For those of you who are interested in music, you should check out my list of the 25 best pop/rock/r’n’b/hip hop albums of 2016. You will find the list on my music Tumblr: All Kinds of (Good) Music
Gay club culture was built over decades of resistance, hate, violence and bigotry. It’s not going to disappear because of the evil actions of a madman. When I think about the victims at Pulse I want to remember how far we have come towards equal rights for everybody, and how important it is that we never stop that work. It’s a night that needs Frankie and Jocelyn. Click on the headline for the track.
New album on the way, first single sounds promising. Good video too.
I had given up that Sufjan Stevens could ever return to the heights of albums such as “Illinoise”, but this album was a stunning return to form. Most beautiful album of the year. Sufjan Stevens – Death With Dignity
Vince Staples – Summertime 06 A good year for rap and the race for best rap album is unusually hard, but I pick Vince Staples slightly before Kendrick Lamar, Young Thug, Future, Joey Badass, Drake, Rae Sremmurd, Fetty Wap and Donnie Trumpet. It is the emotional scope that tip the scale to Staples favour, there is room for everything on this album. Click on the headline for video. Vince Staples – Norf Norf
A lot was said in 2015 about the return of D’Angelo, but I have to be sacrilegious and state that he did not make the best R&B album of the year. That title goes to Miguel (again). A lot of good R&B-artists around right now, but Miguel rules them all. Miguel – Coffee
Those who have followed my lists know I love The XX, and of course Jamie XX is their sound architect. His solo singles and productions have been great and finally a whole album arrived and it fulfilled all expectations. He even got a summer hit (“Good Times”). But this was the best song on a great album. The minimalistic percussion that enters at 1:27 stays in your head for weeks. Jamie xx – Loud Places
A great album that only has one (small) flaw, it could have done with some editing. No rapper today that I know of has a greater technique, seems like he has an almost schizophrenic ability to channel many different characters. Deceptively smart lyrics too. And he actually managed to get away with a g-funk track! Kendrick Lamar – King Kunta
Claire Elise Boucher got a lot of flak when she decided not to stick to her quirky, electro-indie persona, but instead go in a more traditional pop direction. She proved all the doubters wrong with this album, that crosses over to the mainstream without losing originality. Unfortunately she hasn’t made a video of any of the albums best songs (like “California”). Yet. Click on the headline for video. Grimes – Flesh Without Blood
This is not their best album (that would be “Lonerism”). But the level that they have reached now means that they easily qualify for the top 25 even with an album that is a little more uneven. At their peak, they are one of the best bands out there today. Tame Impala – Cause I’m a Man