This week’s #3 song is Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us,’ the fifth diss track the rapper released during his recent feud with Drake.
I had managed to not hear any of the dueling songs released by either artist until now, so I’m certainly not qualified to say who came out on top. That said, only one of the rappers scored a #1 hit with a song accusing his rival of pedophilia, so I’d say that makes Kendrick the winner.
Guest blogger Daniel continues his countdown of the year’s top albums…
Best Albums of 2022 – #5
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar
I vividly remember when this album dropped because it was the same day my family was going on a cruise. I thought to myself: “How will I be able to download this album on Apple Music in the middle of the ocean?” How could something I love so much cause me such an inconvenience?
All was good as luckily my parents had splurged in paying for some minutes of wi-fi in the interest of not ruining their respective Wordle streaks. Luckily, in this sacred time I was able to download the album and prepared myself emotionally for the journey I was about to go on both nautically and musically.
This week I’ll count down my favorite movies of 2018, two per day, from #10 down to #1.
This was the hardest top ten movie list I’ve made in years. I saw 70 films this year and enjoyed the great majority of them. It isn’t until you reach the bottom ten or so that I really disliked anything I saw (unlike actual movie critics, I have no obligation to see something I don’t think I’ll like).
Any of the films in my 11-20 slots could have easily found their way into this top ten, and might do just that if you ask me to revisit the list over time.
The movie soundtrack game isn’t a high-volume business. Currently the #3 album on Billboard’s soundtrack chart is Moana, in its 71st week.
But a handful of recent films have produced soundtracks worth at least a cursory listen.
The current big dog (or cat, I should say) is the Black Panther soundtrack, curated by Kendrick Lamar, who also appears on many of its tracks.
Lorde’s ‘Green Light’ lands at #4 in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll, giving women artists three of the top four spots. Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DNA’ rounds out the top five, giving him the best showing in a top ten that is split between men who rap and women who pop (plus Cardi B, a woman who raps).
I kind of get the praise for this song, though it by no means wins me over to the Kendrick Lamar cult. It’s more interesting lyrically and musically than anything else of his I’ve heard.
Meet Me In Montauk 