Here's my favorite music of this year.
Top 10 Albums of 2013
Honorable Mentions: LONG.LIVE.A$AP by A$AP Rocky, AM by Arctic Monkeys, Lousy with Sylvianbriar by Of Montreal, ...Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age, The Hands That Thieve by Streetlight Manifesto
10. B-Room by Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog is like AC/DC—you know exactly what you're going to get when you buy one of their records. I like Dr. Dog, so I liked B-Room.
9. We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic by Foxygen
Little Steven is probably still blowing a huge load over this album on the Underground Garage.
8. Days Are Gone by Haim
If I had to make a list of people I'd marry, it would be 1. Pam McD*****, 2. Este Haim, 3. Danielle Haim, 4. Alana Haim
7. Yeezus by Kanye West
I think this album is funny, even though I'm still not convinced Kanye is in on the joke.
6. Love Sign by Free Energy
The part of my psyche that strives to be optimistic and find joy in every part of life uses this album as its soundtrack.
5. Trouble Will Find Me by the National
Name me a band with a better hit-to-miss ratio than the National. You can name plenty? Well...okay. I just really like the National.
4. Muchacho by Phosphorescent
I dunno, I'm not good at writing about the ineffable qualities of music. This album makes me feel things. Go buy it or steal it.
3. Reflektor by Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire proves here they can have fun, which right away makes it better than The Suburbs, but The Suburbs won a Grammy, and Reflektor won't get shit, so what do I know I guess?
2. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend can pretty much do no wrong at this point.
1. The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River
Am I going crazy? Am I the only person on earth who likes this album? The fact that I haven't seen it on a single End of the Year list yet fucking BOGGLES my mind. This isn't something I'm comfortable with, in like a "I'm so cool because I like an album no one seems to appreciate" kind of way. This is upsetting. It insults me. The Silver Gymnasium is everything a great album should be. It's constantly upbeat. It's nostalgic. It's a personal love letter by its author yet somehow feels also universal. What the fuck is wrong with you savages? WHY DON'T YOU LIKE THIS??
Top 10 Songs of 2013
10. "Avocado, Baby" by Los Campesinos!
Los Campesinos! aren't really fun anymore, which is disappointing because in my freshman year of college they were probably the most fun band I listened to, give or take a Hold Steady. "Avocado, Baby" is the exception to the rule at this point in Los Camp's life. It's fun in the way the whole album No Blues was clearly intended to be, but ultimately failed.
9. "New Slaves" by Kanye West
Kanye West claims that the second verse of this song is the best rap verse of all time. This is preposterous, of course. I know close to nothing about rap, but out of the very few rap albums I heard this year, it wasn't even the best (That goes to the verse about "the b****'s pussy smelling like a penguin"—again, I listen to very little rap). Still, this song is pretty good.
8. "Hangin" by Free Energy
This is the Friend Gathering song of the year. Don't call it a party song. You don't dance to it. But if you are having a few friends over for a few Hamm's and some chips and dip, put this on your iPod and let the playlist go from there.
7. "Song for Zula" by Phosphorescent
See my entry for Muchacho. I would pretty much write the same thing for this song. Again, I'm not good at writing about music.
6. "On a Balcony" by Okkervil River
You may claim that "Down, Down the Deep River" is the best song on the album, but Will Sheff is at the top of his game when his voice strains to sing as loudly as he can, and "On a Balcony" certainly reaches those heights.
5. "I Should Live in Salt" by the National
"Hey, guys, what should we do with our next song so Joe appreciates our band, the National, even more than he already does?" "Let's make it in an irregular time signature." Hundreds of miles away, Joe gets a boner and he doesn't know why. But he'll soon find out.
4. "Fuckin' Problems" by A$AP Rocky
See my entry for "New Slaves." I don't listen to much rap. But this shit is infectious. And I love the F-Bomb! It's like it's rap made just for me!
3. "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire
James Murphy's influence was probably overexaggerated in reviews of Reflektor. But the title track truly is the perfect blend of LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire, two bands that apparently go better together than peanut butter and banana.
2. "Step" by Vampire Weekend
The steady stomps. The harpsichord. The verses with too many words crammed into them. The falsetto. These are things I love about this song, and more.
1. "Forever" by Haim
Fuck you, I know this came out as a single in 2012. It was on their 2013 album, and I didn't hear it until 2013, and it such a goddamn good song that I would gladly say fuck it and come up with some asinine excuse to put it at the top of 2014's and 2015's lists as well. It's so FUCKING catchy. The video is so goddamn sexy. The singer sneers the verses and I swoon. I can't stop listening. It's starting to get uncomfortable. Quick, someone smash my iPod for me so it'll end an I can go back to my normal life.
Top 10 Non-2013 Albums That I Listened To in 2013
10. Consolers of the Lonely by the Raconteurs
Jack White can rock no matter who he's playing with (he plays in a lot of different bands, P.S.).
9. The Bends by Radiohead
On a list filled with "I can't believe you'd never heard THAT album!", this may be the most perplexing. I have never been the biggest fan of Radiohead. I like them a lot, but I never loved them. They just depend too much on the bleeps and the bloops ("Fitter Happier," etc.). This though... this I can love. I honestly didn't know Radiohead could rock like this.
8. Heartland by Owen Pallett
Billed as "a concept album featuring an angry farmer having a series of one-sided conversations with God." So of course this is gonna be right up my alley...? The orchestration is pretty kick-ass, though.
7. On the Impossible Past by the Menzingers
Way more screamy than I usually go for, but something about these Scrantonites just connected with me, for some reason.
6. Kill the Moonlight by Spoon
Having discovered Spoon around the time of "The Underdog," I had yet to really dig into their past albums. Apparently this one was universally acclaimed, and I didn't even know of its existence until this year? So much for being into music?
5. A Weekend in the City by Bloc Party
It took me so long to get around to this album because critics beat it senseless when it came out, apparently because it wasn't Silent Alarm. What the fuck? This is a good album! (See also: At Mount Zoomer, Neon Bible, probably the next album on the list)
4. Congratulations by MGMT
The most disappointing album of the year for me was MGMT's self-titled, which was a few good ideas at the front end of the album and a bunch of terrible ideas at the end. What bummed me out more than the album, even, were the reviews of it, most of which mentioned how shitty Congratulations was too. Where do these pretentious fucks get off? How is Congratulations anywhere close to being shitty? It's weird, it's goofy, it's fucking fun.
3. The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse
Yeah, this one is awesome. So fucking bloated with good ideas. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Moon & Anarctica, still not really, though I try really hard every so often. That's absolutely why I was hesitant to add another long-ass Modest Mouse album to my album. My fear is gone, as The Lonesome Crowded West almost immediately clicked.
2. Omnibus by Tarkio
Hard-pressed to name my Top Three Bands Ever, I would probably include the Decemberists (ask me on a different day and I might give you a different answer). This is pretty much a Decemberists album. Colin Meloy, though a little younger, and a little more folksy, is still Colin Meloy, and he's doing the same shit he's always done, and I love him for it.
1. Satanic Panic in the Attic by Of Montreal
I listened to a good amount of Of Montreal this year. I listened to four albums, including their new one, and each one is great in its own right. What is really astounding about Of Montreal is how truly different each album sounds. Like, I'm saying that the four albums I listened to sounds like four completely different bands all together. Out of all the renditions of the band I heard, I like this psychedelic disco version best. Every song is just such a goddamn delight. It's so upbeat. It's a shame it took me so long to enjoy Of Montreal in all its different flavors, Satanic Panic most especially.
