Within my top 10, there’s only one new artist. Inside my top 30, there’s about 10.
Electronic music had a huge year with the return of Daft Punk, but also with new artist Disclosure, Jon Hopkins’ career masterpiece “Immunity, and efforts from others like Boards of Canada, Juana Molina, Baths and Fuck Buttons.
You don’t see a lot of rock in the top tiers of the Grammy nominations for 2014, and as loathe as I am to say it, I gotta say I feel almost (almost) the same way. I’ve loved the work that MBV, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Portugal. The Man, Bill Callahan and left of center acts like Parquet Courts and Fidlar have done. Queens of the Stone Age and Red Fang are the most rock ‘n’ roll of these. Beyond that, I didn’t feel like I heard enough, maybe, or we had brain space only for massive pop acts like Beyonce (loved), Lady Gaga (disliked), Britney Spears (promptly forgot) and Katy Perry (great singles, exhausting album).
I’m seeing a lot of outlets put “Yeezus” in their top spots, and while I agree its an aggressive, intoxicating album, I put it far lower on my list (than, say, my 2010 No. 1, “My Beautiful, Dark Twisted Fantasy) because it’s almost challenging me to give extra points for being honest. Jason Isbell takes that prize, with raw and powerful “Southeastern.” Nick Cave gets in there with his twisted, sexual sneering. Danny Brown (my 2011 N. 7) got weirder, at No. 4 this year with “Old.”
I’m not a Drake girl, though I think that “Nothing Was the Same” was his best-contructed album. So long as we’re talking new-era R&B, I could take Blood Orange dancing all night. Good year for the veteran ladies — for Neko Case, India.Arie, Laura Marling, Tegan & Sara and new spins (for me, at least) out of Sarah Jarosz, Savages, Feathers and more.
Dancing, architecture. Let’s listen to music, shall we?