Top 50 Album List

Almost exactly 2 years since I first did this list, I'm back for another one. This time an update. Time to see how my music tastes have changed after listening to music extensively for two years.


Here we go...


1. Frank Ocean – Blonde
2. The Postal Service – Give Up
3. Weezer – The Blue Album
4. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
5. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
6. Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, m.a.a.d. city
7. Weezer – Pinkerton
8. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
9. Kanye West - Graduation
10. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
11. Childish Gambino – Because the Internet
12. Kanye West – The Life of Pablo
13. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground
14. Tyler the Creator – Flower Boy
15. Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book
16. Childish Gambino – “Awaken my love!”
17. Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
18. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap
19. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans
20. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
21. A Tribe Called Quest – The Low-End Theory
22. Carly Rae Jepsen – Emotion
23. Kanye West - Yeezus
24. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
25. MGMT - Little Dark Age
26. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
27. Bill Withers – Just as I Am
28. Kendrick Lamar – Damn
29. Radiohead – Kid A
30. Lorde – Melodrama
31. Panic! At the Disco – Death of a Bachelor
32. Nas - Illmatic
33. Green Day - Dookie
34. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
35. Eminem – the Marshall Mathers LP
36. SZA – CTRL
37. The Notorious BIG – Ready to Die 
38. Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
39. Beyoncé – Beyoncé
40. Fugazi – 13 Songs
41. The Lumineers - Cleopatra
42. Taylor Swift – Reputation
43. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones
44. Drake – Nothing Was the Same
45. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
46. Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra
47. Anderson Paak - Malibu
48. Noah and the Whale – The First Day of Spring
49. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures

50. The Strokes – Is This It

These Are a Few of my Favorite Things

Favorite Album : I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning - Bright Eyes

Favorite Movie : Synecdoche, NY

Favorite Book : The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

Favorite Comic Book : The Sandman - Neil Gaiman

Favorite Food : Mom's Macaroni and Cheese

Favorite Drink : Dr Jager

Favorite Fast Food: McDonalds

Favorite Sushi Roll : Spicy Tuna Roll

Favorite Coffee : Dunkin Donuts Hot Medium Regular

Favorite Streaming Service : Netflix

Favorite Hard Liquor : Jagermeister

Favorite Beer : PBR

Favorite Wine : Clean Slate Riesling

Favorite Gatorade Flavor : Fruit Punch

Favorite Dorito Flavor : Nacho Cheese

Favorite Pizza : Mushroom

Favorite Wife : Meg

Favorite Month : April

Favorite Finger : Right hand pointer

Favorite Video Game : Bioshock

Favorite Director : Wes Anderson

Favorite Spider-man Movie : Spider-man 2

Favorite Halo : Halo: Combat Evolved

Favorite Halo Multiplayer : Halo 4 

Favorite Video Game Online Multiplayer Experience : Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Favorite  Artist : Death Cab for Cutie

Favorite Movie From the 1950's: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Favorite Way to Spend an Evening by Myself : Watching back-to-back movies at the theater

HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE ALL BE SO WRONG

Reading Chuck Klosterman's new book, "But What If We're Wrong?"

Page 57.

Footnote on the bottom of the page.


"It's kind of like the prologue to Star Wars, where we are told that the following events happened 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.' But the people in Star Wars shoot laser guns and travel at the speed of light, so we are forced to conclude that their past is our future."

...

...

Ok, ok.

This is not the first time I've seen this idea.

But this is the first time I realized that this is a widely held viewpoint.

Hold on. I need to figure out which font is the most difficult to miss.

STAR WARS IS NOT IN OUR FUTURE JUST BECAUSE IT CONTAINS FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGIES

Listen I get that laser guns and space ships are ingrained in our brains as future stuff. But it takes like one second of thought to realize thats not the case with Star Wars.

1. The scrolling prologue is 100% for us as the audience. The galaxy that Star Wars takes place in is far away FROM US. It happened in OUR PAST. OTHERWISE WHAT IS THE FUCKING POINT OF HAVING THAT LINE JESUS.

2. THE PEOPLE AND CIVILIZATIONS IN STAR WARS ARE COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM US AS EARTHLINGS. THEY EXISTED LONG BEFORE US AND AS A RESULT ARE WAY AHEAD OF US IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENT. THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY IS NOT INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO THE PASSAGE OF TIME.

So anyway, the book is a little bit interesting and a little bit stupid. The whole thing is one big masturbation sesh for good ol Chuck Klosterman.

I hate his writing style btw.

Suck it Chuck. 

"The 10 Songs post will probably happen on March 31st. Unless I forget which is a super real possibility."

"March 31st."

"UNLESS I FORGET"

"FORGET"

Oh my god.

Lavender

Kind of stumbled on this in an accidental way. This animated Youtube video and the new Two Door Cinema Club song "Lavender" apparently mashup fucking perfectly.

See for yourself:

CLICK HERE FOR DA MAGIC

Also spruced up the ol' digs with a fancy new background and title color/font. You like?

It occurs to me now that probably no one at all saw the last background I had for nearly a year. Well, fuck.

Thats pretty much it. I don't know what to do. I'm too tired to do anything and too alert to go to bed. I'm too bored to not do anything. But also nothing seems interesting. And everything seems like a waste of time. Even though I'm not doing anything.

Well, I'm listening to this Two Door Cinema Club record right now. That's something, right?

Sure.

Blue Mondy

Alright this is our music for today. Serves no real purpose except its the track I happen to be listening to right now and its about to be Monday.

See its shit like this that I'm surprised to learn. How did I not know that the remaining members of Joy Division formed New Order? Like I know I wasn't born yet. But still I feel like I should have run across that at some point.

Its kind of exhausting being born with this back catalog of all recorded music and movies and all the books that have been written and TV shows that ran. I have decades of this shit to listen to and watch and read. I don't have time for this.

Meanwhile there's a constant flow of new shit.

Ech. 

I do enjoy it though. I appreciate having Spotify and being able to pull up every Smiths record and listen to them one after the other. Its nice to have a Netflix queue full of great movies that I'll get around to watching at some point. Honestly, it could be a full-time job just catching up on all of this.

Ok, let me pour another glass of wine.

Back with a glass of wine and sandwich. im good now.

Lets get to the meat of this thing.

God its hot in here.

Its like October and its hot in this apartment.

Ech.

Ok focus Nate.

Today was a good day. Swapped anniversary presents with Meg. Went to the Deerfield Fair. Just a real good day. And tomorrow is our actual 1st Anniversary. Which is kind of mind-blowing. I've been married for a year. Where the holy fuck does time go? Like its pretty scary.

I have a goal of having a house by the time im 30. And whats crazy is that I'm a few short months from 23. 30 aint that far away. I honestly feel like i have to hurry if I'm going to make this happen. And I have no idea how its going to happen. I just have to like manifest a house or something.

I feel like my life simultaneously just started and is also basically over. That's what it feels like to be 22. Don't listen to a damn word Taylor Swift tells you.

Oh HOO Boy whoooo lad wha whoooza (FROOT_REVIEW_MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS)

Oof. What happened Pixies?

Ok so I'm listening to the new Pixies song. (holy god they grandpa pixies now)

Didn't make it through the second go of the chorus. Switched back to the new Die Antwoord track "Fat Faded Fuck Face." This is much better. I love the fuck out of this sound. GOT DAMM YOLANDI.

Ok Kids. We got a bit to talk about. I never did get around to that FROOT review. Ugh. I guess thats the problem with it. It was cool for like a week. I got pretty burnt out pretty damn quick.

Actually nevermind. I'm gonna do it now. I'll review as I go. Lets do this shit. I got three nice cold beers. (Guinness Blondes. HOLY Goddamn. Great shit.)

FROOOT REVIEW

Album actually opens up with this real nice plodding rhythm. Nice showcase for Marina's voice annnnnd it picks up nicely. Like I don't really want to go see a show of this music. But if it were background music on a TV show and I wasn't paying attention, I'd look at the TV because of this song.

Ok. I can't go song by song with this. So I'm just going to let the album keep playing and I'll keep writing about something else. And then i'll sum it up at the end and I may also sprinkle in thoughts here and there if the mood takes me.

FROOT REVIEW PAUSED

So I had another idea I've been wondering about for a bit now. I'd really like to go on a Wine/liquor/beer knowledge expedition. It would be very cool to have this base of knowledge and experience to answer customers questions. In addition to figuring out these things for myself, I thought it would be crazy cool to make like a youtube channel or some dope shit like that and post videos spreading my new knowledge to the masses in an easily digestible way.

So like I could be like OK Folks Here's what bourbon is and here's what Rye is and here's what scotch is and this is how theyre different and how they're made. And if you want to try a bourbon? Grab your tits a bottle of Knob Creek. You want a good blended? Pick yourself some Crown Royal.

You know shit like that.

So yeah thats I thing I've been pushing around in my brain space.

FROOT REVIEW RESUMED

Oof. We had a couple good songs to start of the album. Happy and FROOT are pretty much perfect. Then I'm a Ruin starts and its like this soggy cereal added to the album just as you were setting yourself up to suck down the delicious cereal milk. Just puts a real damper on the whole lovemaking sesh this album was putting on for me so far.

The chorus is rad though. Why can't some songs be just all 100% Organic Chorus. None of that bullshit filler verse shit.

Oh my god. I forgot what a sweet little track this Blue is. This whole album kind of is surprising me right now. Why did I stop listening to this? This shit is fire.

I don't wannnnna feel blue anymoorrre BLUUUUEEEE

OK now you can listen to it with me. Best song on the record hands down. I remember why I put this on my Cymbal profile (Follow me: @ARCTIC). Every time I go back to Marina and The Diamonds I remember hearing them the first time when I Am Not a Robot was the free Itunes track of the week.

There's so few things 22 year old me and 16 year old me agree on. I think its just like Pizza, Meg, Marina and the Diamonds, and Halo?

Forget is a kind of forgettable song. Wish it would end.

Taking all my willpower to not skip the last 30 seconds and jump right into Gold.

I think I remember liking Gold a lot.

Ok, nice so far with this real skittish airy guitar. Lets see where she goes with this.

(I'm on Beer #3 rn)

I think the verdict is that I was mistaken. Shits dull.

Well I got a couple minutes. Lets talk about the cover.

Oh my god I love this. So simple so memorable so poppy.

I guess that's all I really have to say about it.

I like it though.

Song #7 here. I'm really hoping this album doesn't do the final 1/3 album dip that so many albums seem to do. Lady Gaga's stuff seems especially guilty of this. The first 6 or 7 songs will be amazing pop songs that each were popular in their own right and the the last 4 or 5 are songs that feel like they're there JUST BECAUSE there has to be at least 12 songs on a pop record. Like put out a kickass front to back EP. I'll take 7 incredible songs and then nothing over 7 amazing songs that get soured with mediocrity.

Like Childish Gambino's Kauai. 7 songs of front to back magic. And one of my favorite albums of the last couple years.

Oof we're on Solitaire. Not good. Not good.

Nope nope. Spoke too soon. There's something to this chorus.

Ok I take my take-back back. This is over staying its welcome.

Only 20 more minutes of this.

Whoa. Not bad. We've got these really grindy guitars on Better Than That. Finally some life in this poor record. This is a sound I haven't really heard so far. It's a real nice change of pace.

I got a little bored so I started posting pictures of Marina.

UGGGGGHHHHHH

FUCK THIS WHY DO SO MANY ALBUMS GIVE UP HALFWAY THROUGH

I guess like me. I've given up as well.

Fuck this gay earth.

Two more songs. I can do this. I'm chugging my last beer for courage. By God I'm gonna need it. 

I need to decide what song to drink'n'review next. I'm not going to say one here. Dear God am I never making that mistake. I'll do whichever one I feel like in the moment.

Oh nice. Savages is a track with a little life. Finally. What should we expect from Immortals, do you think? Dull, slow piano based track? I'm thinking that.

Ok finish the beer finish the beer finish it.

"Are you killing for yourself or are you killing for your savior?"

She wrote that line. And then she decided to sing it. And then record it.

Blech.

I don't even disagree with the sentiment. Just blech.

Oh here we go.......

Immortals....

....

....

FUCKING CALLED IT OH MY GOD THIS DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A VICTORY THOUGH THIS FEELS LIKE DEFEAT.

Hmm.

you know I guess its not as bad as I first thought.

The lyrics are a dumpster fire. But the actual sound of the song isn't all that bad. Its kind of boring, but if it weren't for the fact that the last four or so songs killed my will to live I don't think I'd hate this track.

Final thoughts? This really is an album that deserves to be raided for great tracks that could nestle their sweet little bodies into any bitching playlist. I would totally recommend that. I don't recommend the whole album though. Its just too lazy after the first half. Realistically, if I had to rate the thing, I'd say 6 out of 10? Coulda been an easy 7. If only it didn't take a one-way trip to Suckville.

Sorry, Marina.