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For a year which promised so many huge releases, and which came with so many high expectations, 2013 had the potential to be more than a little disappointing. But it wasn't. Here's how it shook out.
Thumbs Up
The things I liked about music in 2013.
Big Follow-Ups
2013 was a year of comebacks for many acclaimed artists. It had been at least three years since the most recent solo studio albums from Daft Punk, Pearl Jam, Phoenix, Arcade Fire, and Kanye West. It had been two years since the latest big releases from Beyoncé and Childish Gambino. My Bloody Valentine’s last album came 22 years ago. All of these artists had big shoes to fill in crafting their follow-up albums, and all of them, to varying degrees (and with varying amounts of advance warning), hit the nail on the head. When it came to big, highly anticipated albums, 2013 did not disappoint.
The Head and the Heart
Another band that released a successful follow-up record this year. Let’s Be Still is a very strong sophomore album. Although it didn’t make my best-of list, it did more or less everything right: it played on the band’s known strengths without rehashing old ideas. I didn’t feel that the album was good enough to break into the top twenty-five, but in an era when indie folk-rock-pop has become ubiquitous among 18-24 year olds, and when sophomore albums across the board have tended to be underwhelming and redundant (still looking at you, Mumford & Sons), I wanted to be sure to make a note about The Head and the Heart in this post. They kept themselves from falling into the common traps, and thus have established themselves as major, mainstream indie folk-rock players.
Alice In Chains
Much like The Head and the Heart, AIC released a very solid, good-all-around album this year that just didn’t make the list. It should lay to rest any lingering questions about whether the band can thrive or even survive without Layne Staley. The sound and the aesthetic may have evolved a bit with a new frontman, but Alice In Chains lives on. They get a thumbs up both because of their strong album, and because this year I rediscovered their music in a meaningful way.
The Little People
This is more a comment on my own listening habits than on the music that existed this year, but 2013 was the year of the little artist for me. Small, local, independent, or DIY artists constituted the great majority of the new additions to my music library, particularly in the fall and winter. A cursory look through the Dead Wax podcast archive from the last few months will confirm this. The confluence of a drought in major mainstream releases in the late autumn and my stumbling upon a few “unknown” artists by sheer happenstance helped make this revelation happen. Artists like Hozier and RÁJ, whose chilling melodies stuck with me for weeks after the first listen, became standbys in my weekly radio broadcasts, and my daily listening sessions. Whether I found them on Bandcamp, received their CD in the mail, or was turned onto them by a friend, small, unknown* artists provided some of my very favorite musical moments of 2013. Here are links to a handful of them:
- Hozier
- RÁJ
- George Barnett
- Mystery Skulls
- Cloud Control
- Racing Glaciers
- GEMS
- Ings
- Vessels
- Buke and Gase
- Kan Wakan
- Foreign Fields
- Bent Jetty
- Heatwarmer
*I say “unknown” with the full awareness that these bands do have real and important followings. But because this is blog is ostensibly about mainstream music, I say “unknown” because they are nowhere near being mainstream, pop culture-shifting artists.
Smart Pop Music
2013 reminded us of the gaps between smart pop music and dumb pop music, and of how music can be mainstream and popularly acclaimed while also proving to be symbolically, thematically, and musically intellectual. The most easily-cited examples of this are Beyoncé and Lorde, whose lyrics carry potent critiques of the popular culture they exist within. But high-caliber albums from Phoenix, Haim, and Janelle Monae also saw great mainstream success while maintaining a high level of musical and social awareness. For a few months this summer, it began to look as if a reversion in the popular music scene had occurred, with bluntly commercial and shallow songs and performances by Robin Thicke, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry pervading the airwaves. (It didn’t help anyone that an unfortunate number of those songs and performances were wildly offensive and distasteful in many ways.) Thankfully, the second half of 2013 quenched our thirst for thoughtful and worthwhile pop music. The pop music of the last three years has set a positive trend toward intelligence and awareness, and after a bumpy beginning, 2013 fell right into place.
Kanye West
Kanye West gets a thumbs up less because he released a great album (which he did), and more because I finally came to understand a little more complexly his artistic vision and his contribution to the world of popular culture. Kanye West presents himself as an easily hatable figure, and so without having put much effort into listening to his music and his story, I hopped on that bandwagon. This year, I got off it because I realized that much of what I thought about Kanye created a race-based double standard (e.g. “Kanye is God” = egomaniacal insanity, “Clapton is God” = rock and roll gospel). I realized too that Kanye was doing more to combat and invert racism in pop culture than just about anyone else (reclaiming the Confederate flag? That’s gutsy as hell. Who does that?). I also realized that he’s a damn good producer, writer, and performer. Kanye is on the cutting edge of hip hop and pop music, and Yeezus is a renewed confirmation of that fact. Kanye West gets a thumbs up in 2013, even though he should have gotten one from me long before. I hope my audience will agree with the sentiment that it’s better late than never.
Old Socks
Paul McCartney, Elton John, David Bowie and Eric Clapton all released successful and worthwhile albums in 2013. They aren’t on the best-of list, and they aren’t exactly up-and-coming artists, but that doesn’t mean they should be left by the side of the road when we look for musical takeaways from 2013. These four artists are legends in the grandest sense of the word, and their albums prove why. (Bonus Round: here’s where “Old Sock” comes from. It’s kind of a funny story.)
Thumbs Down
The things I didn't like about music in 2013.
Robin Thicke
“Blurred Lines” is, quite easily, the number one worst thing that happened in pop culture in 2013. For a lot of reasons. Number one, musically-speaking, it is a terrible song. Like, really bad. The vocals, which are awkwardly sung by too many unorganized people, and which begin the verse in an aimless falsetto, are confused and lazy. The music behind the vocals sounds like someone accidentally started too many Garageband loops at once, and then just let them go. It is boring, unoriginal, and crass. Let’s put it this way: when Marvin Gaye’s family is suing you for copyright infringement, not because you stole or plagiarized, but because your song sounds like it could have been by Marvin Gaye, you should maybe think about upping your innovation game a little bit.
The number two, and more important reason that “Blurred Lines” is the top travesty of 2013 is that it is unbelievably, unamusingly, unambiguously offensive and abusive. The music video makes it 100 times worse. I won’t rehash the reasons why, because so many people have already said them well. Suffice it to say that “Blurred Lines” represents just about every single thing that is bad and wrong about the way pop culture thinks about gender and social justice. If you're not clear on why, Google is your friend.
The only good thing about this retched song is that it is literally so bad, tasteless, and unoriginal, that it has become the world’s easiest song to parody. I’m not even going to try to link to all the great parody videos. They are easy to find. For your own sake, do so.
Miley Cyrus
I think it’s best for me to stay a safe distance from the social justice conversations about Miley Cyrus. On that front, I defer to this blog post, written by a sociology professor at my school, which takes a pretty even-handed approach to understanding how to think about Miley. While her antics may have contributed to her placement on this list, that’s not the main reason she gets a “thumbs down” in 2013. The main reason is that her music is bad. “Wrecking Ball,” the only song anyone knows the name of, has two parts: the low, slow verse, whose melody sounds like a second grader’s right hand piano composition; and the high, slow chorus, whose melody is a cheapened reiteration of the chorus line in “Locked Out Of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. The verse is just straight up boring, the chorus is decent (although unoriginal, but what else is new?). Again, here’s a song which, despite the contrary opinions of so many of my peers, I find utterly uncompelling and strenuous to listen to.
Lily Allen
Lady Gaga
Okay, this is a hard one for me. I really think Lady Gaga is a good artist and a smart person. Her last album was the prime example of “smart pop” in 2011. But the leadup to her new album just made me… mad. For an artist who did so well to critique societal norms about beauty and sexuality in 2011, Lady Gaga surprised me by releasing a single called “Applause,” in which she vainly celebrates the fame and notoriety she has achieved in popular culture, validating the system she had previously set out to expose. If your goal is to show your appreciation for your fans and your satisfaction in performing, there are more intelligent ways to do it than to parade around an absurd music video saying the word “applause” fourteen times in every chorus. Also, regardless of your intentions, it is totally not cool to write a song about the sexual appeal of religious veils and title it “Burqa” (regardless of whether you change the title after the fact). It is similarly not cool to write a romanticized song about hitting the open road and living independently and title it “Gypsy.” Gaga’s writing, while well-intentioned to be sure, shows a lack of sensitivity to the struggles experienced by marginalized groups in the real world. I expected a lot more from an artist whom I have vehemently defended from the attacks of critics and detractors. Not willing to throw in the towel yet, but I’m going to need to see or hear something that shows me she’s still the same fire-breathing champion of social justice that we loved a couple of years ago.
Justin Timberlake
I won’t dawdle here: Justin Timberlake’s two albums in 2013 were boring. Between them, there were three worthwhile songs (the last three from the first album: “Let The Groove Get In,” “Mirrors,” and “Blue Ocean Floor”). Even these were drawn-out and strenuous. I love JT, I think he’s a great singer, performer, and occasional actor, but his big comeback was just weak. I know he can do way better, and I hope he does.
Vampire Weekend
Okay I really genuinely tried, but I just fucking don’t like Vampire Weekend. I don’t like them. Their album is annoying. Sorry.
Tragedies
As in every year, there were some tragic moments in the world of music in 2013. Perhaps the most memorable is the death of Lou Reed, one of the great artistic minds of the 20th century. 2013 also saw the deaths of Jeff Hanneman, longtime Slayer guitarist, and JJ Cale, a gifted songwriter and performer who originally penned many of Eric Clapton’s greatest hits, including “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.” We also learned that John McVie (the “Mac” part of Fleetwood Mac) has been diagnosed with cancer. Reed, Hanneman, and Cale leave behind strong legacies that will not soon be forgotten. We all hope very much that McVie is able to stay strong and healthy, and to make as full a recovery as possible.
Songs
My ten (eleven) favorite songs of this (last) year.
Honorable Mention: “Get Lucky” – Daft Punk
Daft Punk took their extensive experience with electronic and techno music, and applied that mindset to recording an album that did not include a single synthetic sound. “Get Lucky” is far and away the best song on that album, and a wonderful example of how the digital and the analog can be integrated. Pharrell’s vocals are the icing on the cake of a great song.
10. “The Wire” – Haim
It’s hard to listen to this song and not think of the Eagles’ 1979 hit “Heartache Tonight.” They use almost identical drumbeats, guitar tones, and opening riffs. They also both employ well-mixed vocal harmonies, and provide divergent takes on similar themes. Despite the similarities, Haim’s song manages to be one of the freshest, most enjoyable tracks of the year. Perhaps that’s because it so cleanly hearkens back to a classic rock standard, and perhaps its because it brings a new mentality to the evasive combination of pop and rock music. Probably both. Either way, “The Wire” is astounding.
9. “Royals” – Lorde
I hear people complain about this song for three different reasons. First, many people are inclined not to like a song or artist when loads of other people do. I feel sorry for these people, but that’s not my problem. The second reason people get worked up about “Royals” is that they feel it rides a new wave of anti-consumerism in pop music (the one that may have been started by “Thrift Shop”), and that such bandwagoning is lazy and unoriginal. Now, I can’t, for the life of me, understand why such a wave would be a bad thing, or why suddenly someone would be shocked by a pop song that adopted current trends, but more fundamentally, I’m still not prepared to accept that “Royals” is simply following in some sort of pattern. Even with “Thrift Shop” in mind, I can’t remember another moment in which a pop song so fiercely and defiantly called out a culture of vanity, consumption, and classism. The third reason some people have hated on “Royals” is that they think it’s racist. It isn’t.
8. “Entertainment” – Phoenix
Another strong, theatrical pop song that takes a critical eye to the entertainment industry, “Entertainment” cuts like a laser through every other song on the radio. With the best hook of the year, this song is going to stick around for a while to come.
7. “New Slaves” – Kanye West
“New Slaves” is a great song both in its avant-garde approach to hip hop, and in its unapologetic throwdown of racism in America. In both of these respects it is also typical of the tone found on the rest of Yeezus.
6. “Sirens” – Pearl Jam
This.
5. “Take Me To Church” – Hozier
This is one of a very small number of songs from this year that captivated me the moment I first listened to it, and that has been able to sustain that captivation after repeated listens. It’s doubly remarkable given that this is a debut release from an artist with very little airplay, and a comparatively small following.
4. “Ghost” – RÁJ
“Ghost” is a second song that kept me rattled for some time after I first heard it, and also comes courtesy of a small-time artist. Nobody knows exactly who RÁJ is, or what he plans to do, but his song has people around the world on the edge of their seats, and for good reason. It is haunting, thrilling, and emotional. The countdown is on until RÁJ becomes an everyday name in the music world.
3. “Givin Em What They Love” – Janelle Monae
When I first listened to this album, I had to stop and replay this song two or three extra times. I remember saying out loud, “I can’t believe how good this song is.” Three months later, I still can’t believe it. Monae and Prince, two artists who never exactly were conformists, have performed a stunning song about resisting the push to be “locked up in the system,” and about getting/doing/receiving what you love.
2. “Pretty Hurts” – Beyoncé
In a year of songs and performances that sought to challenge assumptions about race, class, gender, and sex, “Pretty Hurts” seemed to be the only one to take a swing at beauty culture, and the struggles that girls and women must endure in the entertainment industry. Fortunately, it took a really good swing. “Perfection is the disease of a nation” is about as blunt and honest a punch as Beyoncé could have landed, and it couldn’t have come at a better moment. This song should give you chills for a lot of reasons.
1. “Modern Jesus” – Portugal. The Man
If I listened to this song once per day for a year (and I may not be far off that number), I think I still wouldn’t be tired of it. This is the catchiest, most fantastically cynical song of the year. Phenomenal production and intellectual lyrics make it an easy choice for number one in my book.
Albums
My twenty-five (twenty-six) favorite albums from this (last) year.
Honorable Mention: Son Lux – Lanterns
25. Turin Brakes – Time and Money
I’ll say right up front that this album could have been better. Based on the first few songs I heard, I had very high expectations for the album, and it fell a little short. That said, the parts of this album that do stick are masterful. “Time and Money,” “Dear Dad,” and “Blindsided Again” are top-notch songs. The whole album is produced carefully and deliberately, and it mostly pays off. Even when the songs don’t quite hit their mark, the artistic integrity seems never to be compromised, and the same goes for the musicianship. Turin Brakes is on my radar and staying there for a while to come.
24. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
It would be hard to leave this album out just based on what it is: a major comeback album from a celebrated electronic music duo that does not include a single computer-generated note. That feat alone is praiseworthy. That the album is chalk full of quality music cements it as one of 2013’s standouts.
23. Billie Joe and Norah – foreverly
If you were to ask me before this year what I thought the strangest possible collaboration between popular musicians would be, Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones would at least be on the list. But despite the stark differences in their musical backgrounds and abilities, their album of Everly Brothers covers is truly remarkable. In harmony, their voices fit together like puzzle pieces, uniting in a visceral and emotional melody. Billie Joe and Norah have inherited a set of powerful songs, and performed them wonderfully.
22. The Civil Wars – The Civil Wars
Probably the most heartbreaking album of the year, the Civil Wars’ self-titled sophomore album serves as a reminder of the fragility of human relationships. The songs, pensive and weary love songs, become doubly potent when reconciled with the knowledge that the once adorably amicable duo may have seen their last days recording together due to a falling out. The cover of “Disarm” (The Smashing Pumpkins) is a high point, as are “The One That Got Away” and “Oh Henry.”
21. Diane Birch – Speak A Little Louder
Diane Birch is like a blend of Adele, Elton John, and Lana Del Rey. Her uniquely sharp voice compliments her piano-based pop music perfectly in a collection of songs that are both viscerally distant and emotionally immediate. Birch is an immensely talented musician and composer, and the music world will be watching carefully where she goes in the next few years.
20. Poliça – Shulamith
With one or two more listens, this album might have made its way much farther up the list, but this is where it lands for now. This band is one of my favorite new discoveries of 2013. The music is smart and the lyrics are smarter, and the aesthetic fits into an exciting new trend of ungrounded, distant alternative music that calls back through its own haze to the audience, prodding them to reflect upon their contribution to this hazy and increasingly ungrounded world.
19. Flaming Lips – The Terror
The Flaming Lips haven’t missed a beat. Of course, missing a beat wouldn’t exactly be a problem in their mode of avant-garde, progressive rock music, but whatever. Their latest album is everything it should be: weird, delightful, tragic, and hilarious.
18. M.I.A. – Mathangi
M.I.A. brings a pretty distinct and sometimes contentious brand of social justice to mainstream hip hop and pop, something we’ve known since her Super Bowl appearance. Her latest album gives background as to why she does so. The cultural aspects of her life and her journey to stardom are foregrounded throughout the album, and she uses them to lay out her paradigms of gender race relations in pop culture. It’s a different model of social justice than we hear in albums by Beyoncé or Janelle Monae, but it’s every bit as important and successful. The music is strong, interesting, and highly original, and it becomes very clear that M.I.A. isn’t just a mouthpiece of idealism, but that she’s a very capable performer and writer in her own right.
17. Fitz And The Tantrums – More Than Just A Dream
This is one of my absolute favorite albums of the year. Fitz And The Tantrums is everything a great band should be: talented, energetic, and professional. Like their debut record, this album comprises an incredibly catchy bunch of songs that discuss ostensibly commonplace themes (love, loss, personal struggle), and arranges those themes to tell larger, more sophisticated stories about the world we live in. Musically, it builds upon the Motown-inspired foundation laid by their previous record, and adds more deliberate pop stylings around the edges. The result is an album I’ll be singing along to for years to come.
16. Tedeschi Trucks Band – Made Up Mind
If you like rock music, or blues music, or really any kind of music, you need to listen to this album. This might be the most musically adept band in the current scene. Susan Tedeschi was born to sing the blues, and she and her husband, slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks, have recruited an all-star band of vocalists, guitarists, bassists, percussionists, and horn players to help them create astounding music. Every song on this album is powerful and professional. This music will just make you smile because it’s so good.
15. The Blow – The Blow
One of the most unorthodox albums (and live shows) of 2013, The Blow made their return to the music scene with an album that’s hard to describe in just a few sentences. When I saw them perform live, frontwoman Khaela Maricich said that, beginning the recording process, the band had struggled to find "a space in the world" for their album. She said there was just nowhere to put their album, no gaps in the world that could be filled. So they clawed and dug and picked at corners of the world until they made a space, and filled it with their album. As abstract as that image is, I found it kind of beautiful: if there’s not an open space in the world for you, you fight and work until there is. And then you fill that space with your ideas and emotions and energy. This album represents the ideas and emotions and energy of two interesting and artistic individuals, and it shows. It’s worth listening to many times.
14. Arctic Monkeys – AM
When this album was first released, I heard a few complaints that it was “too weird,” or that the band “didn’t sound like themselves.” I couldn’t disagree more. Finally, it seems that the Arctic Monkeys have found their voice, and their niche in rock and roll. This album is different from anything else they’ve released, but it’s also far and away their best work on every level. As someone who was already a big fan of the band, this album indicates to me that the future is bright both for the Arctic Monkeys, and for rock and roll all around.
13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito
To save space here, just check out my full review for a description/analysis of this album. It's great.
12. My Bloody Valentine – m b v
We will all remember 2013 as the year in which Beyoncé released an album with no forewarning or promotion, but she was not the only legendary artist to release a groundbreaking album without advance notice. In early February, My Bloody Valentine released a full-length record titled m b v, having shared virtually no information on its existence beforehand. What’s more, their previous album, the widely acclaimed Loveless, was released a whopping twenty-two years ago (1991). With little more than a peep between then and now, the band managed to reunite, record and release an album, and launch a world tour. Most importantly, the album is excellent. It picks up right where Loveless left off, and shows listeners just why shoegaze took such a strong hold on the disillusioned youth of the 1980s and 90s. The music is powerful, it washes over you in relentless but revitalizing waves. The album’s songs are potent and cerebral, and they remind us of how much we can learn when we lose ourself in sound.
11. Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt
I (and many other fans) have been waiting for years for this album. Fans who know the band well will understand that musicians of this caliber sometimes need to work slowly and cautiously, but the waiting got to be pretty difficult at times. Now that the album is out, I can only say one thing: it was worth the wait. Lightning Bolt is exactly what its title suggests: an electric shock, a burst of heat and energy. At a moment when a band can be most at risk of fading away into middle aged mediocrity, Pearl Jam has reinvented itself by getting back to its roots. “Sirens” is one of the best songs of the year, and hearkens back to the most stimulating and intimate moments on Ten. “Mind Your Manners” is a thrashing rock and roll spectacular that would make James Hetfield proud. All the other songs fit into place between the two poles, filling the album with music that is driven and purposeful, but not overly ambitious or self-involved. I would say that Pearl Jam has returned, but when it comes right down to it, they never left. One of the greatest rock bands in the world has released one of the best rock records of the year, end of story.
10. Kanye West – Yeezus
After years of choosing not to take Kanye West seriously, listening to this album and to him talking about his music has helped me to finally understand what all the hubbub is about. He’s a creative genius. Yeezus is on the forefront of modern hip hop music, utilizing postmodern production and composition techniques to combine sparse lyrics with dense beats. Kanye tackles the big issues with big statements, but that doesn’t mean the album lacks subtlety. Yeezus is interesting and engaging from start to finish, and that’s the mark of a great album.
9. The Neighbourhood – I Love You
The Neighbourhood is kind of the quintessential LA alternative rock band. The songs on their debut album are dripping with emotion and intimacy, but the music itself is reserved. Like so many other great releases from this year, I Love You balances distance and immediacy in its composition, its production, and its lyricism, which makes it a wonderfully interesting album to listen to. It’s been one of my favorites of the year since the day it was released, and it will remain in rotation on my iPod for a good while to come.
8. Haim – Days Are Gone
Another stunning debut from this year, Haim’s album serves as a reminder of the opportunities that remain open for pop artists who seek to create original music in a stylistically crowded music scene. The first two thirds of this album are tremendous, and after repeated listens, the songs have only become more engaging. This is radio-friendly pop music that manages to come off as refreshingly different from the majority of what is played on FM radio. There’s something about this band that appears relaxed and confident, which is impressive given how much they tend not to follow the trends of pop or even alternative music. Entering 2013, Haim was one of the artists I was most excited to hear from. Exiting 2013, they have proven why.
7. Lorde – Pure Heroine
The third stellar debut album of 2013. After a summer of near isolation from pop radio, dialing back in to hear the unorthodox sounds (and messages) of “Royals” (and later “Tennis Court”) jarred me in the best possible way. Lorde captivated listeners around the world, and for good reason. Not only is she talented beyond her 16 years, but her music (like an impressive number of others on this list) proves that more and more, it is unnecessary to conform to an "industry standard" in order to find mainstream success. Her lyrics and performances are spare, daring, and ruthless, and that makes her music invigorating. Pure Heroine (pun clearly intended) is not a masterpiece album, but it’s not far from the mark.
6. Childish Gambino – Because The Internet
Childish Gambino a.k.a. Donald Glover is another creative genius whose new album takes a bravely unconventional approach to hip hop. At the same time, this is his work that feels most in-sync with the stylings of classic rap music. He is highly proficient across a multitude of platforms, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is his best work in any medium yet. His lyrics have always been incredibly honest and personal, but this album brings that intimacy to a new level. The attention to detail in the production is evident in every song, and his performance is visceral but sophisticated. Most importantly, he understands the role that musical art has in his life the the lives of listeners, and he places the integrity of that art above all else. The result is a tight-knit album that pushes, prods, and moves its audience in the most intimate kind of way.
5. Portugal. The Man – Evil Friends
Portugal. The Man is, in my opinion, the smartest alternative rock band currently working. Their albums time and again display a keen awareness of the musical, social, and cultural contexts into which they enter. With the bar already set perilously high, Evil Friends goes well beyond the expectations that may have been set for it. “Modern Jesus” is the best song of the year, but it’s only the best song on the album by a whisker. “Purple Yellow Red and Blue” and “Creep In A T-Shirt” are fantastic songs in their own right, and the overall quality of the songwriting on the album is legendary. The best thing about this album, however, is its intellect. The album itself seems to come to life with riveting social commentary and musical aptitude. One listen through this album will grab your attention. Two listens will clarify why it’s an easy pick for the top five of 2013.
4. Arcade Fire – Reflektor
This album took a little effort on my part, but in the end, it was well worth it. Arcade Fire's previous album The Suburbs remains one of my favorite albums released in my lifetime (and, to be honest, ever), so the stakes were high for its successor. But Reflektor gets it all right. The band held onto the successes of The Suburbs, and patiently waited for them to erode down into elementary particles before rearranging them in a new and exciting musical fabric. The talent, energy, and composition from their last album remains, but it comes in a revitalized package, with an entirely new aura around it. It’s exactly what the band needed to do to keep themselves at the apex of alternative music. Complicated, difficult, and vastly intriguing, Reflektor is a success every way you look at it, even if you have to look at it more than once to get the picture.
3. Beyoncé – BEYONCÉ
The reigning queen of pop music’s first words on her surprise new album are: “my aspiration in life would be to be happy.” Her album after this moment becomes something of a how-to guide to achieving that aspiration. I could talk only about her strongly pro-feminist messages and justify ranking this album highly. I could similarly talk only about the strength of her performance, and the vitality of her music and make that justification. Same goes for her unprecedented publicity and release strategy (“tell them nothing beforehand and them WHAM! Fourteen songs and SEVENTEEN videos!”). Combine the three, and there’s an ironclad case for placing BEYONCÉ in the top three of 2013. The album is a tour de force. Beyoncé puts her singing and rapping talents in full view, and uses those talents to dish out truths about how pop culture treats women like shit. But arguably more importantly than exposing society’s wrongdoings, Beyoncé shows us how we all can make the world better for ourselves and the people around us. If that doesn’t make for a next-level album, I don’t know what does.
2. Phoenix – Bankrupt!
If Portugal. The Man is the smartest alternative rock band on the market, then Phoenix is the smartest alternative pop band working today. This is the album from 2013 I had been anticipating the longest, and it is also the album to most extensively blow my expectations away. From the opening riff of “Entertainment” to the soft final notes of “Oblique City,” Bankrupt! is a true masterpiece. The band set out with the classically postmodern goal of creating an album that blurred the lines between real and synthetic, a goal which they succeeded in achieving with ease and grace. But more fundamentally than making statements about entertainment culture, the songs here are just so good. They’re catchy, danceable, singable, and memorable. There’s a reason that this has become one of the most clicked-on albums in my music library in just nine months. Phoenix are a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately, I don’t plan on doing any reckoning anytime soon.
1. Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady
For five months, Phoenix’s album was set to be my number one album of 2013. Then Janelle Monae released The Electric Lady, and in an instant, I knew what the best album of the year really was. As with Beyoncé's, Monae’s album gets the nod for many reasons. Her music and production are utterly unmatched (even, at times, by Queen Bey herself). Her image and publicity scheme are brilliantly out-of-the-box (if you don’t know, Janelle Monae’s character is an android in the future whose story unfolds over the course of multiple albums). And her message of social justice and acceptance of diversity is critically important. Put all three factors together, and Janelle Monae becomes the hottest new arrival on the progressive pop music scene. Musically speaking, her album left me speechless. Collaborations with Prince, Erykah Badu, Solange, and Esperanza Spalding (among others) are breathtaking, and add to the caliber of these songs. Each one grabs you by the ears and shakes you full of perspective. Just as impressively, the songs blend into and out of one another in a manner that is gorgeously cinematic. Everything about The Electric Lady is riveting. There is no world in which this isn’t my favorite album of 2013.
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So there you have it. My favorite and least-favorite things about music in 2013. If you think I'm very wrong about something, leave a comment and let me know! Regardless, happy new year, and may 2014 bring even more wonderful new sounds to our ears!
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