B&C's 2016 Albums of the Year AKA End of Times Soundtrack

[gump]

I always include songs with my list of albums, so I'd say there's room for both.

Agreed. I'm doing the same.


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[gump]

Speaking of best songs, how good is Ivy? I was initially more drawn to Seigfried and Self Control off that album, but Ivy has grown on me quite a lot. The lyrics are simple yet heartfelt, and his delivery completely sells these lines.

If I could see through walls
I could see you're faking
If you could see my thoughts
You would see our faces
Safe in my rental like an armored truck back then
We didn't give a fuck back then
I ain't a kid no more
We'll never be those kids again
We'd drive to Syd's, had the X6 back then
Back then
No matter what I did
My waves wouldn't dip back then
Everything sucked back then
We were friends

 

[LemonMelon]

A top 5 track for me this year. I was instantly drawn to its directness and simplicity, which I guess is true of much of the album.

 

[cobl04]

It's very good but I don't understand why everyone thinks it's the best track. I like Nights, Nikes and Solo Reprise a million times more.


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[iron yuppie]

Seigfried and Pink + White are the best tracks on there IMO.

 

[gump]

I can see the argument for Nikes, cobbler, though it's not in my top-3 from that album, but not for Nights or Solo (Reprise). They are ok to good, but there is some other great stuff there.

 

[LemonMelon]

INights or Solo (Reprise) are ok to good

Nah, those songs are brilliant. I'm with Cobbler on those.

For me:

1. Ivy
2. Nights
3. Solo
4. Solo (Reprise)
5. Pink + White

 

[gump]

Maybe "ok to good" was underselling them. I quite like the piano line on Solo (reprise).

1. Ivy
2. Siegfried
3. Nikes
4. Self Control
5. Pink + White

 

[LemonMelon]

I have mixed feelings on Self Control. Or, rather, I find the first half to be pleasant guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar-on-a-college-campus music and the second half to be some of the best music to come out in 2016. The vocal layering in the "I-I-I know you've got to leave-leave-leave" section is bewitching. Every time it comes on I have to stop what I'm doing and listen.

 

[mikal]

It's too bad The Strokes didn't release a new album this year.

 

[gump]

I have mixed feelings on Self Control. Or, rather, I find the first half to be pleasant guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar-on-a-college-campus music and the second half to be some of the best music to come out in 2016. The vocal layering in the "I-I-I know you've got to leave-leave-leave" section is bewitching. Every time it comes on I have to stop what I'm doing and listen.

Your description is exactly how I feel about the song, down to my favorite moment in the whole album. I agree that the first half is just very mundane, but the ending more than makes up for it. It all starts with that howling sound about 2:30 into the song, the strings, and then the line you pointed out. It hits me every single time.

It's too bad The Strokes didn't release a new album this year.

Why do you need a Strokes album when you have a Parquet Courts Car Seat Headrest album?

 

[LemonMelon]

There actually has been a fair amount of good indie rock this year, despite what Pitchfork's list may have implied.











Never Be Mine

Triángulo de Amor Bizarro - Baila Sumeria (Video oficial)

 

[iron yuppie]

Why do you need a Strokes album when you have a Parquet Courts Car Seat Headrest album?

I hope this isn't to suggest that Parquet Courts are a Strokes rip-off, because the former is significantly better than the Strokes ever were.

 

[LemonMelon]

Neither really sound like the Strokes to me, especially PC, who are really more on a Pavement/Velvet Underground thing. Maybe a song here or there from CSH sounds like The Strokes (what does their music even sound like these days?), but Toledo's writing is so cynical, deadpan and literate that I would never get those bands mixed up.

 

[mikal]

Didn't really get into the Parquet Courts. The vocals were pretty hard to handle.

 

[Axver]

Didn't really get into the Parquet Courts. The vocals were pretty hard to handle.

Yep. Haven't got the adoration for them either - unappealling vocals and boring songs.

 

[lazarus]

Neither really sound like the Strokes to me, especially PC, who are really more on a Pavement/Velvet Underground thing. Maybe a song here or there from CSH sounds like The Strokes (what does their music even sound like these days?), but Toledo's writing is so cynical, deadpan and literate that I would never get those bands mixed up.

The Strokes have never put out anything as good as Teens Of Denial. Even their debut is disposable.

 

[iron yuppie]

Man I must be the one person here not digging Teens of Denial. This Will Toldeo dude is about 10% as clever as he thinks he is.

 

[gump]

I hope this isn't to suggest that Parquet Courts are a Strokes rip-off, because the former is significantly better than the Strokes ever were.

For some reason I typed Parquet Courts when I meant Car Seat Headrest, hence the strikethrough. The latter make me think of The Strokes quite a bit, vocals included. At the very least, I think someone who enjoys Strokes would like Teens of Denial.

Also, you are selling The Strokes short (though maybe it's better not to have that debate again!). Parquet Courts are great. But Is This It-Room on Fire Strokes are significantly better, at least to me.

 

[lazarus]

Casablancas's lyrics are worthless. And there's zero personality behind the songs.

Catchy, punchy tunes just don't cut it.

 

[LemonMelon]

The Strokes have never put out anything as good as Teens Of Denial. Even their debut is disposable.

I think the debut is a minor masterpiece in the sense that it contains 11 gems and very few drawbacks. Lots of hooks, relatable lyrics (at least for listeners within that demographic), an aesthetic that inspires young musicians, etc. There's a lot to like about Is This It. That album brought the goods.

But yeah, Teens of Denial is leagues ahead of anything they've put together since and functions as the breakthrough of a brilliant young talent. Will Toledo is younger than me and writing better, more mature lyrics than most of his rock contemporaries. For me, the only people topping him today on a lyrical front are in hip hop and on the fringes of folk. Casablancas has never come close on that front.

 

[gump]

Catchy, punchy tunes just don't cut it.

Nah, they do.

 

[LemonMelon]

Ewww

At least post Kiss It Better

 

[gump]

Do you mean because of the lyrics or because it's a better song?

It doesn't matter, really. All I'm trying to say is that there's value in catchy, punchy songs. And those first two Strokes albums achieved that easily, as hated as they are by some.

 

[LemonMelon]

No, just as a song. Fuck, I hate Work. Rihanna sounds like she's dying of boredom during the chorus and Drake phones in another dreary feature. "Sorry if I'm way less friendly/I got niggas tryna end me, oh/I spilled all my emotions tonight, I’m sorry/Rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'" is everything wrong with Drake in 10 seconds.

I did revisit Anti the other day and remembered how vibrant and interesting it is as an album. There are at least half a dozen great songs on there and it's got so much variety that it's fun to listen to even when it's not so good.

 

[gump]

Fair enough. I don't think it's a bad song, and it has received quite a bit of critical acclaim, so it was an easy one to remember for the point I was trying to make. I agree with your comments about Anti, and Work isn't as representative of the album as some of the other stuff in there.

 

[Axver]

Man I must be the one person here not digging Teens of Denial. This Will Toldeo dude is about 10% as clever as he thinks he is.

Nah I'm with you on this. There's plenty of good indie rock out there but Car Seat Headrest is not it.

 

[lazarus]

Ewww

At least post Kiss It Better

It doesn't matter, really. All I'm trying to say is that there's value in catchy, punchy songs. And those first two Strokes albums achieved that easily, as hated as they are by some.

I didn't say catchy, punchy songs don't have value. I just don't think that's enough, in the case of The Strokes. Which is why their breakout peers The White Stripes are a far better band and will be talked about far longer.

No, just as a song. Fuck, I hate Work. Rihanna sounds like she's dying of boredom during the chorus and Drake phones in another dreary feature. "Sorry if I'm way less friendly/I got niggas tryna end me, oh/I spilled all my emotions tonight, I’m sorry/Rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'" is everything wrong with Drake in 10 seconds.

I did revisit Anti the other day and remembered how vibrant and interesting it is as an album. There are at least half a dozen great songs on there and it's got so much variety that it's fun to listen to even when it's not so good.

God, I fucking hate Drake. And yeah, Work is one of, if not the worst song on the album, which is likely staying in my #1 spot for this year unless I miraculously hear some hidden gem soon.

 

[martha]

Didn't really get into the Parquet Courts. The vocals were pretty hard to handle.

That was my problem with them as well.

 

[namkcuR]

I hadn't really listened to Rihanna's record yet save for a single or two, but Laz saying he'd rank it #1 over the likes of Radiohead and Bowie was enough for me to check it out. After having done so, I can safely say that I do not agree with him.

My main thought after finishing the record is that it's like starting with the Tame Impala song, she just decided to make a completely different record from the first eight tracks.

The first eight tracks are nothing special. The first three songs are alright, the chorus of Kiss It Better is an undeniable hook, but then the record takes a downward lurch, and the middle three of Woo/Needed Me/Yeah I Said It were a bit of a slog to get through for me.

But then the Tame Impala song comes on, and it's really good because it's Tame Impala. And then after that she does four songs in a row that drop all the autotune and hip-hop beats and all that that were all over the first part of the record, the first being a pleasant Dido-written song(Never Ending), the rest being almost like old-school soul type stuff - the closing trio of Love On The Brain/Higher/Close To You is pretty stirring. Like, I'd listen to them again. Far and away the best part of the record. Good stuff.

If the whole record had been like those last few tracks, it would be a great record. But those first eight tracks didn't make much of an impact on me(other than the Kiss It Better hook). Too much autotune, too much hip-hop, lyrics that don't do much if anything for me, etc.

Just my .02.