Worst of 2013 Lists

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PadaEtc

Emperor Penguin
Is there a place for such a thing?

Regardless, I'll vote for identikit 90s garage house pastiches.
 
C

continuum

smugpolice
Charlie XCX - What I Like

Charlie and her mates are fit no questions and the song is kind of catchy but the lyrics and video are so hipster that it makes me cringe. She claims to be a 'blog act' (whatever that is) who is now breaking into the mainstream. She recently wrote a number 1 song that was fronted by some other group that is shite.
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
haim. major label dross in the form of three cute sisters, with too many reviews claiming they meld 80s-indie with fleetwood mac songwriting chops. no, they don't.
 
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Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Blurred Lines I really don't get the popularity of but I don't think its AWFUL. It's just not that great.
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
funny: woebot just put haim and "blurred lines" in his top 10!

btw, congrats connect_icut!
 
O

oblioblioblio

Wild Horses
resident advisor for being this aggregate of lowest common denominator dance music for people who think they're onto something but really they're just mongs.

boiler room. for being a perfect distillation of a life changing music experience, except wait! lets take out the life changing element and broadcast it so everyone can see your great dancing, your great djing, how many friends you have, your super cool outfit. guards!

the couple I spoke to at a music fest and when they asked "so, who are you looking forward to" where I replied "me, cos everyone else is shit aren't they?" who didn't get the delicate line being trodden between a joke and deadly seriousness.

Oxford music scene (Truck Store, The Cellar, Onenoteforever blog, Nightshift music mag, the author of this article http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4146506 ) . twats.
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
Corpsey said:
Where?
Click to expand...

he sent out an email blast with the subject line "TEN", assume he wouldn't mind me sharing (and congrats, Connect_icut!)...

C418: "Volume Beta". As the soundtrack to MINECRAFT, C418's "Volume Alpha" might be the most widely heard Ambient Music album ever. His beautiful Roedelius and Eno meet Belbury Poly stylings, on tracks like "Dead Voxel" which graces 2013's "Volume Beta", will be familiar to all explorers of The Nether.

Connect_icut: "Crows & Kittiwakes Wheel & Come Again". Massive album which effortlessly squared the circle between post-MBV Indie Rock noise and Fennesz-style glitch. Macklin gets better and better.

Haim: "Days Are Gone". Faultless. Can't agree with the 80s Soft-Rock dialog round these ladies, in spite of its seductive logic. This doesn't sound retro to me at all! Listen to the charts and compare. Utterly bewitched by Danielle's wounded but tough persona - heard best on "Don't Save Me". Witness her elegantly withdrawn, gently sceptical presence in interviews on YouTube. This story must run and run.

Lorde: "Royals". The whole LP isn't up to much - but "Royals", barring embarrassing lyrics ("cut my teeth"/"my fantasy") was breathless and quite lovely. When she hits that swoony high note on "Queen Bee" - there's been nothing as exquisite this year.

Robin Thicke: "Blurred Lines". I first heard this on Capital Radio. It seemed fourth dimensional the way it leapt out the speakers. Immediately reminiscent of multiple August Darnell projects: Kid Creole's "Mister Softee", Machine's "There But For The Grace Of God" and Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band's "Cherchez La Femme" but at once refreshing and current. I was, perhaps foolishly, surprised that Thicke was a white man. Then both titillated and slightly appalled by the song's music video. There came soon, at first a trickle, then a torrent of backlash against its "rapey" undercurrent - some of which seemed understandable. Finally we had the stomach-churningly ghastly spectacle of Miley Cyrus duetting with Thicke at the MTV awards. The whole experience was like watching someone turn tricks on a motorbike before crashing into the crowd.

The Focus Group "Elektrik Carousel". The Focus Group donned their black leather and wraparound shades this year to explore gently surprising but still consistent aesthetics. Imagine the clockwork whirr of The Velvet Underground's "Here She Comes" were to warp and weft - or the dream-noir tin can of The United States of America's "Cloud Song" was banged till it was empty. House seemed to get a contact high from the Can outtakes; fresh from designing the cover for their Lost Tapes.

Vampire Weekend: "Modern Vampires of the City". As much as their hipster jet-stream frolic can grate... Were Spandau Ballet ever this aspirational? Notwithstanding, the aching emotion of Ezra and Rostam's songs get me every time. They are never afraid of being tender, of having emotions, of having something (albeit oblique) to say.

Kanye West: "Yeezus". He lunges from one sensational position to the next. The last two LPs - "Watch The Throne" (2011) and "MBDTF" (2010) didn't appeal (too chummy - too bombastic) - but "Yeezus" is thrilling - especially "Black Skinhead's" Glitter Band redux. Can't think of a more radical gesture from the Hip-Hop community...ever.

Xylitol: "Kunst Ist Tot". Awesome neo-NDW with mind-bending artwork from Steve Stapleton.

Various Artists: "Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound". Timely Hipster revival comp which inspired me to compile this Spotify Playlist dedicated to the joys of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. So many gems in Janet Jackson's back catalogue: pitch "Alright" up +2 on your Technics and it's practically 2 Bad Mice, and the 'Nuum parallels don't stop there - check the jaw-droopingly extraordinary "Empty" - they were listening to LTJ Bukem?! The unfeasibly sly Kraftwerk sample on her "Show Me". Too many highlights - but Boyz II Men's "4 Seasons of Loneliness" - devastating innit.
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connect_icut

connect_icut

Well-known member
Leo said:
he sent out an email blast with the subject line "TEN", assume he wouldn't mind me sharing (and congrats, Connect_icut!)...
Click to expand...

Actually, Woebot gave me a lot of guidance during the final stages of making that album. I think he even picked the final tracklisting, so he'd better like it! ;)

Trying to think of anything I particularly hated this year. The whole hipster techno thing is aggravating but I actually like some of the music (e.g. Blondes), so...

The main thing in music that made me angry this year was people not accepting that an album of MBV demos and rough mixes was by far the best release of the year. I think I just have to get over that.

Simon Reynolds usually does a list of stuff he didn't like, right?
 
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M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
GLAD SOMEONE ELSE SAID IT TOO. It's a fucking tuneless dirge, horrible, horrible song. And where's the strings? They couldn't even be bothered to put disco strings on it.
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
The lyrics to 'Get Lucky' are SHITE, but I'm quite amazed that anybody is OFFENDED by them. I'm similarly bemused by the 'Blurred Lines' furore. Mind you, I listen to rap music most of the time so perhaps I'm just desensitised.

I think 'Get Lucky' is really overrated, the best bit of the whole thing is the little vocoder section. I was turned off the whole album by their hyperbolic ''REAL music'' marketing campaign. The Limmy review killed the whole thing for me, forevermore.
 
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