5 Albums i feel like i should talk about

In December, I will be making my novel/list of my favorite albums of the last 5 years. These 5 critically acclaimed albums will NOT appear on my list. Here's why:

M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming 

Double album. Great production quality. Perfect lead single. Despite Anthony Gonazalez's conceptual ambition, despite its growing influential production style, despite how awesome "Midnight City" is: This album has some boring moments, it has some poorly-written songs, and Gonzalez's annoying voice clashes with the music. Combining the passionate youthful experience with 80s sci-fi magic is a really cool idea. However, some songs on here are just super corny and some sound super fake. I don't think it's a bad album, but at the same time, I can't stand it!




Tame Impala Lonerism

I like this album more than the others mentioned in this blog. Tame Impala is a great band doing great things. I myself find it hard to define the band's personality. They're obviously a psychedelic band. But are they psychedelic rock or psychedelic pop? This album has some great tracks, but some of the experimentation here isn't exactly mind-blowing. The music sounds like it isn't being made by real people, which is actually a plus in my book. The 60s vinyl-sound production is great. I love the 60s Pink Floyd influence. But adding all the 60s-ness with Kevin Parker's total John Lennon voice... I'd like to know what Tame Impala sounds like.



Kanye West Yeezus

On-and-off, I love and hate this album. It has this standout production style that has become quite influential in the last year. Even the track-by-track structure is pretty solid. The tracks themselves however... Kanye got kinda lazy. I'm unimpressed hearing him scream "God!" alongside the 2 repetitive notes on "On Site." "Guilt Trip" sucks. "Send It Up" is somewhat underwhelming. The sounds of Yeezus are legitimately unforgettable. But there's just  too much dead weight for me to fully appreciate this.



Arcade Fire Reflektor

Bought this album the day it came out. $8 at Hastings. Loved it when I listened to it at 1am during the 24-stream included w/ scenes from "Black Orpheus." Thought it was trippy. Thought it was dark. That it was deep. Thought it was cool. A year has passed, and the album hasn't stuck. "Here Comes The Night Time" and "Normal Person" have lost their flavor. "Joan of Arc" is stupid. "You Already Know" is too big for its own good. But sure, the album's mostly good. I still think it's a nocturnal album with great James Murphy production. But there are only a couple deep/honest moments. And cool? Nah. By the time its 3rd music video came out, nobody cared anymore.

Beyonce Beyonce

Yeah, it's overrated. But I can see why critics like it. The production is quite ambitious. The lyrics are more in-your-face. It's not made for pop radio. The most popular lady in the world is toying with PBR&B. I admit there are some great tracks on here and the album sounds cool if anything. But at times I wish B' stuck with her pop songsmith talents here. "Blow" sounds jerky and fun, but lyrically is a dumb way of saying she wants Shawn Carter to have oral sex with her. "Mine" tries to be experimental, but sounds terrible (mostly due to Drake). She worked darn hard on this. Songwriting still needs some work.