OT: Music Thread

MikeIsGood · Post #221 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 2:55 am

There's finally a bunch of stuff I'm into the past couple of months. Took long enough.

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New Temples!

MikeIsGood · Post #222 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 2:56 am

And Empire of the Sun. This one had to grow on me a bit, but it's been stuck in my head for about a week straight now.

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MikeIsGood · Post #223 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 2:58 am

And new Cloud Nothings too

Their sound this time around is less lo-fi, and I'm really loving it thus far. It's still got their edge, but it's more polished.

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crkone · Post #224 » by **crkone** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:48 am

Watch on YouTube

3Diamantidis · Post #225 » by **3Diamantidis** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:56 am

Nice to hear new music from them after quite some time

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Iheartfootball · Post #226 » by **Iheartfootball** » Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:00 am

This is for my Aussie friends. Is Goat Girl a Courtney Barnett side project?

Edit: Nope. Just a sound alike band from South London. Country Sleaze is good through.

Post #227 » by **ReasonablySober** » Thu Dec 8, 2016 3:31 pm

WESTWORLD SOUNDTRACK.

It's awesome work music.

tski1972 · Post #228 » by **tski1972** » Thu Dec 8, 2016 10:29 pm

RIP Greg Lake.

MikeIsGood · Post #229 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:33 pm

We're a little ways out, so I reserve the right to make a change at some point, but I thought I'd start counting down my top 50 of the year.

First, 26-50 in some random order. I didn't think it was a particularly strong year (though the last quarter or so I found much better stuff), so I had a hard time even ranking 50. But to stick with my previous method...

50. Fountain of Youth (Local Natives)
49. Halifax (Pete Yorn)
48. O B 1 (Jagwar Ma)
47. Dark Days (Local Natives)
46. Under The Sun (DIIV)
45. Go! (M83)
44. Underwater (FOXTRAX)
43. What Am I Becoming? (POP ETC)
42. Big Ideas (The Boxer Rebellion)
41. Strangers (The Rebel Light)
40. Miracle Aligner (The Last Shadow Puppets)
39. Get Out (Frightened Rabbits)
38. You Don't Get Me High Anymore (Phantogram)
37. Villainy (Local Natives)
36. Every Night You've Got To Save Me (Mass Gothic)
35. Wasting Time (Daywave)
34. Out Of My Head (The Griswolds)
33. They Put A Body In The Bayou (The Orwells)
32. Bum Bum Bum (Cass McCombs)
31. How Could You Know (High Highs)
30. Something To Believe In (Young The Giant)
29. Sea of Years (Local Natives)
28. Ladies Don't Play Guitar (Tennis)
27. Birch Tree (Foals)
26. Run Right Back (Sleepwalkers)

MikeIsGood · Post #230 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:42 pm

25. A Head Full Of Dreams (Coldplay)

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I am sure this is influenced by me having seen them this past summer on tour (which is always an amazing experience, as much visual as it is audial), but this is one of the very few songs from their latest album which caught on with me. And I really enjoy it. It's a lot of fun and made for a good, catchy, summer song.

24. Ocean (Rogue Wave)

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A new Rogue Wave release was a nice bright spot from earlier in the year; another song of theirs from this album is also in my top 25. It was their first album in several years and was one of the few this year that didn't disappoint me. It's not as strong of an album as Asleep at Heaven's Gate, but there are several very good tracks and it's all uniquely Rogue Wave.

MikeIsGood · Post #231 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sun Dec 11, 2016 9:18 pm

23. Tearing Me Up (Bob Moses)

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This was the first I had heard of Bob Moses, and it immediately got in my head. The song is seductive - the actual music as much as the lyrics. The track is now Grammy Nominated for Best Dance Recording - a classification I don't really understand, but maybe the track has been remixed. Interestingly, that category has another favorite of mine from this year in The Chainsmokers' Don't Let Me Down. That song won't be on this list, though, as I'm only ranking my favorite rock tracks of the year (alternative, indie, folk, etc).

22. Fire Escape (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness)

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I had no idea who Andrew McMahon was before he went solo. Apparently in his former life he was the lead singer of Jack's Mannequin. Glad he's moved on from that (I was not a fan), and focusing on this new project.

MikeIsGood · Post #232 » by **MikeIsGood** » Wed Dec 14, 2016 2:23 am

21. High and Low (Empire of the Sun)

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I'm pretty sure this song is about LSD. I don't think it's very "hidden", either...Alice D is pretty obvious. I can't relate on that level, but it is catchy as all hell and instantly became one of my favorite when it was released. It's still growing on me, too - might be one of those songs that is higher on my list in retrospect.

20. Your Best American Girl (Mitski)

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I'd put money on this being the top song of the year for many alt/indie blogs, and probably top 5 for many overall. I love it, too - lots of emotion in the lyrics and I especially love the difference of tone and volume between the chorus and verses. Truly, this song rocks.

MikeIsGood · Post #233 » by **MikeIsGood** » Wed Dec 14, 2016 2:36 am

19. Certainty (Temples)

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Psychedelic rock, baby. A Temples release came out of nowhere for me. Maybe I wasn't paying attention, or maybe it was planned. Either way, the debut single from their second album has me thinking (and hoping) we won't suffer a sophomore slump.

18. Rhythm & Blues (The Head and the Heart)

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There weren't many folk-y rock releases this year that did much for me. The overall H&H album didn't resonate with me too much, either, but this particular track caught on with me.

MikeIsGood · Post #234 » by **MikeIsGood** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 12:49 am

17. Youth (Glass Animals)

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A beautiful ode from a passed mother to her son.

16. California Bride (Rogue Wave)

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The second Rogue Wave offering on my list.

Perishable517 · Post #235 » by **Perishable517** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 4:49 pm

Not necessarily 2016 music but I discovered this site

http://radio.garden

A radio tuner that takes you around the world. Pretty darn cool if this type of thing interests you.

MikeIsGood · Post #236 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 4:54 pm

We've arrived to the basketball tie-ins portion of my list.

15. Good Help (If So Hard To Find) (Death Cab for Cutie)

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Easily my favorite Death Cab song in quite a long time...but then again, I guess that had taken a 4-year hiatus. 'Good Help' is so well-crafted lyrically; the opening verse is one of my favorites. And it seems to me this could speak of some NBA players who surround themselves with yes-men

14. Have It All (Foals)

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When I looked up the video for this one, I found out it was officially released in 2015. Regardless, Foals' "What Went Down" is the gift that keeps on giving. It's such an amazing, truly alt-rock album. In their last two albums, Foals has really turned into one of my favorites in the space right now. Yannis (not to be confused with Giannis) sings of a lost love, and the outro drives home it's not one likely to be re-found. If it's the same person he sang of in Mountain at my Gates, we hear the highs and lows on this album.

MikeIsGood · Post #237 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 5:05 pm

13. Good Grief (Bastille)

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An up-beat tune for a very down-beat song. It's a song about death. But the music video is maybe about a bank robbery? Not sure.

12. Before I Fall (Bob Moses)

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Bob Moses was probably my favorite 'find' this year. Tearing Me Up was a cool, stylish, fun song, but Before I Fall is another level for me. The song is stuck in that depression stage of grief over an ended relationship.

MikeIsGood · Post #238 » by **MikeIsGood** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 5:11 pm

Perishable517 wrote:Not necessarily 2016 music but I discovered this site

http://radio.garden

A radio tuner that takes you around the world. Pretty darn cool if this type of thing interests you.

This is just the thread for 2016 in which we can discuss music. Doesn't have to be 2016 music

This site is sweet. It's also a geography lesson. I found some extremely remote island many, many miles off of Portugal almost smack-dab in the middle of the Atlantic. They're playing Nirvana right now.

chonestown · Post #239 » by **chonestown** » Mon Dec 19, 2016 8:15 pm

Seems like a good time to weigh in with close of year thoughts.

I thought it was a great year, or more accurately, every year brings forth great music.

I listened to these 2016 albums a lot:
Blood Orange - "Freetown Sound"
William Tyler - "Modern Country" [heavy Paris, TX soundtrack vibes]

Watch on YouTube

NxWorries - "Yes Lawd"
Anderson.Paak - "Malibu"
Lambchop - "FLOTUS"
Beyonce - "Lemonade"
Solange - "A Seat at the Table"
Her "True" ep from a couple years ago was an overlooked fave [and produced by Blood Orange (!)] and she continues her winning streak. Manages the not inconsiderable feat of somehow making Master P the voice of gravitas in a series of connecting interludes
Parquet Courts - "Human Performance"
Margo Price - "Midwest Farmer's Daughter"
DJ Quik - "Rosecrans"
Considering the length of his career, recorded output and consistent high quality, a case can be made that Quik is the greatest hip-hop producer of all time THERE I SAID IT. I almost think of him as the Henry Aaron of hip-hop: maybe not the best at any given moment, but a constant fixture for over 25 years. Who else can put together ten minute opuses like this?

Watch on YouTube

Jay Daniel - "Broken Knowz"
Detroit techno newbie ditches the programming and goes back to his drumming roots. Minimal yet warm.
Yussef Kamaal - "Black Focus"
Straddling the line between broken beat and live jazz, this manages to evoke a pitched-up version of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters outfits, 4Hero in their live instrument forays and soul producers like Charles Stepney. Really feeling this lately.

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Psychic Temple - "Plays Music for Airports"
Inspired by Brian Eno, but comes off more like Steve Reich helming a session for Strata East or Roy Ayers mainlining blissed-out Krautrock. Bonus points for legendary bassman/living American hero Mike Watt providing the bottom.

Watch on YouTube

I also spent a good chunk of the year listening to Prince and grabbed dozens of gigs of live shows and studio collections in the immediate aftermath of his passing. That little purple weirdo did not half-step a whit.

Post #240 » by **ReasonablySober** » Mon Dec 19, 2016 8:45 pm

I appreciate the work you're doing MiG and I'm sure I'll give at least a cursory listen to these. Like movies and TV, I'm trying to dig in on a lot of year-end lists.

But thing I wish I would see on these lists is a "Sounds like" or "Listen if you like" mention. I've made a lot of media lists and never done it, but I should start.

I like how Kotaku handles their recommendations.

So The Witness, for example:

A Good Match For: Puzzle fiends, people who like a challenge, anyone who liked Myst and wants to see what a modern evolution would be like.

Not A Good Match For: Anyone wanting action, the easily frustrated, people who don’t like puzzles in games and generally just go look up the answers.

So despite getting almost universal praise, I know should probably just skip this one. I hate puzzles in my video games.