Darkness starts to fade after the love tonight

 

 

ALBUM

 

03. Janet Jackson - Unbreakable

 

Shoulda Known Better / BURNITUP! / No Sleeep / Dammn Baby / Night

 

Opening the top 3 is the triumphant return of Ms. Jackson. I can quite confidently say that this is the second best Janet album for me now and that is high praise indeed. 'Unbreakable' is one of the most real, truthful and heartfelt albums I think i've ever heard. It speaks of huge global issues, like the Jacksons have always done, but this is one of the rare times where the messages are explored tenderly and without the cheese factor. It's incredibly relevant, as she sings of terrorism, global love and acceptance and all of this is coupled alongside the personal aspects of the album - her own trials and tribulations and experience. She introduced the era by explaining that the album was her conversation and it's so true because the words throughout it are directly from her mouth and it's a revealing indictment for an already well-known and much loved artist.

 

I've already talked about my highs in 'BURNITUP!', 'No Sleeep' and 'Shoulda Known Better' but I feel I have to return to the latter. The song harks back to her 'Rythm Nation' era and she tries to comprehend how her dreams of a peaceful world there were totally futile because nothing has changed. It's a heartbreaking realisation for Janet and the listener and she lets you soak in the harsh reality of the world around the album. The flow from Night - No Sleeep -Dream Maker / Euphoria is a clever little trio of musical gold and another highlight. It's a totally consistent album and a brilliant listen from one of the most experience musicians out there. She still has all the grace and poise as she's always have and still has so much more to say.

Blue Neighbourhood :heart: Such an incredible album. It did feel ever so slightly hollow to me at first but that really couldn't be more wrong, the lyrics are packed with emotion and meaning and it defines "grower" I think. The world should be at Troye's fingertips right now :(

Deep down in the depth of my rebel heart

 

 

ALBUM

 

02. Madonna - Rebel Heart

 

Iconic / HeartBreakCity / Living For Love / Ghosttown / Holy Water / Best Night / Rebel Heart / Addicted / Graffiti Heart / Queen

 

This album is so expansive and so bitty and so multidimensional I think the only fair way to review it is in the separate sections that made up the Rebel Heart Tour, with my own categories.

 

Joan of Arc

First and foremost the album is fearless. It comes from the most successful, well-known, legendary female artists of all time. And doesn't she show it. The songs here, 'Bitch I'm Madonna', and the insatiable 'Iconic' reveal that she is still on top of her game mentally. She still has full control of her musical output, her styling, her messages. She is a fearless warrior throughout most of the album but still has the heart to empower listeners. In songs like 'Holy Water' and 'Devil Pray' much like her mid-90s output, she subverts religion and assumes the role of messiah herself and it's totally believable because she has lived and learned more than any other artist going.

 

The body

But with every shout of power and control, there is the reverse. A moment of tranquility and vulnerability. In 'HeartbreakCity', perhaps th emost beautiful indictment of this side of Madonna she reveals how f***ed up she really is and how the mad world around her that she alludes to in 'Ghosttown' is everpresent in the heart and soul of everyone listening. She is here the broken woman, the dismantled car in the 'Body Shop', the fallen 'Queen' wearing nothing but her 'Beautiful Scars'.

 

S.E.X and liberation

I see this side of the Rebel Heart experience as her letting go of inhibitions. In the lead single from the album, she reveals her revolution of love, a dedication to striving for beauty and love and acceptance for all. Her struggle to rise after every (literal) fall, her desire to strip away the constraints of normalised expectations, and the desire to be as sexualised, as liberated, as free as she can be.

 

Party

The unapologetic bitch still maintains that music is the cure and here in songs such as the title track you learn that her party is that of freedom of the self. The album is autobiographical (explicitly in songs such as 'Veni Vidi Vici' and 'Rebel Heart', but more implicitly throughout the entirety of it. As fabulous of 'MDNA' was, it wasn't really Madonna exploring the self, but here she is and she reveals the troubled human behind the star.

 

Overall the album takes many guises, constantly transforming and morphing into new entities. Over the year of listening to it on repeat, different songs emerge as highlights, and others fade. The super, bonus, deluxe edition is the best version. It is in this version (with the final track, aptly being 'Queen') that the true message of the album is revealed. It's at times stunning, at others cringe-worthy, but it is always essential, fun music and that is why Madonna is my favourite: she never gives a f*** about the critics and she just sings her heart out with no inhibitions. I am moved by the album, I am left dancing and grooving, I am in ecstasy, I am an emotional wreck: some will say it is too overbaked, too long, too many different facets, but for me it is vintage Madonna with a modern twist and it'll go down as a fantastic, important showing from her.

No sign of Autotune Baby? :o :')

 

Rebel Heart was too long I think but enjoyable, lots to enjoy :heart:

Madonna two :o

Love that review of Rebel Heart! I find the fact it is so long is part of the beauty of it: there's so much to discover and, even a year after those initial tracks were released, I'm still noticing something different in a song or one will suddenly really shine out of nowhere despite maybe ranking lower down on the album. I know we all keep down-playing its classic status in worry it may be too early to suggest such a notion, but I really think it is proving to be so as it already has the replay value and personality and all other greatness of Like a Prayer, Ray of Light, Confessions and the like.

Troye's album is very good indeed. <3 I hope we can do a listening session of it together at some point, with Joseph of course. ;o Leave ha blue neighbourhood. :music:

 

 

JANET. :wub: :wub: Reminder: We are seeing her in LESS THAN THREE MONTHS. Fire in the Haus, burn that son of a... ;O / Such a lovely album, your write-up for it is on point/how I feel. <3

 

 

Madonna... lamfooo what's that mean. :') I've not actually given Rebel Heart a listen, despite buying it. :/ :/ I really should get around to it. I kept seeing this MD... what was it, MDNA? I kept seeing MDNA and MDNA and I just thought, finally I just wrote... WTF is MDNA? ...and it happened to be Madge, it happened to be what Madge is calling herself on the tour!! Everybody was like up in arms and then people were like, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard, blah blah... and then I got into trouble with people that I don't even know.

Rebel Heart is honestly so choc full of moments that it's hard to pinpoint one. From the narcissism anthem that is "Bitch I'm Madonna" to the guilty pleasure "Holy Water", it just takes you on a journey.

Oh so THAT'S why you changed your username :o

 

(I didn't mind Touch I think it was called and the song with Zedd Papercut)

Sometimes I wish that I could change...

 

 

ALBUM

 

01. Carly Rae Jepsen - E•MO•TION

 

Run Away With Me / Let's Get Lost / Your Type / Warm Blood / When I Needed You / All That / Emotion / Favourite Colour

 

 

There wasn't really any competition The 5th to 2nd albums could have been in a different order but the #1 soared miles ahead of the rest. But it didn't start out like that. In early listens of this album, I was merely impressed and enjoyed it. I appreciated the quirky pop sentiments and the brilliant production, but upon returning to it on several occasions, I began to realise just how brilliant the entire thing was.

 

On the surface, the album is full of undeniably catchy pop tunes, almost to the point where it can infuriate because of just how catchy it is. Then there is the production. It's a style of pop music that I rate above all others, the dark, intricate synths, with brooding connotations and stunning sounds. Then there are the lyrics, which on the surface seem simple (and the lead single to the album didn't really help her cause) but they are full of substance, personality, ideologies and worries when you really listen to them. It's a fun album on the surface, but deep down it is anything but that; you can listen to it through so many different lens, and every one reveals different lights and responses to the songs.

 

The artist and the music are one in this album and i'm not quite sure how she managed to make such a drastic transformation from 'Kiss' Carly, but she did it and then some. It is absolutely packed with glorious songs full of emotion and passion and they all exhude perfect pop qualities of catchy beats with meaningful lyrics. She is the broken lover throughout most of it, always willing for more. 'When I Needed You', 'Warm Blood', 'I Never Get To Hold You', 'Run Away With Me', 'Your Type', 'Emotion', 'Gimmie Love', 'All That', 'Let's Get Lost'.. a plethora of songs that are fun on the surface but reveal a hidden desire for more when really listened to. She is singing constantly about wanting more in love, or life (her career?), or just from people in general. It's a state of being we can all relate to, living life with people but wanting more from them, more laughter, more dancing, more desire, more emotion. And there are the other songs, which although not totally fitting with the concept she seems to be creating, fill the album up with yet more memorable moments.

 

It's a stunningly crafted album, almost scarily perfect to the point where you know exactly what song is coming next just because of the mood the previous song leaves you in. The lyrics are true to the artist, she is singing about her lost love, her career, her fans, her entire life and this transcends the album, to becoming something meanginful for all. We all feel the emotions she sings about, but her beauty, grace and presence on the album, makes us feel these emotions more intensely and lovingly. I listen to the album so often, but I am rarely left with the same emotion at its end two times in a row. It has the power to make me feel super happy and super sad at the same time and its all down to the multi-layered, pop she has created. I'm ruining out of words to describe how it makes me feel, it's just fantastic, beautiful, music in every inch of the album.

 

I don't know where she or this came from, but i'm so grateful for it. I'd say it's the best pop album i've heard in years and it's sure to stick with me for many more years to come. A true beauty in every sense of the word and if you feel emotions of any kind, give it a listen and get lost in her fantasy.

 

...but I know that I won't change for you.

Perfect #1, we're a match. *.*

 

 

I have no words for this album that you haven't already said. It's just exquisite, I'll ALWAYS come back to it.

I've not heard Carly's album but that review makes it soooo tempting! I'm getting Confession-tees for sure.

Great number one :heart:

Carly #1 yass :cheer: :yahoo:

 

Great follow up to Kiss. Need to hear Tug of War again!

Best album of 2015, correct! :heart: :wub: I'll be listening to it for years to come, I'm sure. No duds at all, so many highlights.

^ glad to see a lot of shared love for the top 2! :heart: I will get commenting on others' charts too now i'm continuing my own :heehee:

Baby let's take the long way home

 

 

 

SONGS

 

16. Taylor Swift - Style

 

Gah this will be finished soon promise! Continuing the singles chart is the stunning, underrated (on here at least) single from Taylor's hugely successful album '1989'. 'Style' for me epitomises the style of music that is strongest atm especially in pop. Wonderful sentiments, shrouded in mystery and darkness with production to match. The production in this is my favourite in the entire album, it's beautiful and intricate and her soaring vocals throughout it power the song to insane highs. The final OUT OF STYLE chants are glorious and show just how wonderful the song is. I love the night-time driving mood and atmosphere that's created and the delectable way in which she entrances the listener.

 

15. Carly Rae Jepsen - Let's Get Lost

 

And continuing the theme of night-time driving, this song takes that more literally. It's in a simialar vein to the former but the lyrically it is far superior. In fact from my #1 album, i'd say lyrically this is my favourite song. It's the perfect depiction of the FUN but deeply DARK and heartbreaking mood of the entire album. It starts gloriously, those exploding synths, the joyous vocals.. but in the chorus her vocals reveal something more. I listen so intently and can't help but imagine her depressed face while she sings it. It's a beautiful message, one we can all relate to unfortunately but she spins the subject matter round and makes it hopeful and positive. It's a special song full of warmth, heart-break and it exudes passion. Love her and it to bits and if you're unsure about giving the album a listen, give this album track a go and then see if it changes your mind ~ (no idea what those final horn sounds are either..)

 

omg the vocals in the chorus for Let's Get Lost is BEAUTIFUL :wub:

Style is a highlight from 1989 also.

Edited January 14, 20169 yr by Rachel Spadzten

Let go of everything

 

 

 

SONGS

 

14. Sigala - Easy Love

 

MJ lives on. The eternal musical gift of the King of Pop was this year reignited in spectacular fashion. At first I rolled my eyes at the blatant, trend-chasing cover of the classic Jackson 5 number but over time it crept under my skin. Hugely enjoyable and funky, with an adorable video and so feel-good. It became the anthem to me moving into my new flat so it'll always have good memories but even away from that, an incredibly fun number full of sick dance beats and good vibes~ :music:

 

13. Years & Years - King

 

This was a difficult one to order. It kept switching positions in my affections with the other big single still to come from Years & Years but I think the other will last longer in my affections and stirs up more feelings when I listen. Still this was a BEAST of a song for me in 2015. It was a club staple, being played weekly and every time I lost my shit to it. So brilliantly well produced and vocalised and just an all-out fun party banger. And amidst that is the lovely sentiments of the song and the lovely lyrics that go along with the production. A fine way of bringing the band into the mainstream and although they may forever try to replicate this sound in the future, it's set the benchmark very high!

 

4 great tracks :wub: