If ever a band was made for year-end critics lists, it’s Radiohead. They’ve been releasing albums full of bleeps and bloops to high praise for more than a decade now.
I really loved the Radiohead of The Bends and OK Computer but their appeal pretty much ended for me there (though parts of In Rainbows were listenable). After a five year hiatus, the band released A Moon Shaped Pool last year to (shocked) critical acclaim. It landed at #7 on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop albums poll.
Tied for the ninth spot on Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll is Rihanna’s ‘Work,’ probably the least interesting song on her excellent album Anti. Anti shows up at #13 on the albums list.
Coming in at #11 is ‘No Problem’ by Chance the Rapper. His album, Coloring Book, was named the fourth best of the year. If this song is any indication, Chance the Rapper isn’t for me, although I’ve heard enough good things about him that maybe I should give him another chance.
David Bowie’s Blackstar topped the Village Voice 2016 Pazz & Jop album list, but he doesn’t show up until #8 on the singles list. To be fair, he shows up at #9 as well, with the album’s title track.
At #8 is ‘Lazarus,’ probably the best song on Blackstar, and given the added meaning it took on following Bowie’s death, probably worthy of a much higher spot on this list. Come on, Solange ain’t got nothing on Bowie.
Welcome to ‘Desnudate,’ in which Christina Aguilera embraces her Hispanic heritage by finding various ways to say “get naked” in Spanish.
The 2010 album Bionic, from which this morsel hails, was an infamous flop for Aguilera, coming after her career highlight Back to Basics and before her career resurrecting stint on The Voice.
Donald Glover is a TV god, as his stint on Community and auteurship of Atlanta make clear.
I find Childish Gambino more of a mixed bag. I adored his first full-length album, Camp, but couldn’t get through his second, Because the Internet. I like what I’ve heard of “Awaken, My Love!” so far and need to check it out in full.
