Here it is, the much anticipated second annual Top 30 songs of 2013 countdown. As was the case last year, this is a personal list that I, Craig Ismaili, make every year of my favorite songs to come out. I had some input on the list from Don and Madison, but the list does not reflect the overall perspective of the show as a whole, as our cumulative countdown did. Because I wanted to spread the wealth (and so that the top
ten wasn’t primarily comprised of songs from my top 2 albums of the year-Fall
Out Boy and The 1975) I had to enforce a strict one song per band/artist rule.
Another rule for this list is that the song had to be released either on an
album that was released in 2013 or as a single in 2013. I hope you enjoy the list I came up with. If you don't agree with a selection, or would like to tell me what I missed, let me know in the comments. There is a handy Spotify playlist included again at the bottom of the countdown for those who are short on time, but still want to hear what I have chosen.
30. Stay The Night ft. Hayley
Williams- Zedd
Is it derivative of everything
else in the EDM genre? Yes, though this became the year that everyone except
Avicii started copying each other in the EDM genre (and Avicii’s experiment
with alt-country tinged EDM, though unique, was pretty forgettable). But I’ll
be damned if someone could find me a better hook in an EDM song this year than
the one Hayley submitted for this song.
29. Entertainment- Phoenix
Entertainment, and the album it is
drawn from Bankrupt!, is not a huge step forward from Phoenix’s smash-hit
breakthrough album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (in fact, to some it may be seen as
a step back), but it does maintain that album’s same synth-heavy pop-rock and
weird M83/Postal Service-jocking melodies and supersizes them.
28. I Hope You Suffer- AFI
“I open my heart to you / you lied
just reach inside,” frontman Davey Havok howls in “I Hope You Suffer”’s second
verse, and you can feel the hate
coursing through your headphones. Whatever AFI did to recover the anger and
angst that had been missing from their music since at least
DecemberUnderground, it obviously worked. In the words of the infamous Emperor Palpatine, “Good,
Good, let the hate flow through you.”
27. Eastern Leaves- Moving Mountains
Is it the most catchy song you’ve
heard this year? No. Does it have the same polished production as that huge hit
you heard on the radio? Probably not, though producer Matt Goldman did some of
his best work here. What it does have is some of the Moving Mountains best mix
of ambient, ethereal qualities with rocking choruses, as well as a callback to
arguably the band’s best song (“The Cascade”). It has the air of definitive
song to close out a band’s career (if this is indeed the last Moving Mountains
album).
26. This Is Gospel- Panic! At The
Disco
It’s really too bad that the rest of Too Weird To Live, Too Rare to Die! Was
so terrible, because with this song and “Miss Jackson,” Panic! At the Disco
were well on their way to topping the surprisingly underrated Vices and Virtues. Frontman Brendon Urie
displays his powerhouse voice for all to see.
The choruses main vocal line, “Cause these words are knives and often
leave scars/ and truth be told I never was yours,” is perhaps the most cutting
(pun intended) indictment to a former lover that Urie has passed down since the
band’s debut A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (an album that was full of them.)
25. Control- Big Sean ft. Kendrick
Lamar, Jay Electronica (*Not on Spotify*)
When compiling the list of top
songs of the year, it seems impossible to look past the year’s best rap verse, supplied
here by Kendrick Lamar in the form of his now-famous incendiary “takedown”
list. Some rappers Kendrick name-dropped acknowledged how great Kendrick’s
verse was on response tracks, others who Kendrick didn’t mention tried to gain
his attention with (generally terrible) diss tracks. Lost in all of this
however, is that both Big Sean and Jay Electronica put together respectable
verses of their own, making "Control" one of the more enjoyable hip-hop tracks
the year had to offer.
24. Harlem- New Politics
Dear Reader, you may not recognize
the band name or the song title above, but I’d be willing to bet you’ve heard
“Harlem.” With its infectious melody, it has all the makings of the next
“Chelsea’s Dagger,” that one song from that one band that no one can name but
everyone loves. For now though, it serves anthem for the younger generation,
including a cry of “Light ‘em, yeah, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.”
23. When I Was Your Man- Bruno Mars
"When I Was Your Man" is just the
second song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to go to number one while
featuring only piano and vocals- the first is “Someone Like You” by Adele- is
the most devastating breakup song since… well since “Someone Like You” by
Adele. Mars lets his powerful vocals carry a song better than any other male
solo artist I know of. This fact became apparent on Grenade, and again is clear
on this song, where he injects his voice with just enough vulnerability to be
believable and sincere.
22. Mirrors- Justin Timberlake
A seven-minute pop song with beat
boxed drums and an overlong outro? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, except
that in the hands of the reinvigorated Justin Timberlake it is a sincere and
beautiful love song that earns its lengthy runtime.
21. Pink Rabbits- The National
There are sad songs, and then
there are devastating songs. The National deals in the latter. “I didn’t ask
for this pain/ it just came over me,” sings vocalist Matt Berninger, and he
could just as easily be talking about his listeners as himself.
20. Wrecking Ball- Miley Cyrus
Although Lorde’s “Royals,” with
its soul-infused chorus and stellar vocal performance should’ve held up under
repeated listening, it failed to do so after the 100th time you
heard it on the radio that day. “Wrecking Ball” had no such problems. Its
massive pop hooks and dramatic flair made the song drill into your brain just
as much on the 1000th listen as it did on its first.
19. Closer- Tegan and Sara
Lost in the swirl of news posts
about sister act Tegan and Sara singing with Taylor Swift or singing the hook
on “Same Love” with Macklemore is the fact that Tegan and Sara released one of
the best pop albums of the year. On 2011’s Get
Along, they showed signs of abandoning the mundane indie-folk approach of
their first few records, but nothing could’ve prepared listeners for the 80’s
tinged emo-pop that would await them on Heartthrob.
“Closer” is the champion of this new approach, with a sickly-sweet synth line
that wouldn’t have been out of place on Olivia Newton-John’s Physical.
18. Tiny Raindrop- Balance and
Composure
While Pitchfork seemed to miss the
point of Balance and Composure when they premiered "Reflection"- they called the
band “embarrassment rock”- Spin had no such problems when they debuted this
track from The Things We Think We’re
Missing. Spin said that “Reflection was a “Piledriving new single” in which
the band “weds emotionally vulnerable lyrics, with surging, layered, rhythms.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
17. Things I Can’t Change- The Story
So Far
The best pop-punk song not written
by The Wonder Years this year. The album “Things I Can’t Change” comes from, What You Don’t See, improves on its
predecessor in in the lyrical department. Gone are the semi-misogynist
ramblings and denouncements of apologies, replaced by a more mature perspective
on growing up and moving on. It also doesn’t hurt that drummer Ryan Torf sets
the tone for the song by going absolutely nuts before the vocals even kick in.
16. Diane Young- Vampire Weekend
There were any number of songs
from Modern Vampires in the City, as
a number of songs have become sort of modern classics in the indie rock genre.
“Unbelievers” discusses the conceit of atheism, while “Hannah Hunt” is a
beautiful story-song which sets a beautiful tone for itself with some tender
instrumentation. But it is the riotous “Diane Young” which is Modern Vampires
in the City’s greatest success. Even though the song features heavily processed
vocals, Ezra Koenig’s voice shines through, as the bit at the end of the song
with just Koenig’s vocals and a tambourine displays.
15. Banshee (Ghost Fame)- Letlive.
Fans of Letlive. were wondering
how they could follow up 2011’s Fake History. And then all of a sudden, they
come blasting out of the gate on The
Blackest Beautiful, sounding like the crazed bastard child of Glassjaw and
Every Time I Die, vocalist Jason Aalon Butler railing against corporate greed
and the failings of the entertainment industry. “We're here to fulfill every
one of your dreams. / A small nominal fee, it only costs you your soul,” he
says in the songs intro, and it becomes apparent that letlive. will never compromise
their integrity for a payday.
14. Black Skinhead- Kanye West
When attempting to write about
"Black Skinhead," I’m reminded of the movie Almost Famous, in which the lead
character William Miller is a young writer for Rolling Stone (a magazine Kanye
has a great deal of familiarity with). William is about to be turned away from
the band when he says to the guitarist in desperation, “And the guitar sound...
is incendiary. Incendiary. Way to go.” That’s pretty much the best way I can
describe this song. Absolutely incendiary.
13. Damage- Jimmy Eat World
Dismissing the heavily produced
nature of their past four releases could not possibly be an easy decision for
Jimmy Eat World, as those album contain a great deal of the band’s best songs.
But in electing for a more “live, unfiltered” sound on the recording of
“Damage” (and the album of the same name that the track is drawn from), the
band was able to recapture some of the raw emotion and energy of their
emo-genre classic album Clarity. It,
of course, doesn’t hurt that the band put together one of their patented
“climactic moment”-bridges that they do better than just about anyone else.
12. Sweater Weather- The Neighborhood
There was a fleeting moment, in
early spring 2013, when the Neighborhood looked like they would be the next
Fun., the band that would cross over from the ranks of the indie rock scene
into the mainstream. Unfortunately, the band has yet to release a second hit
single of a comparable size to “Some Nights,” but their crossover hit “Sweater
Weather” is an irresistibly smooth hip-hop-infused indie pop track which about
hallway through devolves into something you might find on one of Anthony
Green’s solo albums. The diversity at play here is impeccable and impressive.
11. Pretty Hurts-Beyoncé (*Not on Spotify*)
On an album filled with “feminist
anthems” the best track is one that takes on an even more specific problem that
plagues young girls: body dysmorphic disorder and an entertainment industry
that systematically oppresses girls by selling them a specific image. It’s a
song that is desperately needed by a voice that young girls most certainly look
up to. The crowning achievement of this song, however, is the vocal
performance. Look, everyone knows Beyoncé has an absolutely beautiful voice,
that much was never in doubt, but she absolutely outdid herself with the final
chorus of “Pretty Hurts” gliding o’er all with the most gorgeous improvised
vocal runs of the year.
10. Stand Amid The Roar- Silverstein
Eight years removed from
Discovering the Waterfront, Silverstein has still not released a song that
could even arguably top "Smile In Your Sleep". And then the opening track on This
Is How The Wind Shift happened. Guitarist and backing vocalist Paul Marc
Rousseau turns in a stellar performance here as he provides an earth-shattering
lead guitar riff and then provides pained, howling backing screams at the end
of the song. Meanwhile, vocalist and primary lyricist Shane Told portrays
himself and his fellow band members as a rag-tag bunch of anarchists- using
biblical references to get across this message (“We're turning wine into water
with abhorrence. We'll save whoever we want to.“ Ultimately, though, it seems a
response to the band’s critics and non-believers, especially former label
Victory Records, as Told says, “Maybe we should walk away from this. Take a
proverbial walk into the sunset… And stop being ourselves,” but the answer they
seem to respond with is that they won’t just give up being a band. And their
listeners are truly grateful that is the case.
9. Introduced Species- Hands Like
Houses
It’s a bit interesting to note
that Hands Like Houses’ sophomore full-length album Unimagine has a track called “Shapeshifters” on it. The Rise
Records artists at times on the album becomes, to reference Pokemon for a
moment, a Ditto-like monster that takes on the characteristics of other bands
on the label’s roster. But on “Introduced Species,” the band stands independent
of any of their contemporaries, and come roaring out of the gate with a massive
intro, aided by a pounding double bass beat and gang vocal chants of “We don’t
belong here.” On “Introduced Species,” they aren’t playing Dance Gavin Dance or
Emarosa, instead they are playing Hands Like Houses.
8. City Of Ocala- A Day To Remember
When did Jeremy MacKinnon learn to
write songs like this? Yeah, the same immaturity in lyrical approach threatens
to rear its head, especially with the almost childish “F*** yeah!” that kicks
the track off. But the chorus of “City
of Ocala” renews listeners faith that this is an entirely changed MacKinnon behind the microphone, as he sings about the
meaning of his hometown: “This is our corner of the world, where we can come to
be ignored.” In the face of all the Victory Records shenanigans, maybe a place
where A Day To Remember can go to be ignored really is the key to their
success.
7. Still Into You- Paramore
Paramore’s biggest breakthrough
thus far as a band came from the platinum-selling single “The Only Exception,”
in which Hayley Williams confesses “I promised I’d never sing of love if it
does not exist.” Well, here we are four years later, and, apparently love does
exist, because Williams goes back to that well again for this sickly sweet love
song. “Still Into You,” sentimental in just the same way as the best romantic
comedies, manages to take a subject matter that could induce massive amounts of
eye-rolling and turns it into a riotous exhibition in pop-rock song writing. Williams
has never been better vocally than she is in the dynamic bridge of the song.
Combine that with a bouncing bass line from the backing band’s lone stalwart
Jeremy Davis and some incredibly tight drum fills from session musician
extraordinaire Ilan Rubin and you have one of the best written pop songs in a
long while.
6. Pompeii- Bastille
Watch this video and then try
to tell me that Dan Smith isn’t one of the two or three best vocalists in rock
music right now. His voice carries this song, which also features a driving
tribal drum beat and staccato harmonies which make it clear that Bastille is a
band focused on Pompeii, though its name and subject matter call to mind the
Roman city covered in dust, also calls to mind the score of the Disney movie
The Lion King. And if the Shinedowns and Nicklebacks of the alt-rock world make
up the Elephant Graveyard, then Bastille is the king of the Pride Lands in
comparison.
5. Twin Sized Mattress- The Front
Bottoms
“I wanna
contribute to the chaos, I don’t want to watch and then complain, cause I’m
through finding blame, that is a decision that I have made.” It is with these
climactic words that vocalist Brian Sella sums up The Front Bottoms approach to
writing Talon of the Hawk. The neurosis, the self-doubt, and the difficulty
associated with writing songs that comes across in The Front Bottoms lyrics is
an admirable quality; one that allows listeners right into the band’s very
psyche. Sella invites us to share in this self-doubt, confessing, “My
nightmares will have nightmares every night.” It’s a triumph in honest
song-writing and proves that Sella should probably put less pressure on
himself.
4. Car Radio- Twenty One Pilots
Let’s go through a rundown of the
bands which have combined rapping, screaming, and electronic music: Breathe
Carolina, Hollywood Undead, and Brokencyde. This is not exactly the most
inspiring of company to be listed alongside if you are Twenty One Pilots. But
the Ohio duo sets themselves apart from these inferior counterparts by
combining these elements in a way that feels organic and natural instead of
hacky and Frankenstein-esque. And “Car Radio,” despite having all three of the
above components in spades is one of the most moving, deeply introspective
songs of the year, something that the Breathe Carolinas of the world can only
dream of achieving.
3. I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral-
The Wonder Years
There is a moment on “I Just Want
To Sell Out My Funeral,” the seven minute epic which closes out The Wonder
Years’ The Greatest Generation, about
3:20 into the song, when the beat slows down and vocalist Dan Campbell fails to
finish his thought. “Well, I’m sorry I…” he beings to apologize. It is this
moment, I think, that is The Wonder Years’ “moment of clarity,” an epiphany if
you will. Right there is when they realize they will never be the same band
that released The Upsides and then toured off of it in sweaty, cramped clubs
and church basements anymore. Instead, this is the affirmation that The Wonder
Years are entirely grown up, the realization that they have a much larger
pedestal than they could’ve possibly imagined when they started the band. Then,
just a few seconds later the song kicks back stronger than it ever was before
reprising portions of the other songs on The Greatest Generation, and the album
comes full circle, just as the little band which once released a song called
“Bout To Get Fruit Punched, Homie” has become some of the best songwriters and
storytellers in the music industry. It’s a tremendous accomplishment, and clearly
the band realizes it as well, because as Campbell confesses in the album’s
final moments, “I just want to know that I did all I could with what I was
given.” He has succeeded in doing just that.
2. The Phoenix- Fall Out Boy
#PUTONYOURWARPAINT. With that
rallying cry, Fall Out Boy reached an entirely new generation of music
listeners while still somehow roping those old listeners back in who said they
were done after Cork Tree. In fact
“Put on your war paint” seems to be a rallying cry not just for the fans, but
for the band in response to their critics as well. “The Phoenix” proves that
Fall Out Boy can still produce a spirited, youthful anthem without it sounding
like Take This To Your Grave.
1. Sex- The 1975
If you were wondering what it would
sound like if a band set a John Hughes film to music, the answer can be found
in The 1975’s “Sex.” The song could’ve been the soundtrack to those mid 80’s
classic comedies, despite the band’s name. From the seering, high pitched
guitar squeal that starts the song, to the tapped-outro into the closing crash
cymbals, the entire song works as a storytelling movement with a rising action,
climax (when vocalist Matt Healy sings “If we’re gonna do anything we might as
well just fuck”), and denouement. The aesthetic and ton e which The 1975 were
able to portray in this song has gone unmatched in this or any year in recent
memory. Put simply, there just isn’t another song like it, and for that reason
it’s the best song of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment