Take my hand reader, I'd like to to take you to a magical place; a land of wonder, bliss and Carly Rae
Jepsen. Yes I am talking about 2012. Now, if you’d permit me, I’d like to revisit
my second
ever blog and examine how the musical landscape has changed since those
heady days of Psy and Joseph Kony.
It has almost been a
year to the day since I wrote my public love letter to Ms. Jepsen. The first
question the reader should be asking themselves is, Where the hell has she
gone?
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If you’re hoping to find her, I
wouldn’t recommend checking the music charts
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This time last year,
it was almost impossible to turn on a music channel without seeing Call Me Maybe and the amusing accompanying music video.
Despite my appreciation for catchy pop music, I was unimpressed with the rest
of her EP, and in
my brief review I gave it a scathing, ‘4 shirtless gardeners out of 10’.
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| Yes, I actually wrote that….let’s move on |
Later
in the year Ms. Jepsen released a full album called The
Kiss, it boasted 16 tracks; 15 of which weren’t titled Call Me Maybe. I’ll tell you now, I have
only listened to, maybe, 60% of it, and that was back when it was released in
September. Despite my hazy memory of The
Kiss, I am certain that I didn’t like it.
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| The only Jepsen songs that remain in my iTunes |
I’m
a busy guy, I can’t afford to take an hour out of my schedule of TV watching to
listen to a 27 year old woman sing about being a teenage girl. I listen to
hip-hop, almost exclusively. Songs about drug dealing and violence are staples
of my music diet, so I found it difficult to stay focused on an album that had
tracks called Tiny Little Bows and
I Know You Have a Girlfriend, no
thank you Carly.
Call Me Maybe
represents the high point in Ms. Jepsen’s career, both as a recording artist
and songwriter, a fact that is either hilarious or depressing.
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| Pictured: The chorus from the only song I liked |
I was very fond of Fun’s Some Nights and Ben Howard’s Every
Kingdom, and I still regularly listen to tracks from both albums. Taking
this into consideration I will revise my original score for Every Kingdom from ‘a solid 8 wolves out of 10’, to 9 Black Flies(?) out of 10. I also thought that Howard’s follow
up EP, Burgh Island was excellent; in
fact it was so good that I took the time to download each song individually
from a YouTube ripper, that’s dedication, my friends.
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A great album if you ask me
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On a side-note, I
can’t understand why people dislike fun., I mean I received actual complaints
for giving their album 9 out of 10 last year. In a blog that included a
sincere review of Carly Rae Jepsen’s EP, people were most offended by the score
I gave to Some Nights. I think I need
to attract new readers. Anyway after much thought, I am sticking to my guns. I
have no idea what people expect from a band called fun., a band that looks like
this:
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| The Guys |
Once again, the band
is called fun. You can’t expect music that challenges the political
establishment, or the very fabric of our society. Instead you have three
gentlemen singing about having
a good time, and that’s fine by me.
Fun. performed in the
UK a few times last year, and would you believe that on three separate occasions
I was unable to find a single friend who was interested in accompanying me. How
sad is that? Where did they go wrong? Was it the harmonies? Was it the
heartfelt lyrics about human emotion? Perhaps it was Nate Ruess’ powerful
voice. Either way, it is one year later and I am still baffled by people’s
dislike of fun..
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| They don’t just give out Grammys to anyone, let alone two |
If I am ever going to address
2013 I should wrap up my retrospective of 2012, and I will do so with my top 5
albums:
5.
Bloom – Beach House
4.
Some Nights – fun.
3.
The Stoned Immaculate – Curren$y
2.
Life Is Good - Nas
1.
good kid, m.A.A.d city – Kendrick Lamar
[Final Sidenote] I didn’t get Curren$y. I had no real
knowledge of his music, and I was struggling to understand why he had such a
sizeable internet following. The Stoned Immaculate
was released June 2012 and I saw it as the perfect opportunity for me to
finally sample his wares. I was converted almost immediately. From what I can
tell his subject matter includes, fast cars, faster women,
smoking weed and how cool he is. Throw in some excellent beat selection,
charisma and humour and you’ve got my new favourite rapper.
In the space of a year
I have made the transformation from undecided, to hardcore Spitta fan; An almost life-altering
change. I would give the album at least 8
out of 10 and it serves as a perfect
introduction for anyone else interested in the life and times of Mr. Shante Franklin.
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| Play counts, the simplest way to illustrate Spitta’s new place among my most beloved artists |
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The Run-D.M.C. of weed rap
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I intended this wrap-up to last for maybe 200-300 words, instead I have 1,100+. Instead I will have to create a second part for this post, which will actually look at the music of 2013. So consider this Six in Music 1.5, and stayed tuned for the sequel.