s some kind of rich guy who did bad things to get money?

            But tries to take care of his people?  

            Guilty Conscience Melodrama

            Not the worst song on here 

            Is there a Spanish guitar undertone?

“Wake up staring at my wife”à Fiddle Lick is either self-awareness or a complete lack of awareness about Yoko Tammy. 

I’m gonna go with B, because say what you will about them, he is very dedicated to her and that’s nice to see. Especially after she offered to by McAllan for his not quite relapse so he didn’t have to drink Listerine. 

  Be Afraid

            What Have I Done to Help Redux?

            Two sides of the same extremely repetitive recitation of the song title as chorus coin

            It actually sounds a little like a Truckers song at the beginning

            Morphs into that 80s/Springsteen/DRA sound 

  St. Peter’s Autograph 

            Is this in a higher key than it should be? Is that what they call it? I’m not a musician

WAY TOO SLOW. I heard him talk about this on Koppelman, so I was prepared for it  to be slow. But it’s like not slow enough to be a dirge. Maybe they shoulda made it a dirge?

Nails that folk singer thing where it’s like mumbly and then clear tho.

  It Gets Easier

            I haven’t had a drink in almost a year. 10 ½ months. I’ve had 2 drinking dreams.

            I’ve never really been tempted to drink 

            So this doesn’t ring true to my experience

            DON’T MAKE IT ABOUT YOU 

            Who dreams about anything twice a week? 

            What adult remembers their dreams?

            It’s for effect, you dummy! 

OH, well, the effect it had on me is “I guess I was never an actual alcoholic. Maybe I’m just a real partier?”

This gets to the heart of my question about mining sobriety for too much? 

MEH. AS FUCK 

It’s been remarkably easier to not drink than to make it through this record

That’s a cheap shot! 

I know. 

  Sometimes in reviews and in our terrible internet meme-based culture you have to stake out one side and die on that hill. 

  That’s a mixed metaphor 

  Tammy wouldn’t allow it

  She was gonna be an English teacher before the rack job.

  That’s made up, isn’t it?

  Maybe

  Where were we?

  Oh yeah, I don’t hate this song, or any song on this album 

  I just expect more 

  That’s your problem 

  What is?

  Expectations! 

  It’s True

  I tried very hard to set the bar low, figuring it might surprise me

  Then I read reviews and interviews.

  The one where he talks about over producing his first album really got to you didn’t it? Celebrities – they’re try hards just like us! 

  I like Jason 

He’s witty and funny

And a Great Musician

He’s a good ambassador 

For the region 

For getting cleaned up

For the Bitter Southerner Meets Stoner Dad Who Watches Southern Charm and Likes Expensive Sneakers set

  You mean you?

  OF COURSE!

  I want to like this more

It’s very slow

And doesn’t do much for me

  It’s…….. a Jason Isbell Record. 

  I cued it up again, trying to focus on the sound on my second run through.

  Ya know The Vibe? The thing that you can’t put your finger on that makes a thing a thing. 

  Sure.

  Anyway, my mind drifted to seeing him in concert again.

  The setting was definitely more Lyric Theater than MPAC. 

  The crowd was a lot of selvage denim, beards and elaborate barbershop hair cuts. Work boots, but like, $250 work boots. Belt buckles. 

  Like you’d dress if you were 4 inches shorter and had muscle tone?

  You’re not my real dad!

  A lot of dudes with their eyes closed, singing along to these songs like they’re hymns. Drinking in the “depth” of Saint Isbell. 

  House lights are down. Stage lighting is just a spot on him 

  Don’t forget the soft lighting on Tammy!

  Did you notice I barely mentioned her in the review? She really takes a step back here, IMO. 

  Strangely that might not be a good thing?

  Jesus now you’re a Tammy apologist?

  She don’t gotta apologize for them titties!

  GET BACK TO THE FAKE SHOW YOU CONJURED UP, YOU DUNCE

  Right after he sings “It gets easier”

  He says “But it never gets easy!” and the house lights come up, and his voice goes up 3 notches in volume, and the stoned dads (some of whom are sipping 1-3 canned IPAs) cheer. 

  Rinse Repeat

  JESUS, YOU HATE FUN

  Kind of 

  There’s another song on here

  What?

  Yeah – Letting You Go

  Oh yeah, the bro country sounding joint about his daughter?

  I actually like this and give it a pass for being a cheesy dad song.

If I still drank, I’d cue this up and get weepy!

You just said you don’t think about drinking!

I said I don’t DREAM about drinking!

  You are so fucking awful

  The. Worst. 

  Also, this sounds like something I know. 

  The cadence. The flow of the song. 

  Jesus you do this all the time

  I DO NOT 

  Remember the time you got blotto at Springsteen and insisted that American Land was the same as The Georgia Tech fight song?

  It is!

  It is not! 

Well, it sounded like it that night

  We know, you sang it the whole way home

  I was dreaming about drinking! 

  God you’re a dick, but I’m going to let that one pass before this ends up being 5000 words

  Why does a Dawg know the words to Rambling Wreck?

              We are both going to have to let some things pass if you ever want me to end this

                           ……

    (this sounds weirdly like Seven Years in Michigan in parts)

(the fiddle really ads something)

(Super 8 is still his best song)

      KILL. YOUR. SELF. 

             Check out this episode!

[talhaghafoor2019-blog]

The True Spirit Of Country Music Is Sturgill Simpson Calling Trump ‘A Fascist F**king Pig’

Sturgill Simpson has spent his entire career in country music bucking Nashville’s establishment kingmakers. An outlaw in the mold of Merle Haggard, the singer infuses his music with everything from Buddhist-sounding contemplations of life’s meaning to tales of psychedelic drug use, criticism of modern religion and poetic life advice to his infant child, as he cycles with ease through the sounds of blues, soul, country, and rock and roll. He shakes off the idea that he’s country music’s “savior,” while at the same time pledging that he arrived in Nashville years ago primarily to promulgate the “destruction” of its vapid pickups-plus-girls-plus-beer hit-making formula.  

So it’s no surprise that Simpson, despite winning a Grammy for Country Album of the Year last year, wasn’t invited inside for Wednesday’s Country Music Awards, the establishment celebration of (just about) everything he hates.

Nor was it shocking when he showed up outside the arena instead, armed only with his acoustic guitar, to protest the ceremony with an old-fashioned busking performance.

But on Wednesday night, Simpson didn’t just rave against Nashville’s musical tastes. He raged against its political homogeneity too, taking a direct shot at President Donald Trump in the process.

“He’s a fascist fucking pig,” Simpson said. “And I’m not afraid to say that because at this point, anybody that’s still supporting that guy can’t be anything in my mind other than an ignorant fucking bigot.” 

With an open guitar case at his feet and a tongue-in-cheek sign telling passers-by that he was a “struggling country music star,” Simpson pledged to donate any tips he received to the American Civil Liberties Union. 

Simpson also broadcast his performance on Facebook Live, and while he told viewers he wouldn’t take song requests, he let them know he’d answer any questions they had “because fascism sucks.”

When one commenter asked him to give a mock acceptance speech as if he were on stage inside Bridgestone Arena, Simpson launched into a diatribe against guns, homophobia and racism.

“Nobody needs a machine gun, coming from a guy who owns a few guns,” Simpson started. “What else? Gay people should have the right to be happy and live their life any way they want to and get married if they want to without fear of getting dragged down the road behind a pickup truck. Black people are probably tired of getting shot in the streets and being enslaved by the industrial prison complex. And hegemony and fascism is alive and well in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you very much.”

Even before Simpson showed up, the CMAs had faced criticism for a misguided media policy asking journalists not to question the artists about guns in the wake of October’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. Organizers eventually backed off the policy after country music stars like Brad Paisley, who hosted the show, slammed the idea on social media.

The award ceremony itself remained mostly apolitical, aside from a few barbs Paisley and co-host Carrie Underwood aimed at the president. But then Simpson was outside instead of on stage.

Despite widespread commercial success and critical acclaim, Nashville has mostly chosen to ignore Simpson ― a fate he sealed in 2016, when he slammed the Academy of Country Music for trying to “hitch their wagon” to Haggard after his death that year, after he’d made a career out of pointing at Nashville with a certain finger. Simpson, in criticizing the academy, pledged to leave the city altogether, acknowledging that he’d soon be “blackballed.”

Country music, of course, has deep roots in cultural and political conservatism, but it also has a long history of rebels like Simpson running against the industry’s grain. In 1972, Johnny Cash visited President Richard Nixon at the White House and played songs that protested the Vietnam War, the government’s treatment of Native Americans and U.S. prison policy. Three years later, Loretta Lynn released “The Pill,” a song about birth control that many country radio stations refused to play.

Haggard, meanwhile, may be best known for his decidedly jingoistic tunes “Okie from Muskogee” and “Fightin’ Side of Me,” both of which were released in 1969 and became anthems not just of blue-collar America but also of Vietnam War supporters and conservatives who raged, as Haggard did in the songs, against hippie culture and drug use. But in “Irma Jackson,” Haggard also sang approvingly of interracial relationships ― he had to fight his record label just to release the song, which he did in 1972, three years after he originally recorded it. 

Haggard also became a fierce critic of Nixon. He later denounced President George W. Bush and defended the Dixie Chicks, the outspoken country group who criticized Bush over the Iraq War, too. Before his death last year, he was among the few country stars to speak out against Trump. 

“I think he’s dealing from a strange deck,” Haggard said. 

Simpson is cut from that same cloth, and Wednesday night wasn’t the first time he decided to go beyond the helpless shrug most of country music has decided to give the world around it.

In 2016, he released a politically symbolic music video for his single “All Around You.” The video featured a silhouetted image of a strong-armed political leader who bore a striking resemblance to Trump, as well as a child dressed as a superhero who defeats the leader, blows a hole in a wall topped with barbed wire, and shoves military planes and tanks off a cliff. 

“I heard they were celebrating country music tonight down here, so I thought I’d come down and play some,” Simpson told one onlooker Wednesday, before reading the words on the man’s hat. “Make country music country again,” he said. “Oh wow.”

In full context, Simpson’s criticism of Nashville can be seen not just as a difference in musical taste, but as a pining for room in the industry for the sort of country music that actually dares to say something. It doesn’t have to talk about progressive politics or even politics at all: The three artists Simpson said he was rooting for at the CMAs ― Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert ― routinely produce music that, while rarely expressly political, at least attempts to engage and explore the world around them.

Simpson’s own version of that on Wednesday night likely won’t earn him any fans in the Nashville establishment and might hurt him among some country music fans, too. But Simpson, true to form, doesn’t care.

“Anybody that’s surprised to hear me say that [about Trump],who’s going to unfollow me or stop listening to my records,” he said, “they probably weren’t listening that closely anyway.” 

This content was originally published here.

[bowiebwe-blog]

Bowie’s Favorite Albums Of 2017 Big List! (#20-5)

—-

20. Paramore - After Laughter

Nah guys, this is still definitely Paramore. And that’s a very good thing. I *loved* their 2013 self-titled album, and though this album doesn’t hit me at quite that level, it’s in the same ballpark(ish). They got groovier and yeah, a but pop-ier, but their heart is still definitely there. And it’s one of the most thematically cohesive albums of the year. You wanna know who I think one of their low-key influences is this time around though? Their good buddies/label mates Twenty One Pilots. I’m not so sure they would have dared take the route they did with the lyrical themes of this album without Twenty One Pilots paving the way into the mainstream first, even if Haley needed to say it. But now that it’s been said, I hope their next album goes into what comes after; hope, and all that good stuff.

*Hard Times, Forgiveness

—-

19. Liam Gallagher - As You Were

Straight up, I wasn’t expecting Liam to show up and make an album this good. I dunno how much help he had in making it happen, but here it is, it happened. This album rivals late Oasis and even his brother’s excellent post-Oasis projects. The grit here is real, and Liam backs up his incredibly large ego with some great songs. Easily one of the best rock albums of the year. Now let’s please have an Oasis reunion sometime soon as you were LG x

*Wall Of Glass, I’ve All I Need, Chinatown

——

18. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Who Built The Moon?

Noel Gallagher is one of the very best British songwriters of all-time. I don’t ever flinch or stutter when I say that. He knows how to make a song full of heart be catchy while still pushing the boundaries of what songwriting can be, and all without overcomplication. It’s a fascinating thing to behold. Oasis was built on his back, and they were rightfully massive. And now he’s back with his wee Flyin’ Birds and making another great album. He once again shows he’s not afraid to reach out and find new avenues of songwriting, and somehow he seems to always find the sweet spot. It’s definitely once again a change of sound, and it almost makes me believe he changes it either to challenge himself or because he’s bored. Whatever the case, this is a great album with more great songwriting from an incredible artist.

*Dead In The Water, It’s A Beautiful World

—–

17. Eminem - Revival

I recently found out that Eminem used 69,000 pieces of paper during the writing of this album, so it’s no wonder to me how he came to be what I easily consider to be the greatest rapper of all-time. His golden days as off-the-wall Slim Shady might be in the past, but his undeniable passion and flow are still strong here. Eminem knows how to deliver, and pretty much everyone who knows rap knows it. He’s the greatest. And as a side note, “Arose” might easily be one of the most powerful Eminem songs ever. It’s like being the dying man fighting for his life and his mourning family at the same time, and it’s amazing to see Eminem be able to still deliver on that. Anyway, Eminem once again brought out greatness in this album. Fantastic.

*Arose, River, In Your Head

—

16. PVRIS - All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell

I listened to both of PVRIS’ albums for the first time on the same walk, and let me tell ya, I was instantly converted into being a fan. Their songs and albums are high-quality modern rock albums with a very open feel to them. And the vocals! My goodness. They go from ice water to like having a hot Twilight vampire sink their teeth into your neck like butter. Not much changed tonally between this album and their debut, but like Royal Blood, if it ain’t broke, you don’t always need to fix it. Especially with rock. So many rock bands get so caught up in trying to become relevant electronically that they lose where they came from in the first place. PVRIS is a force to be reckoned with, even if they don’t ever get incredible commercial success (it’s just the world we live in). Great album.

*Heaven, What’s Wrong, NOLA 1

—

15. Logic - Everybody

Peace, love, and positivity! We should have all listened to Logic sooner. I decided once he released this album to listen to all of his previous albums before listening to even a single song off his new release, and folks, he’s the real deal. His flow is amazing, his beats are creative, and he’s genuine. This album definitely backs all that up. He’s one creative mother goose, and his art is full of those good vibes we love in music. He also gets more honest and personal than ever here with mental health issues (not just in “1-800…”), so it’s somewhat of an important album even just on that note.

*Hallelujah, 1-800-273-8255

—–

14. Ed Sheeran - ÷

This album was one of my most-anticipated of the year, and it largely lived up to the high expectations, but not completely. There are some songs I loved, some songs I really liked, and some songs I honestly could’ve done without on here. But here’s the thing… Ed Sheeran’s an amazing songwriter. These songs are all good. Like, even though “Shape Of You” might be one of my least favorite on the album because of that trendy finger harp bounce rythm thing I can’t stand, if you listen in the background you’ll hear very ‘Ed Sheeran-y" guitar-percussion sounds that make the song fascinating to listen to. So sometimes it seems like these songs are too polished for the radio, but it still has a lot of heart and fantastic songwriting. I don’t like it quite as much as I loved 'X’, but I still really liked this album. Mr. Sheeran is constant quality and I’m sure he’ll be a superpower for years to come.

*Happier, How Would You Feel (Paean), What Do I Know?, Perfect

——

13. Imagine Dragons - Evolve

Do you hear that? …that’s the sound of Dan Reynolds waking up. If their sophmore album was a necessarily dark album dealing with the regrets and sorrows of stardom, Imagine Dragons came around with their third album to make a bright, flying album that revolves around what comes after the dark times. It definitely feels alive and fresh, using a new coat of digital paint to make the color pop. It’s pretty close to exactly what the doctor ordered for them. And their songwriting keeps getting better (I love the flow of the last verse of “Whatever It Takes”). Imagine Dragons shows they’re not afraid to be around for the long run with this release, and it’s a joy to listen to.

*I Don’t Know Why, Walking The Wire, The Mouth Of The River

—-

12. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound

I love, love, love, love Jason Isbell. His songwriting to me is one form of the amazing eiptome of the human experience. Does that make sense? (…Eh, who cares.) So real. Bare. Honest. I love it. He’s back with his band this time around after a couple of solo albums that I still adore, and although this one might not be *quite* up to the level of those two for me, this is still a really, really good album. As far as folk/alt-country artists go, this guy’s a monster. Definitely worth a listen.

*Last Of My Kind, Hope The High Road, If We Were Vampires

—

11. London Grammer - Truth Is A Beautiful Thing

I remember listening to this one for the first time vividly. I was walking down a dark neighborhood street at probably 12:30 AM when “Big Picture” came on. It was like as the song progressed and the music picked up the stars started to pop out, the mountains’ dark outlines became clear, and by the time the song hit its peak I felt alive and deep in the night. The album held onto that feeling. If that makes sense. It was a great walk that night. London Grammer took seemingly forever to realease this album, to the point where I honestly stopped caring for it to come out after loving their debut album, but it blew me away when it came out. It took everything great about their first album and improved it. Subtle. Calming. Aching. Enveloping. It’s easy to dive into when the time is right. Beautiful, beautiful album.

*Big Picture, Truth Is A Beautiful Thing

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10. Taylor Swift - Reputation

Were you ready for it? Once T-Swift drops a new album, there’s no getting away from hearing it. And the reason for that? She makes *dang* good pop albums, even since the days when she was still “country.” She knows her craft very well (image-wise as well as musically) and has definitely deserved her wild success. I still consider “1989” to be one of the best pop albums ever (or at least in the past two decades or so), so this one had high expectations coming into it. Well, I’d say it was a success. I mean, I could do another essay on this album. No, it’s not at the level of her last album, but she once again made a solid case for her being the current queen of pop. She dives further into production trends here, but does them better than really anyone else. Her lyrics are honest and sharper than ever, but she still has those fun moments of just being Taylor Swift in there too. So beyond all the mania building up to and during the release of this album, it’s a great album by one of today’s biggest superstars.

*Delicate, End Game, Dancing With Our Hands Tied

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9. Aaron Watson - Vaquero

This album *feels* like Texas, and I love it. I hadn’t even heard of Aaron Watson until a few weeks ago, but I was already blown away and honestly kind of emotional by the very first chorus of the very first track (“Texas Lullaby”). It’s like I was *there*. Back down South. Big calm fields, even bigger blue skies. I don’t think there are any big radio hits on this album, but the songs are so. dang. good. Ugh! This guy is genuine and obviously has a soul full of that sweet country music. Every country music fan out there should know this album.

*Texas Lullaby, Take You Home Tonight, Run Wild Horses, Amen Amigo

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8. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

I need to watch out here, because I could easily write an essay on this album. In my opinion, Kendrick is crazy-far ahead of everyone else in the rap world concerning beats and overall production. Kendrick always pushes the limit of what a rap song can be, finding new ways of making something innovative the new hit. I’d even say he’s already the best rap artist ever in terms of making brilliant albums, and not just making them a great collection of songs. He’s always brilliant and innovative, but never at the expense of losing mass popularity and creating disconnect between he and the average listener. Along with the brilliant songs by themseleves that make up this album, the concept and vision of the album itself as a whole is brilliant (if you don’t know, look into playing the track order in reverse). I dunno, he just constantly amazes me. Every time. Kendrick’s working his way up to legend status.

*FEEL., LOVE., GOD.

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7. Ryan Adams - Prisoner

Chances are you probably don’t know who Ryan Adams is. That’s okay. You’re not alone. It’s an epidemic. I first heard him a few years ago when he released his beautiful cover album of Taylor Swift’s 1989, and I pretty close to instantly fell in love with his music. He has a lot of heart, and he can write a heck of a song. Seems like he’s sure fighting a lot of heartache and heartbreak in this album and is learning how to move on from loss, and he tells it beautifully. I’d definitely recommend you give this one a chance.

*Doomsday, Shiver And Shake

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6. John Mayer - The Search For Everything

John Mayer is one of my absolute favorite songwritiers/artists. It just seems like he gets *it*. His songs seep passion and integrity, along with emotion and an abundance of amazing musicianship. He knows amazing skills and all that, but he understands heart, and that’s the core of his music. This album also seems like it has an extra dose of direct honesty in it as compared to his previous works. There are colors of hope, understanding, doubt, love, loneliness, and all else that paint what it means to be human in this album, and they’re bright and genuine here. It’s also cool to see him mix his almost-americana-ish influences of the past few years with the smooth coolness of his Continuum days. Another great one by one of the greatest songwriters/musicians of our generation.

*Emoji Of A Wave, You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me, Never On The Day You Leave

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5. Bleachers - Gone Now

I love this album. Straight up. One of the biggest surprises of the year, and I couldn’t be happier about it. You might not think you know Jack Antanoff (a.k.a. Bleachers), but if you’ve ever listened to any recent Taylor Swift or Lorde tracks, you do. His work as a producer is well-known (like I said, big ol’ T-Swift and Lorde tracks among others), but this is his own project from his own mouth, and it is one of my favorite albums of the year. He gets modern and experimental without sacrificing any heart from the songs, and also makes classic callbacks comparable to bands such as The Beatles (“Goodmorning”), while still managing to give them have a beautiful shiny modern polish. There’s a hidden reason T-Swift and Lorde have done so well lately. This album will tell you all about it.

*Goodmorning, I Miss Those Days, Let’s Get Married

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