Posted January 6, 20169 yr As you all know I never finish anything, so please don't expect me to finish this either. I shall endeavour, however, to provide a list of my favourite songs, albums, tv shows and movies in this thread. Probably in list form for the most part to aid the chances of me actually doing it. LET THE EXCITEMENT BUILD
January 6, 20169 yr Author I do have the Madonna lists sitting, ready to go actually. I just never get the time to do it properly (or maybe I'm just awful at time management).
January 7, 20169 yr Author Up first, albums. There are 10 of them. 2015 wasn't a banner year for albums really, many big names disappointed leaving the door open for many surprising entries in my top 10 (and one blindingly obvious inclusion, but WHERE will the old hag have placed?). Some CLUES: - At least one penis made it into the top 10 - TWO UK #1's made the list (along with 5 others which made the top 40) - ONE of the albums in this list exists solely in a heavily edited form, any other versions are merely fictional creations The following missed the list: Ellie Goulding - Delirium - far too long and unfocused to even be called an album. It's a playlist at best and sadly one which features a few stellar moments and a mass of middling numbers which blend into one after about 20 minutes in. The Weeknd - Beauty Behind The Madness - some excellent songs, but it's a bit MUCH as an entire work and a bit too long Kylie Minogue - Kylie Christmas - one of the better recent Christmas albums and a number of excellent original tracks, along with a handful of solid covers makes this her best album since 'X', but the obviously limited listenability hinders it. Florence and the (life support) Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - I had such high hopes for this that I think I was always going to be disappointed with it. It's no less good than Ceremonials really, but it just felt like a bit too much of the same this time round really.
January 7, 20169 yr Author #10 - Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Song http://s3.amazonaws.com/quietus_production/images/articles/17271/cover400x400_1424290985.jpeg 07 Darlings 08 Accelerate 09 Fade Away 07 Silencer 07 Kamikaze 07 Memorial 10 Delirious 09 Slowly 08 Trust Me 07 Insects I know I've just rated the songs individually, but really rating an album like this is rather pointless as it's really best listened to as a body of work. Something which is becoming increasingly rare these days as artists (*ahem* ELLIE GOULDING) release what are essentially collections of songs and nothing more cohesive or thought out. Ten Love Songs holds together very well and I imagine will still sound as good (if not better) years down the line. That it's 'only' 10th here is more down to the fact it came out at the start of the year and so I've had less time for it than others recently and it feels like its worn off me a little. But I digress, it is an excellent album and easily her best to date.
January 7, 20169 yr Author #09 - Marina And The Diamonds - FROOT 08 Happy 10 Froot 08 I'm A Ruin 08 Blue 09 Forget 07 Can't Pin Me Down 07 Solitaire 06 Better Than That 08 Weeds 10 Savages 07 Immortal Hands up, I DESPISED Marina before this album. Her uber pretentious attitude to her music and the disgusting Electra Heart STUFF, combined with hooks about as meaty as a stick insect all added up to someone not for me. Froot, therefore, had a lot of work to do to win me over. The title track did just that with it's enormous hook laiden chorus and melodic middle 8 it's cemented itself as one of my favourite songs of the year. The album is largely very good too, jumping on the almost always amazing 80's bandwagon for much of it, there's plenty to love. Forget and Savages are definitely the major standouts for me, the latter of which uses one of my all time favourite song structures, the ever extending chorus with each repeat.
January 7, 20169 yr Author #08 - Years & Years - Communion http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/2015/29632-communion.jpg 07 Foundation 07 Real 10 Shine 09 Take Shelter 07 Worship 08 Eyes Shut 08 Ties 10 King 09 Desire 09 Gold 07 Without 07 Border 08 Memo 07 1977 07 I Want To Love 09 Breathe The first UK #1 album on the countdown from the undisputed breakout act of 2015, 2 of the biggest and best chart hits of the year along with a raft of other amazing singles and great live performances have cemented Y&Y as a Johnkm fave. Obviously the highlights here are the singles and I must admit the album would be a little higher if I didn't tire of Olly's voice after about half an hour, but that's not to say there aren't a host of glorious album tracks hidden away here too. Gold and their amazing cover of Breathe are obvious standouts.
January 7, 20169 yr Author #07 - Say Lou Lou - Lucid Dreaming http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_njpayytMYy1tzetr0o1_1423815370_cover.jpg 10 Everything We Touch 08 Glitter 07 Games For Girls (feat. Lindstrom) 06 Julian 08 Angels (Above Me) 07 Peppermint 09 Beloved 10 Wilder Than The Wind 08 Nothing But A Heartbeat 07 Skylights Another album which suffers somewhat from being so consistent. Say Lou Lou have a brilliantly defined, distinctive sound that is hypnotic and addictive. That presents itself as a massive positive when an individual track, or an EP comes out, but over the course of a 50 minute album can become a little bit of a drag. Bar Julian almost every track here is a winner though, so it's a very enjoyable album and a number of tracks are absolutely sensational so it's not all doom and gloom. I fear this is about all we're going to get from them now, aside from maybe a few random singles here and there, but if this is their sole album they could have done far worse.
January 8, 20169 yr Author #06 - Allie X - COLLIXTION Vol. 1 http://static.idolator.com/uploads/2015/01/Allie-X-Collxtion.jpg 08 Hello 10 Catch 08 Prime 07 Tumor 08 Bitch 07 Good 11 Sanctuary More an EP than a full blown album, the electropop-blogbeloved-goddess that is Allie X decided to drop whatever you want to class it as in 2015, complete with a series of videos which seemed designed to cause NAUSEA and potential DEATH more than anything else. Aside from her apparent love for prententious w*n**ry she really brings substantial tunes to the party too, which is what matters after all. Catch sounds as amazing almost 2 years on as it did that first time and nothing bar Sanctuary on the album can quite match that but it's an exciting road of brash, bold pop with a strong sense of identity and purpose. In that respect she reminds me a lot of early Gaga, except more consistent. I won't say too much about Sanctuary at this point, but safe to say is an 11 and then some.
January 8, 20169 yr Author #05 - SVE - My Religion 09 Riot 10 BLKNBL 08 Evaporate 07 Two Wolves (Feat. Lord Fear) 08 Screaming In Your Bed 10 My Religion 07 Talking To The Walls 08 Undone 08 Paint A Picture 07 In This House Another one who has been floating around the blogosphere for ages and took her sweet time releasing an album. It was more than worth the wait though, with a kind of pop which is all too rare these days. It's honest and upfront, joyous music. Yet it's not basic or generic or dated, it's as fresh and up to date as it gets, she just GETS classic melodies and hooks unlike many other current popstrels. It's pretty much great from start to finish, with a glorious 1-2 PUNCH of Riot and BLKNBL opening the album and pretty much summing up the next 40 minutes perfectly. Indeed the 2 best tracks here (BLKNBL and the title track) both smashed their way through various BJSC contests this year, sadly not for Altyr (in the year of the sell out she didn't quite FIT).
January 8, 20169 yr Not heard of Susanne Sundfør before so I had a listen to your 10/10 track 'Delirious' as well as 'Slowly' for the latter was produced by Röyksopp who I recognise - her voice sounds like a combination of different artists but most notably Björk and the vocalist from CHVRCHES (a compliment, btw). Both tracks sound great, really lovely production, but I can tell it's an album that is best experienced as a full body of work rather than individual tracks. Not listened to Marina's album aside the title track, which I feel sounds rather similar to her previous work so I'm surprised you don't like her past two albums. Marina herself has always come across as a bitch but she does do incredibly catchy pop songs. I need to keep giving Y&Y's album more listens because it keeps growing but I don't feel I've heard its full potential. The singles have been chosen perfectly - 'King' and 'Shine' representing the absolute best of the album - but other tracks didn't impact on me until several listens in. Not that I was expecting an album full of single-worthy tracks but I had high expectations beforehand. Say Lou Lou are a band I keep seeing about on Buzzjack but I can't say anything I've heard from them has had a lasting impact on me. Will have a look at the others soon!
January 8, 20169 yr Author #04 - CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/36804-every-open-eye.jpg 08 Never Ending Circles 10 Leave A Trace 09 Keep You On My Side 07 Make Them Gold 11 Clearest Blue 07 High Enough To Carry You Over 09 Empty Threat 08 Playing Dead 09 Bury It 08 Afterglow 08 Get Away 08 Follow You 07 Bow Down The second album is often a very difficult one for many acts who had an album as beloved and successful as CHVRCHES. If they make more of the same, they run the risk of negative comparisons to previous material and if they branch out they run the risk of abandoning fans/critics and what made them popular. In many senses, therefore, Every Open Eye is all the more remarkable because it doesn't really do EITHER, yet it works perfectly. The production is a little more 80's and a little beefier here and there (Clearest Blue, Keep You On My Side and Bury It in particular) yet sounds like a natural continuation/extension of their debut. Lauren's vocals are still as clear as crystal and float on top of the busy electronic landscapes like a cloud high effortlessly, just detached enough when needed and just emotional enough when needed to sell every single song to perfection.
January 8, 20169 yr Author #03 - Madonna - Rebel Heart (The Johnkm Edition) http://www.yvelinesradio.com/infos_all/affiches/2015/m-09-03-2015-21h36-58-madonna-la-reine-de-la-pop-revient-avec-rebel-heart-.jpg 07 Living For Love 09 Devil Pray 10 Ghosttown 08 Hold Tight 10 Joan Of Arc 09 Messiah 09 Rebel Heart 08 HeartBreakCity 08 Beautiful Scars 09 Inside Out 07 Borrowed Time 08 Addicted 08 Queen 10 Wash All Over Me Rebel Heart, in it's official release, is a total mess. It is quite clearly two distinct albums, I shall refrain from the obvious classification as one as shit and one as good, because that would be unfair. I will simply say that one half is not the music I want from Madonna and much of it ranks as career worsts (a group which sadly expands exponentially with each new album it seems). That said, the album also features some of her best work since Confessions. Ghosttown is without a doubt her best single since Jump. It's as close to a classic Madonna ballad as we've had since the mid 90's and came with an exquisite video which showed that she still IS the queen, when she can be bothered. Rightly so it has been critically lauded, even if commercially it did about as well as you would expect a Madonna second single to do in 2015. Living For Love isn't a favourite of mine, but I do appreciate what she was trying to do with it and I think it's enough of a statement to survive the cull. In the absence of the glorious original Rebel Heart, it was about as good a choice for lead single as there was. Speaking of the title track, the glorious electro-dance-pop version was scrapped when it leaked in late 2014 and replaced with an acoustic guitar version which showcases some lovely vocals (and works wonderfully live) but just isn't as good. The strength of the album clearly lies in the balladry and the slower, more introspective moments. As an album it's the most personal she's been since at least American Life and realistically probably Like A Prayer. Songs like Joan Of Arc paint her as a much more vulnerable, human figure than she often portrays herself and 'Queen' is just about the perfect lament on what was and what is in terms of her career and legacy. It's not a stellar song by any means, but the personal lyrics and emotional connection really help lift it and sell it. And last but not least, the obvious album closer Wash All Over Me is perhaps her most lush sounding song since Ray Of Light. It has an almost hymnal quality to it and yes some of the lyrics are typical nonsense Kablahblah Madonna but it really is wonderful to hear her still bring out something of that calibre. It's an album which clearly has infinitely more thought poured into it than either of it's predecessors and it shows that she still can make excellent music over 30 years into her career, even if the public no longer care. All it takes is effort.
January 12, 20169 yr Author #02 - Carly Rae Jepsen - E•MO•TION 08 Run Away With Me 08 Emotion 06 I Really Like You 05 Gimmie Love 09 All That 04 Boy Problems 04 Making The Most Of The Night 10 Your Type 07 Let's Get Lost 09 LA Hallucinations 09 Warm Blood 11 When I Needed You 07 Black Heart 06 I Didn't Just Come Here To Dance 07 Favourite Colour 08 Never Get To Hold You 09 Love Again So, falling just short of the #1 spot is the surprise album of the year. To say I hated Carly first time out would be an understatement, she defined basic pop and all the more annoying was that she was among the ONLY proper pop around. Jump forward to 2015 and the musical landscape had changed so much, but so had Carly (thankfully). Emotion jumps on the 80's bandwagon, but unlike other big name stars from the America's, she actually follows through on the promise of what that should entail. Chunky synths, big, glorious pop hooks and syrupy sweet vocals layered over the top. Unabashed pop joy. So it only makes sense that she flopped this time out. The album isn't entirely killer, which is the main reason why it missed out on the top spot. I have curated my own 13 track album of amazingness from what was released though (seen above through the joys of strikethrough). The songs that don't work for me all have one major thing in common: weak choruses which don't go anywhere. Perhaps fittingly they are also, for the most part, the ones which miss the 80's vibes most strongly and sound much more 2015 than 1985. Anyway, onto the good, because there is a LOT of good on here. Warm Blood and All That are left field pop at their finest and given a smart, pop edge thanks to Carly's vocals and some amazing production. Your Type has a sledgehammer chorus and When I Needed You is, quite simply, an incredible song which sits comfortable in 2015, yet also effortlessly harks back to the 80's with an incredible middle 8 and a genuine love for that music shines through so brightly. All in all, this is a body of work which has clearly had more love and care poured into it than almost any other album that came out in 2015 (that I listened, of course) and that really shows. In an era where soulless automatons like Jess Glynne are the biggest popstars around it is a depressing time, but then you find a beacon of pop joy like Carly and the world seems a little less bleak.
January 12, 20169 yr Author #01 - Brandon Flowers - The Desired Effect http://static.stereogum.com/uploads/2015/05/19170325/Brandon-Flowers-The-Desired-Effect-560x560.jpg 08 Dreams Come True 10 Can't Deny My Love 11 I Can Change 10 Still Want You 07 Between You And Me 10 Lonely Town 08 Diggin' Up The Heart 07 Never Get You Right 10 Untangled Love 08 The Way It's Always Been If anyone had told me at the start of 2015 that my 2 favourite albums of the year would be CRJ and Brandon Flowers, I would have been deeply amused. I've always been a fan of his and indeed his first solo album was a solid affair, but it was unexciting and more of the same. For his second foray into solodom Brandon took a much poppier route, yet still maintained his rock routes. It's another case of using the 80's out of genuine love and affection and blending it with his sound and modern production to create a timeless sound, as at home in the 80's and it in whatever they are calling this decade. From the dramatic synth intro of Can't Deny My Love, you know you're going to be in for something special, it's a perfect pop song with a perfect chorus that instantly gets stuck in your head, but also sounds like it's existed for 30 years and you've just unearthed some hidden gem. The same is true for much of the album in fact, it's a genuinely exciting feeling listening to an album with such a clear purpose, executed brilliantly. The other highlights are largely the singles, as it's a relatively short album that's still about half the album! The big surprise for me was Untangled Love, which sounds eerily similar to Charlotte Perrelli's Take Me To Your Heaven in the chorus (seriously, listen to them back to back, I'm not making this shit up). That in turn also makes it sound like an ABBA song, which is obviously about as high as praise gets. I Can Change has been the biggest grower across the 7 months we've had the album, a slow burn chorus which is constantly building to a crescendo that finally unleashes itself upon your ears in the final quarter of the song. A joy from start to finish, this will definitely be an album I return to a lot into 2016 and beyond.
January 12, 20169 yr Oh my, I'd have never called that to be your #1 album. It's an album that's really high up on my listening list, I'd have expected to get it after I was briefly obsessed with Can't Deny My Love back when that was out but I never got quite around to it and it just remained 'quite high' up my yet-to-listen to list. I'll have to take a listen now. From your top 10, CHVRCHES and Susanne Sundfor are nearly matched to where I put them so that's of course very lovely, I'd somehow forgotten you were a fan of CHVRCHES, but yes all the same.
January 12, 20169 yr Ooh, I love your #1 album (and its write-up). Completely agree on how the record seamlessly borrows and updates the best elements of 80s pop/rock through a genuine passion for and understanding of the era. It definitely succeeds in having a timeless feel throughout, and I love that it's short and sweet because every track brings something uniquely valuable. The singles are generally my standouts (with three of them making my EOY top 100) but I've got such a soft spot for the storytelling in 'The Way It's Always Been' :wub:. Also great to see some 'Untangled Love' appreciation as I don't recall that being mentioned much by people as a highlight. Love the chorus. <3 'Communion' and 'FROOT' are also great shouts here ^_^. Haven't heard most of the others unfortunately. Edited January 12, 20169 yr by Noahspike
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