Emerson Malone’s top films:

3. Spotlight

This 2001 period piece is an account of The Boston Globe’s titular investigative journalism team uncovering The Catholic Church’s extensive priest molestation scandal. Journalism is an easy profession to romanticize, but it’s not as easy to glorify. There’s not a lot that’s explicitly sexy about transcribing an interview or typing a story, but Spotlight makes it look laudable. Maybe it’s because truthful journalistic accounts are almost always more compelling than fictional ones; maybe it’s because Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, John Slattery, and Rachel McAdams are outstanding in their performances. It takes some liberties with the whole sensitive-reporting-on-sexual-assault thing (McAdams’ Sacha tells a rape victim who’s recounting a priest’s sexual advances not to “sugarcoat” it), but it still manages to pull off the seemingly impossible – making journalism look exciting.

2. The Big Short

It may not seem like a lateral move from directing Step Brothers, Anchorman, and Talledega Nights to directing a film about the 2007-2010 financial crisis and housing market collapse, but director Adam McKay undeniably makes it work. McKay has certainly put together his most intricate and admirable film to date, adapted by the book from Michael Lewis. The Big Short embraces the financial lingo integral to Wall St. trading and translates it for the common folk. It’s baffling that this film hadn’t already been made, as these arcane terms like “collateralized debt obligations” and “subprime mortgages” were the catalyst for the disruption of the American economy that forced millions to lose their jobs and homes. Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale all offer exceptional performances as those who spurred and directly profited from the economic meltdown. Spoiler alert: hardly anyone is arrested and the banks get a bailout.

1. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Through interviews with The Church of Scientology’s defectors, director Alex Gibney’s adaptation of Lawrence Wright’s book Going Clear is an impeccable deconstruction of one of the most enigmatic, made-in-America organizations. The documentary explains plenty within two hours: the life of founder L. Ron Hubbard; the religion’s inventive vocabulary; the Church’s current figurehead, David Miscavige, and the numerous allegations of his violent behavior; as well as why the Church courts celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta as members; and how it achieved the tax-exempt designation as a religious institution. This is the most compelling documentary of 2015.

Craig Wright’s top films:

5. Inside Out

Pixar continues its trend of making cartoons with messages worth crying over. Inside Out follows a young girl named Riley as she goes through difficult a cross-country move to San Francisco from Minneapolis. As she loses touch with everything she used to love, the emotions in her head (Anger, voiced by Amy Poehler, Sadness, by Phyllis Smith, Anger, by Lewis Black, and Fear, by Bill Hader) are forced to adapt to her new surroundings, and the movie shows that sometimes life isn’t all happy, and that’s acceptable.

4. The Martian

It may seem strange to say that a movie about an astronaut stranded alone on Mars was the surprise comedy of the year, but Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott made this lonely astronaut the funniest man on the planet. Damon creates a character that you can’t help but root for as he pulls out every trick (and then some) in the NASA book, always with a smile and quick joke to accompany it.

3. Creed

To say that a good Rocky movie has been made since 1985 is an impressive feat, but this reboot takes Rocky Balboa out of the boxing ring and inserts Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Rocky’s late friend Apollo Creed. The simplicity of the story is key. Creed is an amateur fighter looking for his big break and will stop at nothing to get it. The film revives what fans love about the original Rocky movies, but it stops short of being a nostalgia-driven film; Creed is its own story that successfully incorporates the past to tell a new chapter.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

There is nothing left to say about Star Wars at this point. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re either too stubborn to admit that a movie that raked in a billion dollars in 12 days can be good because (God forbid) it’s popular, or, more likely, you don’t have a passable excuse. The magic of the original trilogy is back, and it is strong enough to convert the nonbelievers.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

Never before has the apocalyptic desert looked so beautiful. George Miller returns to direct the fourth installment of the Mad Max franchise. He leaves the audience no time catch their breath or notice that Tom Hardy stepped in seamlessly for Mel Gibson in the adrenaline shock that is Fury Road. In a brutal chase across the desert, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) finds Max as an unlikely companion to team up against the warlord Immortan Joe and his half-life warboys to find hope in a planet made inhospitable by the war-hungry tribes that populate it. Shot with little CGI, the stunts are as shocking as the flame thrower-toting heavy-metal guitarist in a red onesie.

Follow Craig Wright on Twitter @wgwcraig

Chris Berg’s top films:

10. San Andreas

San Andreas is not a good movie. In fact, it’s actively terrible. But it’s terrible in that enchanting, earnest way. It’s destruction porn, with a plot to match.

9. Jurassic World

Sometimes, all you want out of a movie is to feel like a child again. While the adult in me likes World’s interesting evolutions on the Park formula, my inner eight-year old was just jazzed over some pure dino chaos.

8. The Martian

Lovingly idealistic, Ridley Scott’s adaptation of the hit novel was a love letter to human achievement.

7. Kingsman: The Secret Service

In a year full of slick espionage thrillers, my favorite ended up being this bold tribute to the days where being a secret agent actually seemed like a fun job.

6. Steve Jobs

It’s Aaron Sorkin at his most self-indulgent and grandiose. Steve Jobs is a Shakespearean epic about SIlicon Valley.

5. Mad Max: Fury Road

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie as widely appreciated and admired as Mad Max. George Miller’s return to the outback is like a movie out of a dream – massive in scale, humble in production and enchanting to witness.

4. The Gift

Joel Edgerton came out of left field with this remarkable thriller, which he both directs and stars to chilling effect. It’s twisted, smart and keeps you on your toes from the first frame to the last.

3. Dope

Dope feels like a portal into a culture. It’s a movie that tackles a rough subject with a light spirit and relevance. Dope bleeds style, and deserves to be the rallying call of a generation.

2. Creed

I’ve always had a soft spot for a good boxing movie, and Creed might be the best of the modern era. Even as it rides through the same path as the classic Rocky films, director Ryan Coogler finds countless ways to keep the experience fresh.

1. Room

One of this year’s strongest Oscar contenders, Room is a simple story told to stunning effect. Brie Larson plays a woman kidnapped at the age of 17, who raises her young son (Jacob Tremblay) in the one-room shed where they are held captive. On the son’s fifth birthday, they formulate a plan to escape. Told from her son’s perspective, it’s a hauntingly real story told with a child’s innocence. Director Lenny Abrahamson does the impossible, making a small space feel almost infinite. Every inch is given importance, and for fleeting moments you buy into the Stockholm syndrome shared by the characters. Both Tremblay and Larson give incredible performances, resulting in a brutally tense film that comes together beautifully. Nothing else in 2015 makes an audience so fruitfully invested in the fate of its central characters. It’s not an easy movie to sit through, but you’ll leave enlightened — feeling as if the whole world has changed before your eyes.

Follow Chris Berg on Twitter @ChrisBerg25

Alex Ruby’s top films:

3. The Hateful Eight

If nothing else, Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is the bloodiest movie of 2015. Being a Tarantino movie, you know some sort of violence will come up, but Eight leaves you in suspense as to when it’s coming. Not only is the violence gruesome and well done, the storytelling has so many twists, turns and time jumps that you’ll think you’re watching a Western version of Pulp Fiction. You really never know what’s going to happen next. And the people behind the characters who flesh out the intricate story are definitely at their best: Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins and others play interesting and fully realized characters. If you have the patience to sit in the theater for three hours, definitely engulf yourself into the claustrophobic atmosphere of Eight.

2. The End of the Tour

I have never read “Infinite Jest,” nor have I read any of David Foster Wallace’s many books, but somehow I was drawn to this movie about an interview done by David Lipsky with Wallace at the end of his “Infinite Jest” book tour. Maybe it was the performances from Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, who played Wallace and Lipsky, respectively. Maybe it was the movie’s minimalist production. Maybe it was the pure emotion that came out of each of the characters. After finishing the movie, I realized it was all of these things. Jason Segel pulls off the best performance of his career (hopefully earning him some more dramatic roles). The camerawork and lack of any Hollywood flair make you focus on the characters and their thought-provoking dialogue. It’s a great movie that makes the audience connect with the late, tortured author, even if they’ve never heard of him before.

1. What We Do In The Shadows

From the creators of Flight of the Conchords comes the best comedy of 2015 (absolutely outweighing Trainwreck) and the best movie about vampires in a long time. The mockumentary centers around three vampires living as flatmates in modern-day New Zealand. They have chores, go out to clubs and settle house disputes. The movie takes all the typical vampire tropes (nocturnal, blood-sucking, bat transformations, etc.) and turns them into laughable, everyday situations. The actors never force jokes, they come often and effortlessly. There are a few parts that are scary, but it’s all in good fun. The movie will have you desiring more New Zealand vampire antics by the time it’s over. One of the highlights is a standoff between the vampire flatmates and a pack of werewolves. You can imagine what ensues.

Follow Alex Ruby on Twitter @arubyrubrub

Emerson Malone’s top songs:

“Elevator Operator” by Courtney Barnett

In three minutes and 14 seconds, Barnett tells you about a man whose attempt at getting some rooftop fresh air is taken as a suicide attempt. “I’m not suicidal, just idling insignificantly. I come up here for perception and clarity,” says the song’s protagonist. “I like to pretend I’m playing Sim City – all the people look like ants from up here!” This track encapsulates Barnett’s idiosyncratic style – vivid imagery (“her hair pulled so tight you can see her skeleton”), a mundane-but-fascinated worldview, and a nod toward how an innocent gesture can be taken to overblown interpretation.

“Change of the Guard” by Kamasi Washington

Washington declares his salt as a bona fide composer on The Epic. True to its namesake in range and length (the LP clocks in at 2 hours, 53 minutes), Washington’s album shines with the same divinity of John Coltrane. This opening cut is a firm fixture on a truly epic collection. – Emerson Malone

“The Less I Know The Better” by Tame Impala

This track’s a funky jewel on an otherwise dour release from Tame Impala. Currents is a pop-oriented, sort-of sleazy departure from the band’s previous, richer and more introspective albums. “Less I Know” keeps with Currents’ break-up narrative. The bass guitar hook is potent, and the hallucinatory music video – starring a high school gorilla-suited mascot giving cunnilingus to a cheerleader – is a winner.

“Complexity” by Eagles of Death Metal

Before gaining an international focus from the Paris attacks, when 89 people were killed in the Bataclan venue during an EoDM show, the band released Zipper Down, its first release since 2008. With a triumphant opener like “Complexity,” you’d think there wasn’t any seven-year wait since EoDM’s last album. A potent drum roll, fuzz box guitar, and backing brass horns continues right where EoDM left off. It’s a real return to form with its tongue-in-cheek self-righteousness, as Jesse Hughes screams the best tautological lyric of the year: “It’s so easy without complexity!”

Meerah Powell’s top songs:

10. Turnover – “Cutting My Fingers Off”

Pop-punk act turned shoegaze-influenced indie rock band Turnover put out one of the most beautifully nostalgic songs of the year through “Cutting My Fingers Off.” Cleverly mixed with reverb-filled guitar and vocals, this track not only sounds great but paints a picture as well through lyrics like: “Losing you was like cutting my fingers off.” And even if you’ve never experienced the specific type of loss that vocalist Austin Getz is putting forth, it’s hard not to sympathize.

9. Camera Shy – “Your Only One”

Filled with overflowing bliss, yet balanced with melancholy, Lexy Morte’s innocently beautiful vocals carry “Your Only One.” From the first cymbal crash, this tune brings forth an unmistakable nostalgia – mirrored greatly in the music video filled with grainy, ‘50s era video of Disneyland. Packaged tightly with indie, dreamy goodness, this song was on constant repeat for me during the summer, though holds up through every other season as well.

8. Tame Impala – “Eventually”

Blasting out of the gates, “Eventually” is a groove-heavy wonderland. Led by Tame Impala’s signature blissful, psychedelic styling, “Eventually” is a feel good song for the ages that’s impossible not to pump at full volume.

7. Missy Elliott – “WTF (Where They From)”

The fact that Missy Elliott is still producing the hardest bangers at 44 years old is impressive to say the least, but, regardless of anything, “WTF” is one of the catchiest tracks to hit the airwaves in a hot second. Carried by Elliott’s signature pulsating flow on a bed of a drumline-esque trap beat, “WTF” serves as both universally powerful and enjoyable.

6. Grimes – “REALiTi (demo)”

Grimes released a more polished mix of this song for her newest album this year, Art Angels, but for some reason the lo-fi qualities of the demo seem to elevate the song to much higher levels. The demo of “REALiTi” serves as a light and airy, yet textured and emotional electronic track only further accentuated by Grimes’ delicate vocals.

5. Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”

“Alright” has gained a place on many a top 2015 music countdown, and rightfully so. Borrowing lines from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (“Alls my life I’ve had to fight”), “Alright” is not only a beautifully put together hip-hop track, but a powerful look into race, uplift and the power of community. In this respect, “Alright” is more of a modern anthem than a song.

4. Dogs on Acid – “Flushed”

Influenced by fuzzy, bittersweet 90s groups like Superchunk, “Flushed” is an incredibly fun-filled, playful track. With relentlessly pounding percussion and all-over-the-place guitar, “Flushed” is reminiscent of a montage of every great summer memory all rolled into one.

3. Fraternal Twin – “Boil”

Although only having a playtime of just under two minutes, Fraternal Twin’s “Boil” packs a sombering punch. This song serves as one of my favorite sad songs of the year, which is saying something. Perfectly mixed with ebbing synth, twangy guitar, deep bass and Tom Christie’s slightly apprehensive, quivering vocals, “Boil” puts forth an unavoidable feeling of sorrow without being cheesy or cliche.

2. Hop Along – “Waitress”

One of the most recognizable features of Hop Along is lead singer Frances Quinlan’s raspy and textured vocals and the incredible range they possess, which is the main feature that pushes “Waitress” to one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. Overall, the song is just about the embarrassment faced by a waitress who sees someone she has been wanting to avoid in her restaurant, but Quinlan’s extremely personal way of singing, along with the band’s instrumentation, takes the simple lyrical plotline to a higher plane. There is something very particular about the way Hop Along executes songs, and honestly there isn’t another band that could have better produced this extremely passion-driven track.

1. Deerhunter – “Breaker”

Inspired by a brush with death from a car accident, “Breaker” focuses on trying to overcome fear and trauma, and its probably the most beautiful and emotionally evocative song this year. The song starts off atop a rhythmic, groove-based bass-line accompanied by glimmering guitar, synth and frontman Bradford Cox’s signature charming vocals before skyrocketing into an almost impossibly good chorus. “Breaking the waves again and though I try / The ocean is strong I cannot stem the tide,” Cox croons in perseverance. “Breaker” questions will and determination in a way that’s downright poignant, but does it in a cinematic and untouchable fashion.

Alex Ruby’s top songs:

“Before The World Was Big” by Girlpool

“Before The World Was Big” is a pretty simple song sung by pretty female voices and backed by a bass and a guitar. Because the two-piece band only features those two instruments, the girls’ emotions are much more clear and raw, bringing out a desperation for simpler times. The simple lyrics, are mostly about nostalgia and trying to rediscover simpler thoughts of childhood. These components all come together to evoke that feeling and the end result is one of the most charming songs of the year.

“Loud Places” by Jamie xx feat Romy

In an album full of songs that sound like they could be heard in a UK dance club, this track stands out. It’s a song about finding someone to be alone with in a place that’s anything but lonely. Being a collaboration between Romy and Jamie, it definitely sounds like a song by the xx, and that’s not a problem because it could be considered as one of the best xx songs. Her vocals are both soothing and heartbreaking, but somehow it works with the dancey, poppy production.

“Feel You” by Julia Holter

Julia Holter and her voice are undeniably beautiful. It’s almost heavenly how well her sweet voice and elegant instrumentals work together. It’s also the perfect album opener, giving you a sense of Julia’s style and voice, drawing you in with every breath she takes and every note she sings. The song is almost dreamlike, mixing feelings of mystique, love and tenderness. It can be difficult to figure out what exactly the song is about but the feelings it invokes are clear. Her singing is so good that she makes normal words sound magical, like “Mexico” or “mythological.” It’s an irresistible song that entices you into an irresistible album.

“Sunday Candy” by Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

Chance the Rapper, Donnie Trumpet, and their full band brought us one of the happiest, cheeriest songs of the year. The lead single from the band’s debut album “Surf” is catchy from start to finish. It begins with only a jumpy piano and Chance’s distinctive voice flowing over the melody, then Jamila Woods’ soulful voice comes in. Just when you think it couldn’t get better, the song explodes into a full chorus and instrumentation and everything picks up. It’s a wonderful collaborative effort that’s worthy of being representative of The Social Experiment itself. There’s just so many elements to it, from Woods’ lovely hook to Chance’s flow to the drums to all the other instruments combining to form a unique work of art from the best Chicago has to offer right now.

“Souvenir” by Milo feat Hemlock Ernst

Milo is a very weird underground hip-hop artist. His producer, Kenny Segal, doesn’t use typical beats, his lyrics aren’t simple, and his references are always off the wall. “Souvenir” is a perfect example of the “lazy theologian’s” uniqueness which brings together tantalizing production, layers of lyrics and a feature from Hemlock Ernst (also known as Sam Herring from Future Islands). But this isn’t even Milo’s best track, the real highlight is witnessing the perfect flow from Hemlock Ernst. He says it himself in the song that he’s trying to copy Milo and it’s evident with his smooth flow and postmodernist references. Hemlock and Milo go so well together that it’s hard to believe that Hemlock is part of a synth pop indie band. The lyrics that the two recite are so deep and layered that they’ll make you want to revisit the song to find the hidden meaning. It’s a great example of Milo’s work and a reference for the rest of the layered and diverse album.

Daniel Bromfield’s top songs:

10. “No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross” by Sufjan Stevens

Of all the songs on Sufjan Stevens’ confessional Carrie & Lowell, this is perhaps the bravest, in part because the intensely self-destructive behavior he details here threatens to undermine his angelic boy-scout persona. As it turns out, it does. But even more impressively, “No Shade” justifies this by making it very clear that the true Sufjan was never that character in the first place.

9. “Alma Do Meu Pai” by DJ Firmenza

The Portuguese dance genre batida is known for its exuberance – it’s pure party music. On “Alma Do Meu Pai,” young producer DJ Firmeza reimagines it as art music that has more in common with the endless, gradually shifting loops of Steve Reich or Philip Glass than anything else booming out of Lisbon’s clubs.

8. “Best Friend” by Young Thug

Young Thug dips into about 10 different flows on “Best Friend,” and though it’s not entirely clear what the song is about, it makes no less sense than, say, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In fact, it’s rare for a three-minute pop song to be as consistently surprising as this one, and I still hear new things every time I put it on.

7. “At Your Best (You Are Love)” by Frank Ocean

Adding to the pain of still not having a new Frank Ocean album is this devastating Isley Brothers cover, delivered over only a light keyboard. His stratospheric high notes are showy, but when he hits them you’re less likely to be awed by his talent than to be moved by the sheer emotion he conveys.

6. “Jumpman” by Drake & Future

Simply put, “Jumpman” has the best pop hook of the year. Its mesmerizing repetition comes as close as possible to getting at the great nothing at the core of pop music. It’s proof more than any other song in 2015 that writing a “banger” is just as much of an art as writing a pop song.

5. “No Sleeep” by Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson’s claim to being “the queen of insomnia” on “No Sleeep” might be cringe-inducing if it didn’t perfectly encapsulate her swagger on the lead single from her fantastic new album Unbreakable. It’s a relief to hear an artist with leanings as excessive as Jackson’s deliver a song so economical. Her voice is understated but still commands power, and the same could be said of the loping beat, one of the best from her longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

4. “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” by Jamie xx feat. Young Thug & Popcaan

Who knew such a motley crew of artists – an oddball Southern MC, a Jamaican dancehall star, and a former member of Brit indie pop act the xx – would make the year’s best party song? Popcaan provides a modest hook with his sonorous baritone as xx stabs out neon chords and chops up soul samples. But it’s Young Thug who steals the show, crowing, “I’ma ride in that pussy like a stroller,” as if he’s transcended to godhood.

3. “I Haven’t Been Everywhere But It’s On My List” by DJ Koze

The only original production on DJ Koze’s contribution to the DJ-Kicks mix series starts out as casual, sample-driven, instrumental hip hop. But then the sample begins to convulse, as if it’s sobbing. As the song is about to peak, a pitch-shifted keen, the single most heartrending sound I’ve heard on a record this year, shoots from the background. By the time the beat snaps back in, what started as simple chill-out music has blossomed into a sentimental journey.

2. “Mascara” by Jazmine Sullivan

Jazmine Sullivan is one of R&B’s best songwriters, keenly empathizing with the three-dimensional characters she creates. The protagonist of“Mascara” goes through life on looks alone, and the core question of the song is – well, if it works for her, why shouldn’t she? “Don’t I deserve to be privileged?” she screams, implying a wealth of pain behind the meticulous surface of a character who a lesser songwriter might have treated as a cartoon. All this happens over chord changes so gorgeous its almost painful.

1. “Jugg” by Fetty Wap

“Jugg” didn’t have to be this emotional, but it’s better for it. It’s a pop-rap song about teaching a girl how to sling drugs. It’s also the rawest and most balls-out, soulful vocal performance of the year. Listen to how Fetty’s voice slurs as he starts the first verse before locking into an incredible vibrato, or how he switches to a macho growl to let his girl know she “ain’t fuckin’ with no scrub.” By itself, “Jugg” feels ecstatic and is an enthusiastic championing of the drug-dealer life. But its parent album Fetty Wap is filled with desperate songs that make it clear he wants to get out of this life as best he can and that his connections to his crew and girlfriend are the only things keeping him sane. In this context, “Jugg” isn’t an advertisement — it’s a cry of desperation.

Craig Wright’s top songs:

5. “Bad Blood” by Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams covered all of Taylor Swift’s monster hit 1989, entirely reimagining every song on the album, and in this case, transforming the weakest track on Swift’s album into the strongest track to emerge from either version. Adams proves the universality of Swift’s songwriting, making songs written by a 25 year old woman as believable as when performed by a middle aged man.

4. “English Tongue” by Palma Violets

Propelled by a simple guitar and piano riff, Palma Violets wrote the most straight forward rock song of the year, filled with a simple guitar and piano riff and a chant-along bridge. The simplicity of the guitar solos are fueled by the raw energy of the band before climaxing with

3. “Bored In The USA” by Father John Misty

2. “Too Late To Die Young” by Beach Slang

“Too young to die, too late to die young,” James Alex sings in this haunting song. Alex is accompanied by strings and a light piano while he gently strums an acoustic guitar. As a 41-year old receiving a legitimate second chance at a rock ‘n’ roll life (he was formerly in the band Weston), Alex sings about being in the awkward stage of life where it is easy to quit chasing your dreams, but he refuses, finding comfort in the only place he knows — on stage surrounded by friends and family.

1. “West Coast” by FIDLAR

Zac Carper is lucky to be alive. After surviving multiple overdoses and kicking drugs (meth, heroin and cocaine to name a few) and alcohol for good, Carper wrote the ultimate drugged anthem about dropping out of school and taking a destructive road trip up the West Coast—where, apparently, “you can’t buy liquor in Oregon.” The song flies by, feeling like a patched together series of hazily recalled memories and a desperate desire to escape the suburbs. It mixes an anthemic punk singalong with the insanely catchy bridge about deciding to stay high and dangerous rather than living a life of safety and boredom. Luckily for listeners, Carper came close to death enough times that he chose safety, hopefully promising strong future albums, such as this year’s Too and FIDLAR’s 2013 self titled debut album.

To wrap up the best of 2015, the Emerald arts and culture desk highlights the best albums of 2015, with each writer’s personal top albums.

Listen to the Spotify playlist here:

Best Albums 2015

Emerson Malone’s top albums:

5. Star Wars – Wilco

In Star Wars, Wilco isn’t as self-serious and the stakes feel much lower lower. Nonetheless, there’s still plenty of quintessential Wilco-ness in this 33-minute expedition. Nels Cline is still an undeniable guitarist and Jeff Tweedy still reminds you that he’s lonely (which he’s probably said aloud more than anyone else in the music industry). The record swivels from its jarring opener “EKG” to fuzzy glam-rock cuts that recall T. Rex, like “Random Name Generator” to softer ballads, like “Magnetized.” Despite its spontaneous release, this isn’t some EP of haphazardly assembled studio tracks; it’s another exceptional chapter in the epic Wilco saga.

4. Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens

Despite the interminable melancholy, there isn’t a moment on C&L that sounds pitiful, or even self-indulgent. In “Fourth of July” Sufjan has a conversation with his mother, soon before she died in 2013: “Did you get enough love, my little dove / Why do you cry?” His wispy vocals over the subdued pulse of “John My Beloved” frames his grief: ” There’s only a shadow of me; in a manner of speaking I’m dead.” C&L doesn’t have the orchestral frills of Illinoise and The Avalanche, nor does it share any DNA with the maximalist cyborg-explosion of 2010’s Age of Adz. Sufjan’s ninth album is probably his greatest. Most people would keep this sort of intimate, revealing look into their innermost struggle to themselves; luckily for us all, Sufjan chose to share it.

3. Divers – Joanna Newsom

Divers is an overhaul of beauty. The lyrics are toweringly dense, with references to Dutch masters, Ozymandias and James Joyce and the lush, baroque-pop arrangements — with harp, piano, bells and brass — are radiant. The closing track, “Time, As a Symptom” shares the album’s thesis: “Time is not a symptom of love / Love is a symptom of time.” It clocks in at 52 minutes, but this album could be on repeat for hours, and you would still find more to unpack and discover. It defies easy explanation. In other words, it’s a Joanna Newsom record. You won’t find Divers on the Spotify playlist above, as you’d might’ve guessed, since earlier this year Newsom called the service the “banana of the music industry.”

2. Grey Tickles, Black Pressure – John Grant

The title comes from a clunky translation of “mid-life crisis” (grey tickles) in Icelandic, and “nightmare” (black pressure) in Turkish. Grant’s honeyed baritone conveys his bombastic hubris, and his bleak worldview is on full display here. Sonically, the album is as bipolar and erratic as the character Grant puts on, from the eardrum-blasting cut “You and Him” with The Dresden Doll’s Amanda Palmer, to the funky “Disappointing” and the glacially paced “Global Warming,” in which Grant claims that the climate change is “ruining his fair complexion.” Truly, the only unifying element to Grey Tickles is Grant’s demented sense of humor. This irate manifesto is produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Swans).

1. Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett

The Aussie singer-songwriter knits more anecdotes into this album than some musicians can squeeze into their whole career. In her articulate, languid tone, she spins tales within 11 tracks that wander between the road anxiety of a weary driver (“Dead Fox,” in which she calls the carrion sculptures of road kill “taxidermied kangaroos” and “possum Jackson Pollack”) and an anthem for thirty-somethings who struggle with being invited to an outing, but can’t summon the energy to make it: “I wanna go out, but I want to stay home!” (“No One Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party”) Barnett’s vivid writing is impeccable, and her highly original voice finds a profound depth in the most mundane of subjects.

Craig Wright’s top albums:

5. No Cities To Love – Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney disbanded in 2006 after The Woods, which (in my opinion) is among the strongest rock albums of all time. Luckily, its return record packs the typical S-K punch of drop tuned guitars and politically charged lyrics by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein backed by the Earth-rattling drumming of Janet Weiss. From the opening notes of “Price Tag,” it’s clear that S-K returned to its world in full form, but with a more mature sound than ever before.

4. The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us – Beach Slang

James Alex is the rare breed of songwriter who can, in the span of a 28-minute album, write charged punk songs worth moshing to (“Ride The Wild Haze”), radio-friendly rock songs begging to break out (“Bad Art And Weirdo Ideas), and disillusioned ballads about mortality and loneliness (“Too Late To Die Young”). Think the Replacements meet the Japandroids and Jawbreaker. The depth and bleeding honesty of Beach Slang translates to a well-written rock ‘n’ roll manifesto about finding your place in the world through music. It’s the most fun you can have with an album this year.

Check out the Emerald’s feature story on Beach Slang here.

3. I Love You, Honeybear – Father John Misty

Father John Misty is the unapologetic character of former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman who writes sonically stunning love songs that blend apocalyptic imagery with the saving grace of love (and lots of sex and drugs). Each song sounds vastly different than any other, yet they all flow together seamlessly, aided by a healthy dose of blatant sarcasm. Tillman pokes fun at the idea that most people’s biggest problem in the U.S.A. is the fight against boredom in the forlorn centerpiece, “Bored In The USA.”

2. Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens

Often armed with little more than an acoustic guitar and his haunted-whisper singing style, Sufjan Stevens relives the heartbreak and abandonment he experienced as a young child from his bipolar and schizophrenic mother as she battled drug addiction. The lyrics and music serve as foils to each other on many songs, as the music shields the dark undertones of the lyrical content. Many of the songs nod to Oregon, where his spent time with his mother as a child, including the thoughtful “Eugene,” and “All Of Me Wants All Of You,” in which Sufjan sits on Spencer’s Butte. This is an album that can completely envelop you in its world until it calmly fades into nothing at the finale, returning us to the world that Stevens has so gracefully created an escape from.

1. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett

Few artists can make the mundane seem like an overwhelming existential crisis. Whether she’s contemplating her future after seeing cracks in a wall (“An Illustration Of Loneliness”), agonizing over whether she should buy organic vegetables (“Dead Fox”) or attempting to impress a fellow swimmer and passing out (“Aqua Profunda”), the asthmatic Australian Courtney Barnett created a masterpiece with Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. The songs breathe life into issues both great and tiny, with “Kim’s Caravan” calling for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef, and the album’s emotional highlight of “Depreston,” in which Barnett decides she would rather destroy the deceased estate property she is looking to buy than begin a new life in the home. Barnett sings “Put me on a pedestal, I’ll only disappoint you / Tell me I’m exceptional, I promise to exploit you” in “Pedestrian At Best.” Despite running the risk of being exploited, this is an exceptional album from one of the brightest songwriters around.

Honorable Mentions: Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes; The Waterfall – My Morning Jacket; To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar; Painted Shut – Hop Along; Too – FIDLAR.

Daniel Bromfield’s top albums:

5. Archy Marshall – A New Place 2 Drown

Ostensibly a low-stakes beat tape designed to accompany a book and movie, A New Place 2 Drown nonetheless encapsulates the world Marshall’s spent his entire career trying to create. The King Krule mastermind’s first album under his birth name uses cloudy house chords and clanking, evocative percussion to create a sense of everyday awe, the kind you get from walking down the street stoned and noticing small, quotidian shit you’d normally pass by.

4. Dirty Sprite 2 – Future

Atlanta rapper Future’s third and easily best album balances ugliness with smoothness, misery with pop smarts, ennui with energy. There’s something repulsive even in its poppiest moments, if only because the mere idea of partying to this unhappy music is enough to make one feel a bit gross. But it’s hard not to zone out to Future’s ambient monotone and the spacious cathedrals of sound behind him – not to mention the hooks around every turn.

3. Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show

An unlikely miracle from a still-young Philadelphia singer-songwriter who supposedly quit the industry after releasing two cult albums in the late ‘00s. Sullivan’s a whip-smart songwriter with an sardonic sense of humor, and she’s in character-portrait mode here, giving us enough detail to feel like we know the people she’s singing about but withholding enough for us to make our own decisions about whether we should root for them or not.

2. DJ Koze – DJ-Kicks

DJ Koze’s sense of humor about his art is what makes him one of the most engaging contemporary dance producers. On this 70-minute mix, Koze throws together styles wantonly, wrings pathos out of a William Shatner monologue, and rambles endlessly. The only original composition here, “I Haven’t Been Everywhere But It’s On My List,” features the most devastating vocal sample I’ve heard this year – which, according to the video, was made by an opera-singing T-Rex. Koze can instill profound emotion in his audience, but he’d ultimately rather us all have a good time.

1. Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap

Fetty Wap is hip-hop’s most affable humanist. His breakthrough hit “Trap Queen” is a rapturous ode to the girl he loves and slings drugs with, delivered in a muscular vibrato that’s more emotional than it has any right to be, and most of his other songs are about either her or his Remy Boyz crew. We get a sense of the gravity of these human connections from the music on his self-titled debut. This is an album about the friendships that offer the only respite from the harsh reality of having to sell drugs for a living. The sense is that without his friends and his Trap Queen to keep him sane, his spirits wouldn’t be as high. This is an album about making the best of a bad situation and finding happiness in the midst of pain – a contrast embodied in that incredible, quavering voice of his.

Honorable mentions: A New Place 2 Drown by Archy Marshall, Barter 6 by Young Thug, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside by Earl Sweatshirt, What A Time To Be Alive by Drake & Future, In Colour by Jamie xx

Alex Ruby’s top albums:

5. So The Flies Don’t Come – Milo

One of the most obscure releases that came out this year, Milo’s newest album is full of laid-back yet complicated production and deeply layered lyrics. Kenny Segal’s production behind Milo’s flow is abstract and dissonant, but this perfectly fits Milo’s style. The tight beats create comfortable cushions for him to rely on. Milo’s lyricism is also at its best here, spinning rhymes and references into intricate personal philosophies disguised as hip-hop songs.

4. Painted Shut – Hop Along

The most alluring thing about Hop Along is Frances Quinlan’s powerful and emotional voice. It pierces through each song on the album with raw intensity. The instrumentals make an equal impression as her signature raspy voice. The guitar and bass are punchy and accompany the vocals perfectly. Whenever the drums come in, the songs explode into pure emotion that carry her vocals throughout. The songs are written with sincerity and care, bringing emotion back to modern music.

3. No Cities to Love – Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney came back after nine years with their most accessible album to date. It’s full of energetic songs that play to each of the members’ strengths. Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein’s vocals are still fierce as hell. Janet Weiss’s drums still hit hard. It’s unbelievable that a band could come back with an album this solid after a hiatus. They don’t reminisce on old experiences either, rather they play songs based on modern anxieties and problems. As long as Sleater-Kinney is alive, rock can’t die.

2. Harmlessness – The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die

In the past, the band with the ridiculously long name have sat firmly as flag-bearers in the emo revival movement but with Harmlessness, TWIABP&IANLATD have matured into a more varied and sophisticated band. It has gotten rid of its screamo vocalist and messy chords and instead turned in a beautiful album with cascading post-rock song structures and heartfelt lyrics about depression. However, it maintains an element of warmth, managing not to be an entirely sad album. It really shows how far the emo revival has come and where it can go in the future.

1. White Men Are Black Men Too – Young Fathers

Young Fathers are difficult to describe. Coming off of two mix-tapes and one album, you’d think the Scottish trio are some sort of alternative hip-hop or R&B group. With its newest release, the band gets even fuzzier. It’s an eclectic mix of hip-hop, pop, lo-fi and even rock. It’s moody and atmospheric and, at the same time, catchy and relatively easy to listen to. It’s my personal album of the year because it is so different from any other release I heard in 2015. It’s at times beautiful and jarring, like a silent disco. Sure, the lyrics can be confusing and sometimes contradictory (hence the album’s name) but the weird rhyme schemes match the confusing, contradictory production. I sincerely think this album might be ahead of its time. It’s an album for a time when genres and influences don’t matter anymore and music can just be played and enjoyed for the sake of music.

Honorable Mentions: Have You In My Wilderness – Julia Holter; Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens; Surf – Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment; VEGA INTL. Night School – Neon Indian; In Colour – Jamie xx, To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar; Every Open Eye – CHVRCHES; Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett; Ivy Tripp – Waxahatchee.

Meerah Powell’s top albums:

5. Painted Shut – Hop Along

Painted Shut, Hop Along’s second LP, is an indisputable force of nature. Led by Frances Quinlan’s raspy, emotionally evocative vocals layered over pristine instrumentation — with intricate guitar and powerful percussion — Painted Shut is beautifully executed, to say the least. Referencing waitresses in waffle houses and tossing horseshoe crabs back into the sand, the album is guiltlessly personal and holds a sense of familiarity, akin to driving through the streets of your hometown.

4. The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us – Beach Slang

Beach Slang’s bandcamp describes itself as a band of “Guitar, bass and drums. Played loudly.” But it’s clear from the first listen that this band is much more than that. The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us is an album that perfectly sums up its title’s sentiment: the on-going, and sometimes seemingly impossible search for community and friendship for those who are deemed loners or outcasts. Beach Slang creates ripping punk rock anthems that are extremely relatable for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.

3. Fading Frontier – Deerhunter

After surviving a close encounter with death, Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox found the cathartic inspiration for this release in what may be the only positive thing ever to arise from someone getting hit by a car. In Fading Frontier, Deerhunter brings forth its specific hodgepodge of sounds — indie rock, noise pop, ambient — in a way that both takes crucial parts from the band’s discography and still creates something completely new.

2. asdfasdf – katie dey

Australian artist katie dey’s asdfasdf is by far one of the most interesting releases I have heard this year. The seven track release uses various electronic elements (airy synth, glitched out static, crisp snare hits) that in combination could easily be overstimulating and jarring, but instead portray an immense amount of emotion with its beautiful composite of sounds. A glitchy, distorted wonderland, asdfasdf is kind-hearted and warm at points, yet balanced well with a tinge of chilly, electronic melancholy.

1. Dogs on Acid – Dogs on Acid

Formed from members of defunct emo bands Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader, and current alternative folk band Hop Along, Dogs on Acid fits the definition of a supergroup, and it definitely created something super this year with its debut self-titled album. Borrowing both from its emo background as well as from ’90s influences — acts such as Superchunk and Pavement — Dogs on Acid serves as an incredibly solid and addicting release. Playful, noodly guitar over pounding percussion fills the soundscape of this LP and although many of the songs are about heartache and betrayal, Dogs on Acid retains an optimistic outlook that sounds ageless.

Honorable mentions: Depression Cherry – Beach House; Teens of Style – Car Seat Headrest; Beach Music – Alex G; Skin Gets Hot – Fraternal Twin; O.K. – Eskimeaux; Untethered Moon – Built to Spill; Before The World Was Big – Girlpool.

The Emerald has enlisted its Arts and Culture staff to highlight the best songs of 2015, which was a strong year for music. From experimental electronic to garage punk, find out what the Emerald’s favorites songs of the year were.

Meerah Powell’s top songs:

10. Turnover – “Cutting My Fingers Off”

Pop-punk act turned shoegaze-influenced indie rock band Turnover put out one of the most beautifully nostalgic songs of the year through “Cutting My Fingers Off.” Cleverly mixed with reverb-filled guitar and vocals, this track not only sounds great but paints a picture as well through lyrics like: “Losing you was like cutting my fingers off.” And even if you’ve never experienced the specific type of loss that vocalist Austin Getz is putting forth, it’s hard not to sympathize.

9. Camera Shy – “Your Only One”

Filled with overflowing bliss, yet balanced with melancholy, Lexy Morte’s innocently beautiful vocals carry “Your Only One.” From the first cymbal crash, this tune brings forth an unmistakable nostalgia – mirrored greatly in the music video filled with grainy, ‘50s era video of Disneyland. Packaged tightly with indie, dreamy goodness, this song was on constant repeat for me during the summer, though holds up through every other season as well.

8. Tame Impala – “Eventually”

Blasting out of the gates, “Eventually” is a groove-heavy wonderland. Led by Tame Impala’s signature blissful, psychedelic styling, “Eventually” is a feel good song for the ages that’s impossible not to pump at full volume.

7. Missy Elliott – “WTF (Where They From)”

The fact that Missy Elliott is still producing the hardest bangers at 44 years old is impressive to say the least, but, regardless of anything, “WTF” is one of the catchiest tracks to hit the airwaves in a hot second. Carried by Elliott’s signature pulsating flow on a bed of a drumline-esque trap beat, “WTF” serves as both universally powerful and enjoyable.

6. Grimes – “REALiTi (demo)”

Grimes released a more polished mix of this song for her newest album this year, Art Angels, but for some reason the lo-fi qualities of the demo seem to elevate the song to much higher levels. The demo of “REALiTi” serves as a light and airy, yet textured and emotional electronic track only further accentuated by Grimes’ delicate vocals.

5. Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”

“Alright” has gained a place on many a top 2015 music countdown, and rightfully so. Borrowing lines from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (“Alls my life I’ve had to fight”), “Alright” is not only a beautifully put together hip-hop track, but a powerful look into race, uplift and the power of community. In this respect, “Alright” is more of a modern anthem than a song.

4. Dogs on Acid – “Flushed”

Influenced by fuzzy, bittersweet 90s groups like Superchunk, “Flushed” is an incredibly fun-filled, playful track. With relentlessly pounding percussion and all-over-the-place guitar, “Flushed” is reminiscent of a montage of every great summer memory all rolled into one.

3. Fraternal Twin – “Boil”

Although only having a playtime of just under two minutes, Fraternal Twin’s “Boil” packs a sombering punch. This song serves as one of my favorite sad songs of the year, which is saying something. Perfectly mixed with ebbing synth, twangy guitar, deep bass and Tom Christie’s slightly apprehensive, quivering vocals, “Boil” puts forth an unavoidable feeling of sorrow without being cheesy or cliche.

2. Hop Along – “Waitress”

One of the most recognizable features of Hop Along is lead singer Frances Quinlan’s raspy and textured vocals and the incredible range they possess, which is the main feature that pushes “Waitress” to one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. Overall, the song is just about the embarrassment faced by a waitress who sees someone she has been wanting to avoid in her restaurant, but Quinlan’s extremely personal way of singing, along with the band’s instrumentation, takes the simple lyrical plotline to a higher plane. There is something very particular about the way Hop Along executes songs, and honestly there isn’t another band that could have better produced this extremely passion-driven track.

1. Deerhunter – “Breaker”

Inspired by a brush with death from a car accident, “Breaker” focuses on trying to overcome fear and trauma and is probably the most beautiful and emotionally evocative song this year. The song starts off atop a rhythmic, groove-based bass-line accompanied by glimmering guitar and synth and frontman Bradford Cox’s signature charming vocals before skyrocketing into an almost impossibly good chorus. “Breaking the waves again and though I try / The ocean is strong I cannot stem the tide,” Cox croons in perseverance. “Breaker” questions will and determination in a way that’s downright poignant, but does it in a cinematic and untouchable fashion.

Daniel Bromfield’s top songs:

10. “No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross” by Sufjan Stevens

Of all the songs on Sufjan Stevens’ confessional Carrie & Lowell, this is perhaps the bravest, in part because the intensely self-destructive behavior he details here threatens to undermine his angelic boy-scout persona. As it turns out, it does. But even more impressively, “No Shade” justifies this by making it very clear that the true Sufjan was never that character in the first place.

9. “Alma Do Meu Pai” by DJ Firmenza

The Portuguese dance genre batida is known for its exuberance – it’s pure party music. On “Alma Do Meu Pai,” young producer DJ Firmeza reimagines it as art music that has more in common with the endless, gradually shifting loops of Steve Reich or Philip Glass than anything else booming out of Lisbon’s clubs.

8. “Best Friend” by Young Thug

Young Thug dips into about 10 different flows on “Best Friend,” and though it’s not entirely clear what the song is about, it makes no less sense than, say, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In fact, it’s rare for a three-minute pop song to be as consistently surprising as this one, and I still hear new things every time I put it on.

7. “At Your Best (You Are Love)” by Frank Ocean

Adding to the pain of still not having a new Frank Ocean album is this devastating Isley Brothers cover, delivered over only a light keyboard. His stratospheric high notes are showy, but when he hits them you’re less likely to be awed by his talent than to be moved by the sheer emotion he conveys.

6. “Jumpman” by Drake & Future

Simply put, “Jumpman” has the best pop hook of the year. Its mesmerizing repetition comes as close as possible to getting at the great nothing at the core of pop music. It’s proof more than any other song in 2015 that writing a “banger” is just as much of an art as writing a pop song.

5. “No Sleeep” by Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson’s claim to being “the queen of insomnia” on “No Sleeep” might be cringe-inducing if it didn’t perfectly encapsulate her swagger on the lead single from her fantastic new album Unbreakable. It’s a relief to hear an artist with leanings as excessive as Jackson’s deliver a song so economical. Her voice is understated but still commands power, and the same could be said of the loping beat, one of the best from her longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

4. “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” by Jamie xx feat. Young Thug & Popcaan

Who knew such a motley crew of artists – an oddball Southern MC, a Jamaican dancehall star, and a former member of Brit indie pop act the xx – would make the year’s best party song? Popcaan provides a modest hook with his sonorous baritone as xx stabs out neon chords and chops up soul samples. But it’s Young Thug who steals the show, crowing, “I’ma ride in that pussy like a stroller,” as if he’s transcended to godhood.

3. “I Haven’t Been Everywhere But It’s On My List” by DJ Koze

The only original production on DJ Koze’s contribution to the DJ-Kicks mix series starts out as casual, sample-driven, instrumental hip hop. But then the sample begins to convulse, as if it’s sobbing. As the song is about to peak, a pitch-shifted keen, the single most heartrending sound I’ve heard on a record this year, shoots from the background. By the time the beat snaps back in, what started as simple chill-out music has blossomed into a sentimental journey.

2. “Mascara” by Jazmine Sullivan

Jazmine Sullivan is one of R&B’s best songwriters, keenly empathizing with the three-dimensional characters she creates. The protagonist of“Mascara” goes through life on looks alone, and the core question of the song is – well, if it works for her, why shouldn’t she? “Don’t I deserve to be privileged?” she screams, implying a wealth of pain behind the meticulous surface of a character who a lesser songwriter might have treated as a cartoon. All this happens over chord changes so gorgeous its almost painful.

1. “Jugg” by Fetty Wap

“Jugg” didn’t have to be this emotional, but it’s better for it. It’s a pop-rap song about teaching a girl how to sling drugs. It’s also the rawest and most balls-out, soulful vocal performance of the year. Listen to how Fetty’s voice slurs as he starts the first verse before locking into an incredible vibrato, or how he switches to a macho growl to let his girl know she “ain’t fuckin’ with no scrub.” By itself, “Jugg” feels ecstatic, and is an enthusiastic championing of the drug-dealer life. But its parent album Fetty Wap is filled with desperate songs that make it clear he wants to get out of this life as best he can and that his connections to his crew and girlfriend are the only things keeping him sane. In this context, “Jugg” isn’t an advertisement — it’s a cry of desperation.

Craig Wright’s top songs:

5. “Bad Blood” by Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams covered all of Taylor Swift’s monster hit 1989, entirely reimagining every song on the album, and in this case, transforming the weakest track on Swift’s album into the strongest track to emerge from either version. Adams proves the universality of Swift’s songwriting, making songs written by a 25 year old woman as believable as when performed by a middle aged man.

4. “English Tongue” by Palma Violets

Propelled by a simple guitar and piano riff, Palma Violets wrote the most straight forward rock song of the year, filled with a simple guitar and piano riff and the story of “Hugh Diver.” The simplistic guitar solos build up to a chant-along bridge worth screaming along to at all hours of the day.

3. “Bored In The USA” by Father John Misty

This disenchanted ballad has Father John Misty lamenting his marriage, country and subprime loan. His prayer to “President Jesus” to save him from the doldrums of life is met with a laugh track mocking each and every one of his wishes. Misty examines the staleness of marriage and leaves listeners wondering if we are supposed to be laughing with the track, or if we are the ones being laughed at.

2. “Too Late To Die Young” by Beach Slang

“Too young to die, too late to die young,” James Alex sings in this haunting song. Alex is accompanied by strings and a light piano while he gently strums an acoustic guitar. As a 41-year old receiving a legitimate second chance at a rock ‘n’ roll life (he was formerly in the band Weston), Alex sings about being in the awkward stage of life where it is easy to quit chasing your dreams, but he refuses, finding comfort in the only place he knows — on stage surrounded by friends and family.

1. “West Coast” by FIDLAR

Zac Carper is lucky to be alive. After surviving multiple overdoses and kicking drugs (meth, heroin and cocaine to name a few) and alcohol for good, Carper wrote the ultimate drugged anthem about dropping out of school and taking a destructive road trip up the West Coast where apparently “you can’t buy liquor in Oregon.” The song flies by, feeling like a patched together series of hazily recalled memories and a desperate desire to escape the suburbs. It mixes an anthemic punk singalong with the insanely catchy bridge about deciding to stay high and dangerous over living a life of safety and boredom. Luckily for listeners, Carper came close to death enough times that he chose safety, hopefully promising strong future albums, such as this year’s Too and FIDLAR’s 2013 self titled debut album.

Emerson Malone’s top songs:

“Elevator Operator” by Courtney Barnett

In three minutes and 14 seconds, Barnett tells you about a man whose attempt at getting some rooftop fresh air is taken as a suicide attempt. “I’m not suicidal, just idling insignificantly; I come up here for perception and clarity,” says the song’s protagonist. “I like to pretend I’m playing Sim City – all the people look like ants from up here!” This track encapsulates Barnett’s idiosyncratic style – vivid imagery (“her hair pulled so tight you can see her skeleton”), a mundane-but-fascinated worldview, and a nod toward how an innocent gesture can be taken to overblown interpretation.

“Change of the Guard” by Kamasi Washington

Washington declares his salt as a bona fide composer on The Epic. True to its namesake in range and length (the LP clocks in at 2 hours, 53 minutes), Washington’s album shines with the same divinity of John Coltrane. This opening cut is a firm fixture on a truly epic collection.

“The Less I Know The Better” by Tame Impala

This track’s a funky jewel on an otherwise dour release from Tame Impala. Currents is a pop-oriented, sort-of sleazy departure from the band’s previous, richer and more introspective albums. “Less I Know” keeps with Currents’ break-up narrative. The bass guitar hook is potent, and the hallucinatory music video – starring a high school gorilla-suited mascot giving cunnilingus to a cheerleader – is a winner.

“Complexity” by Eagles of Death Metal

Before gaining an international focus from the Paris attacks, when 89 people were killed in the Bataclan venue during an EoDM show, the band released Zipper Down, its first release since 2008. With a triumphant opener like “Complexity,” you’d think there wasn’t any seven-year wait since EoDM’s last album. A potent drum roll, fuzz box guitar, and backing brass horns continues right where EoDM left off. It’s a real return to form with its tongue-in-cheek self-righteousness, as Jesse Hughes screams the best tautological lyric of the year: “It’s so easy without complexity!”

Alex Ruby’s top songs:

“Before The World Was Big” by Girlpool

“Before The World Was Big” is a pretty simple song sung by pretty female voices and backed by a bass and a guitar. Because the two-piece band only features those two instruments, the girls’ emotions are much more clear and raw, bringing out a desperation for simpler times. The simple lyrics, are mostly about nostalgia and trying to rediscover simpler thoughts of childhood. These components all come together to evoke that feeling and the end result is one of the most charming songs of the year.

“Loud Places” by Jamie xx feat Romy

In an album full of songs that sound like they could be heard in a UK dance club, this track stands out. It’s a song about finding someone to be alone with in a place that’s anything but lonely. Being a collaboration between Romy and Jamie, it definitely sounds like a song by the xx, and that’s not a problem because it could be considered as one of the best xx songs. Her vocals are both soothing and heartbreaking, but somehow it works with the dancey, poppy production.

“Feel You” by Julia Holter

Julia Holter and her voice are undeniably beautiful. It’s almost heavenly how well her sweet voice and elegant instrumentals work together. It’s also the perfect album opener, giving you a sense of Julia’s style and voice, drawing you in with every breath she takes and every note she sings. The song is almost dreamlike, mixing feelings of mystique, love and tenderness. It can be difficult to figure out what exactly the song is about but the feelings it invokes are clear. Her singing is so good that she makes normal words sound magical, like “Mexico” or “mythological.” It’s an irresistible song that entices you into an irresistible album.

“Sunday Candy” by Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

Chance the Rapper, Donnie Trumpet, and their full band brought us one of the happiest, cheeriest songs of the year. The lead single from the band’s debut album “Surf” is catchy from start to finish. It begins with only a jumpy piano and Chance’s distinctive voice flowing over the melody, then Jamila Woods’ soulful voice comes in. Just when you think it couldn’t get better, the song explodes into a full chorus and instrumentation and everything picks up. It’s a wonderful collaborative effort that’s worthy of being representative of The Social Experiment itself. There’s just so many elements to it, from Woods’ lovely hook to Chance’s flow to the drums to all the other instruments combining to form a unique work of art from the best Chicago has to offer right now.

“Souvenir” by Milo feat Hemlock Ernst

Milo is a very weird underground hip-hop artist. His producer, Kenny Segal, doesn’t use typical beats, his lyrics aren’t simple (at all), and his references are always off the wall. “Souvenir” is a perfect example of the “lazy theologian’s” uniqueness, bringing together a tantalizing production, layers of lyrics, and a feature from Hemlock Ernst (also known as Sam Herring from Future Islands). But this isn’t even Milo’s best track, the real highlight is witnessing the perfect flow from Hemlock Ernst. He says it himself in the song that he’s trying to copy Milo and it’s clearly evident with his smooth flow and postmodernist references. Hemlock and Milo go so well together that it’s hard to believe that Hemlock is part of a synth pop indie band. The lyrics that the two recite are so deep and layered that they’ll make you want to revisit the song in order to find the hidden meaning. It’s a great example of Milo’s work and a reference for the rest of the layered and diverse album.

The post Emerald Recommends the best songs of 2015 appeared first on Emerald Media.

This week, Global Scholars Hall will host Face in the Sun: A Colorful Collection of Student Artwork. The reception will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m Thursday, Jan. 21 near the dining room at GSH. This is the grand opening of the GSH’s art gallery.

To preview the gallery, the Emerald spoke with student Cole Kastner, whose painting “Face In The Sun” inspired the gallery. The phrase “face in the sun” is about moving forward, but being blinded by an obstacle in your path. For Kastner, a digital arts major who creates abstract paintings, these obstacles are his own “distorted and demented thoughts.”

How long has art been something you’ve practiced? I’ve been drawing since I was little, but I didn’t really have the right path. I came here as a digital arts student, thinking I would just be doing logos and stuff, but I realized more and more that I didn’t want to be a part of a consumer-based world, and tricking people for money reasons. I wanted to be more of someone who pokes people at their philosophies, to open their eyes to the things around them. Anxiety is one of the biggest things I like to point out in people. Ever since I realized I didn’t want to be a part of the consumer world, I started doing ink work and abstract lines, and this kind of style.

What else inspires your work outside of your anxiety? There’s an artist named Alexander Calder; he’s a sculptor. He works a lot in how contrasts and balance work visually and aesthetically. What I’m trying to do is take my anxiety and make it balanced; I can take my own out-of-balance mind and try to make it functional for myself.

Did drawing help you get over your anxiety? It definitely allowed me to have a way to express myself when I felt anxious. [In preparing for the exhibit] it was a time when I was trying to find balance within the chaos of my head. I tried to create functionality out of the chaotic lines.

Cole Kastner’s “Matcha,” which he said came out of a hyper-awareness of the substances, and crutches that people use to cope. While Matcha is a revered tea in Japanese culture, it’s a flavor of Starbucks Frappuccino in America. “The transition of its meaning from culture to culture is hilarious to me, so having matcha being stacked with whip cream and shared is just a fascination of mine,” said Kastner.

Is it important for you to have a place to publicly exhibit your work? Yeah. I think it’s really important because it would be nice to know that other people who are dealing with anxiety can see what they can create out of it. I think a lot of people who have anxiety feel alone, so to know that it’s out there kind of creates a community of not feeling alone. That’s one of the biggest fears that a lot of people have.

Is art a career you’d like to pursue professionally, or is it more of a creative release for you? It is something I would like to pursue, and I think I’m pursuing it well currently. I feel like I’m on a new path of realizing my own fears and realizing how people have fear, so that seems to be where I’m going with it, where I want to poke, and make it a little bit more available for people. I want to force people to open up their eyes to the validity of their own anxieties, and the validity of their own fears and know that people aren’t bad for it. I think if I spread a message like that, it would be a very positive or helpful impact on society.

Pointing Woman by Cole Kastner
(ink and pencil, manipulated with photoshop)
This work was at a time of anxiety when I felt kicked out into the world. I felt not heard by others, only to be heard by my own thoughts. The work is a single drawing, turned into patterns. The single drawing is in the front. The background is completely made of the first image. This creates a junkyard feel, like how i felt when I was alone in my thoughts, a junkyard of anxiety.

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