What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

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acroamor
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What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by acroamor »

Now that we’re all slowly preparing for our inevitable end of decade poll and lists, I thought it would be interesting to ask: what are going to be the unique elements of your own lists? Or at least the statistically significant traits about them?

For myself, I would imagine I’m one of the few if any to rate Deafheaven’s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love above Sunbather. And following that, I know that I’m going to be the poster with the most Sharon Van Etten tracks and albums. You can look at our last song list for proof; I’m empirically the biggest SVE fan on this forum.

I know some people tend towards legacy releases (posthumous Prince releases, the late period releases of Leonard Cohen, Bowie’s non-Blackstar 2010s Work) and some are more poptimists for the era (Post Malone, Billie Eilish, Knowles sister completionists). Others hew more experimental (Anna Von Hausswolf fans, Animal Collective fans willing to forgive Centipede Hz) or niche (all Death Grips fans, anyone who’s into PC music, a million obscurantist releases like Lady Lamb, The Paranoid Style, Aldous Harding, JPEGMAFIA, Actress, Xiu Xiu, Wadada Leo Smith).

How do you feel your respective contribution will differ from the community at large?
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Kero Kero Bonito and Death Grips are the best bands of the decade. They both have untouchable, flawless discographies. Death Grips has also had one of the strangest marketing strategies ever seen, by outright pissing on their fans, over and over.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Romain »

I'm clearly in a decade where I'm totally disconnected from criticism lists, especially in the last 5 or 6 years, the year-end results leave me stunned.
The first results that we see in the thread on the EOD2010 leave me dubious. I'd probably like no more than a dozen albums in their top 100, and even less for the songs.

For the albums that I'm pretty sure I'm the only one to put in my list, there's:
Moodoïd - Le monde möö
Champs - Vamala
Ólafur Arnalds - living Room songs

And, but I'm not sure to be the only one to like it:
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by PlasticRam »

Jesus Is King is my number two album behind MBDTF and just above Yeezus.

I don't like Death Grips even though I like Yeezus.
I feel like that
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Nick »

Blonde is a pretty good album that has been vastly overrated by fans and critics. It’s nowhere near as good as Channel Orange and doesn’t deserve to be in the decade’s top 100 albums, much less in the top 3.

Anti is a mediocre pop album.

Echoing acroamor, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is almost as good as Sunbather, and in any given day there’s a good chance I’d rather listen to the former than the latter.

JPEGMAFIA is largely boring.

Poptimism has swung too far in the wrong direction and needs a correction back to a sensible middle ground.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by PlasticRam »

Nick wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 1:27 pm Anti is a mediocre pop album.

Poptimism has swung too far in the wrong direction and needs a correction back to a sensible middle ground.
Totally agree. Agree on Blonde being overrated too.
I feel like that
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

Post Malone is my favorite artist of the decade without a doubt. Sure he only has 3 albums and 1 mixtape but I love them all and he knows what he is doing. Sure his stuff has pop appeal and has since gotten massively successful but that is because Post and his team (Louis Bell, Andrew Watt, Dre London, etc...) know how to write and put together the perfect pop song without having it get bland and boring after a few listens. Lyrically, Post needs more credit then given. Sure the the hits may not be the smartest lyrics but when he looks internally he is a decent writer I mean look at the deep cuts from Beerbongs and Hollywood’s Bleeding. Post has also carved a unique sound for himself blending hip hop, pop, rock, and country into one, and it seems to get better. As a singer, he has a great voice and the effects on his voice are more stylistic adding to his style. On top of it all, a Post seems like a genuinely good person who is doing what he loves.

I know it is a hot take since he is relatively new, still quite juvenile, and not the most deep and progressive artist of the decade but I have since to find a project I dislike and for the reasons stated, he is my favorite.

Ironically, despite always favoring punk over everything, this decade I am a poptimist.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Kingoftonga »

Not a hot take, necessarily, but there are 425 albums currently on the EOD chart being assembled, and apparently there has not been a single mention of Eye Contact, Shields, or Divers - three albums that I didn't expect to rise to the Top 20 or anything, but I thought at least would get a few mid-tier mentions on some lists.

I get poptism as applies to individual songs, but I think it's crazy to apply it to full albums, and a lot of the lauded pop albums from the last decade are really inconsistent and not that fun to listen to from beginning to end.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by FrankLotion »

Judging by other polls we’ve done on this site, hip hop, metal, and country aren’t too popular so I’ll to continue championing those on my decade list...
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

Kingoftonga wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:45 pm Not a hot take, necessarily, but there are 425 albums currently on the EOD chart being assembled, and apparently there has not been a single mention of Eye Contact, Shields, or Divers - three albums that I didn't expect to rise to the Top 20 or anything, but I thought at least would get a few mid-tier mentions on some lists.

I get poptism as applies to individual songs, but I think it's crazy to apply it to full albums, and a lot of the lauded pop albums from the last decade are really inconsistent and not that fun to listen to from beginning to end.
This is where I disagree. I feel like in many ways some pop albums are even better now.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Sweepstakes Ron »

I probably won't make an "official" EOD list but I thought you should know that AlunaGeorge's Body Music is one of the best pop albums this decade.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by DaveC »

Well I will be rating Ordinary Corrupt Human Love above Sunbather!
The ArchAndroid far above other Janelle Monáe albums (the recent critics lists suggest that this is not the common view).
Front Row Seat To Earth will be my highest ranked album by Weyes Blood.
The big three will only make a few appearances on my lists: highest ranked on either list will be "Ivy".
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Gillingham »

Guess I'll be the only one to put Japanese band Qujaku's selftitled album in their list, let alone top 20.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Jirin »

The Colin Stetson album I nominated for BMAA will be very high on mine.

Plus five or six other jazz albums from names like Ambrose Akinmusire or Jenny Scheinman.

I won’t have that much hip hop on mine but TPAB is a #1 contender. Maybe only seriously competing with High Violet and Eye Contact.
Last edited by Jirin on Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by DaveC »

Gillingham wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:00 pm Guess I'll be the only one to put Japanese band Qujaku's selftitled album in their list, let alone top 20.
It is on my 'must hear before making a list' list.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Cold Butterfly »

@Nick & PlasticRam - Blonde and Anti are masterpieces imo. Both played a huge part of my life when I was younger, and still do to this day. Both are perfect examples of some of the most adventurous "pop" music of the century, if we're being honest.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Nick »

Cold Butterfly wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 10:05 pm @Nick & PlasticRam - Blonde and Anti are masterpieces imo. Both played a huge part of my life when I was younger, and still do to this day. Both are perfect examples of some of the most adventurous "pop" music of the century, if we're being honest.
Eh, with all due respect I'm not really hearing it. I think some of the most adventurous pop music of the century has been stuff like Charli XCX's Pop 2 mixtape or the bulk of Sophie's discography or even some of Kero Kero Bonito's most recent work. I really don't hear that same level of experimentation in the album with "Work" or Rihanna singing over a Tame Impala instrumental.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Cold Butterfly »

Nick wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 11:30 pm
Cold Butterfly wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 10:05 pm @Nick & PlasticRam - Blonde and Anti are masterpieces imo. Both played a huge part of my life when I was younger, and still do to this day. Both are perfect examples of some of the most adventurous "pop" music of the century, if we're being honest.
Eh, with all due respect I'm not really hearing it. I think some of the most adventurous pop music of the century has been stuff like Charli XCX's Pop 2 mixtape or the bulk of Sophie's discography or even some of Kero Kero Bonito's most recent work. I really don't hear that same level of experimentation in the album with "Work" or Rihanna singing over a Tame Impala instrumental.
I love Charli and Sophie so i'll give you that :mrgreen: But think of the dub influences in "Consideration", or the artsiness of songs like "Kiss It Better" and "Needed Me". Or how about the modernized Motown feel of "Love On The Brain"? Songs like those are adventurous imo. And "Work" is a great song as well.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Rocky Raccoon »

Nick wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 1:27 pm Blonde is a pretty good album that has been vastly overrated by fans and critics. It’s nowhere near as good as Channel Orange and doesn’t deserve to be in the decade’s top 100 albums, much less in the top 3.
Agree with this, to an extent.
Nick wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 1:27 pm Anti is a mediocre pop album.
Don't agree with this, although I am surprised how high it's flying so far.

My list will have a strong mix as usual, and the forgotten art of good old-fashioned rock song-craft is going to be better represented by the likes of Parquet Courts, Drive-By Truckers, Car Seat Headrest, The Black Keys, Jack White, Cloud Nothings and Japandroids. Albums with songs that are more than just sound effects.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Nassim »

- Vince Staples and Danny Brown should be mentioned in the same breath as Kendrick and Kanye (especially if you look only at the 2010s), they have shown as much capacity to reinvent themselves and artistic ambition and their 2010s discographies (unlike Kanye’s) are flawless.
- Yeezus and DAMN are both overrated. Don’t get me wrong, they are both great albums that fully deserve to appear in EOD lists, but Yeezus isn’t consistent enough to be top 10 and Kendrick’s third (by miles) best album should top anyone else’s rap album. At the very least it should be behind Acid Rap, Summertime 06 and RTJ2.
- I was tempted to add El-P/Killer Mike in the group above, but as much as I think R.A.P. Music + Cancer 4 Cure + RTJ 1 to 3 is a crazy good stretch of albums, I can at least admit they are more variations on the same formula than any attempt at reinventing themselves. Still, crazy good decade for the duo.
- How good those 5 were in the past years kinda hides a drop of quality, and especially in diversity, of US hip-hop (I’m putting UK rap aside as it’s a completely different scene). Really, there haven’t been much good albums once you look further. Acid Rap and Sir Luscious Left Foot are crazy good but have been followed by big disappointments, We Got It From Here… didn’t work for me passed the first few tracks, and I don’t care much for Earl Sweatshirt and Freddie Gibbs/Madlib though in those cases I would admit it’s more about personal tastes as I wouldn’t have anything bad to say about them. I don’t care much for Drake and well, that’s it pretty much ! The biggest culprit for me is how formulaic a big part of rap has become, especially anything that comes close to trap ; same (fairly poor) flows, same beats, it sound mostly lazy to me. It did lead to some pretty good singles (Black Beatles, Broccoli, Panda…) but not a single worthwhile album.
- Poptimism is unfairly biased toward commercial success instead of the genre as a whole. I will join the people thinking anti is mediocre at best, and Adele’s and Taylor Swift’s critical success, at least regarding albums, feels bloated. On the other hand, Jessie Ware, CHVRCHES and Let’s Eat Grandma seem unfairly forgotten. Critics got it right though on Robyn, Lorde, Grimes and e.mo.tion imo.
- Electronic music is a bit overlooked too, delivering consistently during the decade, especially Four Tet, Andy Stott, John Talabot, Blanck Mass/Fuck Buttons, Moderat, Burial and Jon Hopkins, but also some great ambient records.
- I’m wondering if emo/pop-punk/skate-punk is due a critical reevaluation in the coming years : PUP, The Hotelier, Sorority Noise, Oso Oso and others delivered great (and moderately acclaimed) albums that feel heavily indebted to albums and genres from late 90s and early 00s that are usually quickly discarded by critics.
- The Age of Adz is not getting the love it deserves (though it might get it in the AM poll)
- I don’t get why Wildflower isn’t almost as beloved as Since I Left You.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Jackson »

Julia Holter is the best artist of the decade, and the most talented solo artist to debut in the 21st century. Her five albums this decade range from very good to masterpiece level.

I like St. Vincent's MASSEDUCTION a lot, but Strange Mercy and her self-titled album do almost nothing for me. I also really like her 2009 album Actor.

The Roots are one of the best hip-hop groups of the decade. If How I Got Over and Undun hadn't been released so close to the end of their respective years, they would be justly regarded as some of the best work of the decade (especially Undun).

Any list without a good amount of electronic music toward the top is incomplete. It was the sound of the decade, both in the mainstream and underground. I'm thinking of the likes of Actress, Andy Stott, Burial, Caribou, Nicolas Jaar, Floating Points, Flying Lotus, Four Tet, Jon Hopkins, Todd Terje, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Rustie--some of those get love from some critics, but there are plenty of lists that either ignore the genre completely or just include one or two token albums.

The best guitar rock bands of the decade are Fucked Up and Wolf Alice.

I agree with almost everything Nassim said - maybe his takes weren't so hot!
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Nassim »

Jackson wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:53 pm I agree with almost everything Nassim said - maybe his takes weren't so hot!
My take are always hot !

But I indeed forgot The Roots in my hip hop assessment, undun is a great album.
Wise Up Ghost and ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin were disappointing though and they have been stuck with Fallon since.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Jirin »

My list will also probably feature more indie folk or low key indie rock with female vocals than most lists. Stuff like Vagabon, Waxahatchee, etc.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

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DaveC wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:23 pm
Gillingham wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:00 pm Guess I'll be the only one to put Japanese band Qujaku's selftitled album in their list, let alone top 20.
It is on my 'must hear before making a list' list.
That's great! That album and band deserve all the attention they can get.
Let me know what you think about it.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Gillingham »

Nassim wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:05 pm - Electronic music is a bit overlooked too, delivering consistently during the decade, especially Four Tet, Andy Stott, John Talabot, Blanck Mass/Fuck Buttons, Moderat, Burial and Jon Hopkins, but also some great ambient records.
Agreed, definitely. There are others too, but I would add Caribou and Flying Lotus to that list. And although I like their music from the previous two decades better, Autechre are very consistent and ridiculously productive this decade.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

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I had a hard time getting through Blonde when it came out. It starts off with three great songs, but I found it inconsistent at best after that. I loved Channel Orange and thought that was considered his masterpiece, so I'm shocked to see Blonde outperforming it. Maybe I should give it a second spin.

I generally like Big Thief, but I found U.F.O.F. completely forgettable, so it's weird to see that being hailed as their masterpiece.

I'm glad Lemonade is getting its due. It was bizarre to see it finish only No. 5 of 2016.

Most of the current EOD top 40 songs are great. By far my least favorite is Bipp, which is the only one I left out of my top 10,000 songs. Sophie's songs are all dominated by noises I find annoying.

Work only barely makes my top 10,000. It's pretty good, but I have no idea why it's considered one of the greatest songs of the decade.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

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Mask Off is the worst song in the EOD top 100. It has every element of a typical forgettable mumble rap song:

Mumbling? Check.
Random guy shouting nonsense in the background? Check.
Percussion that sounds like I made it with free software instruments in GarageBand? Check.
Lyrics that reference drugs, bitches and gangs? Check.
No melodies? Check.

This song embodies one of the biggest trends in music these days, but I still struggle to understand why that trend is so popular, and I have a hard time seeing mumble rap like this standing the test of time. Feel free to try to convince me otherwise. I'm interested in hearing why people think this song is good. The only thing I like about it is the Prison Song sample, which I like better in the original.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

I quite like Mask Off, then again I also am a sucker for mumble rap. Personally my taste is all ofer the place. For me this decades best music came from the underground “SoundCloud” rap scene such as emo rap (Lil Peep, XXXTENTACION, etc), indie rock from the early part of the decade (Wavves, Front Bottoms, etc), pop music from the late 2010s (Post Malone, Billie Eilish, etc), the underground punk scene as always, and older artists putting our good albums (Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Kanye, etc).
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by acroamor »

I love Mask Off. My least favorite of the EOD top 100 would be Work and We Found Love. I also live in Atlanta, so mumble rap/trap is for me here like chanson or reggaeton would be in other parts of the world.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Nassim »

andyd1010 wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 4:11 am Mask Off is the worst song in the EOD top 100. It has every element of a typical forgettable mumble rap song:

This song embodies one of the biggest trends in music these days, but I still struggle to understand why that trend is so popular, and I have a hard time seeing mumble rap like this standing the test of time. Feel free to try to convince me otherwise. I'm interested in hearing why people think this song is good. The only thing I like about it is the Prison Song sample, which I like better in the original.
Not a huge fan of the genre but Mask Off is at least a decent example of it. I'd only consider Bad and Boujee, Black Beatles, Broccoli and maybe XO Tour Llif3 as trap/mumble songs I actually like (as well as Desiigner's Panda if it fits the bill).

While I really don't like Bodak Yellow, Sorry, Hotline Bling and am sick to death of Get Lucky, by far my least favorite song in the top 100 is Chief Keef's "I Don't Like", just plain terrible, not a single variation during the 5 minute run, grating voice and the bells loop is kinda OK at first but quickly becomes annoying.
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Re: What are your EOD “Hot Takes”?

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

acroamor wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 6:12 pm I love Mask Off. My least favorite of the EOD top 100 would be Work and We Found Love. I also live in Atlanta, so mumble rap/trap is for me here like chanson or reggaeton would be in other parts of the world.
I personally kinda love Mumble Rap especially the underground stuff. But I dont like how people call everything mumble rap. Honestly though Lil Peep and XXXTENTACION are some of my favorite artists this decade for how much they did in a short time and how much I genuinely love their music, Peep more than X.
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