Best of the Month is decided by a number of different variables; voter counts from preceding posts, reader reaction ratings, gut feelings, and lots and lots of heated discussions.
Album of the Month
August was chock full of amazing new projects from well known artists to up and comers, but Travis Scott’s latest, Astroworld, stood above all other releases. Not only in it’s immense impact (it was all anyone could talk about) and brilliant branding, but in just how phenomenal and fully realized the project was. The production was spectacular – full of beat breakdowns and switch ups, layered instrumentals, and deep sample cuts/homages, that all laid the framework for the lush sonic ‘theme park’ he was taking us through. It was one hell of a ride full of some of the best usage of guest features we’ve ever heard and it’s sure to launch his career into a whole new stratosphere.
Runner-ups
Trailer of the Month
Most everybody from the United States knows of or has some knowledge of the infamous Lizzie Borden and the grizzly crimes she’s known for. It’s practically etched into American folklore by now and was at the forefront of our country’s obsession with true crime. The new trailer for the upcoming film about those very events is absolutely brimming with tension and promise of horrific violence looming just around the corner. It does a great job of showing off that heat boiling underneath the surface without really showing anything thanks to some great use of sound and haunting string instruments. Even if we think we know how this story ends, the trailer does a fantastic job of still building that edge-of-your-seat suspense.
Runner-ups
Video of the Month
It’s safe to say that Travis Scott has been experiencing one of the best months of his young career and he delivered his most realized project yet. Pulling from that project, the video for “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” is as surreal as the song itself, even featuring an all gold Kylie Jenner, some sort of flying, fire-breathing chimera, and Travis as the man above himself. It’s stuffed to the gills with all sorts of biblical references and abstract messages for viewers to pick through and the visual effects crafted by Dave Meyers (of “HUMBLE.” video fame) are as intense and eye-catching as anything else to come out this year. He was clearly in the creative zone for everything surrounding Astroworld, including the videos, and it shows.
Runner-ups