This year it finally hit me. 2013, you absolutely overwhelmed me with the sheer amount of new music you dropped each month—albums, singles, b-sides, music videos. Every Tuesday saw brand spankin’ new releases, and when I wasn’t excited and listening to what actually just came out, I was eagerly checking NPR’s First Listen for streaming advances of soon-to-be-releases and perusing music blogs for albums rumored to come out soon.
Maybe I’m having difficulty keeping up because as I get older and older the sheer number of musicians I am familiar with grows larger and larger. And it’s not just my pool of musical favorites, my old standbys, but also my musical just-acquaintances and even, it’s true, my musical arch-enemies. It’s a complex juggling act we keep going in our heads these days, one that is constantly shuffling and rearranging and vying for first place. New Bowie or old? Bowie cameo on Arcade fire? Bowie video with Tilda Swinton or with Marion Cotillard? And that’s just one old glam rocker! Also, these days one has to schedule time not only for savoring a favorite artist’s first new release in three years, but also for the requisite hate-listen and ritual drinking of Haterade® over one’s personal musical nemesis. Time is at a premium, even when making sure that one’s continued dislike of a band remains justified.
I listen to so much music each day, but I don’t feel like I’m growing with records anymore–at least not the way that I used. That is to say, I’m not living in the albums, feeling and breathing them as I go about my day. I can vividly remember defining entire seasons of my young adulthood with certain albums, albums purchased in October that didn’t leave my car until January. This is partly due to what can generally be considered a wonderful and utterly fantastic problem to have—instantaneous access to most of humanity’s modern musical output, available for free at any hour of the day. I wonder about this tyranny of choice frequently because I often find myself choosing to do nothing in the face of having unlimited options. Which new album should I immerse myself in? Ugh, I’ll just listen to David Bowie again like I’ve done every morning this month. Which new TV series should I begin? Oh, hell, I’ve already finished dinner and I’m tired, may as well just watch another 30 Rock rerun. At the same time though, I’ll look at a pile of books by my bed, or scroll through Netflix and feel comforted by the fact that that I have the option to delve into any one of thousands of options. It is truly strange to be somewhat happy with simply having the option to possess all of these various forms of media, and still choose not to consume sometimes.
What does all this mean? Well, for me, this all means that now more than ever I’m having a dizzying amount of music compete for my attention, and this makes composing a year end list all the more difficult. I’m not sure how everyone else decides to rank their favorites, but I define a year’s best in terms of how often I find myself returning to a song/album. I make no excuses for cheese, quality, or reputation. And while I can appreciate the effort and artistry that goes into some albums, I absolutely refuse to hide my boredom. To be honest, there’s nothing I find more disappointing than an artist or band that releases the musical equivalent of a dozen roses—beautiful, safe, and monotonous. Give me the weird plant that smells like death, or even an entire bucket of Baby’s Breath. Just make it interesting.
I’ll stop rambling now and jump right into my top fifteen songs of the year. At the bottom you’ll find a link to the Spotify playlist of all my favorites from throughout 2013.
1). Savages – Shut Up
No other band this year came close to matching the energy of Savages. Seeing them live was visceral–and I don’t like to use that word very often when talking about music. They’re lumped into the lazily defined post-punk revival genre, but I think they bring a force to their music that I do not find in their 1980’s contemporaries.
2). Anna Calvi – Suddenly
This track comes from the album that’d I’d choose as my favorite entire LP of the year. Anna Calvi is like the female child of Morrissey and Jeff Buckley, with the flair and fashion of an old James Bond film. Her music is nuanced and sexy, and she just seems so damn cool.
3). Neko Case – Calling Cards
Oh, Neko. Your new album was a masterpiece,and this song is its subtle and sad piece de resistance. Maybe it’s the muted horns, maybe it’s the plaintive crooning. But it’s absolutely gorgeous & a repeat-worthy track. Also, I’d like to take the opportunity to discuss Neko’s music without referring to the fact that M.Ward was a guest guitarist on the album.
4). Austra – Painful Like
Austra brings a very intense & full bodies operatic vocal style to their brand of dancy synthpop. I think it’s because of this band that I cannot get fully behind bands like CHVRCHES or MSMR. I need a grown-ass woman with a slightly darker edge to these beats.
5). Laura Marling – I Was an Eagle
Folk music free of the traditional connotations of whatever folk implies. Laura Marling was born in the 1990’s (which means she’s comically young) but writes about life & love in a way that’d you only expect from someone composing their late in life memoirs.. The guitar work is sparse but beautiful, and follows a leitmotif of sorts through the entire record. I would also like to take this opportunity by not mentioning the name Joni Mitchell. Lazy music journalists of the world, try harder!
6). Man Man – Loot My Body
The very definition of catchy pop. I wish these guys were more renowned. They are also some of the hardest working dudes in the touring business–always a great live show.
7). Eleanor Friedberger – I’ll Never Be Happy Again
A sad song, to be sure, but it’s also beautiful. Eleanor Friedberger has one of my favorite voices in pop music right now, and she has a great way of telling stories in her songs.
8). Devendra Banhart – Für Hildegard von Bingen
Part of why I love this is song is its subject matter. From medieval nun to disc jockey, you go girl, Hildegard von Bingen. As for the music, it’s hypnotic & engaging, and seems much longer than its two and a half minutes.
9). Foxygen – San Francisco
These dudes are young and continually getting hurt/cancelling shows, but they ruled my airwaves this winter. I relistened to the album while I was on vacation in Mexico a few weeks ago, and I was surprised by how well the album still held up. These are babies writing songs that sound like they’re straight out of the 60’s, and it works tremendously well. I’m a sucker for nuanced songwriting, and they have it in spades.
10). Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down – Holy Roller
Another great live act of 2013, and one of the hardest working ladies in show business.
11). Deerhunter – Back to the Middle
I’m not normally a Deerhunter fan, but this track had me hooked from day one.
12). Mount Moriah – Bright Light
Second only to Neko Case, Mount Moriah are one of my favorite alt-country bands these days.
13). David Bowie – The Stars(Are Out Tonight)
The old guy’s still got it.
14). Steve Martin, Edie Brickell – When You Get to Asheville
I thought this was going to be a gimmick, but this song turned into quite the earworm for me. It’s heartfelt, and earnest, and the banjo courtesy of Mr. Martin is impeccable.
15). Courtney Barnett – History Eraser
For my entire year-end list, check out: