Best of 2014

[Crazylegs]

Haha, I gotta say Crazylegs, I did not expect to see Robyn singing on your favorite song of the year. The song was cool though.

The song is awesome!  If you ask me, as far as pop-music acts go Robyn is one of the greats nowadays. And when combined with a Röyksopp tune, she's even better.

I have an idea for a new thread which will help me find new music, and others as well. Will open it tonight or tomorrow.

Cool beans. Consider my interest piqued.

[bright lights, big city]

Haha, I gotta say Crazylegs, I did not expect to see Robyn singing on your favorite song of the year. The song was cool though.

The song is awesome!  If you ask me, as far as pop-music acts go Robyn is one of the greats nowadays. And when combined with a Röyksopp tune, she's even better.

She is legit. This board's evolution in music interests is interesting though. It's really been pop and death metal lately for me. Such an odd combo, but it's just what I've been digging. How much non-rock/metal do you guys listen to?


According to my itunes, here's my 10 recently listened to albums: Sky Ferreira, Dysphoria, Acacia Strain, Taylor Swift, Queen, badbadnotgood, Oh Land, Blouse, Azealia Banks, Job for a Cowboy

[An bád dubh]

That is rather odd combo. And the recently listened to albums shows a rather dispersed list as well. You (and others) have most likely either matured a lot in music tastes, broadening your likes, or just become less picky about what you listen to. I wish I could be any of those options.

For me lately , what I have listened to, have been: HIM, 30 Seconds to Mars, Stephen Marley and Erykah Badu. From what I recall lately. Pretty much what Ive listened to on and off for the last 10 years or so. And with these bands, I listen to the albums made between 1997-2007. I pretty much have a 6-7 year gap in new music. Only some single bands or albums here and tehre after those years. I dont even check out these bands new albums, because I know I will be disappointed. I have don that and have been (at least felt very indifferent).

[Crazylegs]

According to my itunes, here's my 10 recently listened to albums: Sky Ferreira, Dysphoria, Acacia Strain, Taylor Swift, Queen, badbadnotgood, Oh Land, Blouse, Azealia Banks, Job for a Cowboy

How do you get itunes to display recently listened to albums?

For me lately , what I have listened to, have been: HIM, 30 Seconds to Mars, Stephen Marley and Erykah Badu. From what I recall lately. Pretty much what Ive listened to on and off for the last 10 years or so. And with these bands, I listen to the albums made between 1997-2007. I pretty much have a 6-7 year gap in new music. Only some single bands or albums here and tehre after those years. I dont even check out these bands new albums, because I know I will be disappointed. I have don that and have been (at least felt very indifferent).

What a bummer. If anything i'm discovering and falling in love with new music more often now than 10 years ago. I think, like you're saying yourself, broadening your horizon musically is pretty important if you don't wan't to end up listening to the same music over and over again. Pretty often i browse Rateyourmusic.com, i decide upon a genre i like, or sometimes one i don't really listen to, check out the top rated albums and just give a lot of different shit a listen. This way suddenly you find something that hits you, and it's not necessarily even something you'd imagine listening to in the first place.

I'd say my tastes are still pretty much the same and i always come back to the same few safe genres for me like Stoner/Doom stuff, ambient/electronic/post rock stuff, and singer/songwriter/folk stuff. I don't find Robyn/Röyksopp to be an odd thing to listen to for someone who usually prefers rock music.

According to my last.fm profile, my top artists the last 3 months are:
Grails, Ty Segall, Motorpsycho, Dungen, Oceansize, Sun Kil Moon, Unwound, Bibio, Mac Demarco, and Wilco.

Shit is constantly changing though, no? I mean, I would suck Porcupine Tree's collective dick 6-7 years ago, now that stuff is way too over- done/produced/thought for me.

[An bád dubh]

What a bummer. If anything i'm discovering and falling in love with new music more often now than 10 years ago. I think, like you're saying yourself, broadening your horizon musically is pretty important if you don't wan't to end up listening to the same music over and over again. Pretty often i browse Rateyourmusic.com, i decide upon a genre i like, or sometimes one i don't really listen to, check out the top rated albums and just give a lot of different shit a listen. This way suddenly you find something that hits you, and it's not necessarily even something you'd imagine listening to in the first place.
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Shit is constantly changing though, no? I mean, I would suck Porcupine Tree's collective dick 6-7 years ago, now that stuff is way too over- done/produced/thought for me.

True, it is a total bummer. I should check out new stuff more but man, when the "success rate" is around 1-5 %, it just doesnt feel worth it. Even from those successes very few last. Its like getting friends at an older age, its difficult. One has the old friends to whom one can always go back to. In my case there are around, probably 250 of these good friends, bands that I can return to if I get bored with what Im listening. Normally I only need to browse my top 50 bands, I dont need to go  further than that. Its a shame, really, but then again, its easy and comfortable. But I do miss the days when I checked out 30 bands/albums per week and gave all the bands a proper chance. Now its more like 1 song and its out. I should try a day when I check new albums the whole day. And see how many I get. I will do that next friday evening to saturday evening.

And shit is definitely changing. I try to avoid that change by not checking the new albums of my favorite bands. And it works. Im somehow stuck in a false musical time warp where my favorite bands supposedly quit making music in their prime. Thats how I want to remember them in a way. I dont know if that makes sense though.

Am I gonna end up like one of those guys who at their 50s or 60s are still huge fans of lets say AC/DC and nothing comes close to that, ever. Im glad Ive got my tens/hundreds of bands so that I dont end up a 1-band fan but still.

[bright lights, big city]

Am I gonna end up like one of those guys who at their 50s or 60s are still huge fans of lets say AC/DC and nothing comes close to that, ever. Im glad Ive got my tens/hundreds of bands so that I dont end up a 1-band fan but still.

Oh man, I've come across people like that. Scares the shit out of me. I'm glad my tastes have evolved since I declared Goldfinger my favorite band of all time in 1998.

According to my itunes, here's my 10 recently listened to albums: Sky Ferreira, Dysphoria, Acacia Strain, Taylor Swift, Queen, badbadnotgood, Oh Land, Blouse, Azealia Banks, Job for a Cowboy

How do you get itunes to display recently listened to albums?

I guess I should say recently added. In the newest update I downloaded, those are what show up at the top now - and that's pretty much what I've been listening to the last month or so.

[An bád dubh]

On my 24-hour musical adventure and so far the new stuff Ive chcked has been totally unisnpiring. No wonder I stopped checking out new stuff some years ago. Its like searching for a needle in a haystack really. Will continue until 8 pm tonight, hopefully finding some good stuff. I will check out all the bands mentioned in this thread too.

[An bád dubh]

I will comment all the bands that I dont know from before. All from this thread. Just my first reactions, people can listen to wahtever they enjoy, so Im not gonna think about the fact that this is the best of 2014-thread. Dont take offence to my thougts, which I know you wont. Checking each back at this stage for 3-10 minutes so I can surely be too quick to judge. Just I dont have time to check out full albums at this point:

Bohren & der Club of Gore:
- I kinda get it, but finally dont. The piano I do like to an extent, but overall way too ambient for my tastes.
Papir:
- Was into stuff like this before but nowadays cant fit any of it into my listenings. Alright stuff anyways.
Swans:
- Fun stuff but cant get into it.
Cloud Nothings:
- Dont like the vocals and cant get into the music. Catchy vocal melodies but thats about it.
La Dispute:
- Best so far. I somewhat like the whole package. I will return to this band later and check them out better.
Have a Nice Life:
- Nope. Somehow too "ambient" even though its kinda not.
The War on Drugs:
- The music felt rather nice but the vocals I cant dig. Felt like Bono's younger brother singing.
Gazpacho:
- This was interesting. Beautiful compositions added with Jeff Buckleyish vocals. I will check this out better later.
Trophy Scars:
- Quite The Dear Hunterish. But the guitars were something rather cool. I like the backgrounds, the female singers here and there. Still, I feel like Ive seen it all with this band. A fun acquaintance but wont check them more.
Indian:
- Too dark for my tastes.
Down:
- I feel like Ive heard this before and I think I have. Familiar vocals and familiar music. Wont check more.
Mushroomhead:
- Me no like, too odd.
Ringworm:
- Too screamy for my tastes.
Wolves like us:
- I dont like the vocals.
Origin:
- Too black/death for me.
Crowbar:
- Not gonna check the music, looks like its gonna be as above. I will leave the rest of the same post's music unchecked as they seem to be similar.
Rocket Miner:
- Dont need post-rock at this point.
Periphery:
- Pretty stuff here and there, but didnt feel the music so much still, or the vocals.
Comeback Kid:
- Too screamy for me again, although not as bad as many.
Yob:
- Cant get into, too slow. The guitars were alright.
Ty Segall:
- Could grow on me, maybe, but I just dont feel it.
Mac Demarco:
- Dont like the vocals mostly.
Angel Olsen:
- I appreciate the artistry but cant get into it.
Moab:
- Its like QOTSA and Kyuss tried to make a baby. Its fine, just doesnt interest me enough.
Torgeir Waldemar:
- Nice guitar melodies and soulful singing but wont check further.
Monuments:
- Interesting, also "light" enough for me in this genre. Its right at the border of whether I will check it more or not. But not quite interesting enough at the end. Or is it? I will leave this undecided. I really like the clean vocals. I will check it more later.
Kerretta:
- I said that Im not looking for post-rock, BUT, this band is great at what they do. Very smooth and atmospheric. I might listen their albums at some point.
Banks:
- Caught my interest from the first beats and vocals. At some points the vocals seem to annoy me a bit but so does for example Erykah Badu's vocals at some point. Thats an artist that I would sound-qise compare this to. Good stuff, Will definitely listen to her stuff at some point. Sounds real and legit, goosebumbs really.
Sky Ferreira:
- Too poppy for me.
Dysphoria:
- Too screamy for me again.
badbadandnotgood:
- Sounds interesting. Dont know what to say about this. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Its smooth, jazzy, groovy. This is again on the border of whether I will check more. Is it too Jazzy for me, I dont know... I will have to decide later.
Oh Land:
- The music I like but I do not like the vocals and the syntax of the singer. THe music is too good, can I get around the dislike for the vocals? I dont know, I have to check this out later at some point, maybe.
Blouse:
- I dont like the music or the vocals. I could maybe like the music with another singer, if that makes at all sense.
Job for a Cowboy:
- Too death.
Grails:
- They have something going for them, but the sound is not for me. It could be, its even rather close but not enough.
Unwound:
- This band sounds like it has inspired many artists, not sure if the feeling is right though. Not for me anyways.

Alright, that was all the new bands from this thread. The end result is here:

Bands I will probably listen to in the future:
- Banks

Bands that I will check out better later:
- La Dispute
- Gazpacho
- Monuments

Bands that I will maybe check out better later:
- Kerretta
- badbadandnotgood
- Oh Land

I made the judgements really fast because of the lack of tme. If you think that I have made a false judgement on any of the bands, and that I might like of the bands, give a hint of a song to check out from any of them to make me try them once more. The more bands I find and can enjoy the better.

[Crazylegs]

there's a thread for you in the @users subforum. I'll keep throwing up shit there if you wish.

[An bád dubh]

there's a thread for you in the @users subforum. I'll keep throwing up shit there if you wish.

Ah, I didnt see it, thanks man I found it now! Keep throwing it in for sure, I will check everything I see.

[bright lights, big city]

- Too death.

This is the greatest compliment a band can receive.

[An bád dubh]

 

[deftones47]

Psychostick's "IV Revenge of the Vengeance" is a must-listen!

[theis]

Behemoth - The Satanist
YOB - Clearing the Path to Ascend
Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
Swans - To Be Kind
Mastodon - Once More 'round the Sun
Bloodbath - The Grand Morbid Funeral
Redwood Hill - Collider
Inter Arma - The Cavern
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Crowbar - Symmetry in Black
The Haunted - Exit Wounds
Indian - From All Purity
Greenleaf - Trails and Passes
Old Man Gloom - The Ape of God
Eyehategod - Eyehategod
Down - Down IV, Part II
Solbrud - Jærtegn
Old Kerry McKee - Letter to a Sick

I probably forgot some...

[bright lights, big city]

INDIAN made it, holy shit. I actually forgot that was 2014. Same with Behemoth.

[theis]

'The Satanist' is probably in my top 3 favorite of the year. Such an amazing album. Saw them live twice this year too.

I saw INDIAN with Inter Arma earlier this year. Seeing INDIAN live wasn't a pleasant experience. I almost felt physically uncomfortable. For that, I applaud them!

[digital bath]

This year I enjoyed Post Rock and Ambient the most
Some things in my life changed the last 2 years, as well my taste in music.
Also my passion for Deftones and Chino has settled in this time, hope that the new TS stuff and EROS will be released soon.

My favorite album this year is Dust from Show Me A Dinosaur
I love all the tracks, but 04.Values, 05. Drawing The Line and 06. Dust are the ones I listen to daily, give me dark, melancholic, deep but good feelings and also gooseflesh sometimes.
http://showmeadinosaur.bandcamp.com/

Also on the top is the self titled album from Kokomo
Here I enjoy 02. They Seem To Be Dead Set and 04. Ein Dachs Hat Zweifel the most, especially the second one.
http://kokomoband.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

There is also an Album this year, which disappointed me all across the board, I mean the new This will Destroy You, it's just boring...

[bright lights, big city]

I agree with you on This Will Destroy You. I don't my musical tastes have changed drastically, but I just was not feeling that album whatsoever. And I think I had Tunnel Blanket as of my favorite albums in 2012 or 2011.

[bright lights, big city]

an attempt to put my top 10 in order:

Every Time I Die - From Parts Unknown
Giant Squid - Minoans
Acacia Strain - Coma Witch
Oh Land - Earth Sick
'68 - In Humor and Sadness
Rings of Saturn - Lugal Ki En
Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend
Mastodon - Once More Round the Sun
Within the Ruins - Phenomena
Phantogram - Voices

honorable mentions:

Behemoth - The Satanist
Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution
The Drums - Encyclopedia
Future Islands - Singles
Indian - From All Purity
Jessie J - Sweet Talker
Job for a Cowboy - Sun Eater
Taylor Swift - 1989 (loses all credibility)
Trap Them - Blissfucker
Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright (pleasant surprise)

[nicklav]

Sun Kil Moon - Benji
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
Cloudkicker - Little Histories