Friday, January 3, 2014

Favorite Albums of 2013

Second list in the same day!

Best Album From a Band I'd Never Heard of Before 2013:
The 1975 by The 1975
I am absolutely in love with this band and album. The first song of theirs I heard was "Sex" which reminded me of college very strongly and from there our love affair has never ended. I have no way to put their sound into words so just go listen to it. Really fun band
3 Songs to Check Out:  Sex, Chocolate, The City, Girls, The 1975



Best Pop Punk Album
Growing Up Is Killing Me by Veara
Veara did it again. If you are like me, and find the current lack of pop punk appalling and disheartening, you HAVE to check this album out. They make a strong argument that pop punk is not dead.
3 Songs to Check Out:  The Worst Part of You, Don't Call Me Lucky, Fake Blood



Best Album I Didn't Realize I Liked Until A Week Ago
Stay Trippy by Juicy J
This album actually snuck up on me. Throughout the year, I added a Juicy J song to my "party" playlist and then realized "Wow, there are a lot of Juicy J songs on here and all from one album". I am not going to say Juicy J is the best rapper in the game and I will gladly admit that he has the same cadence and structure in all his songs but man does he have some catchy songs. Also, "One of Those Nights" is possibly the song of the year for me.
3 Songs to Check Out: One of Those Nights, Scholarship, Bounce It



Best Hardcore Album
Sempiternal by Bring Me the Horizon
Yeah I like Bring Me the Horizon and I got no shame for it. I don't know much about the second half of this album but I can tell you I've listened to the first 6 songs on it a whole lot. Really enjoyed their keyboard/synthesizer sound on this album. Also, "Empire" is an evil ass song.
3 Songs to Check Out: Empire, House of Wolves, Sleepwalking



Best Drake Album
Nothing Was the Same by Drake 
I am starting to think you all think I have really bad taste in music which is probably true. I used to be a music snob but once I removed my shackles and embraced music I was taught to hate, I became a much happier person and liking Drake makes me very happy.
3 Songs to Check Out: Furthest Thing, Hold On, Worst Behavior



Guilty Pleasure of the Year
About That Life by Attila
"I'm a bad motherfucker, not a fuckin' role model. Fuck church! Hit a bong, nigga! Smash a fucking bottle! Got a few sluts to help me roll a few blunts and they never question me 'cause they know I hate cunts".
3 Songs to Check Out: Shots for the Boys, About That Life, Hellraiser

2013's 2012 Song of the Year
"Dat Dhere" by REJ3CTZ ft. Riff Raff

2013 Song of the Year





Top WWE Wrestlers of 2013



Usually these lists come out before the New Year but who cares. These are in no particular order (except for the first two).

Antonio Cesaro and Sammy Zayn
These two are lumped together because they put on a fucking clinic in the 2013 match of the year.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13hktl_antonio-cesaro-vs-sami-zayn-2-out-3-falls-match_sport

There is a lot of great shit in this match. My favorite part is that Zayn actually blocks the sleeper holds with his hands. It is such a subtle thing to do but makes a world of difference in the theatrics of the match. These two guys are artists in the ring and I am looking forward to their upcoming year.

CM Punk
Punk had a fantasitc first half of the year. Longest modern WWE championship reign in history. Best match at Wrestlemania with Undertaker. DESTROYING The Rock on the mic. However, his feud with Heyman marked the end of his fantastic year. He was relegated to feuding with nobodies causing the end of 2013 to be a disappointment for Punk fans. However, his match with Seth Rollins on the NYE edition of RAW has sparked hope in my heart for The Second City Saint.

Dolph Ziggler
Speaking of disappointing ends to 2013, Dolph Ziggler has certainly gotten the short end of the stick. He finally earned a legitimate title only to have it taken away by a nasty concussion at the ends of Jack Swagger. To make matters worse, he's been getting buried and it's not because of his wrestling ability. There is some nefarious backstage politics affecting Ziggler's carrier and it's bad. Despite all this, Ziggler is still the must watch performer of all the events. Ziggler truly steals the show and let's hope in 2014 he steals another title (not IC or US hopefully).

Daniel Bryan
While I am not a fan of Bryan's recent striking form of wrestling, I still think he's a badass in the ring. When he chooses to do actual wrestling, it's a thing of beauty. Also, this tiny goatman is so over with the fans, it is insane. I remember his first NXT appearance thinking this dude was lamer than Alex Wright, but, holy crap, he has come a long way. If the WWE has any fucking clue, they will give him a title reign that lasts longer than a week.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins)
These guys nearly did it all this year. Since their arrival last year at Survivor Series, they have made quite the impact. Roman Reigns is being positioned to be the next top card draw for the WWE; he is a fucking animal out there. Seth Rollins clearly has a chip on his shoulder and he is letting people know it. His match with Punk on RAW was great and the bumps this guy is willing to take are Ziggler-esque. I am hoping he makes it out of the WWE's treacherous midcard vortex. I love watching Dean Ambrose but I am afraid he is not going to make it in the WWE. He reminds me a lot of Punk (similar bodies, animated in the ring, great mic work, not Batista) and I hope that he can get enough crowd love to help carry him further.

Dishonorable Mentions
HHH
HHH and Steph have taken every opportunity to use their power to put HHH over as some great wrestler. On Night of Champions, there was poll for greatest WWE champion, and HHH was on it and The Rock wasn't. I recall Steph referring to HHH as one of the originators of the Attitude Era despite him not becoming  a relevant top card wrestler until the tail end of it. Jim Cornette put it best when he said "He is the guy that works with the guy who draws the money".

The Rock
His in ring ability has certainly diminished as well as his mic abilities which hurts me the most. Also, giving him the strap was a slap in the face. Everyone knew he'd drop it to Cena at Wrestlemania. It reminds me of some shit Hogan would pull which makes me sick

John Cena
I like Cena but he is clearly trying to get in on Daniel Bryan's spotlight. Bryan does not need your help Cena; he is already super over. Constantly name dropping Bryan in promos and offering him matches because you are a "good" guy just makes you look desperate. If you want to get DBry over, turn heel and actually feud with him.