Top 10 Albums of 2013

I feel obliged to come up with a list of my top 10 albums of 2013. Hopefully it's not completely identical to whatever Pitchfork/Metacritic/Okayplayer year end list that's out there. This isn't a definitive list of the albums of 2013; this is a list of my favourite albums of 2013. It wasn't as easy to put together as I thought because this year was pretty good for music so it was tough to narrow it down. I could think of at least 5 more albums that could've gone here but oh well... Oh yeah, this may be a countdown from 10 to 1 but it doesn't strictly represent the exact order of things.

10. Rapsody - She Got Game

I only discovered Rapsody this year (shout out to Carlos) and she was probably the greatest discovery I made this year because it appears that female rappers are a dying breed. Please, don't come at me with Nicki Minaj, I can't take it right now. Legendary producer (can I say that?) 9th Wonder did beautiful things on tracks such as 'Coconut Oil' (with a feature from Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan) and 'Complacent' where the choice of feature was once again important because, arguably, Problem made the track. The one that clinched it for me though was 'Feel Like (Love Love)' featuring one of my all time favourites, Common. With all the cliché references to corny black romance films, it shows that you don't have to whore yourself out to be a female rapper, just act like a real woman.

Stand-out track: Feel Like (Love Love)


9. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2

 

No one will ever understand how happy I am that Eminem is appearing on this list because for me he hasn't had a worthy album since The Eminem Show back in 2002 (not to say that Encore wasn't a decent album, it just wasn't what I had grown to expect from Eminem). This album, however, was a return to form and it was the Eminem that I had grown to love in the Marshall Mathers LP. I was a bit skeptical about Eminem releasing a sequel to his masterpiece album but it didn't disappoint. Yeah, I thought 'Bezerk' was a little bit too Beastie Boys-esque for a 41 year old man in 2013 but that was down to Rick Rubin's production. The other singles, however, (particularly 'Rap God') reminded me that Eminem IS a living rap legend. His collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on 'Love Game' was one of the collaborations of the year but for me the final track Evil Twin confirmed that this album is one of the best rap releases this year. Eminem's alter ego, Slim Shady, returns and Eminem's wordplay relates back to his previous albums so flawlessly that it almost seems like Relapse and Recovery never happened.

Stand-out track: Evil Twin



8. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

I, like the rest of the world, was really excited when I heard about Daft Punk's first album in 8 years being released because I was living in the hope that it would be far better than their previous album, 'Human After All'. Hearing the lead single 'Get Lucky' I had the most ridiculous fangirl moment. OMG NILE RODGERS, THE KING OF DISCO, PHARRELL, ONE OF THE GREATEST PRODUCERS, AND DAFT PUNK ON ONE TRACK! OMGOMGOMG! Yeah that had worn off by July, not because I liked the song any less, but because it was soooo overplayed. The whole album had accents of Nile Rodgers, his influence was definitely there. I feel like it was a homage to Daft Punk's influences (as seen on the 9 minute "documentary" 'Giorgio By Moroder' and 'Contact' which sounds like Daft Punk meets Fatboy Slim). For me the best track has to be 'Within' which, from the piano intro, you would never guess would evolve into a sorrowful song about self discovery. 

Stand-out track: Within



7. Haim - Days Are Gone

Haim are exactly the kind of band the world needs: a group of sisters who sound like a spin-off of 70s rock band Fleetwood Mac. "Why is this necessary to restore life's natural balance?" you ask. Fleetwood Mac are a group of naturally talented musicians whose life experiences enhanced their lyricism. Haim may not have all that experience yet but the message from tracks like 'The Wire', their signature song, have to be relatable to people all over the world: "Don't wear your heart on your sleeve, that way a break up is easier". 

Stand-out track: Forever



6. Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit

Liquid Spirit is everything you should expect from a jazz album: powerful vocals, excellent instrumentation and great musicianship. The title track is Gregory Porter's attempt to make finger snapping jazz mainstream again and honestly, I don't think the song would be that out of place on the right radio show. 'Lonesome Lover' has all the features of jazz that I would think of at first thought: the 3/4 time signature, the Big Band instruments including a double bass and what I think is a tenor sax solo. 'Musical Genocide' has exactly the kind of message that I believe more musicians should be preaching; their genre must not die in order to fit in with musical trends. 'No Love Dying' conjures up all of the gospel influences that Porter may have in order to write what is probably the most sensitive love song I've ever heard.

Stand-out track: No Love Dying

Top 5 will be posted tomorrow. Happy new year! 
@_bleggy_ 
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5 Reasons why Frank Ocean's 'channelORANGE' will NEVER be as iconic as Janelle Monáe's 'The ArchAndroid' or Sufjan Stevens' 'Illinois'

Metacritic are idiots.


Actually, Metacritic aren't to blame. The reviewers on Metacritic are idiots.

Have the reviewers even heard these albums or are they just supporting Frank Ocean because all of a sudden he is a symbol for everyone who needs to be liberated in some way? Have they heard TheArchAndroid, the album that is STILL the best album of the decade that Janelle Monáe released more or less on her own with little publicity? Have they heard Illinois which taught me that I like folk music even though I thought I didn't like folk music? Does Frank Ocean know me better than myself like Sufjan Stevens does?

I'm the kind of person who would give something a chance before passing a judgement. Before channelORANGE came out I knew a few Frank Ocean songs and I thought they were all very similar. Not bad, just similar. I could have just assumed 'Hey, I've heard one so I've heard them all,' but I didn't. Unfortunately for me, by the time I heard the album I realised that most of it was the same with a few exceptions. Seriously though, the much hyped 'Pyramids', which has been compared to the incomparably awesome "Purple Rain", is waaaaay too long and if I say that about a song, that's a problem because I listen to far longer songs; it needs to be artfully done. Maybe Frank Ocean has it in him to produce an iconic essay of a track later on but he's not in the position to do that now. Janelle's already done that! Have you even heard 'BaBopByeYa'?

And Sufjan does that ALL THE TIME in Illinois but seriously, "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders". I shall say no more.

Truth is (and no this isn't the hater in me talking) the best track on channelORANGE isn't better than the weakest track on The ArchAndroid or Illinois. Tried and tested theory.

I feel the need to release the anger and frustration I feel right now because this is an injustice! 'Why?' you ask. I'll give you five, just five, reasons.


1. The publicity stunt: 

You know the one. Frank did well here, expressed his true feelings, freed himself of a burden and all that jazz. But was it a coincidence that this was 6 days before the release of his début album? It probably was inevitable but the timing meant people who were like 'Who the hell is Frank Ocean?' are now like 'I like this Frank Ocean guy because he's bi and black in a homophobic group and he stands up for himself'. Not saying it's a bad thing to portray but timing... suspect. Janelle Monáe is with Bad Boy Records and while Diddy is sitting there promoting his pseudo-hip-hop group 'Diddy Dirty Money', her greatness is going to waste and she has to make it on her own. And Sufjan... well have you ever heard of Asthmatic Kitty? Thought not. Moving on.

2. The concept

• The ArchAndroid - Cindi Mayweather, an android, falls in love with human Anthony Greendown and has to escape the 'android authorities'. Sounds like a movie, right?
• Illinois - an album exploring places and journeys (in "Chicago"), people (in "John Wayne Gacy Jr.") and even events (in "Casimir Pulaski Day") related to the state of Illinois. So ambitious that it worked just fine.
• channelORANGE - explores the problems of having more money than sense ("Super Rich Kids") while once again subtly (but yet not so subtly) hints about his sexuality in a handful of tracks. Original?

3. The lead single

When no one really knew who she was, Janelle Monáe released this:

'Tightrope' is an awesome song, and if it was anyone else's song, it would probably be the best on the album. But it is up there...

Sufjan Stevens doesn't even really release singles. He doesn't need to. It doesn't stop the fact that he's actually got a signature song.

"Chicago" is so perfect. The arrangement and instrumentation should mean that it's over-produced but it's just not. 

Frank Ocean's lead single was the overplayed "Thinkin' 'Bout You". 

Truth is, it's not a bad song, not at all. Lyrically, it's great. However, it's a bit boring isn't it? And in terms of memorability, it doesn't touch "Tightrope" or "Chicago" does it?

4. Originality

This one's easy. Have you ever heard a crazy kinda funk/metal/pop fusion like this?

I've seen Janelle Monáe perform "Come Alive" live before and let me just say, it's comparable only to the most intense acid trip.

I could actually just write down the name of one Sufjan Steven's song and you'd give him marks for creativity: "The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!" Yeah. That's the name of a song. But I won't do that listen to this:

This is: "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!" The funniest thing is even though you don't think so at first listen, it could actually be part of a zombie movie cos it's so strange.

Then Frank Ocean's got "Pyramids".

This is no "Purple Rain". Good attempt, yeah, but he just doesn't have it in him... yet. I found myself wondering when this song was going to end because it felt like different songs stitched together, somewhat disjointed. Anyhoo, I think we can see that while Frank Ocean has a lot of potential creativity wise, he's just not there yet...

5. Repeatability

How many albums can you actually listen to from beginning to end at any given time? The ArchAndroid is one of them. Once you get past the UNBELIEVABLE first four tracks (which transition seamlessly one after the other) you'll realise you can't not listen to the rest of the album, especially because it doesn't have the 'second half of the album slump'.

Then there's Illinois which you carry on listening to for two reasons. At first it's simply because you're intrigued, then you realise that as you listen the album ACTUALLY gets better!! It's a beautiful upward slope =)

You may misunderstand this post to mean that I think channelORANGE is a bad album. I don't. Not at all. In fact, it is a pretty good album but not comparable to The ArchAndroid or Illinois. Truth is, a lot of the tracks sound very similar... or the same and I can't deal with songs on repeat and that's what it feels like most of the time.

channelORANGE is not and never will be better than The ArchAndroid or Illinois so don't EVER think otherwise. I have promised myself I'll never rant about Frank Ocean, or this injustice in particular, again so savour this moment. You might not get a more passionate post from me again...

@_bleggy_