2013 has been a year of bands coming back from long breaks like Daft Punk, My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, and Black Sabbath. There were also amazing second and third albums from The Dubs (Vampire Weekend), MGMT, Local Natives, Surfer Blood, Grouplove, Best Coast, M.I.A., and many more. There's so many great music produced this year and I'm so glad I was able to absorb at least a percentage of it. I have so many albums that I wish I'd given more time to listen to like Laura Marling's Once I Was An Eagle that barely got playtime on my iTunes, or Noah and the Whale's Heart Of Nowhere that has probably only plays for There Will Come A Time, or Blood Orange(aka Dev Hynes)'s Cupid Deluxe, which I haven't even gotten myself to pressing that play button yet. There's so many things I want to listen to but sometimes my mood just tells me to play that Bastille record one more time. So, I'm saying sorry now for not having any of the aforementioned artists on my list but it's still a pretty good list.
But before that, I have to mention that my babies, Vampire Weekend, were given the number one spot on Rolling Stone's Best Album of 2013. I can't help but be all proud and happy for them because I know it has been a real journey for the completion of this masterpiece called Modern Vampires of the City. These young lions really took their time and it shows because of the deep and mature tone the lyrics have become since talking about oxford commas five years ago. They definitely deserve this spot and I'm hoping they win a Grammy for this because, as biased as this may sound, I strongly believe this is Vampire Weekend's year.
Now, on to the list.
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The Top 5
- Step - Vampire Weekend // "Wisdom's a gift but you'd trade it for youth/Age is an honor - it's still not the truth"; This beautiful line absolutely slayed me. Ezra Koenig is a modern day poet. The album, MVOTC, is filled with more of these smart and deep lyrics to accompany their music. With a great record like this, it's hard to choose just one song to represent them in the list. Personally, my favorite off the album is Hannah Hunt because the song just spoke to me. When I need a perfect representation of their maturity, Hannah Hunt is definitely it. Just listen to it. (Fun fact: The song actually dates back to seven years ago but the band felt it wasn't ready until this third album to finally release it.)
- Pompeii - Bastille // This track just screams epicness and grandeur when I listen to it. Dan Smith, the vocalist and songwriter of this song, said that he got inspiration for the song by imagined two people from the ruins of Pompeii just having a chat about what has happened. I love songs like these that tell stories from different perspectives. (Like, Foster The People's Pumped Up Kicks) This single is also a great song to lure people into listening to their album - which is actually pretty great.
- Mirrors - Justin Timberlake // Now, this is how you do a comeback. Well, JT never really went away; he just focused on acting for a bit. But now that he's making music again, The 20/20 Experience is deserving of all the hype it got. Mirrors is the track that I absolutely loved instead of Suit & Tie. It doesn't matter that it's 8 minutes long, every melody is worth listening to. Plus, have you seen the music video? Oh, what I'd give to see him perform live...
- Heavy Feet - Local Natives // There was a time that I couldn't bring myself to listen to Hummingbird because every time I tried to, it would break my heart and send me to tears. I vaguely remember just hearing the first beat of Heavy Feet and I had to stop it because... Anyway, thankfully I got past that and I was able to fully enjoy my Local Natives. I find it very hard to choose favorites from albums that I really love because it changes over time. At one point you're drawn to this and then after a while it becomes Colombia. And then you start crooning, "Am I loving enough?" I don't what'll happen when the time comes that I finally see them perform live. They're the kind of band that just evokes my emotions, much like The Lumineers. Imagine if I saw Local Natives and The Lumineers in one night. What would happen to me then? Imagine if I were at Coachella... dead.
- Retrograde - James Blake // I talked about James Blake in a previous post because I got really interested in him as an artist. He's only 25 but I feel like he knows so much. This song is nothing but beauty and pureness. When you hear that initial hum, it'll be a while before it leaves you.
~
*In no particular order
- The Wire - Haim
- Trying To Be Cool - Phoenix
- Chocolate - The 1975
- Shot At The Night - The Killers
- Changing Of The Seasons - Two Door Cinema Club
- Gun - Chvrches
- Afterlife - Arcade Fire
- Ways To Go - Grouplove
- Come Walk With Me - M.I.A.
- Avocado, Baby - Los Campesinos!
- Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey (technically not from 2013 but it gained traction this year and people went crazy for it, including me)
- Hold On, We're Going Home - Drake
- This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - The Lumineers
- So Good At Being In Trouble - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
- Latch (ft. Sam Smith) - Disclosure
- Riptide - Vance Joy
- Supersoaker - Kings Of Leon
- Do I Wanna Know - Arctic Monkeys
- Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
- Okay - Holy Ghost!
- High Hopes - Kodaline
- Get Lucky (Feat. Pharell and Nile Rogers) - Daft Punk
- Beta Love - Ra Ra Riot
- Demon Dance - Surfer Blood
- Hurricane - MS MR
- Dropla - Youth Lagoon
- Walking On A Pretty Day - Kurt Vile
- Easy Easy - King Krule
- Royals - Lorde
- Your Life Is A Lie - MGMT
- Don't Try - Everything Everything
- Fame Is For Assholes (Feat. Chiddy Bang) - Hoodie Allen
- Closer - Tegan and Sara
- Sight Of The Sun - Fun.
- The Throw - Jagwar Ma
- My Number - Foals
- Let It Rain - Eliza Doolittle
- Another Love - Tom Odell
- No Destruction - Foxygen
- Blood On The Leaves - Kanye West
- Hey Now - London Grammar
- Step Up For The Cool Cats - Palma Violets
- I Love It (Feat. Charli XCX) - Icona Pop
- Bubble Butt (Feat. Bruno Mars, Tyga, & Mystic) - Major Lazer
- Endless Fantasy - Anamanaguchi
s/o (shout outs):
Daughter for finally releasing their first full length album, If You Leave. Their song Youth has been around since 2011 from their EP, The Wild Youth. From the moment I heard that song, I fell in love with them and I'm so glad their record is out now.
The National for their sixth studio album, Trouble Will Find Me. Also, for an amazing album cover.
Chance The Rapper, ASAP Ferg, Earl Sweatshirt, and the like for reintroducing me to my love for hip-hop and rap.
shout out 2 the righteous. shout out 2 the wicked? (holla if you know the reference)
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