MY 25 FAVORITE SONGS OF 2013

I hate making lists for songs because it's not like I've heard every song worth hearing in the entire world. I almost ffel like I'm just picking my favorite songs from my favorite albums. I'll probably disagree with my own opinion a year from now. I don't like making song lists...
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  Does name-dropping make you a truly great artist? No. Only if you're being sincere. This song is nostalgic as a yearbook but built like a museum: Just smile, think about the good old days and don't anything.
"Everyone's dying, but girl, you're not old yet."

Some Lists Before I Make My End-of the-Year Music Lists

I've noticed a few leading music critics have already done their lists for 2013's album of the year.
I plan on making a list of MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2013, and even a short list for SONGS.
I am 100% sure what it's going to look like. I will have it up in about a week.
But until then, I thought it'd be appropriate to share a couple of different lists...

8 ALBUMS FROM LAST YEAR THAT I STILL ACTUALLY LISTEN TO:
#8- Godspeed You! Black Emperor- 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
#7-  Death Grips- The Money Store
#6- Beach House- Bloom
#5- Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel...
#4- Swans- The Seer
#3- Japandroids- Celebration Rock
#2- Frank Ocean- Channel Orange
#1- Kendrick Lamar- good kid, m.A.A.d city
(i also listen to the occasional Flying Lotus, Converge, Tame Impala and Cloud Nothings these days)

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE NEW DECADE:
#10- my #2 album from this year 2013
#9- Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues 2011
#8- Frank Ocean- Channel Orange 2012
#7- Destroyer- Kaputt 2011
#6- my #1 album from this year 2013
#5- LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening 2010
#4- Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2010
#3- Kendrick Lamar- good kid, m.A.A.d city (this is my #1 on a good day) 2012
#2- Beach House- Teen Dream (same here) 2010
#1- Bon Iver- Bon Iver 2011

WHY DID I POST THIS? TOP 3 REASONS:
#3- I think about this a lot more often than I'd like to admit
#2- Needed a break from homework
#1- Actually, I'm getting back to that RIGHT NOW.

"Reality" song titles

I plan on recording some self-written songs on my laptop that only require an acoustic guitar + vocals. (and maybe a vibraphone) I guess I'd call it a project and I guess I'd call the project "Reality" and I guess these are some song titles I'd be using.

"Our Hero Tries Something New"
"Memory Maker"
"Falselife"
"October/Abandon" (inst)
"The Maturity Wars"
"Our Hero Takes a Week Off & Misses Everything Important"
"Just a World"
"WI" (inst)
"Ageless"
a very personal song ("fighting the fire with wood?")
"Reality"

*I really want a vibraphone for half of these songs.

My Personal Hipster Victories

I have apparently been getting my name out in the world of hipster things.
I'm cool like that.
and of course, i listed them...
#9-I have the top comment on a youtube video of a high school a cappella choir covering The Dirty Projectors' "Cannibal Resource."
#8-Whenever Anthony Fantano answers the stupid stuff I post on his wall (ex: Me- "Is there a count for how many times a Fugazi album has been in the background of your reviews this year?" Him- "Nobody is counting that.")
#7-I talked on the phone at work with a guy from Eau Claire, WI. He was friends w/ Justin Vernon's mom. His kids went to high school w/ Justin Vernon.
#6-I had an email interview with the man who does official college radio promoting for tons of indie bands. To name a few: M83, Destroyer, Wilco... this guy was friends with Jeff Tweedy
#5-Just weeks before Lou Reed passed away, I had the top comment on a youtube video for The Velvet Underground & Nico full album.
#4-Whoever works the LCD Soundsystem Facebook page commented on something I posted on their wall last week (They said "why thank you!" ...If this Facebook page is ran by James Murphy, this might move up to #1.)
#3-I stood next to the lead singer of Swearin' (Allison Crutchfield) at a Japandroids show. Told her she did a great job, gave her a high 5 and we rocked out.
#2-I have the top comment on youtube for the official video of Grizzly Bear's "While You Wait for the Others."
#1-The lead singer for Japandroids (Brian King) walked by me before the show (with his girlfriend), noticed my Vancouver Canucks jersey and stopped to say, "Hey dude, nice shirt!" Thanks.

"Cannibal Resource" a capella cover

"While You Wait for the Others" official

Whole album.

Funerals

There are 3 ways I talk about the classic album Funeral. 1- Musically/critically speaking. 2-My personal connection with it. 3- The message of the album. This is a blog about that 3rd one.
I never fully understood Arcade Fire's Funeral until this summer, my first summer in a few years without any clinical stress disorder issues. I don't want to talk about who the band is now or who they've been for the last few years, but I'd like to talk about people dying.
The band recorded the album after a series of recent deaths of their family members. Making music is hard to do in a time of mourning, but perhaps it's easier when your music mourns with you.
Funeral covers all post-traumatic emotion, the fear and the comfort that follows it.
The first song starts with an organ that sounds like it had already been playing, and we just started listening in abruptly. The first word of the album is "and." It's as if Win Butler has already gotten a lot off his chest, but he and his band can go on for another 45 minutes.
The album has a lot of themes:  Family, death, youth, lies, neighborhoods, love, babies, sleeping, light, shadows... as familiar as these themes seem, you never know when they're going to bring up which topic.
The album kicks off at the end of tears and the beginning of a comforting revelatory experience. You can always just "dig a tunnel" if things go wrong. There's even a moment or two of fear in Win's voice, but everything turns out okay in the end. Track 2 is a harsh return to reality and full of panic, realizing the world is still a scary place and the past is real. Track 3 is some much-needed comfort food, mostly slow, but turning into something energetic by the end. Track 4 doesn't stop the energy at all, just turns it into something dark. The blood just started pumping in track 3, and it was a joyful experience. In track 4, the power goes out ("in the heart of man"). It's an anxious run through the neighborhood trying to find the light again. Track 5 is very slow, very quiet, and even includes the household familiar sound of a boiling kettle. The character figures out what he wants with his life, if only for a few minutes.
Track 6 keeps the same slow pace, but the volume builds up and the original patience eventually crashes into a something that reminds me of tantrums I used to have as a toddler. The sprint apparently ends at a mountain top where track 7 takes place. A banner is waving from above reminding us to never grow up and staying young is the only way to hold on to good feelings through sucky adulthood. Track 8 is a dreamy tack with samples that sound like a stream you'd find in meadow. It's refreshing, but it doesn't make any sense. Track 9 has a throbbing beat throughout, while the band ponders if everything in this world is "just a lie." The original chord progression is a major key that's uplifting, but there's an unexpected minor chord progression that throws you off-guard. The beat doesn't stop, but what started out as inspiring ends on a dark note. Track 10 is the finale. Very slow. It's the lonely ride home at 1 a.m. Classic theatrical build (soft/loud/not as soft/very loud/prolonged diminuendo). It ends so softly, I'm still not sure what the final note is. Perhaps it ends right where it began.
I'm sure that the depressive feeling of thinking nobody cares about you comes after a loved one loses a life. Considering these guys were just some random people making a debut album in Canadian city with little rock history, I'm sure Arcade Fire felt this way commercially as well. But they worked their butts off on it anyway.
Despite the darkness and fear that comes with Funeral, it's a reminder that you have something to live for. You may be thinking negative thoughts and feel confused everyday, but somebody's hearing you. You can pray. You can talk to a friend. You can talk to a stranger. You can record it in a studio so millions of strangers can hear you.
And of course, you can always dig a tunnel.
You shouldn't have to feel alone at a funeral.

thoughts on Arcade Fire's REFLEKTOR (after 2 listens)

Who is Arcade Fire?
A very brief history: *From some humble beginnings, their 2004 kickoff LP Funeral has been hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time. It was meta-critically ranked as the 2nd most acclaimed album of the 2000s. Since then, they come up with a concept album every 3 years. They've all been great thus far and have accelerated the band's commercial success. Still with little-to-none radio-airplay in the U.S., they've somehow become the biggest band in the world.*
This success is pure happenstance, in my opinion. Funeral set the stage for indie bands in the next 10 years, but that was on mistake. The band's follow up albums have increasingly strayed from that original sound. Reflektor does anything but reflect the sound of Funeral, their popularity is also foreign to what it was 9 years ago. It's a move that big rock bands have done in the past- U2's Achtung Baby was U2's abandoning the sounds that made them popular in the first place and showing off a rock-star persona that's both really goofy and really scary. Reflektor doubles as both AF's Achtung Baby AND their Magical Mystery Tour, toying with crazy studio production tricks with help from indie-music production hero James Murphy.
The title track is the band's first song to actually reach the U.S. Hot 100 (peak at #99), but I feel like no matter what the lead single was, this was going to happen anyway, because of where they are. But for the record, it's a GREAT track. It's a powerful album opener, the lyrics are open to interpretation, it's catchy, it's danceable, it's dark, the production is top-notch. Too many good things to say about this track. The rest of the album is not as instantly loveable. Like... at all.
No matter what you say about the music, Mr. Murphy definitely worked his butt off on this thing. "Normal Person," despite it's lyrical stupidity, packs a lot of glam rock energy and comes off a very enjoyable, Bowie-esque standout track. "Joan of Arc," my indefinite least favorite track, comes off overly cheesy and I'm 75% sure it's just about love. Murphy's handiwork saves this track from hopelessness with epic overdubs in the chorus and a cool-enough Gary Glitter beat. (Gosh, this song bugs me though.) Also, I feel like in scattered parts of the album, Win Butler's lyrics aren't as strong as they've been in the past, especially after the very much "songwriter" album The Suburbs.
I've never taken drugs before. But this album would sound GLORIOUS if I was high.
"We Exist" > "Flashbulb Eyes" > "Here Comes the Night Time" make for a great coked-out trio of songs. The beat on "Exist" is worthy of a disco ball. "Eyes" has freaky production tricks chopped up  throughout. "Night Time's" lyrics creep me out behind its dark yet joyful rhythms that speed up and slow down unexpectedly. Disc 2's closer "Supersymmetry" would fit in nicely on the recent LPs from Destroyer or M83; it's hazy, dreamy, there's a nice use of strings to keep it interesting.
This album tells a story, but I'm not sure what. Unlike the friendly, relatable tales of childhood that Suburbs tell, Reflektor talks about death and makes senseless statements throughout. ("We exist!" "Love is real, like a disease." "If you're looking for Hell, just try looking inside.") Despite Butler's elaborate lyrics in the past, I love this. It fits the band's new personality. "Afterlife" is an emotional highlight on the album with a sprinting rhythm, while Win cries out his fear of death and anything afterwards. It's a great track placed perfectly, saving disc 2 from being too quiet or too boring.
There's supposed to be a personal intermission between disc 1 and 2. The album is a lot more enjoyable this way. Like most musical theater productions, the first half is fast, loud and interesting, and the second half is for those who've been following the real plot, testing the audience to see if they can stay awake. It's a neat idea. Considering the strenuous length of the album, the 5 minute fade following "Supersymmetry" is a good way to exit the theater.
The sound samples of introducing the band and people cheering on disc 1 weren't necessary. I suppose it made me smile at 1 in the morning. "Awful Sound" is a beautiful, uncomfortably emotional track. "Porno" has some awkward lyrical content that I approve. Actually, a lot of this of this album is awkward, and I do quite enjoy it.
How does Reflektor compare with other AF albums? How does it compare with other 2013 albums? It hurts me to think about this, so I'll leave that up to you. But fact is, Arcade Fire passed the test of tortured artists disguised as senseless rock stars. It's definitely not a perfect album, but it fits the criteria for a "beautiful dark twisted fantasy." AF and Murphy worked hard on this, but arguably harder than they needed to. Hmmm...
I usually don't score albums, but what the hey: 8.5, maybe 9 out of 10...

4 songs from 2013 I HAD to write a blog about

Before I go into this, here are a few songs I considered writing about:
* 'Get Lucky' (Daft Punk) * 'White Noise' (Disclosure) * 'God Made the World' (Cold Cave) * 'Wakin' on a Pretty Day' (Kurt Vile) * 'Ya Hey' (Vampire Weekend) * 'Retrograde' (James Blake) * 'Hang on to Life' (Ariel Pink) * other stuff *
Okay. 2013 isn't over yet. Not even close. There are plenty of releases coming up that I predict to be really really good. But when it comes to songs, it's hard to follow. I myself don't consider critic's lists for songs at the end of the year to be all that accurate. It's hard to tell which songs are going to last a long time. But here are 4 songs (in no particular order) that I have totally loved all year.

DOIN' IT RIGHT -Daft Punk (ft Panda Bear)
"This Daft Punk album would probably be really good to take drugs and listen to on a rainy bridge across the Gulf of Mexico." -Diplo. I have never never done drugs or visited the Gulf of Mexico. But I think this song captures that feeling more than any other. I'm specifically referring to the short, basic keyboard solo in the middle of the song. Panda Bear's voice in this song is basically the sound of magic, echo, overdub and all. There are only a few lyrics to the song. You hear robots saying the same 4 lines over and over again. This is like the song you've heard a million times before you've even heard it once. In an attempt to make an album that sounds like it could've been made 30 years ago, Daft Punk gave us something that just might last 30 years and beyond.

MUTE -Youth Lagoon
I feel stupid trying to explain how Youth Lagoon sounds. I always conclude that it's like MGMT & Mercury Rev covering AC's Merriweather Post Pavilion. And then I actually listen to them and I'm like- nah. Trevor Powers (aka Youth Lagoon) comes from Boise, ID, and I'm glad I can enjoy an artist that lives so close to my hometown. He music has been defined as lo-fi, psychedelic, dream pop. The lyrics on his Wondrous Bughouse album are mostly about death, ghosts, sleep. One of my favorite critics Anthony Fantano, didn't even review the album. He makes a case for artists who make plain melodies behind unnecessary noise. I guess Youth Lagoon goes under that category. If you're lame. This is probably my favorite album opener of the year. Great guitar riff, great playful, mysterious noises in the background. It's the beginning of something weird and epic.

BLURRED LINES -Robin Thicke (ft Pharrell Willians & T.I)
Am I sell-out? I sold out from the very first time I heard this song. IT'S STUPID. There are only a few notes here. It's not exactly the most harmonic thing in the world. The song is about sex. Zero poetic value ("Baby, can you breath? I got this from Jamaica!" ...I don't know what that means) .Anyway, what I love about this song is that Thicke & his crew didn't try too hard. Spoon's Kill the Moonlight has been praised for it's sounding like the perfect "bare bones" rock record. This is the bare bones of generic pop/r&b. We have the lead guy who's only made 1 good song his entire life, we have the sexy black dude, and we have a rap verse in the middle. What more do you need, what more do you want?  Each line should be classic, doesn't have to make sense or be intelligent, just has to be quotable (see Janelle Monae's "Tightrope" or Outkast's "Hey Ya!" for further instructions on that one). You want more cowbell, we got plenty of cowbell. Can there be a 100% guaranteed "feel good hit of the summer"? Let's just make this the #1 song in America from June 22-September 7. This song shouldn't be so controversial to the public- it's the perfect example of every generic pop hit from the last 20 years. Get over it.

STEP -Vampire Weekend
I said these songs were in no particular order. The other 3 aren't. This is my favorite. And for the record, Vampire's Weekend album has been my favorite album of the year thus far (it might get beat!), but this song is a golden child. Webster's dictionary defines nostalgia as "a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition." Aren't songs about ex-girlfriends and growing old supposed to be depressing? Ezra Koenig turns these topics into something "wistful." It's both cheeky and tongue-and-cheek. Think Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" or "You Can Call Me Al"... only with church organs, synthesized choirs, a cool harpsichord part, tons of cultural references and hints of hip-hop. It's hard, I know, but think about it. Koenig delivers line-after-line on this song more than any other VW tracks. I have not studied what every single line is about, but if you really want to, there's this: http://rock.rapgenius.com/Vampire-weekend-step-lyrics#note-1593862. For a song about personal memories, it doubles as university-class library of history. Now just because a song has a bunch of personal pronouns in its lyrics, that doesn't make it better than everything else (then again, the Barenaked Ladies were launched to popularity with "One Week" and "If I Had $1,000,000"). But I think the music captures the lyrical concept and turns it into something joyful- and as far as pop music goes- spiritual. Here's a crisp, delicate wine-glass toast to everything stupid you've done in your youth, and everything you've learned as well.