https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/index.php "I get by with a little help from my friends" - The Beatles en 1 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310545#310545 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2'>albummaster</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/28/2014 07:08<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>soundguardian wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">Ok, that's good to hear. I was also a little suspicious about that. I'm glad I could be helpful! <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span><br /> <br /> also, in the future, if I see any more signs of potential gamesmanship, is there somewhere specific that I should go to notify about it?</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> Please just leave a post in the suggestions forum. I think its best to be as open as possible about these types of things. I may also add more info where the ratings are displayed to show the STD and trimmed mean etc. Items with a high STD probably need flagging on the site somewhere as they may indicate funny business is going on. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310545#310545 albummaster Mon, 28 Apr 2014 03:08:57 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310545#310545 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310531#310531 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24846'>soundguardian</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/28/2014 04:35<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>albummaster wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">Anything with a rating outside three standard deviations of an item's mean average is not included as part of the overall item average. I've just spot-checked the tracks that you mentioned to see if there is a problem & the standard deviation for those tracks is high. For example, the first track you mentioned, the STD is over 26 and so anything within three standard deviations is included which gives you a range from about 5 to 100 (for that track) where all ratings are counted. </td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> thanks for the clarification on how the algorithm works!<br /> <br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>albummaster wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">EDIT: I'll also check into the ratings as well to see if there might a gaming issue as it is unusual to see so many low ratings scattered together for the same track.<br /> <br /> EDIT 2: I've just banned nine users who had the same IP address (one user with multiple accounts) who had rated over 1,000 different items with each account (including the above tracks) in a clear pattern of gamesmanship (rating the same items at similar times etc). Thank you for mentioning the original issue.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> Ok, that's good to hear. I was also a little suspicious about that. I'm glad I could be helpful! <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span><br /> <br /> also, in the future, if I see any more signs of potential gamesmanship, is there somewhere specific that I should go to notify about it? https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310531#310531 soundguardian Mon, 28 Apr 2014 00:35:43 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310531#310531 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310484#310484 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2'>albummaster</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 18:32<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>soundguardian wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">I wasn't too active on this site last year, tbh. at least, not this time of the year. I've come to realize that ratings on this site are HIGHLY unreliable. Especially for tracks; I recently saw the ratings on the Spiritualized album Ladies and Gentlemen.... Three months ago, "Ladies and Gentlemen..." and "Broken Heart" had amazing ratings (~88 or 89). Then 5 or so people skew the results by giving the songs 5/100. It clearly marks a simple biasing behavior, and angers me that people are not rating things fairly. There's no reason anyone should give those tracks a 5/100 (especially not 5 people in the expanse of 3 months) unless they do it purposely to skew ratings. And of course people could be like "well, that's just like... their opinions, man...", but statistically they're all considered outliers... by several standard deviations... so statistically their ratings aren't very sound. Which indicates that bias has seeped into the tracks' ratings. Not just preference, but bias. And the averaging algorithm that BEA has implemented apparently can't support nullifying the effects of outliers as well as I first thought. Even if it could, more people would probably come and rate things lowly until the scores DO go down... .</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> Anything with a rating outside three standard deviations of an item's mean average is not included as part of the overall item average. I've just spot-checked the tracks that you mentioned to see if there is a problem & the standard deviation for those tracks is high. For example, the first track you mentioned, the STD is over 26 and so anything within three standard deviations is included which gives you a range from about 5 to 100 (for that track) where all ratings are counted. <br /> <br /> EDIT: I'll also check into the ratings as well to see if there might a gaming issue as it is unusual to see so many low ratings scattered together for the same track.<br /> <br /> EDIT 2: I've just banned nine users who had the same IP address (one user with multiple accounts) who had rated over 1,000 different items with each account (including the above tracks) in a clear pattern of gamesmanship (rating the same items at similar times etc). Thank you for mentioning the original issue. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310484#310484 albummaster Sun, 27 Apr 2014 14:32:45 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310484#310484 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310479#310479 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=18170'>Patman360</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 17:58<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> A lot of people (Myself included), don't put much emphasis on ratings, personally I just find it difficult to rate stuff at times, hence why I deleted all my ratings awhile back and have barely rated anything since then. I tend to go off how many charts it's in or look through individual charts of users who have similar tastes to myself (Or not depending on my mood).<br /> <br /> As for this year, I'm happy so far, haven't heard as much as I would like but that's due to Uni, things will clear up in the summer and I should have a full chart up by then, I've heard 60/70 albums this year so far and enjoyed over half of them. In fact, this year has the potential to be stronger than last year, especially as there's still 8 months still to come (I already love Benji as much as any album from last year in its entirety). https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310479#310479 Patman360 Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:58:55 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310479#310479 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310477#310477 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24846'>soundguardian</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 17:40<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>DanielNunes93 wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">You (and many other users) complain about ratings aren´t reliable, but then I go to your page and I see you rating 32 albums, 1 artist...of course, if only people who don´t like the albums go rating, the ratings aren´t fairly.<br /> <br /> Rating is really easy to do, if everybody rating everything they listened this go help BEA grow up and make thing more fairly.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> I primarily use this site to find recommendations to listen to while I work, not to rate things myself (because I don't have a lot of time on my hands usually, I just have a day off today). But I do rate albums and songs when I feel ready to rate them. I don't feel ready to rate an album fairly until I've listened to it multiple times, and again I don't have all the time in the world to listen to music, I have projects to complete, etc. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310477#310477 soundguardian Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:40:02 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310477#310477 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310468#310468 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=29143'>DanielNunes93</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 17:07<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>soundguardian wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote"> It clearly marks a simple biasing behavior, and angers me that people are not rating things fairly.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> <br /> You (and many other users) complain about ratings aren´t reliable, but then I go to your page and I see you rating 32 albums, 1 artist...of course, if only people who don´t like the albums go rating, the ratings aren´t fairly.<br /> <br /> Rating is really easy to do, if everybody rating everything they listened this go help BEA grow up and make thing more fairly. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310468#310468 DanielNunes93 Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:07:21 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310468#310468 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310467#310467 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=25885'>meccalecca</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 17:03<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> So far 2014 feels pretty much like 2013. Plenty of very good releases from all realms. Like Norm said, there hasn't been too many major releases but that's actually a good things. It's giving smaller records some time to shine. <br /> <br /> these are all pretty great.<br /> <br /> <div class="text-left"> <img src="http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_58637_5333d827ad2a1.jpg" class="postimg" style="cursor:pointer;" height="250" onclick="window.open('http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_58637_5333d827ad2a1.jpg','imgpop','width=500,height=500,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false" /> <span class="hidden-md hidden-lg"><small><br><i>Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.</i></small></span></div><br /> <a href="http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=58637" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nav2">Hot Dreams by Timber Timbre</a><br /> <br /> <div class="text-left"> <img src="http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_56403_5306597d8fdbc.jpg" class="postimg" style="cursor:pointer;" height="250" onclick="window.open('http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_56403_5306597d8fdbc.jpg','imgpop','width=500,height=500,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false" /> <span class="hidden-md hidden-lg"><small><br><i>Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.</i></small></span></div><br /> <a href="http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=56403" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nav2">Past Life by Lost In The Trees</a><br /> <br /> <div class="text-left"> <img src="http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_53505_52c889a3b8e94.jpg" class="postimg" style="cursor:pointer;" height="250" onclick="window.open('http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_53505_52c889a3b8e94.jpg','imgpop','width=500,height=500,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false" /> <span class="hidden-md hidden-lg"><small><br><i>Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.</i></small></span></div><br /> <a href="http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=53505" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nav2">Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Ever...La-La Band</a><br /> <br /> <div class="text-left"> <img src="http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_59733_5350145a32bf2.jpg" class="postimg" style="cursor:pointer;" height="250" onclick="window.open('http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_59733_5350145a32bf2.jpg','imgpop','width=500,height=500,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false" /> <span class="hidden-md hidden-lg"><small><br><i>Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.</i></small></span></div><br /> <a href="http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=59733" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nav2">Lithium Burn by Deleted Scenes</a><br /> <br /> <div class="text-left"> <img src="http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_59311_534441ac54699.jpg" class="postimg" style="cursor:pointer;" height="250" onclick="window.open('http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/albumart/album_large_59311_534441ac54699.jpg','imgpop','width=500,height=500,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false" /> <span class="hidden-md hidden-lg"><small><br><i>Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.</i></small></span></div><br /> <a href="http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=59311" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nav2">Beyond Ugly by Malachai</a><br /> <br /> <br /> Plus, for better or worse Afghan Whigs, Pixies, and Owls all released their first albums in a long time. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310467#310467 meccalecca Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:03:03 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310467#310467 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310463#310463 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=19074'>alelsupreme</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 16:51<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> I've been going off of the Number Of Charts feature, gets rid of the whole "this is high up cos one guy really loves it" thing. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310463#310463 alelsupreme Sun, 27 Apr 2014 12:51:26 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310463#310463 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310459#310459 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24846'>soundguardian</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 16:36<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>Dingerbell wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">So wrong.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> I wasn't stating that it was necessarily true; I said it might be an indication that the music is weaker, so don't say YOU'RE SO WRONG, ok? I was basing this concept via comparison; also, it seems intuitive based on what I've seen from people's responses to music in 2014 that it's been weaker this year. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily true. <br /> <br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>Dingerbell wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">Last year, at this stage, only one album (m b v) was rated over 80, and that has now dropped below that. And that's assuming, of course, that the ratings are reliable- considering some people just give the album's a five, and then leave. Song ratings are also pointless, as you can see for the Piñata song ratings, where several people have just given all the tracks very low ratings. Generally, it takes a long time for people to listen to albums that are released from this year- hardly anyone hears them on the release date; instead they wait for a good response, and then listen.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> I wasn't too active on this site last year, tbh. at least, not this time of the year. I've come to realize that ratings on this site are HIGHLY unreliable. Especially for tracks; I recently saw the ratings on the Spiritualized album <span style="font-style: italic">Ladies and Gentlemen...</span>. Three months ago, "Ladies and Gentlemen..." and "Broken Heart" had amazing ratings (~88 or 89). Then 5 or so people skew the results by giving the songs 5/100. It clearly marks a simple biasing behavior, and angers me that people are not rating things fairly. There's no reason anyone should give those tracks a 5/100 (especially not 5 people in the expanse of 3 months) unless they do it purposely to skew ratings. And of course people could be like "well, that's just like... their opinions, man...", but statistically they're all considered outliers... by several standard deviations... so statistically their ratings aren't very sound. Which indicates that bias has seeped into the tracks' ratings. Not just preference, but bias. And the averaging algorithm that BEA has implemented apparently can't support nullifying the effects of outliers as well as I first thought. Even if it could, more people would probably come and rate things lowly until the scores DO go down...<br /> <br /> I haven't heard Pinata yet, so I can't make a call on if I think people are under-rating it, but I know exactly how you feel, just from seeing <span style="font-style: italic">Ladies and Gentlemen...</span> ratings yesterday. <br /> <br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>Dingerbell wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">To be honest, BEA is rather rubbish for getting recs from this year, if you are using the year charts alone. There aren't enough users listening to albums from this year, and so many good albums are in less than ten charts, or one album that is high on someone's overall shoots up the rankings, whilst not being particularly good. So, if you want recs, look at year charts.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> Got it, I kind of realized that some of the albums are kind of highly rated just cuz 1 person puts at like #20 on their overall chart, and they're the only ones that have even listened to the album... the rank isn't based on consensus, but on one dude's favoritism. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310459#310459 soundguardian Sun, 27 Apr 2014 12:36:29 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310459#310459 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310455#310455 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24846'>soundguardian</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 16:14<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>Norman Bates wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">Wait till the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Radiohead release their albums.<br /> <br /> <br /> Seriously : a lot of good music, but no big names (apart from maybe Albarn). Those big names make the charts and the ratings.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> ok, yeah, I guess that's true; it's not like Tool or Swans have released their albums yet, and it's not like Radiohead or Kendrick Lamar have released anything this year... https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310455#310455 soundguardian Sun, 27 Apr 2014 12:14:14 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310455#310455 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310450#310450 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=26012'>quincytejani</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/27/2014 15:37<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> I really enjoyed the temples release but unfortunately what seems to be the big album of the year [Sun Kil Moon] started off really well but has now dropped in my rankings substantially. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310450#310450 quincytejani Sun, 27 Apr 2014 11:37:14 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310450#310450 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310254#310254 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=29143'>DanielNunes93</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 20:16<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> I think 2014 is being weaker than 2013, but I already discover great bands like Temples, Birth Of Joy, Crippled Black Phoenix or Wild Beasts(yes, only now I discovered this great band <span class="emoji" title="Neutral">😐</span> )<br /> <br /> On the other hand, here in Portugal is being one of the best years, with amazing albums which unfortunately don´t have attention out of here. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310254#310254 DanielNunes93 Sat, 26 Apr 2014 16:16:01 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310254#310254 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310247#310247 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15562'>Norman Bates</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 20:10<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>Dingerbell wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">BEA is rather rubbish for getting recs from this year, if you are using the year charts alone. (...) So, if you want recs, look at year charts.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> This. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310247#310247 Norman Bates Sat, 26 Apr 2014 16:10:05 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310247#310247 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310246#310246 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=25678'>Dingerbell</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 20:08<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>soundguardian wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">But yeah. Seriously. This. I was wondering this as well. There are only like 2 albums that BEA members overall rate as 80 or above, which could possibly be an indication that the music is weaker this year. Also, of all the songs from the current top 20 albums of 2014, only about ~25 of them are rated a score of 83 or higher. and the year is about a third over.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> So wrong.<br /> <br /> Last year, at this stage, only one album (m b v) was rated over 80, and that has now dropped below that. And that's assuming, of course, that the ratings are reliable- considering some people just give the album's a five, and then leave. Song ratings are also pointless, as you can see for the Piñata song ratings, where several people have just given all the tracks very low ratings. Generally, it takes a long time for people to listen to albums that are released from this year- hardly anyone hears them on the release date; instead they wait for a good response, and then listen.<br /> <br /> To be honest, BEA is rather rubbish for getting recs from this year, if you are using the year charts alone. There aren't enough users listening to albums from this year, and so many good albums are in less than ten charts, or one album that is high on someone's overall shoots up the rankings, whilst not being particularly good. So, if you want recs, look at year charts. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310246#310246 Dingerbell Sat, 26 Apr 2014 16:08:35 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310246#310246 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310222#310222 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15562'>Norman Bates</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 19:06<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>soundguardian wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">But yeah. Seriously. This. I was wondering this as well. There are only like 2 albums that BEA members overall rate as 80 or above, which could possibly be an indication that the music is weaker this year. Also, of all the songs from the current top 20 albums of 2014, only about ~25 of them are rated a score of 83 or higher. and the year is about a third over. <br /> <br /> </td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> Wait till the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Radiohead release their albums.<br /> <br /> <br /> Seriously : a lot of good music, but no big names (apart from maybe Albarn). Those big names make the charts and the ratings. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310222#310222 Norman Bates Sat, 26 Apr 2014 15:06:38 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310222#310222 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310221#310221 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15562'>Norman Bates</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 19:04<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> I personally find '14 fascinating. A bit short of masterpieces so far, maybe (and I'm not even sure), but music is going in all sorts of thrilling directions, it's an awesome year for singer-songwriters, and I've never been that much interested in the electronic releases of a year since like forever.<br /> <br /> Won't link you to my '14 chart (45 albums so far) because it's mainly made of recs I picked up on other charts or topics (Geevy, lethal, DBZ mainly), but a week doesn't go without dropping its very interesting record, I'm very happy with '14 so far. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310221#310221 Norman Bates Sat, 26 Apr 2014 15:04:05 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310221#310221 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310218#310218 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24846'>soundguardian</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 18:58<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>quincytejani wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">What's going on with the music of 2014 so far? I feel like I haven't heard any amazing albums yet! ](*,)</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> But yeah. Seriously. This. I was wondering this as well. There are only like 2 albums that BEA members overall rate as 80 or above, which could possibly be an indication that the music is weaker this year. Also, of all the songs from the current top 20 albums of 2014, only about ~25 of them are rated a score of 83 or higher. and the year is about a third over. <br /> <br /> of course, other factors come into to play that influence ratings (biases, etc), but still, wow... https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310218#310218 soundguardian Sat, 26 Apr 2014 14:58:55 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310218#310218 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310002#310002 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=25761'>JOSweetHeart</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/26/2014 00:57<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>quincytejani wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">What's going on with the music of 2014 so far? I feel like I haven't heard any amazing albums yet! ](*,)</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> I haven't heard any yet either. We still have eight months left of the year though! <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span> <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span> <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span><br /> <br /> God bless you always!!! <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span> <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span> <span class="emoji" title="Smile">😄</span><br /> <br /> Holly https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310002#310002 JOSweetHeart Fri, 25 Apr 2014 20:57:19 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=310002#310002 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=309913#309913 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=-1'>Anonymous</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/25/2014 17:24<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> OK, I was actually in the midst of writing this post when I deleted my account, but I never finished it. It belongs here, so take it:<br /> <br /> </span><table class="bbquote-container"><tr> <td class="text-left"><strong>lethalnezzle wrote:</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="bbquote">Much like with anything else, the more music you actively search out and listen to, the more gold you're likely to find. I've been doing a lot of 2014 listening, and as such have found plenty of 2014 albums that I love. I'm just gonna highlight a few here (not necessarily my favourites, but a decent cross-section, and albums I felt like writing about at the moment tbh), not really sure what you're into but if you can't find something among these that you like then I'll be very surprised:<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Pinata</span><br /> <br /> My single favourite album of the year, a throwback gangsta rap record built around dense, effortlessly layered samples that evoke a sort of psychedelic blaxploitation sound, and a rapper who might well be the best in the world right now, with a rapid fire flow (which he is able to switch up at the drop of a hat), an authentically gritty voice that recalls Bun B or even Tupac, and lyrics that touch on a variety of topics in a way that is smart, funny and, above all, extremely human. This is a gangsta rap record laced with vulnerability, despite its tough veneer. Gibbs is a product of his environment, and does a better job of describing that environment in a vivid, non-judgmental way than any rapper in years. From the way he describes his strained relationship with his ex-cop father on 'Broken' ("I'm a crook and he's crooked, that's all we had in common"), to the way he relates memories of troubles past to which basketball game he was watching at the time on 'Knicks', to the faultless gangstafied update of Common's 'I Used To Love H.E.R.', 'Deeper', Gibbs shows incredible range over what is in all likelihood Madlib's best collection of beats in one place since Madvillain. Quite simply one of the greatest hip-hop albums I've ever heard. <br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Sun Kil Moon - Benji</span><br /> <br /> I hate to be that douchebag who quotes himself, but I think I described listening to this album elsewhere as feeling like being at a wake, though a celebratory one, surrounded by drunken family and old friends, remembering the good times. It's an album preoccupied with death, and whilst there is a deep sadness in many of these tales, it's never depressing (except, perhaps, on the opener 'Carissa', which has a line about her children potentially carrying guilt around for the rest of their lives that feels impossibly harsh). Largely minimal, folky instrumentation, with Kozelek often just dropping his lyrics atop these tracks with no real sense of form or template (especially on the epic, stream-of-consciousness 'I Saw The Film The Song Remains The Same'), filling his songs with impressive levels of detail, and always retaining an unteachable ability to put the lives and deaths of the characters of these songs into a wider context without it ever feeling forced. 'Micheline', in particular, calls to mind everything that was great about Townes van Zandt. A beautifully intimate record that deserves your full attention.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Francis Harris - Minutes of Sleep</span><br /> <br /> This album manages to feel both incredibly dense and incredibly sparse at the same time, which is quite a feat. This album is also a forward-thinking house record that manages to sound progressive without leaning on unorthodox (read: not that unorthodox, just taking cues from early oughties R'n'B) percussion, which again is quite a feat. This album aaaalso manages to weave into its web a host of jazzy horns, without ever straying into that dreaded nu-jazz territory (where happiness is not so much a warm gun as an impotent Grover Washington Jr. sample), another fantastic feat. And this album is a paean to love and loss that manages to evoke that bittersweet feeling when your drunkenness begins to turn sour, the fleeting moment where you stop being caught up in reckless abandon and start to remember why you started to drinking in the first place, just before you transform irreversibly into an inconsolable mess. Minutes of Sleep is melancholy and contemplative, full of refreshing surprises (the Erykah Badu-meets-Joanna Newsom-in-Ibiza stomp of centrepiece 'You Can Always Leave'; 'Me To Drift', with its bassline that fluctuates completely seamlessly between acoustic and synthetic bass), and its time flies by, a brief but beautiful thought that you wish you'd written down. Furthermore, Minutes of Sleep is a record that feels totally cohesive. It's not too often that a house album works this remarkably well as a unit, and in that sense it's arguably (/probably) the best of its kind since John Talabot's fin.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Conan - Blood Eagle</span><br /> <br /> A blood-and-thunder doom/stoner metal album, content to stick to the sludgey, ominous template laid out by Sabbath and continued by the likes of Electric Wizard and a million bands with the word 'bong' in their name, but just doing it very, very well indeed. The fuzz is laid on thick, the vocals sound suitably Valhallan, and the riffs are all-consuming in their monolithic monotony. That isn't to say that this record doesn't have its share of variety ('Foehammer' ups the speed with fantastic results), but its main strength is in creating an unwaveringly majestic atmosphere, managing to sound victorious in the face of its own gloom and doom, powered forward by its battering ram drums and ridiculously loud bass. Nothing here quite matches up to 'Beheaded', their 14-minute epic from last year's split single with Bongripper (I urge everybody to stop what they're doing and check it out), but the album is bookended by two songs that run it very close, the awesome (in the literal sense) 'Crown of Talons' and 'Altar of Grief'. This is woolly mammoth music, the perfect accompaniment for smoking weed and drinking mead.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">The Fun Years - One Quarter Descent</span><br /> <br /> The Fun Years have been around for quite a while, but this is the first release of theirs that I've cottoned on to (having gone back and listened to some of their other stuff, it's also the best thing I've heard by them by quite a distance). They're a guitarist/turntablist duo, though you wouldn't know it from listening to One Quarter Descent, a two-sided tape with a quarter-hour track on each side. The album deals in Basinski-esque soundscapes built from beautifully decaying/decayed loops, though it's difficult to know where these loops are pulled from (I assume from records scratched beyond all comprehension and then played and replayed in the way a scratch DJ might do, albeit much slower, or from heavily effect-ridden guitars playing the same motifs over and over; I'm fairly certain that this record couldn't have been achieved without overdubs). The guitar is certainly more prominent on the second side (a beautiful, almost Mongolian-sounding loop that comes in waves and waves, washing over you as it grows into something almost regal before disappearing away again), whereas the first side is the more delicate of the two, acting almost as a prologue to the denser second half, though no less gorgeous in its execution. Deploying a healthy layer of low-level fuzz and static throughout, the album plays out as though being strained through an old wind-up radio, on its last legs after spending years in a puddle. Fucks knows what I'm even talking about, just listen to this.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Sisyphus - Sisyphus</span><br /> <br /> A collaboration between rapper Serengeti, the ever-unpredictable Son Lux, and Christian Rock hero/creepy eleven year old boy Sufjan Stevens, Sisyphus is a glorious mashup of day-glo hip-hop and wonderfully irreverent pop music that feels a bit like what Damon Albarn wishes Gorillaz had been (I jest, that dude wouldn't be comfortable releasing a record quite this strange and unmarketable). Universally ignored by hip-hop blogs, and regarded seemingly everywhere else as a rather uncomfortable union, this album goes to show, with gleeful abandon and an unerring sense of playfulness, how stupid critics can be. The opening three-song suite is stunning, utilising recurring lyrical and musical motifs as each member of the group flexes their respective muscles, before the album launches into 'Rhythm of Devotion', the first time the three prove that they can be more than the sum of their (already considerable) parts - this is part-Prince, part-cLOUDDEAD, all-Sisyphus, a shimmering pop song that twists and turns and does everything you could possibly want it to. After this, it's plain sailing, from Serengeti flummoxing every RapGenius contributor on the insane 'Flying Ace', to Sufjan getting very spiritual (in vibe; not literally) on the oxymoronically vulnerable 'I Won't Be Afraid', and Son Lux pulling the strings throughout. It's a record that it is as touching as it is all-over-the-shop, and for me it's one of the best and truest attempts at a pop/rap hybrid to have ever emerged.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Mac DeMarco - Salad Days</span><br /> <br /> At first, I didn't buy into Mac DeMarco. He seemed to have cleverly positioned himself as a playful slacker, pandering to the Pitchfork masses with his laid-back, summery vibe, and knowing (if ultimately hollow) songs. How wrong I was. Well, maybe not all that wrong - he is definitely a playful slacker, who deals in knowing songs with a laid-back, summery vibe. The mistake I made was in writing him off as hollow or insincere. His lyrics are full of the kind of world-weariness I can relate to, that of a person no longer a child but not yet an adult, and his ability to hit the nail on the head without any beat-around-the-bush pretentiousness, whilst never getting too down on himself, recalls a young Jonathan Richman. Then, of course, there is <span style="font-style: italic">that</span> guitar tone; languid, louche, slippery-as-fuck, it's an enjoyably effortless (or should that be effortlessly enjoyable?) sound that will undoubtedly soundtrack many cold beers on sunny days this summer. Salad Days is just a total treat.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Julie Byrne - Rooms with Walls and Windows</span><br /> <br /> Rooms with Walls and Windows is a refreshingly delicate record, feeling as though a strong gust of wind could blow it away at any moment. A lot of the lyrics are totally unintelligible, not because they get drowned out by everything going on around them or because of some effects-driven stylistic choice, but simply because they are delivered so quietly. She has a beautiful voice, and those lyrics that I can make out tend to be disarmingly direct and poetic without feeling pretentious, a little like a Frank O'Hara or perhaps a Heaney minus the detail. This is lived-in, real-life music - a partially heard conversation from the other side of the bar, perhaps the most interesting you've ever been privy to, one that you wish you could be involved in but for the fact that you would only ruin everything that makes it so beautiful.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19</span><br /> <br /> Another house music album, this time by Kassem Mosse. He has released a series of singles and EPs for the Workshop label that all fit a theme; dark, hypnotic, melancholy house. If this sounds a little like Francis Harris, it shouldn't. Harris' music is definitely at-home music, chilled out vibes for late-night sessions (be they alone or with close friends). Mosse makes music for dancing to, bangers that are made to be played in clubs. However, what he has managed to achieve on his first full-length is to create an album that is both <span style="font-style: italic">for</span> raving and <span style="font-style: italic">about</span> raving, the fluid peaks and troughs of the LP mirroring the ups and downs one might have on a big night out, making this cohesive listen as suitable for listening to in bed as it is through huge speakers. Whilst he tends to shy away from direct, immediate melodies, he makes up for this with a delightfully grungy sensibility, crafting tracks (in the Simon Reynolds-defined functionalist sense of the word; music made to be mixed into sets at clubs, as opposed to songs made for at-home consumption) that feel dirty, sinister, often unfinished, but always full of rhythmic ticks and beeps, and a deep, buried bass sound that make this so ripe for dancing to. By the end, its dense, dubby textures and relentless repetition become almost dizzying, but never unwelcome. An accessible album full of deep, dark house music.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold">Kevin Gates - By Any Means</span><br /> <br /> As a rapper, Gates is a paranoid, schizophrenic mess. He's not a very nice person, and sometimes it's difficult to relate to somebody who says the things that he does. Oh, and his beats tend to all blend together into one forgettable, (main)streamlined cacophony of predictable synths and even more predictable trap drums, aside from the odd diversion. But I love him. Easily the most vocally emotive rapper around at the moment (not as vocally crazy as Young Thug, of course, but I'd wager more <span style="font-style: italic">emotive</span>), and on a par with Ghostface in the regard, and somebody whose tales of the street (and that aforementioned overarching paranoia that pervades even his braggiest moments) sound so authentic and lived-in that they really do create a sense of, "this is a man's soul laid bare". He's deceptively lyrical in the sense that there are often more layers to his lines than initially meets the eye, and yet he never falls back into that reverential old-school vibe that so many quote unquote lyricists think is what they have to do in order to prove themselves. Gates is a conflicted sign of our times, a pop-centric rapper who is a dozen different people (and not one of them a liar). This isn't quite as majestic as last year's The Luca Brasi Story, or as claustrophobic as last year's Stranger The Fiction (there's nothing here as immediate as the former's 'Paper Chasers', or as painfully honest as the latter's '4.30 am'), but it is another top-class mixtape from arguably the most in-form rapper around right now.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody"><br /> <br /> Sorry I only got to ten entries. Enjoy anyway. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=309913#309913 Anonymous Fri, 25 Apr 2014 13:24:38 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=309913#309913 https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=308966#308966 Author: <a href='https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=18170'>Patman360</a><br /><br /> Posted: 04/21/2014 17:16<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> Out of curiosity, what albums are you basing this on?<br /> <br /> There's a lot of great stuff out there already across numerous genres, to me anyway. https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=308966#308966 Patman360 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:16:47 GMT https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=308966#308966