The Top 21 Tracks of 2013

Well, well, well.  Look what the cat dragged in.  My very first public top list, and over three months late, to boot.

Ask my friends, I'm the world's biggest fan of preambles, but I think for now it'd be best to just get this kicked off:

1. Colin Stetson – This Bed Of Shattered Bone

Sometimes you need only hear a few bars to know that Somebunny Went to Music School.  This entire album has melancholy and fervor scattered throughout.  This Bed of Shattered Bone in particular is not for times of cowardice.  Naw, it's for times when you're taking a good look at the back of your eyelids, inhaling and exhaling with intention, and bucking up for what awaits you.  There's just something about witnessing technical precision that you've got to find empowering.  Reflect and smile kindly to yourself, for Mr. Stetson.

2. A$AP Rocky – F**kin' Problems

Including this track on my list runs a serious serious risk of redundancy.  But it's here because, despite some troubling lyrics, it kicked off 2013 for me by reminding me that I'm still young.

Long after the sun has set, do some doughnuts on the La Cienega metro parking lot and turn your volume up enough that you worry you'll blow out the speakers.  Drake is annoying, but, hey, his laugh gets me.  Maybe what I like most about this track is that I can almost see the corners of everyone's mouth upturned; t's jubilant and cocky.  Bravado, machismo, and maybe even some vulnerability (?), come at me.

3. James Blake – Retrograde

I heard this many times before I realized that it should be regarded separately from the genre I call KCRW Easy Listening.  When it set its hooks into me, oh, did it get me, and I'd like to point out that this is a rare instance of a track played regularly on the radio (well, NPR and college stations) that has dynamics.  Accordingly, this falls squarely under the category of songs which demand quality speakers to appreciate.

4. A Hawk And A Hacksaw – Wedding Theme (Ukraine)

My parents have warned me many times throughout my life that any wedding in which Bride and Groom giggle during vows signals a marriage that is certainly doomed.  Call me a hard ass (I've been called much worse), but I have to agree.  A wedding is an ordeal, damn it, but so much of the American Wedding is just the next step up from a Super Sweet Sixteen.

Enter A Hawk And A Hacksaw, who are here to tell you to cut the shit and have solemn regard for just what you're stepping into.  The chorus only echoes this.

So are you not involved in a traditional Ukrainian wedding any time soon?  No matter.  Like Bed of Shattered Bone, the themes here are universal and this is beautiful enough that I wouldn't think it would scare away someone who wants to feel like that run is extra significant today.  This is no background music; it requires your attention. 

5. Foxygen – Where's the Money?

Foxygen takes us where I so desperately wished MGMT would in their latest (though MGMT ain't anything to sneeze at).  Now, my comment is obvious, just look at the instrumentation.  With that said, this fits perfectly with the beat of each passing house as you make your way Westward on the Expo line.  The rest of Foxygen's efforts (which mostly came out in 2012, so I won't cheat) are worth your time, too.

6. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Atomic Ranch

A track from an album I otherwise was not in love with.  But a gem is a gem (unless it is a cognac diamond, in which case, you've been had), and this was just weird enough to get me through 1L.  Perhaps my favorite line all year,

"I want a future so bright that it burns my eyes."

Words for a millennial to live by, right?

This isn't something I'd blast at parties.  As it turns out, not everyone is as much of a sucker for synthetic voices as I am (see also Air's How Does It Make You Feel, anyone?).  But for those of you who are not immediately turned off, give yourself some goosebumps, look into the eyes of the beast, and ask yourself what you want out of life and what you're going to do to get it.

The world ain't your giving tree, but to yearn deeply, chronically, this is what makes us human.   That and language, complex ethics systems, opposable thumbs, and war.  Don't forget about that, weird robot voice.

7. Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Day

He's not from here, but Vile's voice to me is an orange midwinter haze in LA.  Palms and grit.  It's good.

8. Homeboy Sandman – Knock

Homeboy Sandman is easily one of my favorite discoveries in 2013.  Something about his lyrics made me think we had something in common, and when I read up on him, I was surprised I wasn't surprised that he has a legal background.  I'm rarely disappointed by his sampling and his lyrics are poingnant, sweet even.  Runts easily could have replaced Knock's spot here, but, as you might learn, Dear Reader, I tend to promote songs that get my adrenaline pumping.  If you want love and family in your heart, go for Runts, if you're twenty minutes late to pick your friend up before trekking across K-town, Knock's gotcha covered.

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Under The Earth

My relationship with YYY is complicated.  Having followed them for ten years now, I feel a real kinship to each member, but they've disappointed me in a few big ways throughout the years.  Their 2009 Bonnaroo performance, for instance, was so slack that during one song they had to stop just a few bars in, rearrange themselves so they could all count together, and start back up.  Now, I am racking my brain, and I cannot think of another time which I have actually witnessed a train wreck of that magnitude from a band in such demand (at the time).  Were they strung out?  Was it a new song?  Naw, I can't remember the song, wish I could, it really just seemed that they hadn't put in the time rehearsing enough.  In retrospect, this makes sense: I believe Karen O and Nick were feuding and perhaps they weren't getting as much time together as they needed.  A more diligent author of this piece would double check if the YYY tension occurred during Show Your Bones or It's Blitz!  But this hypothetical diligent author is nowhere to be found, so for now, Dear Reader can google it her own damn self.

Still, the music and my history with YYY had me coming back, and this was all water under the bridge, until Mosquito.  Never has a band I once loved so much given me something that made me recoil SO quickly.

Despite all of this trash talking, Under the Earth blessedly reminds us why we fell in love with YYY in the first place.  Karen O has three modes: yalping, creeping, and mediocre half-singing.  Karen O opts for option (2) here to great success.  For future reference, forget that nonsense Jonze has conjured out of you the past few years, it bores the crap out of me.  Stay weird.

10. Coco O. – Where The Wind Blows

This track doesn't make any sense when it's cold out.  This is a song for fresh beginnings and merriment.  Congratulations: you made it through 1L, it's your birthday month, and you're driving to Vegas.  (Spoiler alert: Vegas is horrible, don't ever go there again). 

It occurs to me that, though I never ended up seeing The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann is one hell of a curator, especially when it comes to stylistic mash-ups.  Here, Coco O. brings us instrumentation that captures the elation (and arguably the musical sensibility) of the 20s but it's also hard for me to imagine this having come out in any year but 2013.  In a time where quirky female lyrical styles are all over the place, I'm happy to find someone who won't be on the radio any time soon belting it out.

11. Laura Marling – Master Hunter

This is it, people.  Laura Marling, you are my woman.

"You're not sad, you look for the blues.  I have some news: wrestling a rope from darkness is no fucking life I would choose."

Powerful stuff.  Ironically, though this is probably my favorite track of the entire year, I don't have too much to add.  The woman speaks for herself.

12. Laura Mvula – Make Me Lovely

Of course, this is lovely as hell, but I'll be damned if the words didn't cut me in a way I wasn't expecting.  2013 was one of the best years of my life, perhaps because I realized my worth, found genuine happiness, and woke up one day without insecurities I didn't even know I had.

You don't realize how forcefully you are told that you are here for the entertainment of others until one day it occurs to me that maybe you aren't doing a great job of doing so.  Without realizing it, I spent a few years of my life attempting perfection.  Life is unpredictable and gritty.  So are you.  It's cool.

13. Deerhunter – Back to the Middle

Another sneak attack into my heart!  This and Dream Captain made my summer.  What a great job of capturing the frustration of a break-up.  What about all of these broken promises?  What am I to do with the plans we made?  Where am I?  Who am I?

The great thing is, as it turns out, the middle is a really beautiful place to be.

14. The Uncluded – Delicate Cycle

Like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kimya Dawson is a part of me.  Only this wasn't something I really chose.  When Dawson was in her height (early 2008 when Juno was too), I wasn't a huge fan.  To me, she embodied full Manic Pixie Dream Girl.  "Look, I am awkward and adorable!"

Now I'm older and have more reverence for ole Kimya.  There's something to be said for genuine sweetness.  It's more rare than you'd think.

15. Cold War Kids – Miracle Mile

I don't know anything about what they're saying because I actually have no idea what the lyrics are.  I don't care.  That's why this is a great pop song.  I know we've known this for years now, but I STILL cannot get over the voice.

16. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines

Self described feminist here, I will defend this track until the end of time.  I will defend the video.  I will dance my ass off and have a great time.  I welcome you to disagree.  That's cool!  Let me get dirty and weird.

17. Meridian Brothers – Sigan Al Minero Hasta La Escala (Amirbar)

Would you agree with me that this is timeless?  Would you agree that it's sexy?

18. Julia Holter – Maxim's II

Oh wow, Julia Holter, you have a new fan.  I don't require easy access for a song to get to me, but maybe what I like about this is that Holter seems to hold our hand through her beautifully curated adventure.  There's a backstory here.  Google it.

19. Junip – Your Life Your Call

Taste is weird, because something either FITS yours or it DOESN'T and there is no middle ground.  Why do I hate Jack Johnson but love Junip?  One cannot say.  What I can say is that I believe that this track is not passive aggressive, it is what it is.  It's subtle and simple, not boring, just right.

20. Diplo feat. Angger Dimas & Travis Porter – Biggie Bounce

Um, hell yeah.  The optimist in me wanted M.I.A. to make this list but, so very unfortunately, the love they once shared was instrumental (ugh no pun intended) to her magic.  While M.I.A. rests safely on her laurels (for now), Diplo gives us a break that makes you want to make mistakes.  Blast it, baby, the snare's here and DIplo might know how to get to bend over and work your back better than any other producer in the country.

21.  The Blow – Hey

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.  That is what I yelled out in the shower the first time this came on.  This has all the makings of my kind of pop song: you feel the yearning, the vocals are distinctive, and it takes an interesting turn every once in awhile.  I challenge you to bring me something better.