Best of 2016

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
From Choon of the day earlier this year:

Luka- It’s Greenwhich

The juxtaposition between the infantile (the bass, use of single clause sentences, non-sequiters, etc.) and the bittersweet (the strings); of course nostalgia for our childhood is often bittersweet.

Similarly there is the (often simultaneous) evocation of both the mundane and the magnificent. On the one hand talk there is talk of pubs and pies and on the other Luka references history, religion and astrology.

These two themes are reconciled as Luka calls on the audience to view our mundane lives with the magical sense of wonder of a child; to see the thames as "sparkling", etc.
 

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
road rap meets afrobeat/funky thread ting:

Kojo Funds- Dun Talking [probably my most listened to song of this year, contender for track of the year]

Donaeo- My Circle

Yxng Bane- Fine Wine and Should’ve Known Better

Pop:

Rihanna- Work [I felt it was a jaw dropper at the time, I can't see why now, though I still think it's great] and James Joint

Ariana Grande- Greedy and Be Alright

Jones- Indulge (and the various remixes)

MO- Final Song

Tieks- Sunshine

Rap

Rae Sremmurd- Start A Party [track of the year contender]

Young Thug- Drippin and Kanye West

2 Chainz- Ghetto [track of the year contender]

Future- All Right and Xanny Family

Kanye West- Feedback and 30 Hours [most of the credit goes to Arthur Russell though]

Wacka Flocka Flame- Dreads n Golds [not to be confused with Dreads & Gold] [album of the year]

Maxo Kream- Choppas, Hit Mane, Big Worm and None of Y’all

Dancehall:

Colton T- Na Worry Bout Dem [track of the year contender]

Mavado- Lowe Me

Wicked Wicked Riddim

Jafrass- Kill Him Enuh

Alkaline- One More Time

Krisco Riddim

Mavado- Way We Roll
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Interesting (or not) that both Rolling Stone and NME have top 50s full of Rhianna, Chance the Rapper, Young Thug, Drake, etc.

Rock is dead?
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
NME

10. Charli XCX – ‘After The Afterparty’

9. Lady Leshurr – ‘Where Are You Now?’

8. Skepta – ‘Man’

7. Kanye West – ‘Ultralight Beam’

6. Beyoncé – ‘Formation’

5. Christine & The Queens – ‘Tilted’

4. Iggy Pop – ‘Gardenia’

3. Chance The Rapper – ‘All Night’

2. The 1975 – ‘Somebody Else’

1. Rihanna – ‘Work’
 

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
Interesting (or not) that both Rolling Stone and NME have top 50s full of Rhianna, Chance the Rapper, Young Thug, Drake, etc.

Rock is dead?

I thought rock died at some point in the early 90's. At least as a sonic vanguard.

As a cultural force it died around the mid-2000's.
 

Leo

Well-known member
i don't even know what "rock" is in 2016. if there's ever a need for a rock act at a big showcase gig (like super bowl halftime show, etc.), promoters still just roll out old relics like springsteen, U2 and aerosmith. aren't there any big bands whose members are in their 20s-30s anymore? do any kids, aside from a small group of outsider/underground/indie kids, listen to rock anymore? does it even get radio airplay?

aside: there's one new/used record store in town that's fine when the owner is there but on certain nights/weekends he has some college-age girls working and all they play in-store is this really shitty emo rock. that stuff makes me feel older than anything else because it LITERALLY ALL SOUNDS THE SAME: same shitty guitar sound, same lack of a catchy hook, same shouty lurching emotive choruses, etc.

fucking kids today, get off my lawn.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I guess it makes sense that rock would be dead. Not only is it a lot more expensive to buy guitars/drums etc. then to download a cracked copy of Ableton or whatever, but it's also pretty limiting on what you can do and to top it all off its all been done before.

MY LIST OF 2016 SONGS I LIKE

2 CHAINZ feat. DRAKE - Big Amount
21 SAVAGE - No Heart
ANDERSON PAAK feat. SCHOOLBOY Q - Am I Wrong
BLAWAN - Communicat 1022 EP
CALL SUPER - Nervous Sex Traffic
CALVIN HARRIS feat. RHIANNA - This Is What U Came For
DRAKE - Hype
DVSN - Too Deep
FANTASIA - No Time For It
FUTURE - Ain't No Time
GUCCI MANE feat. DRAKE - Back On Road
KENDRICK LEMAR - Untitled 07 / levitate
KING - The Right One
KODAK BLACK - Can I
KUEDO - Slow Knife LP
LIL BOOSIE - Black Babies Don't Mourn
MEEK MILL FEAT. TORY LANEZ - Litty
MHD - S/T LP
PARTYNEXTDOOR feat. DRAKE - Come & See Me
PHONTE & ERIC ROBERTSON - It's So Easy
PLIES - Ritz Carlton
RAE SREMMURD - Came A Long Way
REEKADO BANKS - Oluwa Ni (Wemi You)
RIHANNA feat. DRAKE - Work
RO JAMES - Already Knew That
SOLANGE - Don't You Wait
TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Melatonin
UNDERACHIEVERS - It Happened In Flatbush (Mixtape)
YO GOTTI - Down In The DM

THESE AND MORE @
 
Last edited:

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
NME

10. Charli XCX – ‘After The Afterparty’

9. Lady Leshurr – ‘Where Are You Now?’

8. Skepta – ‘Man’

7. Kanye West – ‘Ultralight Beam’

6. Beyoncé – ‘Formation’

5. Christine & The Queens – ‘Tilted’

4. Iggy Pop – ‘Gardenia’

3. Chance The Rapper – ‘All Night’

2. The 1975 – ‘Somebody Else’

1. Rihanna – ‘Work’

nme isnt really a rock mag anymore though is it?

idk about rolling stone but i suppose it would be hard for them to find rock stuff that is both popular and also has core rock values. obscure rock stuff their readers prob would find too indie. i dont know who reads RS anymore though - i find it hard to tell. theyre prob more okay with modern pop than mojo actually. you wouldnt get nicki minaj on the cover of mojo.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Was it on ILX last year that ppl were saying how depressingly similar all the magazine EOY polls are these days? Like you'd be hard pressed to tell the Rolling Stone list from the FACT list or whatever.

Edit: guess this is an obvious consequence of the internet connecting everything. Everyone who's into music will have heard about and read about the same songs and albums. Whereas once people were more ensconced in their bubble of purchases.
 
Last edited:

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
It seems like the lifespans of macro-genres have been getting shorter and shorter, with shifts within the macro-genre occurring faster as well.

Classical music was around as a sonic vanguard for hundreds of years. I don't know much about classical music, but I assume that shifts in styles took decades.

Jazz lasted for about 70 years. Earlier on I think different styles of jazz would take 10 to 20 years to evolve, but from 55-75, it was about every 3 or 4.

Rock lasted about 50, and was pretty consistent in evolving every 3-5 years.

Rap and electronic dance music have been around for around 40 years and shifted about ever 5 years through the 80's and 90's. The shifts in the past decade or so have been slower and less drastic. I assume that both are on their last legs as sonic vanguards.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
You know it has been pretty shit in rap music.

Something very drugged and soporific about music these days, it's the same with most of the RNB I selected and 'Black Beatles' e.g.
 

firefinga

Well-known member
Edit: guess this is an obvious consequence of the internet connecting everything. Everyone who's into music will have heard about and read about the same songs and albums. Whereas once people were more ensconced in their bubble of purchases.

Has never been any different - before the net it was all the same bands/records the music press was writing about. It's just things spread faster these days.
 

Leo

Well-known member
seems like lots of magazines and blogs approach it (perhaps unconsciously) as "what's the best out of all the stuff that's gotten massive hype/cool hipster cred?" as opposed to simply "what do i think is the best music of the year?". there's always been some overlap but the internet seems to have made it a lot more common.

not that anyone cares about my list, but when i've put them together in the past they tend to be what i listened to and enjoyed the most in the past 12 months, which doesn't necessarily mean just new stuff released in the past year. i usually belatedly discover at least a half-dozen albums from years past that get the most plays at home.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
i think the net has just made music mags much more conscious of how others might see their lists (basically the net has made everyone much more aware of the judgement of others). all the stuff you had already about needing to look cool but X 10.

Something very drugged and soporific about music these days, it's the same with most of the RNB I selected and 'Black Beatles' e.g.

idk about drugginess but i see it as an increased casualisation to how music sounds (maybe an internalised awareness of its place in the culture).

good that this thread has attracted some new/dormant users.
 
Last edited:
Top