#year end list | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

applepickerproductions · 4 months

Text

Legjobb koncertek 2023

Namármost. Idén ez lesz az egyetlen listám, ugyanis márciusban történt két dolog, ami meghatározta zeneileg az évemet, és nem álltam fel belőle. Egyrészt a Panda Bear & Sonic Boom koncert a Magyar Zene Házában eszméletlenül beütött, utána beszélgettem 10 percet Noah-val, ami szintén baromi jó volt. Imádom a lemezt, de élőben sokkal-sokkal jobb volt az egész, eszméletlenül örülök, hogy ilyen előadókra is ki lehet menni Budapesten koncertre (felkészül: Godspeed You! Black Emperor). Másrészt elkezdtem hallgatni Andrew Hickey: History of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcastjét, ami a Reset-hez hasonlóan az 50-es évektől indul. Ez a két esemény egy eszméletlen pre-Beatles vonatra ültetett fel. Már régóta keresem, hogy mi fog kivinni a klasszik-indie "szomorú fehér férfiak emo számokat énekelnek" világból, az elmúlt években a teljesség igénye nélkül többet próbálkoztam klasszikus zenével, black metallal, post-rockkal, hip-hoppal stb., de valahogy azt a major key életigenlő esztétikát, amit az 50-es évek pedofil, asszonyverő, stb. előadói hoznak, eddig egyiknél sem éreztem.

Tehát egyrészt egy csomó koncerten voltam úgy, hogy igazából azt szerettem volna, ha Michael Gira a The Wild One-t dolgozza fel inkább Johnny O'Keefe-től, minthogy 30 perces 3 slide gitáros értelmetlen zúzást toljon (de sajnos nem értett egyet). De összességében is egy csomó koncerten voltam, viszont új lemezeket egy-két kivétellel érdemben nem hallgattam. Tehát ez a lista a lista (az eleje felé már legerősebb számokkal).

50 - Sampa the Great @ Pohoda

49 - The Saxophones @ Porgy & Bess

48 - Carson Coma 2 @ Budapest Park

47 - Sainko Namtchylak @ Magyar Zene Háza

46 - Mordái @ Manyi

45 - Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul @ Pohoda

44 - Arooj Aftab @ Pohoda

43 - Barkóczi Noémi @ Akvárium

42 - The Cult @ Budapest Park

41 - Dé:Nash @ Budapest Park

40 - Galaxisok @ Műegyetem Rakpart

39 - Special Interest @ Turbina

38 - Simon Wells @ Béla

37 - Yard Act @ Pohoda

36 - Los Bitchos @ Gasometer

35 - Swans @ Akvárium (The Beggar)

34 - Okkervil River @ Porgy & Bess (John Allyn Smith Sails)

33 - Mordái @ Magyar Zene Háza (Át a kőtengeren)

32 - Sofi Tukker @ Pohoda

31 - Sleaford Mods @ Pohoda (Tweet Tweet Tweet)

30 - Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve, Művészetek Palotája (Alison)

29 - Roisin Murphy @ Gyárkert Veszprém

28 - Tom Holliston @ Béla

27 - Carson Coma 1 @ Budapest Park (Hobbihajótörött)

26 - The Raveonettes @ A38 (The Great Love Sound)

25 - Emilíana Torrini and the Colorist Orchestra @ Akvárium (Me and Armini)

24 - Dry Cleaning @ Pohoda (Don't Press Me)

23 - Jamie XX @ Pohoda (Gosh)

22 - Suzanne Vega @ Pohoda (Walk on the Wild Side)

21 - Kispál és a Borz @ Budapest Part (Zár az égbolt)

20 - Russian Circles @ Dürer Kert (Quartered)

19 - Shame @ Pohoda Festival (Angie)

18 - Strompopper @ Dopamin (Radio Whatever)

17 - Tamikrest @ Akvárium

16 - Hó Márton és a Jégkorszak @ Akvárium (Folyamatosan le vagyok maradva)

15 - Viagra Boys @ Pohoda Festival (Troglodyte)

14 - Mayberian Sanskülotts @ Magyar Zene Háza (Ocean's Cry)

13 - Franz Ferdinand @ Gyárkert Veszprém (Outsiders)

12 - Strompopper @ Központ (Kill Everyone)

11 - Wet Leg @ Pohoda Festival (Wet Dream)

10 - Iggy Pop @ Gyárkert Veszprém (T.V. Eye)

9 - Perfume Genius @ Pohoda Festival (On the Floor)

8 - Galaxisok @ Margó Feszt (Olasz film (töredék))

7 - Bérczesi Róbert @ Margó Feszt (Kérdőjel)

6 - Kraftwerk @ Gyárkert Veszprém (Autobahn)

5 - Kevin Morby @ Akvárium (Rock Bottom)

4 - Black Country, New Road @ Villa Manin (Turbines/Pigs)

3 - The Magnetic Fields @ Porgy & Bess (Andrew in Drag)

2 - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Gasometer (The Dripping Tap/Magma/Muddy Water/The River)

1 - Panda Bear & Sonic Boom @ Magyar Zene Háza (Everything's Been Leading to This)

#year end list #yel2023 #live

19 notes · View notes

allyourkayfabefriends · 4 months

Text

Top Albums of 2023

Hello everyone!

It's that time of year again! For me personally, it's been a hectic year, but an exciting one too. I did my best to keep up with new music, and listened to new albums with pretty good regularity, however I didn't find myself revisiting a lot of new records, at least not yet. In the list to come, I definitely see most of them as growers, records I'll fall in love with in the years to come, that already have left a strong impression on me. Just this year alone I spent a lot of time with 2022 releases I adored like Alvvays' Blue Rev and Panda Bear & Sonic Boom's Reset, and another record I'll give special mention to in a minute. I'm hoping to fall more in love with these records, and all the records I missed this year! Let's dive in

My Favorite Record from 2022 That I Listened to For the First Time in 2023: MJ Lenderman - Boat Songs

Ripping off this gimmick from Steven Hyden, who actually put this record tied for the #1 spot last year (with Big Thief's fantastic double album that was in my own top 10). I really became enamored with the alt-country sound this year, and this record was just the perfect scratch for that itch. The songs veer from aching to rocking, sometimes in the same track. My absolute favorite song of the year was "You Are Every Girl to Me" on this album, which evokes such strong feelings in me it's hard to describe. MJ had a big year being part of Wednesday, but I'm excited to see where he goes next as a solo artist!

Honorable Mentions: The Replacements - Tim (Let It Bleed Edition) M83 - Fantasy Alan Palomo - World of Hassle Greg Mendez - Greg Mendez Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS

10. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin

I've been a Sufjan fan for a long time now, probably around 8 years or so. I've always admired his ability to capture such intimate feelings with such sweeping and varied instrumentations. His last full length under his own name, The Ascension, came out in 2020, when a lot of new music wasn't really sticking with me. The Ascension had the same vastness that I came to know in Sufjan's work, but it felt slightly distant. Javelin closes that gap. From social media posts, it seems like Sufjan has had a tough year, and this record is about grappling with pain and loss. Removed from that narrative, the songs here build and grow with such beauty that although I've only listened in full once, I'm almost saving myself from the full wallop I know this record will give me once I really dive in. Thank you Sufjan, for everything.

Crucial track: "Shit Talk"

9. Squid - O Monolith

Squid are an exciting band to come out of the vibrant post-post(-post?)-punk scene in England. I really liked their 2021 debut, Bright Green Field, but it was sprawling and epic, and it could feel tough to revisit. O Monolith takes everything that was great about BGF and builds on it, while also focusing in a bit more. With 8 songs at about 40 minutes, this record experiments with post-rock-esque tension builds, vocoders, and engaged, involved guitar work. I feel like these songs will work well live as well. Excited to see how this band continues to grow!

Crucial track: "Siphon Song"

8. Wednesday - Rat Saw God

I know, I know, how surprising. I am not immune to Wednesday's Rat Saw God being on my year end list. Despite not having listened to this record a ton, I can definitely already feel like this is going to go down as a critical cornerstone of where alternative/guitar-oriented rock music will go for maybe the rest of the decade. As I fell in love with MJ Lenderman's Boat Songs, I grew to appreciate this record more and more. With huge, crushing fuzzed-out electric guitars mixed with beautiful pedal steel, it's really hard to resist this record's charms. Even revisiting their 2021 record, Twin Plagues, was a delight. Can't wait to listen to it more!

Crucial track: "Chosen to Deserve"

7. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES

Another hyped up album I couldn't help but put on my list. While not being super long to begin with, this record flies by, and it can be hard to miss everything. I've been a fan of Danny Brown for awhile, and have skirted around JPEGMAFIA's work, so this was a good introduction to hear them work so well together. JPEG's production here is insane, and both are firing at full mischievous speed. Just check out that sample at the end of "Fentanyl Tester".

Crucial track: "Fentanyl Tester"

6. Mitski - The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We

Yay! Mitski! After the kind of underwhelming Laurel Hell from last year, this record finds Mitski back at nearly full strength. Again, my weakness for pedal steel bleeds through, and I love Mitski experimenting with a new, more acoustic and natural sound. This is another record I haven't listened to more than once or twice yet, but I'm still excited to fall more in love with it. She's back!!

Crucial Track: "Bug Like an Angel"

5. The Tubs - Dead Meat

As a huge fan of bands such as Los Campesinos! and Martha, I've always had a soft spot for British rock bands with heart. The Tubs are no different, and in my year-end revisit, this record really stood out to me. It has the jangle of old British folk and early R.E.M. with the propulsion of Joyce Manor, not forsaking sweet melodies and harmonies along the way. At 28 minutes long, I insist you give this a spin!

Crucial track: "That's Fine"

4. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World

For a long time, Yo La Tengo admittedly did not click with me that much. I'm not sure what changed, but their ability to vary between raucous, distorted shoegaze to calm, reflective instrumentals really stuck with me. On This Stupid World, they've once again found that sweet balance. Bolstered by arguably one of the best concerts I went to this year, I've really come to love this record a lot.

Crucial Track: "This Stupid World"

3. Avey Tare - 7s

Avey Tare has always been my favorite member of Animal Collective. His 2019 record, Cows on Hourglass Pond, is my favorite solo release from anyone in the group. Avey has apparently been sitting on 7s for a little bit now, and I'm so glad it's in the world. Avey continues his unique blend of experimentation with profound moments of beauty, melody and depth. He's also been working more with the bass guitar on his and AnCo's latest albums, and it really works well on tracks like "Invisible Darlings" and "The Musical". Hey Bog is an epic in a year full of Animal Collective epics. Very happy with this one!

Crucial Track: "Lips at Night"

2. Animal Collective - Isn't It Now?

Animal Collective have always inspired a dedicated, eager fanbase. After a few years doing their own things, the four core members of the group have reunited to make an ultimate "for the heads" record, with Isn't It Now. Last year's Time Skiffs built on a lot of things the band as a four-piece did well, and made it more melodic and accessible (again, Avey's bass playing and Panda Bear sitting behind a proper drum kit have changed their sound in a way you wouldn't expect), however this record takes it one step deeper. As typical with Animal Collective records, the band often plays songs that will appear on the *next* record on tour for the one they just put out. As a result, when I saw Animal Collective twice last year, they played most of the songs that ended up on this record. However, I did not fall victim to demoitis, and these songs sound magnificent. Definitely their densest record, but full of rich sounds, melodies and just the right amount of melancholy. Really really love this one.

Crucial Track: "Genie's Open"

1.Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE

Jeff Rosenstock is my favorite musical artist. For nearly 20 years, everything he has put out, whether under his own name with his backing "Death Rosenstock" group, Bomb the Music Industry!, or Antarctigo Vespucci, has been great to amazing punk music. On HELLMODE, his first full-length since moving to California in early 2020, has Jeff more level-headed and reflective than ever, but also bursting with the sheer kinetic energy that has made his work a joy to listen to and experience since i became a fan in early college (seriously, go see Jeff live if you can!). There's a maturation here that doesn't sacrifice his passion in the slightest. This feels like a big budget record, but in all the right ways. Songs like I WANNA BE WRONG, 3 SUMMERS, and LIFE ADMIN capture the feelings of trying to work through your own life with so much crashing down around us. This has been the most in-love I've been with a new record in a long time, where I could really not get enough of it in the first month when it was released.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Here's hoping to a peaceful, loving and fulfilling 2024. Much love to all!

#me #year end list #sufjan stevens #squid band #wednesday band #jpegmafia #danny brown #mitski #the tubs #yo la tengo #avey tare #animal collective #jeff rosenstock

10 notes · View notes

simongablelundmark · 4 months

Text

I never know quite what's going to end up on these lists so I just call them Some Things of The Year, and here's one for 2023! Happy New Year everybody!

#happy new year #some things of the year 2023 #year end list #barbie #john wick #godzilla minus one #hi fi rush #bomb rush cyberfunk #jawan #shahrukh khan

17 notes · View notes

ksfoxwald · 4 months

Text

2023 Year End Book Post

Total Books Read: 213

...okay that sounds like a lot but I work at a library and will regularly pick up a graphic novel or chapter book to read over my lunch break. And yes, graphic novels are "real" reading, but they can also be read over a single lunch break.

And honestly, I'm getting my numbers from my Storygraph profile, but I know there are a lot of graphic novels and manga I forget to enter in, so the number is probably higher.

Other numbers:

167 books from the library 72 graphic novels (or more) 126 children's books 74 adult books 144 Sci Fi/Fantasy 20 Nonfiction books 13 Romance books 82 books by BIPOC authors 70 books with queer authors/main characters

First book of the year: Ashen Weald by K. Vale Nagle Last book of the year: Fox Snare by Yoon Ha Lee

Best Books:

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai

How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler

How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

#fox reads #books #year end list

7 notes · View notes

if-you-fan-a-fire · 4 months

Text

BOOKS I READ IN 2023 Here's what I read in 2023. What has now become an annual tradition of sorts!

An unusual year in reading for me. The first half of the year was very slow, and I mostly finished two long books I've been trying to finish for years by William Morris and Robert Musil. Then the PSAC strike, and more time to read. After that, I made a reading plan and stuck to it, trying to read every day at least a chapter of a book on the list. I also ended up re-reading several books this year - transcribing notes at first, I ended up going over the entire book a second time. I also tried to take extensive notes on every new book. I also snuck a few theses I read onto the list - it feels weird not to include a several hundred page work I went over with a fine-toothed comb. Mostly academic books, germane to my own research and writing, but some strong forays into topics I don't normally think about much. Plus some genuinely good 'amateur' history, too.

Re-reads are marked by a plus sign and my most enjoyable or interesting reads are marked with an asterisk.

First Row:

Jesper Vaczy Kragh, Lobotomy Nation: The History of Psychosurgery and Psychiatry in Denmark (2021)

William Morris, The Well at the World's End (1896, Ballantine edition 1975)

Robert Musil, translated by Sophie Wilkins, The Man Without Qualities (1930, Picador edition 2017)*

Gavin Walker, ed., The Red Years: Theory, Politics, and Aesthetics in the Japanese ’68 (2020)*

Garrett Felber, Those Who Know Don't Say: The Nation of Islam, the Black Freedom Movement, and the Carceral State (2020) *

Robin Jarvis Brownlie, A Fatherly Eye: Indian Agents, Government Power, and Aboriginal Resistance in Ontario, 1918-1939 (2003)

Second Row:

Steve Hewitt, Riding to the Rescue: The Transformation of the RCMP in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914-1939 (2006)

Maeve McMahon, The Persistent Prison?: Rethinking Decarceration and Penal Reform (1989)+

Rebecca McLennan, The Crisis of Imprisonment: Protest, Politics, and the Making of the American Penal State, 1776–1941 (2007)+

Anne Guérin, Prisonniers en révolte: Quotidien carcéral, mutineries et politique pénitentiaire en France (2013)+

Anson Rabinbach, The Eclipse of the Utopias of Labor (2018)

Scott Thompson & Gary Genosko, Punched Drunk: Alcohol, Surveillance and the LCBO, 1927-1975 (2009)

Third Row:

Erin Durham, "In Pursuit of Reform, Whether Convict or Free: Prison Labor Reform in Maryland in the early Twentieth Century." (2018 thesis)

Chester Himes, Yesterday Will Make You Cry (1998)*

Harvey Swados, Standing Fast: A Novel (1971, 2013 Open Road edition)

Charles Upchurch, "Beyond the Law": The Politics of Ending the Death Penalty for Sodomy in Britain (2021)

Barry Godfrey, David J. Cox & Helen Johnston, Penal Servitude: Convicts and Long-Term Imprisonment, 1853–1948 (2022)

W.J. Forsythe, Penal Discipline, Reformatory Projects And The English Prison Commission, 1895-1939 (1991)

Fourth Row:

Neal A. Palmer, To the Dark Cells: Prisoner Resistance and Protest in Nineteenth-Century Britain (2008)

Frances H. Simon, Prisoners' Work and Vocational Training (1999)

Meera Nanda, Science In Saffron: Skeptical Essays On History of Science (2016)*

Gene Wolfe, The Book of the New Sun (four volumes, 1980-1983, Folio Society edition 2021)+

David J. Rothman, Conscience and Convenience: The Asylum and Its Alternatives in Progressive America (2002)+

Kathryn Cooper, "The Infamous Convict Museum Ship Success : an Archaeological Investigation of Material Culture and Identity Formation Processes." (2014 thesis)

Fifth row:

Barry M. Gough, Gunboat Frontier: British Maritime Authority and Northwest Coast Indians, 1846-1890 (1984)

Edward Jones-Imhotep, The Unreliable Nation: Hostile Nature and Technological Failure in the Cold War (2017)*

Larry A. Glassford, Reaction and Reform: The Politics of the Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett, 1927-1938 (1992)

Don Nerbas, Dominion of Capital: The Politics of Big Business and the Crisis of the Canadian Bourgeoisie, 1914-1947 (2013)

James Naylor, The Fate of Labour Socialism: The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Dream of a Working-Class Future (2016)

Michael Martin, The Red Patch: Political imprisonment in Hull, Quebec during World War 2 (2007)

Sixth Row:

Ruán O'Donnell, Special Category: The IRA in English Prisons, Vol. 1: 1968-1978 (2012)*

Ruán O'Donnell, Special Category: The IRA in English Prisons, Vol. 2: 1978-1985 (2015)*

Cheryl D. Hicks, Talk with You Like a Woman: African American Women, Justice, and Reform in New York, 1890-1935 (2010)*

Clarence Jefferson Hall, A Prison in the Woods: Environment and Incarceration in New York's North Country (2020)

Scott Thompson, "Consequences of Categorization: National Registration, Surveillance and Social Control in Wartime Canada, 1939-1946." (2013 thesis)

H.V. Nelles, The Politics of Development: Forests, Mines, and Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario, 1849-1941 (2005)+

Seventh row:

Chief Thomas Fiddler & James R. Stevens, Killing the Shamen (1985)

Ashley Johnson Bavery, Bootlegged Aliens: Immigration Politics on America's Northern Border (2020)

Patrick Brode, Dying for a Drink: How a Prohibition Preacher Got Away with Murder (2018)

Hamish Maxwell-Stewart & Michael Quinlan, Unfree Workers: Insubordination and Resistance in Convict Australia, 1788-1860 (2022)*

Victor Serge, translated by Ralph Manheim, Last Times (1946, 2022 NYRB edition)

Christopher Cauldwell, Studies in a Dying Culture (1938)

#books #reading #books 2023 #year end list #2023 reading list #canadian history #prison history #academic quote #academic research #academic books #australian history #british history

6 notes · View notes

lovejustforaday · 3 months

Text

2023 Year End List - #1

夢之駭客 Dream Hacker - Otay:onii

Main Genres: Post-Industrial, Experimental

A decent sampling of: Neoclassical Darkwave, Electroacoustic, Glitch, Industrial Techno, Drone

Brace yourself, cause from here on out this is mostly just gonna be me fanboying and gushing uncontrollably.

Back in 2021, I had championed the Chinese American singer/songwriter/composer/producer/performance artist Lane Shi Otayonii a.k.a. Otay:onii for her experimental record Ming Ming on that year's roundup, describing her potential to become "one of the greatest producers of the decade". But who is this enigmatic artist?

Lane Shi divides her time and energy between creating and touring with her hardcore noise rock band Elizabeth Colour Wheel, and performing studio black magic with her solo project under the Otay:onii name.

She is also an artist who regularly alternates her base of operations between two worlds, residing at different times in New York City and Shanghai. The duality of her identity as a Chinese American is a narrative thread that appears many times throughout the artist's work, informing some of the thematic elements of her records.

According to a really great interview she did with the YouTuber Heinos, the moniker 'Otayonii' itself is actually a name that was given to the artist when she met a Seneca First Nations man, who asked if he could call her by the name for 'wolf' in his ancestral language. She liked the sound and what it represented, and so decided to own her new given title.

Musically, Otay:onii is primarily a post-industrial project, but Lane Shi regularly incorporates aspects of darkwave, glitch, drone, traditional Chinese music, and electroacoustic music into her work. Her signature sound is equal parts atmospheric, lovecraftian, primordial, playful, and frenetic. She's kinda like if an ancient vengeful demi-god reemerged from the bowels of the Earth, and learned how to download and play around with studio software on a laptop.

As a vocalist, Lane Shi possesses a contralto range, and falls under one of my favourite niche categories of woman singers I like to call "force-of-nature belters", along with the likes of Tanya Tagaq and Björk. She has a trademark lower register that I would describe as a witch's snarl, a gentler middle register, as well as a higher register that she usually reserves for piercing battle cries and wailing like a banshee.

Her 2018 debut Nag was a comparatively more minimalist, grayscale undertaking, heavy on the more ambient and gothic tones of her sound. A genuinely solid first effort, if a bit less memorable than later records, barring the deliciously dreary eponymous song which is still among her very best.

2021's Ming Ming was an upgrade in all respects. Pulling major influences from Chinese folk music and folklore, I described the record in my previous Otay:onii review as a "true Pandora's Box . . . like the story of a mortal who attempts to enter the realm of the gods". Lots of ominous industrial cyber-magic, with a rare few moments that could have perhaps been edited down or omitted altogether to increase the force of its impact.

So, what to make of her latest then?

Dream Hacker is an exorcism. An inferno of ancient eternal flames envelops this absolutely bonkers and surreal listening experience. Each song carries powerful buildups in intensity combined with impossibly elegant structural competence. Far and away one of the most visceral and transcendent records I have ever beheld. This gets into your bloodstream, like an innate, raw instinct towards entropy.

Otay:onii's work has never sounded quite this immediate, energetic, and dynamic, thanks to the incorporation of avant-garde industrial techno beats that gives the whole project a mighty propulsion. Even during its quieter moments, you as the listener are never far from being engulfed in its unruly fire and brimstone. So many little leftfield moments that made me audibly go "what the fuck?" upon my first listen, too.

To me, this is album of the year not just because it poses the best collection of songs from an artist in 2023 (which, to be clear, it does), but also because it forms the most cohesive and fully realized project of the year. Every moment of this record feels intentional, meticulously crafted, and designed to fit accordingly into a larger entity. This is almost a living, breathing organism unto itself.

Lane Shi described how much of the inspiration for Dream Hacker came to her in a dream, or as she sees it, an "astral projection". Within this dream, she says she witnessed stones being thrown by a child until two of them overlapped, followed by a great light which emerged from the center of the overlap. The imagery was profound enough that she ended up naming most of the tracks after different aspects of what she saw in the dream.

The album starts with humble beginnings. "You Do/Rub" is a two-parter, opening with the haunting, softly swirling piano ballad melancholy of "You Do". The lyrics are deeply cutting and vulnerable, as the artist ponders her shaky relationship with her father as a daughter of the generation where China had implemented the one child policy, breeding stigma against female offspring in the more conservative rural communities. Lane Shi wields her voice like a delicate blade, gracefully and artfully interrogating her father's worldview. The progression of the piano's melody suggests a kind of resolution in ambiguity, resisting rigid, narrow-minded answers to multidimensional questions.

Then quite abruptly, "Rub" completely overtakes and drowns out the serenity of the softer piano song, like a sudden onset computer virus infection. What becomes of this part two is honestly one of the most immaculate timbral frequencies I've ever heard. A glitchy, droning wall of madness forms in dark, ominous, tempestuous clouds all across the sky. Warm colours are sucked out of existence by a black hole, leaving only greyish pale blues. The soul is washed with abrasion until all that's left is the ability to observe. Sound design on this is fucking unreal, as though Lane Shi Otayonii is wiping clean of our universe, leaving only a empty slate to form the basis for her own new sonic domain, wherein she is god of all things.

"Light Burst" is the combustion spark of a rebirth of all things that comes immediately after. Lane Shi let's out a shrill cry of tremendous power and agony amidst the grinding dust and debris of an incredibly dense and intricate industrial techno concoction, built upon her long standing love affair with minor second chord progressions. This track does not relent, adding more and more layers to its already colossal tower of babel proportions until, just as suddenly as it came into existence, it vanishes without a trace of detection.

"Two Rocks A Bird" oscillates like an electron creating new electromagnetic waves. Sound particles split into atoms that dance in a mindless frenzy. Even as a regular Arca fan, I don't think I was ready to comprehend something like this the first time I heard it. Subverted all of my expectations. I think the artist may have invented a few completely new sound textures on this track. A highly reactive new form of industrial music.

After deliberating with all of the sheer fucking brilliance to be found on this project, I eventually concluded that "Overlap" was my favourite off of the record. Like the best song on her last LP "Blackheart Breakables", this is an epic midpoint that just continues to build and build, feeding endlessly like a malignant being that cannot be stopped. Hand drum beat patterns are mutated, modulated, and mutilated by industrial electroacoustic mechanisms, while a synthesized flute echos a most forlorn and sinister melody.

Lane Shi takes on the shape of a skillful pyromancer, testing her newfound powers by conjuring a sea of flames that I visualize with my mind's eye as something similar to the Darvaza Gas Crater. Alternatively, I imagine thousand year old stains of bloodshed on the tombs of a ransacked temple, or the ancient terracotta soldiers of Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum brought to life for the purpose of ushering a new war. "Overlap" is just something else, man. My other pick for song of the year.

"Ritualware" opens with a rare calm, dreams swirling on the outskirts of a newborn world that has not reached its zenith. The spacious void bursts to life with a single, literal drop (another brilliant production choice), creating ripples in space-time that give way to a trumpeting sawtooth synths' cacophonous symphony.

"Good Fool" brings things to a stirringly harmonious denouement. The light of the last candle is blown out, and a creeping dusk sets in. Petals of sound float along the wind and promptly dissipate, as everything reaches an uncanny stillness. A hushed, rapid-fire breakdown of bass drums, hand drums, and gongs occurs as the final closing act of the record.

I know I've already said this like a dozen times before about a dozen different artists, but it really needs to be said here - more people should know about Otay:onii. No one I've discovered has been doing anything as consistently exciting, challenging, and infectious as this project in the last few years. As it stands right now, the artist is criminally unknown and criminally underappreciated.

Dream Hacker is the rare ambitious record that dares to be so challenging and not only lives up to all of its potential, but manages to make the old formula of doing things look incredibly obsolete by comparison. Not many avant-garde music albums are this ridiculously fun to listen to, let alone manage to capture sonic worlds that are this truly sublime.

I've probably listened to this at least 40 times in the last year, and I plan on at least doubling that number in the following year. This is not just my album of the year; it is my top album of the 2020s as a decade so far, and already one of my favourites of all time. This record sets my soul ablaze and I simply can't get enough of it. Otay:onii is my new religion, and Dream Hacker is the scripture.

10/10

Highlights: "Overlap", "You Do/Rub", "Light Burst", "Two Rocks A Bird", "Ritualware", "Good Fool"

#album review #music review #list #aoty #year end list #favourite music #favourite albums #aoty2023 #post-industrial #industrial music #otayonii #otay:onii #lane shi otay onii #chinese american music #experimental #experimental music #2023

5 notes · View notes

confessionsofabargainbinaddict · 4 months

Text

My Top 50 Songs of 2023*

*not necessarily from 2023

Year number 8 of the Top 50 Songs of 2023 that aren’t necessarily from 2023 playlist!

The biggest change this year is that I did my best to try and actually sequence the playlist so I recommend turning off the shuffle I've suggested in years past and let the thing play in order.

To be totally honest, I didn't fall in love with that many albums this year BUT I did fall in love with a ton of tracks, most of which are represented here (especially the end of the playlist which skews very 2023).

So check it out. Discover something new or fall in love with something you haven’t heard in a while. See you next year!

Triple Fast Action - Small Amount

Pool Kids - That’s Physics, Baby

Joy Oladokun - Changes

Samiam - Lights Out Little Hustler

Florence + The Machine - South London Forever

Kacey Musgraves - justified

Worst Party Ever - Beautiful Out

Laura Mvula - Church Girl

The Verve Pipe - She Has Faces

Open Mike Eagle - Microfiche

Youth Fountain - Century

Murs (Feat. Aesop Rock) - Happy Pillz

HummusVacuum - Krasue

Fishbone - A Movement in the Light

Tigers Jaw - Anniversary

Seal - The Beginning

Teenage Wrist - Sunshine

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

MAITA - Road Song

Thrice - The Grey

Four Year Strong - It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now

Wolves of Glendale - Olivia

Jail Socks - On the Run

Foo Fighters - But Here We Are

Sunny War - Sweet Nothing

Militarie Gun - Very High

The Wonder Years - Oldest Daughter

Jackson+Sellers - Waste Your Time

Equipment - Coat Tails

Spitalfield - Make My Heart Attack

Can’t Swim - Nowhere, Ohio

Randy Newman - Strange Things

Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See

Proper. - In The Van Somewhere Outside of Birmingham

Ben Folds - Kristine From the 7th Grade

Atmosphere - Peyote

Anxious - In April

Home is Where - Whaling For Sport

Minnie Ripperton - Les Fleurs

Dashboard Confessional - Sleep In

boygenius - Not Strong Enough

Lana Del Ray - Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard?

Blur - The Narcissist

Caroline Polachek - Blood and Butter

Origami Angel - Few and Far Between

Ratboys - Morning Zoo

billy woods and Kenny Segal - NYC Tapwater

SZA - Good Days

Wednesday- TV in the Gas Pump

Beauty Pill - Terrible Things

#Spotify #top songs #top songs of 2023 #2023 #playlist #spotify playlist #subjectivelyobjective #subjectivity #subjective #year end list

5 notes · View notes

music-moon · 2 months

Text

Spotify doesn't let you filter music by release year, so I organized all my liked songs into their own year end playlists. Take a journey through time with an archive of my liked songs though the 2000s. The music taste of a millennial teenager.

Sorted by release date for the most part. Always updating, discovering and refining. Cover art is my most listened to albums from each year, according to my last.fm.

My favourite songs organized by release year: 2000s

View more decades: 2000s / 2010s / 2020s

My most played albums from each year:

Data from last.fm + pythfm.

2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021 / 2022 / 2023 / 2024

91 notes · View notes

goawaywithjae · 5 months

Text

What a year for great K-dramas. With so many choices, it was difficult leaving out some of my favorites from this best K-dramas list. Ji Chang-wook was magnificent in his role as an undercover cop in the gritty The Worst of Evil. Bae Suzy followed up last year’s superb Anna to play a fallen K-pop idol in Doona! And Mask Girl — which used beauty as a metaphor for happiness, or lack thereof — maintained a unique sense of storytelling that offset the show’s brutality. While they didn’t make my top list, they are all must-watch shows.

As for my top selections, I chose them because each is binge-worthy and features superb acting, well developed storylines that inform and celebrate, and explorations of real-life issues that may be specific to South Korea, but also share universal relevance.

Below, check out the 13 best K-dramas of 2023 that you’ll want to dive into immediately.

#Kdramas #kdrama reviews #year end list #best of 2023 #teen vogue #i wrote this

3 notes · View notes

nerdfighterwhatevernumbers · 1 year

Video

youtube

Made a vlog about all the books I read this year

#books #2022 reading list #booktube #year end list #bookblr

16 notes · View notes

the-vinyl-countdown · 4 months

Text

Die 50 besten Alben des Jahres Teil 2 (25 - 1)

Hier sind endlich die besten Alben des Jahres.

25. Blockhead - The Aux

24. Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman...

23. Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good!

22. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily - Love In Exile

21. Morlockk Dilemma - Am Grund

20. Erobique - No. 2

19. Ana Frango Elétrico - Me Chama de Gato Que Eu Sou Sua

18. Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions

17. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody

16. James Blake - Playing Robots into Heaven

15. slowthai - UGLY

14. Róisín Murphy - Hit Parade

13. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation

12. Travis Scott - UTOPIA

11. Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

10. KNOWER - KNOWER FOREVER

09. Danny Brown - Quaranta

08. Sampha - Lahai

07. Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips

06. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin

05. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Maps

04. ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross

03. Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))

02. Matthew Halsall - An Ever Changing View

01. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - Scaring The Hoes

Spotifylink

#finallyfinished #top 25 #best albums #near year end #list week #year end list #peggy #jpegmafia #danny brown

3 notes · View notes

postambientlux · 4 months

Text

BEST AMBIENT OF 2023

BEST AMBIENT ALBUMS of 2023 curated by @holsgr

50 : Linus Alberg - Elements

49 : Laurel Halo - Atlas

48 : Alex Smalley - Moments at the Re-engage

47 : Pepo Galán - Family Harmony

46 : Oval - Romantiq

45 : Lunar Corp - Tourism

44 : Henrik Lindstrand - Klangland

43 : Memory Scale - And All Things Begin to Drift

42 : Elskavon - Origins

41 : Bruno Sanfilippo - Ver Sacrum

40 : André 3000 - New Blue Sun

39 : Eluvium - (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality

38 : Martin Kohlstedt - Feld

37 : Loris S. Sarid - A Tiny Reminder

36 : Subheim - Raeon

35 : Claire M Singer - Saor

34 : Faten Kanaan - Afterpoem

33 : Matt Elliott - The End of Days

32 : Gunn Truscinski Nace - Glass Band

31 : Bill Seaman, Tim Diagram & Stephen Spera - The World Was Turning Before

30 : Yosuke Tokunaga - 8 Quadrants

29 : Deepriver - Volume One

28 : Ali Sethi & Nicolas Jaar - Intiha

27 : Maps And Diagrams - A Study of Ends or Purpose

26 : Tim Hecker - No Highs

25 : Tobias Preisig - Closer

24 : Maxime Dangles - Les Délivrés

23 : Graham Lambkin - Aphorisms

22 : Loscil & Lawrence English - Colours Of Air

21 : Hania Rani - Ghosts

20 : Chaz Knapp & Mariel Roberts - Setting Fire to These Dark Times

19 : Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani - Les Égarés

18 : Grotta Veterano & Music For Sleep - Endless Vacation

17 : Cicada - 棲居在溪源之上 (Seeking the Sources of Streams)

16 : Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Music For A Cosmic Garden

15 : Oneohtrix Point Never - Again

14: Raphael Rogiński - Talàn

13 : Lucy Liyou - Dog Dreams (개꿈)

12 : Greg Foat & Gigi Masin - Dolphin

11 : Mette Henriette - Drifting

10 : Marine Eyes & IKSRE - Nurture

9 : Awakened Souls - Unlikely Places

8 : Lemon Quartet - ArtsFest

7 : Zander Raymond - Secrets From A Squirrel

6 : Purelink - Signs

5 : Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada

4 : Matthew Halsall - An Ever Changing View

3 : Lia Kohl - The Ceiling Reposes

2 : Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective - *1

1 : Canaan Balsam - Eternity Lies Within Or Nowhere

BEST AMBIENT EP's OF 2023

10 : KMRU & Abul Mogard - Drawing Water

9 : Hannes Kretzer - Species

8 : Billow Observatory - Calque

7 : Alex Smalley & Lucia Adam - Shapes

6 : Max Ananyev - Scenery

5 : Ben Zucker - After Along the Way

4 : Ideophone - April

3 : James Osland - Sharing Time With You Has Been My Biggest Joy

2 : Jeremixyz - xyz

1 : Lake Haze - Pure Movements

6 notes · View notes