Once again I struggle to find a Top 10 list for new albums. Because lets face it? I am not impressed by much. I really get tired of getting attacked for not being a poptimist. Yes I love rock music and rock music in my opinion is worth preserving. So if my top 10 list features old farts on it like Keith Richards, David Gilmour, Jeff Lynne and Lemmy? So be it. I love what I love. I keep hearing what a genius Taylor Swift is and I am just not hearing it. Which leads me to believe that only reason Ryan Adams covered her “1989” album was because she offered him a spot in her squad. I mean hell Mick Jagger was kissing her ass. He’s Mick Jagger, he don’t need to suck up to her. And, no, Drake has no talent and neither does L’il Wayne. Think about it, are we going to remember Taylor Swift, Drake, L’il Wayne or Beyonce the way we have remembered David Bowie? No, because David Bowie was a trail blazer. These pop stars make flat and vacuous music for shallow people. And Lemmy? There is no heavy metal without him. Well enough from an old fart like me. I am going to move on to my favourite albums. However things give me hope. Such as seeing two of my favourite hard rock bands Cheap Trick and Deep Purple get the nod for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well done and long overdue. The Black Lives Matter movement, hearing protesters chanting Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” really warms my heart to know that there are young artists making conscious music that today’s youth can relate to. Plus Kamasi Washington’s “The Epic” A revelation!!!
1. Kamasi Washington – The Epic
2. Keith Richards – Crosseyed Heart
3. Grimes – Art Angels
4. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
5. Slater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
6. David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock
7. Quarterbacks – Quarterbacks
8. Motorhead – Bad Magic
9. Iron Maiden – Book Of Souls
10= Alabama Shakes – Sound and Color
10= Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Alone in the Universe
10= New Order – Music Complete
10= Blur – The Magic Whip
Top Reissues for 2015
1. Various Artists – Ork Records, New York, New York
2. Yes – Progeny:Seven Shows From Seventy-Two
3. Roger Waters – Amused to Death
4. Faces – You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything 1970-75
5. Velvet Underground – Loaded: Reloaded 45th Anniversary Edition
6. Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti, Presence, In Through the Out Door and Coda
7. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
8. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
9. David Bowie – Five Years
10. Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
11. Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series Vol 12. (1965-66) The Cutting Edge
Top Single Tracks
1. Kendrick Lamar – Alright
2. Grimes – Flesh Without Blood
3. David Bowie – Blackstar
4. David Bowie – Lazarus
5. Keith Richards – Trouble
6. Refused – Elektra
7. Blur – Lonesome Street
8. Kamasi Washington – Final Thought
9. Slater-Kinney – A New Wave
10. D’Angelo – The Charade
11. Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian at Best
12. Mumford and Sons – Believe
13. Florence and the Machine – Ship to Wreck
Best TV Show – Last Man On Earth.
Favourite Movie – The Hateful Eight
Rest In Peace Lemmy and David Bowie.