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Favourite shit of 2013!; All the entertainment forever!
Topic Started: Dec 3 2013, 09:28 PM (579 Views)
Granskjegg
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Eg e husfar.
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The year is soon over and we've had a great year of entertainment.
What have your favourite things been this year?
List your favourite games, albums, books and movies!

I'm going to list my top 5 albums (feel free to make a bigger list, but I like having shorter ones) along with my biggest disappointment and some honorary mentions.

I'll post a top 5 of gaems later on.



5) "Dream Theater" by Dream Theater

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After I got a Dream Theater album collection by Jonty earlier this year I actually became a pretty big Dream Theater fan. Their music is a lot of fun to listen to and it's just so varied. Their new album is just...a really fun album. I listen to it on repeat for quite some time and just loved every second of it from interesting riffs, killer vocals and fun drumming to orchestral and more ballady stuff. Simply a great album, and I'd even say it's a great starting point for anyone looking to get into Dream Theater.

Best song: "Behind the Veil"


4) "What's Life Without Losers" by Mikhael Paskalev

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This is probably the biggest surprise on this list. I watched this guy perform on a popular Norwegian talk show...and I was just hooked. Monica bought this album and we just jammed the shit out of it. Catchy songs, relaxing songs, stuff you just want to dance to and sing along to. Easily one of the most fun albums I've heard all year. Simply a fantastic debut album.

Best song: "Jive Babe"


3) "Meir" by Kvelertak

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Kvelertak are always amazing. Their debut was...just insane, and their follow up is different, but in a good way. It isn't as raw as the first one, it's not as heavy and it's more mainstream, which really isn't surprising. They write catchy songs that you just want to rock out to. "Meir" was just a fantastic and fun album filled with bangers and catchy songs with killer riffs.

Best song: "Evig Vandrar"


2) "The Tower" by Vulture Industries

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I heard the music from their newest album on the radio earlier this year...and it just made me go: Wow. It's absolutely insane. It's progressive. It's strange and it's just a fantastic journey in sound. I highly, highly recommend that you give this album a listen (you can find it on youtube), simply a masterpiece.

Best song: "The Tower" (also like the only one on youtube lol)


1) "Infestissumam" (yup I wrote it without looking) by Ghost

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Ghost are fucking superstars, the masked and nameless ghouls make incredibly haunting, catchy and gorgeous music. From ABBA like music to Blue Öyster Cult inspired melodies Infestissumam is a fantastically varied album with a brilliant occult twist. I actually think I prefer this album to their legendary debut..and that's saying a lot.

Best song: "Ghuleh/Zombie Queen"


Biggest disappointment of the year:

"Valkyrja" by Tır

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I love Tır, they've made some absolutely amazing music, but their last two albums have been a little lackluster, favouring a very fast and modern metal sound almost completely void of the sound that made them so special, hardly any folky elements, songs about sex and yeah. I just don't like it a lot. It still has plenty of good songs, but there really isn't a point in listening to it because it doesn't really sound like Tır. I feel like they're losing their edge and just going to release crap from now on, however I hope they release something more interesting the next time.

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In second place the second biggest disappointment was from another Viking themed metal band, namely Amon Amarth with their somewhat awesome "Deceiver of the Gods". Deceiver has a lot of solid tracks, but it just doesn't have the same fantastic feel as their older stuff has. The thing both of these bands have in common is that they've become very commercialised, and it's a shame, because the musical edge and excitement that came with their music has all but been swapped out with generic riffs and uninspired music. It's a shame, because I love both of these bands so much.


Worthy mentions (this could be part of a top 10, but meh lol):

"The Damnati" by Lucretia

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I'm not even blowing Jonty here, this is legitimately one of the most solid releases this year. It's an intricate and fun album filled with a fun mixture of prog and thrash. Sure the vocals aren't the best and some of the arrangements are a little awkward, it's a fantastic album, and when this album shines...man. It's fucking nuts.

Best song: "Salvation and Sin"


"Das Seelenbrechen" by Ihsahn

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This album is very , very experimental with some classic Ihsahn-y stuff on it, and then it just goes into noisescape and improv-haven.It's a very interesting album and definitely something worth listening to.

Best song: I'm not really sure...it's not really a song album, it's more of an experience, but if I had to choose, maybe "Hiber"?
Edited by Granskjegg, Dec 3 2013, 09:40 PM.
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Granskjegg
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The list of my favourite games of 2013 is rather short. I tend to play games a year after they've been released because I'm able to pick them up really cheap and I always have other things to spend my time with.

I wont make a ranked list, but I'll list up the games that I played this year and really, really enjoyed.

First off there's "Papers, Please". This is an indie game where you play as an immigration officer. It's a pixel game and the game is very grey and gloomy. It's set in this fake eastern Europe and your country is Arstotzka. It's a truly brilliant game and something very different. I played the beta and bought it as soon as I saw the full version was available. Simply a fantastic indie game.

Then there's the epic super over the top explody Tomb Raider. Man this game was fun and I don't think I've ever seen so many explosions in a video game before, you'd think it was Die Hard 5...except it doesn't suck.
The world is vivid and interesting and I actually wanted to go out and explore it. The controls were quick and easy to learn and everything just flowed very well. Such a fun game and it had me yelling OMFGSKJFBS THIS IS AWESSSOOOOOOOOOOME" a lot of the time.

And finally...Battlefield 4. I loved the previous title and I've already put in 114 hours and 35 minutes into this game. It's easily some of the most fun you can have while playing with others. The gunplay is amazing, the sound is AMAZING, the graphics are insane. The maps and the gun balance is also top notch...it's simply an incredible first person shooter and easily my favourite game of 2013...despite its rocky start.

Wow, three games, two of them major titles. Aren't I the gaming connoisseur. :P
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BigMac
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I'll go with albums as well, cause I haven't seen enough of this year's great movies to make a movie list yet.

5. Kanye West - Yeezus
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Yeah I loved Yeezus. Bite me. Kanye is great. The production on this was outstanding, even if some people hated the minimalist approach. I loved it. It sounded very clean and it worked great. "Black Skinhead" and "I am a God" are fanfuckingtastic, and catchy as hell. "Bound 2" is also really great, but dat video. Ugh. That video alone almost made me leave this off the list. But still. Awesome.

4. Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork
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At the very least this album wins for "Most Hyped Album of the Year." This is literally the first album I have ever pre-ordered, that's how excited I was for this. Christ, with the buzz this thing was getting there was no way it could be as good as hoped. And it wasn't. But just barely. It was still a really solid album. "I Sat by the Ocean," "If I Had a Tail," "The Vampyre of Time and Memory." Ugh. So many good songs. The guests all worked in a way so that you couldn't tell who played on what track, and that worked really well. I quite enjoyed this.

3. Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
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AAAAAH DILLINGER. Oh man, I had no idea that this album would be this good. But it is really their best album. It sounds focused, and every song sounds unique. "Prancer" has one of the best intros I've ever heard, "When I Lost My Bet" is perfectly chaotic, the title track seems like a James Bond theme, and "Crossburner" just sounds sooooo good. This album was in my car for a while.

2. David Bowie - The Next Day
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This one was hard to put second buuuut I didn't like it quite as much as my number 1. This album's announcement was the biggest surprise of the year honestly. But man is it great. It sounds like it would fit right along with Aladdin Sane or Diamond Dogs, and then at times sounds a lot like the album the cover is based on. This is so very classic Bowie while still sounding fresh, and it is packed with great songs. "Where Are We Now?", "Valentine's Day," "I'd Rather be High," and basically every other song on here is great. Listen to it. Now.

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
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Oh man this album was in my car's CD slot for like a month after it came out. I love Daft Punk, and I was stoked when this was announced. And it did not disappoint. It still sounds like Daft Punk without sounding like anything they've ever done. From the bombastic, funk-driven opener "Give Life Back to Music" to the outstanding "Giorgio by Moroder" to the dance track of the year "Get Lucky" to the classic Daft Punk house closer "Contact" there is no bad song on this album. All the guest musicians are fantastic, especially Nile Rodgers. These French robots are some of the best musicians of all time.

Honorable mentions:
Justin Timberlake - 20/20 Experience
A pop album full of 6+ minute songs? And they're all catchy and great? Awesome. The length does make it lose points, but I quite liked this album.

Black Sabbath - 13
Lots of points for making a comeback album that didn't suck dick. Not as great as it was hyped up to be, but it still sounded like classic Sabbath. A lot of people didn't like it BECAUSE it sounded too much like classic Sabbath, but fuck those people.

Ghost - Infestissumam
This album was really really really good. If I had felt bothered to do a top 10, this would have made it. But it just wasn't my favorite. But I have high hopes for this band's future.

Biggest disappointment:
Jay Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail
ugh. This album. THIS album. I really liked a few songs ("Holy Grail," "Tom Ford," "Oceans"), but a lot of it was just eh. The beats were...okay. Some of the samples were REALLY questionable (looks at "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sample in "Holy Grail"). But this album just didn't live up to the hype.

Very mainstream list, but fuckit. I like what I like.

Also, did you know that Buckethead released 29 albums this year? Cause I didn't.
Edited by BigMac, Dec 3 2013, 10:18 PM.
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Granskjegg
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Pretty shocked that anyone actually liked Bound 2, probably one of the shittiest songs I've heard like ever, lol.

And I should probably listen to that Dillinger and the Daft Punk album >_>
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MrMarill
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DAT STORY TIEM

Thought Lucretia was under Disappointments and I damn near shat myself.

Vulture Industries is indeed awesome, loved that album.

I'll do a list myself for games and so on later, too lazy right now =P
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Granskjegg
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Naww, man, your album was great. Would have been so fucking nasty of me if I had put it under disappointments. :P
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Volt
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Keep Moving Forward

Number of new games I've played this year: 0
Number of new albums I've listened to this year: 1 (The Damnati)
Number of new movies I've seen this year: 4 (Iron Man 3, Monsters University, Gravity, Despicable Me 2)


I am an exciting person.
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Snowman
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My favorite new thing of 2013 by far is Orphan Black, which aired its first season beginning in March of this year. When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded interesting and would probably end up being mediocre or bad. I didn't have any reason to think that. Just pessimism and a streak of bad Syfy shows (this isn't a Syfy show, but their attempts at sci-fi shows have been bad, so I didn't expect someone else's attempts to be better). But wow. The most amazing part about the show is definitely Tatiana Maslany's acting. So far, she's played seven clones. Flawlessly. Undoubtedly, she'll play more. And she's just so good at it. Even more amazing is that she wasn't nominated for an Emmy, but that's another story. Speaking of stories, this one is great. There's so much going on, but it all fits together so nicely. The first season is only ten episodes, and that's a good thing. The story moves at a great pace and there really isn't a dull moment. Excited for season 2 in a few months.
Edited by Snowman, Dec 3 2013, 11:18 PM.
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Romanticide
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I guess I'll start with gaems, because that'll be by far the easiest place to start.


Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS)

This is probably the most accessible SMT game yet. However, don't confuse "accessible" with "easy", because it certainly isn't. Bosses are obviously the hardest parts of this game, but even regular enemies can and will threaten you throughout the entire game. The feeling of "you can die at any time" is something I've missed out on in this series since Strange Journey, which was my first foray into SMT proper. (meaning, not Persona)

Story/character-wise I wasn't overly impressed, though I felt those aspects were a step up from other SMT games I've played, so I guess that's progress. The game looks good for a 3DS title, and the soundtrack is generally decent.


Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)

Even now that Pokemon X/Y are out, I still feel this is the best title on the 3DS. I don't know if I'd call this the most accessible Fire Emblem. I do feel its difficulty curve is a bit steeper than previous FEs, if only because the first seven chapters are some of the hardest in the game. It does not help your OP unit is one you do not want to use/rely on in the long run. But once you get past that it's relatively smooth sailing, at least until the last few chapters (FUCK Chapter 25 and its seemingly endless reinforcements), even for a newcomer to the series. The story is relatively disjointed and the characters are pretty shallow, though in all fairness *you* try and develop ~40 characters without making a game a bloated mess.


Pokemon X/Y (3DS)

Do I have to say a whole lot here? It's Pokemon. My biggest gripe with this game would probably be the small number of Pokemon the generation introduced. While I understand it'd be a lot of work to introduce 100+, it would have been a more fleshed-out gen Pokemon-wise.

But yeah. This game/the 3DS plays nice with my wireless encryption (DS didn't), which pretty much ensured these games a spot on my list by itself. I can battle, trade, and do all the wonderful stuff other people have done for years now.


Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (3DS)

Again, another game that has made a niche series more accessible. I wonder how many times I'll be saying this. The changes are mostly "quality of life" changes, such as including a log that keeps track of what's been said, a cursor that tells you what you've examined, and other such things. The only real gameplay changes would be to the penalty system: penalties are always 20%, and some wrong guesses are never penalized. In spite of this you'll still (most likely) get a Guilty once or twice per case because the cases are all ridiculously convoluted/change up on you in an instant.

The story is darker than usual. I wouldn't say it reaches Danganronpa territory, but the last case is the darkest in the series by a long shot. The characters are hammy/exaggerated as they always are in this series. Basically, it's an Ace Attorney game, but a bit darker, which is about what I expected.


Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS)

Well, that title is a mouthful. Anyway, it is far and away the easiest SMT I've ever played, though also one of the more fun ones. I love the premise; a technologically advanced city with deep, dark secrets is always cool in my book. It introduced some cool ideas that I'm sad to see weren't in future SMTs, like demon personalities and loyalty. Other than that, gameplay is normal SMT fare, which works for me.

The graphics are about what you'd expect of a 1997 remake, but the artstyle is great. The soundtrack is IMO one of the better SMT soundtracks, with some great music that works really well for this game.


Gone Home (PC)

A decent video game romance and a game that doesn't treat lesbians like stereotypes is more than enough to get this game on my list. These are two areas that video games quite frankly suck at (though I guess to be fair most games avoid anything but heterosexuality altogether), so it's nice to see one that does them well, at least by vidya standards. The gameplay isn't anything to write home about, but you're buying this for the story and characters, and possibly the soundtrack if you're into that kind of music.


Tomb Raider (PC, PS3, 360)

An awesome reboot of the series. Lara is no longer ridiculously proportioned, which in and of itself is great. Sure, her characterization is still somewhat flawed, but I don't think going from milquetoast to cold-blooded killer is something games like the ones we're accustomed to can show very well. Even so, by the end of the game I came to care about her like very few characters this year. Only Sam and Lonnie from Gone Home can compare, really.

As for the game itself, it plays like a better Uncharted. I found the control scheme much better, especially as far as shooting went. The platforming isn't anything difficult, but this is more of an action flick than platformer, so whatever.


Sid Meier's Civilization V: Brave New World (PC)

Maybe I shouldn't include this because it's technically an expansion, but it changes the game so much that it's not the Civ V you played previously. For starters, it overhauls an entire victory condition. Culture is no longer "plop down your capital, build the culture buildings, and wait"; it's more of an active thing now. You'll be aiming to export your culture as well as construct the appropriate buildings. The other big gameplay idea is trade routes, which practically ensure you'll be drowning in money and also have an effect on the new culture victory. Democracy is overhauled too; you'll now have a World Congress that functions much like the UN, except its resolutions are always binding. Doesn't really change the democratic victory though, which is a disappointment. Other victories are left untouched, though only culture and arguably democratic victories needed changes.

Of course, the expansion also adds new civilizations, most of which try new ideas. Venice is especially interesting (and can just roll in the dough for most of the game).


As far as albums go, I don't really have too many not-mainstream favorites. Haven't paid half as much attention to music this year as I did last.


Paramore - Paramore

You might assume this is just another pop-punk release from a band that has been successful in that genre. You'd be wrong. While elements of pop-punk are still present, there are songs like "Future", "Still Into You", "One of Those Crazy Girls", and others that deviate from it altogether. Basically the band has diversified a bit, and I think they're better off for doing so. Pop-punk is a young person's genre and you're only going to be young for so long.

As far as the best song goes, I'd have to say it's "Part II", which is a follow-up to "Let the Flames Begin". (which was also the best song on Riot!)


Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob

While you could say this album is a total departure from their normal indie rock/pop stuff, I was never all that surprised by it. Both their previous albums had plenty of songs that had a more accessible sound than their older stuff did, and I don't think it's a coincidence those albums are head and shoulders above their older material. They've always been moving in a more mainstream direction to me, so I guess I wasn't ambushed by an electropop album.

"Closer" might be the mainstream hit that everyone knows, but I'd have to say "Goodbye, Goodbye" is the highlight of the album.


Protest the Hero - Volition

I pretty much backed this album because I could. I would have loved to back at the vinyl level, but $45? No thanks. $10 for a digital download is more than fair, though. I'm not sure how I'd describe this album, except perhaps with the words "fucking crazy", but in a good and extremely catchy way. Definitely don't regret backing this.

Highlight: "Clarity"


The Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is the Killer

I'll be honest: this album is here mostly because I didn't buy/listen to a ton of albums. It didn't grab me the same way Miss Machine or Ire Works did. Even so, it still has a couple really good songs in "Prancer" and the title song. Maybe I just haven't listened to it enough, but a lot of these songs sound like the same song, which is never a good thing on an album.

Highlight: "Prancer"


Various Artists - Spectrum of Mana

Fuck it #yolo I'm going totally not professional with this one. This is a three disc remix album of the Secret of Mana soundtrack. Sure, I love the original soundtrack a lot (it's one of the very few albums/OSTs with literally no bad song), but most of these songs are total re-imaginings of the game's songs, many of which are in entirely different genres, and there isn't a single bad one in the bunch. And it's free to download! I'll probably buy the physical version at some point; this is too good not to support.

Highlight: I don't think there's a single "highlight", as such, so I'll just leave a remix of my favorite song from the OST, "Leave Time For Love"
Edited by Romanticide, Dec 3 2013, 11:32 PM.
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Granskjegg
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Volt
Dec 3 2013, 11:07 PM
Number of new games I've played this year: 0
Number of new albums I've listened to this year: 1 (The Damnati)
Number of new movies I've seen this year: 4 (Iron Man 3, Monsters University, Gravity, Despicable Me 2)


I am an exciting person.
Damn. There's a lot of cool music you need to listen to then.

Oh, and that Protest the Hero album is also something I should totally listen to. I heard a song from the album on the radio last night (well technically a rerun online, but whatever). Sounds absolutely awesome in true Protest the Hero fashion.
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Pwner
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So i didn't listen to too much new music this year, and most of it was rap. But these are the best 6 albums that come to mind, in no particular order.

Melophobia - Cage the Elephant
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This was a long-awaited album, as Cage's sophomore record, Thank You Happy Birthday, was so fantastic. For the most part, it's classic Cage. I do hear them trying to experiment more with this album, blending their style with various musical genres or the sounds of certain decades. One of the best sort of local bands I've really gotten into in the past couple years or so. It's awesome. Also Matt Shultz <3

Highlight: "Telescope"


Believers - ¡Mayday!
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This one was sort of an impulse buy, as I didn't actually know they were releasing this until the day before it came out. I learned about them through Tech, and they intrigued me so I had to buy this. Their shtick is instrumental music with rap/singing in the verses and rock-ish (or whatever style they are trying to emulate) hooks. They really are an interesting band and you should check 'em out if you have the time. The album itself is pretty great too, having no real genre or concrete way of describing the whole thing without going song by song.

Highlight: "HighRide"


Regions of Light and Sounds of God - Jim James
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If you remember the My Morning Jacket song I entered in a recent song contest, this isn't more of the same, but he is pretty similar on the whole. He IS the lead singer for them, after all. The band went on hiatus a while back and this was James's first solo effort, and while it is a little short, it's still awesome. There are light songs, heavy songs, slower songs, happy songs, it's the whole package. A little erratic if you're not used to this sort of thing, but good nonetheless.

Highlight: "Know Til Now"


Constant Energy Struggles - CES Cru
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Another hip hop one, this one surprised me. I expected to be good, but this one really, REALLY exceeded my expectations. I had been waiting for this for a while after they were featured on a couple Tech songs a while back, and I could feel them gelling even then. Newcomers, they switch verses like they're pros and you can just tell that they're good friends, even from just listening to it. Not all modern sounding either, as there are a couple 90's-esque tracks on this record, which make it even greater. Well worth the wait.

Highlights: "Juice," "Perception"


Something Else - Tech N9ne
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If you have ever heard me speak a sentence or less about music, you know that I love this man. I love him. He can spit slow or fast while not overdoing it and stays within his bounds, while also trying to push himself at the same time. This isn't just another rap album, as the title makes clear. This is a whole other deal, mixing genres and meter to make something that is good to listen to or great to listen to. That said, that's also this album's biggest weakness. Some songs are clearly better than others, and the songs that Tech tries to feature more famous people end up being undermined by their suck. Overall though, it is a great album that offers some insight into how experimental rap can really get.

Highlight: "That's My Kid"


Knock Madness - Hopsin
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Hoo boy. This one was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG waited and needed. Also a newcomer, he had become famous (or infamous) for fuxin' with people that were well into the game, such as Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar (whom he disses in reference to his controversial verse on "Control"). This guy does not give a fuck, and that's very characteristic of his music on this album. However, there's not as much "knocking" as advertised. What you do get is a nice blend of hood, gangsta rap and some softer stuff, guaranteed to make fans out of the people who were intimidated by his darker image in the past. Great album.

Highlight: "Lunch Time Cypher"


That's really all. Hopefully 2014 bears even more glorious musical fruit for us to sink our teeth into.
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LightningBolt
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I still need to listen to a few albums (Arcade Fire and David Bowie, most notably). But here's my Top 5 albums so far:

5. Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt

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This being at five has more to do with me not listening to all that much music this year, and the music I did listen to being pretty bad. But it's still a pretty good album. Probably their best in a while. Some really really good songs, and a couple of forgettable ones. Not exactly reinventing the wheel, but some good Pearl Jam tunes.

4. Primal Scream - More Light

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Wasn't really sure what to expect. I know that Primal Scream is most known for their weird alternative rock/acid house album, Screamadelica, so I wasn't really sure what to expect here. It's a really cool psychedelic rock album with some fantastic songs. I'd definitely recommend it.

3. Paul McCartney - New

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Definitely his best album since The Fireman's Electric Arguments. Some nice rock songs with a modern feeling to them. A varied tracklist with ballads, quirky McCartney-sounding songs, and rockers. I was debating between this and Iceage for 2 and 3, but decided on putting this at 3. Really cool album, and it's nice to see the dinosaurs still kicking ass.

2. Iceage - You're Nothing

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Awesome hardcore-ish punk, but with a lot of nice depth musically. Really good melodies buried under the chaos and noise on the surface. A real treat to listen to with awesome grooves and great instrumentation.

1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away

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My first experience with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and a delightful one at that. Best song is "Jubilee Street". It's very slow-paced and "pretty sounding" like The National's new album, but also has a great edge to it that The National's album lacked, mostly due to Nick Cave's singing. Best album I've heard all year by a considerable margin.



Now I'm doing anime because.

5. Silver Spoon

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Really nice slice-of-life anime about a teenager who goes to an agricultural high school far away from home after having a bit of a nervous breakdown related to what he wants to do with his life (and his parents seem to be snobby and demanding, which doesn't help). Some relaxing and often heartwarming stuff and some good laughs. The overall relaxing atmosphere is this show's best trait. Also from the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, even though it's completely different aside from character designs.

4. Kill la Kill

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This is only 9 episodes of 25 through, but it's good enough so far to get a place here.
Epic nonsensical action from the creators of Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking, and other things. The animation takes a bit of getting used to, but I've come to enjoy it a lot. It's about a girl (Ryuko) who is trying to find her father's killer. This leads her to a school ruled by Satsuki. So far the show's pretty much based around their conflict, with Ryuko taking on Satsuki and the student council in awesome over-the-top action. It's awesome, has a great soundtrack, and an interesting enough plot.

3. The Eccentric Family

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It's about a family of tanuki (three brothers and their mother), and it stresses the family theme pretty hard through the series, which I tend to be a sucker for. Amazing art style and a very big departure for P.A. Works, who seemed to do nothing but romcoms before with an exception or two (like Angel Beats!). It's a fantastic show from the creator of The Tatami Galaxy. Huge recommendation.

2. Chihayafuru 2

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Second season of Chihayafuru, and just as good as the first (if not better). It's absolutely amazing how intense the Karuta battles are in this show (the card game they play - no not a Yugioh-esque card game). Fantastic cast, great animation and soundtrack, and amazing karuta battles make this show consistently great. Really hoping for a third season.

1. Monogatari Second Season

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Da best. This airing season hits most of the "second season" of Monogatari (first season being Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, Nekomonogatari, and Kizumonogatari). Brilliant writing, my favorite cast of characters, amazing animation, and pretty much everything about this show make me love it. This season shakes things up by switching up the "narrator" on a couple of arcs (it was previously just Araragi). It's currently two episodes into its last arc, and I'm loving it. Probably even better than Bakemonogatari. On the whole, this arc seems more focused on solving the problems and just furthering the stories of the characters that were introduced in the first season. A lot of unexpected developments occur, lulz are had, and Shaft gon Shaft.
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Asfan
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The Sanest Fisher
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I haven't gotten to see too many movies this year but Star Trek Into Darkness and In the House were both terrific and quite easily the two best I've seen. (Unless you count Silver Linings Playbook, which I saw on January 1, but I don't think that counts.)

Only 2013 game I played was NCAA 14. Good stuff.

Only 2013 album I bought was Dream Theater and that was pretty disappointing.

Yeah, this year was too filled with school and Europe for me to do much new stuff. Don't feel too bad for me though, Europe wasn't all that terrible.
Edited by Asfan, Dec 4 2013, 02:58 AM.
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DucksFAN93
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Definitely need to post my favorite albums and disappointments of the year, and then I'll do video games and such when I'm not buried and stressed with finals...

Anyway, here we are my top 5 albums of 2013.

5.) Rise - A Skylit Drive

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This was an excellent, yet different follow up to their previous record. I didn't put much thought into buying the record as the first couple of songs really sold me ("Rise", "Unbreakable"). It doesn't hurt that Jag's vocals finally hit a soothing pitch this time around.

Best song: "Shadows"

4.) Common Courtesy - A Day To Remember

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Nothing but good things to say about this release. These guys are masters at crafting catchy, down to earth regular guy stories in their songs. I am also loving the better mix of pop punk and metal they brought this time.

Best song: "I Surrender"

3.) Ungrateful - Escape the Fate

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Epic album catapulted my interest in this band. I was hooked from the minute I heard the title cut months before the album was even released. Slammed my pre-order and have been jamming this one since.

Best song: "Live Fast, Die Beautiful"

2.) Hollow Bodies - blessthefall

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This is by far the best blessthefall record. The heaviness, variety, composition, structure, depth and more is all off the charts. Each and every song can stand on it's own, and it never gets old. The guitar work and drumming is nothing short of spectacular. This is absolutely one of my all time favorite records, and it is the best record of 2013.

1.) Fashionably Late - Falling In Reverse

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So why isn't blessthefall's record my favorite even though I think it is the best? Because of Ronnie Radke...curse his soul. I just cannot keep this record off my iPhone from playing, it's unbelievable. The mix up of genres is ridiculous, yet just fun. That's all I can explain, this record is just fun. And I haven't had this much fun just listening to a record in a long time.

Disappointments:

3.) 8:18 - The Devil Wears Prada

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Not that this is a bad record by any stretch, just not as good as their epic release Dead Throne. Some good songs, but nothing to write home about.

2.) Monsters in the Closet - Mayday Parade

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Again, not a bad album at all. In fact, it is really good. It is just disappointing because of how great their self-titled was. This just didn't hit the mark.

1.) Temper Temper - Bullet For My Valentine

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Oh no! What happened to you Bullet?! Gosh this was bad, even to hard rock standards. There isn't even one song on here that was worth adding to the "Oh man this song is awesome" category. Considering their last release Fever was my favorite direction they had gone before, I was pretty excited for this one. The laughable title cut is bad enough, but then they throw "Tears Don't Fall (Part 2)" in my player and call it gold. Shame on Bullet. The only good news? They are already throwing this crap in the trash and writing for a new record already.
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Vieira151
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Might as well do this.

Top 5 Albums:

5: Omb - SwineSong
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This is a fantastic piece of Avante-Garde Metal from Israel. If you are a fan of technically proficient musicians performing in a rather theatrical manner (those vocals!) then this album is for you. It's their debut, and I certainly look forward to hearing more from them.

Recommended Listen: Mother Gazelle Father Horse

4: Haken - The Mountain
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Third release by the Progressive Rock/Metal outfit from London, England. What is most impressive is the fact that they have improved on each release, and I hope that this isn't the peak of their personal mountain, but rather a point on the ascent. It's gloriously proggy, and carries less random but more concetrated bombastic moments, giving it a very well rounded finish.

Recommended Listen: Pareidolia

3: Warlord - The Holy Empire
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This one came at me by complete surprise. It's an amazing slice of Epic Heavy Metal. Has a very traditional heavy metal sound to it, and the songwriting is very well done. Unfortunately they parted with the vocalist, but I look forward to their next release.

Recommended Listen: 70,000 Sorrows

2: Leprous - Coal
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Third album from up and coming Norwegie Progressive Metal band Leprous. Compared to the prior albums, this is a much more... sombre affair. It has a mood and a tone, and it sticks to it, with mild variation. It is fantastically well executed and produced (by Ihsahn, who does a couple of guest vocals). A lot slower and steadier than their previous releases, this one also features a much higher ratio of clean to harsh vocals. And it does the album the world of good, as Einar's voice is magnificent and suits the atmosphere perfectly.

Recommended Listen: Foe

1: Moon Safari - Himlabacken Vol.1
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So. My number one. Why, you ask? Because none of the songs on the album I dislike. There is no filler in the 9 tracks present, and it's all fabulously eccentric Progressive Rock, with a huge influence of pop. The musicianship is top notch, the melodies catchy, the 5 part vocal harmonies beautiful and the mood has a lovely, nostalgic feel. I would advise listening to this album as a whole, from beginning to end, as it allows Sugar Band (the one I entered into a prior SC) to excel at being the album closer that it is.

Recommended Listen: Full Album


Disappointment from 2013

Dream Theater - Dream Theater
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As a massive Dream Theater fan, this album really disappointed me. It felt less flat and more dynamic than the prior (which felt all too mechanical) but the songwriting is just purely uninspiring. It does have some great songs, such as The Enigma Machine, but the rest (with the except of Illumination Theory) just feels distinctly... average. It's not a bad album, it just isn't that good.


Honourable Mentions for 2013:


Dreadnought - Lifewoven
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This took me by surprise. The intro to the first song is absolutely fantastic. It creates a wonderful atmosphere, that is very eery and beautiful. The rest of the album is also great, but there are moments that just drift by and you forget you are listening to it. Plus, some of the vocals aren't really my style. It's their debut though, so I expect great things from them.

Recommended Listen: Nascence (DAT INTRO)


Ayreon - The Theory of Everything
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I really looked forward to this. And it is very, very good. There is something about it that I have yet to get a hold of though, that would have placed it on my top 5. Has one of my favourite vocalists (Tommy Karevik) and an amazing lineup (Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson and Jordan Rudess on Keyboards, and Steve Hackett on guitar) but all the amazing bits seem too... spaced out, in between all the fairly good rest of it. It's also not as catchy as The Human Equation.

Recommended Listen: Full Album




Edited by Vieira151, Dec 10 2013, 01:15 AM.
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