churchill

Top 100 Songs of 2013 (100-81)

Top 100 2013

I think 2013 was a brilliant year for new music; it was just as good as 2012 (which I thought at the time was the best year for songs in many moons) or better. There’s no way I could make a strict Top 100 Songs of the Year list and feel good about myself, though I don’t want to go as overboard as I did last year, where many numbers on that list had a part A) and a B). I’m going to hold off on playing that card, as want to fall in line with my prediction that in 2014, we’ll see “restraint” adopted more and more as a thoughtful, progressive lifestyle choice — bahahaha, sorry I can’t continue that sentence any longer. The complete opposite will prove true. Shit be cray; restraint seems like a relic of a long lost world, like the crystals of the Mayan civilization, Tesla’s time machine, and when you could count on your breakfast cereal containing all the GMO’s your (growing) body could handle http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/original-cheerios-to-go-gmo-free-1.2482761.

There will be no A)’s and B)’s on this list, but I’ve still got to find a way to massage the proceedings to ensure maximum comfort, so I’ve chosen to include two or more songs by a particular band/artist in some spots. I’ve found that on many occasions, it’s difficult to discern which song of a given band/artist is the “best,” so I’m going to forego that agony altogether. For instance, I really like Lorde’s “Tennis Court” and “400 Lux”. I wouldn’t say one song is better than the other, nor can I decide which one I like more, so I’ve listed them together. This happens several times over the course of this list. (I’ve also decided to include an audio link to each song when this happens — why should one track get daps over another!?)

Lastly, some might think that songs placed at the low end of this or any list aren’t worth sharing/remembering/exploring. This could not be further from the truth. So much good music was released in 2013, that to be listed anywhere in the top 100 should be a huge source of pride for these songs (if songs knew about this list, and if songs could feel pride. I love anthropomorphism!). Music continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. All it takes is a little time and effort to seek out the best of the best.

Here are my Top 100 Songs of 2013:

100. Mereki – Blue Lake

 

99. Astral Pattern – When We’re Falling

 

98. Churchill – Change

 

97. Lorde – Tennis Court/400 Lux

Tennis Court:

400 Lux:

 

96. The Thermals – Faces Stay With Me

 

95. Stereophonics – In A Moment/Indian Summer/Graffiti On The Train

In A Moment:

Indian Summer:

Graffiti On The Train:

 

94. St. Lucia – Too Close

 

93. The Naked and Famous – Rolling Waves

 

92. Janelle Monae f. Miguel – Primetime

 

91. Two Door Cinema Club – Changing Of The Seasons

 

90. Charli XCX – You (Ha Ha Ha)/Grins/Superlove

You (Ha Ha Ha):

Grins:

Superlove:

 

89. Lover Lover – Young Free

 

88. One Republic – If I Lose Myself/I Lived

If I Lose Myself:

I Lived:

 

87. The Virgins – Wheel Of Fortune/Flashbacks, Memories, and Dreams

Wheel Of Fortune:

Flashbacks, Memories, and Dreams:

 

86. We Are Wolves – Sun

 

85. The Knife – Raging Lung

 

84. Junip – Line of Fire

 

83. The Neighbourhood – Sweater Weather

 

82. Jay-Z – Nickels and Dimes

 

81. Youth Lagoon – Mute

My Top 20 Songs of May 2013

10 songs? No chance. 15? Way too tough on my psyche. I recently broke up with my lightning insurance provider (he wanted to be more — including coverage for thunder, limb loss from trampolining, and rashes stemming from excessive koala cuddling —  I thought we were good as is), so my mental stability is currently a tad tenuous. Any other traumas and I’d be off a bridge. To make sure that doesn’t go down, I had to expand this list to 20 songs. Really, I’d no choice. May left me no options. May right be done by this list. May was the best month of music I’d experienced in as long as I can remember. Maybe, definitely.

May

So much awesome tuneage. So little 31 days. Here’s what I listened to/loved the most…

20. Phosphorescent – Song For Zula/Muchacho’s Tune

“Song For Zula” is still in my brain. I can’t shake it. I have a feeling I won’t be able to for quite some time. “Muchacho’s Tune” is similarly beautiful. Phosphorescent are legit.

19. The Belle Game – River/Wait Up For You

A pair of pretty, catchy tracks from two Chicago siblings.

18. Isle of Rhodes – Shoulders/So In Love

Brooklyn never sleeps.

17. Churchill – Change

The chorus is a beast of a sing-a-long.

16. Rilo Kiley – Runnin’ Around

I can always count on Jenny Lewis and company.

15. Daft Punk – Giorgio by Moroder

Bad. Ass. Everything about it.

 

14. London Grammar – Wasting My Young Years

My god this song is exquisite.

 

13. Lilly Wood and The Prick – Where I Want To Be (California)

Ever wonder what Lady Gaga would sound like if she sung Indie/Alternative/Pop? Play the track.

 

12. Charli XCX – You (Ha Ha Ha)

Really good use of fantastic source material, even if the sentiment has been bastardized.

 

11. Vampire Weekend – Diane Young

Love the lyrical double entendre. Love the track. Vampire Weekend are as big as they should be.

 

10. Valleys – Hounds/See The Moon

Montreal, raise your head up out of the (electro, pulsating, ominous) shadows. Valleys, you’ve crafted a marvellous debut. These two songs are exhibits A and B. Impressive stuff.

 

9. Slowriter – Silver Spaceships/April 8

Weird. Wacky. Wonderful. I hope Bryan Taylor and this band get the recognition they deserve for Trailblazer.

 

8. Frank Turner – Recovery

A little Noel Gallagher. A little Streets. A little Ed Sheeran. A lot of fantastic. This is a hit.

 

7. Paramore – Hate To See Your Heart Break/Last Hope

Frankly, I didn’t know they were capable of songs like these. “Misery Business” and “That’s What You Get” were and remain sensational emo/pop/alt songs. But I can’t suggest for a second that I thought they had something like “Hate To See Your Heart Break” in them. It’s pretty, demure, vulnerable, honest. Emotionally bare. It could be the best song they’ve ever done. “Last Hope” is also a beast of a song. Hayley Williams and Paramore have jumped up about 63 levels with their latest, eponymous album. I’m taken aback. Wow.

 

6. Mariah Carey f. Miguel – #Beautiful

Too bad the video sucks, because this is the best song Mariah’s done since “We Belong Together”. And what can be said of Miguel? His vocal is outstanding. He never drops the ball. He kicks ass. I’ll stick my neck out and hope not to get hurt by the assertions.

 

5. Cold War Kids – Bitter Poem/Bottled Affection

Simply put, “Bitter Poem” gives me chills. It did after the first listen. It did after 5. After 10. It still does. I think it might always. I’d be okay with that. “Bottled Affection” tells my ears that Cold War Kids can mold song form into whatever they want. Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is the most consistent — and best, front to back — album CWK’s have ever done.

 

4. Ambassadors – Unconsolable

Don’t recall how I found this track. Boy I’m glad I did. It’s frickin’ awesome. If you like AWOLNATION, this track is for you.

 

3. Biffy Clyro – Folding Stars

“Folding Stars” is from 2007, but I’ve only recently discovered it. I think I spent a solid 88 hours in May (shy guesstimate) singing “Eleanorrrrrrrr, Eleanorrr” at all levels of inappropriateness. 360p for life.

 

2. Best Coast – Fear Of My Identity

Can. Not. Stop. Singing/Humming/Blasting/Tapping Feet To/Robbing Banks To. This.

 

1. Haerts – Wings

Hailing from Germany, England, and the U.S., Haerts bring together all manner of influences/eras on this absolutely soaring track. It sounds like 1983. The video looks like it was shot then too (I’ve linked the original video they released several months ago. They’ve a newer one, in 1080p, on Vevo, but there’s something about the former that’s more charming). But Hearts are tricksters. That melody — my god, that melody — is timeless. Nini Fabi’s vocals (with a seasoning of Susanna Hoffs peppered in here and there) are beyond ethereal, majestic — they’re abracadabra magic.

I don’t exactly know why I think of Chvrches when I hear Haerts, but I do. They don’t really sound like each other, and it’s clear their influences lie in different areas. It’s just that Chvrches have released about 4 perfect (I really mean perfect) pop songs this year, the kind that a band is lucky to have one of in their careers, and I thought they’d remain peerless in that regard for ages. I didn’t think anything or anyone could touch them. I was wrong. They have a friend now to play with high atop Mt. Poplympus. The St. Lucia (of course, it all makes sense) produced “Wings” is nostalgia, recollection, fondness, anchored in its multiple pounding, blood-driving, healthy, huge haerts.