To be upfront, I didn’t absolutely love any albums this year, which makes it hard for me to put together a best of 2013 list. That being said, 2013 had its share of memorable shows, catchy tunes, and musical discoveries that I’ve compiled into a hodgepodge Best of 2013 list.
From my Last.fm and Spotify year in review, it’s clear that I spent most of my time listening to pretty dreadful 80s-sounding dance music. I’ve tried to spare you from that in this list, but it was a bit hard to avoid! Enjoy!
Best Workout Album: Classixx - Hanging Gardens
Classixx’s debut album was my second most listened-to album this year. I’d like to think it’s because I listened to it on repeat every time I went to the gym, but let’s be honest, I work out only once a week, so that can’t be the only reason why. A reliably catchy album with some stand out tracks, including Hanging Gardens, Holding On, and Dominoes.
Best Cover Song: Julia Holter - Hello Stranger
Julia Holter transforms Barbara Lewis’s upbeat single Hello Stranger into a haunting, beautifully layered track. Hear the original and a live version of JH’s cover below.
Best Whoa-ing: Cass McCombs - There Can Be Only One
Cass’s first single off Big Wheel and Others is my favorite off the new album and one of the most upbeat Cass McCombs songs generally. Whoa-ing starts at 3:25.
Best Show: Cass McCombs @ The Sinclair
The Sinclair is one of my least favorite venues in Boston because they insist on having these epilepsy-inducing light shows with their incredibly bright spotlights. They wisely shut off these lights for a few tracks during Cass McCombs’ show earlier this month, allowing the audience to fully appreciate the faintly flickering lights the band brings on tour. I loved this show because Cass played songs across his entire discography including What Isn’t Nature (A), That’s That (Dropping the Writ), and Prima Donna (Catacombs).
My friend and I drove to this show having never been to Chum’s Coffeehouse (I had never been to Brandeis, either). Chum’s Coffeehouse may best be described as a princess castle / tipi furnished with velvet curtains, purple walls, and shimmering Christmas lights. I had never been to anything quite like it.
Best Musical Buildups (in no particular order)
Todd Terje - Strandbar (samba) [4:38]
This song is so good after the keyboard solo at 4:38. I tried dj-ing a party in my lab earlier in the year, and this song made me appreciate that not many people are willing to wait 4 minutes for a song to get exciting, but this track is worth the wait.
Arcade Fire - Reflektor [5:25]
I like how the song goes really quiet for the keyboard solo at 5:25 and builds up from there.
Blood Orange - Uncle Ace [2:30]
Uncle Ace gets interesting after the guitar solo + key change at 2:30 where the song grows layer by layer.
Wild Nothing - Paradise
I’m not a big fan of the recorded version of this song, where the buildup is kind of boring, but the live version is pretty incredible.
Best Singles on Otherwise Underwhelming Albums (also in no particular order)
This award goes out to Captured Tracks
Heavenly Beat - Honest
Minks - Margot
Most heartbreaking musical discovery: Mort Garson - Plantasia (1976)
I’m a huge fan of video game music, especially old Nintendo tracks, and I was pretty heartbroken when I heard Mort Garson’s Plantasia and discovered melodies strikingly similar to old Zelda and Mario games. The album clearly influenced Koji Kondo and other pioneers of legendary 8-bit tracks.
Most listened to album: Ducktails - The Flower Lane
According to Last.fm, The Flower Lane was my most listened-to album of 2013; my favorite tracks are Ivy Covered House and Letter of Intent.
Most played track: Todd Terje - Strandbar (Samba)
Apparently, I’ve played over 4 hours of this track alone. Honestly, it probably was my most listened to album this year, but the songs are all so long that they individually didn’t get as many plays as others.
I’ll be playing some of these tracks and more on a special Best of 2013 Breakfast of Champions on January 6th from 8-10 AM ET on WMBR. Feel free to leave any suggestions or requests in the comments. Have a great new years!
