Lamp, broken circa 1988

I don't know how much care people can afford for this, but that Beyonce record is pretty great in a lot of the ways people tried to tell me Reflektor, RAM, Drake, Timberlake, Yeezus, Vampy Weekys, etc., etc. are. Really worth checking out if you have any pop sympathies. Also, fuck yes D-Unit's "Church Of Jesus Christ." Two albums and one EP, and their best song is a bonus track. Weird as hell but damn that's a hell of a song.

The first two Mass Effect Games, and then Note: The Villains Died On The Way Back To Their Home Planet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l1dpx-jG3Q This has been every Christmas since age 20.

Still putting off talking about music with guitars for a little longer. Instead, here's the rap I've been way into this year, from most pop sounding to least. Main Attrakionz – Main Attrakionz Niggaz This one is a little unfair, because it just came out December 6th. Maybe it's a little too early to say it's one of the best of the year. Even so, Main Attrakionz does everything I like. Their selection of beats is all the kind of stuff I like to listen to (good swing on the drums, big chords, distorted samples) and while I get why some “serious heads” wouldn't be able to get past how they flow, I've always liked rappers that leave more space in their verses. On top of that, they also do actual tag team work on their verses, which is a style that I'm glad to see popping up in more places. Maybe it's not one of the best, but it's for sure one of my favorites. You can get the whole thing here. Antwon – In Dark Denim Before I say anything else, 3rd World Grrl is still one of the best songs I've heard all year. Now. This was my summer shit. Antwon's a recession playboy. All of his sexual exploits come with this dirty film quality but it's never objectifying or dehumanzing, and the music that goes with it is all huge, bright and distorted. As a rapper, Antwon's one of the best west coast styled rappers around right now, with a smooth flow and a lot of force in his delivery when the song calls for that. Really though, this has all been too many words for a record I just think is a lot of fun. You can get it here. Pusha T – My Name Is My Name I must've listened to Numbers On The Boards at least a hundred times before the album even got a release date. Everything about that song is amazing, from the droning glitchy beat to the defiantly artless Jay-Z sample, topped off by Pusha going hard as fuck. The way he uses his flow to create tension is captivating as hell, and a big part of how I was able to make it through some of the weaker guests on the record- I knew when they were done, it'd be Push's turn again and that made sitting through that shit easy. And then he closes the record with back to back three of the best verses I heard this year on S.N.I.T.C.H. I know everyone who follows rap this year's been about Danny Brown, R.A. The Rugged Man, Drake, and all that shit, but I take Pusha over all of that. Zebra Katz – DRKLNG It's pure style. He's not going to blow you away with lyrical insight or technical skill but the world he's crafted next to traditional pop rap, of dark club shit that blurs gender roles, is unlike anything else going. The mixtape itself is a thirty minute piece where everything bleeds into the other songs creating this oppressive atmosphere and story that Zebra just weaves in and out of, then letting all of the tension blow with a fucking banger in Last Name Katz. You can listen to the whole thing as one track right here, and iTunes has a version but it's missing a few tracks. El-P & Killer Mike – Run The Jewels I had to double check that no one brought this up. This one has a quick an easy sell: El-P was the best producer working last year, Killer Mike put out one of the best rap albums last year, and then they put out a tag team mixtape for free. Whatever reason you had to pass on this isn't good enough. It's right here. Milo – Cavalcade Milo's already come up once before, but the dude's put out four separate releases this year so there was a good chance I'd get beaten to “holy shit milo is on some next level shit in 2013.” His debut album was this weird middle point between nerdy and deep which didn't always sit well with me (although the song Just Us breaks my heart every time I listen to it). 2012 was a pretty silly experiment, where he released him rapping over a bunch of Baths songs. Then at the start of 2013 he just fucking bursts out of nowhere with Things That Happen At Day/Night, which showed immense growth from where he started in a pretty short amount of time. Six months later, Cavalcade came out, and from then it's grown into my most listened record of the year. There's not a second on it that I don't love, and it's perfectly long at 30 minutes. I could go on about this one for another couple hundred words, but instead I'm just going to link to it. clipping – midcity So I said this was going to go from most to least pop. Here comes the steep curve. clipping is declaring war on the idea of “authenticity” in music. Rap and noise both have fanbases that have a feverish hard-on for authenticity that the members of clipping feel is completely ridiculous, so their music demands people discard this thought. They do this by making the most “authentic” noise music straight out of the Merzbow school of thought, and then Daveed Briggs steps up and uses immense technical skill to rap about “real G shit,” telling stories of immense unlikable depravity that's built out of the uglier parts of hip hop culture. This album came out in February and it took me until about August to actually get it, so if you do try it you're in for a rough ride. Even so, I'd be fucking up if I didn't share it. And speaking of authenticity... B L A C K I E All Caps With Spaces – ONLY 4 THE REAL It is totally cool if you listen to like twenty seconds of this and decide it's not for you. It's a completely understandable reaction. I still think you should know it exists. For four straight years, B L A C K I E has put out basically the rawest music without concern for anything but making exactly what he wants to make. He's slowly stripped more and more away from his music until it's just purely energy with as little flourish as possible, and he's managed to double down on that every year since 2010. I don't think it's his best work (last year's album GEN blew my tiny mind), but again, I'd be fucking up if I didn't share it. Dude's a hero to me.

Their reaction upon seeing the liger mask for the first time: "haha holy shit" Full answer: "I would totally take a crack at that. I mean, if I make more plushies with wrestler masks, I wouldn't guarantee 100% accuracy. Mostly just adorableness. If I was making accurate reproductions, (Liger and Ultimo patterns) would definitely be problems. But when I'm making something cutesy out of felt, the complexity of the pattern doesn't stop me. It just makes me charge more."

I just asked, and the answer is slightly complicated. For one, the monster pattern is based on a kind of guy from a specific web comic, and the artist requested people not sell stuff based on the comic (apparently a huge problem). Since my friend's got principles, they've stopped making that one for commissions. So you can't get that dude specifically, but they've got a bunch of other options and you can add the Huracan Ramirez pattern to one of those, or some other mask pattern. For two, they're not going to be able to finish and ship it by christmas. Full-time nanny, part-time plush craftsman. If you're still interested, the pricing scale's right here.

I don't know where else to put this. One of my best friends started making plushes as a hobby, and got good enough to make them for extra income. Sometime in the summer they asked me what my favorite luchador mask is and I answered Huracan Ramirez and now this is in my home. We are now homies.

One album. The second release was issued as "The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2" and the Complete Edition is essentially a box set, which doesn't clear the Compilations rule. If you want to vote for both, use two spots on your list. EDIT: Since someone pimped Milo's EPs (HELLFYRE), I'm going to go ahead and over-clarify that even though they are companion pieces with the same release date I'm still counting that as two separate releases, and that's going to be the precedent for any similar companion EP things.

ill just leave this here (sorry if this is already old/overplayed)

First, a quick seconding of "The Terror" by The Flaming Lips. If they've ever annoyed you, this is probably an album you should check out because it is such a tonal departure from their entire catalog, both in lyrical content and sound profile. Proof (with obnoxious video) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehndmRDT2WU Alright so since a lot of the stuff I'm going to want to talk about for this is obscure, I'm going to try and bring stuff up in waves. If you want to just confront it all at once there's an RYM link in my signature to my 2013 list. For counterbalance to all the guitar thangs posted right now, here's some electronic music. I'm going to do this in order of easiest to hardest listens. Darkside - Psychic Very sleek and very French. The duo of Darkside makes a record that combines the lower key elements of the French House sound with a very 70s guitar approach, making subtle little distortions in both sounds. They also benefit from having a talent for being catchy as hell, as evidenced by Paper Trails, one of my favorite songs this year. Kwes - ilp Essentially a psychedelic British R&B record that starts as a little reverby but definitely pretty, and slowly grows into an expansive, brilliantly colorful record. There's not a lot of the record on youtube but the single 36 is there, and that's a pretty good idea of the lighter end of the album. The more surreal elements slowly ripple under the surface in the bridges of the song. Mesita - Future Proof I've talked up Mesita before, for pretty good reason. For a DIY bedroom pop solo artist the guy has an unreal ear and amazing ability to execute on what he's hearing or should be hearing. After putting out a pop rock fireball last year, this year he abruptly moved towards piano and dance beats and pulls that off with a confidence and ease that blows my mind. The whole album is right here. There is guitar stuff, but it ends up being used like funk guitar for most of the record. DJ Rashad - Double Cup I am not going to pretend I know shit about Chicago House, Footwork/Juke, or Teklife. What I know is that when I put this album on, I feel joyously alive. It's like canned skip-in-your-step. Theory wise it's actually really intricate and delicate, working exclusively 3-against-4 rhythms like a harp player and keeping all the samples very tense by causing them to seize and glitch out. That tension releases often, though, so what could be a nervewracking listen turns into something engine-like. Here's how it starts, and here's an early highlight exactly one track later. Laurel Halo - Chance Of Rain Laurel's last album, Quarantine, cut right into the center of me and just wouldn't dang leave. It was a record of isolation through art and art against isolation, centerpanning lightly treated vocals in the middle of these enormous soundscapes. Well she's two for two with me: Chance of Rain replaces the contemplative thought with a heartbeat and continues using the same kind of overwhelming tonality while leaving the structure open ended, creating a sound that seems to distort time. Here's the title track as an example. Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven Total duality. Most of the instruments and patches used are uncool, trite, relics of the early 90s when people thought the 90s was just going to be 80s-er. Daniel Lopatin (the man behind OPN) then took all of these elements and strategically placed them in a super collider, and just brings the results of reckless musical collisions. The most mind-expanding record I've heard this year, but it's absolutely not for everyone. Still, I wouldn't be able to feel good about writing all this without including it in this process. Here's a great example of the chaotic representations of the mundane that I'm talking about: the "single" and music video for Problem Areas. Arca - &&&&& When I got into that little spat over Yeezus a few months ago, I cited Arca as a dude I felt was central to the sound profile of that record. With a little more thought, I could see the use of Kanye softening that sound: this record is a little much. It's unpredictably noisy and defiantly mixed, so it might be wayyyy too much to handle for most people. Arca is credited on Hold My Liquor, I'm In It, Blood On The Leaves, and Send It Up. If you want to hear what that sound would be like if it was totally unhinged from any kind of commercial appeal, have fun. okay i'm going to wait like a week or two before suggesting any more things

Yay.

PUT ALL THE PIMPING OF ALBUMS IN HERE. THE COPS WILL LOOK THE OTHER WAY IF WE DO IT HERE. also the general thread's over here

Hi okay let's do this! I know I said it should wait until after the first of the year but then I got an idea for what's actually coming out in December and thought “I think we're good to start this." RULES * Ballot size between 10 and 25. Scoring will basically be the inversion of a hypothetical top 25, with a slight bonus given to your #1 rated release. * Eligible Releases include Albums, Mixtapes, EPs and soundtracks of largely original compositions. -Compilations are OK if the material was unavailable up until this point (rarities, b-sides, demos, covers). -Live albums are OK if the material is either currently unavailable as a studio recording or significantly different than the existing recordings. Realistically I'm not going to have time to check that, so scout's honor on this one, eh? * The initial release date of any piece MUST be within 2013. Format doesn't matter: if it was available digitally in 2012, it's a 2012 album. Exceptions granted to releases sold on tour that only became commercially available later, and 2013 albums that leaked in late 2012. * Only pimp in the pimpin' thread. * I will accept ballots three ways. -If you have a RateYourMusic account, send me a friend request (account name BL88) and I will use the list labeled as 2013. When your list is finalized, PM me on this message board and I will add it. Maybe put the link to your list in that PM if you want to be nice! -The same goes for anyone with a Discogs account. Same account name, same procedure as above. I only just made an account on discogs for this, so please do not try to talk to me through that. I imagine I'm not going to remember it exists most of the time. -If you want to just submit a text list, send email to DVDVRBestMusic2013 at gmail dot com. Put “BALLOT” and your account name in the subject. I'm going to check it every Friday, and I'll reply with some gibberish to let you know when I receive it. Treasure this gibberish. It is for your eyes only. * Please try not to do a bunch of last minute changes. If you have to take it to the deadline, do it, but if you get it right the first time it'll make this all go faster. Also if you're using one of the list making sites above, PLEASE tell me when you change something. Once I have it entered into the spreadsheet I'm probably not going to look at that site again, and if I do I might not notice any changes. SUPER NEAT SUGGESTIONS * Seriously, RateYourMusic. Once you get a hang on how Early Internet that site is it's really easy to check information on albums and maintain lists. * If it's an album you think has gotten passed over or is relatively obscure, include sample tracks. Music requires hearing, so you need to suppliment your praise for a thing with a chance to hear it. At the same time, if a lot of your (my) releases are obscure like this, don't embed like twenty youtube videos into a post or something obnoxious like that. Just like make it a really obvious hyperlink or something. Or if the whole album's just availible somewhere like bandcamp or a huge youtube video, use that. *** I wouldn't recommend using Spotify for this. I listen to a ton of music and I don't have a spotify account, so don't assume it's a common thing. * To avoid burnout, don't make your queue rigid. Listen to whatever genre feels right that day, and do not force yourself to listen to stuff outside that genre if you don't want to. DEADLINE March 31st, 2014. Plenty of time to both finalize your own opinion and give a chance to most of what gets posted. I can move up the close date if pressed to. ADVANCE WARNING: I am a student at San Diego State University who will be full time in the spring. If my time gets too tight (I do not expect it to), this will not be top priority. I would love to follow through and I intend to at least get the data crunching done but if I get swamped in work I'll let you know and I will supply the data set to anyone willing to take this to the finish line. Hopefully it won't come to that. OKAY HAVE FUN WITH MUSIC NOW

Probably once the year's actually over? Just in case something doesn't sneak by. I'm down to run it if no one else wants the job

Goodnight my love Remember me as you fall to sleep Fill your pockets with the dust and the memories That rises from the shoes on my feet I won't be back here Though we may meet again I know it's dark outside Don't be afraid Every time I ever cried from fear Was just a mistake that I made Wash yourself in your tears And build your church On the strength of your faith Please Listen to me Don't let go Don't let this desperate moonlight leave me With your empty pillow Promise me the sun will rise again I too am tired now Embracing thoughts of tonight's dreamless sleep My head is empty My toes are warm I am safe from harm

Well you have other hobbies, and plus Doug and I have more of an interest in exploring obscure corners of music than most people would or probably should.

Shadow Warrior is $20 for eight hours. If you need a classic FPS, down to end level scores, par times, and numerous secrets, get on this.

I guess? I also have a top 100 but we are probably thoroughly in the minority there.

HEY IDIOTS, STEAM SALE SLEEPING DOGS $5 ANTICHAMBER $5 ROGUE LEGACY $5 HAMMERWATCH (its like gauntlet) $3.39 MONACO $6 GUNPOINT $6.69 GONE HOME $10

Its a 16 hour long escort mission where the person your escorting is 4 notches above useless Wait, they remade Ico? yeah but instead of a beautiful mysterious castle full of odd and terrible things that are never explained and consequences directly tied to your companion, you have guns and it's new york and ellie is an immortal quip emitter This snap brought to you by the Ico Defense Force: "It's Just Me In Here, But Thanks For Stopping By, Can I Get You A Drink Or Something"

I guess this is the time to point out that when I was a child my father was fiercely anti-Nintendo, so we didn't ever buy that stuff. All of my friends however exclusively had Nintendo systems, so believe me when I say I'm familiar with Smash Bros, Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, Mario Kart, etc. I've been looking for less common/dumber things (Fighters Destiny, Magical Tetris Challenge (go youtube the music for that one, holy shit)), or failing that just arcade ports (Gauntlet Legends, Blitz, Bust A Move 2), I've seen enough of F-Zero X to know that might be my thing. And shit, I might get Perfect Dark anyways since Gauntlet Legends is one of those "enhanced by expansion pak" things. I also wish I could get those Goemon games, but they're a little out of my price range at the moment. Also to be more relevant, thanks to that one day Divekick sale, I have played hell of Divekick multiplayer this week.

After carefully weighing my options, I've chosen my console for the next generation of video games: I bought an N64 with eight games off a friend of mine that needed to clear out their apartment. POKEMON STADIUM/SNAP- I don't have a good term for this idea, so here comes a clunky one: I'm a big believer in "ideal playthroughs." If a game is single player, typically, I'll want one good run with a game so I have some lasting memory of it and then I'm pretty much good, without any need to play any sequels. I had that with Pokemon Silver, and so I've been done with Pokemon for a long time. So playing Pokemon Stadium was a pretty good reminder of why I'm glad I had that one playthrough: the combat alone wasn't enough of a game to hold me. On the flipside is Pokemon Snap, which is an idea so very close to amazing that it's unfortunate Nintendo's never gone back to it. That PS3 game Afrika was the mechanical execution free of any of the charm or personality, which are things that the Pokemon art style is best at. A new Pokemon Snap might be a breaking point between me and getting a Wii U. OCARINA OF TIME- Always hated zelda, 2D or 3D. I just never had fun with it. So since I'm waiting for the first of January to start buying more games (Gauntlet Legends wooo!) this is doing for now, plus I'm glad for the opportunity to have time with the game without severe expense. So far, it's OK. The dialog comes apart in some weird places (I keep expecting Link to go "I'M LIKE FIVE YEARS OLD, WHY DO I NEED TO DO THIS") but at least that's good for a laugh so I'm still enjoying my time with it. WCW/nWo WORLD TOUR- Back on that ideal playthrough thing, I spent a lot of time with Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 through 300% Absoultely Legal Means, and before that all of my Aki Wrestling Game memories were tied to Wrestlemania 2000. So I'm having a weird time with this one. Like, it's the game I played, kind of, but it just feels... wrong. It's like I had a dream about this game and now that I'm playing it nothing is the way it should be. SUPER MARIO 64- is still this game. I got all the stars on the DS version (i know (i know)) so I'm not having a strong pull with this one. I also got Starfox 64, Star Wars Shadows Of The Empire, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy. I don't intend to ever play any of them.

wait until January, so that way people have a chance to get to things like Gone Home, Monaco, Gunpoint, Shadow Warrior, etc. during the steam sale

So here's me making up for not having streams: this guy, Milo. He raps a little. Reads philosophy, kinda nerdy. He rapped a little more than a little this year though. These first two are EPs with duality, both between producers used and the theme within. The * tracks are bonus tracks placed into the run time of the last song on each EP. "Things That Happen At Day" 1. sweet chin music (the fisher king’s anthem) 2. almost cut my hair (for Crosby) 3. folk-metaphysics 4. legends of the hidden temple 5. almond milk paradise (ft. Safari Al) *. Kenosha, WI "Things That Happen At Night" 1. a lazy coon’s obiter dictum 2. the Gus Haynes cribbage league (ft. Busdriver) 3. monologion 4. folk-metaphysics, 2nd ed. 5. post hoc ergo propter hoc (for Schopenhauer) *. the otherground pizza party This one is my rap album of the year by a goddamn sight, and quite possibly my overall album of the year. There's not a single second on here I don't love. It's also the most aggressive and energetic thing he's put out, written and recorded after the passing of his grandfather. "Cavalcade" 1. geometry and theology 2. sophistry and illusion ft. Nocando 3. red oleanders ft. Busdriver 4. besos 5. ba al chiliagon swords ft. YC The Cynic 6. i am am 7. ecclesiastes This is far and away the silliest of anything he's put out this year. It's his debut as a producer, and he promised a friend when he started making beats he'd call himself Scallops Hotel (jokingly after Clams Casino and before they knew clams casino was a real dish). "poplar grove (or how to rap with a hammer)" by Scallops Hotel 1. budlong woods 2. 50 centaurs 3. karl drogo sighs 4. my granddad's soul with thanks to Will for helping me find it 5. milk toast 6. bergamot gamut 7. evil doer melody (this can't be the place) 8. xergiok's chagrin (a song for jib) 9. one eight-hour shift at the theater will earn you $66

TERRARIA- Burned out on it harder than I ever did with Minecraft. I think what it gets wrong is that it feels more insistant on the idea of a "right way to play," and all the hours of Minecraft you can manage before you give up and find the wiki are pretty magical. I lasted about fifteen minutes in Terraria before I went to look stuff up. PINBALL ARCADE- i am terrible at pinball, and also i wish i could turn down the volume in the menus PAYDAY 2- I have no idea if this game is any good. I'm enjoying my time with it, but I might just be enjoying hanging out with my friends and doing things. I mean, heist movies are my favorite style of action film and paying full price for GTAV despite being uncertain about it proves I am willing to go to some weird lengths to be able to play a good heist game. So as far as a heist game goes, this is the Yang of Mass Effect 2's Yin: Where ME2 was epic build for only one heist, Payday 2 is next to no build for infinite heists. I also bought the Age Of Empires II HD expansion because haha what, but I haven't played it yet.