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2010 #7 Caribou - Swim Caribous’s 2010 record, Swim, is a journey of euphoria and melancholia. An album where maneuvering through its liquified sounds can be as easy as floating down a lazy river or as difficult as fighting against a harsh undertow. One things for sure though, every listen through Swim will leave you mesmerized by Caribou’s dazzling synthesizers, infectious rhythms, and haunting lyrics of love and loss. What’s your favorite song off Swim?
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2010 #6 M.I.A. - /\/\ /\ Y /\ M.I.A’s polarizing record, /\/\ /\ Y /\, acts as a commentary on the “digital ruckus” the internet and social media have brought into the 21st century. The track-list feels like scrolling through a Facebook feed, as songs change from jarring, industrial-based beats to the classic pop tunes of the new decade. /\/\ /\ Y /\’s blending of punk, industrial, pop, hip hop, and electronic music functions as the catalyst, or at least an influence, for the future music landscape including artists like, Charli XCX, AG Cook, clipping., Death Grips, and others. This album’s sound aged so well... way ahead of its time!
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2010 #3 Gorillaz - Plastic Beach Plastic Beach, Gorillaz third studio album, builds a post-apocalyptic world centered around the destruction of our ecosystem via cheap waste. While the warm message of love and community to solve these environmental issues is brilliantly delivered, what make me absolutely love this album is its genre-blending and absurd arrangement of guest artists. Gorillaz have and continue to use a wide variety of guest artists and specifically on this record you get the likes of grime MCs Bashy and Kano, Hip Hop legends Snoop Dogg, De la Soul, and Mos Def, and artists like Little Dragon and Lou Fucking Reed! Plastic Beach is an album that fits any mood, from the tear-jerking “On Melancholy Hill, to the somber “Empire Ants”, to the psychedelic techno banger “Sweepstakes”, and my personal favorite “Rhinestone Eyes”. Overall, Plastic Beach truly shows off the artistic prowess of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. Drop your dream Gorillaz collab down in the comments!
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how I feel about my first post :)
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2010 #1 Kanye West - My Beautuful Dark Twisted Fantasy 1 year after the infamous VMA incident with Taylor Swift, a long self-imposed exile to Hawaii, and a barrage of free songs released through Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Friday promotional, built up to the culmination of what is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. MBDTF makes Kanye seem larger than life, a king amongst men, or at least that’s how Kanye wants others to himself as. From the opening track, “Dark Fantasy”, asking “Can we get much higher”, Kanye lets listeners know that he is at the top of his craft and even his status at that peak is going to be challenged on this record. With multiple songs exceeding the 5 minute mark, Kanye puts all of his effort into creating dense, layered tracks that will have you scraping your jaw off the floor. MBDTF is just as much for Kanye’s fans as it is for his haters. It’s a confident “your welcome” as well as a triumphant middle finger to all those who listen. On to 2011!
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Baby Strange go 5/5 on their new EP, “Land of Nothing”
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2010 #5 Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma FlyLo’s third studio album, Cosmogramma, combines the styles of hip-hop, IDM, video game music, and jazz to create an ethereal journey of self discovery, planetary exploration, and ultimately sounds that will melt all expectations of what music can be or should be. From the enigmatic rhythms on “Zodiac Shit”, to the chill meditation of “…And the World Laughs With You”, or even the chaotic dance track “Do The Astral Plane”, Flying Lotus leaves listeners, such as myself, in awe of the soundscape he has created. Seriously, try not to dance to “Do The Astral Plane”, the song is an absolute banger!
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2010 #2 Beach House - Teen Dream Beach House’s third studio album, Teen Dream, acts as an eulogy for love, by speaking on the woes, journeys, and naiveness that come along with relationships. Victoria Legrand’s lyrics and delivery sound dreamy, yet have a nightmarish reality to them, which makes the narrative she tries to get across that much more impactful. Musically, each song on Teen Dream is masterfully curated to fill the listeners ears with layers of texture and sound. In all, Teen Dream makes you want to look out a window and reflect on your past struggles, but also, on a positive note, see how far you’ve come and grown. It’s truly a masterpiece in a phenomenal discography. This won’t be the last beach house album on this list🌝 #1 will be posted tomorrow!
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2010 #4 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening To me, This Is Happening feels like the closing of a chapter, not exactly a chapter in LCD Soundsystem’s illustrious discography, but rather a chapter in my own life. The album feels like one last 79 minute hurrah, that when it’s finally over, I can’t decide whether to feel sad that the past is no more or thankful that it happened. I finally listened to this album at a time when I felt conflicted about life, I didn’t know where I was going, what I was doing, or even who was going to be with me during the way. After listening to This Is Happening, something clicked. I saw hope in the future, and I could finally look back at the past not with longing or regret, but with contentment and happiness. Just as the title suggest, life is moving on, you got to soak it all in, dance yourself clean, and say “This Is Happening”. Anyways... “Dance Yrself Clean” is one of the greatest intro tracks ever!
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It’s Friday so you gotta bring the energy😎
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describing Jockstrap is like describing how it feels to chew 5 gum...
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one of my favorite new artists. happy monday everyone!
