Chorus.fm Members EOTY Lists 2021 • Page 12

I love it when you 1, 2 step

 

01. Origami Angel — Gami Gang
02. Cassandra Jenkins — An Overview On Phenomenal Nature
03. Turnstile — Glow On
04. Julien Baker — Little Oblivions
05. Bo Burnham — Inside (The Songs)
06. Little Simz — Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
07. Manchester Orchestra — The Million Masks Of God
08. The Armed — ULTRAPOP
09. Every Time I Die — Radical
10. Porter Robinson — Nurture
11. The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die — Illusory Walls
12. Telethon — Swim Out Past the Breakers
13. The Hold Steady — Open Door Policy
14. SeeYouSpaceCowboy... — The Romance of Affliction
15. Snail Mail — Valentine
16. Deafheaven — Infinite Granite
17. Jail Socks — Coming Down
18. Fiddlehead — Between the Richness
19. Grouper — Shade
20. Sincere Engineer — Bless My Psyche
21. Doja Cat — Planet Her
22. The Maine — XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time
23. Dying Wish — Fragments of a Bitter Memory
24. Adjy — The Idyll Opus (I-VI)
25. Between the Buried and Me — Colors II
26. Citizen — Life In Your Glass World
27. The Weather Station — Ignorance
28. Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee
29. Bad Luck — Summer of Pain
30. Posture & the Grizzly — Posture & the Grizzly

Edit: Sorry Sleep Token, but I need to make space for Posture & the Grizzly. Such a good late-year discovery.

 

1. CHVRCHES - Screen Violence
2. Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor's Version)
3. Shad - TAO
4. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
5. Taylor Swift - Red (Taylor's Version)
6. IU - LILAC
7. Pale Waves - Who Am I?
8. Lil Nas X - MONTERO
9. Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
10. Thrice - Horizons / East

Dunno if people will take issue with me putting two Taylor's Version releases in my top 5, but I also really don't care, lol. Hearing a Taylor Swift (who's only a year younger than me) in her early 30s sing Fearless, which was a very important young adult album for me, was a revelation; that thing is my new favorite album of hers. And, while the album tracks on Red didn't fare as well, there's a ton of gold in those bonus tracks. Between those releases and a delayed love of evermore, Taylor really was my artist of the year.

My clear album of the year, though, was Screen Violence. The past couple Chvrches albums had several songs each that got a ton of play in the years following their releases, but I wasn't ready for how perfect a cohesive creative statement this one would be for me. And, while my song of the year isn't always from my favorite album, no other song this year captures my soul's current vibe quite like "Good Girls." Its placement in the album's flow elevates it a ton, but even as an isolated song, it's just... perfect.

Really hoping Hayley Kiyoko drops her new album next year. Based on the couple tracks she dropped this year, and how much play her last album and EP still get, that'd be a clear frontrunner for next year's AOTY. Also surprisingly pumped for new Avril Lavigne.

 

Finally finished my re-listens. Loosely ordered, but the tiers are probably better overall groupings. Mainly in the indie pop/alt pop/alt rock and indie folk spaces with a few others sprinkled in -- always open to recs if there's anything you loved that would fit well with the artists on this list.

Favorites - in constant rotation, I'd go out of my way to own this on vinyl and see the band live on this current album tour cycle, etc.
1) Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
2) Orla Gartland - Woman on the Internet
3) Oh Wonder - 22 Break
4) Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
5) CHVRCHES - Screen Violence
6) London Grammar - Californian Soil
7) Foxing - Draw Down the Moon

Great - albums where I either listened to a few songs to death or I really enjoyed the album as a whole but no specific song stuck out, but I would definitely strongly recommend
8) Adjy - The Idyll Opus (I-VI)
9) King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Butterfly 3000
10) Valley Maker - When the Day Leaves
11) Jungle - Loving in Stereo
12) Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron Suite
13) Rivals - Sad Looks Pretty On Me
14) Royal Blood - Typhoons
15) Twenty One Pilots - Scaled and Icy
16) Birdtalker - Birdtalker
17) TORRES - Thirstier
18) YONAKA - Seize the Power
19) Joy Oladakun - in defense of my own happiness
20) The Night Game - Dog Years
21) Adam Melchor - Melchor Lullaby Hotline Vol. 1
22) VOLA - Witness
23) Remi Wolf - Juno
24) Pale Waves - Who Am I?
25) IDER - shame

Very Good - some mix of albums from old favorites that I liked but didn't love and albums from artists I wasn't familiar with that stood out, but not to the point of being something in constant rotation for me this year
26) Wilderado - Wilderado
27) Jesca Hoop - The Deconstruction of Jack's House
28) Elder Island - Swimming in Static
29) The Greeting Committee - Dandelion
30) Jade Bird - Different Kinds of Light
31) Future of Forestry - Remember
32) Saint Raymond - We Forgot We Were Dreaming
33) Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner's Mind
34) Lord Huron - Long Lost
35) Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
36) Origami Button - No Parking
37) The King's Parade - Waves
38) Foo Fighters - Medicine at Midnight
39) mehro - SKY ON FIRE
40) Finneas - Optimist
41) The Joy Formidable - Into the Blue
42) The Riverside - Through Frontiers and Unlit Mines
43) Super American - SUP
44) Tash Sultana - Terra Firma
45) The Marias - CINEMA
46) The Brook & the Bluff - Yard Sale
47) Save Face - Another Kill For The Highlight Reel
48) The Pale White - Infinite Pleasure
49) Kississippi - Mood Ring
50) Noah Gundersen - Pillar of Salt

 

1. The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
2. Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
3. Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights
4. My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket
5. Foxing - Draw Down the Moon
6. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
7. Aeon Station - Observatory
8. Katy Kirby - Cool Dry Place
9. Turnstile - Glow On
10. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

This was a year full of a ton of big life changes for me (graduation, bar exam, marriage, new job, bought first house, kid on the way) so I found myself with less time to listen to new music than I’ve had for quite awhile. Which was strange after having more time to just listen to music in 2020 than I had had in years. So I only did a top 10 and all but a couple of these records are from artists I’ve already loved for years.

Not doing a songs list because it would pretty much all be War on Drugs and Big Thief. Suffice it to say that “Change” by Big Thief is my favorite song released in 2021.

Got to see a bunch of great shows from Aug-Nov of this year, which I’m really grateful for. Some of the best ones I saw were: Foxing’s album release show in St. Louis; Waxahatchee (and Katy Kirby!) on a tiny stage in a parking lot in Rock Island, IL; Big Thief at Pitchfork and then again the very next night playing a full-length set in St. Louis; and of course the Jason Isbell/Drive-By Truckers “reunion” at Shoals Fest in Florence, AL. The last one in particular stands out. The moment Isbell ripped into “Day John Henry Died” with the Truckers behind him will be an all-time musical memory for me for a long long time.

Thanks for reading my rambling if you did!

 

1. Bo Burnham - Inside
2. Porter Robinson - Nurture
3. Chvrches - Screen Violence
4. Weezer - OK Human
5. As Everything Unfolds - Within Each Lies the Other
6. Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
7. Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
8. Grayscale - Umbra
9. Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor's Version)
10. dltzk - Frailty
11. Poppy - EAT
12. Epica - Omega
13. The Night Game - Dog Years
14. John Mayer - Sob Rock
15. The Killers - Pressure Machine
16. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
17. Holding Absence - The Greatest Mistake of My Life
18. Rebecca Black - Rebecca Black Was Here
19. Glaswing - Like Water on a Glass Table
20. Knocked Loose - A Tear in the Fabric of Life
21. Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed
22. Eidola - The Architect
23. Every Time I Die - Radical
24. Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World
25. Thrice - Horizons/East
26. The Maine - XOXO: From Love and Anxiety in Real Time
27. If I Die First - They Drew Blood
28. Biffy Clyro - The Myth of The Happily Ever After
29. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita
30. Hail the Sun - New Age Filth

Songs:
1. Glaswing - When You're Smiling My Way
2. Porter Robinson - Musician
3. As Everything Unfolds - I'm Not the Only One
4. Poppy - EAT
5. Bo Burnham - All Eyes on Me
6. Taylor Swift - Forever & Always
7. Chvrches - Asking for a Friend
8. Grayscale - Without You
9. Halsey - Girl is a Gun
10. The Killers - Pressure Machine
11. dltzk - Kodak Moment
12. John Mayer - Last Train Home
13. Little Simz - Introvert
14. Holding Absence - Celebration Song
15. Weezer - Numbers
16. Japanese Breakfast - Slide Tackle
17. Epica - Synergize
18. The Night Game - A Postcard from the City of Angels
19. The Maine - Face Towards the Sun
20. Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses

 

Every year I feel more and more out of touch but heres what I’ve got:
Favorites
Modest mouse - The Golden Casket
The War on Drugs - I don’t live here anymore
Halsey - if I can’t have love
Manchester Orchestra - Million Masks
Adele - 30

Also Enjoyed multiple tracks from these albums in no particular order
Royal Blood - Typhoons
Big Red Machine - How Long
Silk sonic
James Blake
The Killers
The Offspring
Tash Sultana
Foo Fighters
Foxing
St Vincent
The Black Keys
Weezers albums
Coldplay
Courtney Barnett

Discoveries from other lists that I’ve enjoyed
Little Simz - This album is great! Could go into my faves of the year with more listens
Black Country, New Road
Squid
Turnstile
Wild Pink
Arlo Parks
Wolf Alice

 

1. Vince Staples
2. Tyler - CMIYGL
3. Super American - SUP
4. AVA - Lifeforms
5. Lucy Dacus - Home Video
6. Turnstile - Glow on
7. Weezer - Ok Human
8. Manchester Orchestra - Million Masks of God
9. Snail Mail - Valentine
10. Posture & the Grizzly

Honorable Mentions: The Hold Steady, Julien Baker, Foxing

 

Settled on this for now.

1. The Killers - Pressure Machine
2. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
3. You, Me, and Everyone We Know - Something Heavy
4. Adjy - The Idyll Opus (I-VI)
5. The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Illusory Walls
6. Noah Gundersen - A Pillar of Salt
7. Telethon - Swim Out Past the Breakers
8. Dan Campbell - Other People’s Lives
9. Every Time I Die - Radical
10. Bleachers - Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
11. Dave Hause - Blood Harmony
12. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
13. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
14. Origami Angel - Gami Gang
15. The Wallflowers - Exit Wounds
16. The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy
17. Porter Robinson - Nurture
18. Monobody - Comma
19. The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
20. Parting - Unmake Me

 

Albums

1. Silk Sonic- An Evening With Silk Sonic

2. The Killers- Pressure Machine

3. Weezer- OK Human

4. Tyler The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

5. Turnstile- Glow On

6. Adele- 30

7. Snail Mail- Valentine

8. Bleachers- Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night

9. Coldplay- Music Of The Spheres

10. Brockhampton- Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine



Songs

1. Coldplay- Higher Power

2. girl in red- Serotonin

3. The Killers- Sleepwalker

4. The Band Camino- Know It All

5. Doja Cat/ SZA- Kiss Me More

6. Walk The Moon- Giants

7. Silk Sonic- Smokin Out The Window

8. Snail Mail- Valentine

9. Tyler The Creator- Corso

10. Bleachers/ Bruce Springsteen- Chinatown

 

I've seen some of these albums (SeeYouSpaceCowboy) on more AOTY lists than the number of plays it has on Spotify, so I'm calling BS on some of your lists.

 

Yes it's well established that Spotify is the only way to listen to music

 

I think you are missing my point, which is fine; I didn't do a thorough job explaining what I meant.

Cheers to everyone. Great to see so much enthusiasm for one of the great artistic expressions humanity has!

 

Spotify plays count and appearances on chorus.fm AOTY have absolutely nothing to do with each other

 

1. Lana Del Rey: Blue Bannisters
2. Hayley Williams: Flowers For Vases / Descansos
3. The Dirty Nil: Fuck Art
4. Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club
5. Porter Robinson: Nurture
6. Turnstile: Glow On
7. Lorde: Solar Power
8. Justin Courtney Pierre: An Anthropologist On Mars/Price of Salt/Ghost World - EPs
9. Vince Staples: Vince Staples
10. Citizen: Life In Your Glass World
11. Kacey Musgraves: star-crossed
12. San Holo: bb u ok?
13. Mannequin Pussy - Perfect EP
14. Manchester Orchestra: The Million Masks of God
15. Bleachers: Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
16. Tierra Whack - Rap? Pop? R&B? - EPs
17. The Maine: XOXO: From Love and Anxiety In Real Time
18. Adult Mom: Driver
19. Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever
20. Tyler, the Creator: Call Me If You Get Lost
21. Origami Angel: GAMI GANG
22. Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall: The Marfa Tapes
23. Laura Jane Grace: At War With the Silverfish
24. Halsey: If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
25. Lil Nas X: Montero
26. Lucy Dacus: Home Video

Can't cut anything else so 26 it is

 

spotify play counts are definitely informative but yes it isn't the be all end all

 

I think the disparities between play count and appearances on lists are more informative when analyzing or critiquing publication lists in aggregate than they are in looking at personal lists.

SeeYouSpaceCowboy… is very much something that would appeal to users on this website much more than the general population of Spotify users

 

I mean there is also a little streaming service called Apple Music…

That along with other ones such as Amazon, etc isn’t taking into account all listeners.

 

if you look at the top songs for an artist on apple music, they’re usually 1:1 with spotify. maybe the total streams are different but it’s generally the same order

 

I mean that makes sense. Popular is popular no matter what service it’s on. I’m speaking to overall streaming numbers and not just one platform.

 

Changing the subject: cool to see Wild Pink on some lists, feel like that one was widely slept on and most folks who post on here would love it

 

That and Hovvdy have been slept on way more than they should have been!

 

https://www.instagram.com/johnfbuehler/p/CYFDalyPHw1/?utm

These were my favorite ten :)

 

Ekulu!

 

First I've heard of Hovvdy sadly, looks like I have some listening to do. Not surprising, been way outta touch this year