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We’re collaborating with Band Booking Committee for our first show of the year! We’re so excited to be showcasing student artists and hosting JOYCE MANOR!!

Joyce Manor is an American rock band from Torrance, California, formed in 2008. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, bassist and back-up vocalist Matt Ebert, and drummer Pat Ware.

BravePrince is a Lawrence student and Lawrence treasure.

sex, love, see you monday.

Molly

I realized last year when I was drafting my Top 10 list that I just wasn’t prepared to do it right. There’s no way I was going to feel good about naming the “best” albums of that year like a big music blog or magazine. I just hadn’t heard them all. So I made a list of new records to me that were released in 2015 or earlier. And then I realized that the famous end-of-year lists are written by whole companies in which lots of people contribute. Of course I wasn’t going to put out a fair and unbiased list, I’m just one dude. Duh.

So anyway, I’m doing a few things this year. I made the following list of my favorite records that were released this year, each with a three-word review. And there’s a cute little list at the end of ones that I REALLY REALLY WISH CAME OUT THIS YEAR BECAUSE I HEARD THEM THIS YEAR AND THEY ARE SO GOOD AND I WANT TO PUT THEM AT THE TOP OF THE 2016 LIST BUT I CAN’T. I JUST CAN’T. I am making a tiny little zine run of drawings of these album covers with the reviews and my favorite songs. Check out my website [editor Mattie here, this used to link to a dead tumblr but that has been fixed] in a few days to get one of those if you’d like. I’m also making a zine of important songs. Every week or so there’s that one song that I put on whenever I have my headphones on. I kept a running list of these and added their title to a drawing on my phone until it became a squiggly mess of letters. The zine’s will also have some pictures from the year and drawings I made, sorted by month. It’s kind of cool I think. Check that out on my website also. And I’m making a list of my friends’ music that was released this year. For that, I guess friend me on Facebook.

Thanks for reading! I hope my list interests you and you check out something you haven’t heard before or re-listen to the ones you have.

10. Twin Peaks – “Down In Heaven”

Gotta love it.
Favorite songs: Holding Roses, Butterfly, Heavenly Showers

9. Humanshapes – “Fabulous Actors”

“Punch a dog.”
Favorite songs: Black Leather Jackets, I.W.P.A.D., Are You Bored Yet

8. Danny Brown – “Atrocity Exhibition”

Real and new.
Favorite songs: Downward Spiral, Ain’t it Funny, Golddust, Hell For It

7. David Bowie – “Blackstar”

Secret death, Guiliana.
Favorite songs: Sue (Or In a Season of Crime), Blackstar, Girl Loves Me

6. Kanye West – “The Life of Pablo”

Ultra light beam.
Favorite songs: Ultralight Beam, Feedback, Freestyle 4

5. LVL UP – “Return To Love”

Grew on me.
Favorite songs: Cut From the Vine, Spirit Was, Hidden Driver, Five Men on the Ridge

4. clipping. – “Splendor & Misery”

Nothing like Hamilton.
Favorite songs: Baby Don’t Sleep, Wake Up, Story 5, The Breach, True Believer

3. PUP – “The Dream is Over”

Catchy and angry.
Favorite songs: The Coast, Old Wounds, If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will, Sleep In The Heat

2. Behavior – “375 Images of Angels”

Testing your mind.
Favorite songs: North, For Contempt, Dry Swift Horse, 78

1. Pinegrove – “Cardinal”

“Walking outside labyrinthian.”
Favorite songs: New Friends, Old Friends, Cadmium, Visiting, Then Again

Honorable Mention

A$AP Ferg – “Always Strive and Prosper”

Rap about Grandma.

Albums I WISH came out this year:

The Hotelier – “Home, Like Noplace Is There” (2014)

Favorite songs: Dendron, An Introduction To The Album, Among the Wildflowers, In Framing

Alex G – “DSU” (2014)

Favorite songs: After Ur Gone, Sorry, Harvey, Icehead

LVL UP – “Hoodwink’d” (2014)

Favorite songs: Soft Power, DBTS, Annie’s A Witch, Primordial Heat

Roy Wood – “Boulders” (1973)

Favorite songs: Wake Up, Songs of Praise, Nancy Sing Me A Song, Dear Elaine

Elliott Smith – “Either/Or” (1997)

Favorite songs: Angeles, Say Yes, Between the Bars, Cupid’s Trick

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Edited by Mattie on 2023/03/11 to fix broken images.