Tim from the Dead Times podcast is putting Jeff in an alternative mood with the Karaoke Korner lineup of Beck, Ween, and Mr. Warren Zevon.
That’s Auntertainment! Karaoke Korner 17
April 4, 2021
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Beck, karaoke, Podcasts, That's Auntertainment, Warren Zevon, Ween Leave a comment
Best Musical Artists of the 2010s
June 25, 2020
Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Music Adele, Ariana Grande, Beck, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Beyoncé, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Childish Gambino, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Hans Zimmer, Janelle Monáe, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Kesha, Lady GaGa, Lana del Rey, Lizzo, Lorde, Major Lazer, Miguel, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sia, St. Vincent, Tame Impala, Taylor Swift, Tegan and Sara, The Black Keys, The Weeknd, Tove Lo, Vampire Weekend, Weird Al Yankovic 1 Comment
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
One more list! One more list!
My Best of the 2010s list-making journey has finally come to a close! (Or has it? … For now, it has at least. The future will come as it may, and it may just surprise you, and me.) All this week, I’ve been posting my rankings of a few categories that I was inspired to put together after submitting them to a Best of the 2010s polls that I’m participating in with some of my fellow cultural aficionados. To wrap it all up, I guide you along to the realm of music and lyrics, as I present the Best Musical Artists of the 2010s.
My criteria was similar to that of my choices for Best Film Directors. I considered a combination of how much I enjoyed their musical output as well as how much – and how well – they influenced the industry at large.
Best Albums of 2019
January 31, 2020
Best of 2019, Best of Music 2019, Music Ariana Grande, Beck, Best of 2019, Billie Eilish, Brittany Howard, Camila Cabello, FKA Twigs, Harry Styles, Lana del Rey, Lizzo, Sleater-Kinney, The Black Keys, The Chemical Brothers, Tyler the Creator, Vampire Weekend Leave a comment
It’s been a few years since I’ve made an Albums of the Year list, but I really felt compelled to make one for 2019. Here are the audio compilations from the recent past that really made an impact on me:
14. Camila Cabello, Romance – Fun and bouncy.
13. Harry Styles, Fine Line – I like where Harry is headed.
12. Beck, Hyperspace – Reliable Beck.
11. Brittany Howard, Jaime – Great, big rockin’ voice goes solo.
10. The Black Keys, Let’s Rock – They never stopped rocking.
9. Ariana Grande, thank u, next – Lots of adventure from Ari.
8. Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won’t Hold – Band broke up, music’s still great.
7. Tyler, the Creator, IGOR – I feel so comfortable inside this album.
6. FKA Twigs, MAGDALENE – FKA reminds me of Bat for Lashes.
5. Vampire Weekend, Father of the Bride – Those Vampire Weekend guys have still got a hold on me.
4. Lana Del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell! – What a soundscape!
3. Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Just plenty of fun.
2. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You – I love you, too!
1. The Chemical Brothers, No Geography – Apocalyptic concept album.
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 11/29/19
November 29, 2019
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music Beck, Hyperspace, Knives Out, Melina Matsoukas, Queen & Slim Leave a comment
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Knives Out (Theatrically Nationwide)
–Queen & Slim (Theatrically Nationwide) – Check out Melina Matsoukas’ featured debut.
Music
-Beck, Hyperspace – This came out on the 22nd.
Best Songs of 2018
February 15, 2019
Best of 2018, Best of Music 2018, Music All the Stars, Ariana Grande, Back Down, Beck, Bob Moses, Boo'd Up, Childish Gambino, Colors, Come on to Me, Dennis Lloyd, Ella Mai, Elle King, God is a Woman, Good Morning, I Feel Like I'm Drowning, Janelle Monáe, Kendrick Lamar, Love It If We Made It, Make Me Feel, Max Frost, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Nevermind, No Place, No Tears Left to Cry, Paul McCartney, Portugal. The Man, Pynk, Rüfüs Du Sol, Shame, SZA, The 1975, This Is America, Tidal Wave, Two Feet, Tyler the Creator, U.S. Girls, Velvet 4 Sale, You Worry Me, You're a Mean One Leave a comment
CREDIT: Ariana Grande/YouTube
These were the singles released in 2018 or that first became hits in 2018 that had the strongest impacts on me.
1. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry” – Has any other singer besides Ariana Grande ever endured so many personal struggles so publicly and on such a massive scale? She still had a lot of heartbreak left to come after releasing “No Tears Left to Cry,” but luckily she was already equipped with and had gifted the world with a timeless anthem for how to insist on finding the joy amidst all life’s turmoil.
2. Dennis Lloyd – “Nevermind” – The ultimate kind of elastic groove to which you can chill out or dance ’til you drop.
3. Ella Mai – “Boo’d Up” – Ella Mai captured the language of infatuation in 2018, but the feelings are eternal.
4. Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Oh, trust me, I believe. I was certain once I heard that first sexy guitar strum.
5. U.S. Girls – “Velvet 4 Sale” – This is the sort of rock music that makes me happy to currently be an adult human.
6. Beck – “Colors” – Is Beck the greatest dance artist of his era? “Colors” makes a strong case.
7. Janelle Monáe – “Pynk” – If we all had our own personal “Pynk” to announce to everyone who we are, the world would be a much better place.
8. Rüfüs Du Sol – “No Place” – I imagine that this is what it will sound like when I drift off this mortal coil.
9. Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – The musical equivalent of getting shot in the head and living to tell the tale.
10. Portugal. The Man – “Tidal Wave” – The force of extreme weather, but going down smooth and easy.
11. Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Feeling good should sometimes feel like there’s a worm dancing in your brain.
12. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – “You Worry Me” – It’s good to know that some musicians are out here to make sure we’re safe and sound.
13. Elle King – “Shame” – It’s healthy to exorcise the lowdown dirtiest impulses of your humanity through song.
14. Paul McCartney – “Come on to Me” – I know I’d also like to remain this punny and lusty into my seventies.
15. Bob Moses – “Back Down” – An ideal soundtrack for making an unstable night feel just a little bit more stable.
16. Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All the Stars” – The kind of song that assures you that all the spirits of your community are with you.
17. Max Frost – “Good Morning” – I’m happy to admit when I wake up in a day-conquering mood, and Max Frost has packaged that feeling.
18. Tyler, the Creator – “You’re a Mean One” – Maybe all kids movie theme songs should be crafted by pansexual oddballs.
19. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning” – When the sound cuts out right before the chorus, and then the guitar chimes in so nastily, I feel like I’m drowning, into the Sunken Place or something … and I like it.
20. The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It” – The desire to make it all the way through together really does often sound this urgent, doesn’t it?
Best Songs of 2017
March 2, 2018
Best of 2017, Best of Music 2017, Music Alessia Cara, Alice Merton, Beck, Calvin Harris, Camila Cabello, Carly Rae Jepsen, Chained to the Rhythm, Cut to the Feeling, Disco Tits, Down, Dua Lipa, Feel It Still, Feels, Green Light, Havana, Jain, Jain Makeba, Katy Perry, Kesha, Lorde, Los Ageless, Makeba, Marian Hill, Miguel, Miley Cyrus, New Rules, No Roots, Portugal. The Man, Praying, St. Vincent, Stay, The Killers, The Man, Told You So, Tove Lo, Up All Night, Younger Now, Zedd 1 Comment
CREDIT: ToveLoVEVO
It’s early March, so it must be time for me to post my list of the best singles of the past year!
1. Tove Lo – “Disco Tits” – A woman doesn’t have to be modest to earn respect, and don’t Tove Lo know it.
2. Kesha – “Praying” – The gospel-tinged anthem we all need right now.
3. Lorde – “Green Light” – If you’re looking for euphoria, Lorde has you covered.
4. Jain – “Makeba” – This guaranteed toe-tapper/hip-spinner was technically released in 2016, but while it may have taken off in Jain’s native France that year, it didn’t really hit in the U.S. until that Levi’s commercial debuted in late 2017.
5. Marian Hill – “Down” – A deceptively simple piano-driven trip-hop jam from this Philadelphia duo.
6. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Cut to the Feeling” – We all need to just follow the Tao of Carly.
7. St. Vincent – “Los Ageless” – St. Vincent is still the master of combining genuine chops with super scuzzy distortion.
8. Beck – “Up All Night” – Put this track on if your house party’s tunes are bringing everyone down.
9. Miley Cyrus – “Younger Now” – Is this what agelessness feels like?
10. Dua Lipa – “New Rules” – Dua Lipa’s anthem attempt = anthem success!
11. Miguel – “Told You So” – If there is one singer above all others belting out tunes right now about whom I would say, “You’ve got to listen to what they’re saying,” it’s gotta be Miguel.
12. Alice Merton – “No Roots” – There may be no roots to Alice Merton’s disposition, but there plenty of roots, powerful ones at that, to her musical influences.
13. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana” – This song makes me sweaty. But it’s the sweat of passion, so I don’t feel gross.
14. Zedd and Alessia Cara – “Stay” – Zedd is the kind of DJ so skilled at bottling up those moments you don’t want to let slip away.
15. Calvin Harris ft. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, and Big Sean – “Feels” – Just some tropical vibes to get you by.
16. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still” – The sort of generational rock song with lyrics that might mean something profound or nothing at all.
17. Katy Perry ft. Ziggy Marley – “Chained to the Rhythm” – Direct, but also pointed and bopping.
18. The Killers – “The Man” – One thing we can count in this life is songs entitled “The Man” being silly but also kind of anthemic.
Best Songs of 2016
March 4, 2017
Best of 2016, Best of Music 2016, Music A Tribe Called Quest, Alessia Cara, Ariana Grande, BANKS, Beck, Beyoncé, Bishop Briggs, Childish Gambino, Drake, Flume, Glass Animals, Gold, Gucci Mane, Highly Suspect, Kaleo, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Kiiara, KONGOS, Lady GaGa, Leonard Cohen, Phantogram, Rae Sremmurd, Rag'n'Bone Man, Rihanna, Sean Paul, Sia, Tove Lo 1 Comment
All songs on this list were released as singles in 2016, or 2015 but didn’t make an impact until 2016.
1. Kiiara – “Gold” – An ingenious production trick wins the top spot. The best music in the world rewires your brain.
2. Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Freedom” – Beyoncé BUSTS out every emotion of the year.
3. Phantogram – “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” – I can feel myself dissolving in the despair.
4. Lady GaGa – “Perfect Illusion” – GaGa’s crying out in beautiful pain.
5. Kanye West – “Fade” – From another dimension.
6. Rag‘n’Bone Man – “Human” – The blues are alive and kicking.
7. Sia – “The Greatest” – Sia’s career is the soundtrack for perseverance.
8. Alessia Cara – “Scars to Your Beautiful” – What could have been an anodyne message piece instead infuses an influx of attitude.
9. Flume ft. Tove Lo – “Say It” – An airy, effervescent blast from 2016’s top DJ.
10. Childish Gambino – “Me and Your Mama” – Where did this burst of neo-P-Funk come from?!
11. Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane – “Black Beatles” – This sounds like nostalgia and the future.
12. Glass Animals – “Life Itself” – Alternative quirk’s top spot of the year.
13. Bishop Briggs – “River” – I need at least one lady rocker belting it out like this per annum.
14. Beyoncé – “Formation” – The production is so much more adventurous and more mature from Queen Bey than ever before.
15. BANKS – “Gemini Feed” – Icy and boopy, with attitude to spare.
16. Leonard Cohen – “You Want It Darker” – I’m vociferously nodding along to every declaration Mr. Cohen makes.
17. Kaleo – “Way Down We Go” – That title is sort of like musical onomatopoeia.
18. Highly Suspect – “My Name is Human” – These guys from Cape Cod ought to be rocking stadiums to their core.
19. Beck – “Wow” – Beck’s gonna keep uncovering these strange corners in the aural landscape.
20. Kongos – “Take It From Me” – These South African rockers are totally in control.
21. Tove Lo – “Cool Girl” – Tove keeps freaking up the airwaves.
22. A Tribe Called Quest – “We the People” – A necessary anthem.
23. Sia ft. Sean Paul – “Cheap Thrills” – Bounce along when you’re looking for fun.
24. Ariana Grande – “Into You” – Features the year’s most killer opening line
25. Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” – One of those great songs that defy natural analysis.
Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of November 19, 2016
November 11, 2016
Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Music Beck, Billboard, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Wow Leave a comment
Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, and then I rearrange that top 25 based on my estimation of their quality.
Original Version
1. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
2. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
3. X Ambassadors – “Unsteady”
4. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, & Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign ft. X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
5. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”
6. Fitz and the Tantrums – “HandClap”
7. Disturbed – “The Sound of Silence”
8. The Lumineers – “Ophelia”
9. Bastille – “Good Grief”
10. Zach Williams – “Chain Breaker”
11. Kings of Leon – “Waste a Moment”
12. Avenged Sevenfold – “The Stage”
13. Green Day – “Bang Bang”
14. Skillet – “Feel Invincible”
15. Metallica – “Atlas, Rise!”
16. Judah & the Lion – “Take It All Back”
17. The Head and the Heart – “All We Ever Knew”
18. twenty one pilots – “Cancer”
19. Highly Suspect – “My Name is Human”
20. Beck – “Wow”
21. Metallica – “Moth Into Flame”
22. The Lumineers – “Cleopatra”
23. blink-182 – “She’s Out of Her Mind”
24. Empire of the Sun – “High and Low”
25. Five Finger Death Punch – “I Apologize”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Wow
2. My Name is Human
3. Unsteady
4. High and Low
5. Ride
6. Good Grief
7. The Stage
8. Moth Into Flame
9. Ophelia
10. Heathens
11. Waste a Moment
12. Cleopatra
13. I Apologize
14. Take It All Back
15. Cancer
16. Hymn for the Weekend
17. All We Ever Knew
18. Bang Bang
19. The Sound of Silence
20. Atlas, Rise!
21. She’s Out of Her Mind
22. HandClap
23. Feel Invincible
24. Sucker for Pain
25. Chain Breaker
Best Songs of 2015
January 27, 2016
Best of 2015, Best of Music 2015, Music Adele, Beck, Calvin Harris, Carly Rae Jepsen, Cold War Kids, Disclosure, DJ Snake, Elle King, Ellie Goulding, Florence + the Machine, Halsey, Joywave, Kendrick Lamar, Let It Happen, Lorde, Major Lazer, MØ, Miguel, Misterwives, Modest Mouse, Selena Gomez, Tame Impala, Taylor Swift, The Pretty Reckless, The Weeknd, Tove Lo, U2, Wolf Alice 1 Comment
All songs on this list were released as singles in 2015, or late 2014, or earlier in 2014, but didn’t make an impact until 2015.
1. Tame Impala – “Let It Happen” – Tame Impala are just about singlehandedly keeping psychedelic rock alive, with their good vibe-filled soundscapes keeping minds as open as possible. This 7 minute-plus magnum opus is a crunchy, lovely, hooky, addictive ode to allowing the best possible future to come into existence. Settle in, let it wash over you, and watch the fear slip away.
2. Miguel – “Waves” – Hands down, Miguel is currently making the sexiest music on the planet. This cowbell backbeat-driven paean to lovemaking is the cream of his crop.
3. Wolf Alice – “Moaning Lisa Smile” – Alternative rock can actually call for an end to gloominess, as in this story of a Lisa Simpson-type.
4. Major Lazer ft. MØ & DJ Snake – “Lean On” – An American DJ, a French DJ, and a Danish singer break out the moombahton for Major Lazer’s hottest beat yet.
5. The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face” – This is what pop music needs to thrive: someone who can write killer hooks and isn’t afraid to grunt alongside his silky falsetto.
6. Beck – “Dreams” – My dream for 2016 is that Beck’s new album will be released as soon as possible. In the meantime, this funky little psychedelic number from Mr. Hansen’s dancy side played on repeat will tide me over.
7. Taylor Swift – “Style” – Tight, tingly composition and hauntingly resonant lyrics about the path of love in an endless night’s journey.
8. The Weeknd – “The Hills” – An intro of pure distortion and an outro sung in Amharic (the language of Ethiopia) makes for the most unusual Number One hit in ages.
9. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Run Away with Me” – That sax intro – and everything else featured in this beautiful pop number – makes it clear that you will be swimming in bliss for four minutes.
10. Kendrick Lamar – “King Kunta” – Kendrick follows the examples of Edwin Starr and Public Enemy in demonstrating that the best protest music is also a lot of fun.
11. Selena Gomez – “Same Old Love” – With an assist from Charli XCX on the snappy lyrics and a deliciously wonky piano, Selena shot for the cranial stars with this earworm.
12. Disclosure ft. Lorde – “Magnets” – The Lawrence brothers provide the wooshy tropical beat as Lorde gets in too deep with her lover.
13. Florence + the Machine – “What Kind of Man” – Florence Welch has a knack for making 3 ½-minute ditties feel like 8-minute epics.
14. Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding – “Outside” – If Calvin Harris is not singing on his own tracks, then it ought to be Ellie Goulding, as on this nugget of emotionally tense dance music.
15. Tove Lo – “Talking Body” – Tove Lo realizes that part of being healthy is fully and lusciously embracing our physical desires.
16. The Pretty Reckless – “Follow Me Down” – The Sing-Along With Attitude Anthem of 2015.
17. Cold War Kids – “First” – The Cold War Kids have found their niche of tight riffs guiding the way through everyday existential crises.
18. MisterWives – “Reflections” – Mandy Lee’s infectious vocals set the irresistible tone for this burst of indie pop effervescence.
19. Elle King – “Ex’s & Oh’s” – Groovy, bluesy guitars + feisty, funky attitude + snappy, playful wordplay = a no-brainer addition to your rock playlist.
20. Modest Mouse – “Lampshades on Fire” – It sounds like something that was written over the course of the raging party recounted in the lyrics.
21. Adele – “Hello” – Spare, unfussy production just gets out of the way of one of the most powerful instruments on the planet.
22. U2 – “Every Breaking Wave” – The beautiful, heartbreaking lyrics are as bottomless as the ocean from Bono and company.
23. Halsey – “New Americana” – Halsey gets away with brazen bluntness in this anthem for a new generation by making the straightforwardness part of the message.
24. Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You” – Incessant repetition should be avoided most of the time, except when you really, really, really, really, really, really cannot say it any other way.
25. Joywave – “Somebody New” – It’s a whole new genre: Sleepy Alternative Power Nap Rock.
SNL Recap March 1, 2014: Jim Parsons/Beck
March 2, 2014
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Beck, Jim Parsons, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 39, SNL, SNL Season 39 Leave a comment
Ellen
A mish-mash, as is typical of cold opens lately. Some parts worked, including Jay’s freakishly good and ornamentally unnecessary Barkhad Abdi impression. “Oscar hosting the Ellen’s” made me laugh to an unfathomable degree. B-
Jim Parsons’s Monologue
Jim Parsons pronounces Texas “Tex-IZ.” This monologue made a strong enough point to justify the umpteenth musical monologue, though the lyrics themselves were whatever. C+
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