youth lagoon

September was absolutely, positively stacked with giant songs. Here lie those monoliths:

20. Chvrches – Clearest Blue

19. Rita Ora – Body On Me

18. Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean

17. Youth Lagoon – Highway Patrol Stun Gun

16. Tame Impala – Yes I’m Changing/New Person, Same Old Mistakes

15. Wavves – Way Too Much

14. Bleachers – Like A River Runs

13. Jim Adkins – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun/I Will Go

12. The Neighbourhood – RIP To My Youth

11. Vance Joy – Fire And The Flood

10. Brandi Carlile – Wherever Is Your Heart

9. Charlie Puth f. Meaghan Trainor – Marvin Gaye

8. Nathaniel Ratecliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B.

7. Foals – Mountain At My Gates

6. Shakey Graves – If Not For You

5. Deerhunter – Snakeskin

My favourite Deerhunter song ever.

4. Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin’

My favourite Kurt Vile song ever.

3. Chvrches – Never Ending Circles

It’s hard to gush any further about how talented these 3 artists are. Their way with pop music is unparalleled right now. Hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit…

2. Pure Bathing Culture – Pray For Rain

“Was it pleasure, was it pain, did you pray for rain?” The downpour came at me in waves and I embraced the water as if it were air.

1. Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

Obsessed. Completely and utterly.

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