dance music

It’s nearly impossible for me to do a strict Top 100 Songs of the Year list. Each year, a plethora of new bands/artists release debut records. That’s a lot of songs. On top of that, there are the bands/artists that have already released material, and continue to build their catalogues. That’s also a lot of songs. Songs over songs in between songs topped with songs stuffed into songs. And I can’t help but seek them out — I love music that much. It makes list releasing/curating a hell of a task though, and it will only get harder each passing year. I don’t know what I’ll do in 2020. Perhaps a Top 500 Songs of The Year list will be the way to go.

As for 2013, there are waaaaaaay more than 100 songs that deserve to have a spotlight shone on them, so this year, I’ve made an alphabetical list of the songs that didn’t make my Top 100. Make no mistake, the songs on this Honourable Mention list are really, really good. Some people might even enjoy these tracks more than what will comprise my Top 100 list. To each their own.

This list is for my favourite tracks of the year to have a space to relax and get comfortable, and for insatiable music consumers. This list might not appeal to a lot of people (that’s okay). If one person discovers a song they hadn’t heard before, listing this many songs will have been worth it.

Here, again, are my favourite songs of 2013, Honourable Mention style, in alphabetical order, beginning with A-C.

2 Chainz f. Pharrell – Feds Watching

2AM Club – Too F***ed Up To Call

Ace Hood f. Future & Rick Ross – Bugatti

Active Child f. Mikyk Ekko – Subtle

Albert Hammond Jr. – St. Justice

ASTR – Operate

Atlas Genius – If So

Autumn Hill – Fire

Avec Sans – The Answer

Ballet School – Heartbeat Overdrive

Bell X1 – Careful What You Wish For

Blood Orange – Chamakay

Bosnian Rainbows – Worthless/Mother, Father, Set Us Free

Cage The Elephant – Come A Little Closer/Spiderhead/Telescope

Camera Obscura – Cri Du Coeur

Capitol Cities – Safe and Sound

Cayucas – High School Lover

City and Colour – Thirst/Harder Than Stone/The Way It Used To Be/The Lonely Life

Club 8 – Straight As An Arrow

Clubfeet – Everything You Wanted

Coasts – Wallow

Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener

Love this album artwork. Remix After All.

Love this album artwork. Not of this year, but it is Remix After All.

Transformation can do many things to an object. It can make something louder, quieter, bigger, smaller, heavier, lighter, darker, brighter, and so much more. The process of transformation is of some measure science, art, and parts unknown, and thus, cannot be coerced into formula. Remixes seek to transform, in some manner, the source material into something new, fresh, and vibrant. The best remixes do this, and also pave a bridge of familiarity to the original. Developing something new while maintaining some semblance of the old is an enormously difficult task, and that’s why it rarely happens.

If a remixer is smart, the simple act of picking the right song to treat will come with a certain amount of cache, and will garner a certain level of intrigue (read: there will be a built-in audience). But that doesn’t mean the remix will end up being good. So many are not. There are some though, that are good, and some, even better than that. Not only do they transform, they transcend: the source material, emotions, and every so often, time itself. To be lost in a piece of art where an entire dimension (time) ceases to exist is one of the joys of the artistic process, and indeed, one of the joys of this life.

To remix is to change. The best of the best though, remember to keep something of the original intact, whether it’s on the surface or buried deep beneath it. The great Roman poet Ovid, in his sprawling poem, “The Metamorphoses”, gives us an idea that serves as supreme directive for approaching remixes, “Omnia mutantur, nihil interit (everything changes, nothing perishes).”

Here are my Top 40 Remixes of 2013:

40. Postiljonen – All That We Had Is Lost (Keep Shelly In Athens Remix)

39. Britney Spears – Perfume (Cheiro De Quenga Remix)

This remix is brand-spanking new. If I had more time with it, I’d probably like it even more. As it stands now, it’s already one of my favourites.

38. Lady Gaga – Applause (Liam Keegan Bootleg Remix)

37. Mo – Pilgrim (Ms Mr Remix)

36. The 1975 – The City (No Ceremony Remix)

35. The Knife – Let’s Talk About Gender Baby… (Planningtorock Rework)

Even though this is a remix, it’s far and away the most playful tune associated with The Knife’s super-dense Shaking The Habitual. Planningtorock always bring that fire. This is a sneaky prancer of a remix.

34. Moby – The Perfect Life f. Wayne Coyne (Fuck Buttons Remix)

I prefer this remix to the original. A slow burner.

33. The Neighbourhood – Let It Go (Ghost Loft Remix)

32. Puscifer – Breathe (Drumcell Remix)

Drumcell really Donkey Punches The Night out of this remix.

31. Ms Mr – Hurricane (Chvrches Remix)

It’s not like Chvrches were busy or anything — they only crafted one of the best debut pop records of the past 10 years. Yet they still found time to do a few covers and remixes. Absurd hot streak.