February 27, 201510 yr Author 11 Zero Chela eoHqHGPLqW0 "I never wanna play along," sings Chela, "if I go back to zero". On this chorus, her voice strains a little higher and tighter, the cutting emotional core of the song coming to the fore. It's rather at odds with the casual, rhythmic jazz of the synths, which burst in starry excitement, little exclamations of '80s-style coolness. First and foremost 'Zero' is just a really good pop song, jumping straight into the juddering baseline and the frankly groovy refrains. Chela herself looks like someone too cool for me, and the insouciance of her dance moves betrays the song's Kitsune home - this isn't retro pop, it's referential pop, and the way the song devolves in its last minute, ceding control to that awesome guitar lick and never returning, as perhaps expected, to the chorus, betrays that cultural status. None of this makes the song any less exhilarating in that coolness, and the final moments see the song's subject free to proclaim her freedom. Those dance moves and that devolution are a shift to empowerment, a move away from feeling like nothing, not accepting what whoever wants to be, and that's a bloody good message.
April 20, 201510 yr Author Because I'm obviously never going to finish this and because it's April and not even I care any more but I feel like I should at least reveal the top ten... so here's the whole damn 100. I'll do better next year, promise. 100 Banks - 099 Taylor Swift - Wonderland 098 Adore Delano - Give Me Tonight 097 Ella Henderson - Empire 096 TĀLĀ - Serbia 095 Ryn Weaver - Promises 094 Röyksopp & Robyn - Monument (The Inevitable End Version) 093 Tinashe - Wildfire 092 Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat 091 iamamiwhoami - Hunting for Pearls 090 Röyksopp - Here She Comes Again 089 Oliver $ & Jimi Jules - Pushing On 088 FKA twigs - Give Up 087 Jhené Aiko - Spotless Mind 086 Röyksopp - Sordid Affair 085 Taylor Swift - How You Get the Girl 084 George Ezra - Budapest 083 Cyril Hahn feat. Rochelle Jordan - Slow 082 Higher Self feat. Lauren Mason - Ghosts 081 Ella Henderson - Yours 080 SLK - Call 079 Jhené Aiko - The Pressure 078 Erkka - Plastic Flamingos 077 Katy B - Everything 076 Etta Bond feat. Delilah - Bubble 075 How To Dress Well - Pour Cyril 074 Rae Morris feat. Fryars - Cold 073 Kyla La Grange - Get It 072 FKA twigs - Hours 071 Shannon Saunders - Sheets 070 Jessie Ware - Want Your Feeling 069 Indila - Ego 068 Taylor Swift - Style 067 Elliphant feat. MØ - One More 066 Banks - Brain 065 Ella Eyre - If I Go 064 Trust - Icabod 063 TĀLĀ - Alchemy 062 Kito & Reija Lee feat. Zebra Katz - WORD$ 061 Adore Delano - I Adore U 060 Bombay Bicycle Club - Feel 059 Röyksopp & Robyn - Do It Again 058 Jessie Ware - Tough Love 057 Kiesza - Hideaway 056 Adore Delano - D T F 055 FKA twigs - Numbers 054 Ariana Grande & The Weeknd - Love Me Harder 053 Tove Lo - Timebomb 052 SPEAK - Gates 051 Ella Henderson - Ghost 050 Tinashe feat. Devonté Hynes - Bet 049 FKA twigs - Two Weeks 048 iamamiwhoami - Vista 047 Elizabeth Rose feat. VCS - Only Me 046 Ella Henderson - Missed 045 SZA feat. Kendrick Lamar - Babylon 044 Paradis - Garde le pour toi 043 Eternal Death - Head 042 Indila - Dernière Danse 041 Embody feat. Barnaby - Make A Stand 040 Hudson Mohawke - Chimes 039 Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Save Me 038 Calvin Harris feat. Haim - Pray to God 037 Kleerup & Susanne Sundfør - Let Me In 036 Skit & Tijani - Sweat 035 Ariana Grande feat. Zedd - Break Free 034 Betablock3r feat. Vic & Gab - Don’t Take Me Home 033 Ace Wilder - Busy Doin’ Nothin’ 032 Emerson Jay - Fghting Finding 031 Jungle - Busy Earnin’ 030 James Wolf - Can’t Get Enough 029 George Ezra - Song 6 028 Becky Hill - Losing 027 Josef Salvat - Shoot and Run 026 Broods - Never Gonna Change 025 Ella Eyre - Comeback 024 Tove Lo - Not on Drugs 023 Bright Light Bright Light - I Believe 022 S O H N - Artifice 021 Oscar and the Wolf - Princes 020 Alex Adair - 019 G.R.L. - 018 BANKS - 017 FKA twigs - 016 Tei Shi - 015 Imogen Heap - 014 Elizabeth Rose - 013 Ryn Weaver - OctaHate 012 Tchami - 011 Chela - 010 Jhené Aiko - 009 Years & Years - 008 Shura - 007 Marina & the Diamonds - / / 006 Grimes feat. Blood Diamonds - 005 SZA feat. Isaiah Rashad - 004 Kyla La Grange - 003 Katy B - 002 Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - 001 Tinashe feat. Schoolboy Q -
April 20, 201510 yr That top 5 is so undeniably incredible, topped off with one of the BEST. Nice to see 'Touch' make the top 10 too <3 'Warm Winds' as you know was my #1 of last year so i am glad it had such an impact on you too! I cannot wait for new music from her, she is taking yet another departure in sound so consider me very, very intrigued.
April 22, 201510 yr Glad to see the top 10 revealed as I had a lot of faves throughout the rest of the chart and it definitely doesn't disappoint. :D 'Crying For No Reason' was also #3 on my own EOY. I love the progression on that track - the way Katy's voice and lyrics are front and centre at the start and then the crash of production after 'full force' powering through to the end :heart:. The whole thing's executed so perfectly and was such a deserved big hit for her. Adore 'Take Shelter' as well as 'Froot' and 'Happy' (which are two major standouts on a great album for me), and 'Touch', 'Uptown Funk' and '2 On' are all excellent, though I seem to be very much in the minority on here in preferring 'Pretend' to the latter! Great countdown and very nice job on the commentaries as well!
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