2022 The Albums: League of Their Own

 

 

This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.

See List of 2022 Honorable Mentions

In the past winners have included:

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A

2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?

2002 - NERD - In Search of...

2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant

2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss

2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute

2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

2007 - Kanye West - Graduation

2008 - Santigold

2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye

2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

2011 - Bjork - Biophilia

2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor

2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2

2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic

2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar

2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded

2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest

2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

2021 - St. Vincent - Daddy's Home

...and now to add to this ever growing list is a band who is taking the sound of rock and roll that we have grown accustomed to and bending, manipulating and altering them in ways that will leave you spellbound and astonished that what they are doing is possible.

The 2022 League of Their Own winner is...

 

Black Midi - Hellfire

The young British band has been a favorite of Officially A Yuppie since they came on our radar in 2019 with their stellar debut and since have steadily released one fantastic album after another. However, their 2022 offering, their third record overall, "Hellfire" is a combination of heavy metal, prog and alternative that it is no wonder that Australia's mighty King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard asked them to open for them on a select number of shows. Musicianship aside, the tongue-in-cheek and ironic lyrics from singer Geordie Greep just add to the magic. This record is a wild experience that plays out like a horror movie but you don't want it to end. Welcome to the hellfire, indeed!

2021 The Albums: League of Their Own

via GIPHY

This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.

See List of 2021 Honorable Mentions

In the past winners have included:

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?
2002 - NERD - In Search of...
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation
2008 - Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2 
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar
2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded
2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest 
2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
 

...and now to add to this ever growing list is an artist who is constantly reinventing herself as not just a persona or style of music but in an overall package that blurs the line between pop, alternative, rock, and even in some cases, experimental. This is a category for someone just like her. 

Ladies and gents, the 2021 League of Their Own winner is... 

St. Vincent - Daddy's Home

Annie Clarke is a shapeshifter and a certifiable icon. So when she combined her love of icons like Warhol, New York City in the 1970s, her father's classic rock collection and took on the persona of Warhol Factory alum trans legend Candy Darling, the possibilities were endless. Daddy's Home is a concept record that pays homage to all of these things. A record that recorded in order to connect with her father as he emerged from a prison sentence to the era of things he enjoyed and what surrounded them. She takes us in a musical time machine back to the seedy, gritty, dangerous New York City of the mid-70s and gives us a new spin on it as she sings through a modern eye. A record that after endless listens this year gets more and more interesting with every spin.

2020 The Albums: League of Their Own

 

via GIPHY

This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.

2020 Honorable Album Mentions 

In the past winners have included:

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?
2002 - NERD - In Search of...
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation
2008 - Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2 
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar
2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded
2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest

...and now to add to this ever growing list is an artist that never played by the rules and someone who rewrote them as they went along. Rules to this artist are about as important as the color of someone else's car. Rules to this artist are not only made to be broken and not followed but encourages others to do the same and follow their own path. 

Ladies and gents, the 2020 League of Their Own winner is....

 Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

In her first record in eight years and fifth as an artist, Fiona Apple knocked down every barrier, glass ceiling, stereotype, musical limit and crafted her greatest album since Tidal. Proving she is still one of the greatest songwriters of all time, what she did with such minimal instruments -- her voice, drums, piano, bass, and samples of her dog, Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the force of a wrecking ball. Clocking in at just under an hour, Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a tour de force and testament to an artist who never backed down even went she was discounted by so many, only to prove everyone wrong.

2019 The Albums: League of Their Own

via GIPHY

This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time. 

See Our 2019 Honorable Album Mentions

In the past winners have included: 

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A 
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It? 
2002 - NERD - In Search of... 
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant 
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss 
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute 
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain 
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation 
2008 - Santogold / Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye 
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach 
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia 
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes 
2013 -  Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2  
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic 
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar 

2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. 

2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded

...and now to add to the growing list is a band that is constantly putting forth various efforts that blow away both fans and critics. They break all the rules of what conventional rock and roll should be and what heavy metal should be and what psychedelic should be and as we enter an age where we move away from labels and genres, they are the perfect takers of this award. Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2019 League of Their Own winner is...

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest

Since forming 9 years ago, this Australian seven-piece has released 15 albums including two this year and each record is like a star in the sky -- far different than the one next to it. Most bands do not even make 15 albums during their entire career. Earlier in 2019, the band gave us the psychedelic prog album, Fishing for Fishes, then months later they followed it up with the abrasive and diabolical Infest the Rats Nest. This album hands down might be the heavy metal album of the year for us and many others and it comes from a band who do not wish to identify with any one type of sound. While it might always be quantity of music for King Gizzard it also means quality and if they keep going at the pace they are, the sky is the limit.

2018 The Albums: League of Their Own

This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time. 

See Our List of 2018's Honorable Album Mentions

In the past winners have included: 

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A 
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It? 
2002 - NERD - In Search of... 
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant 
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss 
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute 
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain 
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation 
2008 - Santogold / Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye 
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach 
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia 
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes 
2013 -  Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2  
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic 
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar 

2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. 

...and know to add to this growing list of talent is someone who stepped out from the business office and the decks to fully assemble himself as an artist on his own. The man behind the signings of one of the greatest and most influential indie labels in music history picked 2018 to flex his own muscle and prove that he not only has a great ear for talent but is also talented enough to craft one of the best albums of the year. Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2018 League of Their Own winner is...

Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded

Russell, the head of Britain's XL Records, the label responsible for discovering Adele and releasing records from Thom Yorke, The xx, Frank Ocean, Sigur Ros, King Krule, The White Stripes, FKA Twigs, MIA, among others, turned heads with his solo debut. "Everything is Recorded" is a record that took many by surprise as the producer and label head has dabbled working with icons like Gil Scott-Heron and Bobby Womack along with others from XL but never put anything out on his own. "Everything is Recorded" is a statement record that takes a subtle jab at what music will look like in years to come. XL has always been a label full of taste makers so it shouldn't be that alarming that the label head would craft a delicacy of sound alone and with some friends. Calling in help from Sampha, Kamasi Washington, Ibeyi, Russell takes the subdue and relaxed sounds coming from younger artists today and injects them with the maturity and craftsmanship that an architect would when building a high rise.

Recommended Reading: 'Meet Me in the Bathroom'

The greatest book about music and New York City is the classic Please Kill Me which is the oral history of the birth of punk in the 1970s. Last year, a spiritual sequel of sorts was released by author Lizzy Goodman who documented the New York City garage and indie scene of the turn of this century with the brilliant and instant classic Meet Me in the Bathroom. 

Meet Me in the Bathroom is the oral history of those who lived in New York pre and post-9/11 and how the city was shaped by the artistic boom coming from the Lower East Side and eventually spilled over to Brooklyn. With first person accounts from The Strokes, Ryan Adams, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, TV on the Radio, The National, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the artists discuss their origins and how things progressed for them to get to the status they are currently at. Goodman takes us on a tour of the city in the way she formulates the interviews to flow like a narrative and timeline of places and events which transpired over the years. Meet Me in the Bathroom is not just a love letter to New York City, it is a love letter to rock and roll and how in every generation the cycle will not destruct and for better or worse keeps pushing. This is for any music fan.

2017 The Albums: League of Their Own

This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time. 

See Our Picks for 2017's Honorable Album Mentions

In the past winners have included: 

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A 
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It? 
2002 - NERD - In Search of... 
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant 
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss 
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute 
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain 
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation 
2008 - Santogold / Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye 
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach 
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia 
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes 
2013 -  Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2  
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic 
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar 

...and now to add to this growing list is someone who has taken the music world by storm for the last five years and proves to be the most important living musician today and the voice of a generation. His music is more than just hip-hop, it is a verbal documentary about life in hard times, life as a black man, life as a young person under 30, and someone searching for more than just a higher power but understanding. Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2017 League of Their Own winner is...

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. 

"I'm willin' to die for this shit
I done cried for this shit, might take a life for this shit
Put the Bible down and go eye for an eye for this shit," Lamar sings as he opens the single "ELEMENT." and four songs into DAMN., he makes the declaration that this isn't a job, this isn't for fame, this isn't for money, this is his life and these are the themes that made this record so spellbinding.  

St. Vincent is 2017's Officially A Icon 

DAMN. is Kendrick Lamar solidifying himself as the best rapper alive and a top five emcee. As he uses the words thrown against him, the headlines that are flashed around the news, DAMN. is a record that is just as much in the ethos of punk rock as it is in hip-hop. If Johnny Rotten fronted The Clash it would have that attitude and political / social rawness and awareness. Yet, Lamar, who is a fan of jazz, Afropunk, rock, and clearly 90s rap and R&B, he mixes his influences together with a record that is not just the best to come out in 2017 but an album that has the Compton rapper touching the arch of music history. 

Listen to Our Essential Kendrick Lamar Playlist on Spotify

With appearances by Rihanna, Kid Capri, U2, and Zacari, Lamar left his comfort zone but oddly remained in it while telling his story and observations. If anything, the closing track, "DUCKWORTH." is the proof in the pudding that whatever this young artist was born to do was destiny.  

Stay Tuned Next Week For Our Top 10 Albums of the Year!