But I'm gone do it anyway.
25: THE WIRE -HAIM
Because ripping off of Fleetwood Mac is harder than it looks. This band is pretty over-rated, but if you want a perfect pop track that will be stuck in your head all year, you found it here.
"You know I'm bad at communication."
24: A TOOTH FOR AN EYE -THE KNIFE
The best moments on the new album from The Knife are the ones where they sound the least like their older material. I love the unique Indian/African rythms on this track.
"On my doorstep, a screaming hand. I'm telling you stories. Trust me."
23: BRING THE NOIZE -M.I.A
I wasn't a huge fan of the new M.I.A. album, but this song is one of her most powerful to date.
"It's not me and you, it's the banks!"
22: LOVE IS LOST (HELLO STEVE REICH MIX) -DAVID BOWIE/"BY JAMES MURPHY"
This sounds almost nothing like the "Love Is Lost" Bowie originally gave us. That was a good song and all, but I like it a lot better with Mr. James Murphy at the helm, sampling Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" and Bowie's own "Ashes to Ashes."
"Say hello, hello."
21: CONTROL -Big Sean (ft Jay Electronica & KENDRICK LAMAR)
Pusha T's "Nosetalgia," also ft Kendrick, almost made this list. It's a better song by all means, gotta love Pusha T. Big Sean sucks. But Kendrick's verse on here is unforgettable.
"I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you!"
20: SONG FOR ZULA -PHOSPHORESCENT
In my mind, it takes a lot to earn the title of "songwriter." Matthew Houck matches all requirements. His voice just breaks my heart on this track...
"My heart is wild and my bones are steam and I could kill you with my bare hands if I was free."
19: NEW SLAVES -KANYE WEST (ft Frank Ocean)
Kanye West hates the world and he's very crude. This is pretty standard "trap" music. This isn't news, but sampling Gyöngyhajú Lány is.
"All you blacks want all the same thing!"
18: SAN FRANCISCO -FOXYGEN
The first time I listened to Foxygen, I couldn't decide whether they were trying to sound like The Rolling Stones, Donovan or Lou Reed. This is not a bad problem to have. Catchy. 60s vibe.
"We were stating on this hill that Jesus came from Israel."
17: ALL YOU'RE WAITING FOR -CLASSIXX (ft Nancy Whang)
I really tried getting into electronic dance music this year. And I did.
"Somebody needs a little more everyday."
16: YA HEY -VAMPIRE WEEKEND
This is slow, joyful, classy, extremely catchy, raggae-esque, quirky pop song about Jesus. Why wouldn't this song be on this list?
"America don't love you." "Ya Hey! Deo Annotate!"
15: SHUT UP -SAVAGES
I only know enough about 80s gothic post-punk to know that these guys sound a lot like Joy Division or Siouxsie and the Banshees. Which is something the world kinda needs.
"You're living like the bullets to the sun."
14: SHE FOUND NOW -MY BLOODY VALENTINE
My Bloody Valentine release their first piece of new music in nearly 22 years, and this was the first thing we heard. Pure Magic. (+ dig the lack of rhythm for 5 minutes of your life)
"I wonder how that you find out..."
13: AIRGLOW FIRES -LONE
This year's finest release from R&S records sounds like... elevator music... at a club...
"What?"
12: CHAMAKAY -BLOOD ORANGE
I freaking love this song. It's as smooth and silent as R&B can get with it still getting away with being called "R&B." The instrumentation is enjoyably fluffy, as is the production.
"I see you're waiting for a girl like me to come along... baby, go your own."
11: GOD MADE THE WORLD -COLD CAVE
Everybody and their dog wants to make an 80s synthpop hit these days. I don't think Wesley Eisold aims for the "hit" factor on this as he tries to refine the sounds of 80s darkwave. He nails them both here. This song is just so darn depressing and uniquely stale... yet so easy to dance to.
"God made the world, but I made this song."
10: RETROGRADE -JAMES BLAKE
James Blake's voice on here is sexier than ever. Am I aloud to say that? Anyways, Blake polished up his soul & pop senses on this track, yet still manages to give you the chills like his classic old stuff.
"Suddenly I'm hit!"
9: HANG ON TO LIFE -ARIEL PINK (ftJorge Elbrecht)
I can't believe how high this song is ranked. Ariel Pink has this ability to make his songs sound like background music to crappy 80s TV programs. And I love it. It's one of his dreamiest, most emotionally dramatic tracks he's made. This song needed to happen.
"You screwed the pooch, now face it."
8: WAKIN' ON A PRETTY DAY -KURT VILE
Kurt Vile is a songwriter. He's a long-haired stoner-rock guitarist. He's both. You'd probably be more likely to hear this song on a classic rock radio station than on this list. This is a song for everyman. I haven't heard an acoustic guitar sound this crisp in a long time.
"Don't worry 'bout a thing. It's only dying"
7: REFLEKTOR -ARCADE FIRE
There's a noise at the climax of this song- about 4 minutes in- I've never heard that noise before. Meanwhile... this song is epic, catchy, funky, dark- Arcade Fire did not disappoint this year.
"We fell in love when I was 19, and now we're staring at a screen."
6: WHITE NOISE -DISCLOSURE (ft AlunaGeorge)
Disclosure's album Settle was one of my favorites of the year. Every song on their sounds the same: They all sound like hits. This one I think had the most guts (bass?) to it and the synth echoes are the murkiest. #2 hit in the UK- never heard it on US radio once.
"I know you're smart. You spin me round like a knot."
5: MUTE -YOUTH LAGOON
This song blew my mind the first time I heard it, and was a personal favorite of mine throughout the year. On this album, Trevor Powers sometimes tries too hard to sound weird, but his voice on this track is the sound of emotional, youthful wonder. Sick guitar riff through the second half of the song, too. Epic, psychedelic, lo-fi stuff.
"I never listen, I never listen..."
4: BLURRED LINES -ROBIN THICKE (ft Pharrell Williams & T.I.)
The definition of the "feel-good hit of the summer." You know every line. You know what he's talking about. You can play it on your sister's keyboard (and you don't even know how to play keyboard.) It has more cowbell. It's so simple- almost too simple. While Katy Perry was working her butt off to make her annual radio-perfect turds of music, Robin Thicke was doing something other pop stars should be doing: Nothing. Pop stars take themselves too seriously. If you're worried about making money, just play 4 chords on the keyboard and sing about sex.
"Baby, can you breathe? I bought this in Jamiaca!"
3: GET LUCKY -DAFT PUNK (fy Pharrell Williams)
We're up all night to get lucky.
"We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky!"
2: DOIN' IT RIGHT -DAFT PUNK
Oh hey, look, it's Daft Punk again! This song is ranked so highly because I thought it was going to suck. I love Panda Bear and I love Daft Punk. When I heard about the collab, I thought it would be Daft Punk trying to be weird and hip. Instead, we have the perfect copy-and-paste set up for one of the most memorable songs of 2013. Or 1983. Lennox's voice always sounds distant, as it does here. This time, his voice is trying to reach the other end of the dancefloor- a dancefloor covered by everybody dancing (you, your dad, French robots).
"If you lose your way tonight, that's how you know the magic's right."
1: STEP-VAMPIRE WEEKEND
This is only Vampire Weekend's third album and Ezra Koenig sounds like he's the oldest, wisest man in the business. This song covers all memories of ex-girlfriends (and random 90s California hip-hop groups) you need. Koenig delivers line-after-line on this song. http://rock.rapgenius.com/Vampire-weekend-step-lyrics
"Everyone's dying, but girl, you're not old yet."
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