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