wales

My 20 Favourite songs of April, 2015:

20. Of Monsters and Men – Crystals

19. Walk Off The Earth – Rule The World

18. Modest Mouse – The Best Room

17. The Mowgli’s – I’m Good

16. Courtney Barnett – Depreston

15. American Authors – Believer

14. Action Bronson – Easy Rider

13. Florence And The Machine – What Kind Of Man

12. Jack U – Where Are U Now f. Justin Bieber

11. Ms Mr – Painted

10. Sufjan Stevens – Should Have Known Better

9. Tame Impala – Let It Happen

8. The Helio Sequence – Stoic Resemblance

7. Hot Chip – Need You Now

6. Destra Garcia – Lucy

5. Dear Rouge – Black to Gold

Bonus: Awolnation – Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)

Already made one of my lists earlier in the year, but that beat kept on coming. This song is a monster.

4. Brandon Flowers – Can’t Deny My Love

Can’t deny how brilliant and hook-filled this lead single to Flowers’ 2nd solo album is.

Bonus: Heems – Soup Boys (from Jan 2013)

Just came across this behemoth. The lyrics are funny and the beat is enticing like cake is with icing.

3. Bear In Heaven – Autumn

It’s so easy to get lost in the majestic haze of this song. A testament to its power, as soon as it’s finished, I want to immediately press replay.

2. Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money (Handbag House vs. Krazy Kat Bootleg Mix)

So absurd. So gitchy. So good. Way, way better than the original.

Bonus: Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible (entire album)

I saw these Welsh legends perform The Holy Bible in its entirety when their tour stopped in Toronto — man, am I thankful I decided to go to that show. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t get into this album when it was released in 1994. I’m elated to say that I finally found it. And what a revelation it’s been to me in the brief time I’ve come to know it. It’s massive, melodic, a monument of rock ‘n roll, punk, and art. I’m in love with the entire album, front to back. This album dominated me in April as I played these tracks time after time. Here are a few of the outstanding tracks from that seminal, jaw-breaking record:

1. A Silent Film – Tomorrow

Couldn’t get enough of this track. This is a nostalgia-inducing, melody-indebted, mountain-climbing, mega-sized gem of a song. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, you’ll find out tomorrow…” Over and over and over, until the number on the calendar changes. Then I can sing it again, tomorrow.

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