SIXTH ANNUAL AMAZY MUSIC AWARDS: TOP 10 ALBUMS

What a year, right. I know that every song or album we listen to affects us in different ways, so here are the albums this year  that made me laugh, cry, find my joy, express my pain or simply sit and contemplate. The purpose of music, in my opinion, is to move one emotionally, whether to elevate a current mood or to facilitate healing. These artists and their music have put a smile on my face, brought a tear to my eye and a couple of them even turned out to be pretty good sex music. See, music can do anything. So can you. Enjoy all of these albums, have a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year. Bring it, 2015.

10. AM Static - fDeluxe. The old group is back again. The follow up to their stellar 2011 comeback album Gaslight, fDeluxe dips into the past for this excellent cover album of funk and rock from the 70s. The former Family keep consistent with their sound while updating all these classics from Eric Carmen's All By Myself to Come Together, the Beatles classic. This is a cohesive, excellent album by a group steeped in Minneapolis funk.

9. It's The Girls - Bette Midler. The Divine Ms. M doesn't miss a step with her covers the girl group goodies that made an impact on not only her, but American music as a whole. Taking on The Supremes, the Andrews Sisters and, yes, TLC, Bette hits all the right notes with her signature take on classic songs. The real standout here is her melancholy cover of TLC's Waterfalls. Bring a tissue, cuz you are gonna jizz cry for sure.

8. I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss - Sinead O'Connor. After years of uneven releases, Sinead comes back with her most honest, hard hitting and pop-friendly record since her 90s heyday. I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss drips with confessional freedom from one of the most troubled, forthright artists of the modern pop generation. Take Me To Church is perhaps her poppiest song ever and 8 Good Reasons belongs in the pantheon of her greatest songs like Black Boys on Mopeds and Mandinka. A true return to form from the queen of brutal honesty.

7. Sheezus - Lily Allen. Never one to hold back, Lily Allen made the bold move to mock Kanye by calling her album Sheezus. Lily still kept her same sarcastic bite on songs like Hard Out Here and the excellent Insincerely Yours, but also expressed her softer side singing about love on As Long As I Got You and loss on Take My Place. Luckily deciding to record again after a self-imposed break, Lily's sound continues to evolve and I'm glad we have her back.

6. Nostalgia - Annie Lennox. The third and final cover album on my list, Ms. Lennox washes her luscious alto over every song she chose from the Great American Songbook to create a truly stunning work with Nostalgia. Her take on classics like I Put A Spell On You and Summertime will leave you with chills and her rendition of Strange Fruit is drenched in heartbreak for what is unfortunately a still-timely song. Every single track is made better by one of the truly great artists of our time.

5. ART OFFICIAL AGE/PLECTRUMELECTRUM - Prince/Prince and 3rd EYE GIRL. Prince never went away, as far as I'm concerned. Sure, he stopped writing radio hits, but he is still a genius of the highest degree. This year he had so much new music, including new jams with his band 3rd EYE GIRL, that he put out two albums at once. One, ART OFFICIAL AGE, a throwback to his 80s pop domination, and two PLECTRUMELECTRUM, a full-on rocker worthy of Purple Rain. I decided to count them as one because it's just not fair to everyone else to have to compete.

4. Morning Phase - Beck. To say that Beck's Morning Phase is a dreamy masterpiece would be a huge understatement. Every chord on this album drips with a melancholy California dewdrop. Waking Light is one of the most stunning works of the year and Morning will make you weep tears of joy. The songs evoke the psychedelic 70s with strings, guitars and Beck's subtle delivery lending itself to beautiful effect.

3. 1989 - Taylor Swift. Girl, you got me again. Songs so catchy and so poppy, how could you not love them? 1989 opens with Welcome to New York, Swift's ode to her new hometown, and from there on it delivers beat after infectious beat. Not so much a replica of the year Taylor was born as a reference point, songs like Style, Blank Space, All You Had To Do Was Stay and This Love prove you are not listening to your mom's older sister's Taylor Swift. Her sound is more full, sophisticated and her experience is broader. I'm loving the new Taylor and 1989 is a perfect aural demonstration of person growing up in front of us.

2. Food - Kelis. Sexy, funky and full of spicy lyrics. Kelis has always combined these things in her work, from the R&B of Tasty  to the EDM/club bangers on her last album Flesh Tone, but arguably it has never come together in such a fully satisfying way as it does on the retro-groove of Food. Influenced by her Harlem upbringing and her love of food, Food is soulful and introspective on tracks like Rumble and Breakfast, soft and sexy on Dreamer and funky as hell on Jerk Ribs. You'll listen from beginning to end and go back for seconds for Food.

1. Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey. Nothing really came close to Lana's Ultraviolence this year. Lana's debut album and its extension Born to Die: The Paradise Edition, was moody, pouty and offbeat and Ultraviolence keeps most of that and adds some truly amazing production and lyrics that draw you into her story and build on it with each song on the record. Lana's voice coos over first single, the 70s inspired West Coast and longingly hurts over the fantastic title track. As a whole, the album is a cornucopia of dreamy emotion. It's consistent, beautiful, naughty, dichotomous and beyond the scope of all other albums I enjoyed this year. My #1 album of 2014.

SIXTH ANNUAL AMAZU MUSIC AWARDS: ALL MY TOP 20 SONGS IN ONE EASY POST

Can you believe it's been SIX years I've been doing my annual countdown? That's just crazy talk. Anyway, here is an all-at-once post with links to the four blogs giving my top 20 songs of 2014. Suck on all of them.
16-20
11-15
6-10
1-5

AMAZY MUSIC AWARDS: TOP 20 SONGS OF 2014, 1 - 5

5. Thea - Goldfrapp

4. Waking Light - Beck

3. L8 CMMR - Lily Allen

2. Sissy That Walk - RuPaul

1. Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey

REVIEW: LANA DEL REY - ULTRAVIOLENCE

Lana Del Rey's songs are like the musical equivalent of a pout, and that's a good thing. I love her moody, atmospheric sound. Her debut album and it's extension, Born To Die: Paradise Edition, is among one of the finest collections of songs in the past few years IMO. There is always a lot of pressure to follow up a well-received, successful album. Lana's had a couple of very impressive soundtrack hits with the Grammy nominated Young & Beautiful from The Great Gatsby and the reimagining of Once Upon A Dream from Maleficent. Both are prefect for those projects and kept Del Rey in the headlines while she worked on her follow up. Well, Ultraviolence is here and I'd say it was worth the wait. There is still that pouty little bitch present on these songs, especially in rock-tinged first single West Coast and the hipster ode Brooklyn Baby, but she is smothered in 70s psychedelic California sun. There is a maturity in the music on Ultraviolence that was only hinted at with Born To Die. There is a sexy, adult voice coming through on songs like Sad Girl, Shades of Cool and the title track. Opening track, Cruel World, could fit quite well on Beck's amazing Morning Phase album. It is haunting and beautiful and opens the set with the perfect tone. Most songs sound as if they are daring Quentin Tarantino to put them in a film. Pretty When You Cry could lay over any scene in Kill Bill with its Hotel California-esque feel. Fucked My Way Up To the Top is a tongue-in-cheek song about getting there by any means possible with its repeating chorus of "this is my show" and is supposedly inspired by a female singer who criticized Lana for being fake, then stole her sound and became successful with it. WHO? There is still a lot of sex, violence, religion and fashion thrown in to keep the kids interested, but this is definitely an evolution in Lana Del Rey's signature sound, proving she is more than a one-note entertainer. So head over to iTunes and check it out for yourself. It's not exactly a summer dance album, but you can chill by the pool to this one.

BECK PERFORMS WAKING LIGHT ON THE TONIGHT SHOW

Beck's new album Morning Phase is a beautiful masterpiece (my review HERE) and it's single Waking Light is the perfect example of how gorgeous it is. Performing it live on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Beck easily entrances with his voice and the band it NAILING it. Enjoy and get Morning Phase now in iTunes.

REVIEW: BECK - MORNING PHASE

I'll admit, I have always been an admirer of Beck, but never a real fan. I have enjoyed his sense of fun in most of his music and the way he experiments with sound and genre. I usually take a listen to his albums when they come out, but have never really connected deeply to any of his music....until now. Beck's new album Morning Phase is absolutely gorgeous. It is teeming with strings, acoustic guitar and haunting melodies reminiscent of 60s and 70s psychelia. It's absolutely amazing. From the opening orchestration of Cycle it's obvious this is going to be a spectacular trip. Its slow, dreamy journey continues on through Morning, and Say Goodbye until the more upbeat, first single Blue Moon and it's pulsing drum and folksy guitar. Second single, Waking Light, is one of the most moving pieces of pop music I have heard in years. Chock full of sensuous harmonies and lyrically moving, Morning Phase is the best piece of modern day folk, psychedelic music since one of my all time favorite albums, Goldfrapp's 2008 album Seventh Tree, which by the way was released at almost the exact same time of year as Morning Phase. Coincidence? Yes. I don't think that means anything, but I thought I'd throw it in there anyway. Anyhoo, you MUST get Morning Phase. Pre-order it now on iTunes in anticipation of its February 25th release date and Blue Moon and Waking Light download immediately. It's a truly exciting and satisfying album. Listen to Waking Light below.