2016 in music. • Page 2

01) THE 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware

Insanely ambitious yet also infectious sophomore release that took this band to another level

02) BON IVER - 22, A Million

A completely strange and off-kilter follow-up to a Grammy winning album that pushed Bon Iver's sound in a new direction while still remaining beautiful

03) GLASS ANIMALS - How To Be A Human Being

Embracing some more up-tempo beats to their slick indie R&B, Glass Animals continued to build their audience

04) JIMMY EAT WORLD - Integrity Blues

Bland lead-off single ("Get Right") which is rescued by 10 excellent tracks which stands as some of the band's finest work

05) PANIC! AT THE DISCO - Death Of A Bachelor

Brendon Urie shed any doubts about his ability to carry the legacy by forging his own jock-jam by way of emo sound on this party record

06) GREEN DAY - Revolution Radio

Coming off personal problems and a muted reception to their trilogy release, Green Day produce their most concise and well-rounded album in years

07) WEEZER - Weezer (White Album)

After course-correcting in 2014, Weezer put together a breezy light beach record perfect for summertime

08) RADIOHEAD - A Moon Shaped Pool

Less glitchy electronics and more actual instrumenation, Radiohead show they are not a heritage act

09) THE STRUTS - Everybody Wants

Released in the UK in 2014 but a revamped version in 2016 (which I'm counting) The Struts debut is fun riff-filled hooky glammy rock

10) BUTCH WALKER - Stay Gold

Getting back to Springsteen-via-power-pop ways, Butch continued his excellent streak

11) ST. LUCIA - Matter

Excellent embrace of 80's synth-pop with modern flourishes made for a hook-filled sophomore record

12) BASTILLE - Wild World

While not quite The 1975, Bastille are another UK pop act who deal in big concepts and sounds about how to embrace a crumbling world while dancing around it

13) SIA - This Is Acting

One of the finest songwriters for hire puts out her finest collection of jams

14) KALEO - A/B

Blues and whiskey drenches rock via Iceland, Kaleo's proper US debut showcased excellent rock songwriting

15) WET - Don't You

I remember a ton of hype about this indie R&B band (they were signed to Columbia) yet this seems memory-holed which is a shame since it still stands up

16) BRIAN FALLON - Painkillers

Brian goes solo with help from Butch Walker who gave his melancholic songs an excellent sound

17) FRIGHTENED RABBIT - Painting Of A Panic Attack

Speaking of sadness, this was an unfortunate swan song from one of the UK's most under-appreciated indie bands

18) MIIKE SNOW - III

Lifelong craftsmen in Miike Snow make it look easy putting out pop that sounds this good

19) FITZ & THE TANTRUMS - Fitz & The Tantrums

Fully ditching any idea of "retro soul", Fitz takes it straight to the dance floor on their most concise record

20) SANTIGOLD - 99 Cents

Santigold tends to take her time with releases which means she's not in the conversation as often but this record has just as many jams as her previous two releases

21) BEAR HANDS - You'll Pay For This

NYC indie band with an odd-sounding vocalist made a neat quirky record in 2016

22) RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - The Getaway

The Josh truther album in the Chili Peppers catalog which shows how working with a new producer taught them to trim the fat and concentrate on their strengths

23) AGAINST ME! - Shape Shift With Me

Not quite the cultural shakeup that their previous release was but Laura Jane Grace still gave us a snarly batch of songs

24) PHANTOGRAM - Three

The second lazily titled "Three" on this list but the most emotionally challenging and deep music Phantogram has ever put out

25) THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS - Everything You've Come To Expect

A forgotten side project for the Arctic Monkeys Alex Turner which was an interesting precursor to their 2018 release

26) TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB - Gameshow

An album that was supposed to allow the band to play arenas given how huge it sounds

27) BILLY TALENT - Afraid Of Heights

Rock stars in Canada, club band in the US Billy Talent sounded recharged and refocused here

28) DEFTONES - Gore

Steph Carpenter was apparently checked out for this record which means it's a spacey and dreamy version of the Deftones, which I love

29) M83 - Junk

A post-fame freakout that shed the "Midnight City" fans but was still quirky and intereting enough to appease long-time fans

30) THRICE - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere

Veteran scene band returns and keeps pushing their sound forward

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

SAVAGES - Adore Life
JAMES BLAKE - The Colour In Anything
TOVE LO - Lady Wood
CHAIRLIFT - Moth
GROUPLOVE - Big Mess
GARBAGE - Strange Little Birds
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - American Band
EMPIRE OF THE SUN - Two Vines
SAINT MOTEL - Saintmotelivision
TAKING BACK SUNDAY - Tidal Wave
SLEIGH BELLS - Jessica Rabit
RUFUS DU SOL - Bloom
THE LUMINEERS - Cleopatra
KINGS OF LEON - Walls
JAGWAR MA - Every Now And Then
THE HUNNA - 100
BROODS - Conscious

 

Insanely deep year. Normally I've been posting 15, but I had to extend it because there were so many I didn't want to leave off.

1. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
2. David Bowie - Blackstar
3. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth

4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
5. Beyonce - Lemonade
6. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo
7. Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
8. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
9. Frank Ocean - Blond
10. Mitski - Puberty 2

11. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here...
12. Nick Cave - Skeleton Tree
13. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep...
14. Drive-By Truckers - American Band
15. Jeff Rosenstock - WORRY.
16. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
17. ANOHNI - Hopelessness
18. Rihanna - Anti
19. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues
20. Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack

21. The Hotelier - Goodness
22. Solange - A Seat at the Table
23. Hamilton + Rostam - I Had a Dream That You Were Mine
24. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
25. Big Thief - Masterpiece
26. Lucy Dacus - No Burden

 

My favorite music year ever along with 2009

1. The Hotelier - Goodness
2. Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere
3. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

4. Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow
5. Pinegrove - Cardinal
6. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo
7. Young Thug - JEFFREY
8. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
9. Frank Ocean - Blonde
10. Future - EVOL

11. Deftones - Gore
12. Touche Amore - Stage Four
13. Young Thug - Slime Season 3
14. Young Thug - I’m Up
15. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
16. Mandolin Orange - Blindfaller
17. Gates - Parallel Lives
18. Saosin - Along the Shadow
19. PUP - The Dream Is Over
20. Chance the Rapper - 3

 

he snapped

 

1. Hiss Golden Messenger - Heart Like A Levee
2. Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
3. Noname - Telefone
4. Hamilton Leithauser - I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
5. Cass McCombs - Mangy Love
6. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here..
7. Andy Shauf - The Party
8. Lambchop - FLOTUS
9. Whitney - Light Upon The Lake
10. Heron Oblivion - Heron Oblivion
11. Nap Eyes - Thought Rock Fish Scale
12. Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker
13. Xenia Rubinos - Black Terry Cat
14. John K. Sampson - Winter Wheat
15. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailors Guide to Earth

 

1. The Hotelier - Goodness
2. Bon Iver - 22AM
3. Seismograph - In Oblivion

 

1. Shovels & Rope - Little Seeds
2. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam - I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
3. Kyle Craft - Dolls of Highland

Also:
4. Brian Fallon - Painkillers
5. Conor Oberst - Ruminations
6. Trapper Schoepp - Rangers & Valentines
7. Dawes - We're All Gonna Die
8. Lake Street Dive - Side Pony
9. The Twilight Hours - Black Beauty
10. Esme Patterson - We Were Wild
11. The Lumineers - Cleopatra
12. Look Park - Look Park
13. Dave Cobb/various artists - Southern Family
14. Public Access TV - Never Enough
15. Bob Weir - Blue Mountain
16. Butch Walker - Stay Gold
17. Drive-By Truckers - American Band
18. Lucy Dacus - No Burden
19. The Avett Brothers - True Sadness
20. Sara Watkins - Young in All the Wrong Ways

 

Guess I need to give goodness another run. I remember not liking it at all.

 

I put it at no.2 but I haven't listened to that spoken word intro track since 2016.

 

Top 3:

1.The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It
2.Parachute – Wide Awake
3.Panic! At the Disco – Death of a Bachelor

And the Others:
Bad Suns – Disappear Here
Mac Miller – The Divine
Young the Giant – Home of the Strange
Hailey, It Happens – S/T
Pvris – White Noise
Post Malone - Stoney
The Weeknd - Starboy
Rihanna – Anti
Charlie Puth – Nine Track Mind
Sia – This Is Acting
St. Lucia – Matter
Kanye West – The Life of Pablo
Birdy – Beautiful Lies
Beyonce – Lemonade
Drake – Views
Meghan Trainor – Thank you
Mike Posner – At Night, Alone
Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman
Eric Clapton – I Still Do
Shawn Mendes – Illuminate
DNCE – S/T
Grace Vanderwaal – Perfectly Imprefect
Umphrey’s McGee – Zonkey
Warpaint – Heads Up


Songs I was obsessed with:
“Flexicution” – Logic
“For Free” – DJ Khaled & Drake
“Let me Love you” – DJ Snake & Justin Bieber
“God, Your Mama, and Me” – Florida Georgia Line and BSB
“Stay A Little Longer” – Brothers Osborne
“Work from home” – Fifth Harmony
“Don’t Let me down” – The Chainsmokers & Daya
“This is What you came for” – Calvin Harris & Rihanna (And technically Taylor Swift)
“Black Beatles” – Rae Sremmurd & Gucci Mane
“Love on the Weekend” – John Mayer (I can’t believe how old this song is now)
“This Town” - Niall Horan
“Little Bit More” - Jidenna
“Why You Always Hatin?” – YG, Drake & Kamaiyah
“All in my head(Flex)” – Fifth Harmony & Fetty Wap
“Cold Water” – Major Lazer, Justin Bieber, MO
“Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Justin Timberlake
“Faded” – Alen Walker & Tiesto

The one album that I still can’t believe was made:
Corey Feldman – Angelic 2 the Core

 

Statues by Black Peaks is one of the best debut albums of the decade. I guess it's a bit like Mastodon mixed with Mars Volta, with a standout vocal performance.

This song is crazy good

 

1. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
2. The Hotelier - Goodness
3. Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

 

2016
1. David Bowie - Blackstar
2. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
3. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues

4. Justin Hurwitz - La La Land
5. Animal Collective - Painting With
6. Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere
7. Yellowcard
8. Blink 182 - California
9. Rihanna - ANTI
10. Thomas Newman - Passengers
11. Green Day - Revolution Radio
12. Weezer (The White Album)
13. Beyonce - Lemonade
14. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.

Honorable Mentions
Nine Inch Nails - Not The Actual Events (EP)
Third Eye Blind - We Are Drugs (EP)

Favorite songs from other 2016 scores/albums
Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka - "Searching For Home" (From Lion)
Mac Quayle - "1.1_6-believe-in-erasing.au" (From Mr. Robot: Season 1)
Ramin Djawadi - "Needle" (From Game Of Thrones: Season 6)
Nicholas Britell - "The Middle Of The World" (From Moonlight)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - "Escape" (From Patriots Day)
Mica Levi - "The End" (From Jackie)
Max Richter - "Dopamine 2" (From Black Mirror: Nosedive)
The Weeknd, Lana Del Rey - "Stargirl Interlude"
Armand Van Helden, ML - "Spidey Sensei"
Angels & Airwaves - "Overload"
Drake - "One Dance"
Calvin Harris, Rihanna - "This Is What You Came For"
Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj - "Side To Side"
Desiigner - "Panda"

 

i still dislike it tbh

 

Missed it when it came out and I’m too afraid to listen now cause it’s so hyped up.

 

Took me a long time to come around to it.

 

Yeah, I wasn’t impressed with it at first but somehow it’s become one of my favorite albums. That doesn’t mean that’ll happen to everyone though

 

goodness fucking rules

 

yep.

 

1. Frank Ocean - Blonde
2. Brian Fallon - Painkillers
3. Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp

Shoutouts to Blackstar, Stay Gold by Butch Walker, Holy Ghost by Modern Baseball and the last 1975 album I enjoyed.

Edit: Wow I suck, totally forgot about Joyce Manor and TLSP this year.

 

1. aesop rock - the impossible kid
2. joyce manor - cody
3. every time i die - low teens

4. sioux falls - rot forever
5. david bazan - blanco
6. pinegrove - cardinal
7. owel - dear me
8. dangers - the bend in the break
9. denzel curry - imperial
10. death grips - bottomless pit
11. big thief - masterpiece
12. posture and the grizzly - i am satan
13. the caretaker - everywhere at the end of time
14. frankie cosmos - next thing
15. anderson paak - malibu
16. boogie - thirst 48, pt II
17. danny brown - atrocity exhibition
18. conor oberst - ruminations
19. trash boat - nothing i write you can change what you've been through

 

Great Pick! I might have forgotten to even include it on my list lol

 

1. Frank Ocean - Blonde
2. The 1975 - I like it when you sleep…
3. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
—————
4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
5. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo
6. Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation
7. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
8. Frank Ocean - Endless
9. Weezer - The White Album
10. The Last Shadow Puppets - Everything You’ve Come To Expect
11. Beyoncé - Lemonade
12. Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love
13. The Weeknd - Starboy
14. Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion Side B
15. Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp
16. Solange - A Seat at the Table
17. Glass Animals - How To Be A Human Being
18. Joyce Manor - Cody
19. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues
20. Mitski - Puberty 2

HM:
Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom
The Strokes - Future Present Past

one of my all time favorite years in music

 

Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
YG - Still Brazy
A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service

YG - Red Friday
Good Charlotte - Youth Authority
Beyonce - Lemonade
Mac Miller - The Divine Feminine
Rihanna - Anti
Rapsdoy - Crown
American Football - LP2
Rihanna - Anti (R&B)
Dreezy - No Hard Feelings (Hip Hop)
Cam & China - Cam & China (Hip Hop)
Yellowcard - Yellowcard (Alternative & Punk)
De La Soul - and the Anonymous Nobody... (Hip Hop)
Tweet - Charlene (R&B)
Terrace Martin - Velvet Portraits (Jazz)
DJ Quik - Rosecrans EP (Hip Hop)
DJ Mustard - Cold Summer (Hip Hop)
Havoc & Alchemist - Silent Partner (Hip Hop)
The Descendants - Hypercaffium Spazzinate (Alternative & Punk)
Skepta - Konnichiwa (Grime)
Lloyd - Tru
D.R.A.M. - Big Baby D.R.A.M.

Very strong year.

 

The Hotelier's Goodness wins with 30. The 1975's long ass name had 28 and Bon Iver's 22, a million had 24. ill post 2017 after work.