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CHIRP DJ writesCHIRP Radio’s Top Albums of 2015!
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio has been presenting its volunteers’ top albums of 2015. And now, here is THE list of the albums most cited as tops for the year. Thanks to all of our listeners and supporters for hanging out with us for the last five years...here's to the next five and beyond! |
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#1 To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar (Interscope) |
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#2 Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett (Mom + Pop) |
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#3 Currents by Tame Impala (Interscope) |
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#4 Ratchet by Shamir (XL) |
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#5 Art Angels by Grimes (4AD) |
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#6 Feels Like by Bully (Columbia) |
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#7 No Cities to Love by Sleater-Kinney (Sub Pop) |
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#8 Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty) |
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#9 Surf by Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment (Self-Released) |
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#10 Last Forever by WESTKUST (Run for Cover) |
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Honorable Mentions (The Next 10): 11. The Epic by Kamasi Washington (Brainfeeder) 12. Have You In My Wilderness by Julia Holter (Domino) 13. Summertime '06 by Vince Staples (Def Jam) 14. I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty (Sub Pop) 15. Primrose Green by Ryley Walker (Dead Oceans) 16. In Colour by Jamie XX (Young Turks) 17. Dark Energy by Jlin (Planet Mu) 18. Holding Hands With Jamie by Girl Band (Rough Trade) 19. Ones & Sixes by Low (Sub Pop) 20. Ivy Tripp by Waxahatchee (Merge) |
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Best of 2014 | Best of 2013 | Best of 2012 | Best of 2011 | Best of 2010 | Best of 2009 |
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I got a bone to pick: I don't want to read another think piece on this game-changing rapper again. I'm mad, but I ain't stressin. The production on good kid, m.A.A.d. city was annoying and trendy, in my opinion, so I couldn't get into it. This record right here, on the other hand, is sonically perfect, poetic interludes notwithstanding. I love this dude's voice, and his point of view is unflinchingly real. The funk shall be within you. Lamar is digging in, uncovering and addressing his heaviest emotions about being a black man in America in 2015, offering up thorny struggles with success, respect, and community. He's gonna win all the awards, top all the polls, and goddamn right he is. --
Listening to Courtney Barnett is like sitting with a friend who’s telling stories at a party. --
It might have been halfway through their set at Lollapalooza when I realized that Tame Impala are my favorite touring band. Besides having one of the most consistently grand live shows, Kevin Parker made a breakup album perfect for me in a moment when I was breaking up with someone and a city. His answer: dance your cares away. --
Because dancing is how we feel better. --
For as long as I’ve loved music, I’ve loved the Smashing Pumpkins. While a ton of bands take several influences and output a signature sound, the Pumpkins took their many influences and output a number of very diverse sounds: metal, dream pop, goth, and psych. Here, Grimes does something not all that different and pays homage to her forbearers to produce an incredibly diverse collection of tracks. Dolly Parton meets Real McCoy meets Madonna meets Max Martin; this is Grimes making music for Grimes, and the results are fantastic. --
More great rock from Nashville! Every year! Bonus points for frontperson Alicia doing time in town at Albini’s studio a few years back. --
Sleater Kinney's return to feminist punk after a decade of silence was the highlight of my January and seeing them live in the spring kept me going through winter. Such good stuff here! --
A painfully honest retrospective on a confusing family dynamic. The sorrowful sentiments expressed throughout this record will just about bring you to tears. But just as powerful are the moments that remind witnesses that growth begets rebirth begets beauty. Part of what makes love such a powerful force is our inability to fully understand or explain it, but with Carrie & Lowell, Mr. Stevens does as good a job as anyone I've ever heard, not shying away from times when love defies all methods of reason. --
Surf is the musical antidote to all of the bad news that came out of Chicago this year. Donnie Trumpet (Nico Segal) and a slew of musical guests that include Chance the Rapper, Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, and Jamila Woods whip up an exhilarating blend of hip hop, gospel, New Orleans jazz and other genres. The messages are strong and positive, celebrating self-reliance, family and community. --
This Swedish quintet might share two members with soaring punk band Makthaverskan, but what WESTKUST have going for them is a fuzzy shoegaze sound that still manages to deliver gigantic choruses, dueling vocal lines, and superbly-catchy guitar melodies. A new sound that is still exceptionally familiar. There were new earworms in each listen, and will continue to be. --Next entry: Kick Off 2016 with CHIRP Radio’s January Events
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