:hi: back in this corner of the forum for a third year in a row to count down my top 100 songs of 2024. It will be a points-based system once again based on my weekly personal charts.

 

I aim to kick this off (and catch up with other people's EOY countdowns!) within the next week or so.

 

Any speculation welcome ^_^

 

Previous EOY #1s:

2022 ● Working Men's Club - Widow

2023 ● Heartworms - Retributions of an Awful Life

Fun times! Interested to see what pops up here.

Fun times! Interested to see what pops up here.

Yay *.* my taste is usually quite alternative-leaning but it's been a strong year for pop ladies as the banner may suggest. Expect all sorts!

 

thank you for commenting <3

Yay!

 

Can't wait to see what is on your Year-End list!

Looking forward to reading through this all!

Yay!

 

Can't wait to see what is on your Year-End list!

*.* likewise!

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Looking forward to reading through this all!

Ooh happy to see that you'll be following along, Harry :wub:

 

thank you for commenting <3

TOP 100 SONGS: 100-91

 

 

100. Ela Minus - UPWARDS | 142 points (peak: #1)

99. Charli xcx & Sam Smith - In The City (DJ HEARTSTRING Remix) | 144 points

98. twst - Was I Ever Alone? | 148 points (peak: #8)

97. Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk | 148 points (peak: #3)

96. Fred again.., Lil Yachty & Overmono - stayinit | 149 points

95. Boo - Epiphany Bathing | 151 points

94. Noah Kahan - Northern Attitude (with Hozier) | 152 points

93. BICEP & Benjamin Damage - CHROMA 002 L.A.V.A | 156 points

92. Kelly Lee Owens - Dreamstate | 157 points (peak: #13)

91. moonvampire - cigarette burns | 157 points (peak: #10)

 

Ela Minus has snuck into this year's countdown based on just five strong weeks of charting. Clairo's 'Sexy to Someone' also amassed 142 points but has been kicked out of the top 100, due to Ela's one week at #1 pre cut-off winning the tiebreak. Apologies to fans of that song. I first discovered Colombian singer Ela Minus via the brilliant BuzzJack Song Contest entry 'el cielo no es de nadie', released back in 2020. She has since registered 6 more hits in my top 40; 'UPWARDS' became her first chart-topper. I was immediately drawn to the pulsating, duelling synths and strong hooks such as: "I'd love to save you but you've got to save yourself" and "my mind keeps lying to me". Minus has expressed that the song is about "safeguarding yourself, your body, and your soul" which is instantly apparent in the lyrics. The accompanying music video is quite disorientating and claustrophobic, tapping into the darker themes of the song. 'UPWARDS' has been added to the 6Music playlist this week so hopefully it will pick up more fans in the coming months. Her brand new album Dia is out as soon as 17th January, so hype for that. Charli xcx and Sam Smith charted at a frustrating #41 with 'In The City', pre-Brat in 2023. I liked this song but didn't quite love it... until German duo DJ HEARTSTRING got their hands on it. The euphoric lyrics "I never thought I would find it... but I found what I was looking for" now have accompanying production that is as much of a rush as that feeling. Don't be fooled by Sam Smith retaining a credit because their vocals have actually been cut from this iteration. The DJ HEARTSTRING take on 'In The City' first charted for me in late 2023 but kept up a good run in 2024 and is the only remix to make my top 100 this year. 'Was I Ever Alone?' by twst is another song that first caught my attention in late 2023 but built up most of its run in 2024. BuzzJack members may associate it more with the latter year anyway as Hendinia (RobBot's nation) sent it to the BuzzJack Song Contest back in January. 'Was I Ever Alone?' explores themes of human connection through quite a dreamy and poetic lens during the verses, with lines such: "In the spyglass, they paint blossom trees, every place and in the painting, angels by their dreams." The chorus really hammers home insecure thoughts of solitude with the heavy repetition of the "was I ever alone?" title. These themes are wrapped up in a glitching dance-pop package that follows on well from DJ HEARTSTRING/Charli xcx. 'Was I Ever Alone?' also keeps you on your toes as it switches up to a more mellow pace during the final 25 seconds. Chelsea Wolfe is up next in this section with 'Dusk'. Those with a good memory may recall that this song also featured in my 2023 EOY countdown, after receiving my top marks in BJSC. This was quite late in the year and 'Dusk' managed to stick around long enough in my weekly chart to make it once more! Chelsea improves her 2023 #100 placing and 147 points with... a #97 placing and 148 points! My thoughts on this excellent song have not changed since last year, so I won't bore you all by repeating myself, but one new addition is that Chelsea released the accompanying album She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She in 2024 and I'd highly recommend. Overmono were stalwarts of my countdown last year and are back this time alongside two big names, Fred Again.. and Lil Yachty. One of my 2024 predictions was Overmono achieving a top 40 single and I would've been on the money... if it wasn't for those meddling kids hadn't stalled at #53. Still, it's a top 75 appearance for Overmono at least, will happily take that! The lyrics are pretty straightforward and triumphant, sold well with Lil Yachty's distinctive and emotional delivery. Fred Again.. and Overmono collaborate on the production to create an almighty banger. Fred's DNA lies in the atmospheric build-ups and siren melodies, while Overmono's style can be felt more in the percussion and during that huge, bassy outro. The concept of the visualiser is simple but effective, as the description explains: "...I thought it would be nice to try and capture the moment the yachty hears this song on a properrrr system for the first time!"

 

Boo is a British female DJ who was one of my best discoveries of 2024. 'Epiphany Bathing' is taken from her debut EP Winged Victory and boasts a mixture of thumping club-ready beats and percussion, while also retaining an ambient quality. The minimal lyrics such as "I see the stars in your eyes..." and "I need you..." certainly feed into that more dreamy layer. Boo states Burial as one of her influences and I can immediately hear that inspiration with the opening crunch in the song. Noah Kahan and Hozier provide the sole top 40 hit of this opening section but there are still plenty to come later. 'Northern Attitude' originally existed in solo form when Kahan wrote about his experiences of growing up in the small, secluded town of Strafford, Vermont (pop: approx 2000 people) and how it shaped a closed-off attitude towards his relationships with people. He grows throughout the song, asking for forgiveness and learning to open up more over time. Hozier was later added to a duet version, providing an emotive, intense feature and did such a good job that Noah now says the solo version is "off limits". I love the storytelling, melodies and textured, gritty instrumental. 'Northern Attitude' opens with the strumming of a mandolin and evolves to include a mix of acoustic guitar, bass, drums, organ and other percussive elements. The grand instrumental break at around the 50 second mark packs such a punch and always gives me chills. The high-energy climax is always a satisfying pay-off, also. 'Northern Attitude' charted at #16 in the U.K. during late 2023. BICEP were back with a new capitalised stylisation and a little help from techno artist Benjamin Damage to create pounding 90s-style floorfiller 'CHROMA 002 L.A.V.A'. This has been one of many standalone 'CHROMA' releases under the B.D.B name and comes out on top from the four I charted this year. 'CHROMA 002 L.A.V.A' features uncredited vocals from their ever-reliable collaborator Clara La San, who provides the hypnotic repeated "making me feel..." lines. Welsh producer Kelly Lee Owens released one of the best electronic albums of 2024 for me. 'Dreamstate' is the heavenly title track that takes us on a laidback, mid-tempo journey for its first half. However, the second part of the song ramps up with an acid house direction and vocals that become more passionate to match. 'Dreamstate' received 153 points but loses out on a tiebreak due to a lower peak, as it charted at #13, compared to the #10 showing for 'cigarette burns' by moonvampire. This song was my BuzzJack Song Contest nation Jadakissnia's ninth entry of the year (appearing in BJSC 169) but unfortunately failed to qualify for the final. 'cigarette burns' really caught my attention as the general vibe of it reminded me of 'The Perfect Girl' by Mareux. It has that similar gothic, alternative sound that would soundtrack moody TikToks perfectly. I was of course also drawn in by the additional layer of pulsating synths. I'd say its one weakness is being just 2:37 in length but as Ariana once said... listen twice!

Northern Attitude is a great track and Hozier really adds to it too I think, great to see that appear!

Northern Attitude is a great track and Hozier really adds to it too I think, great to see that appear!

Glad you're also a fan of 'Northern Attitude' :wub: he was a perfect fit!

 

thank you for commenting <3

Listening to these songs as you post them again as I did last year because there will again be quite a few I either haven't heard yet or only heard like once (need to be better with keeping up with music again this year x).

 

First time hearing this new Ela Minus song and it's immediately way more up my street than 'BROKEN' was (I did like that but thought it was a bit more run of the mill than her best work), some of the vocal inflections are reminding me of 'el cielo no es de nadie' and I love the early 00s feel of the production, I see it's genre tagged as electroclash on RateYourMusic so that makes sense! Didn't realise her new album was out so soon so looking forward to that. I think I had heard everything else here at least once before but others I wasn't too familiar with were Boo (also much better than her recent BJSC entry for me, can definitely hear the Burial influence), B.D.B (sounding a little more like BICEP's typical sound than the first CHROMA release, though I think I do prefer that one, this is pretty good too tho) and Kelly Lee Owens (love this one as well, vibes on point). Hoping that BICEP will release an album collating the CHROMA releases at some point this year to give me a good opportunity to familiarise myself with all of them more - was just thinking it looks like they skipped 006 for some reason but looked it up and that one was apparently exclusively released via Discord *_*

 

Still love 'Dusk' ofc, oh my at that scraping in for a second year in a row! 'stayinit' and 'Northern Attitude' are also standouts here, was cool to see Overmono at least getting a minor hit single + Noah's charting songs were very hit or miss for me but this was easily the best of them, Hozier was a good pick for the duet version as he fits it very nicely and their voices sound great together on the final chorus. Who'd have thunk though that it'd very soon be greatly overshadowed by a much bigger Hozier comeback hit x 'cigarette burns' certainly deserved to be a qualifier as well, boo at people turning against your spooky song contest entries in general a bit in the latter half of the year -_- and agreed that the DJ HEARTSTRING remix was a big improvement on the original of 'In The City'. Only one here I'm not super sold on is 'Was I Ever Alone?' which I could never get into nearly as much as twst's other 2 BJSC entries, just ok for me.

the Ela Minus, Boo and Kelly Lee Owens songs here are sounding better than what I've heard from them in BJSC

otherwise I already know and like Fred again, Bicep and especially Charli xcx (the remix is such an improvement) plus Moonvampire who really got robbed in that semi-final.

Listening to these songs as you post them again as I did last year because there will again be quite a few I either haven't heard yet or only heard like once (need to be better with keeping up with music again this year x).

 

First time hearing this new Ela Minus song and it's immediately way more up my street than 'BROKEN' was (I did like that but thought it was a bit more run of the mill than her best work), some of the vocal inflections are reminding me of 'el cielo no es de nadie' and I love the early 00s feel of the production, I see it's genre tagged as electroclash on RateYourMusic so that makes sense! Didn't realise her new album was out so soon so looking forward to that. I think I had heard everything else here at least once before but others I wasn't too familiar with were Boo (also much better than her recent BJSC entry for me, can definitely hear the Burial influence), B.D.B (sounding a little more like BICEP's typical sound than the first CHROMA release, though I think I do prefer that one, this is pretty good too tho) and Kelly Lee Owens (love this one as well, vibes on point). Hoping that BICEP will release an album collating the CHROMA releases at some point this year to give me a good opportunity to familiarise myself with all of them more - was just thinking it looks like they skipped 006 for some reason but looked it up and that one was apparently exclusively released via Discord *_*

 

Still love 'Dusk' ofc, oh my at that scraping in for a second year in a row! 'stayinit' and 'Northern Attitude' are also standouts here, was cool to see Overmono at least getting a minor hit single + Noah's charting songs were very hit or miss for me but this was easily the best of them, Hozier was a good pick for the duet version as he fits it very nicely and their voices sound great together on the final chorus. Who'd have thunk though that it'd very soon be greatly overshadowed by a much bigger Hozier comeback hit x 'cigarette burns' certainly deserved to be a qualifier as well, boo at people turning against your spooky song contest entries in general a bit in the latter half of the year -_- and agreed that the DJ HEARTSTRING remix was a big improvement on the original of 'In The City'. Only one here I'm not super sold on is 'Was I Ever Alone?' which I could never get into nearly as much as twst's other 2 BJSC entries, just ok for me.

*.* I really appreciate your dedication to following along with this each year, hope you make lots of good discoveries!

 

Delighted to hear that you enjoyed 'UPWARDS' a lot too! 'BROKEN' was a #40 $ma$h in my chart and got 5 points from me in BJSC, so I do like it too, but this one is similarly more up my street. Happy for the electroclash revival to continue into 2025 following the likes of 'Von dutch' and 'Perfect (Exceeder)' proving popular last year. Ah well there you go, bring on the new music, pleased that her album and Ethel Cain's are coming very soon. I remember you not being as into 'Hyper Feminine' as me in BJSC so I'm glad that 'Epiphany Bathing' has scratched more of an itch for you. I would definitely recommend the whole of Kelly Lee Owens' Dreamstate for your album catch up if you enjoyed the title track! Fingers crossed for a CHROMA album indeed.

 

I know right, I admire that consistency of 'Dusk' two years in a row. I feel similarly regarding Noah but both 'Northern Attitude' and 'Dial Drunk' won me over! Poor brave 'cigarette burns' :'( not sure if 2025 will start off spooky for me yet, better get looking. Glad you also think the DJ HEARTSTRING remix is an effective facelift, what a banger. Oh yes, I actually did remember you not being that enthusiastic about 'Was I Ever Alone?' when it was sent to BJSC, fair enough! I think I pointed all of the twst entries (justice for 'Are You Filming Me?')

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

the Ela Minus, Boo and Kelly Lee Owens songs here are sounding better than what I've heard from them in BJSC

otherwise I already know and like Fred again, Bicep and especially Charli xcx (the remix is such an improvement) plus Moonvampire who really got robbed in that semi-final.

Oooooh I'm glad you've made some positive discoveries too, Dan!

 

Yeah that was rotten luck for moonvampire, I thought the stars had aligned when 'cigarette burns' got added to Spotify just in time, alas :'( :lol:

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

TOP 100 SONGS: 90-81

 

 

90. Vígundr - Loddfáfnir | 158 points

89. Ariana Grande - supernatural (with Troye Sivan) | 161 points (peak: #10, weeks on chart: 7, weeks in the top 10: 1)

88. Billie Eilish - SKINNY | 161 points (peak: #10, weeks on chart: 7, weeks in the top 10: 2)

87. Kendrick Lamar - wacced out murals | 168 points

86. Seycara Orchestral - If You Were Mine | 171 points

85. Magdalena Bay - Image | 172 points (peak: #13)

84. Vampire Weekend - Hope | 172 points (peak: #11)

83. Tyler, The Creator - Noid | 172 points (peak: #8)

82. Ariana Grande - i wish i hated you | 174 points (peak: #8)

81. Madeline Goldstein - 1996 Expectations | 174 points (peak: #5)

 

Vígundr is the first of three Jadakissnia BJSC artists to appear today. This is a project by Mary Anlezark that apparently translates to 'temple of battle'. I stumbled across the mystical 'Loddfáfnir' one night on YouTube and was captivated by the Old Norse language and atmospheric Wadruna-esque drumming. The music video was also a picturesque and intimate watch. Unfortunately this was another one of my entries that failed to qualify this year and marked a first ever DNQ-streak for Jadakissnia in the process. It did come close; 'Loddfáfnir' missed the final by just one spot. Ariana Grande had quite the year in 2024. She fulfilled a lifelong ambition to play Glinda in Wicked and received acclaim for this comedic performance. On top of that, she also released her seventh studio album eternal sunshine, the first in Ariana's discography that was completely written by her. I couldn't wait to hear it, especially after learning that it was going to be inspired by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a fantastic film. 'supernatural' initially featured on the album as a solo song but a Troye feature was added on the slightly deluxe version of eternal sunshine. He fits on the song like a glove so this new version quickly became my go-to. 'supernatural' was inspired by Ariana moving on to a new relationship after healing from a past heartbreak. This initial excitement is all-consuming in her world like a supernatural force. I think this song has one of the strongest hooks on the album and also boasts some of Ariana's most impressive vocals across the project on the final chorus. I still live in hope that this can become a future single. Billie Eilish narrowly takes the #88 spot here with 'SKINNY'. This is the opening track on my favourite album of 2024, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. I was immediately excited for the direction of this album after hearing the beautiful strings and vulnerable lyrics. Here Billie expresses the conflict of internal vs. external feelings, illustrated by themes like body image and ageing. The lines including: "People say I look happy, just because I got skinny, but the old me is still me and maybe the real me, and I think she's pretty" say it all. 'SKINNY' ends with a one-minute long instrumental that even includes a melodic interpolation of 'THE GREATEST', a track that follows later on in the album. Kendrick Lamar has also made the countdown with the opening track from his latest release. However, Kendrick's voice is actually not the first one we hear on GNX. Instead, Mexican mariachi singer Deyra Barrera opens 'wacced out murals' with a few lines in Spanish, later coming back for 'reincarnated' and 'gloria' too. This was a striking start and Kendrick keeps up the good work with an unfiltered look at what he perceives his legacy to be, fresh off infamous beef with Drake. He concludes the song by stating: "Whacked the murals out, but it ain't no legends if my legend ends", a confident and bold assessment of his impact. He also speaks about the dedication towards his art and the pressures he has faced along the way. It's an exciting place to begin lyrically on the new record and was a highlight for me production-wise too. Seycara Orchestral feature with 'If You Were Mine', a piece that dates back to 2021 but one that came into my life last year, when I sent it to the BuzzJack Song Contest. My nation was ready for a serene start to 2024 with this neo-classical direction and it paid off; my longest Q streak to date was extended after finishing 19th in the final. I quickly fell in love with this gorgeous instrumental from composer Yuang Chen (who aims to create a Studio Ghibli feel through his music) alongside producer Takumi Nishimura and pianist Felix Wong. The piano and cello tugged on my heartstrings throughout and it flourishes in just the right places.

 

Pop duo Magdalena Bay have received a lot of critical acclaim with the release of their latest album Imaginal Disk and I'm definitely aboard the hype train. 'Image' was the second single to be taken from the album and drew me in with its infectious 80s synth-pop meets disco sound. It has those obvious callbacks yet feels pretty futuristic at the same time, a mighty fine balance. 'Image' is all about your ideal self, something that the protagonist of the album wants to achieve through a rewiring of the brain. The psychedelic music video, inspired by the work of Peter Gabriel, goes back in time to the build-up before the appointment, where the 'imaginal disk' will be inserted into her forehead. Brilliantly bonkers. Shoutout to that sudden blast of bass during the final chorus of the song too. Vampire Weekend released another one of my favourite albums of 2024, with Only God Was Above Us. 'Hope' is the longest track on the album with an almost 8 minute duration. It closes out the listening experience by inviting the audience to make peace with the fact that there are some negative forces in the world that cannot be eradicated. The chorus states: "I hope you let it go, my enemy's invincible, I had to let it go". So there's some food for thought to end the project on while enjoying a lot of stunning piano work and swelling brass. Tyler, The Creator also returned with a new album, CHROMAKOPIA. The lead single 'Noid' is about the paranoia faced by Tyler as a public figure. The lyrical delivery is understandably frantic and is backed by a really interesting instrumental, which features: haunting synths, piano, brass and guitar moments that provide more of a rock-rap soundscape. There are vocal samples from the 1977 song 'Nizakupanga Ngoz' by the Zambian band Ngozi Family and Willow Smith also provides backing vocals. 'Noid' keeps you on your toes throughout and experiences an intense switch-up for its second half. The music video, which stars Ayo Edebiri alongside Tyler as his St. Chroma persona, is a gripping, unsettling watch but unfortunately cuts out some of the runtime of the song. Ariana Grande features once more in this section with another album track, this time 'i wish i hated you'. This song is about the complexities that come with the breaking down of a relationship. She felt like the 'grieving' process was difficult, because there was no one to hate or blame, it was just making peace with the fact that a union with a good person naturally ran its course. She wishes them all the best and hopes life "brings you no new pain". This is quite a mature and refreshing outlook and I love the obvious references to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on this one - e.g. "I rearrange my memories, I try to rewrite our life". The instrumental of 'i wish i hated you' is so pretty and Ariana's voice crack during the final chorus of the song is probably the most raw moment on the album, stunning. Madeline Goldstein provided my final BJSC entry of the year with '1996 Expectations'. She offers a trip back to the 80s with new wave, dream pop and dark wave references in her music, but under a modern lens. '1996 Expectations' has fabulous synths, a haunting vocal performance and lyrics that address the conflicting paradigm of being the ideal woman in today's society. The accompanying music video is like being transported back to 90s MTV. This song is the lead single for an upcoming full-length project and I cannot wait to hear more. This entry thankfully rounded off my BJSC year on a positive note, with a 12th place finish in the final!

Hi Jade, great start to your top 100 - I've charted most of the first 10 songs! 'UPWARDS' as mentioned elsewhere, 'stayinit' as you say combines Fred and Overmono's influences very well, 'Dreamstate' with the switch-up towards the end, plus 'Northern Attitude' and 'Was I Ever Alone?' from late last year prior to the latter's BJSC impact - speaking of which, colour me pleasantly surprised to see 'Dusk' make it in again *.* Chelsea's album is fantastic and a couple of tracks will feature in my EOY. Unlucky for moonvampire and Vígundr to DNQ for you, the former victim to the infamous footshoot -_- my own luck ran out the following contest. Your other entries from Madeline Goldstein and Seycara Orchestral are my highlights of the 81-90 section, especially the latter which is quite a lovely arrangement and melody :wub:

Hi Jade, great start to your top 100 - I've charted most of the first 10 songs! 'UPWARDS' as mentioned elsewhere, 'stayinit' as you say combines Fred and Overmono's influences very well, 'Dreamstate' with the switch-up towards the end, plus 'Northern Attitude' and 'Was I Ever Alone?' from late last year prior to the latter's BJSC impact - speaking of which, colour me pleasantly surprised to see 'Dusk' make it in again *.* Chelsea's album is fantastic and a couple of tracks will feature in my EOY. Unlucky for moonvampire and Vígundr to DNQ for you, the former victim to the infamous footshoot -_- my own luck ran out the following contest. Your other entries from Madeline Goldstein and Seycara Orchestral are my highlights of the 81-90 section, especially the latter which is quite a lovely arrangement and melody :wub:

Hello Jim, fantastic that we continue to have plenty of crossover *.*

 

I thought you might approve of 'Dusk' appearing here once more! The album really was a great listen, intrigued to see what will make the cut from it in your EOY.

 

Oops, not one but two painfully close DNQs last year :cry: never mind, time for a blank slate in 2025, here's to good luck for both of us this year!

 

Glad you took to Seycara Orchestral, that was quite a swerve for me (would say that 'Sinking' by Somnium is the closest I've sent to something like that and it was back in 2018) but it really got me.

 

thank you for commenting <3

The Kelly Lee Owens album will certainly be on the list of 2024 albums for me to eventually get around to!

 

Only the one song again in this section that I'd not listened to at all yet and that was 'wacced out murals' (flop Kendrick stan etc. but will definitely be finally listening to 'GNX' very soon x), sounding solid on first listen, can never knock Kendrick on the lyrical front (interesting to hear his take on the whole Super Bowl discourse) and I am here for him leaning into the West Coast hip-hop sound this era, was a bit of a tease waiting for the beat drop on this song but it hit when it finally came in, think this one will probably grow on me with more listens but I am immediately liking it more than the one other song I heard already from the album ('luther'). Others that I haven't listened to enough yet but already knew I was a fan of were 'SKINNY' which is pretty beautiful and one of the standout album tracks from 'HIT ME HARD AND SOFT' for me (shame it's one of the least streamed on Spotify despite being the opening track aw) + 'Hope' which I think I just heard the once before when it came on shuffle while I was with you but I think I remember it being one of my faves from that album too and it's sounded wonderful on a relisten, gorgeously produced so I love that it puts a lot of focus on the instrumental towards the end <3 think it'll work very well as an album closer too.

 

Tyler's album is also one I'll be finally getting round to very soon but 'Noid' was a brilliant first taste of it, the zamrock sample absolutely slaps and Tyler brings excellent production and quotable lyrics as always, a shame he has a bit of a habit of only including like half of his songs in their music videos as it's annoying that the video cuts out some of the best parts of the song for me! At least I did already hear Ariana's album when it came out and these are two good picks from it here, 'supernatural' is my favourite song on the album and definitely feels crying out to be a single, not sure if it could become a hit with a push this late anyway but I'd love to at least get a music video for it, and 'i wish i hated you' is quite a standout moment on the album too, I don't feel super invested in the drama around her personal life but it was nice to hear a more vulnerable song addressing it in contrast to 'yes, and?' Also just listened to 'Imaginal Disk' the other day, I wasn't really sure what I'd make of it but gave it a shot out of intrigue at it being the #1 album of the year on RateYourMusic, I don't think it quite lived up to that hype but I did get a fair number of highlights from it and 'Image' is definitely one of those, think that is my favourite song on the album, I can't shake thinking it sounds like Kylie, maybe if she had an experimental psychedelic era x

 

My favourite of the Jadakissnia entries here is the one that DNQed oops, was a real shame (and quite a surprise given how well Wardruna and my own Heilung did in the past) that there wasn't enough of a niche fanbase for Vígundr (and indeed the newer Wardruna entry) to get through but this was a great addition to the small pile of pagan folk entries <3 The other two are actually my 2 least favourite of your entries of the year but as usual it's a pretty high bar as I did still vote for both of them (4 to Madeline and 6 to Seycara), while I compared another song in this post to Kylie I'll also repeat that I thought '1996 Expectations' reminded me a lot of 'Ray Of Light' era Madonna.

The Kelly Lee Owens album will certainly be on the list of 2024 albums for me to eventually get around to!

 

Only the one song again in this section that I'd not listened to at all yet and that was 'wacced out murals' (flop Kendrick stan etc. but will definitely be finally listening to 'GNX' very soon x), sounding solid on first listen, can never knock Kendrick on the lyrical front (interesting to hear his take on the whole Super Bowl discourse) and I am here for him leaning into the West Coast hip-hop sound this era, was a bit of a tease waiting for the beat drop on this song but it hit when it finally came in, think this one will probably grow on me with more listens but I am immediately liking it more than the one other song I heard already from the album ('luther'). Others that I haven't listened to enough yet but already knew I was a fan of were 'SKINNY' which is pretty beautiful and one of the standout album tracks from 'HIT ME HARD AND SOFT' for me (shame it's one of the least streamed on Spotify despite being the opening track aw) + 'Hope' which I think I just heard the once before when it came on shuffle while I was with you but I think I remember it being one of my faves from that album too and it's sounded wonderful on a relisten, gorgeously produced so I love that it puts a lot of focus on the instrumental towards the end <3 think it'll work very well as an album closer too.

 

Tyler's album is also one I'll be finally getting round to very soon but 'Noid' was a brilliant first taste of it, the zamrock sample absolutely slaps and Tyler brings excellent production and quotable lyrics as always, a shame he has a bit of a habit of only including like half of his songs in their music videos as it's annoying that the video cuts out some of the best parts of the song for me! At least I did already hear Ariana's album when it came out and these are two good picks from it here, 'supernatural' is my favourite song on the album and definitely feels crying out to be a single, not sure if it could become a hit with a push this late anyway but I'd love to at least get a music video for it, and 'i wish i hated you' is quite a standout moment on the album too, I don't feel super invested in the drama around her personal life but it was nice to hear a more vulnerable song addressing it in contrast to 'yes, and?' Also just listened to 'Imaginal Disk' the other day, I wasn't really sure what I'd make of it but gave it a shot out of intrigue at it being the #1 album of the year on RateYourMusic, I don't think it quite lived up to that hype but I did get a fair number of highlights from it and 'Image' is definitely one of those, think that is my favourite song on the album, I can't shake thinking it sounds like Kylie, maybe if she had an experimental psychedelic era x

 

My favourite of the Jadakissnia entries here is the one that DNQed oops, was a real shame (and quite a surprise given how well Wardruna and my own Heilung did in the past) that there wasn't enough of a niche fanbase for Vígundr (and indeed the newer Wardruna entry) to get through but this was a great addition to the small pile of pagan folk entries <3 The other two are actually my 2 least favourite of your entries of the year but as usual it's a pretty high bar as I did still vote for both of them (4 to Madeline and 6 to Seycara), while I compared another song in this post to Kylie I'll also repeat that I thought '1996 Expectations' reminded me a lot of 'Ray Of Light' era Madonna.

Hope that 'wacced out murals' will click with you more on further listens. I can understand why 'luther' was an obvious commercial pick from the album but it doesn't do much for me either. Justice for 'SKINNY's skinny streaming count compared to her siblings -_- oh yes, that's right, 'Hope' came on shuffle last year at one point when you came to stay before we visited Bal. Happy that you have taken to it as well, hopefully that's a good sign of you enjoying the album in full, it's definitely within my top 3 of the year <3

 

'Noid' simply must be heard in full so yeah the music video length, while unsurprising from Tyler, is a bit of a shame! 'supernatural' seems to be such a fan favourite (and off the top of my head I think it was the track that Mark was most complimentary about in the relevant Billboard Breakdown video too), would love if it could still get a music video. A proper deluxe version of eternal sunshine seems to be coming out this year so maybe something new will be pushed instead, but we shall see. I'd say that Imaginal Disk is my #4 album of the year so pretty good going if not quite up there with RateYourMusic's #1 ranking too. Glad 'Image' was a standout for you too anyway, what a tune.

 

Poor brave Vígundr :cry: although those who seemed to like it were pretty big fans so that is at least rewarding. I remember reading a review about Madeline Goldstein that compared her music to 'Madonna mixed with Depeche Mode' or something along those lines, so you're not going crazy with that one :lol:

 

thank you for commenting <3

Great start to your Top 100 with appearances from Ariana Grande, Tyler, The Creator and Billie Eilish.

 

 

Great start to your Top 100 with appearances from Ariana Grande, Tyler, The Creator and Billie Eilish.

*.* yay, glad you appreciate some of the artists that have appeared so far!

 

thank you for commenting <3

Billie's 'Hit Me Hard and Soft', I thought was fantastic, weren't that much of a fan of her material until this year that is.