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12-26-2016, 04:03 PM,
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Tusk
jonesing for some Gingerbread Cake
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Posts: 12,198
Threads: 228
Joined: Mar 2012
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RE: The Better Era
Pop Dose
Quote:Year end album round-ups are no longer a consensus of the nation’s listening experience. We live in a hyper fragmented world — a total niche fest. I’ve read about 50 lists so far and see few if any of my personal favorites on any of em. My year-end list is sonic comfort food for the soul. If you’re a child of the 80’s, there is a lot below that you might like. The only reason Bowie’s Blackstar didn’t make the cut is I’ve been too gutted by his passing and Prince’s death to listen to it. Even once. Soon I will be ready, but not now. George Michael’s Unplugged is on as I type this and his catalog will be in heavy rotation for a while. In terms of total hours, I spent half the year listening to Prince’s vault.
You also won’t see Beyonce on this list. Look at virtually every other mass media top albums list and you would think Lemonade was the greatest artistic work in the history of everything. I wound up writing a three paragraph indictment on the media’s obsession with celebrity over merit (Queen Bey, Trump, Kanye, Drake, Kardashian, etc.), but I decided to save that for a separate post. Let’s focus on the best music from the year that was.
Music helped me navigate a really rough year; some of my favorite artists released great new works and some bold new acts emerged to carry the torch for the dearly departed. Out of 87 albums purchased (retail therapy) and more than 200 others I perused or fully listened to for Popdose reviews in 2016, here are the best of the bunch:
Quote:6.) Haley Reinhart • Better
On her second solo album away from a side-gig with Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox, Reinhart delivers one show-stopper after another. Jazz, soul, rock, pop, steampunk — when she steps up to the mic, anything is possible. Nobody can replace the late Sharon Jones, but Reinhart’s ability to command a Dap Kings-style horn section helps her take the torch and keep the party going. What could be Better than that?
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