Some of My Picks for the 58th Grammy Awards

      The 58th Annual Grammy Awards will be taking place on February 15, 2016, and a lot of great artists have been nominated. Here are some of our picks/predictions for who will win at this year's Grammys.

Best Rap Album

• 2014 Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole

• Compton - Dr. Dre

• If You're Reading This It's Too Late - Drake

• To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

• The Pinkprint - Nicki Minaj

     Although I thought calling it a "mixtape" and then selling it on his commercial label through iTunes was pretty lame, Drake's "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" was the best pure rap album this year. Singles "Energy" and "Preach" were infectious, and deep cuts like "Jungle" and "6 God" helped to solidify the track list as one of the year's overall strongest.

Best Alternative Music Album

• Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes

• Vulnicura - Björk

• The Waterfall - My Morning Jacket

• Currents - Tame Impala

• Star Wars - Wilco

     This category isn't usually one that the Grammy's gets correct every year in my opinion, but Wilco's free release "Star Wars", My Morning Jacket's largely under appreciated "The Waterfall", and Alabama Shakes' sophomore album all make this a very strong group of nominees that make this award hard to get wrong. That being said, Tame Impala's third full length, "Currents" edges all the others out in my mind, if only by a very narrow margin. Kevin Parker seamlessly blends many genres (Shoegaze, Hip-Hop, Synthpop, Psychedelic Rock) on this LP, and earning this award would be the cherry on top of the mountain of critical accolades this album already received this year. 

Best Rock Album

• Chaos And The Calm - James Bay

• Kintsugi - Death Cab For Cutie

• Mister Asylum - Highly Suspect

• Drones - Muse

• .5: The Gray Chapter - Slipknot

     Death Cab For Cutie's "Kintsugi" was a solid record, and single "Black Sun" is only the tip of the iceberg for a track list that holds the status quo for Death Cab. While it isn't my favorite work by the band, this year's nominees for this award are fairly weak in my opinion ("Drones" was awful). In my mind, "Kintsugi" just edges out James Bay's first commercial full length, which also was just "not that bad".

Best Dance/Electronic Album

• Our Love - Caribou

• Born In The Echoes - The Chemical Brothers

• Caracal - Disclosure

• In Colour - Jamie XX

• Skrillex And Diplo Present Jack Ü - Skrillex And Diplo

     While it took me a few listens before it finally took hold in my brain, there is an infectious and more importantly, danceable weirdness to Jamie XX of "The xx"'s 2015 solo electronic album. Releases from The Chemical Brothers and Skrillex and Diplo were also strong this year, but the sounds and vibes expressed on "In Colour" blaze new trails (or at the very least, widen a few less-tread paths) for this genre, and that's what makes it deserving of this award.

Best Pop Vocal Album

• Piece By Piece - Kelly Clarkson

• How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence + The Machine

• Uptown Special - Mark Ronson

• 1989 - Taylor Swift

• Before This World - James Taylor

    While I see it nearly impossible for the Grammy voters to not throw this bone to Taylor Swift, this category has the word "Vocal" in it. As far as vocals are concerned, Florence Welch wins this category in my opinion, even if her 2015 LP wasn't quite as "poppy" as the others in this category.

Best New Artist

• Courtney Barnett

• James Bay

• Sam Hunt

• Tori Kelly

• Meghan Trainor

     With her release of "Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit" early in the year, Courtney Barnett combined Joan Jett swagger with 90s grunge guitar and a flat, almost-spoken delivery of her own to create an Indie Rock sound that feels at the same time fresh and grimy, as well as simultaneously new and familiar. James Bay and budding country star Sam Hunt are close seconds here, but Courtney Barnett is the most deserving candidate for this award.

Album Of The Year

• Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes

• To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

• Traveller - Chris Stapleton

• 1989 - Taylor Swift

• Beauty Behind The Madness - The Weeknd

    No album was more talked about, more analyzed, or more critically acclaimed this year than Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly". Lamar's sprawling 3rd LP made waves by combining jazz, spoken word, old-school R&B, and west coast hip-hop to tackle issues both in his community and in the country at large. No other album in this category is more representative of the year 2015, and no other album in this list captures the emotion and national social environment in America in 2015 quite like this one. "1989" and "Beauty Behind The Madness" were both great pop albums, but "To Pimp A Butterfly" was an instant Hip-Hop classic, and it will likely be in more people's minds and ears for much longer than any of its peers in this category.

New/Trending/Popular: David Bowie's "Blackstar"

This one comes with a heavy heart. I had started writing this review prior to Bowie's passing. Prior even to the album's release. I was so confident in Bowie's talent that I knew I could put together some initial thoughts about him even before his entire album hit the market. Unfortunately, his album has come, but he is gone. Here's the small blurb I had written a week before the album came out:

"Can you say you've released 25 studio albums? Don't worry, I can't either. But, David Bowie can. With his release of Blackstar, Bowie proves he's still a relevant player in the industry."

That last sentence feels like punch straight to the gut. But it's true, right? Even now, in death, Bowie is a relevant, legendary musician who lived and breathed his art. He always seemed like some unearthly, immortal figure to me.

This is becoming less of an album review, and more of a string of my thoughts. Bowie "quit" touring. This was reaffirmed in October 2015, and now as we all know, with good reason.

I will never claim to have known his entire body of work, but what I knew, I loved. "Space Oddity" reminds me of sitting in the car with my parents, unknowingly letting it shape my music taste and influences. It is by far my favorite of his songs. David Live is the first LP I can remember ransacking from my mom's collection and playing repeatedly, while staring at the album art. To think that I also have been to the Tower Theater, where Bowie once graced that stage to perform, is extremely humbling.

Blackstar focuses mainly on death and gloom. Its title track lasts for 10 minutes, and has numerous lyrical references that now make sense. And "Lazarus." My favorite track on Blackstar. I'm astonished that Bowie essentially wrote his own requiem. It's both incredible and beautiful (while slightly frightening). 

Looking at the lyrics of "Space Oddity" and "Lazarus" simultaneously, I can't help but observe the full circle of the images painted. I don't think it's entirely fair of me to conjecture that Bowie consciously finished the story of "Space Oddity" with "Lazarus," but if you blend the lyrics it is slightly possible.

You'll get no rating out of me for Blackstar. Listen to Blackstar, and all of Bowie's discography for that matter. Fall in love with his music. Bowie, like other legends, may leave us, but the music never dies. It's always here.

Meghan's Year In Music

I have been told countless times that 2015 was a huge turning point for the music industry. Looking back on some of the album releases, major deals, etc., I can see why: Adele is back. Pandora acquired Ticketfly. Sony's contract with Spotify was leaked. These headlines, among various others, showed how much the music industry is constantly changing and evolving. The soundtrack for these changes is a mix of hits and misses, but first, here are my hits for 2015:

Not in any particular order, here are seven albums I couldn't stop listening to in 2015:

(Seven is a lucky number, but that's not my intention with this list. These were the first albums that came to my mind when writing this.)

Hello there, Mr. Flowers!

The Desired Effect - Brandon Flowers

I need not re-explain my love for this album. You can read that here. If you don't feel like reading my opinion, or hopefully rereading, just trust me and listen to the album.

Favorite track: "Still Want You"

The Sunshine of Your Youth - Cheerleader

Anytime I see anything related to Cheerleader, I automatically have the first few bars of their song "The Sunshine of Your Youth" playing in my head. I can play this entire album on repeat without getting tired of it. That's when you know you've done it right.

Favorite track: "The Sunshine of Your Youth"

VHS - X Ambassadors

Spotify told me that VHS was my most-listened to album of the year. Was I surprised? Absolutely not. I'm such a huge fan of the band. You can reread my review of VHS here.

Hanging with X Ambassadors at their Philly show in October

Favorite track: "Gorgeous"

Love & Mercy (Soundtrack)

Do soundtracks count for favorite albums? For me they do. I loved this movie about the genius of Brian Wilson. The soundtrack is filled with Beach Boys hits, beautiful arrangements by Atticus Ross (composer of Fear the Walking Dead's title track!!), and the crown gem: Paul Dano's performance of "God Only Knows." Paul Dano was the star of the movie in my eyes, playing a fantastic and compelling, young Brian Wilson. I'd go more in-depth, but this is a music blog, right?

Favorite track: "God Only Knows" (pick whichever version you'd like)

ERA - Atomic Tom

ATOMIC TOM IS BACK! Well, they never really left. BUT, Era was their first release since 2010. That 2010 release, The Moment was probably one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever - physical CDs are still cool - and I've been waiting for another album since. I happened upon Era a few months post-release, and boy, I was so happy I found that.

Favorite track: "Someone to Love"

Joe Jonas performing with DNCE

SWAAY (EP) - DNCE

This may seem like I'm cheating by listing an EP, but you may just not understand. I was a huge Jonas Brothers fan throughout middle school and most of high school, (and secretly still in college until they broke up). So, Joe Jonas having a new band was A HUGE DEAL for me. Especially since it was a bit more poppy than most of the music I consumed this year. I greatly enjoyed the EP, and DNCE's live show. The bass line for their debut single, "Cake By The Ocean" might just be one of my favorite bass lines of the year... Listen for yourself, and try not to dance to the infectious beat.

Favorite track: "Jinx" (This reminds me of Jonas Brothers songs in the slightest, so naturally it's my favorite. Oops. Totally unashamed.)

Chaos and the Calm - James Bay

I was late to the game on this album. I only started listening to the whole thing after going to James Bay's Philly soundcheck. I was totally blown away by both James and his band. Since that night, I've been loving the album.

Favorite track: "Craving" ("If You Ever Want To Be In Love" was a close runner up for this one.)

Unfortunately, the most disappointing album of 2015 for me(which really hurts me to say), is Muse's Drones. One thing this album did right though, was make me think. The final track of the album, "Drones," brought me back to some music history classes I had taken. Is Muse going for the "droning" of Gregorian chant? If so, that's such a crazy cool thing to do. "Drones" and "Mercy," which might actually be one of my favorites of theirs thus far, are the saving graces of this album. The rest was severely lackluster for me. Could this just be the remnant of a bad taste in my mouth from the live concert release in 2013? (Probably. I'll have to give that another go this year to accurately judge). I'm sure some people really loved Drones, but the overall album just wasn't my taste.

A lot of albums that I myself "discovered" in 2015, were actually released in 2014 or earlier, so I apologize to those artists, (but thanks for the damn good music). I need to keep my finger more on the pulse in general, rather than just for particular artists I love love love!

As I reflect on my year in music, here are my top five listened to artists of 2015 according to Spotify (in order):
1. X Ambassadors
2. Talking Heads
3. Billy Joel
4. The Killers
5. Brandon Flowers

Did I venture from my comfort zone with these top five? Nope. But, that's what New Year's Resolutions are for, right?

Aside from these albums and artists, I had a fantastic year in music overall. I met some of my favorite artists (again), saw some fantastic shows, experienced the Brazilian music industry, and lived a life full of music. Here's to the new year, and new music!

Our Top 10 Albums of 2015

     Although StereOpinions was quiet for much of the second half of 2015, we were still listening to and talking about music. Below are Our Top Ten Albums of 2015. Let us know if you agree with anything on our list, or if there were albums that you think should have made our final cut. Here's to remembering a great year of music, and to another great year in 2016!



10. Carly Rae Jepsen - E•MO•TION

9. Fading Frontier - Deerhunter

8. Multi-Love - Unknown Immortal Orchestra

7. Surf - Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

6. Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes

5. I Love You, Honeybear - Father John Misty

4. VEGA Intl. Night School - Neon Indian

3. Carrie & Lowell - Sufjan Stevens

2. Currents - Tame Impala

1. To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

Happy 40th Anniversary, "Born To Run"

Albums come and go, but some stick around forever. Forty years is a long time for a career in any field, let alone music. Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run is forty years old today, and the Boss is still out rockin' and rolling with the E Street Band! This anniversary made me think a lot about my own musical journey and how it came to be.

My first memories of Born To Run originate from car rides with my father. My dad is a New Jersey native, and a huge fan of Bruce. (Both of my parents schooled me early with their favorite artists, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, the Beatles, and so on.) I can remember my dad pushing the cassette tape into the car stereo and hearing the beginning of "Thunder Road." To this day, "Thunder Road" is one of my favorite songs from Bruce's catalog.

Eventually, my dad felt that I had been taught enough from Born To Run, and graduated me to Bruce's under-appreciated Tunnel of Love. Without the iconic album that is Born To Run, I wouldn't have experienced Tunnel of Love. The story is much the same with many other artists. Without these commercially successful, life-changing albums, we may not have much of the music we drool over today.

I look at music as the soundtracks to our most distinctive memories. I know that through guidance of my father, playing Bruce Springsteen tapes, and my mother, teaching me to listen to Billy Joel with reverence, I have a deep appreciation for music and what it does to the soul.

As a humble salute to the Boss, I give you the greatest cover of "Born To Run" that I was fortunate enough to experience live. Throwback to March of 2011 with Ocean Grove and the Prigs, and all four thousand band members on stage (I might be off by a few members).

I had the pleasure of seeing Clarence Clemons perform the National Anthem at a Jets' game in 2010, and then saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in 2012. Though I saw Bruce without the Big Man, I could connect the two performances in my mind and imagine the magic of the duo that had been. Both musical powerhouses were as electrifying and mind-blowing as you'd expect.

Artists like Bruce and the E Street Band are something to genuinely appreciate. They represent more than just the music you listen to. They provide living proof of what it's like to go after your dreams. 

Albums like these don't just happen or come around often. They are labors of love and outpourings of souls. Take the time to listen to Born To Run, and really feel it. Feel everything that this album of eight songs is trying to give you. I promise you that you will not regret it.

In short, thanks for the music, Bruce and company.

New/Trending/Popular: "Straight In No Kissin'" by Big Talk

Album art by Kristina Collantes

Big Talk is the brainchild of the Killers' drummer, Ronnie Vannucci. With the release of their first album in 2011, Big Talk unfortunately reached little to no acclaim outside of the Killers' fanbase. Aside from their one TV performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the band had no major publicity. Big Talk's eponymous rock debut was lost in a sea of pop, including "Party Rock Anthem," "Rolling in the Deep," and "Born This Way." 

Fortunate for us, Big Talk recently came out with a new album, Straight In No Kissin'. Albeit the album name, artwork, and promotion have been fairly comical, (the album art includes each member of Big Talk in drag), the musical content is nothing to joke about. Big Talk's lineup this time around includes talented musicians from other bands, including drummer Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion.

Straight In No Kissin' starts off roaring with "Hold That Line." If this tune doesn't get you pumped for the rest of the album, are you even alive? My only issue with the song is that it makes me want to get up and dance at work, which isn't entirely appropriate. I'll stick to air guitar in the office. "Animal Husband" is slightly reminiscent of Big Talk's debut album, but in a warm and fuzzy, nostalgic sort of way. "What Happened to Delisa" was the first single from the album, and gave a fairly accurate taste of what was to come. I'd like to know what actually happened to Delisa...

"La Rue d'Awakening" might just be the most clever song title I've ever seen. The song is the angsty, punk-infused song on the record. "Cocktail Party" has hints of "There She Goes" by The La's, but enjoyably so. "I've Been Sentimental Lately" is the song you'll be singing into a hairbrush while you're hanging out with friends in your apartment (you're getting insight into my life goals). Or hey, why not scream-sing the song! It has lyrical and instrumental simplicity that soothes the soul, while still giving you those "good tune feels."

Normally, it would be strange to say that minus the roaring guitar tone, "What the Night Can Do" sounds like a missing track from The Killers' Battle Born. Alas, it's not that strange because DING DING DING RONNIE IS IN THE KILLERS! Need a laid-back tune for an easy, breezy Sunday afternoon? Check out "All My Luvin'." "The Void" initially sounds a bit like Muse, but less preachy and then segues into a refreshing rock song. 

"Another Satellite" has a twinge of country guitar, but the fast-paced tempo of a punk song. Maybe even some metal influences here? Have you ever wanted to start a mosh pit in your room and jump on couches and such? This song should encourage you. If "Neon's Not Enough Light," then what does Big Talk expect to be bright enough?! I listen to this song and furiously nod my head along with the drums. It's an odd sight to see, but the song is way to infectious to not join in. I'm head over heels in love with the guitar tone in this song. 

Big Talk recently performed "I've Been Sentimental Lately" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Below is the video, featuring wigs, heels, dresses, and Big Talk. 

What I love about this album is that I can listen to it without getting tired of either the lyrical or instrumental content. With each listen, I notice something new about each song. Straight In No Kissin' is leaps and bounds above Big Talk's previous release. Big Talk raised the bar from their great first album, and absolutely did not disappoint. 

Rating: 8/10

New/Trending/Popular: "Currents" by Tame Impala

At the beginning of 2015, there were a few records that topped my list of highly anticipated albums for the upcoming year. Tame Impala's follow up to their 2012 masterpiece, "Lonerism" was certainly at the top of that list as the year began. And after hearing the 7 minute electronic delight that was the opening single, "Let It Happen", my excitement grew even higher. Even though I was relatively happy with the following singles, "Cause I'm a Man", and "Eventually". There was a part of me that was still thinking, where are the epic guitar riffs and psychedelic jams that made me fall in love with their first two LPs?

With that being said, this album is certainly one that will grow on you. Without a real 'radio-friendly' single, nor a single lead guitar riff, this album does not exhibit much of the old Tame Impala we all knew and loved. But after a few listens through the record, one can certainly see where Kevin Parker takes synths and bass guitar to fill this massive void. And if Parker succeeded with one thing on this record, it was certainly his masterful production. Each minute overlapping synth that seems to jump out at you near the tail end of most of the tracks provided a moment that I began to look forward to come the fourth and fifth listens to the record and are what really fill out what could have just be a basic pop album, instrumentally. And bass lines in tracks such as "The Less I Know The Better", ended up being some of my favorite moments on the record.

Lyrically and thematically, Kevin Parker does not miss a beat on "Currents". Each track feeds into the next musically and lyrically, as Parker kind of goes through a transformation of his own personality throughout the album and even takes a break to explore his own subconscious on the track "Past Life" near the middle of the record. Though Parker has always self-recorded and produced every Tame Impala record in the past, this is the first record Parker has made where he was able to fully pit his own psyche into the art behind the album. Beginning with the album artwork. We see the mere representation of Parker's mind metaphorically depicted as a marble that is shooting through a sea of straight lines or 'currents', maybe, and making a mess of everything in the process of trying to just get by or  possibly create a legacy as not only an artist, but also as a human being. Looking back at the initial single, "Let It Happen", Parker begins the album with a seven minute ballad about going with the flow of life, letting all the bull shit that comes with it occur and hoping for the outcome won't end up in you having to apologize to your mother. After the moment this track ends, Parker keeps moving closer and closer to finding the answer to something, whether it being the perfect high, the meaning of life, or true greatness, he uses each track as a segue in to the next on his emotional adventure of his sort of 'pursuit (or denial) of happiness'. Along the way he changes, "Yes I'm Changing", gives up, "Eventually", gets heartbroken, "The Less I Know The Better", then seems to turn a new leaf in the second half of the album where he begins to come to terms with his mistakes in, "Cause I'm A Man, and the peaks thematically and musically in track, "Reality in Motion". During this track he seems to finally step back, take a deep breath, and come to terms with the idea that all of the soul searching and drugs he takes cannot help him to be the perfect being, but he can simply accept what he's done and keep trying to to get better. He concludes the album with track, "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" by essentially noting that although he and every human undergoes a sort of metamorphosis in life, we will always have the old parts of us dwelling inside our subconscious. We can either spend our whole lives fighting to try and be someone wish we could be, or merely accept that we are good enough.

My first and only major critique of this album is that it brought little nostalgia of the old Tame Impala records that I love dearly. I know that without its predecessors, no critic would have even taken the time to listen to "Currents", let alone give it an outstanding review. But this album is truly a culmination of what Kevin Parker has accomplished not only as an artist, but as an human, trying to survive in a chaotic world where he feels as if he does not belong at times. A feeling that most anyone can relate to at one point in their time here on Earth. Where this album lacks a true hit, it thrives in its ability to captivate the listener allow them to ride its emotions from start to finish. The musical change in this record brings a new start to Tame Impala, but it is certainly just another attempt by Parker to see if a change will work out for him. In this case, I would say it worked relatively well.

Rating: 9/10