The Best Albums of 2017

On to day 2 of my best of 2017 lists. Today we will focus on my top 5 albums of the year. My list has many different genres, but the main theme is rap/hip hop. It was a decent year for music, not as good as movies, but still pretty good. For example, Beck's new album is not on my list, Khalid's "Teenage Dream" was close, but not quite there, I love Big K.R.I.T., but his new record didn't make my list. I did not have as much trouble pairing my list down, but it still took awhile. Anyway, here we go.

At number 5 I have "Humanz" by the Gorillaz. First off, I was shocked that other publications left this record off their best of lists. "Humanz" was a long time coming, and I thought it was totally worth the wait. Damon Albarn has created something truly special with the Gorillaz. There will never be another band like this. Anyone that tries to do what he did will be called imitators. Albarn was way ahead of the curve as far as creativeness comes. With "Humanz", he took those creative juices and let them flow. It was like there was never a break from their last record. The record is so good and it flows perfectly. The guest list is second to none. You have people ranging from Vince Staples to Grace Jones to Danny Brown, and of course, De La Soul. The Gorillaz have taken on this EDM/rock/rap genre to a whole new level, and "Humanz" is a prime example of that. From start to finish this record is awesome. I love "Charger" featuring Grace Jones and their collaboration with Danny Brown, but the best song is "Moments", featuring De La Soul. That is the perfect Gorillaz song. "Humanz" is a delight.

At number 4, speaking of Vince Stales, I have his newest record, "Big Fish Theory". I was hesitant at first with this record. I was lukewarm on his early stuff, but after hearing him on "Humanz", I decided to give "Big Fish Theory" a shot. Boy am I glad I did. Staples is doing something unique as well. He blends electronic beats with politically conscious lyrics, all the while making it fun. Staples rapping is awesome on this record. He truly knocks his vocals out of the park. He seamlessly moves from party music to straight forward rap to conscious rap. With this record I feel like he has started to hit his stride. He has found his niche as a rapper. "Big Fish Theory" is fun, but also a much needed album in our current political climate. If he continues on this path, I do not see why he won't be as big as Chance the Rapper in the next year or two.

At number 3, going completely away from rap and electronic and cartoon bands, I have the return of LCD Soundsystem with their new record, "American Dream". As you all know by now I am a big, big fan of this group. I love how they blend pop, punk, funk, electronic and rock all into one. I love how they can do a slower song, then follow it up with a 3 minute punk song, then blend electronic with rock and play a 7 minute epic tune. James Murphy is one of a kind. While he may come off a bit pretentious, the dude can sing and write music. "American Dream" has all of this and so much more. From start to finish this album is a homerun. They are the modern day Talking Heads. In fact, thee first time I listened to this record, I was with my father and he asked if it was the Talking Heads. LCD Soundsystem has that same sound, just modernized. This record, another one that we all had to wait for, was totally worth it. You could tell they spent a ton of time in the studio trying to perfect the record. I believe they achieved that goal. "American Dream" also has some great songs about how rough our country is nowadays. We need more and more artists to address the current problems in our country. LCD Soundsysten does that on this record. "American Dream" is awesome and worth the wait. It is nice to have them back.

At number 2, and I had a very rough time with which one of these 2 albums I was going to put at 1, I chose Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN". "DAMN" is amazing. It is basically 1B compared to the record I will talk about next. Kendrick Lamar is the best solo rapper out there right now, and "DAMN" more than proves this. On his other records he can be more of a poet, channeling his inner Tupac, and a bit more obtuse, which I like, but on "DAMN", he makes a straight forward rap album, but with how exceptional he is, he makes it so much better than anything Drake or anyone else of that ilk, can do. This record bumps from start to finish. "DNA" has to be the song of the year. The beat and the intro to that song are amazing. He then tackles so many different themes throughout the 11 songs on the record. He calls out Fox News, Geraldo Rivera and the "president" all within 1 song. The track featuring U2, a band that I do not like at all, is awesome. If you can make me like U2, that is an accomplishment in and of itself. Even a song like "Humble", the chart topping hit from this record, is the bomb. Usually chart toppers get stale after a few listens,  but not "Humble". Kendrick Lamar continues to amaze me, and I cannot wait to hear his next record. Until then, I have "DAMN" to listen to.

And finally for my number one. There is no record better in 2017 than Lorde's "Melodrama". What a piece of art this record is. Lorde shines so bright on this album. She bounces from many different genres, sometime in the same song, so effortlessly. She is one of the best pop singers on the planet, but she can also do ballads as good as Adele, and she is light years ahead of someone like Taylor Swift when it comes to straight forward pop music. From the opener, "Green Light" to songs like "Writer in the Dark" and "Homemade Dynamite" and "Liability", she takes on many different genres. I know she is well known, but I am shocked that she isn't on the same level as some other pop stars. I don't hear her songs on the radio as much as Taylor Swift or Ed Sheerhan or anyone else who doesn't have 1/10 her talent. Lorde rules. I am so psyched that I get to see her live in March. It is also pretty dope that Run the Jewels is opening for her. "Melodrama" is a masterpiece. Lorde achieved legendary status on this record to me. If she never makes another album, I will be happy with what we got from her. I hope she makes more music, I'm sure she will, but she totally crushed it on "Melodrama". It is the best record of the year. I have no doubt about that now.

That is it for my top 5 records of the year. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 TV shows of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was struggling about what to do with Taylor Swift's new record. He has never heard it, never will hear it, but thought she deserved a mention. There, we mentioned her.

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Ty Listens to Lorde's "Melodrama"

Today I purchased Lorde's new album, "Melodrama". I have to say, this was well worth the 4 year wait. This record is excellent. I am blown away that someone this young is this good a writer and singer. She seems so much older than her years on this album. Her lyrics are insightful, fun at times, smart and beautifully sung. Her band is great as well. This is a great all around record.

The first four songs of "Melodrama" sound like they come from the 80's synth movement, but not fueled by cocaine, looking at you Flock of Seagulls. Lorde and her band uses the best parts of what made that music palatable, but they make it modern age and they make it good. Songs like "Green Light" and "Homemade Dynamite" would have easily been hits in the mid to late 80's. Those songs are so synth heavy, but they are also fun as hell to listen and dance to. Lorde's lyrics and voice are phenomenal, and I love the keyboards, synthesizers and whatever else they use to make the music. "Green Light" is a tremendous single, and if I remember it correctly, this was the first single that she released to the public months before this album came out. This was the perfect song to show people that she has grown up, and that this album was going to go in a different direction than her first album, the excellent "Pure Heroine", did 4 years ago.

I love the new sound. I was on board right away, but I was also a bit confused how different it sounded. I am very glad that she chose a different approach, but I thought she would do more of the same from her first record because it was such a hit. But I'll say it again, I love when artists try something different when they make new music. That shows me growth. That shows me that these people are willing to take a chance. And, when they hit, it is amazing to hear. That is how I felt about "Melodrama" after the first 4 songs.

Then the fifth song, "Liability", played next. This song absolutely blew me away. She completely strips everything away, and it is just her voice and a piano, and the song is a thing of beauty. To me, a song like "Liability" is better than any ballad that Taylor Swift or Adele has put out in the past 6 or 7 years. I absolutely love this song so much. It is so god damn good.

Now, I was totally hooked. I needed to hear the rest of the record. She follows "Liability" up with "Hard Feelings/Loveless". This is a bizarre, yet awesome double song. The first part of the song, the "Hard Feelings" part, has an almost hip hop vibe to it. The beat is very good and the lyrics are even better. This is the one song on this record that reminds me of something that would have been on "Pure Heroine". She then shifts into a song that is even more hip hop esque on the second part of this song, "Loveless". Lorde does he style of "rapping" while mixing in singing, and for the very first time I've ever heard from her, she uses the F word a couple times in this song. I loved it. I thought it was a great surprise. I very much love this song as well. I like that she does stuff like this, turning a 5 minute plus song into 2 separate things. She is so good at switching time signatures right in the middle of a song, and that takes a lot of talent to do something like that, while still making it easy to listen to. I really like the song "Sober 2 (Melodrama)". It is sad and heartbreaking and so well performed by Lorde. She really sings her heart out and I wouldn't be surprised if this song gets massive radio play in the near future. It is a hit. Her reprise of "Liability" brought me back to that stripped down version I loved from earlier, and brought me back down to just listening to her, as opposed to what the other songs do, which is make me listen, but also dance and want to know the lyrics so I can belt it out in the car soon. "Perfect Places", the final track on the record, is a great blend of everything we got from this entire record. She sings loudly, the band is on fire, the lyrics are tremendous and it is such a glorious end to a wonderful album.

I truly do love "Melodrama". This is one of the best sophomore records I've heard from anyone that I have ever listened to. I know some people kind of slump on the second record, especially when they have an enormous surprise hit like Lorde had with "Pure Heroine", but that is not the case on "Melodrama". If anything, this record proves to me that she is only to get better and better. She is so young, but so talented, and this is such a great album.

Lorde needs to be even more known than she already is. I've already mentioned the Taylor Swift's and Adele's of the pop music world, but Lorde is better than not only them, but people that get major radio play like Bruno Mars or 21 Pilots or Ed Sheerhan, basically anyone that gets played on pop radio. Lorde is a star, and she should be the face of pop music in the 21st century. I'm a very, very big fan, and I cannot wait to see what she does next. Lorde is incredible and so is "Melodrama".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is thinking of asking his preteen neices if he can chaperone them when Lorde comes to St. Louis. He does not want to go alone and be the weirdo old guy around a bunch young girls. Bad look.

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