Journalism Final

Students enjoyed the 44th annual Athens International Film and Video Festival, which took place at the Athena Cinema during the week of April 3^rd to April 9^th, where attendants were treated to a variety of short films, feature length films, and many unique events throughout the week.

The event was marked by a unique and varied lineup of films, ranging from many different genres. Those shown were separated into 3 distinctions; special events, international features, and films in competition.

Special events included things like screenings with a Q&A with the director afterwards.  Most of these were documentaries with some cultural significance to the current political climate. For instance, the documentary “Whose Streets?” was shown on Tuesday, which covers the recent Ferguson protest, retaliation to the injustice of teenaged Michael Brown’s murder by law enforcement. The director and activist, Sabaah Folayan, was in attendance to discuss his work after the screening.

Perhaps the most unique instance of the special events was the showing of “1984”, also on Tuesday. This was part of a National Event Day, where over 90 art house cinemas participated in showcasing one film. Based on George Orwell’s novel, its portrayal of civil unrest and an oppressive government mirror similar unrest in today’s political climate, making its screening more relevant. Additionally, the film’s lead actor, John Hurt, had just passed away 3 months prior.

There were also a number of free after parties at various locales around Athens, including one at The Union on Saturday that hosted some experimental music performances, including the Ohio local band Us, Today, who play an experimental version of post-rock.

The international features were more high profile narrative films and documentaries from many different countries. Two of the more noteworthy films shown were “My Life as a Zucchini” and “Toni Erdmann”. Both of these films were shown nearly every day and had some prestige already, both fresh from an appearance at the 89^th Academy Awards, which took place just 2 months earlier.

“My Life as a Zucchini”, or “My Life as a Courgette” in its native country, is a Swiss-French stop motion animation film directed by Claude Barras. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, competing with films like “Moana” and “Kubo and the Two Strings”, and lost to “Zootopia.”

More adult-themed than many of its fellow animated contemporaries, it tells the story of a young boy who likes to go by Zucchini, who’s alcoholic mother has just died in an accident partially caused by him. He now lives in an orphanage with many other little kids who become his friends over time. Running at a brisk 66 minutes, its storytelling is concise and lean. 

Glenn Kenny, writing for RogerEbert.com, says its strengths are in its visuals, "Every frame has a striking bit of visual business going on therein, but not in a flashy way.. The children have big eyes that aren't creepy or kitschy but genuinely captivating. The creation of a world very much unlike our own but still entirely recognizable as a locus for pain and exhilaration is always to be celebrated."

“Toni Erdmann”, on the other hand, is a lengthy German-Austrian comedy directed by Maren Ade. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was a favorite choice to win by critics but Iranian film “The Salesman” ended up winning the honor. The nearly 3-hour film has been praised for its central father-daughter relationship that gets most of the laughs and is the heart of the story.

Jessica Kiang, a writer for The Playlist, compliments the film on its humor, "The film is ridiculously funny at times, but the funny comes from the same place as the sad- these two wonderful characters, played faultlessly by Simonsichek and Hüller. And even the smallest performances are slivers of perfection."

The films in competition are the central conceit of the festival as a whole. These films were selected specifically to be screened at the festival, and they made up the bulk of the schedule.  Essentially, a committee made up of the Athens communities’ own artists and students watched every submitted film and chose which ones would eventually be screened at the festival. A total of 235 films of varying lengths and subjects were selected out of a total of over 2000 sent in.

Additionally, there were incentives to be shown at the festival, as many awards were up for grabs throughout the week. Those included best Feature narrative, Feature Documentary, Animation, and Experimental.  There were cash prizes attached to each award, with The Black Bear Award, recognizing achievement in sound, netting a prize of $500. The winners were announced at the festivals conclusion.

The winner of Feature Narrative was a Serbian film called “All the Cities of the North”. It was noteworthy for its unconventional storytelling, using focus on the industrial setting to tell its story.

Meanwhile, the winner of Feature Documentary was a film called “Alone Among the Taliban”, a documentary from Iranian journalist Mohsen Eslamzadeh, it portrays the director’s coverage of the time he spent with the Taliban whilst in Afghanistan. The awards committee commended it for its unique objective portrayal of a hot button issue to Americans.

Students who attended the festival were able to get into any Competition Film for free before 5 pm, and otherwise had to pay $6.50 for each show, or purchase a pass that would let them see 6 screenings for $30.

Alternatively, every showing had a limited amount of free student tickets up for grabs. A student could present their student ID to get a ticket. Once they were out, normal ticket prices would apply.

The Athens International Film and Video Festival has been an institution since its start in 1974, and has been presenting unique films from all over the world ever since. It’s a really great way to show support for the art and cinema scene in Athens and will likely continue to make an impact in the community for years to come.

Web Sources

http://theplaylist.net/youll-thankful-weirdos-life-watching-toni-erdmann-review-20161230/

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-life-as-a-zucchini-2017

 Video Component

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLu_KE_ie8

The Lil Wayne Retrospective Part 3: Lil Wayne-Tha Block is Hot

There's a great daily blog post on Noisey right now, written by Kyle Kramer, called A Year of Lil Wayne. Every day he talks about a new subject, relating to a different song or guest spot. It's a really rewarding and passionate read and I think it's existence made up my decision of whether I was going to cover every Lil Wayne feature. The bottom line is it's just too much, and I feel like it's not necessary to what I'm trying to do, which is chart Lil Wayne's growth and see how his whole discography measures up. If one wants the best of Lil Wayne, definitely check out that blog. Alright, after some time away, let's listen to Tha Block is Hot.

Lil Wayne-Tha Block is Hot (1999)

(Intro) Yeah, if you're gonna have a minute and a half of Mannie and Birdman talking about how dope Wayne is and how we aren't ready, its a good thing its over an instrumental this fucking good.

(Tha Block is Hot) This is Wayne's first single. It's impressive. The beat has some breakbeat drums and about 50 other sounds going on. The grunt sample is pretty dated but most of the crispness in production is there. I like how Wayne was once again told by his mom not to cuss but the violent imagery in the third verse pretty much proves that it was basically futile.

(Loud Pipes) I think my hopes of this being a true solo effort/breakthrough is going to prove false. This track may has well have been on a Hot Boys mixtape. You don't even hear Wayne until the last verse. Looking over the track list it doesn't seem like there will be very much of him shining solo. Track is good but probably the cheesiest, most dated beat so far.

(Watcha Wanna Do) Eh. Not very memorable. He went back to that one raised-inflection vocal delivery I got sick of last project.

(Kisha) I like a good story track. This song is basically about this girl named Kisha and how the Hot Boys pass her around like a relay race and everyone fucks her by the end. I mean it's not high art but it kept the concept the whole time. Really digging how Wayne's verse had every bar rhyme with Kisha (or the ee ah sounds) and even threw in some internal rhyme. Beat is less dated but not too memorable. Sort of just meanders in the background, uneventfully.

(High Beamin) Man, a lot of these tracks are pretty forgettable. They just sort of come and go. Maybe I've been burnt out on Mannie Fresh's sometimes dated beats. I zoned out on this one. The hook started to sound like "Me and my dick be sizzlin"

(Lights Off) Ok wow yeah just completely shatter my perception and drowsy mood, why don't you? This beat is killer, and really unexpected. This is why I want more solo Wayne tracks on this. The guitar loop and those clusters of piano chords are scratching my itch right now. The juxtaposition of Wayne's flow and this beat are working for me. Sure the beat is pretty adult contemporary R&B but it still works. Shout out to this couplet and it's impressive alliterative sonics.

"I'm highly intoxicated mixing krystelle and vodka
Somebody call the doctor cause my chopper done went blocka, knocka"

(Fuck Tha World) Two great songs back to back, and they're 2 of 4 tracks that are actually solo tracks on this album. I like this one even more though. This is getting closer and closer to the Wayne we know and love. Deeply introspective track about how everybody perceives him as a fuck-up and a gangbanger. He also talks about how his friends and family are being killed and how he now has a daughter. The sentiment of the track is well understood given those circumstances. It's positively jarring to hear Wayne refer to himself as a "young thug" given the modern rap climate and who's dominating it. Kind of neat thing you'd only notice now and was obviously unintentional. Another piano-based beat too. We'll definitely talk about how great I think Wayne goes over a piano at least by IANAHB II. 

(Remember Me) It's an energetic track but overall it's too simple for me to get anything out of it. The beat doesn't even sound particularly mastered.

(Respect Us) The best songs on here are always the most unique. This beat is almost too silly to take serious. Very salsa-esque. The opening to this track is very Young Thug. I could even see a post-Jeffery Thugga pull off going over top of a remake of this beat. It's a fun track, and unexpected. 

(Drop it Like it's Hot) There's a novelty to seeing a song called this before 2004. We get a glimpse of Lil Wayne working on some verse concepts. His first verse has every bar end in "girl", and his second verse has every bar end in "boy". Pretty dope. Can't stand the robot vocoder voice on the hook. Also it feels like the track wanders aimlessly at the end. I don't think these tracks needed to be as long as they are all the time.

(Young Playa) Loving the more conversational tone of Wayne's verses on this one. He sort of slides off the beat in a really satisfying manner. It portrays a more natural feel to the flow. The beat could soundtrack a 70's blaxploitation film, just with a few more cheesy drum sounds. This is especially evident with the Shaft-like voice over at the end. Again this song goes on for about 30 seconds too long.

(Enemy Turf) Mannie Fresh really does get an automatic win when he uses those acoustic guitar loops in his beats. These ones always sound the least dated. It's energetic to say the least. 

(Not Like Me) Pretty good flexin' track. This Paparue guy shows up again and I'm digging the hook. Mannie's line, "we use ta kick it like Tai Bo" will be pretty much taken word for word by Akon on "Smack That". Where is Akon nowadays? I think mostly providing money for electricity in Africa. Good shit.

(Come On) Holy shit this beat. Lots of forward momentum, and Weezy sounds hungry on this track. More of this would have been great, instead of tracks that may as well have been Hot Boys tracks, especially early on.

(Up to Me) It's worth noting how difficult it must be to not have a father figure in your biological dad,  and then to have your step dad be taken away from you, someone Wayne considered like his actual dad. And with recent times, the father figure in Birdman proved to be broken by greed and dishonesty. Now Wayne doesn't really have a father figure, and has been let down. This track is pretty relevant given Wayne's current situation. It really is up to him and him alone to keep it real. Sonically the track is nice if not noteworthy.

(You Want War) A hookless track, but the beat isn't interesting enough to carry it with intensity. Still, a promise of Wayne's finest moments.

Closing Thoughts: I think I appreciate and recognize Mannie Fresh and his production more than I actually like it, especially in this day and age. It's really dated, but it shines when he tries something new. Wayne, on the other hand, probably could have carried this project by himself but he's still not quite there. He's getting close to mastering unique, creative flows and excellent wordplay, but it's still not present wholly on here. 

Work Ethic and Longevity in 2016

Took a break from the Lil Wayne retrospective but here's something else real quick. Yesterday, Grimes dropped 7 new music videos, 4 of which were for songs off of last year's Art Angels. This sort of inspired me to take a look at how artists are finding ways to keep at their art that continue their inherent relevancy. Especially this year, there have been some great examples of this consistent work ethic. It's unsurprising, given the model for which music is distributed, and how that is constantly changing.

I'll start with Grimes. Claire Boucher is perhaps one of the hardest working people in the industry, especially in the span between the release of Art Angels and now. 3 music videos trickled out between October and  May, and these are most representative of Claire's skills as a director. Most of the dead giveaways of her artistic touch include multiple sets with a variety of costumes, well choreographed segments, and some quirky story that is only abstractly presented in the video. Kill V. Maim is the best example of her auteurist ambitions. The video is drenched in neon, and Claire utilizes her keen attention to detail to deck out her various co-stars with costumes that recall cyberpunk and anime especially. The pacing is frenetic, exciting, and endlessly re-watchable. 8 months in it remains this writer's favorite music video of the year. Also included in this more spread out batch of videos is California, which included a reworking of the beat itself, removing some of the more country-tinged sonics.

It's clear how impressive Claire's work is when given time, but it's just as impressive that while she was touring Europe she created 7 more videos. Videos made on tour are nothing new, but most of them are mainly about incorporating live performance footage in a stylized manner. This isn't really the case here. Instead, Claire manages to continue representing a visual language that is a staple of her work. There's no story in any of them, and they are minor works in the grand scheme of the whole Grimes project, but it's still noteworthy that there is a unique feel to all of these. They are undeniably more freeform and less planned out, but maintain the ethereal slow-mo feel and melding of costume design and excellent location scouting. The fact that she did all this while also non-stop touring from the release of her album to now is incredible, especially considering how she persevered when she got sick for a bit and apparently suffered a situation that left her shaken, one most likely personal. It's one month out from Art Angels being out for an entire year and Grimes has still managed to maintain supreme relevancy the entire time. She also managed to fit in a perfume campaign with Stella McCartney, a song on the Suicide Squad soundtrack, and curated the NBA 2k17 soundtrack somehow. Also she has crazy hair game.

I'd also like to talk about Gucci Mane, because he's notorious for his constant grind. It's markedly more impressive, however, considering he was released from jail on May 26th of this year. From then to now, in a span of 4 months, he released one studio album and has another on the way later in October. Gucci Mane found a way to instantly jump back into the rap game in a notable way, fulfilling the same role he did before he was put in jail but with rejuvenated energy. One day after his release, he had already found time to record 1st Day Out Tha Feds, a vivid and sobering description of the thoughts going through his head about being in prison, whether he deserved it, and how he's using freedom as a second chance. The fact that Gucci Mane jumped right into booth and wrote such a focused piece of work is a testament to his skills.

The album Everybody Looking came out on July 22nd, and boasts 8 singles, practically all of which have music videos Gucci Mane filmed while on house arrest. These videos paint a unique picture of his new position in life, more about having fun and relishing in the wealth he accrued whilst in jail. He also pokes fun at the clone narrative that arose once it was revealed that Gucci was way more well-built, healthy, and of clearer mindset post-prison time. Many consider Gucci Mane a relic of Southern Trap, but one thing he's shown is a willingness to stay relevant and connected with the youth. He's said in multiple recent interviews that he practically forces himself to like the music that the young rappers (some directly inspired by him) are creating. He's also amassed over a dozen feature spots since his release.His persistence to stay in the zeitgeist has led to him being at the top of the conversation at a height not reached since probably the release of The State vs. Radric Davis in 2009, and the song Lemonade, probably one of the greatest hip-hop singles of the 2000's.

Trap in general this year isn't the best example of the constant work mindset yielding great results, with one notable exception. Future, for instance, had an outstanding year in 2015, with dropping Beast Mode, 56 Nights, DS2, and the collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive with Drake. All of these projects range from solid to great, and it was without a doubt Future's reigning year. Unfortunately, he kept up the grind without any innovation, which led to Purple Reign, a forgettable mixtape with 1 or 2 Future classics. Then came EVOL, which is a solid project but feels slight for what is supposed to be his 4th studio album. Finally there was Project E.T.  Suffice it to say, I don't know anyone who actually even bothered to give it more than one or two listens. After one year of a driving, forward-momentum work ethic, Future is showing that he actually needs to slow his pace or risk stagnation of sound. Lil Uzi Vert is the same way. He's only released 3 projects since late 2015 but his sound isn't going anywhere either at his speedy pace. Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World had some of his biggest songs but The Perfect Luv Tape lessens it's impact when it sounds like they all came from the same sessions. He's not been around long enough for stagnation to come this quickly. However, his positive showings on this year's XXL Freshman Class bode well.

Meanwhile, Young Thug has figured out exactly what will yield excellent results, showing restraint in addition to a never-ending need to grind. If anything, this might be Young Thug's best year. Last year's trilogy of Barter 6, and the first two editions of Slime Season were somewhat drowned out by the emergence of Lil Wayne and Birdman's beef, with Young Thug's involvement. Seeing as he was Birdman's new protege, and Young Thug initially sounds like a Lil Wayne biter to the average listener, it didn't help that both Slime Season mixtapes were both nearly 20 songs long. That's a substantial amount of content to hold someone's attention, and it also didn't help that they were essentially barely curated compilations of unreleased tracks, leaked tracks, and loosies. They were still solid, but not the artful and composed work he would later release. In terms of quantity, Young Thug's output is actually substantially less in amount of songs, but the same number of mixtapes. This is where he shifts his work ethic to where it will gain him the amount of longevity he's held for practically the whole year.

I'm Up is a decent work, with a stone-cold classic song in Fuck Cancer (Boosie), an absolute banger that has very little to do with either cancer or Lil Boosie. Interestingly it only has 9 tracks, running just under 40 minutes. Slime Season 3 is even better, and even shorter, coming in at 28 minutes. Short projects like these lead to strong replayability. It wasn't uncommon to hear any song from these playing whilst just walking around either a college campus or a city. For comparison, only about 5 from all of Future's mixtapes this year met the same level of rotation. Of course, the crowning achievement for Young Thug's reinvention was Jeffery. The build up to this release revealed a subtle artistry not always present in both his personality and his music. His sentiment about not wanting to go by Thug anymore because he doesn't want his kids to have a negative perception of him is touching and vulnerable. In addition, his unflinching dedication to androgynous fashion is boldly progressive for a popular hip-hop artist to put out there. The mixtape itself is positively insane. The versatility and willingness for experimentation Young Thug showcases on the project is unparalleled in trap. The pure uniqueness of his style has permeated the hip-hop landscape, as it is positively captivating to audiences. Hopefully he can keep up the restraint and execution that got him where he is this year, so he can continue to break new ground next year.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Death Grips and their unwavering dedication to a steady stream of art. Though for some reason the major journalism outlets have sort of left Death Grips by the wayside, that hasn't stopped the trio. That sort of attention has never been the goal anyway for them. They're always more than happy with messing with their dedicated fan base, which has a longevity to uphold of it's own. Their persistence in creating new and challenging art isn't always obvious, especially because they exist in their own world, with no intent to market themselves putting up tour posters/announcements and at least making a Facebook post letting people know that something new is out. This kind of work ethic can only work if you have a dedicated fanbase, and Death Grips have one of the most die-hard and obsessive of any underground group I've seen. Their output is substantially more impressive considering they "broke up" in 2014. They've sort of settled into a pattern since last year. It goes like this; instrumental EP of frantic and abrasive Intelligent Dance Music-esque beats, the full-length album furthering their sonic journey, and finally a new record from the Zach Hill-Andy Morin duo The ILYs, who make Bowie-esque garage rock with a lot of the same electronic abrasiveness that Death Grips has. That's 3 releases over 1 year at a steady pace, not to mention any loosies they might drop. The one this year is most surprising, with a feature by Les Claypool.

It might also be said that Death Grips almost try their hardest to make newcomers second guess themselves. For the past 4 albums, the "single" they release is the most wild, freeform, and avant-garde they could have chosen. It's almost like a rite of passage every fan has to go through again, to see if they are still willing to follow the band wherever they go. In addition, they always find new forms by which to challenge their fans. This year, the instrumental EP was released as a video entitled Interview 2016, which is 30 minutes of grainy, piss-green footage of a man in a suit watching their performance and interviewing each member. Death Grips' seclusion and secrecy is very important to them, so they decided to make the video silent and replace all audio with the beats. If there is one thing fans have been dying for, it's something like this: for the band to let their guard down and open they project up for all to understand. There is literally one video-documented case of Stefan, the frontman, talking in a soothing, introverted voice. Knowing the band, they will never release that audio. Any reasonable, sane fan could take any number of things Death Grips has done as the final straw, but it just doesn't happen. They are simply too bewildering. They've also resumed their role of workmanlike live act that they had pre-2013. Clearly their manner of presentation is enough, considering their name popped up on more festival lineups than ever. This more than ensures they remain a staple of music discussion as a whole, with no signs of letting up their productivity.

That about sums up my point. I think it's important that being great at your art wasn't really a prerequisite for this. I mean, people I didn't include are people like Kanye West, Travis Scott, The Avalanches, American Football, and Frank Ocean. There is definitely something to be said about releasing something 15 years after your last project and how crazy it is that anyone cares (because people definitely care), but there's nothing amazing about work ethic if you kept lying about when your album is gonna come out. (Yeah Frank, Blonde is really good but I didn't want to watch that empty room for one more second after that live stream)

The Lil Wayne Discography Retrospective Part 2: Hot Boys-Guerilla Warfare

So I'm looking through Lil Wayne's RYM page, which is where I'm keeping track of the releases to listen to, and I'm realizing how daunting this task is. I'll say right now I'm not doing DJ mixes and mostly only official mixtape releases, except ones canonized and filled with fresh material. Also, there's no way I'm gonna be able to do features. My dude has upwards of 700 features. I'm not trying to spend a decade on this. The downside is I'll be missing out on those key verses that he did to help solidify Drake's place of recognition, so that's a bummer. Maybe I'll fit them in somehow. Anyway, back to the segment.

Hot Boys-Guerilla Warfare (1999)

(Intro/Hot and Spicy) Ha ha what is this intro? No rapping here, just Mannie Fresh thanking a bunch of people and preparing the listeners for the Hot Boys. Those trumpets on this beat are super corny. Better start overall to the mixtape though.

(We On Fire) This beat is some straight SNES lava level video game music. And already, Wayne sounds like a slightly higher pitched version of the Wayne we know and love. Don't like this version of We on Fire as much as the one on the first mixtape, mainly because of the beat, but at least they got all 4 members spitting this time.

(Respect My Mind) Juvenile bodies this track. He comes through with a story verse about growing up with his dad living a life of crime. Easily the best verse on the track. So far not feeling Mannie Fresh's beats as much here as I was on the last project.

(Help) First solo cut of the tape and holy fuck do I fuck with Mannie Fresh's production on this track. I can't even name all the layers he's got on this beat. One standout is the percussive use of a chopped-up police siren sample. That's a nice touch. B.G. is good on this. Dig the first verse where he rides an ay-ah rhyme scheme the whole time. (meaning every bar ends in something like "paid that, hate that, or take that.")

(Ridin) Damn, what is this beat chord progression also in? It sounds so familiar. Not much else I have to say about the track. They all did their thing. I retract my ambivalence towards Turk though. He's pretty dope too.

(Off the Porch Skit) What the fuck are they on about a shirt in this skit? I like the image it sets up though, with just some dudes chilling on the porch listening to music and talking to the passers-by, Friday-style. Would love to find out what the track is you can faintly hear bumping in the background

(Get Out Tha Way) I feel like the gold Mannie Fresh beats are more few and far between on this project but when he brings it, he really fucking brings it. The beat on here is so dense and dynamic, especially with the bass line towards the end. Lil Wayne fucking bodied this track. Here's an example:
"You get got, flip-flopped tossed and tumbled
I'm running wit your life in my hands, oops I fumbled"
If that isn't a classic Weezy set-up/pay-off, I don't know what is.

(Clear Tha Set) Wayne's solo cut off the tape. You can really hear how much more confident and present he is on this tape compared to the last. Starting to nail down his personality too.

(I Feel) That's two Wayne verses I almost want to rewind and play again. Destroys it. He even subverts and transcends the "I feel like x" pattern everyone was rolling with, essentially molding it's basics into a more free-form, better written version. Mannie Fresh on some G-funk shit with this, especially that cheese-ass robot voice. (Side-note: I'm not the biggest fan of Pac's California Love for this same reason. Sorry.)

(Boys at War) I just feel like Weezy is very obviously taking more creative chances with his flows already. I can't wait to see how Block is Hot from 1999 goes over. B.G. did his thing too on this track, though, definitely.

(You Dig) Juvenile's solo track. Decent. Not much I can think to say. I'm pretty sure those drums were sampled from that Long Red song, the one everyone uses, particularly in Kanye's camp, to get that guy yelling, "Yeah!" You know it when you hear it.

(I Need a Hot Girl) Mannie, you're killing me with this beat. That's like the same progression as that piece that plays at the beginning of Judge Judy episodes. Also Birdman was actually alright in this.

(Tuesday and Thursday) Why does Lil Wayne keep killing it? It really does feel like he knew what was up and that he was about to be popping off as a solo act. Also I had no idea it wasn't a good idea to sell drugs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I appreciate the lesson there.

(Bout Whatever) Yeah this is a much better solo track for Turk than on last project. Lil Wayne on the hook and ad-libs.

(Sick Uncle Skit) What the fuck is going on? I guess the guy who wanted or was giving out Hot Boys t-shirts and got hit by a car in the last skit is like...sitting in the corner of this other dude's house with his family watching TV and speaking through this robotic modulator because I guess his vocal cords got damaged in the accident? Alright then. These dudes were high as fuck coming up with this shit. I know I'd have to be.

(Shoot 1st) Really digging the reggae-tinged hook by Papa Reu, whoever that may be, on this shit. The beat isn't really reggae but that probably would have really dated the track even more if it did, so it's solid. B.G. has the best verse on this one. Version I have cut off at the last two lines in Juveniles verse so that kind of sucks.

(Too Hot) This sounds like some definitive Hot Boys shit. This beat is big as fuck. Everyone comes through with a sick verse. The ending is kind of a cool call back to the first track on the previous mixtape. B.G. on some straight fucked up mob shit with his verse.

Closing Thoughts: I feel like the improvements in recording, Wayne's major flow improvements, and the fact that Mannie Fresh's best beats on here are better than his best beats on the last mixtape might edge this one over. The only problem is this one is kind of a slog. That might just be me burning out on Hot Boys. I can say that I'm getting a little sick of the Southern harmony flow practically everybody in Hot Boys uses at least 50% of the time. I know Wayne gets away from that flow eventually but I hope he stops doing it as soon as this next project from the same year. I'll listen again but it's not my favorite.

The Lil Wayne Discography Retrospective Part 1 (Hot Boys-Get It How You Live!!!)

So this is the start of my journey throughout Lil Wayne’s entire career. In light of his “retirement” announcement, I felt that whether or not he actually retires, it seemed appropriate to chart his journey and see where he started and how he got to where he is now, ultra famous and pretty much fucked over by the company he helped obtain notoriety in the first place. This idea also comes from me not feeling like I’ve ever really dug deep enough into his catalog. I think I’m going to collect my instant thoughts first and then wrap them up and provide them context and polish. I’ll probably publish these a bit at a time and infrequently. We’ll see how this goes.

Hot Boys-Get It How You Live (1997)

(Intro) Yeah I really have no real interest in hearing Birdman rap, except to dog on him. Same with Mannie Fresh. Beat isn’t that great either. Extremely dated. Outro is also weird as fuck.

(We on Fire) We On Fire is a crazy introduction to Hot Boys. The set up of the song leads to a showcase of all 3 rappers one after the other, which is kind of ingenious for the first song. Lil Wayne already sounds crazy good. Not as complicated as his flows would get later though.

(50 Shots Set it Off) Ha ha ha! Weezy lowkey sounds like Hurricane Chris on this song. You guys remember Hurricane Chris? He’s not really on this track a whole lot but they all use a sort of rise-fall-rise flow. He and a whole bunch of the Southern rap scene use this around this but I don’t know where that comes from, if not from here.

(On Tha Porch Part 1) I fucking love mixtape skits.

(Block Burner) Oh shit I guess this is pretty much Wayne’s first solo track. Still sounds like Hurricane Chris. Noticing that he’s doing some pretty crazy rhyme schemes for a fucking 15 year old. Using a lot of rhymes taking advantage of the Southern drawl, as well as some rhythmic quick internal rhymes within the same bar. Not super complex but definitely leagues about your average lunch table middle school/early high school raps. Also this beat is fucking fire.

(Neighborhood Superstar) Perhaps unfairly, I’ve been ignoring the other guys in Hot Boys, but I’m noticing that Juvenile isn’t slacking. Makes me wonder where these listening projects could go. Should I tackle a whole bunch of Southern hip-hop, or will that be too much? Not really digging Birdman and Mannie Fresh on this track but Mannie Fresh’s production has been on point this whole time.

(Take It Off Your Shoulder) Wow Juvenile snapped. On some Southern 2Pac shit. I’m just thinking of all the people I’m going to be exposed to with this. You could make a “6 degrees of Lil Wayne” thing and reach a fuckton of people.

(Dirty World) Interesting fact: Lil Wayne tried to limit his profanity on his early work as much as possible because his mom asked. Of course, he couldn’t really do much about the other guys he works with. I’ve also noticed Weezy is often relegated to hook duties on each song. It works, of course, but it’s curious nonetheless.

(I’m a Hot Boy) I’m learning that B.G. got sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2012.  Gun possession apparently. At the time of writing this, Bobby Shmurda just got sentenced to 7 years. There’s no parallel there. I’m just making associations. I fuck with B.G. I don’t think I’m that into Turk. They all have solo tracks on the mixtape so I’ll revisit that in a couple songs.

(Get it How U Live!!!) This is probably the most modern sounding song on here so far. Mannie does his thing. I feel like a slightly updated version of this beat with more high quality production could have easily landed on a Tha Carter album. It shares a lot of the same sonic ideas that are definitely explored later on in the 2000’s. Also, Wayne sounds the most like his older self here.

(On Tha Porch Part 2) Still love mixtape skits. Pffft, this is lowkey racist though.

(I’m Comin) Bun B bodied this track. I really need to listen to more Southern Hip-Hop.

(Infrared Dot) Of course Young Turk gets practically the best beat to rhyme over. I don’t know, something isn’t clicking with Turk. I feel like that they have the younger guy thing covered with Wayne. Very interested to see how this group grows over their other two tapes though.

(Blood Thicker) Ok I just find it really funny that Birdman says, “Guess what Cash Money Records stick together like blood and furl” on this track.

(Spittin Game) I really want to point out that this quatrain and a half of bars (Am I counting those right?)

“Slugs hummin' chopper gunning catch the vapor from the laser

Infrared fled big bread money maker

Pop a slug barrell shaker for big paper

Big ballin' life taker for big caker

Ben Franklin, bank televancin' big bankin

Buster gankin', left stankin' ship sankin'”

is really quite impressive for a 15 year old, but it is also Wayne we’re talking about.

Alright it’s 4 AM and I’ve really been digging this mixtape. I’m going to let it marinate in my head and relisten to it before I write closing thoughts.

Closing Thoughts: Yeah I mess with this. Of course it sounds dated but even still, Mannie Fresh brings it with these beats. They’re deceiving because they initially sound really simple but there’s actually lots of depth. Nearly every beat has a wavy bassline that ebbs and flows in different ways. Of course, you can tell a lot of the presets used were old, so that’s where the dated sound comes from. Regarding the Hot Boys besides Wayne, Juvenile really brings it, enough to where I’m tempted to check out his solo material. His voice is very deep and powerful. It wasn’t surprising to find out he was the oldest, leading all the other members by 5-6 years. B. G. is good too, but I’m still not all that into Turk. We’ll see if my perspective changes on future Hot Boys releases. 

As for Wayne, I cannot believe he was 15 when this dropped. Nothing next level here, but as the tape goes along you can hear Wayne mold his style, so much that the final track, Spittin Game, really sounds like the first “Lil Wayne” verse, with a semi-complex internal rhyme scheme and some alliteration. It’s going to be great seeing where he goes from here, because I’ve never really went in to the material before Tha Carter 2. I’d bump this tape again. I can see it entering an infrequent rotation.

A Final Word on the Mess of Kanye's Album Release and its Result

Until this past weekend, I was pretty convinced that the best example of completely out-of-wack marketing for music was Drake's embrace of meme culture that led Hotline Bling from being a pretty good Drake song to the defining Drake song of 2015, a fairly prolific year for him. Either that or (insert Death Grips release here). At this point, however, after being an active participant in the hot mess that was Kanye's release of his 7th studio album, my answer has changed. Make no mistake; last weekend was a clusterfuck. However, part of me thinks it's exactly what Kanye West wanted with the album rollout.

First you had all the name changes. Over the course of 3 years, the album went from So Help Me God, to Swish, to Waves, and finally settling on The Life of Pablo. I'm not sure what the significance of naming had to be that led it to be such a back and forth battle, but suffice it to say late nights shitposting on Reddit's HipHopHeads subreddit would have been really boring if Kanye had kept the album title at Waves.

Also was all the info we did know about the album. All of a sudden, within a short span of time, we knew the tracks that were gonna be on it and had some idea of who would be featured on it. Also, leave it to Kanye to draw even more attention by going on rants on twitter, mostly aimless, and sometimes wild enough to offend people.

As we desperately waited on the album to finally drop on Thursday, we noticed that the Madison Square Garden Yeezy Season 3 show came and went, showing off a couple of the tracks off of the, at the time, 11 track album. It still seemed pretty standard at that point. If it didn't release then, maybe it would release on Friday, as albums are now wont to do. Sure enough on Friday, the album was said to  drop that day, and the track list was extended to 17 tracks now, adding some tracks many were sure wouldn't be on the album, like a lot of the GOOD Friday tracks. Then, it still didn't drop. Apparently it was Chance the Rapper's fault.

It's pretty surreal to see Kanye pointing the blame at Chance on twitter, using an album generator to recreate the album art for The Life of Pablo. It's just utterly memetic, you just don't expect to see it. But it was true; Chance was fighting for one more song to be put on the album, called Waves. People were pissed, naturally. That entire night, and Saturday as well, leading up to the album release, people were going nuts. Some were renouncing either Kanye or Chance because of it. I recall one moment when a bunch of people went to some random Twitch streamer's channel while he was playing Farming Simulator, spamming jokes about Pablo. The poor dude had no clue. Again, thank Yeezus for the album name change.

The final straw for many was seeing what happened with Kanye on Saturday Night Live, which meant people had to actually watch it. Also Martin Shkreli was scaring the shit out of people by claiming he had bought Kanye's album for 15 million and nobody was going to get to hear it. At the time I shared in people's seething rage, but he's become popular hip-hop's resident troll, so now I can laugh at how he too entered the conversation. It's going to be interesting to see him enter hip hop history because of the shit he's pulling. Eventually, Kanye started spazzing out on stage, saying that the album was out. People were freaking out, especially since Tidal didn't update their servers for another hour and a half, so the album wasn't showing up. Eventually it did, however. But even then, Kanye took a television appearance and made it all part of his marketing tool for those who were paying attention.


So what do I think of the album? I think it's analogous to Radiohead's Amnesiac. There you had an album that was more of a collection of ideas than a well sequenced album. Some people didn't give it a fair shot, but really it's a hidden gem and another masterpiece in the bands discography. That's what this is too. If I were to choose an album that perfectly displayed Kanye's mental tangents, it would be The Life of Pablo. It's scatterbrained, sonically all over the place, and exhibits bouts of childish late-period Kanye lyrics, auto tuned singing, harmonious passages, and occasionally straight bars. This is an album that takes the best aspects of 808s and Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Yeezus and throws everything it has into little under an hour. Because of this, this will really only appeal to people who still like late-period Kanye. It feels like a greatest hits album for albums that don't actually exist. My biggest worry was that the way music had changed in the past 3 years would negatively affect Kanye and he would release something boring and too poppy. This came from me not really loving All Day or Only One, neither of which land on this album. I'm convinced there was an album that was all that but it was scrapped, for the better. I also would hesitate to call this a hip-hop album. My favorite part of listening to a Kanye album is the collaborative process he has with all the artists he brings on board. This is the best example of this process. Really everyone else shines more than Kanye. I think this was the intention. I feel like the recording sessions were all one huge party. Every song feels like a sketch of sorts, scribbled with intensity so as to pack as many ideas into the piece as possible in a short amount of time. If I had to criticize anything, it would be sometimes the songs could have benefitted from another minute. Another Kanye album staple is moments, which this album has plenty of. These are the kinds of things that you'd be in awe of in discussion with friends, like "Remember when Rihanna sang that hook from that Nina Simone song?" or "Remember when Chance the Rapper had the first actual verse on the album and it remains the absolute best single verse on the whole album?" Another strength that sets it apart is this bipolar attitude the album takes. The high moments are almost of pure ecstasy, just completely bombastic and large. The low moments are similar to musical passages on 808s and Heartbreak but on a different scale. The melancholy displayed here isn't of longing or despair, but of complacency. Already I get nostalgic emotions listening to it because the music plays to those aspects of feeling. This is the album's most mature quality to it. Also, the sample flips are of supreme style. The moment on Famous when Swizz Beatz starts ad-libbing over top of a Sister Nancy dancehall track is a top 10 career highlight. Allegedly there's also a sample of a track from Mica Levi's Under the Skin soundtrack, which I have yet to pinpoint but if it's true thats amazing. One final sample that blows me away is the avant grade artist Arthur Russell sample on 30 Hours. This is probably one of Kanye's best sample flips of his career, utilizing an old J Dilla technique of using a sample as a hook by making it sound like it's saying something it's not, which Kanye has done before with Through the Wire. Actually, if I had to make one final comparison to another work, it would be that this is Kanye West's Donuts. Like the J Dilla album, it's loose, a short collection of ideas, and it feels alive. I have no doubt in my mind that Kanye was running up the clock to the very last minute making this album. At times it feels like he's mixing tracks right as you're listening. I wish more works were that organic.

My Favorite Albums of 2015: The Year of Experimentation

If anything, this year reminded me of why we listen to music. Of the recent years where I began following the music scene intensely, this was the best year for music hands down. It was a year full of artists taking risks in changing their sound, or taking huge steps into self indulgence that ultimately paid off. Artists who've been at it for years put out works that can stand with their best. This was the hardest list to narrow down, but also the one list where I wouldn't take a single album off. These are the albums I loved this year, and I urge you to check out at least something from this list.

20. KEN Mode-Success

KEN Mode are normally a Winnipeg metal band, but they took a risk and decided to make a noise rock album produced by Steve Albini, who is a staple of the 80's-90's rock scene, producing albums for Pixies and Nirvana as well as being in 3 different bands that pushed boundaries for noise rock. What KEN Mode did with this record is nothing short of the best noise rock album in the classic late 80's-early 90's style since Big Black and The Jesus Lizard were putting out their best work. Singer Jesse Matthewson snarls with a sinister tone similar to Steve Albini's time in Big Black. The drums have a snappy crispness to them. The riffs are undeniably catchy and well-crafted. It's angsty revivalist rock that could only be made by people who themselves were captivated by the same music they effectively are close to besting.

KEN Mode-Blessed

19. Godspeed You! Black Emperor-Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

Godspeed are undoubtably the band most representative of post-rock, crafting intense soundscapes normally reserved for film scores. The music they've made since returning in 2012 has been much more urgent, but nonetheless still some of the most beautiful music ever crafted. Here, they've laid down a roughly 40 minute album separated into 4 songs, but it's really meant to be taken as one long piece, as that's how they performed it live. It ends up being some of the most volatile pieces they've recorded in years.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor-Peasantry or 'Light Inside of Light!'

18. Nickelus F and Shawn Kemp-Trick Dice

Travis Miller, more notably known as Lil Ugly Mane, is a unbridled genius in the underground hip-hop scene. He's been known to be an elusive figure who puts out an obscene amount of music but never makes many public appearances and wouldn't dare speak on the method behind his craft. I would say he's in the top 10 modern hip-hop producers still active. Unfortunately, that activeness may cease to be soon, but this being one of his last projects is fine by me. Under the producing name Shawn Kemp, Travis produces for a rapper named Nickelus F, someone I hadn't heard before. This is one of those projects where it sounds like the producer and rapper were constantly challenging each other. These beats would not work without Nickelus F's gruff, raw voice with pitch-perfect flow and cadence, and vice versa. The lyrics are well-written and the beats are some of the best I've heard all year. It sounds like that perfect cassette you found on the side streets of Chicago that you listen to over and over again but never find out who made it. True collaborative meshing if I've ever heard it. Still waiting on that final Lil Ugly Mane mixtape, though.

Nickelus F and Shawn Kemp-Gold Figaro

17. Majical Cloudz-Are You Alone

In 2014, in front of a fairly large crowd at Pitchfork Music Festival, Majical Cloudz' keyboard broke. Instead of canceling the set, singer Devon Welsh sung the most stripped down versions of his songs possible, and instead of being a failed performance, it brought those in attendance closer and more intimately with the band. This year, the two man band released a new set of songs that reflect that minimalist sound that night. Devon Welsh has an enormous talent for creating amazing vocal melodies that seem to collapse into the synth, ethereal textures until they are as one. While most of the songs are about love, Welsh writes some of the rawest reflections of love heard all year. At the end of that show in 2014, the audience helped count down to 1 before the band destroyed the broken keyboards to much applause. This album feels very much like the triumph felt at that show. Here's hoping they get to return to Pitchfork next year and really show the festival goers what they're really about.

Majical Cloudz-Downtown

16. Sun Kil Moon-Universal Themes

2015 was an interesting year for singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek. He got into a bunch of feuds with bands for superfluous reasons, caused problems with music publications, and made diss tracks that were as hilarious as they were petty. While most of his exploits could be summed up with "Old man yells at cloud", there's a self-awareness to his persona that I feel is overlooked by all who wrote about him this year. Because of the things he said, many music publications decided to include that in their assessment of his music, but I know better. The fact of the matter is this is everything that made last year's Benji an emotionally raw and private autobiography multiplied by a factor of 10. Not a single track on this album is shorter than 6 minutes, and each song goes through multiple musical passages in an ever changing formula. The album screams "self indulgence", but that's sort of what's made Mark Kozelek's work so interesting as of late. 

Sun Kil Moon-Birds of Flims

15.Busdriver-Thumbs

Well, when my favorite rapper of all time releases something, it shouldn't be surprising to find a new tape by him on my list. I would say something about how this year is Hellfyre Club's year again, but unfortunately I've had to come to terms with the fact that Hellfyre Club is no more, dissolved quietly and without much fanfare. Luckily, none of the members have removed themselves of contact with the others and remain prolific. The biggest member of the group, Busdriver, released this companion piece to last year's Perfect Hair. This album is much more playful and fun, and the themes here are actually more easy to dissect, while also being just as abstract as always. Using his absolute adeptness at wordsmithing, Busdriver talks about modern issues such as police brutality, but does so in a way that couldn't be heavy handed if it tried. Busdriver is simply one of the most impressively technical rappers right now. His flows paint colorful pictures as they dance like a free jazz instrument against the beat. It's absolutely a joy to hear, and I hope he never stops shooting his ideas out of his complex mind and onto fantastic projects such as this.

Busdriver-Much

14. Viet Cong-Viet Cong

2015 was an absolute treat for fans of post-punk, and the delivering of such gifts began early in January with this debut. It's hard to place influences for this project because they sound wholly original, something definitely lacking in the post-punk genre, a genre where influences are usually the easiest to detect. The guitar lines spiral in insane patterns that become more hypnotic than anything else released this year. The production is tinny and gritty, sounding like it was recorded straight off an old tape deck.  Because of stupid controversy, this band is changing its name for next year, but when you make something I still revisit 11 months later because of the impact it made, you are clearly a band worth paying attention to no matter the branding involved.

Viet Cong-Silhouettes

13. Hop Along-Painted Shut

Frances Quinlan's voice is soul shattering. There is a power exuded in her angst screams that are unmatched in indie rock. I saw this band open for Modest Mouse a couple of months ago and there couldn't have been a more perfect pairing. If I had to describe her voice, imagine a little kid whose voice sounds barely out of puberty screaming her head off. Where that may sound immature, where this album really succeeds is how emotionally mature the whole endeavor is. Nobody sells the unhinged struggle a person can tackle as well as Quinlan can. Compulsively listenable while still being absolutely devastating.

Hop Along-Waitress

12. Father John Misty-I Love You, Honeybear

If I could choose an artist who completely dominated the whole indiesphere the internet provides for people to spew their opinions onto, Josh Tillman would take that prize. For some reason, this release completely captivated nearly everyone I saw whilst lurking the inner sanctums of music fandom. I guess it's ultimately not too hard to see why. Here, under the name Father John Misty, Tillman adopts his narcissistic persona and composes a set of songs that create a satisfying dissonance between dead serious lush instrumentation and FJM's deadpan snark that is the lyrics of this album. It's not all jokes, though, as the album also presents an honest depiction of a real love. This is a concept album about Tillman's wife Emma, and you get the sense that they're on the same wavelength. The album, henceforth, strikes a balance between dark humor and uncompromising romance. I think this album spoke to those people I saw praising it everywhere I went. Deep down, they all want to be as darkly and smartly comic as Tillman is on this project, but they most likely never will, so they'll probably stick to telling you your favorite album is the worst piece of shit they ever heard. At the end of the day, though, this is everyone's favorite album.

Father John Misty-When You Are Smiling and Astride Me

 

11. Courtney Barnett-Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

Yes, Pedestrian at Best is an amazing song, but I feel it's a misrepresentation of the album, which is an intelligent album and an absolute scorcher. Courtney Barnett seems to have a similar vision as a young Bob Dylan when it comes to writing. She's self-deprecating and reflective of the moments in her life when she felt most awkward. It's the perfect soundtrack for the outcast, but while Barnett's wry lyrics shine, the band doesn't just let them be the only worthwhile thing. Everyone, including Barnett, plays with intensity at moments, or with subdued energy in others. This sounds like a band that plays with the same intent as a band that captured everyones attention in the 90s, so its no wonder that actually seeing them live feels like the modern day analog to catching a band in their prime at Woodstock. I have a feeling Courtney Barnett is about to have a very fruitful career.

Courtney Barnett-Depreston

10. Earl Sweatshirt-I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside

Odd Future is no more. This doesn't really seem like a bad thing, though. If anything, it's helped showcase each individual rapper's talents on their own merits. Tyler, the Creator has just gone off and continues to make his experimental version of jazz-hop. Meanwhile, Earl Sweatshirt has never really had much to prove. He's always been an absolutely gripping artist, way ahead of his years. Doris from 2013 showed he had great talent but it still felt like an Odd Future project. This, however, feels like a true debut. It's lean and hyper-replayable. The whole album feels like a deep drug induced trance. It's no wonder, then, that a major factor of the content has to do with Earl's addiction to Xanax. This album is a depressing sit, so it may seem like it risks being more of the same, but Earl is absolutely hungry on this album. This seems to be the moment in his discography that will be remembered as where he found his voice. He's always had the rhythmic intricacy and scheme of someone like MF Doom, but now he can stand on his own with the best of them. Mark my words, he will be regarded with the best of them

Earl Sweatshirt-Faucet

9. Kendrick Lamar-To Pimp a Butterfly

I really don't know how much else I can say about this project. I mean, I wrote a nearly 7 page paper surrounding it. Everyone who's writing about music has exhausted every possible word and hyperbolic praise towards it. I won't do it the disservice of continuing that method. Instead, all that really needs to be said is that this is the album that 2015 will be remembered for, this is the project Kendrick Lamar will be remembered for, and this is exactly the kind of message that needed to be placed out into the world. It reflects our time and current dilemmas while seeming timeless at the same time. That's about the best an album can do.

Kendrick Lamar-Alright

8. Tame Impala-Currents

I don't know if Kevin Parker could have captivated people with another psychedelic rock album. Lonerism basically provided the be-all end-all statement on psych rock revivalism. I'm glad Kevin Parker seemed to agree. Instead, we get a crisp, tightly composed set of synth-heavy disco influenced tracks. Every instrument on this project is given just the right amount of room to breath. It's the work of a master producer and multi-instrumentalist crafting exactly the music he wants to make. The album itself is filled with self-aware lyrics about how he anticipates people will react to this sudden change in focus for the sound of the Tame Impala project. These are some of the best vocal melodies of Parker's career, and the project as a whole is a testament to my belief that 2015 was when artists truly let their experimental sides shine.

Tame Impala-The Less I Know the Better

7. The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die-Harmlessness

This album floored me. Before I heard this album I believed they were a pretty good emo revival band. Then I saw them live in a chapel and heard this album upon release within a month. Now I will sing this band's praises till the end of time. This is the single most well crafted emo album I've heard since The Brave Little Abacus, who nobody I've ever talked to knows about. That's what this emo scene is, though. I'm referring to actual emo, too. It's a scene made up of modest bands who are doing the most interesting stuff musically but are overshadowed by cheesy angst that makes up what basically amounts to pop-punk. It's actually not even fair to condense what this album does to only emo. This is in fact the most tightly crafted and inventive rock album to come out in years. It hits high crescendos, David Bello wails with uncompromising emotion, and the multiple guitars weave their way through each other. It's fantastic, and for all the praises I've sung of the emo genre over the past year, its the album I most would want to introduce to people.

TWIABP-Rage Against the Dying of the Light

I'm also throwing in a link to this absolutely fantastic live video. I feel like it's central to understanding the power of this band.

TWIABP-10 min Live Session

6. milo- So the Flies Don't Come
From the ashes of the Hellfyre Club comes the best hip-hop project of the year. Milo has had a rough time lately, and a lot of this contributed to the fall of the Hellfyre Club, but from this, he released the best project he's ever put out and became a voice well worth hearing.  Milo is the true poet of rap, creating hyper-literate songs with intricate rhyme schemes and astounding lyricism. Paying attention to this project is one of the most rewarding experiences of the year in music. He's the kind of wordsmith you could spend hours deciphering. The reason why members of the Hellfyre Club remain my favorite rappers in the whole expanded genre is they do things wholly new and unique. You can't find an album with such a strong and clear focus like Milo's. You get a sense that Milo is fed up and this is his way to defend both the black man and the artist in him. There are messages here that could become full fledged words to live by. That being the intent seems pretty unlikely but regardless, Milo is a voice well worth paying deep attention to.

Milo-An Encyclopedia

5. Sufjan Stevens-Carrie and Lowell

So, who would have thought 2015 would have brought us Sufjan Stevens' most devastating work? Not only that, but it's probably the most focused on a theme he's been in years. You feel like you learn the most about Stevens in the songs enclosed here. This was also probably a refreshing release for existing fans, as it's a return to a more stripped-back style of songwriting not done by him in a number of years. The album acts as an ode to his childhood and his relationship with his mother, who left him when he was young. The emotional impact comes from the complete sincereness of this project. This is the kind of draining work Nick Drake would put out. Simple but intensely effective.
Sufjan Stevens-No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross



4. Protomartyr-The Agent Intellect
I did this band a disservice. Last year they released an album that I listened to once and felt bored and never revisited it. I believe most of this had to do with my unfamiliarity with post-punk at the time. I expected something else. Nontheless I was curious enough to check them out at Pitchfork Fest this year. I was impressed, enough to want to check out the new album when it came out. It completely knocked the wind out of me. This album is bold, fresh, and tightly composed. From the opening seconds of The Devil in His Youth, I felt like I was hearing an important album. They would never admit it, but the sounds of Detroit, the bands hometown, emanate with decrepit exhaustion. It's sharp and self-referential. Usually I worry when I like an album upon first listen, because usually that means that the experience is shallow and lacking in any lasting power. Not true with this. In a year with a wealth of post-punk wonders, Protomartyr is the most promising and feel the most experienced.
Protomartyr-I Forgive You



3. Death Grips-The Powers That B
Shocking, I know. How unexpected that the newest Death Grips release is in my top 5. For a band that was supposed to have been broken up, they were remarkably prolific this year. Every year is Death Grips' year, but especially this year. They released an instrumental tape with absolutely no presence by MC Ride and they led fans on with cryptic youtube uploads like a distorted, barely comprehensible live set of new material. Having your favorite band be as secretive and unpredictable as Death Grips has been a wild ride, one I'm glad to see continue. I honestly do not know what they could possibly do to advance their sound further, but they did so here, so I'm sure I can be proven wrong. This is both the most accessible and loudest Death Grips record yet. The addition of noise rock guitars was a complete shock, but one that payed off. This is one of those bands where the process of making the songs seems an abstraction. I have no idea how they came up with some of the sonic concepts on this record. Lyrically, we still get the normal cryptic fare, but MC Ride opens up a bit. He seems jaded to the fame in being in the band. Someone who takes lyrics to heart might even be concerned for his mental state. All I really know is this band has yet to let me down, and still keeps me on my toes at every turn. I have no qualms about it: I am incredibly biased towards this band. They've provided the soundtrack to my late high school career. As sappy as it may sound, I have a bond with this band. It may be difficult to get others into this band as much as I am, but I'm fine with them being mine to enjoy, even if nobody else really gets why.
Death Grips-The Powers That B



2. Deafheaven-New Burmuda
Metal has grown for sure. Over the past decade or so, the focus has become less about technical proficiency and more about crafting a sonic space that ushers forth a deep feeling. This feeling could be anything, because metal has expanded to high experimental lengths. Metal isn't all about scaring people anymore. It hasn't been for a while. Deafheaven is a band that is evidence of that. I truly thought Sunbather was as far as this band could go. Instead, they release something truly boundary-crushing, genre-bending, and astoundingly beautiful. I can't count the amount of times they pulled the rug out from under me during my first listen and left my jaw on the floor. The compositions have a heightened focus, and all have a uniqueness to them that makes each song stand out. Any song here could be a favorite, for a different person and for a different reason. The crescendos are soul-lifting, and the softer moments are beyond beautiful. This album is a revelatory listen. It was so close to being my favorite album of the year. No metal album was as endlessly inventive as this album was this year.
Deafheaven-Brought to the Water



1. Grimes-Art Angels
I certainly wasn't expecting this at all, especially considering I had no idea what to think the first time I heard this album. I like her previous album, Visions, a fair amount, but this album sort of confounded me. I didn't get it. I think I finally do now. Make no mistake, Grimes is not pop. To call Grimes pop is doing a huge disservice to the depth of this work. If anything, this is lightyears beyond what she was doing previously. Claire Boucher, Grimes' actual name, talks a lot about how Grimes is her creation, not her herself. She views herself more as a producer. At this point Grimes as a narrative has escaped her control, so this album reflects that. Not only that, but she proves to be a major voice in music, with a complete and definable sound all to herself. It's very commendable that this album is 100% hers, all crafted by her, from the beats, all the singing, and even every live instrument on the album. It's full of incredibly well put together songs with some of the most rewardingly catchy components of any song all year. Boucher also does something pretty amazing with the content. Nearly every sound in the album, especially the guitar sounds, conjure up strong images of nostalgia. It's like she grabbed every sonic reference to a 20-somethings childhood of listening to the radio. I can't remember which listen led me to turn around on this album so hard, especially since my early tweets were pretty condemning. I feel ashamed of those tweets looking back, even though it was only about a month ago. At the same time, it's indicative of something I'm noticing as a trend with my listening. This is the third year in a row where my album of the year is something I either didn't get or kind of hated upon first listen. In 2013, it was Arcade Fire. In 2014, it was Busdriver. Now it's Grimes. This is an incredibly important thing to notice for me. It reminds me of why I love music in the first place. No other medium rewards me for my patience as much. I get all these experiences that grow as I grow. The music I love is mine and mine alone. You form a close bond with your favorite music. Due to unintended consequences, I've become defined by the music I love. At times that's problematic, but I do truly think music can make you a richer and more lively person. In the same way that Claire Boucher crafted a love letter to music of the past, my love for this album is a constant reminder of my love for music as a medium.
Grimes-World Princess Part 2