Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Playing along at home with Pitchfork's top 50 albums of 2015

12/15/15:

Last year I modified the process of this prediction so that I’d start by estimating, on the day prior to Pitchfor­k’s release of their annual Best Albums list, which 50 albums would populate the list—and in which order. I feel like last year was a notable success, given that it wasn’t a complete disaster. To reiterate, I have seen the Pitchfork list for albums worth Honorable Mention, but that’s it—as was the case during my songs list read-through, I basically have had to force myself off social media and most of the music-related internet in order to not have anything spoiled. OK! A few of the best contenders from the many, many albums I had to nix from this because I had to cut something: Thank Your Lucky Stars; Sprinter; Apocalypse, girl; Poison Season; E•MO•TION; Jenny Death; and Ivy Tripp.

The “Maybe 50” for 2015:

50. Beach Slang – The Things We Do to Find People … 8.0 NM
49. Archy Marshall – A New Place 2 Drown 8.6
48. Rae Sremmurd – SremmLife 7.8 NM
47. Erykah Badu – But You Caint Use My Phone 8.1 NM
46. Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside 8.0 NM
45. Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass 8.3
44. Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material 8.0 NM
43. Kelela – Hallucinogen EP 8.3
42. Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy 8.1 NM
41. Thundercat – The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam 8.3
40. Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone? 8.0 NM
39. Chvrches – Every Open Eye 7.7 NM
38. Jim O’Rourke – Simple Songs 8.6
37. Jeremih – Late Nights: The Album 8.3
36. Baroness – Purple 8.5
35. Nao – February 15 EP 8.4
34. Floating Points – Elaenia 8.4
33. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment 8.3
32. Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down 8.4
31. Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness 8.4
30. Empress Of – Me 8.2
29. Young Thug – Barter 6 8.4
28. Shamir – Ratchet 8.3
27. Deerhunter – Fading Frontier 8.4
26. Arca – Mutant 8.4
25. Kamasi Washington – The Epic 8.6
24. Beach House – Depression Cherry 8.4
23. Jlin – Dark Energy 8.5
22. Holly Herndon – Platform 8.7
21. Neon Indian – VEGA INTL. Night School 8.6
20. Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon 8.5
19. Dr. Dre – Compton 8.8
18. Joanna Newsom – Divers 8.5
17. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late 8.3
16. Björk - Vulnicura 8.6
15. FKA twigs – M3LL155X 8.6
14. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love 8.7
13. Panda Bear – Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper 8.7
12. Deafheaven – New Bermuda 9.0
11. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sit 8.6
10. Miguel – Wildheart 8.9
9. Future – Dirty Sprite 2 8.4
8. Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete 8.7
7. Grimes – Art Angels 8.5
6. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear 8.8
5. Vince Staples – Summertime ’06 8.8
4. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell 9.3
3. Jamie xx – In Colour 9.3
2. Tame Impala – Currents 9.3
1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly 9.3



12/16/15:

50. Dawn Richard – Blackheart
Alright! Off to a great start. I haven’t heard of Dawn Richard. I do have a number of “maybe” slots reserved for the bottom 10 of this list, so it’s not too bad a surprise to see something new here. (not listed)

49. Natalie Prass – Natalie Prass
So underrated! This reminds me that I still haven’t really dug into Matthew E. White’s discography. (-4)

48. Shamir – Ratchet
Wow! I was expecting Shamir’s album to be one of the few each year that’s bumped up to the 20s or 30s from a low 8 score. This is a bungle—almost as bad a mistake as my worst last year (two picks which were 22 places off). (-20)

47. DJ Koze – DJ-Kicks
I was very close to putting this on the list given his inclusion on the tracks list, but I’m just not 100% into the idea of listing a mix in the albums list. (not listed)

46. Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon
Wow, here’s another early upset. I suppose I should have seen this coming in that despite earning a great review upon release TJJ didn’t have a single song on this year’s songs list. Here’s a new low—the furthest I’ve ever been in making these predictions. (-26)

45. Jim O’Rourke – Simple Songs
Here’s a textbook example of a glowing review with zero follow-up in news reporting getting a placement in the lowest ten slots on the list. (-7)

44. Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
An early contender for this list that I begrudgingly removed (to make space for what, Beach Slang? What a mistake! (not listed)

43. Destroyer – Poison Season
And this, which was the final thing I swapped out from slot #50 in order to make space for Archy Marshall. (not listed)

42. Jenny Hval – Apocalypse, girl
Why am I even trying! (not listed)

41. Jeremih – Late Nights: The Album
I still haven’t heard this album, but given the blurb I am eager to. I’m going to play this album while reading the rest of the list. (-4)

40. Jlin – Dark Energy
Noo! Bummer, Pitchfork. This was your chance to not blow it. I didn’t place Jlin’s album in the slot DJ Rashad’s Double Cup took in 2013 for no reason—Placing Dark Energy at least as high would have been a great opportunity to A. Show a terrific album respect / B. Honor that a WOC from Gary can make [at least] as substantial footwork as the most popular dude making it in Chicago / C. Indicate that your site’s [very selective] reporting on footwork in the past three years hasn’t been hype-riding. All respect & RIP to Rashad, but he wasn’t the only person to make great footwork music. (-17)

39. Holly Herndon – Platform
Um, everything I just said about Dark Energy, again. (-17)

38. Arca – Mutant
Alright, Pitchfork. I see you. You’re say, “It’s not just Jlin—we’re just not feeling very adventurous this year. Don’t worry! We’ll have token 0PN up top—but not that close to the top.” (-12)

37. Empress of – Me
Honestly, what is going to be in the top half of this list? (-7)

36. Janet Jackson – Unbreakable
I had JJ in my earlier draft of this list, but I removed her because I didn’t remember Pitchfork paying her much attention outside of giving very positive words to the terrific “No Sleeep”. (not listed)

35. Neon Indian – VEGA INTL. Night School
See #37 (-14)

34. Carly Rae Jepsen - E•MO•TION
Thank you! Like Janet’s album, I had this in my earlier draft of predictions, but removed it because P4k panned it in their review. This was one of my very favorite piece of music to come from 2015. I’m happy to see it here. (not listed)

33. Archy Marshall – A New Place 2 Drown
Hm, it’s fair, but I find difficulty in ranking an album that came out less than a week before this list at the 33rd best record of the year. This is why we should be making best-of lists the following year, but that doesn’t set sites up for more ad revenue, so what do I know. (+16)

32. Dr. Dre – Compton
I’m happy for this album’s placement in this list. It’s ok. (-13)

31. Kelela – Hallucinogen EP
Nice! Wow, I really blew it on this list this year. I didn’t even know how good I had it in 2014! (+12)

30. Deerhunter – Fading Frontier
I saw Deerhunter last night and it was a real experience. The new songs sounded great. I hope his back feels better soon. (-3)

29. Rae Sremmurd – SremmLife
Rae Sremmurd’s album so greatly overshadows their live performances (sorry) that I don’t even mind it any more—instead of catching them the next time they come through your town (and I never say this about anyone and don’t even mean it as an insult) I recommend playing this album straight through while jumping around to it at your house. (+19)

28. Beach House – Depression Cherry
Depression Cherry was a fantastic record. I think (/hope, lol) that the wild gaps between predictions and actual placement on this list will tighten up as we enter the top half of this list. (-4)

27. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
How can Sleater-Kinney reunite, have an amazing year, and put out a terrific record that ranks in the upper 20s while Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine get their come-back records at #3 and #4 on their years’ lists, respectively? Bogus. (-13)

26. Deafheaven – New Bermuda
It’s a long fall from the top, guys. Hope you enjoyed your album sales! Wait, Sunbather really didn’t sell that well? Welp, sorry! (-14)

25. Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside
There’s got to be some reason why this year’s predictions are so far off. Maybe I was too reliant this year on comparing review scores. (+21)

24. Thundercat – The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
The first time I tried to play this on my streaming service of choice, I was bummed that there must be some rights issue that only allowed me a few of the album’s tracks. It wasn’t until much later that I found out that that was the whole thing. (+17)

23. Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down
Track titles on this album are fire. (+9)

22. Panda Bear – Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
A sure victim of the long gap between release date and list creation. Where would this album have placed if it came out on Archy’s release date? Or in July? (-9)

21. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment
The best songs on Surf are so good that I can almost get behind this ranking despite the fact that there’s so much fat to cut on this album. (+12)


OK, so this has been a bit of a mess, but there’s not much room for switch-outs at this point. 15 albums from my forecasted top 20 remain, and enough great albums weren’t included in the bottom 30 (Julia Holter, Floating Points, The Epic, Barter 6) that I imagine there’s pretty slim room for surprises at this point.


20. Floating Points – Elaenia
Aside from E•MO•TION or Bury Me At Makeout Creek, this is the album I earnestly played for the most people this year. It’s been a very long time coming, and I could see FP becoming a favorite artist of mine if he continues to release albums like this. (+14)

19. Future – Dirty Sprite 2
Future was robbed!!! (-10)

18. Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness
Another of my very favorite releases of the year, this was a wonderful step in her career output. (+13)

17. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Finally, my first spot-on placement! (0)

16. FKA twigs – M3LL155X
Hitting a stride… (-1)

15. Björk – Vulnicura
On second thought, it’d have been wrong to place twigs over Björk considering the unidirectional influence at stake with those artists.

14. Young Thug – Barter 6
This breaks the stride, but it does remove the possibility of this cracking my hardly-touched top 11. It’s better that way! At this point, we just need to get Joanna and Kamasi in here. (+15)

13. Joanna Newsom – Divers
Here’s the first of those! Unfortunately I did get the feeling she wouldn’t get a top 10 slot this year. (+5)

12. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
Aha! I thought this’d be higher for sure. Also, lol at Pitchfork being the one to call Josh Tillman “blah” in this blurb. (-12)

11. Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete
Another from the top ten! Considering this lists’s scope, I can’t say I’m too surprised. (-3)


With only ten entries left and nine from my forecasted top 34 records, which album will be the surprise inclusion? Adele? Majical Cloudz? Erykah Badu? I’m expecting someone major-label, because that’s how Pitchfork tends to work. Kacey Musgraves???


10. Kamasi Washington – The Epic
Q: Does this bode well for jazz’s inclusion on future Pitchfork coverage? A: snark snark but really (+15)

9. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
WAIT! Something just occurred to me. Is Pitchfork going to include Black Messiah on this list? It’s a worthy contender, and a top-tenner to be sure, but they set a clear precedent when Beyonce’s s/t did not rank on 2014’s list. Beyonce came out on 12/13; Black Messiah came out on 12/15. To include it here would be easily the most exciting thing about this list.  (+2)

8. Miguel – Wildheart
Yeah Miguel! Not bad, not bad, which also brings us very close to the end of the list  and my initial suggestions. Any differences greater than 1 at this point will be pretty exciting to me. (+2)

7. D’Angelo / The Vanguard – Black Messiah
THEY DID IT!!!! TAKE THAT BEYONCE!!! YOUR PRECEDENT HAS BEEN BUMPED; D’ANGELO BROUGHT HOME #7 WHILE YOUR DECEMBER 2013 S/T WASN’T EVEN ENOUGH TO BUMP ARIANA GRANDE OUT OF THE 2014 LIST!! (not listed)

6. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Wow, that got a little wild! Good to have something quiet to follow that up with. I want to hear a Sufjan Stevens + Majical Cloudz collab in 2016. (-2)

5.  Tame Impala – Currents
Wow, this is a big surprise! I thought for sure that Pitchfork would latch onto this for the #2 spot. It seemed for a while that one song from this album would get Best New Track each week. (-3)

4. Vince Staples – Summertime ‘06
Everyone’s talking about how great Vince Staples is and I’m just happy someone finally made an album about the season I spent in Fond du Lac at marching band practices. The difference between our summers is striking. Vince was A+++ live last week. Highly recommend catching him next time you can. (+1)

3.  Grimes – Art Angels
Spoiler Alert: This list’s blurb for Art Angels kicks off with lyrics from Kill V. Maim that I haven’t ever understood and have been trying to decode without looking up lyrics for the past few weeks. Oh well! I’m very happy to see this ranking #3 for the year after its relative pan (8.5, smh) in the album review.

2. Jamie xx – In Colour
This album is immaculate. Listening to it straight through (loudly, if possible) it’s clear that this could easily be the crowning musical achievement in a year that didn’t have a release like To Pimp a Butterfly. (+1)

1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
It could have been amazing; it ended up nearly perfect. To Pimp a Butterfly isn’t a fitting soundtrack for 2015—it is 2015. Universally held in iTunes libraries across the world, this album is a key complement to the Ta-Nehisi Coates far too many people “haven’t gotten to yet.” It’s essential for white people to work to be cognizant of the myriad dimensions of African American cultures in our country so that we can collectively work to stop the direct and systemic efforts currently we’ve put in place to disadvantage them. It’s hardly the first piece of music to address Blackness in a revolutionary way (though far too many white fans will regard it as such), but To Pimp a Butterfly is a truly striking achievement in the canon of Black art created during this decade.

As a product it is impenetrable; more than with albums like 2010’s P4k top pick My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I just can’t imagine starting with a blank slate after good kid, m.A.A.d city and ending up with this record. It could have been so many different things, many of which could have been as relevant and essential as this album turned out to be. What other records could Kendrick Lamar have written for this year? Surely the answer isn’t “none”. Here’s a New Year’s toast towards Kendrick’s future direction, but not after first spending yet another 79 minutes immersed in the world of this album: our own. (0)

Monday, December 14, 2015

Instant Review - Knee-jerk reactions to the P4k 100 for 2015

Instant Review - Knee-jerk reactions to the P4k 100 for 2015

For the fifth year in a row, I'm running down the P4k 100 songs list as I listen to the songs and read the grafs on a track-by-track basis. You can tell I have made great strides this year because I've learned to call the text accompanying a list "grafs" instead of "blurbs".

100. Dâm-Funk - Free
I hadn't heard this song and haven't really listened to Dâm-Funk very much in the past 4 years or so. The lead keyboard line that comes in at the end of this track is fantastic.
99. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Can't Keep Checking My Phone
My most vivid memory of hearing this song is listening to it in a Ramada in Richland Center, WI from my cell phone speakers.
98. Protomartyr - Dope Cloud
I still don't think I've ever seen Protomartyr in an especially sweaty environment, which seems wrong. I look forward to their upcoming Frequency show for this reason.
97. Frankie Cosmos - Young
Wow, I'm surprised that P4k is getting through all these well-established songs so early in the list! I wonder if there will be a different part of the list than usual which highlights predominantly low-profile bands.
96. Isaiah Rashad - Nelly
I still haven't gotten to know Isaiah Rashad at all. I wonder how many hip hop singles I'll recognize on this list and how many will have slipped past me.
95. WOKE - The Lavishments of Light Looking [ft. George Clinton]
Waoh! I hadn't yet heard this. It's fantastic, but I can't pretend to be surprised about that for a second.
94. DJ Koze - XTC
Wow, this was really good! I wonder if I'll get more back into house music next year.
93. Bully - I Remember
Seeing Bully a few times this year, this is the song that stuck most with me. I'm surprised to see it in the 90s.
92. Cool Uncle - Break Away [ft. Jessie Ware]
I hadn't heard this either (that makes 5 out of 9 so far). I think it is funny that this song came out of 2015.
91. Kamaiyah - How Does It Feel
6 out of 10 now! I wonder how familiar 2016 will make me with the line "It's Kamaai-yah / please retiii-re"
90. Ty Dolla $ign - Blasé [ft. Future and Rae Sremmurd]
I like the hook on this because it sounds like the performers can't remember all the words.
89. Natalie Prass - My Baby Don't Understand Me
AHH! My personal #5 track for the year. Why, I oughtta...! At this low a spot, there's always a shred of hope for another higher-ranking track from this album to be included in the list.
88. Shamir - Demon
Now here's someone who will definitely have a higher-ranking song included on this list.
87. Tate Kobang - Bank Rolls (Remix)
I like how this track never lets down. Pretty fun video.
86. Savages - The Answer
I like how this track never lets down. Pretty fun video.
85. Lower Dens - To Die in L.A.
I still haven't sent much time with this album! I really like this though.
84. Titus Andronicus - Dimed Out
I feel at this point that my Titus Fandom is operation on a lag—while underwhelmed with Local Business, the other day I was reflecting on how "In a Big City" has become, at very least, a peer to my favorite Titus songs. I could see the same happening with Dimed Out.
83. Moses Sumney - Seeds
I really love Moses Sumney's voice! Haven't heard much from him yet.
82. Chairlift - Ch-Ching
I also haven't heard this album yet!
81. I recently heard this song on Madison's student radio station, which reminded me I haven't heard this album yet. I look forward to it. It'd also be really great to see Jenny Hval live.
80. Dej Loaf - Me U & Hennessy [ft. Lil Wayne]
Not feeling this RN, but this song was definitely not made for 10 AM on a Monday morning.
79. YG - Twist My Fingaz
I haven't even really listened to "My Krazy Life," much less anything YG did in 2015. Oops!
78. iLoveMakonnen - Whip It (Remix) [ft. Migos and Rich the Kid]
Apparently one of the only rap releases I heard this year(many times)!
77. Majical Cloudz - Downtown
You don't want no beef boy!!
76. Empress Of - Standard
My #14 track from the year, at least according to a list I made last week! There must be more from this album later in this list though. I had a hard time choosing one of my many Empress Of songs from this years to include near the top of my list.
75. Lana Del Rey - High by the Beach
I heard this played yesterday in a coffee shop and I thought, "this is a pretty cool coffee direction for coffee shop music."
74. Frank Ocean - (At Your Best) You Are Love (Aaliyah/The Isley Brothers Cover)
Oh yeah!! I completely forgot about this.
73. Rick Ross - Foreclosures
Whoa, I hadn't yet heard this but I am into it.
72. Hudson Mohawke - Ryderz
This song is so wacky!!
71. Father John Misty - The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment
FJM has pretty comfortably slid into the canon of contemporary indie without making too huge of an impact on me personally, but I do enjoy this album.
70. DJ Rashad / DJ Spinn - Dubby [ft. Danny Brown]
Those drums!
69. Sufjan Stevens - Fourth of July
More so than with many artists, seeing Sufjan play this live this spring really impacted the way my brain reacts to the song's studio version. I really like T. Cole Rachel's graf for this item.
68. Björk - Lionsong
Wow, somehow I still haven't heard this album! Put that at the top of my list for 2016.
67. Rae Sremmurd - This Could Be Us
Interesting that this seems to be the one selection (based on this blurb) from this album from this year's album list.
66. Jazmine Sullivan - Dumb [ft. Meek Mill]
Lol, this music video was really distracting. From what I remember, it was a good song.
65. Deerhunter - Living My Life
Deerhunter will see a top 20 spot this year, easily. I suppose with this track at 64, those might be the only two Deerhunter tracks on this list.
64. Chance the Rapper - Angels [ft. Saba]
I was surprised to not see Sunday Candy in last year's list, but since it wasn't listed for 2014 I expect it in a top 20 spot this year.
63. Chromatics - Shadow
I didn't spend more than a few minutes listening to Chromatics this year, and most of those were spent hearing this song just now.
62. Blood Orange - Sandra's Smile
Oh Dev! I'm surprised this didn't rank a lot higher.
61. G.L.O.S.S. - G.L.O.S.S. (We're From the Future)
I would really love to see G.L.O.S.S. in 2016!
60. Neon Indian - Annie
I'm still not over this album art.
59. Janelle Monáe / Wondaland Records - Hell You Talmbout
WOW! I hadn't yet heard this recording. A great entry.
58. Nicolas Jaar - Fight (Nymphs IV)
This ranked very high on my personal list. I can't wait to see what Nicolas Jaar does in 2016. 
57. Destroyer - Dream Lover
What! I wish this was higher. "Dream Lover" is a real banger.
56. Earl Sweatshirt - Grief
I need to listen to this more.
55. Nao - Inhale Exhale
I hadn't yet heard this one. I could see myself getting into it next year.
54. Jeremih - Oui
...and same for this one! I look forward to getting into the new Jeremih album, perhaps once list season dies down a bit.
53. ANOHNI - 4 Degrees
I would really love to see ANOHNI in 2016! This song is so fantastic. I'm thrilled about the promise of this new album.
52. FKA twigs - in time
There's so much I haven't heard this year!
51. David Bowie - Blackstar
Only 51? Bowie was robbed!! Every time I hear this song I like it more than I did before.
50. Kurt Vile - Pretty Pimpin
This chorus is distractingly goofy. It's a welcome addition to the pile of enjoyable Kurt Vile tunes.
49. Beach House - Sparks
The most surprising Beach House single of their whole career. Do you remember hearing this for the first time?
48. Kelela - Rewind
Yaaa!
47. Dr. Dre - Genocide [ft. Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius, and Candice Pillay]
If you think you're tired of hearing that I haven't yet heard songs on this list, just think about how tired I am of having to say it!
46. Oneohtrix Point Never - Sticky Drama
Underrated! I heard this song played at a hot dog restaurant four days ago. The Singularity nears closer than ever.
45. Joanna Newsom - Leaving the City
I've loved witnessing this album crystallize as a quick favorite more and more rapidly over the past two months.
44. Courtney Barnett-Pedestrian at Best
This is the point at which the wording in these blurbs starts messing with my mind. "Peak Courtney Barnett"? Does that mean we won't see Depreston higher on this list?
43. Rich Homie Quan - Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)
I'm really glad this blurb linked to "Hit the Quan" for reference.
42. Future - I Serve the Base
An eeeasy frontrunner for most-anticipated Madison show of 2016.
41. Sleater-Kinney - A New Wave
This year Sleater-Kinney did for themselves what Pavement had to have Clearance do for them.
40. Kanye West - All Day [ft. Allan Kingdom, Theophilus London, and Paul McCartney]
It's a little mind-boggling that this song came out this year. 2015 has been long!
39. Grimes - Kill V. Maim
This song in particular was one I was looking forward to pinpointing on Pitchfork's list. Like several songs on "Art Angels" (despite simultaneously sounding nothing like them) this song shows remarkable depth and is a tremendous joy to experience.
38. Jack Ü - Where Are Ü Now [ft. Justin Bieber]
Clearly we have struck the gold that this year was—the top-ranking fifty songs all viable contenders for the top five slots.
37. Janet Jackson - No Sleeep
Watch the Throne etc. etc. etc.
36. Jamie xx - Loud Places [ft. Romy]
YES! ...as Jamie xx locks in three top-40 (Pitchfork) singles, along with Good Times and Gosh. Loud Places is a brilliant piece of music. The lyrics are extraordinarily efficient.
35. Drake - Energy
Perhaps unfairly buried by Hotline Bling (a top tenner if I've ever heard one), this song bangs and deserves to be remembered as the best Drake song of the year (until August).
34. D.R.A.M. - Cha Cha
For the bulk of the year I knew Cha Cha only as a winking nod from Madison's *hitmayng in DJ sets. It's a terrific song, partly because it's terrifically silly. All of a sudden, Hotline Bling flipped the conversation—what had we learned from Cha Cha while goofing and shaking butt to it in basements all year? It's been a great surprise to witness the song's pop resurgence.
33. Panda Bear - Tropic of Cancer
This came out in 2015???
32. Alessia Cara - Here
This is the first I've heard of Alessia Cara! I liked this song, though.
31. Kamasi Washington - The Rhythm Changes
Cross off the "token jazz artist" square on your Tiny Mix Tapes year-end list bingo sheet. Get ready to mark off your "token metal song" square when Deafheaven comes up! I'm kidding, I love this song.
30. Missy Elliott - WTF (Where They From) [ft. Pharrell]
Note that I am still expecting, now more than ever, a Missy Elliott headlining set at Pitchfork 2016.
29. Julia Holter - Feel You
With structure like sculpture, this song's chorus is one of the most impressive and mystifying things I've heard in contemporary music.
28. Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
I've woken up to this song for more mornings in the past 9 months than not. Somehow I still haven't tired of it!
27. Thundercat - Them Changes
So fantastic. Thundercat is a national treasure.
26. Tame Impala - Eventually
I listened to this album for the second time about two weeks ago, so I'm going to have a hard time estimating the rankings here. How many more Tame Impala songs await us in this list?
25. D'Angelo - Sugah Daddy
Duuuude, yes.
24. Erykah Badu - Cel U Lar Device
Is this really the best thing from Erykah's wild "Cain't Use" mixtape? Well, ok!
23. Future - March Madness
Two Future for Y'all
22. Drake - Know Yourself
I would have forgotten about this song, potentially chiefly because the "woes" line has become so ingrained in Drake culture that it can be easy to forget it's a product of this year.
21. Kendrick Lamar - The Blacker the Berry
If Drake can have three songs in the top 35, why couldn't Kendrick have three in the top 21?
------

Upon about 30 minutes of review, here's my anticipated top 20 ranked tracks, complete with a reserve of 10 runners up to this list. This year I'm simply shooting for "no catastrophes" (last year I forgot to include "Seasons" in my rankings.. what a mess!)

Leftovers:
Carly Rae Jepsen – All That
Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
Shamir - Call It Off
Destroyer - Times Square
Death Grips - On GP
Julia Holter - Sea Calls Me Home
Majical Cloudz - Silver Car Crash
DIIV - Dopamine
Deafheaven - Brought To the Water
Hot Chip - Huarache Lights


20. FKA twigs - Glass & Patron
19. Courtney Barnett - Depreston
18. Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
17. Tobias Jesso Jr - How Could You Babe
16. Vince Staples - Señorita
15. Adele - When We Were Young
14. Jamie xx - Gosh
13. Deerhunter - Breaker
12. Miguel - Coffee
11. Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta
10. Joanna Newsom - Sapokanikan
9. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment - Sunday Candy
8. The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
7. Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money
6. Grimes - REALiTi
5. Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
4. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
3. Jamie xx - I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) [feat. Young Thug and Popcaan]
2. Drake - Hotline Bling
1. Kendrick Lamar - Alright

Superstar DJs, here we go!

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20. Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
Aw, Fetty! 20 feels like an awfully low ranking for this song. Of the YEAR? Whose year were you living in, Pitchfork??
19. Vince Staples - Norf Norf
It was tough trying to decide whether to include Norf Norf or Señorita. This is a great song.
18. Jamie xx - Gosh
This was such a fantastic year for music.
17. Grimes - REALiTi
Interesting! Seeing this place in the low 20s keeps hope alive for another Grimes track later in the tens, but doesn't guarantee it. Additionally, I'm not sure if Pitchfork would select Flesh Without Blood, Venus Fly, or another track.
16. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment - Sunday Candy
I passed on including this song in my personal list this year since it brightened my 2014 as much as it did my 2015. It was just as good to have this year, though—especially since we got to see him play it a number of times this year.

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4/5 is not bad. Let's see if I can get two 5/5s in the next three chunks of five. I feel like at least one is probable, given that many of these songs are practically guaranteed here.

15. FKA twigs - Glass & Patron
14. Courtney Barnett - Depreston
13. Tobias Jesso, Jr. - How Could You Babe
12. Adele - When We Were Young
11. Deerhunter - Breaker
10. Miguel - Coffee
9. Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta
8. Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
7. Joanna Newsom - Sapokanikan
6. The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
5. Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money
4. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
3. Jamie xx - I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) [feat. Young Thug and Popcaan]
2. Drake - Hotline Bling
1. Kendrick Lamar - Alright

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15. Adele - Hello
Really!! Hm!!! I had expected them to include the Tobias Jesso, Jr.-penned "When We Were Young", a fantastic track that they'd championed in the past. Well, "Hello" certainly is an Adele single! Since "When We Were Young" hasn't hit the radio as significantly yet, perhaps Pitchfork is saving that song for possible inclusion in 2016's list.
14. Miguel - Coffee
Oh Miguel!! I want Miguel to put out a record with the Brainfeeder bigwigs.
13. Rihanna - Bitch Better Have My Money
"Pay-me-if-you-wanna!!" If memory serves me right, I heard this at a wedding reception this year, which is awesome.
12. The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
I would have been skeptical if you told me The Weeknd would be a star in 2012; if you told me in 2014, even more so. Of course, this all changed the first time I heard this song.
11. Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
I'm so happy Sufjan is back!

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3/5 on this set of songs, though the Sufjan song was on my runners up list and the Adele song was switched for another one. Since I have to knock a song out of here, I'm going to choose FKA twigs, though it could as easily be CB or Grimes.

10. Courtney Barnett - Depreston
9. Tobias Jesso Jr - How Could You Babe
8. Deerhunter - Breaker
7. Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta
6. Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
5. Joanna Newsom - Sapokanikan
4. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
3. Jamie xx - I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) [feat. Young Thug and Popcaan]
2. Drake - Hotline Bling
1. Kendrick Lamar - Alright

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10. Vince Staples - Lift Me Up
Ah!! An upset, though I am happy to see it. There goes my two 5/5s! I should have known not to trust my hubris.
9. Courtney Barnett - Depreston
Shouts out to Ryan Dombal for namedropping TripAdvisor on this listing's blurb.
8. D'Angelo - Really Love
In keeping with the precedent they set in '14 with mid-December 2013's "Beyonce", Pitchfork won't be able to include "Black Messiah" on this year's album list. It's especially fair, then, that they're giving him his due on this list with two high-ranking tracks. It does muddle my anticipations, though! I'm more curious than ever to find out what's listed next.
7. Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
After sending out a few favorite 2015 songs lists, I made a few quick retractions: "Wait, I forgot Flesh Without Blood!" This track's first seconds are among my favorite and the most evocative of the year.
6. Young Thug - Constantly Hating [ft. Birdman]
As a fairly uninformed hip hop fan spread thin by the year's releases, I frankly didn't even try to listen to everything Young Thug released this year. I do, however, acknowledge that this is one of my favorite of the Young Thug tracks I did get around to hearing (many times).

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2/5 there. Woof! For how excited I get about making these lists, I'm doubting how good I actually am at putting them together. These final five should be the easiest, since there are some tracks that just couldn't not be included, but I'm still not sure about Joanna here:

5. Joanna Newsom - Sapokanikan
4. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
3. Jamie xx - I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) [feat. Young Thug and Popcaan]
2. Drake - Hotline Bling
1. Kendrick Lamar - Alright

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5. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
Two weekends ago, I heard this song about 5 times after somehow missing it almost entirely up to that point. I get the hype now, though I did recently realize that I like "Let It Happen" because it's an MGMT song.
4. Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta
Waaaoh!! Seeya, Joanna Newsom. I was surprised to begrudgingly drop King Kunta at the last re-sort (as the last resort) but now this cements Kendrick's obvious top-track position.
3. Jamie xx - I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) [feat. Young Thug and Popcaan]
Some things are difficult. Some things are so easy, they reassure you that despite any other mistakes you're bound to make, at least you'll have them to fall back on. Anticipating Pitchfork's top 3 tracks was the least stressful aspect of doing this challenge. It wouldn't make sense to flip any order in these nesting doll records. I am a bit nervous as I prepare to scroll down to see what occupies Pitchfork's top 2 picks, but I'm comforted by knowing that if our lists don't match up, I wasn't the one to make a mistake—Pitchfork was.
2. Drake - Hotline Bling
Yuup!
1. Kendrick Lamar - Alright

I'd argue that no song since 2009's "My Girls" [or vice versa?] was as clearly the defining song of the year until the moment this spring brought us "Alright". As important as it was exciting to hear and as empowering as it was acknowledging of struggle, "Alright" meant more than I'm used to songs meaning. While "My Girls" sourced its emotional resonance from contentedness, "Alright" finds its power in reassurance that corruption, dehumanization, and oppression are worth fighting back against. More than any other song on this list, I'm thankful we had "Alright".