the top five albums of 2016

is it too early for year-end lists? do people even still do this? saswink's December 2015 tweet storm had me fired up. something else that fired me up? saswink's track-by-track Views review. i would pay to support that content.

"4 bars of pimp C? ate lunch, drank green tea, this track sounds similar. good feature by dvsn tho"

there aren't many things that i'm an authority on. but this year, i am an authority on marquee music releases. i broke up with my girlfriend. i ran on the treadmill. i purchased spotify so i could listen to the same 10 albums on repeat. music is a backdrop, blah blah blah, the soundtrack of our lives. i spent inordinate hours with my earbuds in, with my speakers playing. alone in my house and my life, vibed out on sound. i started singing out loud, regularly.

i could track-by-track dissect these but maybe that seems boring. it probably would be. we've all heard the music, we all have our opinions. instead, i'll list the 5 most important albums of my year and my brightest memories while listening. it was an incredible year for mainstream music:

 5. Lemonade, by Beyonce 

 i did not listen to this when it dropped. i still have not seen the videos. but in late May i went to dinner with my ex and she said, "have you listened to Lemonade? it's making me think about our relationship differently, like maybe something could work. you should listen to it." after dinner, i sprinted to my computer. for weeks, i listened to the album back to back to back to back. i lifted furiously. i burned a copy for my coworker. the next time i saw my ex i asked her about the album and what she meant by her comment and she was like "what? i said that? i'm not really sure what i meant"

4. Deluxe, by Omni















i saw this band at the Makeout Room. it was a Thursday night and i drove down from Napa and was reminded that i was still young and beautiful and part of the thing.
"pretend i'm someone else//pretend you're not yourself"
they played the whole album at double speed with almost no breaks and the whole show was over in less than 30 minutes and i was still pumped. the drummer invited me out for beers after, but i had to get home.

3. Views, by Drake















i was in my kitchen and i was drinking gin.
i was in my kitchen and i was drinking gin mixed with grapefruit juice, the glass raised above my head.
drake was playing, obviously.
below me, behind me, in front of me, a young woman danced. it was just the two of us. blonde hair skimming across her shoulders, waist grinding against my thigh, fingers tugging at my shirt bottom. as she performed i swayed numbly and let the words spill out of me, i knew every single one. i looked at the ceiling. the streets not safe but i never run away, even when i'm away.
drake has informed a huge part of my romantic self-image and that's probably not a good thing.

2. Blonde, by Frank Ocean















different party, same kitchen. we actually listened to alot of Young Thug that night but with a few months of removal i've come to realize that that album wasn't anything special.
we drank rosé from elizabeth spencer and then we drank tequila and then we drank beer and then all of sudden i was outside with this guy and i was pulling him close to me by his beltloops. and then i was feeling my lips against the roughness of his facial hair. it was exactly the same as kissing girls.

after that night all of a sudden he was feelin' it and he started texting me all the time and i was like nah bruh i'm not trying to fuck with you like that your body is soft and boring.

1. The Life of Pablo, by Kanye West















should i not say more about this? the number of near-spiritual experiences i've had to this music. the morning bike rides through the dark. the nighttime bike rides through the dark. shouting up into the sky.
you're the only power.
beautiful morning.
i just want to feel liberated.


_



who cares even i'm just shouting into the internet.
atm1