Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 3

What a Christmas miracle this was.  Run The Jewels unless you've been living under a rock, are the collaborative alternative hip hop project consisting of Killer Mike and El-P.  These guys have been close for years, working closely on Killer Mike's fantastic solo album "R.A.P. Music".  In 2013 though they released they're first title under the Run The Jewels name.  "Run The Jewels" was a solid project, filled with great production, solid features, and both members showing off what made them underground titans for years.  While I enjoyed the album and still do, I thought the best part of "Run The Jewels" was just how much promise the duo showed, these two gave off the vibe that with a little more work they could release something truly legendary.  And they did, one year later with "Run The Jewels 2".  In every way, this sequel absolutely blew the first Run The Jewels album out of the water.  The verses on "Run The Jewels 2" from both Killer Mike and El-P were much more fierce and agitated.  Recorded during a long period in American history that will forever be looked at as a period of unrest and aggrivation, "Run The Jewels 2" encapsulated all of those feeling and overloaded them.  Sometimes they came off hilariously cocky, sometimes they came off as just the right amount of anger and facts.  "Run The Jewels 2" was in more ways than one, one of the most relevant and brilliant pieces of Hip Hop to come out in the last few years.  But then of course, Run The Jewels had to go and give us an early Christmas Present.  Here we are, 3 weeks early, with "Run The Jewels 3".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEOximWoFd0

The album starts off with “Down” featuring Joi Gilliam.  There’s some great fuzzy production at the start that’s a little bizarre, but there’s some fantastic buildup going.  As far as the verses go, these are some pretty humble bars from Killer Mike.  “Run The Jewels 2” didn’t waste a single second exploding with anger and built up frustrations, “Down” on the other hand seems to be one of the most relaxed Run The Jewels tracks we’ve heard so far.   Don’t let that more hazy, laid back beat fool you though, Run The Jewels haven’t given up a single ounce of their skill, with Killer Mike dropping some absolutely killer bars.  Joi Gilliam works fine here as well, with her sweet hook up against this much more spacey beat, creating something that’s both gorgeous and smooth.  El-P’s ad-libs are quirky, but to be honest RTJ have always occasionally dropped a few lines that show just how capable they are with having fun and not taking themselves too seriously.  As far as El-P’s verse goes, it’s actually fantastic, I feel like people don’t give El enough credit.  Overall, as far as an intro goes, I dig this.  It’s not the gigantic political bombshell as something on “Run The Jewels 2”, but it’s still a seriously haunting, strange intro that’s quite beautiful.  That being said, I need a little oomph now from RTJ, and I’m sure they’d be happy to help me out.  Up next is “Talk To Me’, the first single dropped from “Run The Jewels 3”.  The way “Talk To Me” flowed seamlessly from “Down” is fantastic, and right from this intro we can tell we’re about to get that more explosive sound we’ve wanted.  The drum-fills here are absolutely to die for, and that piano note occasionally blaring through the background is just the off-kilter semi-goofy moment that give RTJ such personality.  The beat here is absolutely nuts, and both El-P and Killer Mike sound completely rejuvenated and full of energy.  The heavy politics are out in full force here,  dominating Killer Mike’s first verse almost completely.  Whether or not your into it, you have to admit it just kind of sounds right to here Run The Jewels back in their usual mindset.  The comic book narration over everything works wonderfully for the duo, I actually would have loved to hear more of it, and it certainly takes me back to the simpler times of Madvillian.  The first time I heard “Talk To Me”, it didn’t really hit me that hard.  But it’s grown on me massively since.  It’s an explosive track, so explosive that it basically forces everything to just kind of implode at the end.  “Legend Has It” is up next, and if Run The Jewels weren’t already totally in your face, they are now.  The beat here may be a little less flashy and technical, but it’s just as hard hitting at the end of the day.  Every lyric here is completely over the top by both El-P and Killer Mike, with the duo describing themselves as “Doctors of Death” among other bars painting themselves as “villains” of rap.  The verses here walk the line between hilariously cocky and completely drugged out, but there isn’t a single moment where I’m not completely entertained.  The chorus on “Legend Has It” is probably the simplest you’re going to find here, merely consisting of “Woo!”, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t get me every time.  The obscure references and one liners here are fantastic as well, especially that one suggesting that El-P has a unicorn horn for a Penis, that was hilarious.  Overall everything about “Legend Has It” works wonderfully for RTJ.  There’s still going to be a TON of people who miss the fiery, explosive “Run The Jewels 2” sound, and that’s totally understandable.  Up next is literally my favorite track on the album, “Call Ticketron”.  Right off the bat this beat is absolutely nuts, I haven’t heard a big electronic sounding beat from them in a while.  It’s cold and all, but it builds quickly into this absolutely gigantic beat.  “Call Ticketron” may be the most bizarre track here, but between the backing sound effects, the sampling of the “Ticketron Commercial”, and El-P’s flooring opening verse, this is INSANE.  All of a sudden the duo are piling up violent imagery, dropping Outkast references, and bringing in another simple yet effective chorus.  Both Mike and El’s verses here are absolutely staggering.  Once Killer Mike and El-P get into this ridiculous mindset, the duo play off each other so well, almost going into machine gun mode and firing off rhymes nonstop.  It’s exhausting, and it’s a workout just listening to tracks like this, but holy shit is it amazing.  “Hey Kids (Bumaye)” like other tracks starting this album off doesn’t waste a single second of your time.  The first thing your going to realize here is just how hard RTJ are going with these electronic based beats.  While they're different sounding and all, they’re still absolutely gigantic sounding.  It’s funny, overall from a distance it may sound like RTJ have calmed down and gotten maybe a little less agitated.  But if you dive into the verses all of that anger and hostility is still right there in full force, and it’s plenty to please longtime fans.  A lot of the beats here aren’t really that smooth at all, they’re honestly often clashing with one-another making these harsh electronic breakdowns.  It’s often not pretty, but it brings in this feeling of chaos that RTJ have utilized for years.  The chorus here once again is just so freakin’ simple, but once again I find myself repeating it all day.  Not to mention, if “Hey Kids (Bumaye)” wasn’t outrageous enough already, we have Danny Brown showing up for a verse.  Danny’s had one HELL of a 2017, and his verse here make him end 2017 on a seriously solid note.  Danny’s bizarre animated flows just seriously fits almost TOO well within Run The Jewels world of chaos.  Run The Jewels continue to just get more solid with age. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaJmgMuYNjc

"Stay Gold" starts off with another beat that's on the more electronic side of the spectrum.  As far as the beats on this album go however, this one to be honest is a little sloppy.  It's by no means terrible, but it's by far the blandest beat I've heard here so far.  Even as far as Killer Mike and El-P go, their performances are just alright.  Even on their off moments though, Run The Jewels remain one hell of a spectacle.  Lyrically, I have no problem with the duo expanding their horizons, but this is just too far from what I was expecting.  They've gone for tracks similar to this in the past, take for example "Love Again" which was fantastic.  Overall "Stay Gold" is just OK, far from bad just seriously out of place.  "Don't Get Captured" on the other hand get's things right back to the pace where they should be, quickly too.  The beat on this one right from it's opening notes is absolutely chilling, once again we see Run The Jewels going down a more haunting route.  The way that synth pulsates brings up some real uneasiness, hell there are even a few horror references.  El-P and Killer Mike's verses here are a little more on the subdued side, however they're just as spot on and skillful as you would expect, it's borderline hypnotizing just listening to them rhyme.  "Don't Get Captured" is just one of those moments where you seriously have to just sit back and marvel at the sheer talent in front of you.  On top of all of this, the chorus is this massive explosion of a choir sample mixed with El-P's usual constant barrage of rhymes.  Up next is "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)" featuring TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe.  By this point in the album, it's become VERY clear that this is far from "Run The Jewels 2".  While "Run The Jewels 2" was over the top, political and often violent to the point of hilarity, "Run The Jewels 3" has a seriously dystopian vibe, and that was before they decided to sample a Twilight Zone intro.  The beat here is on the slower side, slowly creeping up.  Killer Mike's verse is hit and miss here, for my liking I'm not a huge fan of his more spaced out performances.  Outside of that though, the verses remain skillful and just as animated.  To be honest though, I was expecting more out of "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)".  I know every single track isn't going to rewrite every rule of Rap, but this track just seems a little incomplete to me.  Even Tunde was a little underwhelming, and I'm a huge fan of his work.  "2100" is up next, featuring frequent RTJ collaborator Boots.  Thankfully after "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)", "2100" reels you in super quick with another super cold beat.  The verses from both El and Mike are both fantastic here, but at this point I don't even know why I need to point that out, of COURSE their performances are good.  "2100" is an improvement, but it's still bizarre in a lot of ways.  The verses often are bouncy, constantly all over the place in pitch which do make it interesting.  And while I've never been a big fan of Killer Mike's more laid back performances, his sung hook is fantastic.  As far as Boots goes, he has always has great chemistry with the duo, and his contribution here is just as stellar as his earlier ones.  This portion of the album seriously ends off strong with "Panther Like a Panther (Miracle Mix)" featuring Trina.  RTJ don't waste a single second on this one, from that entertaining Jazz Club intro to the absolutely out of control beat.  Here we once again see RTJ going for some more sexualized material.  But unlike the earlier "Stay Gold", here these sex bars come off fantastic.  "Panther Like A Panther" is one of the most hectic sounding tracks here by far, but after a few laid back tracks I seriously needed a track to stop by and seriously drive me nuts.  If you're looking for a track reminiscent of "Run The Jewels 2", this is absolutely one to listen to.  Yea, it's still totally different for Run The Jewels, but I can't say no.  Plus, some of these one-liners are absolutely hysterical, this one is absolutely a highlight for me. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgOABuZoe0c

"Everybody Stay Calm" starts off with a sort of robotic voice, for a second I thought Prince Paul was back reprising his roll as Chest Rockwell from "Run The Jewels".  The beat here is a whole lot easier on the ears, and much less chaotic.  The verses here are absolutely vicious, but my issue with "Everybody Stay Calm" comes in the form of the chorus.  There's all this great buildup and excitement in the verse leading to the chorus, but the chorus is so damn flat it's not funny.  While everything else about "Everybody Stay Calm" remains super exciting, I can't get over how incredibly lackluster that chorus is.  And it's a shame, because the rest of the track has so many fantastic little production tricks that still make it worth a listen.  "Oh Mama" on the other hand is far from lackluster at all, instantly grabbing the listener with a strong rock guitar riff.  "Oh Mama" is based around a super heavy groove, which is just so fresh in light of everything else we've heard here.  The beats on both of Run The Jewels last projects were for the most part straightforward heavy hitting hip hop beats,  The beat on "Oh Mama" on the other hand may have the most experimental, left field beat here.  As far as memorable verses go, this one is absolutely jam packed.  From the back and forth verses, to the fantastic vocal snippets, to the memorable hook, everything about "Oh Mama" works.  Up next is one of the tracks I was most hyped to hear, "Thursday In The Danger Room". featuring the incredible Kamasi Washington.  While the electronic beat here is heavy, the atmosphere is even heavier.  This is easily one of the darkest sounding tracks here, and everything just sounds so incredibly heavy.  El-P's verse here is one of the more heartfelt on the album when it comes to the lyrics, which up until now was something I seriously wasn't used to.  It comes off believable though, and Kamasi Washington's performance here makes everything even more emotional.  "Thursday In The Danger Room" grows on you and takes a few times to really hit you hard, but it's a nice change of pace, and it really doesn't take anything away from the duo's legitimacy.  Personally, I would have liked to have heard more from Kamasi, but overall it's just another seriously solid tune.  For a finale, we have the epic 6 minute long "Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters".  Right from the intro we may have the funkiest groove we've heard on this entire album.  The live instrumentation RTJ bring in here is fantastic, mostly those fantastic guitars floating through the background.  El and Mike for the first portion of the track tone their verses down a bit in exchange for some seriously confident bars.  Don't you worry, it all still has that fantastic Run The Jewels attitude, but at the end of the day El And Mike just kinda keep their cool some more on this one.  Some of the lines here are absolutely spectacular, especially when Killer Mike went "Ooh, Mike said "uterus", they acting like Mike said "You a bitch". To every writer who wrote it, misquoted it, Mike says, "You a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch!"", that was ridiculous.  Then, just as you think RTJ have kept their cool and would be ending "Run The Jewels 3" on a smooth note, the second portion of this track kicks things up 100 notches.  Instantly, we're dealing with a completely different track, a much more fierce one.  Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine is back for another feature with Run The Jewels.  His feature is brief, but man is it ever solid.  All I have to say is, what an ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0byaqVaXo

Rating: 8.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Legend Has It”, “Report To The Shareholders/Kill Your Master”, “Call Ticketron”, “Panther Like a Panther"


Overall Thoughts:  If you're looking for another "Run The Jewels 2", trust me you're going to have to lower your standards just a bit.  This isn't the political pipe bomb that Run The Jewels felt the need to drop a few years ago.  The mood, the beats, the lyrical themes,  the deliveries are all completely different this time around.  If you can deal with all of that and sit back and enjoy two of the finest rappers going today against some more dystopian beats, you're going to have a blast.  

Nine Inch Nails - "Not The Actual Events EP"

BOOM, new Nine Inch Nails EP out of freakin' nowhere.  Nine Inch Nails, aka Trent Reznor & Co.,  THE definitive industrial metal band, aka probably my second favorite artist of all time.  In the late 80's and throughout the 90's, Nine Inch Nails released countless classic albums, from the synth driven ""PrettyHateMachine", to the tormented "Broken", to the painfully real cry for help that was "The Downward Spiral", NIN were on fire.  The 2000's however, while it's given us great NIN projects such as "Year Zero", has also given us plenty of forgettable NIN material.  "The Slip"'s first half is fantastic, but by the end of it is painfully boring, and "Hesitation Marks" I often forget even exists.  Nine Inch Nails for a while has needed a rebirth, something to get them back on the right track.  Let's chat about this new EP, shall we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omWQzYycyJk

(Time to get pumped!)

I’ve never really taken Nine Inch Nails as a band to succeed  well on an EP, they’re music usually strives the best within a strong, dark narrative.  That being said though, the material on “Not The Actual Events” is pretty solid for what it’s worth.  This EP starts off with the upbeat and chaotic “Branches/Bones”.  It still has that semi-futuristic edge that Nine Inch Nails have been utilizing ever since the release of “Year Zero”.  Outside of that though, this is more in the realm of a classic Nine Inch Nails sound.  The production is a little on the glitchy side, and Trent’s lyrics are just as twisted as you would come to expect.  However, I think the most shocking and most noticeable shift here is the huge step back this takes in the rock direction.  For years now, Nine Inch Nails have slowly started pushing a little further into the realm of electronic music than metal.  “Branches/Bones” however is seriously heavy, with Trent sounding lyrically and vocally very much like himself.  As far as an intro goes, this is actually pretty damn effective.  It’s as chaotic as you would hope, and Trent’s urgent performance is fantastic, as if his life depended on delivering these cryptic messages.  Not to mention, while “Branches/Bones” for the most part is straight up industrial metal, that chorus is just catchy enough to stick with you.  It’s short, but it’s seriously very effective.  Up next is “Dear World”.  The intro to this one is much more in the electronic ballpark, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s a sound they’ve proven they can handle.  The opening monologue however is a little on the bizarre side.  Even though it’s clearly Trent, it barely sounds like him.  It basically comes off as Trent Reznor doing his very best computer voice impression, which is gimmicky as hell.  To be honest, I feel like this entire passage would be so much more well done if Trent just stuck with his usual twisted vocal performance.  It’s a shame that this passage even exists, because when the vocal performances do clean up later on in the track, they’re super impressive.  The hook once again is just catchy enough to stick with you, but Trent continues to go back to these bizarre impressions once again.  “Dear World” certainly isn’t terrible, but a track like this demands a narrative big time, and that’s just not here on this EP.  Thankfully though the track has some really solid grooves and remains very dark.  “She’s Gone Away” is up next, and as far as this EP goes this is the lowest point as far as I’m concerned.  Thankfully, there’s still plenty to actually enjoy on this track.  For one, that atmosphere is seriously on point.  “She’s Gone Away’ is easily the most industrial sounding track I’ve heard from Nine Inch Nails in years.   The instrumental is super sluggish, and is easily the most bleak sounding track of the bunch here.  It’s the vocal performance here that brings everything down a few pegs.  Now I understand on a sluggish industrial sounding track like this, I can’t expect any wild performance out of Trent.  Call me crazy though, he just sounds a little uninterested here, even among this completely twisted atmosphere.  As the instrumental goes on, it continues to be everything I want to hear from Nine Inch Nails this late into their career, even lyrically everything is on point.  I just feel like Trent needs to pick up the damn pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0KOy6H-s6w

Thankfully Nine Inch Nails put in a ton of great moments into the last two tracks here.  First off, we have “The Idea of You”.  If you seriously think NIN have gone a little soft, grab a listen to this track, there’s some serious meat on that riff.  In all honest, “The Idea Of You” may be the most straightforward, heaviest track I’ve heard from NIN since “With Teeth”.  While the riff may not be too game changing, it’s made that much more effective with Trent’s maniacal whispering and that lone delicate piano floating through the back.  As far as a solid NIN track goes, “The Idea Of You” may be the complete package.  The way the instrumental picks up just in time for the chorus is absolutely brilliant.  And with the rumors that in 2017 we’re getting not one but two NIN projects, I seriously hope THIS is what we have as a base of it all.  Not to be “THAT GUY” but this seriously sounds like the good ol’ days of NIN.  Finally here we have “Burning Bright (Fiend On Fire)”.  This one takes us back to a more sluggish pace, but that fantastic atmosphere of everything certainly comes with it.  As far as that wonderful, hellish atmosphere that Nine Inch Nails mastered in the 90’s this is it to a T.  Here, Trent’s vocal performance is genuinely interesting.  He comes off almost as some wild sort of ringleader.  I mean, it may be the ringleader for the darkest carnival in existence but he comes off as a ringleader nonetheless damnit.  Lyrically this just keeps getting more twisted and better by the second, yet the chorus as simple as it is brings forth the slightest bit of hope for the twisted world of Nine Inch Nails.  Like most of the rest of NIN’s discography, this EP isn’t going to be for everyone.  But for diehard NIN fans this is a must listen.  Slowly, we’re getting what we’ve craved for years, for NIN to go back to their darker and heavier roots.  This EP has its more gimmicky moments and all, but it certainly has me more interested in whatever NIN is planning for 2017.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32E6B8P3J8M

Rating: 7.5/10

Give A Listen To : "Burning Bright (Fiend On Fire)", "The Idea Of You", "Branches/Bones"

Overall Thoughts:  For an artist like Nine Inch Nails who have never been that strong on EP's, this is actually really pretty solid.  Sure, there are some gimmicky bits, and there are some moments that would be a little bit better with a strong narrative that a full length album would provide. But outside of that, the material here is pretty darn exciting for Nine Inch Nails fans.  The material here is some of NIN's darkest and heaviest material since "With Teeth".   It's incomplete sure, but it shows great promise for NIN in the coming year.  

Top 20 Albums 2016

Well 2016 surely has been an odd year.  We've lost a lot of truly legendary acts, and we've gotten a lot of albums that to be perfectly honest I thought would never see the light of day.  Frank Ocean returned after keeping us waiting patiently for years, Kanye West made me stay up until midnight three nights in a row desperately waiting for "The Life Of Pablo", and every other artist just seemed to be dropping albums whenever the hell they pleased.  I present to you, my top 20 albums of the year.  There are some albums on this list that I've appreciated more over time, and some that I've appreciated less over time.  These are the 20 albums that I've listened to the most, and had the biggest effect on me overall.  It's been real 2016, here's to an even bigger year for this blog in 2017!


Honorable Mentions

Hinds - “Leave Me Alone”
Lil Yachty - “Lil Boat”
Gojira - “Magma”
Moonsorrow - “Jumalten Aika”
BadBadNotGood - “IV”
The Avalanches - “Wildflower”
Frank Ocean - “Blonde”
James Blake - “The Colour In Everything”
Gatecreeper - “Sonoran Deprivation”

Also, if you're a Jack White fan, his "Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998 - 2016" is something you need to check out pronto, what a great compilation.



20.  Preoccupations - “Preoccupations”

Formerly known as Viet Cong, I didn’t really know what to expect going into this album.  I knew it was going to be moody.  I knew it was going to be filled with every wonderful post punk cliche.  For the most part, that’s exactly what you’re going to get.  There’s not too much absolutely groundbreaking material here, but at this point in their career these guys certainly know how to deliver a solid post punk album.  If you’re a fan of their stuff from when they were Viet Cong, or even Women if you want to go back that far, be forewarned, this is a little more on the electronic side of the spectrum.  To be honest though, there were a few moments here and there on Viet Cong's self titled album, so to see Preoccupations go in a little more of an electronic direction isn't too shocking.  Preoccupations for 40 minutes build up wonderful, grizzly atmospheres and doom fueled lyrics.  Side note, if you haven’t seen these guys live yet, they’re a must see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQdVnKpv1Sk

19.  Savages - “Adore Life”

This honestly was one of my most anticipated albums to listen to this year.  Savages toned it down a little on this one, going for less chaotic tracks, and dealing with some much sharper production, but at the same time seriously bringing in a massive atmosphere.  While it wasn’t as instantly gratifying as “Silence Yourself”, “Adore Life” is FILLED with tons of heartfelt, gloomy post punk performances.  There are plenty of chaotic tracks like “The Answer”, but the real cornerstone of this one has to the 5 minute, jaw dropping slow burner that is “Adore”.  Savages may have toned it down a little, and may be using some glossier production these days, but they still know how to write a great gloomy post punk album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90m9s9UmMmo

18.  Regina Spektor - “Remember Us To Life”

The start to Regina’s career saw her sky-rocket to the top of the anti-folk and singer-songwriter scene with fiery performances and even more fiery lyrics.  But as the years went on, Regina’s albums slowly started fizzling out a bit.  “Remember Us To Life” though, Regina’s first album in quite a few years, shows Regina coming back completely refreshed and full of ideas.  There are tons of great baroque pop and piano pop tunes on here, while lyrically Regina remains her witty self.  She goes back to her roots in a lot of ways, painting these unbelievable portraits of things that you think would go unnoticed in life.  If you’re in the mood for some seriously classy pop, this one is worth a listen or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjSBjDBk49c

17. Alcest - “Kodama”

This album seriously went under the radar for me, hell I didn’t even know it came out for almost a month before I listened to it.  In just about every way, this is album that I’ve wanted Alcest to make since their amazing debut “Ecailles De Lune”.  The material Alcest has been releasing the last few years or so has been so flat, pushing further and further into the shoegaze genre.  “Kodama” shows them returning to their roots in the hugest way imaginable.  As far as metal albums go for this year, this is the most stunning and epic thing I've heard.  Like Alcest's early work, there are grand breakdowns all over the place, instantly going back and forth between brutally heavy and absolutely   There are some art rock and progressive rock influences here and there, but it’s got plenty of black metal spirit.  If you're a fan of metal that's not just thrown together, and this is one of the more epic releases of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbxexGz2Bfc

16.  The Dillinger Escape Plan - “Dissociation”

Going from one of the most breathtaking metal albums of the year to one of the heaviest, most punishing metal albums of the year, The Dillinger Escape Plan exceeded every expectation of mine with “Dissociation”.  Going into this, you knew that Dillinger weren’t going to let this last album slip by them.  No, you knew they were going to continue to push every button and twist every rule that the metal genre was going to throw at them.  And that’s exactly what they did.  There were some electronic passages here that went over really nicely, some small dips into the industrial world as well.  Dillinger Escape Plan in their last studio effort show just how far they've come from being a straight up mathcore band.  The material here is more than just random bursts of energy, Dillinger seem to focus just as much on atmosphere as their explosive sound.  But don't you worry, Dillinger haven't gone soft on us, they deliver just as much of a punch as you would think they would.  Everything Dillinger go for carries over wonderfully, making their final album one of the most brutal metal albums you’re going to hear this year.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxhN2_g2Tds

15.  Aesop Rock - “The Impossible Kid”

Aesop Rock for years has been my favorite MC.  Every time this guy releases an album, I feel like it’s always so fresh and creative, even though he rarely changes up his formula.  However, “The Impossible Kid” does show us a whole lot of Aes that we haven’t seen so far.  He’s been known as one of the most cryptic, hard to follow MC’s in the world, often requiring a dictionary on hand just to slightly follow what the hell he’s talking about.  “The Impossible Kid” though shows Aes in a new light, as we’ve never seen him this straightforward and down to earth.  The guy who 20 years ago who was rapping about the working class and spitting bars about conspiracy theories is now telling us stories about trying to see Ministry when he was young and about his little league games.  The guy who 20 years ago encouraged us to “Abandon All Hope” and referred to himself as “Jabberwocky Superfly” and “Bilbo Baggins on Stilts”, was now telling us every feeling he had about being an aging veteran still very much involved in hip hop.  Not only does Aes open up with us more than ever, but he does it with the same amount of incredible wordplay and some really solid production (that he took care of himself).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSYwG-1GAXQ

14.   David Bowie - “Blackstar”

“Blackstar” is an anomaly, an album that isn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon and one that’s going to be puzzled over for many years.  In David Bowie’s last days on earth, he gave us one last stunning gift, the jazzy, dystopian “Blackstar”.  When I first listened to this album, I didn’t know what to even make of it.  Like listening to Radiohead's “Kid A” for the first time or The Microphones “The Glow, Pt. 2”, once it begins you can’t really stop it until it’s over.  And once it is over, you feel seriously changed from listening to it.  Bowie took everything that was going on in his life, everything that he was feeling about death and the afterlife and turned it into one of this years most haunting narratives.  It’s bizarre and fueled my gripping art rock in some passages, like the nearly 10 minute epic title track.  Other moments are fueled by lonely, truly depressing sounding jazz like the unreal “Lazarus”.  David Bowie’s last gift to us is a mysterious one that’s sometimes challenging, but it’s a truly incredible experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszLwBaC4Sw

13.  Jeff Rosenstock - “WORRY”

Jeff Rosenstock first off, has seriously been absolutely killing it these last few years.  You gotta hand it to Jeff, he’s in kind of a rough position.  The guy is getting up there in age, just broke up his band Bomb The Music Industry, and has only gone solo in the last year or so.  That being said, Jeff with last years “We Cool?” and this years “WORRY” has been exceeding expectations and as far as I’m concerned is raising the bar completely for punk solo acts.  Often coming off like some sort of Punk Rock Randy Newman, Jeff’s lyrics are sometimes funny, often self-loathing, and most of the time seriously well written.  Jeff brings up tons of feelings and emotions we’ve all had in our 20’s and other portions of our lives, often with great sing-along choruses and an all out assault of all styles of punk music.  The first half of this album to be frank is right up the alley of Jeff’s other solo work, with Jeff singing drunkenly from behind his piano and singing as if his lungs were going to give out any moment.  The second half however is where things get seriously interesting, as Jeff takes us through a Punk Rock Opera featuring some Folk Punk, Pop Punk, Ska Punk, Hardcore Punk and about 10 other sub genre’s of Punk.  It’s often quirky and almost always catchy, “WORRY” is a Punk Rock magnum opus by one of current Punk’s most important figureheads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Su2-gq_IjM


12.  A Tribe Called Quest - “We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service”

Ladies and Gentlemen, A Tribe Called Quest proudly presents “How to come back after almost 20 years and not miss a step”.  Call me crazy but I seriously didn’t think I would live to see another A Tribe Called Quest album, and with Phife Dawg’s passing earlier this year I began to worry about that even more.  Obviously though, the wheels were already in motion at that point for one last A Tribe Called Quest outing.  The result, is easily one of the more colorful, masterfully made Hip Hop albums of the year.  On “We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service”, Tribe doesn’t sound like they’ve taken a day off since breaking up in the late 90’s.  They bring up hot button topics with ease, bringing in their signature sense of character that they did so well in the 90’s, all over the same jazzy sort of beats they’ve been known for. Even the features on this are above average, with them reconnecting with Busta Rhymes who they’ve always had serious chemistry with, as well as passing the torch along to the great Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak.  All of these groups nowadays take a few years off, come back and completely flop.  A Tribe Called Quest took off 18 and came back sounding like they hadn’t taken a day off since.  It’s a wonderful album.

(like, there are no clips for this stuff on YouTube, Sorry!)


11. Carly Rae Jepsen - “Emotion: Side B”

Carly Rae Jepsen, first off seriously can’t fail right now when it comes to pop music.  Her last years album “Emotion” was some of the classiest, catchiest, sweetest pop music I’ve heard in ages.  “Emotion: Side B” is a collection of tracks that were considered for “Emotion” but didn’t make the final cut.  All I have to say is, seriously how are these “the bad tracks” of the litter?  “Emotion: Side B” seriously goes toe to toe with every great song on “Emotion”.  It’s got that same 80’s throwback vibe, and shows Carly dealing with a lot of the same issues.  Sounds too simple to work right?  Wrong.  It’s just as catchy, it’s just as sweet, and it’s just as memorable.  Carly has such a knack for writing these ridiculously catchy 80’s sounding pop tunes, delivered with her charming “girl next door” attitude.  We also see a few new moods coming from Carly.  We see Carly get the dreaded “Friendzone” treatment on “Fever”, and we saw Carly basically just get bored of her boyfriend and leave on “The Store”, sassy.  No, it’s not perfect instrumentally, but sometimes you seriously just need a great pop album in bizarre years like 2016.  It’s easily the pop album that I’ve listened to the most this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRkdrQBBZ40


10.  Car Seat Headrest - “Teens Of Denial”

For me this year, this was an album I can assure you I didn’t think I was going to enjoy in the slightest, especially not as much as I did.  I’ve known about Will Toledo’s Low-Fi brand of Indie Rock for years, and never once has it impressed me, not even a little.  But I feel like Will since his early days, compared to “Teens Of Denial” has matured so many ways.  He’s begun to craft these expertly written Indie tunes telling deep, sometimes quirky, sometimes awkward, but always incredibly fascinating stories about his teen years.  Will isn’t a model human being, he’s not promoting himself as a positive influence, he’s all of us.  He’s that awkward guy standing in the corner at a party not talking to anyone.  He’s the guy in high school who just had his first beer and is trying desperately to keep his cool.  Will Toledo at the end of the day is just so damn human that I can’t help but eat this all up.  This album’s a long one, but it goes by super quickly believe it or not, and comes off like catching up with an old friend that you haven’t seen in years.  Will’s performance was just as awkward as some of his lyrics here, but even THAT sounds great on these indie tunes, it honestly gives the album more legitimacy.  Not to mention the music itself has come such a long way.  If you know me, you know I love a dirty sounding Low-Fi album, but it seriously has to be done right.  THIS is done right, it has that great grittiness to it, but also has tons of great hooks and killer choruses.  “Teens Of Denial” has completely turned my thoughts around as far as Car Seat Headrest is concerned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX00R_-Eh0I

09.  Ty Segall - “Emotional Mugger”

Anybody who knows me personally knows that I can rant and chat about Ty Segall literally for hours.  He’s been one of my favorite artists for years now, and I’m always interested and support what he’s going to do next.  Ty is a serious workhorse in the world of Garage Rock.  This guy between his solo career and about 6 other bands he's in is practically releasing an album every other month.  The problem with that is however, well not all of it is perfect.  “Emotional Mugger” to be honest actually took a LONG time to seriously appreciate.  The first time I heard it, I didn’t know what to make of it.  Honestly, I thought for a second that Ty had completely gone off the deep end.  Don’t get me wrong, the guy has seriously always had some screws loose.  But then I saw him live earlier this year, and watching him saunter about on stage in a giant baby mask as he tossed tampons and his band mates into the crowd was pretty damn entertaining to say the least.  After a bunch of listens to “Emotional Mugger” later, I think it’s one of the most solid projects Ty has ever done.  It’s more than just a weird album from Ty, it’s an absolutely Twisted album.  His sick sense of humor is all over this thing, and his performances are often the perfect combination of bizarre, quirky, and completely deranged.  It also helps that his backing band, The Muggers, are just a really great set of musicians.  This one takes a few listens, but man is it worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJFvszz1bbs

08.  Bon Iver - “22, A Million”

I’m a firm believer in opinions changing overtime.  Bon Iver’s “22, A Million” is the perfect example of that.  The first time I listened to this album I absolutely enjoyed it and all, but I thought there were a lot of really strange quirks to it.  The production was iffy from time to time, and some of the vocal effects on Justin Vernon's voice seriously didn't click with me at first.  However, I went from thoroughly enjoying this album, and thinking this is the best thing Bon Iver have done since their debut, to literally listening to this album every other day for the past 2-3 months.  No, it’s not going to be for everyone, and it may alienate some fans and bring some closer together.  But among the bizarre production and heavy vocal layering effects, Bon Iver have come through with a set of puzzling, yet absolutely breathtaking songs.  Whether it be Justin Vernon’s awe-inspiring vocal solo on “715 - CR∑∑KS” or the oddly warm “29 #Strafford APTS”, there’s a huge gap in the style of this album.  It’s a weird one absolutely, but take my advice and if you’re going to listen to it, listen to it from start to finish.  Not to mention, there’s just such a great mystery behind this album.  If you listen closely to just about every track, that warmth that came with Bon Iver’s early album is in fact still there.  But it’s almost always held just a little out of reach from the listener, heavily veiled by heavy production and electronics.  It makes us yearn for that warmth we desire from Bon Iver’s music.  You may leave this album desperately racing to play your copy of “For Emma, Forever Ago”, but you’ll be back, trust me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISCEilPMNak

7.  Blood Orange - “Freetown Sound”

Up until this point, I feel like Blood Orange was just an ok, retro R&B/Funk act.  Blood Orange (Aka Dev Hynes) always had some good production and all, and his early works had some decent singles, but I wasn’t hooked.  On “Freetown Sound”, I feel like Dev comes into his own like never before.  He takes his retro funk hooks and wonderful vocals, and tweaked them just slightly to make easily the most tasteful throwback album of the year.  While this is absolutely a throwback to the sounds of 80’s funk/R&B, it goes much deeper than that.  Dev brings in a slew of awesome guest vocalists, such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Empress Of, and a handful of other gifted ladies.  The guests however perform some of the most heartfelt duets your going to hear all year.  Lyrically Dev Brings up a lot of hot button issues, which occasionally do get a little preachy.  As a whole though, this album is the sound that Dev has been trying to hit for years coming in full effect.  There will be moments so funky and vintage sounding that I dare you to try and sit down for, like “E.V.P.”.   On the other hand, there are other, more pop sounding tracks here that are so gorgeous it’ll take your breath away, like the INCREDIBLE “Augustine” or the sweet “Best To You”.  As far as R&B goes, it’s the favorite of the year by far for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACinCwmWalY



6. Death Grips - “Bottomless Pit”

The fact that after all these years Death Grips still go as hard as ever and continue to put out some of their most consistent material to date is commendable by itself.  Over the last few years, Death Grips have certainly taken us on a wild ride.  First, they have one more album left in them.  Then, they break up and aren’t going to release it.  All of a sudden they’re playing secret shows, releasing that album, playing festivals, and are back together.   Sooooo yea, if you’re a Death Grips fan like I am, we’ve had a rough year or two.  Then, earlier this year rumors start going around about ANOTHER new album, “Bottomless Pit”, which at this point I doubted it even existed.  Nonetheless, here we are talking about it.  “Bottomless Pit” may be the most consistent and chaotic Death Grips album since “The Money Store”.  MC Ride sounds just as paranoid and explosive as ever, giving us the same old charming lyrics as ever as he screams “I’ll fuck you in half” over the driving beat of the title track.  Zach Hill’s Drum work and Flatlander’s samples are as abrasive and out of control as ever.  As always, Death Grips are not going to be for everyone.  But if your in for experimental hip hop dominated by raw power, insanity, destruction, paranoia, and aggression, you’ll have a pleasure sitting front row for this album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_9icmMD-0


5.  Danny Brown - “Atrocity Exhibition”

Danny Brown for years has been the most animated, wild up-and-comer in the rap music industry.  Danny for lack of a better term is a loose cannon, somebody for years that I’ve considered to be one of the most interesting MC’s around.  Years ago On “XXX”, Danny showed us the party atmosphere of a lifetime with all the drugs and booze to go around, while the second half of the album showed this lifestyle in a much darker light.  On “Old”, we saw Danny going occasionally for a more mainstream sound, but he also came off as more mature and more human.  Which leads me to “Atrocity Exhibition”.   This album blew me away the first time I listened to it, and it still blows me away every time.  Danny’s bars are more colorful than ever, often painting violent and psychedelic depictions of his life and the world he grew up in.  We see Danny in a whole new light completely, one that goes back to more of the tragic sounding Danny we met years ago on “XXX”, one who hasn’t left his house in days and only answers the door for his drug dealer.  It’s a bleak album, one that shows Danny at his most somber and disjointed, but at the same time his most creative.  The guest spots here are spot on, the production is often muddy and bizarre, and the beats are even more bizarre.  Danny Brown is an absolute treasure to the rap world, and “Atrocity Exhibition” may be his crowning achievement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spfsdpuvUyQ


4.  Weezer - “Weezer (The White Album)”

If I knew this time last year that I would be sitting here ranting and raving about a Weezer album in 2017, I would have probably thrown up.  Being a Weezer fan is tough, especially when since 2000 the band has produced nothing but some of the worst rock albums I’ve ever heard.  Like seriously, I DARE you to try and sit through “Raditude” and their “Red Album” I DARE YOU!!!!  Now to be fair, “Hurley” and “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” both had a few good tracks here and there, but nothing like their newest “White Album”.  The fourth in their “Color” series, this is easily the most tremendous and near perfect album since 1996’s “Pinkerton”.  It’s not a lyrical stunning album, it’s not scouring Rivers Cuomo’s soul like “Pinkerton”, it’s not instrumentally perfect.  No, at the end of the day, Weezer’s “White Album” is the a collection of the sweetest, catchiest, and overall most enjoyable pop rock you’re going to hear this year.  Weezer since 2000 have been trying desperately to play catch-up with everything going on around them in alternative rock.  Time after time, they ended up trying way too hard and ended up with album after album of the most boring, overproduced material.  “White Album” is just so simple, as the boys seriously take a page out of their classic “Blue Album” and go for a huge surf rock sound.  Surprise surprise, they nail it.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many times this year I listened to this album only to immediately after put it right back on.  If you’re looking for a feel good rock album, this is certainly the place to look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGyBIQjU2Lk

3. Marissa Nadler - “Strangers”

Before “Strangers” I was just a super casual fan of Nadler’s work.  I looked to her music when I felt like drifting off with some warm, sometimes slightly dark indie folk.  Her voice was angelic, and the atmosphere she produced was always spot on.  “Strangers” is Marissa Nadler’s most “electric” album yet.  It’s still very much a folk album, but the instrumentals here are tremendous, often bringing in all sorts of string, horns, and guitars to back up Nadler’s heavenly performance.  But that’s about all that’s really heavenly about “Strangers”, cause this thing is seriously DARK.  I’m not talking about a creepy lyric here and there, I’m talking about the entire atmosphere of this album.  Nadler as she slowly performs these seemingly beautiful folk songs is completely encompassed by this veil of darkness.   There’s a bizarre sense of fantasy on so many of these tracks, between Nadler’s ethereal singing and these atmospheres that seem like they would fit more comfortably on a Chelsea Wolfe album.  Nadler more times than not I feel like is creating the perfect music for some sort of really dark fantasy movie.  Listening to tracks like “Skyscraper” and “Janie In Love” I can’t help but picture a Little Red Riding hood character walking hazily through the forest, as some unseen evil follows close behind waiting for a moment to attack.  Whatever it is though following this character though, our hero escapes in one piece, as later tracks like “Nothing Feels the Same” are much more hopeful sounding.  “Strangers” is a folk album that has tons going for it.  If you’re a fan of gigantic, dark atmospheres, this is absolutely a must listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XFFWrS1gm0

2. Radiohead - “A Moon Shaped Pool”

Radiohead are a band that have always been super hit or miss with me.   Albums like “Hail To The Thief” and even “In Rainbows” (I get what people love about it, it’s not for me) don’t really do much for me.  On the other hand, albums such as “Kid A” and “Amnesiac” hit me so hard as a musical experience that I have to sit there for minutes after listening questioning “what just happened to me?”.  “A Moon Shaped Pool” exceeded every expectation that I had for a new Radiohead album.  As far as emotional Radiohead album’s go, this is the heaviest thing Radiohead may have ever done.  The shear amount of sadness and sense of longing on “A Moon Shaped Pool” is overwhelming, need I say more than tracks like “Daydreaming” and “True Love Waits”.  Thom Yorke, who at times over the years has sounded so mechanical and synthetic, here sounds more full of emotion than ever.  The atmosphere is on point as well, with Johnny Greenwood's recent soundtrack work seriously playing a huge role in the heavy mood of "A Moon Shaped Pool".  If you're a fan of Radiohead's more rock oriented material, you're probably not going to dig most of what's going on here.  But, If you're a fan of "Kid A" era Radiohead, aka the more gloomy and depressing Radiohead, this is a must listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTAU7lLDZYU


1. Kanye West - "The Life Of Pablo"

Oh boy, I'm sure I lost a good chunk of readers with this last one.  But I stand by my word, "The Life Of Pablo" is the album that I've listened to the most this year.  It's certainly not the life altering experience that Kanye meant it to be.  But I can't help myself from continuously coming back to it, puzzling over "Freestyle 4", discussing the imagery on "Wolves", talking about how incredibly stunning "Ultralight Beam" is, and more.  The months leading up to this album's release were bizarre.  Kanye's fashion shows are still one of the oddest things I've ever laid eyes on, and call me nuts but I still think "Swish" would have been the perfect album title for this.  All of the confusion that lead up to this album, even up to the final hours where Kanye was STILL changing the track list, changing the artwork, changing the features really made me fear for the product Kanye fans were about to receive.  "The Life Of Pablo" though, as bizarre as it is, at the end of the day is quite the spectacle.  You're going to hear everything on here from club bangers, to gorgeous semi-ballads, all with Kanye's trademark ego and creative genius butting heads.  Half of the time, this album is completely cracked out, I still burst out laughing every time the "Ghetto Oprah" skit pops up.   Other time's, it's oddly beautiful and sincere.  One things for sure, this is an album that's going to keep you coming back.  I feel like every time I got even the slightest bit tired of this album, something about it ended drawing me back and I would end falling in love all over again.   It's a wild album, it's a beautiful disaster, and my favorite of 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb8xpU_GCKw

Top 50 Singles of 2016

I've literally taken months working on this list, and even with that, it's all over the place.  I decided to stick with Singles, Promotional Tracks, Teaser Tracks, Etc. for this list.  Just like my top 20 albums, there's a lot of tracks here that have grown on me, and some others that have lessened on me in the last year.  There are tracks on here that I ended up being majorly let down by the album it came off of as well, fair warning.  So here it goes, my top 50 singles of 2016.  And yes, I'm a Drake fan, let's just get that out of the way now.

50. Garbage - "Empty"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSa_hbutFt0

49. Lil Yachty - "One Night"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251cxou3yR4
(Yep, I'm a fan, get over it)

48.  Joyce Manor - "Fake ID"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01dmtGIwSs8

47. The Last Shadow Puppets - "Les Cactus"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf5apyds8Xk

46.  Beach Slang - "Punks In A Disco Bar"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O1s1JbBKjE

45. Lucius - "Born Again Teen"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv6jER7wrPM

44. Deftones - "Prayers/Triangles"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aztiwn17vpE

43. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Symptom Of Terminal Illness"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yztG35U5Hrw

42. Charli XCX - "Vroom Vroom"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfAqtFuGjWM

41.  The XX - "On Hold"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blJKoXWlqJk

40. Santigold - "Banshee"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud6p20uxmOk

39. Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane - "Black Beatles"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8m9zhNAgKs

38.  Nails - "No Longer Under Your Control"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_0t9do-YdA

37. Foxygen - "Follow The Leader"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-tZ1gbc2pQ

36. Banks - "Gemini Feed"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IeyrEUkBSk

35. Childish Gambino - "Me And Your Mama"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hZCsgcKa-g

34. Injury Reserve - "All This Money"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcZ1Te9-1go

33. Gojira - "Silvera"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVvXB-Vwnco

32. Jeff Rosenstock - "Wave Goodnight To Me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7MPzv78cWs

31. Alcest - "Kodama"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQsXnldCDeU

30. Thee Oh Sees - "Plastic Plant"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agZqIr37rmE

29.  BadBadNotGood Featuring Charlotte Day Wilson - "In Your Eyes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs4qZ9SBubc

28. Japandroids - "Near To The Wild Heart Of Life"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSkrhQiwFcE

27. Kristin Kontrol - "X-Communicate"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrAfGtpLiQ4

26. Hinds - "Warts"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLygTTOpE5w

25. Preoccupations - "Anxiety"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csMbqrFT1dM

24.  Bat For Lashes - "Sunday Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBfZooPrmfo

23. The Avalanches - "Colours"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLRPDovCpmM

22. Bruno Mars - "24k Magic"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqyT8IEBkvY

21. A Tribe Called Quest - "We The People"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAoqWu6wmfI

20.  Ty Segall - "Californian Hills"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZmsQteNwEw

19. Danny Brown - "When It Rain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVyGxlgeAjc

18. Aesop Rock - "Rings"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npcGql9Ir6Y

17. Carly Rae Jepsen - "Higher"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd_EJSHchyM

16. Car Seat Headrest - "Fill In The Blank"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_a1hPwXiWw

15. Death Grips - "Hot Head"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQm8qpexnjo

14. Regina Spektor - "Older And Taller"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zB3fwHX83k

13.  David Bowie - "Lazarus"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8

12. Animal Collective - "Lying In The Grass"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn1Mb7N6gM0

11. Weezer - "California Kids"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMeu0ZubufU

10.  The Weeknd - "Party Monster"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lysp-BVbf9Q

9. Savages - "Adore"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZpPsaMNMM

8. Danny L. Harle Featuring Carly Rae Jepsen - "Super Natural"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrFcxR4Y6C0

7.  Drake - "One Dance"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcer12OFU2g

(A good pop song is a good pop song, judge all you want)

6.  Bon Iver - ""33" God""

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C5sB6AqJkM

5.  The 1975 - "The Sound"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSnAllHtG70

I'm sorry loyal fans, I found this one inescapable.

4. Blood Orange - "Augustine"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXtzcViZPGA

3. Kanye West Featuring Rihanna - "Famous"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14qbDp0vAEA

2. Marissa Nadler - "Katie I Know"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6YIdLY9J7g

1. Radiohead - "Burn The Witch"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2oS2hoL0k

Kid Cudi - "Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'"

Kid Cudi, aka Mr. Rager, aka Scott Mescudi, aka the guy who thought "Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven" was the most important album of the last 10 years, is someone who I've always been very much so on the fence with.  When it comes to his early career, I was much more welcoming to Cudi's cloudy, spacey, introspective brand of alternative rap.  "Man On the Moon - The End of Day" was a rocky start for Cudi.  While the album had great singles like "Pursuit of Happiness" and "Day 'n' Nite", so much of the rest of the project was filler.  There were some super hip, nocturnal beats, but Cudi was in way over his head, as the concept of "Man On the Moon - The End of Day" engulfed Cudi.  Nothing about the album seriously flowed smoothly, and half of the time he was forcing everything down his listeners throats.  "Man On the Moon, Vol. II: The Legend of Mr. Rager" actually showed a little more hope for Cudi's unique brand of rap.  He found himself on some classier beats, and he seemed much more confident in his grand concept for his "Man On The Moon" series.  However, if you paid attention to Cudi's lyrics and the increasingly moody atmosphere, man was he ever going down a dark path.  He seemed more reliant on drugs then ever, and the sheer amount of disconnect he felt from the rest of the world was just so evident.  But still, while I wasn't CRAZY about these two first releases from Kid Cudi, I thought he put together some solid singles and he had tons of personality.  Then, oh boy, THEN Kid Cudi released "Indicud".  You know, the first few tracks on here really gave me tons of hope for Cudi.  The beats were heavier and there overall was a much darker feel to everything.  But as "Indicud" rolled on, I got less and less entertained, the beats got messier and the production got muddier, and I really began to worry about Kid Cudi's sanity.  He left his emotions behind and started literally painting himself as some other worldly being. Then we have, "Satellite Flight", which once again showed some real promise for Cudi.  The production here was actually done really well.  The instrumentals were solid as well, some seriously getting closer to Cudi's spacey sound than ever, while others being genuinely beautiful.  The only real problem with "Satellite Flight" was, Cudi himself.  His other worldly rantings had reached an all time high, to the point where I couldn't follow him if i tried.  And then it happened.  And by "it", I mean "Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven".  Kid Cudi thought it was a good idea to make a rock album.  THAT I don't have a problem with.  As a matter of fact, if you paid attention to Cudi's efforts leading up to this, there was more and more rock instrumentation on each release.  But On "Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven", Cudi somehow began to think he was the reincarnation of Kurt Cobain.  The instrumentals on this album more often then not were actually pretty solid.  But Cudi's performance throughout everything going on here was beyond laughable.  His singing was often completely out of tune, and with lyrics like "No more chicken sandwiches, yes I'll pay for the damages", how was I supposed to take it seriously.  It was all fun and games until you seriously dove into the lyrics.  I mentioned earlier Cudi was going down a dark path.  And trust me I love dark music, but the material on "Speedin Bullet" was too real.  Cudi was practically writing a suicide note.  Then between all of this we got painful Beavis and Butthead sketches and a whole lot of other seriously unlistenable garbage.  So yea, that's Cudi's career.  Since then, he's been in rehab for a while, not too shockingly.  But that hasn't stopped him from releasing this monstrously sized new album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xzU9Qqdqww

(Still a classic in my book)

"Passion Pain & Demon Slayin'" is split into 4 acts.  Why?  I'm fairly certain Cudi himself doesn't even know.  Anyway, we're gonna break it down by acts, the first one being "Tuned".  This "act" starts off with "Frequency".  Right from the get-go were treated to more hip hop than all of "Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven".  It's a nice, nocturnal sounding beat, the likes of which we haven't heard in a really long time from Cudi.  As far as Cudi's opening bars though, they're actually pulled off nicely.  No, Cudi still doesn't have the voice of an angel as he would like to believe, but this is certainly a whole lot more acceptable as far as he's concerned.  Lyrically, Cudi is still out there, but he at the very least is sounding more sure of himself.  Cudi is taking us into this deep, dark party atmosphere, which from him I'm not the biggest fan of.  But to be honest, after hearing the borderline suicide note on his last album, it's refreshing to know that Cudi is at least getting out and about.  It'a a cool atmosphere and all, I just wish Cudi was able to show his emotions just a little bit more.  As an opening track though, "Frequency" does the trick, it gets me interested in Cudi again and makes me want to hear more.  I can't even remember the last time I said that about Cudi, so that's a huge plus.  Cudi here is admitting he has a lot of issues, he realizes that he's lonely and is acknowledging all the things we as listeners have realized about Cudi years ago.  He's always seemed disjointed from the rest of the world, and now he's putting it out without sounding completely off the deep end.  The synths that come in are sinister sounding, "Frequency" overall has a ton of dark undertones.  Cudi sounds like he's back in control of his life.  Whether or not Cudi is making the right decisions is up for discussion, but already Cudi seems to be back on a great track.  Up next is "Swim In The Light".  From this intro, clearly Cudi is going super hard on these synths.  Cudi once again almost instantaneously shows us that he's so much more conscious and not in this constant state of self destruction, as he sings  "You can try to numb the pain but it'll never go away".  Clearly, Cudi is far from the best singer, but his bars here at least are seriously heartfelt.  Here, Cudi sounds like he's crying out for help in every which way, it's actually pretty heartbreaking.  Not to mention the fact that since he recorded this album he's been in rehab makes this track so much more powerful.  "Swim In The Light" as it continues on is dark and murky sounding, the minimal beats on these tracks really drive home the fact that Cudi does in fact feel alone in the world.  All around, this track is seriously well done, it's almost hopeful as Cudi sings "When you're in love, swim in the light.  Swim in your love, let's get well".  Cudi though quickly is haunted by some of his own demons as we get into "Releaser".  Cudi once again is SERIOUSLY into these synths, and I'm fine with that as it seriously brings out that old, nocturnal sound of his.  However instantly Cudi feels the need to bring back his trademark moan, which quickly brings out my PTSBD (That's Post Traumatic "Speedin Bullet" Disorder").  The beat here is just alright, it's not nearly as encapsulating as the first few beats here.  Cudi's verses here start to take a turn for the bizarre with him whispering almost seductively.  Half the time, he's speaking in french, the other half of the time he's speaking in cryptic phrases like "You know where you'd fine me".  Am I missing something?  Kacy Hill's backing vocals are barely even around, however when they do stop by they're pretty haunting.  "Releaser" is far from as bad as the music has been the last few years coming from Cudi, it's just on the boring side, and it seriously doesn't add much to the album.  Like I said though, Cudi's past demons are slowly coming back, in this case it's the "length" demon.  This track entirely didn't need to be here, and even if it was it didn't need to be this long.  It does have it's redeeming moments though, and that last piano melody is actually gorgeous.  "By Design" is  up next, which has a refreshing, upbeat synth pop feel.  To be honest, I can barely remember the last time I heard such a upbeat tune coming from Kid Cudi.  As far as the lyrics go, Cudi is still in his own little world where he's king.  But I'm even able to let that slide with this awesome groove going on.  His vocals at this point may never really be on point, but "By Design" is at least a commendable performance.  There's a slight dancehall feel here which comes off Ok, with that steel drum being a nice touch.  By the time Andre 3000 comes in, he delivers a slightly less animated and wild verse than I've heard from him this year.  It still comes off super skillful though, the dude has seriously been all over the place this year.  "By Design" overall has sort of a Futuristic Pop sound to it, and just hearing Cudi not ranting and raving about nonsense on this great beat just makes me happy.  "All In" starts off with some really super nice lapping water sound effects, transitioning into one of the smoother beats you're going to find here.  Between the bouncy beat and those opening sound effects, oddly enough I almost get a Animal Collective's "Merriwether Post Pavillion" feel.  When things get settled, we're dealing with another upbeat synth heavy track, all of these upbeat tracks from Cudi are seriously throwing me off.  It's gltichy occasionally, and as far as Cudi's performance goes it's back on the heartfelt side.  Slowly, I feel like Cudi might just be coming back down to this planet.  There are some seriously sweet lines here, as Cudi is saying to whoever he's singing too "no one makes me feel secure except you".  "All In" is sometimes hectic, and for Cudi this is ridiculously to the point.  It's a short venture into a more Pop sound, but it's a solid one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEHNYkNodzs

Next up we have Act 2: Prophecy, which starts off with "ILLusions".  First off I want to just say, Cudi you seriously have to watch yourself with some of these slower tunes, they're way too hit and miss.  When you start off a track with those stupid moans, you're already pushing it.  I'm not into it, and never will be.  The beat here is one of the most bizarre you'll find here, why the hell do I feel like I'm listening to Cudi over the instrumental of Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime"?  While earlier tracks gave me SOMETHING to grap on to, "ILLusions" just floats by without leaving any impression.  Earlier I felt like Cudi was being more heartfelt and working on making himself better.  This on the other hand is the same bloated, confusing Kid Cudi I've puzzled over for years. We see him using these bizarre metaphors for his life, which I get what he's getting at trust me.  But come on Cudi, there HAS to be another way.  This track is literally everything I don't want to hear from Cudi.  Up next is the surprisingly stunning "Rose Golden".  This absolutely stunning introduction is quickly ruined though by some more moaning.  I do have to hand it to Cudi though, that opening hook is catchy as hell.  As far as lyrics go here, I feel like there is a large part of Cudi that is still seriously full of himself with a bloated ego.  He keeps going on and on about people not realizing his potential, as well as referring to himself as the "Chosen One".  In the rap world though, that's actually pretty regular.  If you look at the things that Cudi's ex-mentor Kanye West has said about HIMSELF over the years, these statements are actually quite tame.  My problem with this though, is I honestly feel like Cudi probably believes it all.  At the very least though, Cudi isn't tearing himself to shreds in front of our very eyes.  Moving on, I actually like ALOT of "Rose Golden".  I love the lighter, bouncier atmosphere of everything.  Cudi once again is taking on some more pop production, but it's awful infectious and absolutely sticks with you.  Even Willow Smith's backing vocals on the chorus are commendable.  As the beat goes on, things get even more elaborate and more stunning.  Kid Cudi may be occasionally still in his own little world, but you have to admit this is a gigantic improvement.  But for every great track like "Rose Golden", there has to be an equally underwhelming track like "Baptized In Fire" featuring Travis Scott.  My expectations going into this track were gigantic, I've heard Cudi and Travis on a track before, and I know they can work some real magic.   We're back to a more nocturnal beat, but I can't help feeling like a lot of this is seriously rehashed.  Literally, the beat here sounds like any number of tracks that have popped up earlier.  Some of Cudi's one-liners here are so cheesy I couldn't begin to take them seriously if i tried.  We have Cudi bringing up how women only want to date Kid Cudi and not the REAL him, something I've heard plenty of times in rap, but I feel like even these bars are half-assed.  It gets even worse when Cudi starts to literally make up words.  He expects me to take this seriously?  Not on your life.  Travis upon his arrival brings in some seriously well needed energy to "Baptized By Fire", I actually like his verses a lot and wish he did a little more.  When Cudi comes back in for a second verse, things don't look much better.  Cudi may be on to some great new things for his career, but man is he still haunted by his past.  Then we have "Flight At first sight/Advanced" featuring Pharell Williams, another track I had HUGE hopes for.  I wouldn't say that Cudi's gone pop on us, but this is certainly a more pop beat, which is fine usually.  But the beat on  "Flight At first sight/Advanced" is overall not a good beat.  Cudi sounds so awkward and out of place on this almost dancehall beat, ESPECIALLY when he's rapping over it.  Once again we see Cudi dropping these terribly cheesy lines, Cudi may be slowly getting back on track but he still has a ways to go.  When the beat changes for the "Advanced" portion of this track, it's certainly an improvement, but it's still bizarre to hear Cudi on this.  There's this weird, almost golden age hip hop feel all of a sudden, and Cudi's verses do get a little better, but man is it bizarre.  "Flight At first sight/Advanced" to me, is a spectacle and nothing more.  Yea, it's catchy and exciting occasionally, but I have nothing to really latch onto.  This "act" (which still confuses the hell out of me) is concluded with "Does It".  On this track, all of the different vibes Cudi's been searching desperately for come together perfectly.  I feel like "Does It" IS the track Cudi's been working so hard to get across.  As the track goes on, the already elegant beat becomes a stunning cosmic beat.  All of these years Cudi has been trying to hard to get this space rap thing rolling, but this beat may just be his crowning achievement as far as that goes.  These are some of Cudi's most hard hitting and aggressive bars, I honestly can't even remember the last time he was so on point as far as his flow goes.  Cudi certainly is putting on his "tough guy" persona here, but the aggressiveness of his verses make it come off legitmate.  Man is this album all over the place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tccAnqPZmtQ

Oh gosh, up next is my least favorite "Act",  "Niveaux de l'Amour".  To be honest though, outside of lyrical switch-ups, these acts seriously feel like they have a lot of the same tones.  Up first for this act is "Dance 4 Eternity".  Once again we're dealing with another upbeat track, and once again Cudi is sounding paranoid to no end.  For the most part, Cudi sounds sweet here towards whoever he's singing too, and it sounds like he actually cares quite a bit about them.  All of a sudden though Cudi throws all of that out the window and everything becomes an all out Sex-Fest.  It's certainly not the worst thing I've heard here, but where is this even coming from? What's been going on in this dudes life that's made him write this?  I mean call me nuts, but Cudi just went from UFO's and other worldly beings and all of a sudden is penning a steamy dance club anthem.  You'll have to excuse my confusion.  It's alright, and like I said it's far from the worst thing on this album.  Speaking of "the worst thing on this album", "Distant Fantasies" is up next, and whoa nelly is this BAD.  That opening beat though gave me so much hope though, it's easily the most sinister thing here.  Then of course Cudi has to come in with his dumbass moaning and everything goes from super dark to borderline hilarious really quick.  And let me tell you, if you thought "Dance 4 Eternity", just wait until you hear THIS. Cudi has never in my opinion been a "tough guy".  On "Distant Fantasies", Cudi puts on his harshest, toughest face imaginable and I'd like to meet the guy that can take THAT seriously.  If that wasn't enough we have Cudi trailing off into steamy, unrated, sleazy sex rhymes that I honestly have no clue who thought was a good idea. I would seriously rather hear Cudi go off on aliens again compared to this.  "Wounds" starts off with some more awful Kid Cudi singing that certainly isn't doing him any favors.  As far as the beat goes however, it's one of the most epic on here.  The drums that dominate most of the beat are ridiculous, and as far as the atmosphere goes there's plenty to love here.  Cudi drops some of his most emotional, soul searching rhymes here, as he brings up how he's going to "heal his wounds himself".  It's an alright track, certainly not bad.  Thankfully though, the last two tracks of this "act" really end this one on a good note. First, we have "Mature Nature" which instantly draws you in with one of the most solid beats here. Like "Does It" earlier, "Mature Nature" has the spacey kind of beat that Cudi has been reaching for for years, and it comes off great.  Some of these late album beats end up coming off so elegant and lavish that I can't help but be seriously impressed. Lyrically, Cudi may have written this in the grand total of 5 minutes.  While it's simple though, it doesn't come of half bad.  It's hazy, it's beautiful, you just need to shut your mind off and enjoy.  This act rounds up with "Kitchen" which is probably one of my favorite tracks on the album.  The instrumental immediately is so warm and inviting, with some seriously gorgeous strings and woodwinds thrown in.  Cudi may sound as heartbroken and desperately looking for love once again, but ironically he seems at peace with it, like it's not making him self destruct.  The guy who earlier was hyping himself up to be an other-worldly being is now coming off super relate-able.  The hook here is simple, but it's catchy and sticks with you.  Sure, there are a ton of really awful, cringe-worthy tracks on here.  But there are also a ton that I seriously can't wait to revisit, and I can't remember the last time I thought that about A Kid Cudi album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDvp6lXmmG8

Finally we’re brought to the final act, “It's Bright and Heaven Is Warm”, and it has a bit of a rocky start.  I mean this act starts out with a track literally called “Cosmic Warrior”, and if you’re a fan of Kid Cudi you can tell this is going to get ugly really fast.  We start off here with another dark, spacey synth lead.  The beat is nice and you’d think Cudi would be right at home on this beat.  But when those vocal harmonies come in, shockingly they are seriously terrible.  Tracks like this need to end soon, and don’t even get me stared on those Eagle sound effects.   As far as the verses go, they beat remains smooth.  But between the moaning and awkward vocal moments Cudi seriously needs to stop this, because I can’t take this seriously.  Even the later moments when the beat switches up a little bit turn out to be epic, its just everything else that completely flops.  And in between all of this we have these ridiculous song topics, I don’t even know what the guy is going for anymore.  Thankfully Cudi bounces back quickly with “The Guide”, once again featuring Andre 3000.  The beat here is done perfectly, building up for quite a while before seriously hitting.  Cudi here seems to be more in rap mode, but to be honest after all of the moaning and poor singing I’ll take it.  However, on that second verse Cudi sounds so much better and his performance comes off great.  The pacing on this track makes everything come together though, it’s executed perfectly.  Here Cudi lets Andre 3000 take care of the vocal harmonies, and boy is that ever refreshing.  The beat on “The Guide” is a little over the top, and certainly a little goofy, but I feel like Cudi’s having some fun on it, which is a huge plus.  I always got the feeling over the years that Cudi has always 100% believed the things he’s said in his songs.  But here, he just seems like he’s really enjoying himself.  When Andre’s verse comes in, it’s just as cool and abstract as you would think it would be.  Overall, “The Guide” is pretty damn awesome.  Consistency though continues to seriously bring Cudi down.  “The Commander” starts off with these vocal melodies that to be honest aren’t too terribly bad.  But why the hell are tracks like this even existing anymore in Cudi’s discography?  As far as the verses go, they aren’t terribly bad either.  Mostly it’s the atmosphere itself bringing this one down.  Personally, I though some of the darker tracks have seriously dominated this album.  “The Commander” on the other hand is just a little too glitzy and hopeful for my liking.  And while the verses are ok, there are still plenty of awkward moments, like that ridiculously cringe-worthy acoustic breakdown.  Finally, an hour and 20 minutes later (Cudi we seriously have to talk about the length of these albums cause this is exhausting), we reach the finale, “Surfin’”.  This track, also featuring Pharell Williams is a total shot out of left field in every way.  ESPECIALLY for this point in the album.  We start off with this beat centering around these wild, tribal drums and a heavy bass groove.  If Cudi has some grand narrative for this album, I’m seriously scratching my head as to where the hell “Surfin’” fits in.  This track is like no other one here, the fact that this is even a Kid Cudi song is mind-blowing.  The beat is great, the horns are triumphant, and Cudi actually sounds like he’s putting in effort into his vocals.  This may be the most important track here as far as Cudi and his sanity goes.  His verses sound rejuvenated, Cudi himself almost comes off as reborn.  Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time Cudi was this coherent and easy to understand.  I have no idea where “Surfin” came from, but for Cudi’s sake he needs to return to this sound some more.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5KgsubkMCA

Rating: 7.1/10

Give A Listen To: "Swim In The Light", "By Design", “Kitchen”, “Surfin”

Overall Thoughts:  You know, call me crazy but I dig a lot of what Cudi is doing here.  Trust me this is FAR from a perfect album, and Cudi has just as many awkward moments here and there that have plagued him for years.  The horrible singing, some bizarre instrumental choices, and don't even get me started on some of these lyrics.  However, let's look at this in context.  Cudi for YEARS has been going down one of hip hops most downward spirals.  "Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin" may be hard to follow and far from flawless, but it's easily his most cohesive project since I can remember.  Listening to the last few Kid Cudi albums was a chore, but there are tracks on here that I'm actually excited to come back to.  At the end of the day, Cudi shows more promise here than anytime else in recent memory.