We were kidding earlier. This is our last post of 2011. For real this time.
Edit: Oh cool... Our last post of the year was a fail because we thought we could fix the embed to start at 21:32 which is the best part if you're drunk.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Hot Mix 2011: #60 to 51
Looks like this will be our final post of 2011... It's been real. We got half of Hot Mix 2011 done this year. Top 50 will be posted next year. See you then! (We're in a rush, so yeah... minimal effort...)
"Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
60 Grass Is Green “Tongue In Cheek”
On Chibimoon, Grass Is Green continues banging out their specific brand of cathartic progressive-hardcore, carefully selecting more bizarre guitar patches, chords and rhythms seldom heard elsewhere (possibly all invented by the band themselves) making it sound like they've got some serious demons to battle. "Tongue In Cheek" is probably our favorite example from their 2011 material, although we're damn good and ready for GIG to take it a step further on Ronson, their forthcoming LP set for release early next year.
59 Radiohead “Little By Little” / “The Daily Mail”
We fucked up last week by waiting until just now to check out Radiohead’s new single which has been out for 10 days or something.. So we haven't really given enough digestion time for either song. We’ve decided to impulsively include “The Daily Mail” after only discovering it a few hours ago (just to be on the safe side) for three reasons: #1 Cool song, #2 Shockingly discernible lyrics, and #3 It sounds like it could’ve been on Amnesiac. Perhaps this single was purposely released late in the year to suggest more traditional rock upon their next LP??
“Little By Little” is the one TKOL track that beckoned us throughout 2011 and a big reason why we ended up easing into the other seven songs. Like most people, we got into this record by “listening to the album” (weird concept, we know), as opposed to odd promo TV appearances like SNL or The Colbert Report - fun to watch for Radiohead fans, although we’re doubting it won them any new followers since the music is pretty much inaccessible to Joe Football Beer D-Bag.
58 Wilco “I Might”
Did Jeff Tweedy cheer up? “Art Of Almost” suggests “no,” while “I Might” suggests “maybe.” We preferred “maybe,” with it’s awesome fuzz bass and keyboard sounds. Wilco may have accidentally sunk into dad-rock territory, but their 2011 songs were anything but ordinary. An effort much appreciated.
57 Jay-Z & Kanye West “That’s My Bitch”
With its James Brown samples and Q-Tip’s production assistance, “That’s My Bitch” is the most accessible song from Watch The Throne, although not necessarily the most radio-friendly. Funk-beats (unfortunately) have no place on current hiphop stations (which is the exact reason why it SHOULD be a single... Another huge opportunity lost due to shit marketing...). Kanye gets to brag (what else is new) about enjoying life among the 1%: “I paid for them titties, get your own.” “My dick worth money.” Gross. No one wants to hear about your Kanye-wang. Keep it in your shorts next time.
P.S. Technically a 2010 song which fell under our radar WITH A GOOD EXCUSE: It leaked 11/22/10, the same day as MBDTF’s release date. (The album version sounds better anyway.)
56 Katy B “Movement”
We gave Katy B’s On A Mission a shot for being a "critics favorite." “Movement” won us over pretty quickly since it's the one that sounded most like Kylie Minogue (and because we LOVE handclaps). It's definitely a solid full-length thanks to super-slick production and Katy's knack for vocal hooks, although we disagree with it's tag as a “dubstep” record. More like "2-step," a genre we haven't heard nearly as much since the early-2000’s.
55 Curren$y “She Don’t Want A Man”
More super-dark-sounding hiphop... Love love love. We’re lost for a decent critique this time around (unless we discuss the hot chick in the video which would be cheap), so instead we’d like to say how happy it’s made us that Beavis And Butthead called 3Oh!3 “asswipes.” God, it’s about time they really ripped on someone, and if anyone deserved it, it’s 3Oh!3. In a way, this is the moment of B&B’s return that we’ve truly been waiting for... Back to Curren$y, we're not sure if Weekend at Burnie's or whatever it's called was a mixtape or an official release... It kind of doesn't matter, we're just filling space so the picture fits n stuff..
54 Pet Milk “Phantom Lovers”
We finally learned one fun fact about Pet Milk, which is they're from Philadelphia. We knew zero fun facts last year when "Cherry Outline" placed at #56. Improvements are fun. Their 2nd EP includes more jangle-guitar, more pop elements, and higher production value, and we're hoping for more new shit from them in 2012. Also we now love 2 bands with the word "Milk" in their name (along with Milk Music).
53 Rob Crow “Prepare To Be Mined”
#MoreHandclaps! The stream of quick guitar riffs in this song sort of help it to sound like the younger distant cousin of Pinback's “From Nothing To Nowhere” (probably our favorite song from 2007). We’re considering this a REALLY good sign for next year... (Rob Crow LP’s always show up less than a year before Pinback records... Plus they released two 7-inches in 2011. Get ready.) Also you should follow Rob on twitter.
52 Jill Scott feat. Anthony Hamilton “So In Love”
Our most sincere congratulations goes out to Tyler The Creator who wrote on twitter “I Ate Out Jill Scott” at least twice in 2011. We’re hoping it’s true. This song reminds us of the badass smooth jams that get played on WBLS (Today’s R&B and Classic Soul) out of New York. For some reason this is the most irresistible “soul” track we’ve heard in years (probably because it resembles late-70’s/early-80’s grocery store jams).
51 Rival Schools “Choose Your Adventure”
Quicksand reunion? Let’s hope that’s coming. In the meantime, we’ll take Rival Schools, who unexpectedly owned the fuck out of their 2nd LP after a 10 year hiatus. Except not THAT unexpected since curveballs are a normal thing these days... The artists who we most anticipate usually don’t release the best albums anymore. Who would’ve suspected Rival Schools? Not us. “Choose Your Adventure” kinda sounds like if Muse decided to tone down on the theatrics and start kicking serious ass. (The bass somewhat resembles “Supermassive Black Hole,” but in a good way.)
| Continue to Page 6 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
"Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
60 Grass Is Green “Tongue In Cheek”
On Chibimoon, Grass Is Green continues banging out their specific brand of cathartic progressive-hardcore, carefully selecting more bizarre guitar patches, chords and rhythms seldom heard elsewhere (possibly all invented by the band themselves) making it sound like they've got some serious demons to battle. "Tongue In Cheek" is probably our favorite example from their 2011 material, although we're damn good and ready for GIG to take it a step further on Ronson, their forthcoming LP set for release early next year. 59 Radiohead “Little By Little” / “The Daily Mail”
We fucked up last week by waiting until just now to check out Radiohead’s new single which has been out for 10 days or something.. So we haven't really given enough digestion time for either song. We’ve decided to impulsively include “The Daily Mail” after only discovering it a few hours ago (just to be on the safe side) for three reasons: #1 Cool song, #2 Shockingly discernible lyrics, and #3 It sounds like it could’ve been on Amnesiac. Perhaps this single was purposely released late in the year to suggest more traditional rock upon their next LP?? “Little By Little” is the one TKOL track that beckoned us throughout 2011 and a big reason why we ended up easing into the other seven songs. Like most people, we got into this record by “listening to the album” (weird concept, we know), as opposed to odd promo TV appearances like SNL or The Colbert Report - fun to watch for Radiohead fans, although we’re doubting it won them any new followers since the music is pretty much inaccessible to Joe Football Beer D-Bag.
58 Wilco “I Might”
Did Jeff Tweedy cheer up? “Art Of Almost” suggests “no,” while “I Might” suggests “maybe.” We preferred “maybe,” with it’s awesome fuzz bass and keyboard sounds. Wilco may have accidentally sunk into dad-rock territory, but their 2011 songs were anything but ordinary. An effort much appreciated.
57 Jay-Z & Kanye West “That’s My Bitch”
With its James Brown samples and Q-Tip’s production assistance, “That’s My Bitch” is the most accessible song from Watch The Throne, although not necessarily the most radio-friendly. Funk-beats (unfortunately) have no place on current hiphop stations (which is the exact reason why it SHOULD be a single... Another huge opportunity lost due to shit marketing...). Kanye gets to brag (what else is new) about enjoying life among the 1%: “I paid for them titties, get your own.” “My dick worth money.” Gross. No one wants to hear about your Kanye-wang. Keep it in your shorts next time.P.S. Technically a 2010 song which fell under our radar WITH A GOOD EXCUSE: It leaked 11/22/10, the same day as MBDTF’s release date. (The album version sounds better anyway.)
56 Katy B “Movement”
We gave Katy B’s On A Mission a shot for being a "critics favorite." “Movement” won us over pretty quickly since it's the one that sounded most like Kylie Minogue (and because we LOVE handclaps). It's definitely a solid full-length thanks to super-slick production and Katy's knack for vocal hooks, although we disagree with it's tag as a “dubstep” record. More like "2-step," a genre we haven't heard nearly as much since the early-2000’s.55 Curren$y “She Don’t Want A Man”
More super-dark-sounding hiphop... Love love love. We’re lost for a decent critique this time around (unless we discuss the hot chick in the video which would be cheap), so instead we’d like to say how happy it’s made us that Beavis And Butthead called 3Oh!3 “asswipes.” God, it’s about time they really ripped on someone, and if anyone deserved it, it’s 3Oh!3. In a way, this is the moment of B&B’s return that we’ve truly been waiting for... Back to Curren$y, we're not sure if Weekend at Burnie's or whatever it's called was a mixtape or an official release... It kind of doesn't matter, we're just filling space so the picture fits n stuff..54 Pet Milk “Phantom Lovers”
We finally learned one fun fact about Pet Milk, which is they're from Philadelphia. We knew zero fun facts last year when "Cherry Outline" placed at #56. Improvements are fun. Their 2nd EP includes more jangle-guitar, more pop elements, and higher production value, and we're hoping for more new shit from them in 2012. Also we now love 2 bands with the word "Milk" in their name (along with Milk Music). 53 Rob Crow “Prepare To Be Mined”
#MoreHandclaps! The stream of quick guitar riffs in this song sort of help it to sound like the younger distant cousin of Pinback's “From Nothing To Nowhere” (probably our favorite song from 2007). We’re considering this a REALLY good sign for next year... (Rob Crow LP’s always show up less than a year before Pinback records... Plus they released two 7-inches in 2011. Get ready.) Also you should follow Rob on twitter.52 Jill Scott feat. Anthony Hamilton “So In Love”
Our most sincere congratulations goes out to Tyler The Creator who wrote on twitter “I Ate Out Jill Scott” at least twice in 2011. We’re hoping it’s true. This song reminds us of the badass smooth jams that get played on WBLS (Today’s R&B and Classic Soul) out of New York. For some reason this is the most irresistible “soul” track we’ve heard in years (probably because it resembles late-70’s/early-80’s grocery store jams).51 Rival Schools “Choose Your Adventure”
Quicksand reunion? Let’s hope that’s coming. In the meantime, we’ll take Rival Schools, who unexpectedly owned the fuck out of their 2nd LP after a 10 year hiatus. Except not THAT unexpected since curveballs are a normal thing these days... The artists who we most anticipate usually don’t release the best albums anymore. Who would’ve suspected Rival Schools? Not us. “Choose Your Adventure” kinda sounds like if Muse decided to tone down on the theatrics and start kicking serious ass. (The bass somewhat resembles “Supermassive Black Hole,” but in a good way.)| Continue to Page 6 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
Friday, December 30, 2011
Hot Mix 2011: #70 to 61
"Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
70 Broken Water “Normal Never Happened”
More monster/end-of-the-world jams from Olympia. The “A” section is the tearing-down-buildings part, followed by the “B” section in which pensive-Godzilla wonders about why he exists and the greater questions of life...
69 Frank Ocean “Thinking About You”
“Do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I’ve been thinking ‘bout forever...” Lonely 2AM... The fadeout after only 3 minutes suggests the ambien mercifully kicked in rather quickly. We haven’t heard a soulful falsetto like this since young Al Green. (Give him some time; he might actually reach “mature Al Green” caliber.) We’re confused about the lack of a second Frank Ocean mixtape including this song and “Swim Good.” (Wikipedia reveals “Thinking About You” was actually written for a female R&B singer who renamed it “Thinking About Forever...” Ehh... Frank’s version is WAY better...)
68 Kavinsky “Nightcall”
We very badly wanted to love CSS’s latest LP... We’re hoping they can bring back the excitement from their self-titled at some point, but in the meantime, we have “Nightcall.” Huge 2011 trend: Dark, lonely songs about delirious late-night drunk dialing someone you miss terribly. This one got backed by some hot Boards Of Canada beats. Also we wish we were watching Drive right now.
67 Panda Bear “Slow Motion”
Sounds like he might be singing about drowning? We’ve been reassessing Person Pitch throughout 2011, and it’s way better than we originally thought. (It appeared in our favorite 2007 albums somewhere around #23, and it should’ve been top 3.) Part of the reason why we gave it another chance arrived after we heard Tomboy and surprisingly wished that it sounded as trippy as Person Pitch. Depending on our POV, “Slow Motion” was the obvious album highlight. (Pitchfork didn’t think so, but what do they know...)
66 Metronomy “She Wants”
We probably would have loved Metronomy’s The English Rivera even more if there were more songs like “She Wants,” which appears to be an homage to Wire’s Chairs Missing and 154 (two of the greatest albums ever). Also the “noooo” part (or was it "ohhhh") towards the end is like straight-up gangsta shit.
65 The Weeknd “High For This”
This might be the first year when so many free unofficial “mixtape” releases have been considered for such high acolades, such as Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra and The Weeknd’s House Of Balloons. The Weeknd especially evokes a raunchy darkness that we never realized was so essential to modern music, as if 90’s R Kelly collaborated for some slow jams with Keith Flint, the spikey-haired “lead singer” character from Prodigy’s “Firestarter” and “Breathe” videos.
64 Smith Westerns “Only One”
#ImpossibleToReview As much as we appreciate the strong hooks on Dye It Blonde, Smith Westerns are still another one of those bands that sound like Wincing The Night Away (like Surfer Blood but better) with a style as generic as indie-rock gets these days, making it nearly impossible to generate any type of unique or interesting critique. Nothing too crazy... Just good songs.
63 Diehard “Barflies”
Diehard's DIY-funded The Times We Didn’t Have Fun accordingly presents a progression in songwriting and production from their first 2 EPs, leaving a path wide open for even more seriously ass-kicking loud-rock on future releases. The songs “Diehard,” “Christine,” and “Barflies” (among others) seem to totally point in that direction, with the latter striking us as a favorite mostly because we’re suckers for bass distortion and the frequent-yet-subtle “shit” and “fuck” in the lyrics.
62 Meek Mill featuring Rick Ross “Ima Boss”
VH1’s 2-hour special on crack’s association with hiphop was one of our favorite TV moments of the year, partially because it included interviews with “Freeway” Ricky Ross, who expressed disdain for the rapper who he claims stole his identity. A lot of people who love 90’s hiphop are probably not enjoying the current era of mainstream rap that Rick Ross’s Maybach Music branding has partially ushered, but from where we stand, 2011 introduced more fresh talent and hope than almost any year since the mid-90’s.
61 Beyonce featuring Kanye West & Andre 3000 “Party”
Andre, come back... We need that dude. “Party” sounds sorta-90’s to us. Overall, it’s probably the least-party-sounding song with the word “Party” in its title from 2011. It’s closer to a 30-something get-together where people who secretly wish they were more adventurous drink champagne and discuss stock options, and then later they get down and dirty for some boring-ass 30-something missionary. But at least they’re getting laid. “Internet buzz” suggests that Beyonce fans consider this a weak single-choice, which makes us love it even more. (The hugely overrated “Countdown” was seemingly only enjoyed by music critics with a throbbing hardon for Beyonce. Someone had to say it.)
| Continue to Page 5 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
70 Broken Water “Normal Never Happened”
More monster/end-of-the-world jams from Olympia. The “A” section is the tearing-down-buildings part, followed by the “B” section in which pensive-Godzilla wonders about why he exists and the greater questions of life...69 Frank Ocean “Thinking About You”
“Do you not think so far ahead? ‘Cause I’ve been thinking ‘bout forever...” Lonely 2AM... The fadeout after only 3 minutes suggests the ambien mercifully kicked in rather quickly. We haven’t heard a soulful falsetto like this since young Al Green. (Give him some time; he might actually reach “mature Al Green” caliber.) We’re confused about the lack of a second Frank Ocean mixtape including this song and “Swim Good.” (Wikipedia reveals “Thinking About You” was actually written for a female R&B singer who renamed it “Thinking About Forever...” Ehh... Frank’s version is WAY better...)68 Kavinsky “Nightcall”
We very badly wanted to love CSS’s latest LP... We’re hoping they can bring back the excitement from their self-titled at some point, but in the meantime, we have “Nightcall.” Huge 2011 trend: Dark, lonely songs about delirious late-night drunk dialing someone you miss terribly. This one got backed by some hot Boards Of Canada beats. Also we wish we were watching Drive right now.67 Panda Bear “Slow Motion”
Sounds like he might be singing about drowning? We’ve been reassessing Person Pitch throughout 2011, and it’s way better than we originally thought. (It appeared in our favorite 2007 albums somewhere around #23, and it should’ve been top 3.) Part of the reason why we gave it another chance arrived after we heard Tomboy and surprisingly wished that it sounded as trippy as Person Pitch. Depending on our POV, “Slow Motion” was the obvious album highlight. (Pitchfork didn’t think so, but what do they know...)66 Metronomy “She Wants”
We probably would have loved Metronomy’s The English Rivera even more if there were more songs like “She Wants,” which appears to be an homage to Wire’s Chairs Missing and 154 (two of the greatest albums ever). Also the “noooo” part (or was it "ohhhh") towards the end is like straight-up gangsta shit. 65 The Weeknd “High For This”
This might be the first year when so many free unofficial “mixtape” releases have been considered for such high acolades, such as Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra and The Weeknd’s House Of Balloons. The Weeknd especially evokes a raunchy darkness that we never realized was so essential to modern music, as if 90’s R Kelly collaborated for some slow jams with Keith Flint, the spikey-haired “lead singer” character from Prodigy’s “Firestarter” and “Breathe” videos. 64 Smith Westerns “Only One”
#ImpossibleToReview As much as we appreciate the strong hooks on Dye It Blonde, Smith Westerns are still another one of those bands that sound like Wincing The Night Away (like Surfer Blood but better) with a style as generic as indie-rock gets these days, making it nearly impossible to generate any type of unique or interesting critique. Nothing too crazy... Just good songs. 63 Diehard “Barflies”
Diehard's DIY-funded The Times We Didn’t Have Fun accordingly presents a progression in songwriting and production from their first 2 EPs, leaving a path wide open for even more seriously ass-kicking loud-rock on future releases. The songs “Diehard,” “Christine,” and “Barflies” (among others) seem to totally point in that direction, with the latter striking us as a favorite mostly because we’re suckers for bass distortion and the frequent-yet-subtle “shit” and “fuck” in the lyrics.62 Meek Mill featuring Rick Ross “Ima Boss”
VH1’s 2-hour special on crack’s association with hiphop was one of our favorite TV moments of the year, partially because it included interviews with “Freeway” Ricky Ross, who expressed disdain for the rapper who he claims stole his identity. A lot of people who love 90’s hiphop are probably not enjoying the current era of mainstream rap that Rick Ross’s Maybach Music branding has partially ushered, but from where we stand, 2011 introduced more fresh talent and hope than almost any year since the mid-90’s. 61 Beyonce featuring Kanye West & Andre 3000 “Party”
Andre, come back... We need that dude. “Party” sounds sorta-90’s to us. Overall, it’s probably the least-party-sounding song with the word “Party” in its title from 2011. It’s closer to a 30-something get-together where people who secretly wish they were more adventurous drink champagne and discuss stock options, and then later they get down and dirty for some boring-ass 30-something missionary. But at least they’re getting laid. “Internet buzz” suggests that Beyonce fans consider this a weak single-choice, which makes us love it even more. (The hugely overrated “Countdown” was seemingly only enjoyed by music critics with a throbbing hardon for Beyonce. Someone had to say it.)| Continue to Page 5 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
Hot Mix 2011: #80 to 71
"Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
80 Pusha T featuring Tyler The Creator “Trouble On My Mind”
#ProudOfTyler Relatively unknown throughout summer 2010, Tyler was not only nominated for VMA’s the following summer, but was also awarded the opportunity to create music alongside his idols. That’s how quickly it works these days, resting among our favorite “We won” moments of the year. We still maintain that “Chad Hugo’s pupils” was intended to be a weed reference - not a racist Asian joke - but we’re apparently the only ones who think so.
79 Ringo Deathstarr “Day Dreamy”
As much as we enjoy the (equally) unfortunately named The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, they still sound very much like a product of their time compared to the painstaking authenticity of RD’s Colour Trip. A SHOE-IN for our SHOE-GAZE LP of the year (See what we did there?), it may prove to have more longevity thanks to the loud songs having much harder punches, far trippier aspects on the dreamy songs such as “Day Dreamy,” and (arguably) better songwriting overall...
78 Dope Body “Enemy Outta Me”
With respect to (an awesome noisy rock band called) The Men and the past year of
abundant loud catharsis, Dope Body still claimed possibly our favorite noise single of 2011 with “Enemy Outta Me.” We recall its Youtube comments claiming that it ripped off Nirvana’s “Mr. Moustache,” so it's possible a subconscious connection helped out in this case, although we don’t necessarily hear the connection...
77 Chris Brown “She Ain’t You”
Chris Brown is clearly among the most loathsome assholes in pop music, and frankly we’re getting tired of seeing so many respectable artists working with him, helping to justify his scumminess. To make matters worse, “Look At Me Now” got its dick sucked because Busta Rhymes was asked to insert an irritatingly endless “fast-rap” cameo that impressed lots of really dumb people. If there were any justice in this world, chicks would not be lining up at 5AM to see Chris Brown perform on The Today Show or whatever shitty morning show he sang on wearing his cute little bowtie. He’s a fucking piece of shit who does not deserve success.
With that said, “She Ain’t You” is a testament to the power of “Human Nature,” a song we slightly regret not including in “80 Jams From The 80’s” a few years back. There’s something about combining elements from SWV’s “Right Here” along with the MJ original
and creating something fresh out of it... As scummy as he is, we still found the concept irresistible and among our guiltiest pleasures of the year...
76 Bombay Bicycle Club “Bad Timing”
Familiar in a good way... The singer totally sounds like the guy from The Secret Machines. (Whatever happened to those guys? Ten Silver Drops was so badass.) And although the rest of their album doesn't sound much like Silversun Pickups, we're detecting SP in "Bad Timing." Also, sick outro... Hitting us in a vaguely nostalgic area...
75 Adele “Someone Like You”
The immense success of “Rolling In The Deep” can be partially attributed to Donna Summers fans and disco-nostalgia. We never really “got” Donna Summers, which is probably why we merely rated it as marginal. Not long afterwards, we ignored the buzz about “Someone Like You” prior to its release as a single, and so it took us by surprise after the video debuted, far too universally deep to strike us as anything other than among the most depressing things ever. We think Adele needs a hug, you guys...
74 Yuck “Rubber”
A big black mass of antimatter gloriously devouring everything in its path. If there’s a single 90’s band we hear in “Rubber,” it’s Space Needle. Besides that, we hear tons of No Age (a loud-guitar band from the 2000’s who somehow unjustly avoided a similarly lame/false “90’s nostalgia” tag... What the fuck...) Also, we’ve been told the video includes boobs and vag... Okay, we just watched it, and yeah, they're in there alright...
73 Avril Lavigne “What The Hell”
We love Avril Lavigne so fucking much. Like seriously. She is the shit, especially since she divorced that mushy-faced has-been dude from Sum 41 and turned into our favorite slut of the 2011 year. We don’t even know what any of her other recent songs sound like... except for her super-catchy medium-sized hit “What The Hell.” Somehow she’s still scoring hit singles. Strange, but whatever... (“She look good.” - Jay-Z) We also love handclaps, which tremendously helps her case past the superficial aspects. The weird organ reminds us of Ceasars’ decent 2003 single “Jerk It Out” or Smash Mouth’s “Walking On The Sun,” a song we loved when it was brand new and then never enjoyed ever again.
72 Rebecca Black “Friday” / Pharrell “Fun, Fun, Fun”
"Let's forget all that bullshit and have a fuckin' rager!!" "Gonna have a good time, c'mon c'mon y'all..." While Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall is the greatest album to include this theme, Andrew WK’s I Get Wet unexpectedly became one of the most influential LP’s on 2011 pop. Who would’ve thought? Def not us. Years later, “Friday” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” both seem to have been considered by their respective songwriters as “throwaways,” with neither producer fully realizing the potential of all their best elements. No matter what anyone has to say about it, the chorus of “Friday” got stuck in everyone’s heads for a fucking reason: BECAUSE IT’S AMAZING. And we wouldn't be surprised if “Pato” (the writer of “Friday”) took inspiration from “Fun, Fun, Fun,” a children’s song Pharrell wrote for Dispicable Me a few months prior.
71 Iceage “Broken Bone”
These guys are like the Foster The People of the underground punk scene. But we’re really only saying that because “internet buzz” suggests that girls are into them because they’re all like 19 and young and exciting n stuff. We forgot what country they’re from.
| Continue to Page 4 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
80 Pusha T featuring Tyler The Creator “Trouble On My Mind”
#ProudOfTyler Relatively unknown throughout summer 2010, Tyler was not only nominated for VMA’s the following summer, but was also awarded the opportunity to create music alongside his idols. That’s how quickly it works these days, resting among our favorite “We won” moments of the year. We still maintain that “Chad Hugo’s pupils” was intended to be a weed reference - not a racist Asian joke - but we’re apparently the only ones who think so.79 Ringo Deathstarr “Day Dreamy”
As much as we enjoy the (equally) unfortunately named The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, they still sound very much like a product of their time compared to the painstaking authenticity of RD’s Colour Trip. A SHOE-IN for our SHOE-GAZE LP of the year (See what we did there?), it may prove to have more longevity thanks to the loud songs having much harder punches, far trippier aspects on the dreamy songs such as “Day Dreamy,” and (arguably) better songwriting overall...78 Dope Body “Enemy Outta Me”
With respect to (an awesome noisy rock band called) The Men and the past year of
abundant loud catharsis, Dope Body still claimed possibly our favorite noise single of 2011 with “Enemy Outta Me.” We recall its Youtube comments claiming that it ripped off Nirvana’s “Mr. Moustache,” so it's possible a subconscious connection helped out in this case, although we don’t necessarily hear the connection...77 Chris Brown “She Ain’t You”
Chris Brown is clearly among the most loathsome assholes in pop music, and frankly we’re getting tired of seeing so many respectable artists working with him, helping to justify his scumminess. To make matters worse, “Look At Me Now” got its dick sucked because Busta Rhymes was asked to insert an irritatingly endless “fast-rap” cameo that impressed lots of really dumb people. If there were any justice in this world, chicks would not be lining up at 5AM to see Chris Brown perform on The Today Show or whatever shitty morning show he sang on wearing his cute little bowtie. He’s a fucking piece of shit who does not deserve success.With that said, “She Ain’t You” is a testament to the power of “Human Nature,” a song we slightly regret not including in “80 Jams From The 80’s” a few years back. There’s something about combining elements from SWV’s “Right Here” along with the MJ original
and creating something fresh out of it... As scummy as he is, we still found the concept irresistible and among our guiltiest pleasures of the year... 76 Bombay Bicycle Club “Bad Timing”
Familiar in a good way... The singer totally sounds like the guy from The Secret Machines. (Whatever happened to those guys? Ten Silver Drops was so badass.) And although the rest of their album doesn't sound much like Silversun Pickups, we're detecting SP in "Bad Timing." Also, sick outro... Hitting us in a vaguely nostalgic area...75 Adele “Someone Like You”
The immense success of “Rolling In The Deep” can be partially attributed to Donna Summers fans and disco-nostalgia. We never really “got” Donna Summers, which is probably why we merely rated it as marginal. Not long afterwards, we ignored the buzz about “Someone Like You” prior to its release as a single, and so it took us by surprise after the video debuted, far too universally deep to strike us as anything other than among the most depressing things ever. We think Adele needs a hug, you guys...74 Yuck “Rubber”
A big black mass of antimatter gloriously devouring everything in its path. If there’s a single 90’s band we hear in “Rubber,” it’s Space Needle. Besides that, we hear tons of No Age (a loud-guitar band from the 2000’s who somehow unjustly avoided a similarly lame/false “90’s nostalgia” tag... What the fuck...) Also, we’ve been told the video includes boobs and vag... Okay, we just watched it, and yeah, they're in there alright...73 Avril Lavigne “What The Hell”
We love Avril Lavigne so fucking much. Like seriously. She is the shit, especially since she divorced that mushy-faced has-been dude from Sum 41 and turned into our favorite slut of the 2011 year. We don’t even know what any of her other recent songs sound like... except for her super-catchy medium-sized hit “What The Hell.” Somehow she’s still scoring hit singles. Strange, but whatever... (“She look good.” - Jay-Z) We also love handclaps, which tremendously helps her case past the superficial aspects. The weird organ reminds us of Ceasars’ decent 2003 single “Jerk It Out” or Smash Mouth’s “Walking On The Sun,” a song we loved when it was brand new and then never enjoyed ever again. 72 Rebecca Black “Friday” / Pharrell “Fun, Fun, Fun”
"Let's forget all that bullshit and have a fuckin' rager!!" "Gonna have a good time, c'mon c'mon y'all..." While Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall is the greatest album to include this theme, Andrew WK’s I Get Wet unexpectedly became one of the most influential LP’s on 2011 pop. Who would’ve thought? Def not us. Years later, “Friday” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” both seem to have been considered by their respective songwriters as “throwaways,” with neither producer fully realizing the potential of all their best elements. No matter what anyone has to say about it, the chorus of “Friday” got stuck in everyone’s heads for a fucking reason: BECAUSE IT’S AMAZING. And we wouldn't be surprised if “Pato” (the writer of “Friday”) took inspiration from “Fun, Fun, Fun,” a children’s song Pharrell wrote for Dispicable Me a few months prior.71 Iceage “Broken Bone”
These guys are like the Foster The People of the underground punk scene. But we’re really only saying that because “internet buzz” suggests that girls are into them because they’re all like 19 and young and exciting n stuff. We forgot what country they’re from.| Continue to Page 4 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
Speedy Ortiz "Live At Shea Stadium"
Lots of good stuff at the Live at Shea Stadium blog... And we're totally pumped to see Speedy Ortiz set from a month ago has joined their archives. (!!!!!!!!)
IIRC the set was something like:
1. "Taylor Swift"
2. "Cutco"
3. "Swim Fan"
4. "Doomsday"
5. "Thank You"
6. "Not Too Amused" (Sebadoh)
7. "Hexxy Sadie"
8. "Ka-Prow!"
Speedy Ortiz - Live @ Shea Stadium by LiveatSheaStadium
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Hot Mix 2011: #90 to 81
"Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
90 Fucked Up “A Little Death”
Who doesn't want a little death in their lives? We're confused about the history of the songs on David Comes To Life since there are several Fucked Up songs dating as far back as 2005 (on the "Mix Tape Volume One" release) with titles that allude to a character called "David" including one song titled "David Comes To Life" (from their debut LP). They've done a great job of confusing us and rocking the fuck out of our worlds. Also, Damian's interview with BrokeNCyde from about a year ago is now among our favorite internet oddities, mostly because he appears to be a genuine fan...
89 Milk Music “No Life”
We're happy to notice lots of asskicking rock coming from Olympia over the past year or two. Possibly as a result of their recent profile on Pitchfork, Milk Music's Bandcamp.Com page appears to have been removed, which is some serious ass bullshit... Whatever. Buy the album.
88 The Cars “Sad Song”
The intro of "Sad Song" evokes smiley nostalgia, totally ripping off The Cars' own "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Let's Go" in a way that couldn't possibly get anyone upset, which is essentially the atmosphere throughout their 2011 reunion LP. The late Benjamin Orr's contributions are sadly missed, although Ric Ocasek's first Cars' songs in 25 years still sound as if the band never split up. Recommended for any casual fans.
87 Cave “W U J”
2011 was the type of year when a revival from a genre as obscure as krautrock wouldn't have surprised anyone. It hasn't truly taken off yet, although signs have been pointing in that direction considering Can's surprising surge in popularity along with 2009's self-titled Beak> LP and Cave's Neverendless from a few months back. P.S. What the fuck, ANOTHER band whose Bandcamp.Com page seems to have disappeared??? Well at least their video is interesting...
86 Ke$ha “Blow”
This might be Ke$ha's first ever placement in a year-end list ever since we initially placed "Tik Tok" as the fourth worst song of 2009, a poor decision in hindsight. "We R Who We R" and "Blow" have assisted in viewing her first few singles from a different perspective, one where she seems totally in place with the world of 2011 pop alongside the enormous recent influence of Andrew WK and, strangely enough, Rebecca Black's "Friday," the ultimate trifecta of "Party Hard" (just in case any concert promoters want to score an historic triple billing in 2012). We also don't really understand what's happening in the video with Dawson's Creek, but whatever... Ke$ha has proven herself. She's pulling her weight. We love the build in the middle of this one, with "We're taking over!" spoken through auto-tune.
85 Kreayshawn “Gucci Gucci”
Random shit about Kreayshawn:
Possible one-hit-wonder, although someone already made a videogame about her.
The beat of "Gucci Gucci" reminds us of Bruno from Da Ali G Show.
Left Brain from Odd Future is in the video. They're friends or something.
The video makes it look like she walks up to a random chick at the beginning and motions as if to say "I like your style," and they hang out and dance horribly for the next hour or so, although Kreayshawn's description makes it sound like the other girl (played by her sister) caught her attention by walking out of a Gucci store, which conflicts with the lyrics of the song.
She's also cute and wears anal beads around her neck.
Did we mention we love their amazingly horrible dance moves? They sure do enjoy waving their hands around. (Fuckin white chicks, man...)
84 Radiohead “Separator”
If TKOL were instead released by Add N To (X) or Burial, everything would've been a-okay and we could have all jerked off to this album in unison. But since it was released by the same band who made The Bends, everyone's all like "UuuUhuuhhh" and making grunt noises without bothering to hear any of the songs. Once again, "Separator" is another jam completely indebted to Colin Greenwood's sick basslines. The only real complaint we have with King of Limbs is that the same band took less than two years to record OK Computer and its 9 b-sides, whereas we waited for longer than double that time for an 8-song LP and a handful of less-than-stellar non-album tracks. The question remains, will Radiohead dust-off their guitars and record the next great rock record? Stranger things have happened...
83 Toro Y Moi “Still Sound”
We love Fender Rhodes so much. So fucking much, you have no idea... Moon Safari influence doesn't hurt either. Toro Y Moi's 2011 awesomeness seems far more attributed to production elements than to songwriting, which is a good thing, digging up some of those sounds from what we like to call "grocery store jams," borrowing elements from the AOR of the late 70's and early 80's.
82 Jonny “Candyfloss”
Jonny is a sort-of supergroup featuring dudes from Teenage Fanclub and former members of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. If you're familiar with these two, you know exactly what to expect... "Candyfloss" mostly made us nostalgic for John Peel's Festive 50, as both bands frequently placed. We're still confused by the false ending, unsure whether it's a mistake or how the song is really supposed to sound...
81 The Strokes “Under Cover Of Darkness”
Early-2000's nostalgia has started creeping up on popular culture. We previously mentioned the emo-revival featuring new releases from Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Rival Schools, Saves The Day, Thursday and a shitload of bands that we didn't know were still around... Also, The White Stripes split up, and The Strokes ended their five-year hiatus with their least impressive LP yet. "Under Cover Of Darkness" is the only song that came close to the magic on their first three records, specifically the chorus and the guitar solo. If they can get their shit together in time for album #5, the impending early-2000's revival will be hugely welcoming of new asskicking jams from these guys.
| Continue to Page 3 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
90 Fucked Up “A Little Death”
Who doesn't want a little death in their lives? We're confused about the history of the songs on David Comes To Life since there are several Fucked Up songs dating as far back as 2005 (on the "Mix Tape Volume One" release) with titles that allude to a character called "David" including one song titled "David Comes To Life" (from their debut LP). They've done a great job of confusing us and rocking the fuck out of our worlds. Also, Damian's interview with BrokeNCyde from about a year ago is now among our favorite internet oddities, mostly because he appears to be a genuine fan...89 Milk Music “No Life”
We're happy to notice lots of asskicking rock coming from Olympia over the past year or two. Possibly as a result of their recent profile on Pitchfork, Milk Music's Bandcamp.Com page appears to have been removed, which is some serious ass bullshit... Whatever. Buy the album.
88 The Cars “Sad Song”
The intro of "Sad Song" evokes smiley nostalgia, totally ripping off The Cars' own "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Let's Go" in a way that couldn't possibly get anyone upset, which is essentially the atmosphere throughout their 2011 reunion LP. The late Benjamin Orr's contributions are sadly missed, although Ric Ocasek's first Cars' songs in 25 years still sound as if the band never split up. Recommended for any casual fans.87 Cave “W U J”
2011 was the type of year when a revival from a genre as obscure as krautrock wouldn't have surprised anyone. It hasn't truly taken off yet, although signs have been pointing in that direction considering Can's surprising surge in popularity along with 2009's self-titled Beak> LP and Cave's Neverendless from a few months back. P.S. What the fuck, ANOTHER band whose Bandcamp.Com page seems to have disappeared??? Well at least their video is interesting...
86 Ke$ha “Blow”
This might be Ke$ha's first ever placement in a year-end list ever since we initially placed "Tik Tok" as the fourth worst song of 2009, a poor decision in hindsight. "We R Who We R" and "Blow" have assisted in viewing her first few singles from a different perspective, one where she seems totally in place with the world of 2011 pop alongside the enormous recent influence of Andrew WK and, strangely enough, Rebecca Black's "Friday," the ultimate trifecta of "Party Hard" (just in case any concert promoters want to score an historic triple billing in 2012). We also don't really understand what's happening in the video with Dawson's Creek, but whatever... Ke$ha has proven herself. She's pulling her weight. We love the build in the middle of this one, with "We're taking over!" spoken through auto-tune.
85 Kreayshawn “Gucci Gucci”
Random shit about Kreayshawn:84 Radiohead “Separator”
83 Toro Y Moi “Still Sound”
We love Fender Rhodes so much. So fucking much, you have no idea... Moon Safari influence doesn't hurt either. Toro Y Moi's 2011 awesomeness seems far more attributed to production elements than to songwriting, which is a good thing, digging up some of those sounds from what we like to call "grocery store jams," borrowing elements from the AOR of the late 70's and early 80's.
82 Jonny “Candyfloss”
Jonny is a sort-of supergroup featuring dudes from Teenage Fanclub and former members of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. If you're familiar with these two, you know exactly what to expect... "Candyfloss" mostly made us nostalgic for John Peel's Festive 50, as both bands frequently placed. We're still confused by the false ending, unsure whether it's a mistake or how the song is really supposed to sound...81 The Strokes “Under Cover Of Darkness”
Early-2000's nostalgia has started creeping up on popular culture. We previously mentioned the emo-revival featuring new releases from Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Rival Schools, Saves The Day, Thursday and a shitload of bands that we didn't know were still around... Also, The White Stripes split up, and The Strokes ended their five-year hiatus with their least impressive LP yet. "Under Cover Of Darkness" is the only song that came close to the magic on their first three records, specifically the chorus and the guitar solo. If they can get their shit together in time for album #5, the impending early-2000's revival will be hugely welcoming of new asskicking jams from these guys.| Continue to Page 3 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
Monday, December 26, 2011
Hot Mix 2011: #100 to 91
Something's starting to suggest that completing this will totally suck...
We'll be doing our best to post Soundcloud and Youtube links. And for the super-cool humans, we started a sick Spotify playlist in case anyone wants to listen along as we unveil the results: "Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
100 LMFAO “Sexy And I Know It”
Our favorite uncle-nephew team of 2011 somehow seem less awkward singing about their alleged "sexiness" than the two unforgivingly homosexual men in Right Said Fred did (exactly) 20 years ago, probably because LMFAO's message is far more inclusive, instead of specifically targeting "gay." Partying knows no sexuality. Fun doesn't know what gender it is. Fun just parties. Everybody party. NOW.
99 Crash of Rhinos “Closure”
We'll get more into this as the mix continues, but "Emo" (and emo-nostalgia) started making an unexpected comeback this year. From the more hardcore end, Crash of Rhinos (probably from Europe) got our attention with the brutal Distal LP...
98 Earl Sweatshirt “Dat Ass”
We know they have many releases planned for 2012, but we're still disappointed in Odd Future, mostly because of the rapid-fire series of (mostly amazing) mixtapes from 2010, followed by like TWO in 2011. (Re-releasing the MellowHype LP on Fat Possum sans the Earl Sweatshirt track doesn't count.) Hope: In two months Earl will be turning 18, so we're guessing the sudden slowness of their release schedule may be awaiting his return as part of their 2012 takeover.
97 Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” / Maroon 5 “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
Yo, fuck whistling. No one likes whistling, unless you're an asshole. (This is probably not true.) Also, we're still not sure if Xtina Aguilera's sweet ass actually appeared in "Moves Like Jagger" but she's probably in there somewhere. Both songs feature sick hooks that hang low like yo momma's titties. Fun Fact about Maroon 5: Their drummer sucks, so when they were recording their first LP, the producer was forced to call in Matt Chamberlain, the same guy who completely owned on Fiona Apple's When The Pawn LP. More Fun Facts: Taste My Kids' special ops team has obtained solid confirmation regarding mass suicides directly linked to that fucking godawful Gym Class Heroes song featuring Adam Levine or whatever that asshole's name is, and we are demanding an immediate cease-and-desist for future radio airplay. Accordingly, several #OccupyWallStreet protesters have planned to raise awareness of this issue in future demonstrations.
96 Radiohead “Bloom”
A long time ago, SPIN outrageously claimed that TLC was inspired to write "Creep" partially because of the Radiohead single of the same name. While this is more than likely untrue, the "Rappers sampling Radiohead" trend didn't truly sprout until 2007 when CRS's "Us Placers" sampled "The Eraser," and the trend expanded even farther in 2011. It's only a matter of time before one of these actually scores a huge hit for some new-school rap dude. The band seems to be encouraging this, especially after their IDM-leanings became more obvious than ever on The King Of Limbs, without question "The most underrated LP of 2011." Colin Greenwood's bass continues its "secret weapon" status, and we wish we could say the same for Thom Yorke's ever-increasingly obscured vocals. As much as we enjoyed TKOL (accurately rated by P4k as a 7.9), we long for the days when we could actually "sing along" to Radiohead and remember how the words go... Ironically, Thom was a far better vocalist when he was unsure of himself and lacking confidence.
95 Big Talk “Getaways”
The Killers' outstanding mid-decade run of singles appears to have subsided. For whatever reason, the drummer dude who looks like In Utero-era Krist Novoselic released a decent LP on his own, mostly comprised of songs that sound exactly like The Killers. The "Replica" video weirded us out, but "Getaways" is still the standout...
94 Pill “Ridin’ On Dat Pole”
The mainstream rap game turned a new avenue late last year around the time of "Black and Yellow," "No Hands" and this new Maybach Music thing with Rick Ross behind the controls. We've been waiting on Pill's first official full-length for over two years now. "Still takin' my time," he says. We didn't realize this would turn into another Chinese Democracy."Ridin' On Dat Pole" seems directly influenced by MM's new direction, indicating what may be in store if Pill's takeover actually happens in 2012. Fingers crossed.
93 The Horrors “Endless Blue”
Our previous perception of The Horrors as a jokier tongue-in-cheek "goth" thing didn't sit well with us, but that changed after hearing their new direction on Skying, which surprisingly includes LOTS of hidden gems. "Endless Blue" really starts to take off about 90-seconds in... Wait for it........
92 Wild Flag “Electric Band”
Ass kicking 90's indie-rock gods from Helium and Sleater-Kinney formed like Voltron and spawned Wild Flag. We were among those who were sorely missing the presence of both bands within the rock-music spectrum, so a combination of these two were hugely welcomed. Had this mix been expanded to 200 songs, at least half of this LP would have placed.
91 Slices “Modern Bride”
We don't know a whole lot about the loud awesome punk rock in Slices, but their album art is among our favorite of 2011 simply because we were convinced that the window reflection was actually behind us, and then we turned around and it totally wasn't there.
| Continue to Page 2 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
We'll be doing our best to post Soundcloud and Youtube links. And for the super-cool humans, we started a sick Spotify playlist in case anyone wants to listen along as we unveil the results: "Hot Mix 2011" On Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
100 LMFAO “Sexy And I Know It”
Our favorite uncle-nephew team of 2011 somehow seem less awkward singing about their alleged "sexiness" than the two unforgivingly homosexual men in Right Said Fred did (exactly) 20 years ago, probably because LMFAO's message is far more inclusive, instead of specifically targeting "gay." Partying knows no sexuality. Fun doesn't know what gender it is. Fun just parties. Everybody party. NOW.99 Crash of Rhinos “Closure”
We'll get more into this as the mix continues, but "Emo" (and emo-nostalgia) started making an unexpected comeback this year. From the more hardcore end, Crash of Rhinos (probably from Europe) got our attention with the brutal Distal LP...
98 Earl Sweatshirt “Dat Ass”
97 Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” / Maroon 5 “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
Yo, fuck whistling. No one likes whistling, unless you're an asshole. (This is probably not true.) Also, we're still not sure if Xtina Aguilera's sweet ass actually appeared in "Moves Like Jagger" but she's probably in there somewhere. Both songs feature sick hooks that hang low like yo momma's titties. Fun Fact about Maroon 5: Their drummer sucks, so when they were recording their first LP, the producer was forced to call in Matt Chamberlain, the same guy who completely owned on Fiona Apple's When The Pawn LP. More Fun Facts: Taste My Kids' special ops team has obtained solid confirmation regarding mass suicides directly linked to that fucking godawful Gym Class Heroes song featuring Adam Levine or whatever that asshole's name is, and we are demanding an immediate cease-and-desist for future radio airplay. Accordingly, several #OccupyWallStreet protesters have planned to raise awareness of this issue in future demonstrations.96 Radiohead “Bloom”
A long time ago, SPIN outrageously claimed that TLC was inspired to write "Creep" partially because of the Radiohead single of the same name. While this is more than likely untrue, the "Rappers sampling Radiohead" trend didn't truly sprout until 2007 when CRS's "Us Placers" sampled "The Eraser," and the trend expanded even farther in 2011. It's only a matter of time before one of these actually scores a huge hit for some new-school rap dude. The band seems to be encouraging this, especially after their IDM-leanings became more obvious than ever on The King Of Limbs, without question "The most underrated LP of 2011." Colin Greenwood's bass continues its "secret weapon" status, and we wish we could say the same for Thom Yorke's ever-increasingly obscured vocals. As much as we enjoyed TKOL (accurately rated by P4k as a 7.9), we long for the days when we could actually "sing along" to Radiohead and remember how the words go... Ironically, Thom was a far better vocalist when he was unsure of himself and lacking confidence.95 Big Talk “Getaways”
The Killers' outstanding mid-decade run of singles appears to have subsided. For whatever reason, the drummer dude who looks like In Utero-era Krist Novoselic released a decent LP on his own, mostly comprised of songs that sound exactly like The Killers. The "Replica" video weirded us out, but "Getaways" is still the standout...
94 Pill “Ridin’ On Dat Pole”
The mainstream rap game turned a new avenue late last year around the time of "Black and Yellow," "No Hands" and this new Maybach Music thing with Rick Ross behind the controls. We've been waiting on Pill's first official full-length for over two years now. "Still takin' my time," he says. We didn't realize this would turn into another Chinese Democracy."Ridin' On Dat Pole" seems directly influenced by MM's new direction, indicating what may be in store if Pill's takeover actually happens in 2012. Fingers crossed.
93 The Horrors “Endless Blue”
Our previous perception of The Horrors as a jokier tongue-in-cheek "goth" thing didn't sit well with us, but that changed after hearing their new direction on Skying, which surprisingly includes LOTS of hidden gems. "Endless Blue" really starts to take off about 90-seconds in... Wait for it........
92 Wild Flag “Electric Band”
Ass kicking 90's indie-rock gods from Helium and Sleater-Kinney formed like Voltron and spawned Wild Flag. We were among those who were sorely missing the presence of both bands within the rock-music spectrum, so a combination of these two were hugely welcomed. Had this mix been expanded to 200 songs, at least half of this LP would have placed.
91 Slices “Modern Bride”
We don't know a whole lot about the loud awesome punk rock in Slices, but their album art is among our favorite of 2011 simply because we were convinced that the window reflection was actually behind us, and then we turned around and it totally wasn't there.
| Continue to Page 2 |
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
"Azz Everywhere"
Impatiently awaiting the launch of "Hot Mix 2011" or whatever it's gonna be called.
Taken from our sister website Late Night Noise our associate Dave Rohlf posted possibly the best camera commercial I've ever seen. I now want the camera they used to shoot this video. Also fucking amazing video obviously....
Taken from our sister website Late Night Noise our associate Dave Rohlf posted possibly the best camera commercial I've ever seen. I now want the camera they used to shoot this video. Also fucking amazing video obviously....
Five Awesome Songs Not Included in "2011's Greatest Hits"
2011 single from 2010's hugely overrated My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, not included due to being issued to us in December 2010:
Included on a recent EP from Mobb Deep, released just in time to make the deadline... We're more interested in whether they have a full length ready for 2012...
Our favorite radio jam of the past year was unfortunately not released in 2011:
Also sadly not from 2011:
One thing we were hoping to avoid in our top 100 list is placing a song just for the sake of including our favorite artists, which almost happened here... Great song though.. prolly would have been #101:
The big list will kick off soon!
Included on a recent EP from Mobb Deep, released just in time to make the deadline... We're more interested in whether they have a full length ready for 2012...
Our favorite radio jam of the past year was unfortunately not released in 2011:
Also sadly not from 2011:
One thing we were hoping to avoid in our top 100 list is placing a song just for the sake of including our favorite artists, which almost happened here... Great song though.. prolly would have been #101:
The big list will kick off soon!
Five Songs from 2011 Reissues
Here are selections from our 5 favorite reissues......
The Beach Boys Smile:
Sebadoh Bakesale:
Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle:
Can Tago Mago
We would have preferred to include one of the live tracks from disc 2, but it doesn't look like they're on Youtube...
Louvin Brothers Satan Is Real mostly because we're positive this has been reissued previously, and also for the badass artwork... We're actually not all that familiar with the music beyond a quick peruse a few years back, but honestly we'd rather include this than Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins...
The Beach Boys Smile:
Sebadoh Bakesale:
Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle:
Can Tago Mago
We would have preferred to include one of the live tracks from disc 2, but it doesn't look like they're on Youtube...
Louvin Brothers Satan Is Real mostly because we're positive this has been reissued previously, and also for the badass artwork... We're actually not all that familiar with the music beyond a quick peruse a few years back, but honestly we'd rather include this than Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins...
Big List Of 2011 Lists (Now With Bigger Lists)
Our description of "2010's Greatest Hits" from December 2010 still seems pretty accurate regarding the process of putting together our year-end wrap-up, which we've decided to call a "Mix" because it sounds cooler...
"Minimal effort" still applies: http://tastemykidsblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/list-of-lists-2010-now-with-more-lists.html
So we have 2 mini-lists which we'll post tonight, and then one big list which will unveil itself throughout the next several days, hopefully finished within the first week of January, if not sooner... We apologize to you list-haters out there.
"Minimal effort" still applies: http://tastemykidsblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/list-of-lists-2010-now-with-more-lists.html
So we have 2 mini-lists which we'll post tonight, and then one big list which will unveil itself throughout the next several days, hopefully finished within the first week of January, if not sooner... We apologize to you list-haters out there.
"Lisa"
A few tracks from Alone III: The Pinkerton Years have been leaking onto Youtube... The fully formed songs appear to be the most rewarding listens, as opposed to the song fragments that create what we initially assumed were a pair of "Side 2 of Abbey Road" suites, but instead they sound closer to the just recently uncovered demos from The Beach Boys Smile sessions (providing further evidence that Pinkerton just might have been the 90's answer to Pet Sounds).
Either way, it's definitely worth a listen, if you can find it.
The set also includes "Lisa," the only unreleased song from Weezer's series that included "Jamie," "Mykel & Carli" and "Susanne," all songs written for chicks who helped Weezer and were apparently very nice to them while they were in the process of getting signed and on the road to superstardom....
Either way, it's definitely worth a listen, if you can find it.
The set also includes "Lisa," the only unreleased song from Weezer's series that included "Jamie," "Mykel & Carli" and "Susanne," all songs written for chicks who helped Weezer and were apparently very nice to them while they were in the process of getting signed and on the road to superstardom....
Saturday, December 24, 2011
christmas stuff
More "20th anniversary of 1991" shit... Pearl Jam's first "Ten club" release included what we think is one of the best Christmas songs... A lot of people who don't like Pearl Jam tend to enjoy this one...
This is mostly the sound of John Lennon going through heroin withdrawal...
This is mostly the sound of John Lennon going through heroin withdrawal...
1991's 20th anniversary comes to a close
December 30th will mark the 20-year-anniversary of the first time I ever heard "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred, taped off the radio. The cassette is dated with pencil as "12/30/91." The "Top 10 at Ten" was a big deal to me in those days. So anyway, I'm fairly positive "I'm Too Sexy" was probably the last "new" song that I heard in 1991, in case anyone cares.
December of '91 specifically seems to have been the big pivotal month of that year... Communism had fallen, and the U.S. entered a war that lasted less than a month, possibly to boost morale among the population. Clarence Thomas was essentially the Herman Cain of 1991. Rodney King was beaten by cops. Freddy Mercury and Magic Johnson both announced that they had HIV; one of them died two days later, while the other is now alive after 20 years and possibly still one of the healthiest human beings in North America.
Actually not all of this happened throughout that December... I lost track of the point of this. Fuck.
But Nirvana "happened" in December... The Christmas rush was a huge part of what famously pushed them ahead of Michael Jackson's Dangerous LP. Tons of parents bought Dangerous for their kids. During the week between Christmas and New Years, more than a few Dangerous's and Color Me Badd CD's were returned at the CD's the stores and exchanged for Nevermind.
Strangely enough, "alternative rock as a profitable commodity" actually has a 20th birthday: December 26, 1991.
December of '91 specifically seems to have been the big pivotal month of that year... Communism had fallen, and the U.S. entered a war that lasted less than a month, possibly to boost morale among the population. Clarence Thomas was essentially the Herman Cain of 1991. Rodney King was beaten by cops. Freddy Mercury and Magic Johnson both announced that they had HIV; one of them died two days later, while the other is now alive after 20 years and possibly still one of the healthiest human beings in North America.
Actually not all of this happened throughout that December... I lost track of the point of this. Fuck.
But Nirvana "happened" in December... The Christmas rush was a huge part of what famously pushed them ahead of Michael Jackson's Dangerous LP. Tons of parents bought Dangerous for their kids. During the week between Christmas and New Years, more than a few Dangerous's and Color Me Badd CD's were returned at the CD's the stores and exchanged for Nevermind.
Strangely enough, "alternative rock as a profitable commodity" actually has a 20th birthday: December 26, 1991.
"D.D."
http://the-weeknd.com/
The brand new Weeknd mixtape kicks off with a Michael Jackson cover.. This won't be making our 2011 best-of so we'll just post it here...
In the original "Dirty Diana" we always thought he was singing "and I fuck out the key." The Weeknd's version seems to comply with this. Also we were anticipating some raunchier production...
The brand new Weeknd mixtape kicks off with a Michael Jackson cover.. This won't be making our 2011 best-of so we'll just post it here...
In the original "Dirty Diana" we always thought he was singing "and I fuck out the key." The Weeknd's version seems to comply with this. Also we were anticipating some raunchier production...
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #01: Beastie Boys featuring Santigold “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”
So we made a mistake once again... This is not the best video of 2011, although it kicks serious ass. Similarly, "Make Some Noise" (a.k.a. "Fight For Your Right Revisited") is not the worst of 2011, but this post wouldn't be complete if we didn't mention the tedium we experienced watching the 30-minute version earlier this year.
With this in mind, we were initially going to start this post by stating "It's not often the same group premieres both the best video of the year and the worst video of the year, but somehow that's what happened." Except neither statement is true.
So here's the truth: "Make Some Noise" is essentially one of those SNL sketches that people who still watch SNL masturbate to. Celeb cameos makes their giney tickle, so whenever there's a shit-ton of celeb cameos, it's like preparing for the orgasm of a lifetime.
"Make Some Noise" had the adverse effect on us. It made us sick, while "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" is like the antithesis of "Make Some Noise," exuding endless creativity and expert film-making aspects that we should expect from Spike Jonze, who started hinting at this return to music videos last year with his video for The Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs." We're seriously hoping this happens. We would love nothing more than for Spike to return to music videos. The world needs this kind of excitement right now...
With this in mind, we were initially going to start this post by stating "It's not often the same group premieres both the best video of the year and the worst video of the year, but somehow that's what happened." Except neither statement is true.
So here's the truth: "Make Some Noise" is essentially one of those SNL sketches that people who still watch SNL masturbate to. Celeb cameos makes their giney tickle, so whenever there's a shit-ton of celeb cameos, it's like preparing for the orgasm of a lifetime.
"Make Some Noise" had the adverse effect on us. It made us sick, while "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" is like the antithesis of "Make Some Noise," exuding endless creativity and expert film-making aspects that we should expect from Spike Jonze, who started hinting at this return to music videos last year with his video for The Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs." We're seriously hoping this happens. We would love nothing more than for Spike to return to music videos. The world needs this kind of excitement right now...
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #02: Nunslaughter "God"
There seems to be some mistake. Somehow our #2 has been listed as a blackmetal video that may or may not have been thrown together by Tommy Wiseau himself. In fact, most of the people in this video resemble characters from The Room. "God" is probably not the 2nd best video of 2011, although it's definitely in our "most recommended" list... We would rather people watch "God" than most other promo videos from this year.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #03: Underground Railroad To Candyland "We Aren't The World"
Performance aspect, check. Puppets, check. Puppies, check. And even better, it looks like it was thrown together by people who actually know how to make videos correctly... Super huge check bonus. P.S. Why isn't Season 1 of Sifl & Olly on DVD yet?
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #04: Lil Wanye featuring Rick Ross "John"
Here's one of our associate's description of "John" from over the summer:
"One of the girls in the new Lil Wayne video has a spatula."
"He talks about pissing in his own ass."
"Rick Ross sits in a wheelchair in front of buckets of toxic waste."
"Things are just falling off the roof and shit."
"And then Lil Wayne says You fuckin with a nigga who dont give a fuck."
This got us interested, and we were amazed at the amount of tires that were included in the set design. So all of this should be an adequate reason to include this at #4.
This got us interested, and we were amazed at the amount of tires that were included in the set design. So all of this should be an adequate reason to include this at #4.
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #05: The Living Sisters "How Are You Doing?"
Now that he's a super in-demand feature director working in big bad Hollywood on stuff like The Green Hornet and Dave Chappelle documentaries, we assumed our favorite video director ever would never return to the world of music vids. However, he threw together a couple nice clips this year, after being relatively absent for the past 5 years... One for Bjork (also posted below) and one for a new group called The Living Sisters (featuring members of The Decemberists and The Bird and the Bee) for a slightly upgraded version of Cibo Matto's "Sugar Water", minus the awesome palindromic visual aspect, but including more of the crazy-life-perspective that's become a staple of his videography, which is helpful for The Living Sisters since this is a song we normally wouldn't care to hear under normal circumstances. But with Gondry in control of the visuals, we're down for pretty much anything...
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #06: Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats "Ritual Knife"
We normally stray from praising videos without any element of artist performance, even if it's only a few seconds of lipsynching or guitar strumming. We're especially prejudiced against videos that simply recycle easily searchable stock clips from Youtube. However, Uncle Acid is shrouded in mystery, so they can't show their faces. It's debatable whether they've played a live show, so they wouldn't have been able to perform anyway. But most importantly, "Ritual Knife" kicks so much ass, and the clips were so obviously chosen with care by someone who was painfully searching for a very specific atmosphere. So basically, they got away with murder.
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #07: Rammstein "Mein Land"
Jonas Akerlund and Rammstein is pretty much always a winning combination. It's hard to recall the last time Jonas didn't have a video in our annual top 10... Similarly, Rammstein continues to prove themselves as worthy among the all time greatest video artists. We thought they had peaked with "Pussy" back in 2009. We were wrong...
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #08: Tyler the Creator featuring Frank Ocean "She"
A quick one before passing out drunk... If any of this doesn't make sense, it's because I drank beer.
We think this one may have been a bit underrated... People accordingly went nuts over "Yonkers" a few months earlier, but "She" was our favorite summer '11 video, a neatly executed clip met with almost no fanfare, other than its relentless spins on MTV-U, which we've learned don't count for shit...
In "She," fantasy elements encourage an extension of beliefs on behalf of the viewer. Frank Ocean pulls out an uzi which just happens to be allowed on the bed of a suburban chick who lives with her dad. Cops arrest Tyler for no apparent reason and then get distracted enough for him to sneak out of their car. And yet it's not necessarily a flawed narrative... Every image, especially the strongest ones, fit the song and project creativity as vividly and sinister as Tyler projects throughout Goblin, and it's nothing like any other rap video we've seen before or since.
The only uncool part is showing the chick as Tyler calls out the c-word... That made us uncomfortable. But it was censored on TV, so no big deal.
We think this one may have been a bit underrated... People accordingly went nuts over "Yonkers" a few months earlier, but "She" was our favorite summer '11 video, a neatly executed clip met with almost no fanfare, other than its relentless spins on MTV-U, which we've learned don't count for shit...
In "She," fantasy elements encourage an extension of beliefs on behalf of the viewer. Frank Ocean pulls out an uzi which just happens to be allowed on the bed of a suburban chick who lives with her dad. Cops arrest Tyler for no apparent reason and then get distracted enough for him to sneak out of their car. And yet it's not necessarily a flawed narrative... Every image, especially the strongest ones, fit the song and project creativity as vividly and sinister as Tyler projects throughout Goblin, and it's nothing like any other rap video we've seen before or since.
The only uncool part is showing the chick as Tyler calls out the c-word... That made us uncomfortable. But it was censored on TV, so no big deal.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sick Vids Brah 2011 (HM): Kool Keith, Azealia Banks, The Weeknd & Tyler
Here's the rest of our Honorable Mentions... All but one of them have already been posted throughout the past year...
Kool Keith's "Bushman" represented his long-awaited return to WTF-level awesomeness...
If there was a single video from the past year when we fell in love at first sight, here's the one...
The Weeknd's reign of raunch...
And of course, "Yonkers"...
Kool Keith's "Bushman" represented his long-awaited return to WTF-level awesomeness...
If there was a single video from the past year when we fell in love at first sight, here's the one...
The Weeknd's reign of raunch...
And of course, "Yonkers"...
Sick Vids Brah 2011 (HM): Gil Scott-Heron "New York Is Killing Me"
HM stands for "Honorable Mention." In this case, we have a 2010 video, just barely missing out on the deadline.
Similar to Mark Romanek directing Johnny Cash's "Hurt" so soon before Johnny's passing and only a year before Romanek's hiatus from video directing, Chris Cunningham made a return to video directing (after remaining silent for about 5 years) for a three-screen IMAX presentation centered around a song from what ended up becoming Gil Scott-Heron's last album. His passing ended up seriously cranking up the "depth" knob on this one. Personally, we think it's way better than the "Hurt" video...
R.I.P. Gil
Similar to Mark Romanek directing Johnny Cash's "Hurt" so soon before Johnny's passing and only a year before Romanek's hiatus from video directing, Chris Cunningham made a return to video directing (after remaining silent for about 5 years) for a three-screen IMAX presentation centered around a song from what ended up becoming Gil Scott-Heron's last album. His passing ended up seriously cranking up the "depth" knob on this one. Personally, we think it's way better than the "Hurt" video...
R.I.P. Gil
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #09: The Horrors "Still Life"
We're about half-way settling by including "Still Life," a video that we claimed we would only place if there was nothing else to fill the Top 10. Although, we're watching it again right now, and it looks pretty awesome, juxtaposing the band's 80's-goth chic with the type of psychedelic images that might have been ripped from The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour or "Strawberry Fields" video, or possibly from Pink Floyd Live At Pompei. Big ups to drugs.
Sick Vids Brah 2011 #10: Rihanna "We Found Love"
We're at an unfortunate spot here, because we're "settling." Under different circumstances, "We Found Love" would not have made our list, but we haven't found a whole lot of 2011 videos that caught our attention. (And we've been relentlessly searching, so it's not our fault...)
We're actually upset about this video because of the song itself. Calvin Harris' production is decently exciting enough to match the intensity of the images, but the vocal melody is just too bland. Once upon a time, there was a video by Prodigy called "Smack My Bitch Up" which is essentially the same video as "We Found Love" done 1000x better.
Honestly, this video is noteworthy for only one reason... Around 4:02, there's a quick shot of her vomiting some type of neon glow-in-the-dark substance, giving the impression she ate about 50 of those lime green Laffy Taffy's and another 50 blue raspberry Laffy Taffy's, and then chased it with a pint of Jameson and a fifth of Dewer's. And if this was the case, then we admire her dedication.
(Everyone probably wants us to say we chose this video because Rihanna looks sexy as fuck, which we'd be happy to state as noteworthy had there not been about 900 other videos we saw this year with nice-lookin ladies. As Jay-Z once said about Rihanna, "She walked in. Played me the tape. She look good. Signed her that day." So yeah, she look good. But that's not why we chose the video.)
We're actually upset about this video because of the song itself. Calvin Harris' production is decently exciting enough to match the intensity of the images, but the vocal melody is just too bland. Once upon a time, there was a video by Prodigy called "Smack My Bitch Up" which is essentially the same video as "We Found Love" done 1000x better.
Honestly, this video is noteworthy for only one reason... Around 4:02, there's a quick shot of her vomiting some type of neon glow-in-the-dark substance, giving the impression she ate about 50 of those lime green Laffy Taffy's and another 50 blue raspberry Laffy Taffy's, and then chased it with a pint of Jameson and a fifth of Dewer's. And if this was the case, then we admire her dedication.
(Everyone probably wants us to say we chose this video because Rihanna looks sexy as fuck, which we'd be happy to state as noteworthy had there not been about 900 other videos we saw this year with nice-lookin ladies. As Jay-Z once said about Rihanna, "She walked in. Played me the tape. She look good. Signed her that day." So yeah, she look good. But that's not why we chose the video.)
Sick Vids Brah 2011 (HM): Rebecca Black "Friday"
We we we so excited to kick off our year-end festivities by crowning Taste My Kids' official "Thing Of The Year Award" to the "Friday" video - truly a piece of internet history - and the gleeful path of mess and disorder left in the wake of Hurricane Rebecca... And we still love her, even though her two follow-up singles were predictably unable to replicate the magic that somehow congealed itself to "Friday." Regardless, nothing can take her moment of glory away from her (or from us, more importantly)....
Friday March 11/Saturday March 12: Late Friday going into the morning hours of Saturday, 4chan discovers a new hero for their meme trove.
Sunday March 13: This is when we first viewed "Friday" about 12 times. People seemed to have a hard time disassociating the song with the video, and so numerous reviews were immediately posted claiming the song is about "riding in a convertible sports car on the way to school," even though the lyrics clearly mention choosing a seat on a school bus.
Monday March 14: By this point, the song is completely brain-lodged, and has somehow magically succeeded in temporarily transforming our miserable lives into a world of joy. We quickly realized that "Friday" is probably the catchiest pop song of 2011, while also wondering if the kids at Rebecca Black's school teased her in math class by singing "Pi Day, Pi Day" since March 14th is 3.14-Day.
Tuesday March 15: More parodies were posted, such as the "Bob Dylan" version, which sounds more like Lou Reed to our ears, but nobody notices or cares... (Our favorite is "Gang Fight", uploaded about a week later.) Much of the mystery surrounding Ark Music and "Friday" had been fully exposed by this point, due to curious, bewildered humans demanding to know how something like this could have ever happened.
Wednesday March 16: As we waited around for Friday, we realized we were stuck in "the longest week of 2011." In fact, there probably hadn't been a week as enormous since we were Rebecca Black's age. We decided the youthful "long week" feeling is a positive thing, which made us love Rebecca even more. Most of the world continued to hate, however. She had been a trending topic on twitter non-stop for several days with most people saying "she's pretty but sings bad" and other angrier an0ns saying they want to rape and/or stab her. As a result, she decided to become a spokesperson for "bullying," one of the most annoyingly overexposed PSA's of the year.
Thursday March 17: Rebecca is championed by Tyler The Creator on Twitter, who says "This Little Bitch Is Tight! Friday Friday" The timing of the song worked nicely as well... Everyone was pretty much ready to be finished with "the worst winter ever." It was just starting to get warmer, a nice time to have such a happy song playing in our heads upon waking up every morning for a week straight. We also realized that Patrice Wilson's "rap" section is the true key to this song, and one of the decade's most outstanding artistic accomplishments.
Friday March 18: This was the payoff day for all of us... We finally made it to Friday, Friday. Victory was ours. Thank you Rebecca.
SICK VIDS BRAH 2011
Quickly running out of time... The year has less than 3 weeks remaining, and so it's probably a good idea to get started on "Sick Vids Brah 2011," even though we haven't yet found 10 promo videos that strongly presented an attachment between its song and pictures... (We noticed a surplus of videos with strong images associated with shitty songs, or lackluster images associated with amazing songs.)
Ten years ago, MTV2 was the cable-source for 24-hour videos. Today, MTV-U is the equivalent. Unsurprisingly, when it came time for Mike Judge to pick videos for Beavis and Butthead to watch, many of them were in high rotation on this channel. Judge mentioned in a few interviews he enjoyed the past few years of videos better than during the 90's. While we would would love to agree with this (because it's always cooler to claim the best stuff as happening "right now"), the best period for videos was definitely 1997-2002, the span that followed B&B's 90's run, when Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham started kicking serious ass. It would have been interesting to hear their reactions to this era of videos, but it wasn't meant to be.
Some light emerged in 2010, including the one-two punch of "Bombay" and "Earl," two videos which were never shown on MTV that we discovered on Youtube within a few weeks of each other, seeming to suggest that videos actually were getting better. (At least two individual videos we saw during 2011 directly stole concepts from both of these.)
So let's have at it.... These probably won't be in the correct order, because we're going to be locating videos as we post them. Hopefully we'll have this finished within a few days, and then we can get started on "2011's Greatest Hits."
Ten years ago, MTV2 was the cable-source for 24-hour videos. Today, MTV-U is the equivalent. Unsurprisingly, when it came time for Mike Judge to pick videos for Beavis and Butthead to watch, many of them were in high rotation on this channel. Judge mentioned in a few interviews he enjoyed the past few years of videos better than during the 90's. While we would would love to agree with this (because it's always cooler to claim the best stuff as happening "right now"), the best period for videos was definitely 1997-2002, the span that followed B&B's 90's run, when Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham started kicking serious ass. It would have been interesting to hear their reactions to this era of videos, but it wasn't meant to be.
Some light emerged in 2010, including the one-two punch of "Bombay" and "Earl," two videos which were never shown on MTV that we discovered on Youtube within a few weeks of each other, seeming to suggest that videos actually were getting better. (At least two individual videos we saw during 2011 directly stole concepts from both of these.)
So let's have at it.... These probably won't be in the correct order, because we're going to be locating videos as we post them. Hopefully we'll have this finished within a few days, and then we can get started on "2011's Greatest Hits."
Thursday, December 8, 2011
"Don't Cry" Feature at Spin.Com
For some reason SPIN decided to list their 10 favorite videos of 1991 which includes Guns N' Roses "Don't Cry," a wise decision since it's possibly the greatest video of alltime...
http://www.spin.com/articles/i-want-my-mtv-authors-pick-1991s-10-best-videos?page=0%2C1
Here's our favorite quote from the brief interview:
Marks: Weren't [the Use Your Illusion trilogy] based on a book [Axl] read?
Tannenbaum: He wanted to do something with a friend of his... It's not Josh Richman, although he is credited at the beginning of "Don't Cry" as a co-writer. Which is another funny thing about "Don't Cry." It has opening credits? Which is just so fucking pretentious...
I suppose it's possible this guy hasn't seen any recent rap videos, since "Opening Credits" were probably the #1 biggest trend this year... There must have been at least 20 cases where a silent 30-second huge-font opening montage leads into the most typical-looking rap video you could possibly imagine. (They were all so typical that we can't recall which rappers were in the videos. Rick Ross was probably in most of them. "M-M-M-M-MAYBACK MUSIC.") At least "Don't Cry" had an opening credit that lead into something exciting.
And plus, there's 90-seconds of closing credits at the end of "Thriller," while Scorsese's 14-minute version of "Bad" had opening credits sneaking onto the picture 3-minutes into the video. And both of these videos pre-dated "Don't Cry." So what?
Here's our review of the "Don't Cry" video from a couple years ago...
http://www.spin.com/articles/i-want-my-mtv-authors-pick-1991s-10-best-videos?page=0%2C1
Here's our favorite quote from the brief interview:
Marks: Weren't [the Use Your Illusion trilogy] based on a book [Axl] read?
Tannenbaum: He wanted to do something with a friend of his... It's not Josh Richman, although he is credited at the beginning of "Don't Cry" as a co-writer. Which is another funny thing about "Don't Cry." It has opening credits? Which is just so fucking pretentious...
I suppose it's possible this guy hasn't seen any recent rap videos, since "Opening Credits" were probably the #1 biggest trend this year... There must have been at least 20 cases where a silent 30-second huge-font opening montage leads into the most typical-looking rap video you could possibly imagine. (They were all so typical that we can't recall which rappers were in the videos. Rick Ross was probably in most of them. "M-M-M-M-MAYBACK MUSIC.") At least "Don't Cry" had an opening credit that lead into something exciting.
And plus, there's 90-seconds of closing credits at the end of "Thriller," while Scorsese's 14-minute version of "Bad" had opening credits sneaking onto the picture 3-minutes into the video. And both of these videos pre-dated "Don't Cry." So what?
Here's our review of the "Don't Cry" video from a couple years ago...
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
"Best of 2011" preparation
We're confused about how to handle our "Best of the year" bullshit that we usually do every year...
#1 2011 was the first year that simply made want to give up on searching for new stuff from the same resources we've used in the past, such as the music journalism blogosphere, major websites such as Pitchfork, music criticism forums such as ILM, or the "Best albums" and "Best singles" sections of RateYourMusic.Com. For the past 8-9 years, these resources have helped tremendously. However, in 2011, this was not the case.
#2 2011 was also the first year where the music made by people we know in real life was good enough to take up 30-40% of our "2011's Greatest Hits" mix, which we've usually avoided in the past because it feels like cheating. (2010's Greatest Hits included Merchandise in our top 10, as well as Pet Milk, a Philadelphia band who currently has about 280 Facebook fans. We don't know these bands in real life, and so our opinions on those bands are unbiased.)
When we used to read Buddyhead back in 2001-2003, their "Best of the year" purposely avoided the writers' own bands because their readers complained after they tried to sneak in stuff like The Icarus Line or Shat. And similarly, I think it's kind of cheap and big-headed of Paul McCartney to list "Hey Jude" and "Strawberry Fields" in his 10 best 60's songs. We don't wanna be like "that guy"...
We considered ranking a top 10 or top 20 only made up of our friends bands, except that would be sort of like going through your friends and ranking them from best to worst. This isn't MySpace.
#3 We've also been struggling to find our place amongst the music-bloggers, which was never the intention of this website when it launched. We're not supposed to be a music blog. We've been accused of this more and more as of late, because people see "blogspot" and see that we're writing about music, and then assume that we're trying to do the same thing as gorillavsbear or whatever the fuck people are reading these days... The "bloggers" do their thing way better than we do their thing. In fact, we don't do their thing at all. This website is its own thing. It's not really a music website. But we usually end up writing about music. We don't want to fit in. We are not hipsters. We don't wear skinny jeans and we hate big black glasses. We listen to Pearl Jam. HIPSTERS DON'T LISTEN TO PEARL JAM.
This is not supposed to be a music website. It's more of a journal, and we'd like to make more of an effort to write about TV or politics or whatever, but the "write about what you know" thing points us in certain directions more than we'd like.
#4 Because of these reasons, 2011 might be the last time we do a big huge "best of the year" thing. In fact, it might not even happen this year. A similar thing happened in 2007, because we simply weren't feeling the music of that year. And it's happened again. It was a brilliant year for albums... An amazing year for unsigned rock and young rappers... But our thing is singles. We love radio singles. And this year, there was like, nothing.... So we're not sure what's gonna happen just yet, but it will happen soon enough...
#1 2011 was the first year that simply made want to give up on searching for new stuff from the same resources we've used in the past, such as the music journalism blogosphere, major websites such as Pitchfork, music criticism forums such as ILM, or the "Best albums" and "Best singles" sections of RateYourMusic.Com. For the past 8-9 years, these resources have helped tremendously. However, in 2011, this was not the case.
#2 2011 was also the first year where the music made by people we know in real life was good enough to take up 30-40% of our "2011's Greatest Hits" mix, which we've usually avoided in the past because it feels like cheating. (2010's Greatest Hits included Merchandise in our top 10, as well as Pet Milk, a Philadelphia band who currently has about 280 Facebook fans. We don't know these bands in real life, and so our opinions on those bands are unbiased.)
When we used to read Buddyhead back in 2001-2003, their "Best of the year" purposely avoided the writers' own bands because their readers complained after they tried to sneak in stuff like The Icarus Line or Shat. And similarly, I think it's kind of cheap and big-headed of Paul McCartney to list "Hey Jude" and "Strawberry Fields" in his 10 best 60's songs. We don't wanna be like "that guy"...
We considered ranking a top 10 or top 20 only made up of our friends bands, except that would be sort of like going through your friends and ranking them from best to worst. This isn't MySpace.
#3 We've also been struggling to find our place amongst the music-bloggers, which was never the intention of this website when it launched. We're not supposed to be a music blog. We've been accused of this more and more as of late, because people see "blogspot" and see that we're writing about music, and then assume that we're trying to do the same thing as gorillavsbear or whatever the fuck people are reading these days... The "bloggers" do their thing way better than we do their thing. In fact, we don't do their thing at all. This website is its own thing. It's not really a music website. But we usually end up writing about music. We don't want to fit in. We are not hipsters. We don't wear skinny jeans and we hate big black glasses. We listen to Pearl Jam. HIPSTERS DON'T LISTEN TO PEARL JAM.
This is not supposed to be a music website. It's more of a journal, and we'd like to make more of an effort to write about TV or politics or whatever, but the "write about what you know" thing points us in certain directions more than we'd like.
#4 Because of these reasons, 2011 might be the last time we do a big huge "best of the year" thing. In fact, it might not even happen this year. A similar thing happened in 2007, because we simply weren't feeling the music of that year. And it's happened again. It was a brilliant year for albums... An amazing year for unsigned rock and young rappers... But our thing is singles. We love radio singles. And this year, there was like, nothing.... So we're not sure what's gonna happen just yet, but it will happen soon enough...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
80's Guilt Mix: #50-#01
We usually forget about how annoying it is to get these things finished once they've been started... Somehow the "2000's LMAO" mix from over the summer was finished within 4 days, while this one took 2.5 weeks (a period of life which mostly sucked). Whatever... It's finished and probably looks way better in this format than in the individual posts...
#50 Def Leppard "Armageddon It" (1988)
#49 The Pursuit of Happiness "She's So Young" (1989) / Utopia "Crybaby" (1984)
#48 Bobby Brown "On Our Own" (1989)
#47 Alice Cooper "Poison" (1989)
#46 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (1989)
#45 The Jets "You Got It All" (1987)
#44 Climie Fisher "Love Changes (Everything)" (1988)
#43 Benny Mardones "Into The Night" (1980)
#42 Toto "Africa" (1982)
#41 Kajagoogoo "Too Shy" (1983)
#40 Janet Jackson "When I Think Of You" (1986)
#39 The Alan Parsons Project "Eye In The Sky" (1982)
#38 Tommy Tutone "867-5309/Jenny" (1982)
#37 Cheap Trick "Tonight It's You" (1985)
#36 New Edition "Candy Girl" (1983)
#35 Mr. Mister "Broken Wings" (1985)
#34 REO Speedwagon "Keep On Lovin' You" (1980)
#33 Pink Floyd "Learning To Fly" (1987)
#32 Richard Marx "Should've Known Better" (1987)
#31 Tracey Ullman "They Don't Know" (1983)
#30 Timex Social Club "Rumors" (1986)
#29 Wang Chung "Dance Hall Days" (1984)
#28 Bruce Springsteen "I'm On Fire" (1984)
#27 Ready For The World "Oh Sheila" (1985) / Sheila E "The Glamorous Life" (1984)
#26 Billy Joel "Laura" (1982)
#25 The Outfield "Your Love" (1986)
#24 Debbie Gibson "Shake Your Love" (1987) / Rick Astley "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man" (1988)
#23 Heart "These Dreams" (1986)
#22 The Jacksons "Torture" (1984)
#21 Paul Davis "Cool Night" (1982)
#20 Spandau Ballet "True" (1983) / Johnny Hates Jazz "Shattered Dreams" (1987)
#19 Swing Out Sister "Breakout" (1987)
#18 Bryan Adams "One Night Love Affair" (1984)
#17 Lindsey Buckingham "Trouble" (1982)
#16 Foreigner "Urgent" (1981)
#15 Dokken "In My Dreams" (1985)
#14 Teena Marie "Lovergirl" (1984)
#13 Huey Lewis & The News "The Power Of Love" (1985)
#12 Mike + The Mechanics "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" (1985)
#11 L'Trimm "Cars With The Boom" (1988)
#10 The Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why" (1980) / Don Henley "The Heart of the Matter" (1989)
#09 America "You Can Do Magic" (1982)
#08 Rick Springfield "Love Is Alright Tonight" (1981)
#07 Hall & Oates "Guessing Games" (1982)
#06 Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror" (1988)
#05 Howard Jones "No One Is To Blame" (1986)
#04 Madonna "Dress You Up" (1985)
#03 Winger "Seventeen" (1989)
#02 Wham! "Freedom" (1984)
#01 Philip Bailey & Phil Collins "Easy Lover" (1984)
1980: 3
1981: 2
1982: 8
1983: 4
1984: 9
1985: 7
1986: 5
1987: 6
1988: 5
1989: 6
The last half of the decade seems pretty evenly distributed. Early decade did not fair especially well, while mid-decade kicked slightly more ass than we expected. 1982 did very well, unsurprisingly, since it's the best year of the 80's.
It's finally done.
#50 Def Leppard "Armageddon It" (1988)
#49 The Pursuit of Happiness "She's So Young" (1989) / Utopia "Crybaby" (1984)
#48 Bobby Brown "On Our Own" (1989)
#47 Alice Cooper "Poison" (1989)
#46 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (1989)
#45 The Jets "You Got It All" (1987)
#44 Climie Fisher "Love Changes (Everything)" (1988)
#43 Benny Mardones "Into The Night" (1980)
#42 Toto "Africa" (1982)
#41 Kajagoogoo "Too Shy" (1983)
#40 Janet Jackson "When I Think Of You" (1986)
#39 The Alan Parsons Project "Eye In The Sky" (1982)
#38 Tommy Tutone "867-5309/Jenny" (1982)
#37 Cheap Trick "Tonight It's You" (1985)
#36 New Edition "Candy Girl" (1983)
#35 Mr. Mister "Broken Wings" (1985)
#34 REO Speedwagon "Keep On Lovin' You" (1980)
#33 Pink Floyd "Learning To Fly" (1987)
#32 Richard Marx "Should've Known Better" (1987)
#31 Tracey Ullman "They Don't Know" (1983)
#30 Timex Social Club "Rumors" (1986)
#29 Wang Chung "Dance Hall Days" (1984)
#28 Bruce Springsteen "I'm On Fire" (1984)
#27 Ready For The World "Oh Sheila" (1985) / Sheila E "The Glamorous Life" (1984)
#26 Billy Joel "Laura" (1982)
#25 The Outfield "Your Love" (1986)
#24 Debbie Gibson "Shake Your Love" (1987) / Rick Astley "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man" (1988)
#23 Heart "These Dreams" (1986)
#22 The Jacksons "Torture" (1984)
#21 Paul Davis "Cool Night" (1982)
#20 Spandau Ballet "True" (1983) / Johnny Hates Jazz "Shattered Dreams" (1987)
#19 Swing Out Sister "Breakout" (1987)
#18 Bryan Adams "One Night Love Affair" (1984)
#17 Lindsey Buckingham "Trouble" (1982)
#16 Foreigner "Urgent" (1981)
#15 Dokken "In My Dreams" (1985)
#14 Teena Marie "Lovergirl" (1984)
#13 Huey Lewis & The News "The Power Of Love" (1985)
#12 Mike + The Mechanics "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" (1985)
#11 L'Trimm "Cars With The Boom" (1988)
#10 The Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why" (1980) / Don Henley "The Heart of the Matter" (1989)
#09 America "You Can Do Magic" (1982)
#08 Rick Springfield "Love Is Alright Tonight" (1981)
#07 Hall & Oates "Guessing Games" (1982)
#06 Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror" (1988)
#05 Howard Jones "No One Is To Blame" (1986)
#04 Madonna "Dress You Up" (1985)
#03 Winger "Seventeen" (1989)
#02 Wham! "Freedom" (1984)
#01 Philip Bailey & Phil Collins "Easy Lover" (1984)
1980: 3
1981: 2
1982: 8
1983: 4
1984: 9
1985: 7
1986: 5
1987: 6
1988: 5
1989: 6
The last half of the decade seems pretty evenly distributed. Early decade did not fair especially well, while mid-decade kicked slightly more ass than we expected. 1982 did very well, unsurprisingly, since it's the best year of the 80's.
It's finally done.
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