10. Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman [R&B]
In my opinion, this is the album that will define the peak of the genre for this generation. We can be honest, R&B has been horrible around a decade. So much so that artists like Alicia Keys and John Legend have marketted themselves as "Soul" singers in hopes of keepign their distance from the school gymnasium. No one has ever criticised Ne-Yo's creative ability. Despite not being as big commercially, he's always been regarded with more artistic respect than say Usher, anyone from 112 or the almighty Chris Brown. However, the consensus around his first two efforts were that, while they may hav showcased budding musical talent, they were just too formulaic. Year of the Gentlemen represents a seasoned and more mature singer/songwriter ready to start broadening his horizon. Paying homage to Sinatra sounded weird at first but it seems chasing that amount of charm allowed this record to groove and hit the heart without sounding like it was made explicitly for high-school parties.
Click to listen
Lie to Me
Miss Independant pt. 2
Closer
9. The Bug - London Zoo [Hip Hop/Dancehall]
As with anything by weird-ass Euro musician Kevin Martin, pass me something this raw and unique and I'll at the very least be intrigued. This project falls somewhere under the electronic genre of dub or dubstep or whatever. Fuck if I know. One things for certain though--London Zoo is hard. Big bass, intense drumloops, varied tempos and sounds--it's got something for everyone despite being more alienating to the average listener than everything else on the list. It bangs at the dancehalls, clubs and psycho indie freakout parties. If you can't tell, this record frustrates the hell out of me because of how hard it is to describe. That's how fresh it is.
Click to listen
Skeng
Poison Dart
Warning
8. Portishead - Third [Electronic]
Like every album here, Third could easily sit atop this list. Unlike these, this album feels as if it was built to be more than just listened to, but experienced. The heavily beat-driven and enormously synthesised indie-electro record, in it's entirety, is for a lack of a better word, hypnotic. Third is no Dummy, but that doesn't take away from how beautiful of a record this is. It's an all encompassing, indescribable journey through music. Portishead has built a masterpiece that is the most emotive and atmospheric record of the year.
Click to listen
Machine Gun
Plastic
Nylon Smile
7. Bloc Party - Intimacy [Indie Rock]
As per usual for indie rock bands, Bloc Party's always been on my radar, although I've never really paid as much attention to them as I probably should have. This record just rocks. Big drums, big riffs, emphatic vocals; in every imaginable was Intimacy bangs harder than anything else this year. It may just be America, but I've noticed it's not getting as much love compared to the classic Silent Alarm and frankly, I don't get why. Mercury, Halo and Biko in sequence bring as much melodic imagery as anything they've ever done while providing a lot more energy and diversity.
Click To Listen:
Mercury
Halo
Biko
6. The Roots - Rising Down [Hip Hop]
It's astounding to think of the volume of quality music these cats have put out and how their sound has evolved over their 12 or so years in the game. What's great about Rising Down is that it feels like a summary of their entire career. Encapsulating the elements from the rest of their catalog, this record is the most diverse and ambitious they have ever put out and it's impossible to not commend them for continuing to push the envelope creating sounds and writing rhymes that make us move, think and act. Black Thought is the best rapper alive and The Roots is the best act in the history of Hip Hop. That is all.
Click to listen
75 Bars
Lost Desire
Rising Up
5. Robyn - Robyn [Pop]
When music is becoming business more than ever before, it's not just refreshing but admirable to come across a record that was crafted as definitively as Robyn. It has taken over a decade to get her own label, her own sound and thus her own record off the ground (at least outside of Sweden), but she nailed it. No longer is she some random popstar clone (Rememer "Show Me Love" from 1998?). Fusing elements from just about every genre there is, without sounding gimmicky or fake, Robyn's alterna-dance-rap-funk-electro-pop-contempo orgy is outstanding from beginning to end.
Click to listen
Dream On
Cobrastyle
Eclipse
4. Al Green - Lay It Down [Soul]
In at number 4 comes the most beautiful album of the year. On Lay It Down, one of today's greatest voices recreates the classic sound of the 1970s soul ballad while incorporating a modern day edge. Producers Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (The Roots) and James Poysner (Erykah Badu) collaborated with Green and together have created an album that (after three years) is in every way perfect. It's the easiest to listen to and the most universally accessible, and although pundits will know better, it's hard to imagine a record this organic as a product of painstakingly hard work despite how effortless it all flows.
Click to listen
Lay It Down (ft. Anthony Hamilton)
Take Your Time (Corrine Bailey Rae)
Standing In The Rain
3. Wale - A Mixtape About Nothing [Hip Hop]
Having learned my lesson not to fall into the hype of "mixtape rappers" (thank you Grafh, Jae Millz, Joe Budden, Saigon, Papoose, etc) I have always taken mixtapes with a grain of salt--despite how talented these dudes may (have seemed to) be. Still, A Mixtape About Nothing is unique. Being themed off of Seinfeld (yes, the TV Show), Wale spins episode themes, quotes and audio clips into verses written with more style, humour, passion, depth and vigor than anything else released all year. Because I know people love arbitrary comparisons, I'll say that Wale is like a more aggressive Lupe. The Kramer is my favourite rap track this year and Wale's second verse should go down as one of the sharpest ever. Oh, and back on Seinfeld, Elaine (Julia Louise-Dreyfus) shows up for a skit which is, as expected, hilarious in it's presence.
Click to listen
The Kramer
The Artisitc Integrity
The Remake of the Remake (All I Need)
2. TV On The Radio - Dear Science [Rock]
Despite having the nerdy artsy look that all rock bands seem to have these days, leave it to a group of guys from Brooklyn to construct something a little more rugged. Dear Science the most diverse album release this year as no two songs on the 11 track joy ride sounding the same, yet each are over the top with energy. In other words, this record bangs. TV On The Radio has finally* been able to deliver brainy, cutting-edge subject matter, with vigorous party anthems, all without compromising atmosphere or fluidity.
Click to listen
Red Dress
Family Tree
Dancing Choose
*Take my use of the word "finally" with a grain of salt. I am no expert on these guys. Dear Science is the first album I have ever heard from them. I did compare it later with Return to Cookie Mountain and Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babies to formulate context, but that was after the fact.
1. Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It [Soul]
Crafting 10-15 songs around a cohesive theme while still showcasing range and innocence is ambitious in today's musical landscape to say the least. The Way I See It is the perfect soul record. Saadiq seemlessly gets you moving, reflecting and loving with the perfect balance of depth and sincerity. There's a dash of cheesiness throughout each track, but it's delivered so honestly that it ironically allows Saadiq's interpretations hit closer to heart. It's the ultimate feel-good record. Resisting the urge to snap fingers and tap toes is futile. This album amazes me. The Way I See It represents Motown with so much modern, personal and creative style it becomes hard to catgorise this as a tribute to any genre or time period. It's greatest piece of music this year and great music is timeless.
Click to listen
100 Yard Dash
Staying In Love
Oh Girl
Honorable Mentions
Seal - Soul
Nas - Untitled
Lil Wayne - The Carter III
Randy Newman - Harps and Angels
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
BB King - One Kind Favor
Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak
Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath
88-Keys - The Death of Adam
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Coldplay - Prospekt's March EP
Nicolay & Kay - Time Line
Deathcab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
J-Live - And Then What Happened
NERD - Seeing Sounds
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
Robin Thicke - Something Else
Reks - Gray Hairs
Ludacris - Theater of the Mind
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One
Bun B - II Trill
Endnotes:
- This list was hard as hell to come up with. How do you compare a rapper from D.C. to a swedish pop singer? I tried to keep the genres in the backburner and appreciate each piece of their own merit, rather than their contributions to their field. In the end it coincidentally fell somewhat parallel to my playcount of each album (barring the million times I have played 808's & Heartbreak). Seems like a decent gauge to me.
- As a 23 year old male, I am aware of how gay my love for Robyn makes me seem. Oh well. I know it was a decent hit back in 7th grade, but I would never think that I'd be jocking her this hard.
Robyn - Show Me Love [1998]
- TV On The Radio was by far the biggest surprise smash for me since I haven't really heard any of their previous efforts in depth. I knew them by name, and have had copied of their older stuff, but Dear Science really turned me around.
- This has been a surprisingly outstanding year for music despite the lack of heavy hitter marquee names (or at least quality cuts by them).
- I really (see: REALLLLLY) wanted to find room Nas, Kings of Leon and Deathcab and I am pretty shocked that I could not.
- I tried to keep the order of this list as objective as possible. In the case that you are interested, my personal and completely subjective favourites are Saadiq, Wale, Robyn, The Roots and Ne-Yo.
- In case you're wondering, I am aware that I wrote much for for Ne-Yo than I did for the others. I tried to fight it, but I felt like I had to in order to defend it's position on the list.
- I am also aware of how many times I used the word "bang".
1 comments:
bomb post. i thought you were only into hip hop... saw the bug earlier this year!
now let's debate about jigga vs. nas... KIDDING. HOLLER HOV!
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