The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000) / DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (1996)

In 1985, composer John Oswald coined the term "plunderphonics" in an article titled Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative. Audio piracy is used not as an insult, though, but as truth. Yes, plunderphonic music is sample-heavy and brings nothing new to the table. But it's not unoriginal. The genre at its best marries unique sounds into something fresh.

Recently I listened to what many consider as two of the best albums in the plunderphonics subgenre: The Avalanches' 2000 debut Since I Left You and DJ Shadow's iconic Endtroducing.... Both are outstanding albums. Both artists are skilled at using previously used songs and audio recordings to convey a theme. Often both albums are frantic, moody, and beautiful.

Honestly though I don't know what to say. I liked both of them quite a bit (preferences toward Since I Left You, but that opinion could change), but I don't know why I liked them as much as I did. Does it sound good? Yea. The production on both are stellar, and are testaments to originality. Good artists copy, great artists steal, and both DJ Shadow and The Avalanches are great artists.

Since I Left You - 9.5/10

Endtroducing... - 9/10

The Game - The Documentary 2 (2015) / The Documentary 2.5 (2015)

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LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010)

It's too much for me. Today I listened to this and Joanna Newsom's Ys. It was music to my ears, for sure.

I wonder if I got a different listening experience from This is Happening compared to most. Happening stands as LCD Soundsystem's farewell album, but as someone who hasn't really given them much of a listen, Happening didn't have that bitter-sweetness attached to it.

But I could tell that Happening was emotionally charged. It's a dance album first, and a goodbye second. Lyrically, James Murphy and co. aren't very complex, but they say a lot with simple words. I love the opening to "I Can Change" for example.

Tell me a line make it easy for me/
Open your arms/
Dance with me until I feel all right/

Juxtapose this desperation with the active, pulsating beats, and you've got great music. This is Happening works as something to dance to, but there's also a thoughtful, mature side. Not many artists can get away with seven, eight minute long tracks, but LCD Soundsystem pulls it off in stride. Surprisingly, This is Happening never gets repetitive. With every passing minute, it only gets better.

9.5/10

Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)

On Friday, indie Joanna Newsom will release her fourth album, titled Divers. She's certainly in my good books due to her collaborations with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, but after listening to Ys, how high does she rank in those books now?

Very, very high. Ys is incredible. Clocking in at a little under an hour, the album only has five songs, the longest one near sixteen minutes. Yet all five songs are marvels of storytelling. No artist I've heard sounds quite like Newsom. Somehow, her shrill voice is refreshing. Her harp never sounds like anything less than magnificent too... even with bare instrumentation, Ys sounds massive and masterful. I think what might make Ys so great is the songwriting, which is simply transporting.

Say "yes" to Ys. It's certainly too soon for me to say for sure that it's perfect, but it's a masterpiece.

9.5/10

Beach House - Depression Cherry (2015) / Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015)

The music industry is so fricken weird these days. Who would've thought that in 2015, we would get not one, but two Beach House albums? Thanks Beyoncé for starting this surprise album drop trend, I guess. Really though, it's hard to be upset about this though. Two albums by one of the most distinct and quality indie bands working today has never hurt anyone (except maybe my feelings, cuz Beach House does that to ya).

Deerhunter - Fading Frontier (2015)

The more I think about it, Deerhunter's highly acclaimed Halcyon Digest doesn't always feel inspired. But that doesn't mean it's bad, in fact, it still remains as quite an excellent record. "Desire Lines"? You know I still play it. There's something magical and eerie about Halcyon Digest that makes it unforgettable.

And considering that Fading Frontier is Deerhunter's latest record, I should expect something good, right? Fading Frontier is quite good, but its greatest sin is that it's very forgettable. Clocking in at a brief thirty-six minutes, Frontier unfortunately has no standout tracks to speak of. The music all sounds fine, but once the record stops, there's only a feeling of "that's it?"

Unfortunately, that is it. Fading Frontier sounds like something that's been done before, and done better. Frontier lacks Digest's gravitas, the pull that makes Digest an arresting listen. I hope Deerhunter's next record is something less safe and more inspired than this.

6/10

Travis Scott - Rodeo (2015)

Why should one listen to Travis Scott? Lyrically, he's pretty lackluster. But the production is fantastic- Exhibit A: the Days Before Rodeo mixtape. Rodeo, the debut album, makes for a fine Exhibit B. Rodeo has some of the best and most-unique sounding tracks I've heard this year.

We begin with T.I.'s voice as our narrator telling a story of sorts, a la Common on Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon. Opener "Pornography" doesn't really stand too well on its own, but it's a solid opener. "Oh My Dis Side" and "3500" are both bangers, but also a little lengthy. It's not until "90210" where Rodeo really takes off though. It's a mish-mash of influences, but it's fantastic. I was reminded of Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak, Drake's "Marvin's Room", and Scott's own "Don't Play".

Drake - So Far Gone (2009)

There's no doubt that Drake is one of the hottest artists in the business right now. "Hotline Bling", a fantastic track that feels a bit like a throwaway, is charting at #2 on the Hot 100, right behind Drake  The Weeknd's "The Hills". Not only is Drake himself present, but he's influential too.

2009's So Far Gone is Drake's latest free mixtape, because honestly, because even though I love this year's If You're Reading This It's Too Late and the Future collab What a Time to Be Alive, one should not have to pay for mixtapes. Hell, those two don't count.

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

"Where's the cardboard sleeve for this Wilco CD?" -Fletcher (Adam Horovitz) While We're Young

What more can be said about Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? It's certainly one of the defining indie-rock albums of the decade preceding. It's one of those rare, elusive albums that earned a 10 score from Pitchfork, which hardly doles out perfect ratings. Is it great? Oh baby it is.

Beach House - Take Care (2010)

This is Beach House at its finest. I think anyone's first Beach House album is destined to be their favorite (there's a lack of variety between their albums, I think). Anyways, this is my favorite Beach House album, by a large margin too. Teen Dream sounds wistful, psychedelic, and beautiful. Standout tracks include "Silver Soul" (which was sampled on Kendrick Lamar's "Money Trees"), "Used to Be", "Better Times", and "Take Care".

9/10

The Game - The Documentary (2005)

Since the first disc of The Game's hotly anticipated The Documentary 2 is releasing tomorrow, I felt it necessary I give The Game a serious listen. After all, he was fantastic on Dr. Dre's Compton.

The Documentary totally seemed right up my alley. The Game's debut record was made in collaboration with the hottest artists at the time (50, Kanye), and was mostly produced by Dr. Dre. There's so much collaboration in this album. In fact, excessive collaboration is what makes The Documentary so likable, but also might be its crux.

Julia Holter - Have You in My Wilderness (2015)

I love this. Before, Julia Holter is a name that would not have rung a bell. But her album, Have You in My Wilderness is one of this year's standouts.

It's thoughtful. Right from opener "Feel You", you can tell this album is different. The compostions are complex. It's like nothing I've heard before. Holter swoons and croons her way through vague, personal stories. "Silhoutte" is dynamic, and the back-to-back of "How Long" and "Lucette Stranded on the Island" work especially well together.

Jamie xx - In Colour (2015)

If you ask anyone who had heard the track "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" what their song of the summer was, they would say that was it. I know it was mine.

Jamie xx's In Colour is certainly one of the best albums of 2015. It's classified as Dance/Electronic music, but it's much more than that. Often I find music of that genre to be frantic and thrown-together. There's not much her lyrically, but this isn't Aesop Rock. Right from the first track, "Gosh", a voice announces "...Keeping the vibe alive!" and Jamie xx does.

What makes In Colour great is its minimalist sound. No track is quite alike - if you had to stick a color to each track, you'd have yourself a rainbow. Of course my favorite tracks would include the Young Thug / Popcaan featuring "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)", but I also have to give special recognition to the steel-drum heavy "Obvs", and probably the closer "Girl". In Colour is almost entirely instrumental, but it speaks volumes.

9/10

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)

I have no idea how to review this type of thing. Do I even do reviews? Hell, what do I know. Anyway, here's the lowdown on this: Miles Davis' 1959 record, Kind of Blue is kind of great. It's only five tracks long, but it feels like one massive track of sweet, sweet sounds. I have no idea how to review jazz, really. But it sounds great. More on this some other time, maybe.

10/10

Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (2010)

I love Halcyon Digest, but I'm not sure why. I tried reading Pitchfork's review, and though it was effusive in praise, but it offered little insight in what made Digest great.

Halcyon Digest's greatest asset is mood. It's sometimes ambient, and sometimes foot-tappingly playful. The album cover is dark and a little creepy, but Digest is quite accessible. It's almost poppy, but that's not a bad thing.

Of course some songs are stronger than others, but that's to be expected. Standouts were  "Revival", which sounded a lot like an upbeat track that Yellow House-era Grizzly Bear would have released, and the epic "Desire Lines".

Still, I can't pin down what makes Halcyon Digest so good, and what makes it fall short of a 10. I do feel I could've done without "Fountain Stairs", and maybe opener "Earthquake" could've been trimmed a bit, but Halcyon Digest is superb, unique rock.

9/10

Travis Scott - Days Before Rodeo (2014)

I have so much to thank Kanye West for. Somehow, his release Yeezus was what got me interested and excited by music. It made me realize that albums were more than haphazard song compilations, instead they could be something rich and cohesive, even if they have lyrics like "I be speakin' swagheli".

Part of what made Yeezus such a sonic departure was the no-name producer/rapper Travis Scott. He's a credited producer on three of Yeezus' tracks, and to say he has parallels to the former Blueprint/College Dropout era West wouldn't be incorrect. Like West, Scott's a producer and rapper with a sound of his own. He's also got a mischievous streak.

Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015)

Simply put, If You're Reading This It's Too Late was bound to be iconic. Even the dang cover is iconic, from its plainness to its chicken-scratch handwriting that looks like a suicide note from the Chick-Fil-A cow. But most of all, If You're Reading This It's Too Late validated Drake's status as rap's superstar. Only he can really get away with releasing a mixtape with a price tag (and do it twice in one year).

There's serious debate on whether or not This is a mixtape or not. If it is, it's certainly one of the most polished and well-done mixtapes I've listened to. If not, it's a worthy entry in Drake's album output. Even the wikipedia article for the project can't decide whether or not it's a mixtape.

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience (2013)

The most notable thing about Timberlake's one-two punch of albums is that they have a combined length of two hours and twenty four minutes. Even in separate halves, they are both seventy minutes or so. It's hard enough for a movie to justify a time longer than two hours, and even harder for an album. Is Timberlake justified to make music this epic in length?

Really, Timberlake can do whatever he wants. But The 20/20 Experience takes a hit because of how massive it is. Not only are the albums long, but the songs are too. Many of them are at least five minutes in length, but many of them reach to eight, nine minutes or more. The opener of part one, "Pusher Love Girl" is eight minutes, but doesn't feel as much like one song as it does multiple. This idea of songs composed of multiple different parts is continuous between both projects.

ScHoolboy Q - Oxymoron (2014)

ScHoolboy Q is an artist I haven't paid much attention to. He's not a socially conscious rapper like fellow Top Dawg Kendrick Lamar, nor does he have the husky aggression of Jay Rock. Q's kind a of booty rapper. He's the type of artist that moms use as evidence for why rap isn't music. And that's okay.

Oxymoron is ScHoolboy Q's major label debut, and it could have easily ridden the good kid m.A.A.d city hype had it not been delayed a long time. But as it stands, Oxymoron is a solid album. It's not cohesive and cinematic like good kid m.A.A.d city, but Oxymoron hits the target it's gunning for. It's chock full of bangers, from "Los Awesome", "Collard Greens" to "Man of the Year".

Besides the intense walk through memory lane "Hoover Street", Oxymoron isn't important or substantial. The broad themes are sex and drugs, and though there is quite a bit to be desired, Oxymoron is fire. The features are all pretty good, especially Jay Rock and Tyler, The Creator. The latter I haven't given much a care for, but he fits in perfectly on "The Purge". Highlight tracks are the frantic "Los Awesome", the bilingual "Collard Greens", and "Hoover Street".

7.5/10

Big Grams - s/t (2015)

Outkast is certainly one of hip-hop's great duos, arguably the greatest there ever was. But whenever Outkast is discussed, it feels like André 3000 comes up more than Big Boi. Three-stacks is certainly the more artistic and flamboyant of the two, but I (and a growing number of others) believe Big Boi, aka Daddy Fat Sax is a better rapper. Not many have a voice for the genre like Big Boi. He can spit fast, and make it seem cool and easy.

Though we haven't really seen much music from André 3000 in the past decade, Big Boi has stayed busy. His two solo albums, though not smash hits, are universally well-liked. This EP, Big Grams, is not a solo effort, though. It's a collaboration between Big Boi and electronica duo Phantogram, and it marks Big Boi's first collaborative release since Outkast's Idlewild.