Best Of 2013

Anything music related. Latest songs, good new bands, and blasts from the past.

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Chienfantome
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by Chienfantome »

numbersix wrote:Now look what you've done. Surfer is crying and ran off to his bedroom, and Chien drank too much mulled wine and is groping the Kevin Costner poster again.
In complete honesty, I also drank a little too much champagne.
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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Sorry lads, I've been out of town for the Holidays...back to work today :( Anyway, I'll pour over what I've missed when I have time today. Meanwhile, I'll continue my list now:

Album #4: The Boxer Rebellion - Promises


Song #4: The White Buffalo - "The Whistler"


Some of you who watch Sons of Anarchy probably have heard of The White Buffalo, they've used many of his songs in the show, including this one. This song makes me want to go out and kick somebody's ass, too bad it's the Holiday season :(

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Bo Ningen - "Henken" - yikes, this was borderline scary. Not my cup of tea. It was like watching an angry Asian woman have a seizure for a few minutes. So strangely fascinating at first, then hard to watch after a while.

Nadine Shah - "Dreary Town" - too "dreary" for me...this song really didn't go anywhere.

David Lynch - "I'm Waiting Here" - this is a very haunting song. Not bad, but nothing to make me check out some other stuff unfortunately.

Vampire Weekend - "Step" - I've tried and tried and tried to get into Vampire Weekend. Everytime I listen to their stuff there just seems to be something that is missing for me...there is nothing wrong with this song, but it just doesn't click for me...the whole time it's like the song is right on the edge of being something I'd really like...then it ends :(

James Blake - "Overgrown" - see review for Nadine Shah's song above.

Mark Kozelek and Jimmy Lavelle - I really like the music behind this song. Electronic music can go 2 ways for me, either it's brilliant or utterly terrible. When it's done right, I like it a lot. I like this song. I'll check out the rest of the record. Good pick Six.

Abbe May - "Karmage" - another angry woman, not Asian this time :) I didn't mind this though...and I think she's kind of hot, although it's hard to tell b/c its in black and white.

Queens of the Stone Age - "I Appear Missing" - I've never been a big fan of these guys. Didn't really like this song either.

Portugal. The Man - "Creep In A T-Shirt" - a coworker of mine tried to get me into this band a few years ago, but I wasn't in to them at the time. This song is just ok for me, but not enough to make me try and get into them again.

Kanye West - "Blood on the Leaves" - this guy is such an egotistical asshole it's hard to support his music, but on occassion he makes genius records. "Jesus Walks" is one of my favorite hip hop records of all time. I never really liked his venture into the auto tuned lyrics, even though "Love Lockdown" was a great song. I'm not really digging this song though.

Arcade Fire - "Here Comes The Night Time" - not really my thing. I've never been a big fan of this group.

The Drones - "I See Seaweed" - Very strange song. I didn't like it very much, although the guitar playing was pretty great.

Priests - "Radiation" - yikes.

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Album #3: Thirty Seconds To Mars - Love, Lust, Faith & Dreams


This was a great album, much better than their last one in my opinion. There were a few interlude songs with no words, but I liked pretty much every song on this album that had words. "City of Angels," "End of All Days," "Northern Lights,"Do or Die," and "Conquistador" being my favorites. Sometimes they delve into arena rock, but I don't mind that...sort of reminds me of U2 back when they were good. Speaking of that, if you get a chance, check out 30 Seconds to Mars' cover of "Where the Streets Have No Name." It's really good.

Song #3: The National - "I Need My Girl"


What a simple but great song. I love it, and it was my #1 for the longest time this year.

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Chienfantome
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Borckster, "I need my girl" is one of my favourite songs of the year too. I spend too much time obsessing about cinema and not enough listening to new music, but one of the few albums I listened to this year was The National's, and this is one of the highlights of the album by its beautiful simplicity.
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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Song #2: John Mayer - "Waiting On A Day"


Very mellow, very cool song. This was my favorite off of his new album.

Album #2: John Mayer - Paradise Valley


Mayers new album pushes the country/Americana/Eagles-like quality of his previous album even further. It shows a lot of maturity. Simple songs, great lyrics, and a laid back feel make this album great. For those of you who still recognize John Mayer as the bubble gum acoustic pop artist that made him famous with his first album won't even recognize him anymore. He's evolved so much since then, delving into more of the blues sound for a bit, and now coming around to this country vibe that really suits him. He's also an amazing guitarist, but doesn't show it off as much as he did on this 2nd and 3rd albums. The only song I'm not a huge fan of is the duet with Katy Perry. It could have been left off of the album in my opinion, but I understand why it is in there. Anyway, love this album, love Mayer's new sound, and can't wait to hear more from him.

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numbersix
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Album #1: Deerhunter - "Monomania"

Bradford Cox is a special person. Prolific as hell (this is his 9th record in as many years), his sound reflects his obsession for music. And rather than merely being a carbon copy of those before him, his records always dance between influences and find a nice little spot to call his own. While previous Deerhunter records were more critically acclaimed, I feel this is his most consistent record to date. Each track can be listened to separately, not just part of a whole but independent in itself. Sure, that is hardly new in an era where the album had been proclaimed dead, but Cox has already proven his ability to create a distinct 40-minute whole. This record is a balance between the heavy and the soft, the raw and the gentle. At his harshest, he turns garage rock n roll into crunching noise. And yet they sit beside songs with almost a country twang (Dream Captain starts off like a great Wilco song) or lonesome ballads. But every song contains some excellent riffs, licks, and other guitar elements I know nothing about. Lyrically he can be deceptively simple, but he's as powerful as ever. He is a man with a vision, a singular one (hence the record's title), and I think here he has delivered more than he was asked for.

"Leather Jacket II"


"Punk (La Vie Antérieure)"



Song #1: Fuck Buttons - "The Red Wing"


While FB's follow up to the superb Tarot Sport (which got them a spot at the Olympics ceremony, thanks to fan Danny Boyle) wasn't as strong or as interesting, this signature tune is certainly a highlight. I best describe it as a typical dance tune torn into its constituent parts and then put together in the strangest of ways. One expects the beat to immediately speed up but it holds its staggering pace. It's got ravers' "whoos" but it's not really a dance tune. The bassline sounds like it's going in reverse. And when it gets loud it doesn't get fast, but instead drenches the listener in its synths. It is utterly fascinating, and totally relistenable.


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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

Deerhunter - "Leather Jacket II" - too much going on here in this song for me. I enjoy more structure

Deerhunter - "Punk" - not digging it.

Side note...Fuck Buttons might be my new favorite band name.

Fuck Buttons - "The Red Wing" - not digging it.

Well, to sum it up Six...we don't have anything in common musically :D You have a very eccentric taste in music that falls a little outside of my comfort zone. And that is saying a lot...I thought I had a diverse taste in music :(

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silversurfer19
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Album No.1. Mikal Cronin, "MCII"

While most may only know Cronin as the touring bassist to Ty Segall, I think it's on Cronin's sophmore record that he has truly come into his own. While his debut solo record maintained much of the garage rock fuzz of Segall's work, Cronin has searched for new beginnings on this record, both musically and lyrically. Tackling the problems and fears of entering such things as a new relationship, the record, while brimming with Power Pop signature tunes, is a raw and honest testament to where Cronin is at in this present time, and much of it is heartbreakingly poignant. It's a record that will recall the best of The Lemonheads and a little Nada Surf, the guitars crunch and the frail vocals bleed tears. I have not listened to another record even close to how many times I've listened to this one this year; it has you fist pumping one moment, crashing to the floor in despair the next. Such an emotional record will hopefully promote Cronin to a little more recognition in the future, as not many artists can capture your heart quite like he can.

"Don't Let Me Go"

"Turn Away"

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Mikal Cronin - "Don't Let Me Go" - not bad, very acoustic driven, which I like.

Mikal Cronin - "Turn Away" - I don't like this one as much, but these songs are enough for me to check out the rest of the album :)

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

Song #1: The White Buffalo - "Wish It Was True"


Such an amazing song (not a bad video either). Straight forward and honest lyrics. Again, a great example of how a simple song can be powerful. It's really easy to play on guitar too :) This song was also used in Sons of Anarchy. Whoever picks the songs for that show needs to get a raise.

Album #1: The White Buffalo - Shadows, Greys & Evil Ways

By far my favorite album of the year. Funny enough, I didn't get into The White Buffalo by watching Sons of Anarchy. I found him on accident on I-tunes and bought every record he's put out soon after. Then I noticed his songs were in Sons of Anarchy and thought, hmmm, maybe I should watch that show. And now it's my favorite show on TV. Anyway, the White Buffalo reminds me of a modern day mix of Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. He has a unique voice and has that rebel qualify about him that those guys did back in the day. This album is great, but his entire body of work is also great, check it out if you like this kind of music. He's defintely a unique talent.






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Leestu
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Album #1 Grouplove, "Spreading Rumours"
Although no song reaches the heights of "Colours" from their debut album this is a much better and more consistent album overall. This quirky pop band with a 90's indie influence really seem to enjoy what they are doing and I think it shows on this fun feel good album that I have listened to way more than any other album this year.

"Borderlines and Aliens" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgF9knP ... ata_player
"Raspberry" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mldevqB ... ata_player
"Ways To Go" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGvHnDe ... ata_player

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JohnErle
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Re: Best Of 2013

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I haven't had time to listen to everything that's been posted, but I did listen to all the #1s, so I'll give a quick review for each one so far.

Deerhunter - I know I've heard some of their stuff before, but I can't remember what. Such horrible compression on Leather Jacket it's impossible to gauge whether there's a decent song under all that noise. Punk was better, but still not anything I'll seek out.

Fuck Buttons - Like a lot of your favorite music, this starts off well then becomes way too repetitive for me.

Mikal Cronin - No real appeal at all.

White Buffalo - Now this I like a lot. Never watched the show and don't think I've heard of him before. Definitely going to check this guy out more.

Grouplove - I love Naked Kids from their first album, but nothing else grabbed me so I never got around to the new album. Borderlines had a lot of appealing energy, but iffy sound once again during the loudest sections. Hopefully the album sounds better. I might check it out.

And I may as well post my #1s so Six and Surfer can get their revenge. I'll do that soon.

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Geezer
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by Geezer »

Rest assured everyone, I'm hard at work putting together my list that I'm sure everyone will hate! There will be no crossovers with anything anyone else has already posted, so that's a plus at least!
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude

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JohnErle
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Re: Best Of 2013

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Song Of The Year: Steve Earle - "Burnin' It Down"

One of Steve Earle’s best qualities is his fearlessness, and “Burnin’ It Down” is a perfect example of that. It could have gotten him into a lot of trouble, and it almost certainly hurt his album sales, but Steve Earle is the kind of guy who just doesn't give a fuck, and I love him for it. Like a master storyteller, Earle doesn't play his hand too soon, not revealing the song’s true subject matter until the second chorus. I won’t spoil it for you because the first time I heard it I laughed out loud, and the sheer audaciousness of it still makes me smile every time I hear it.






Album Of The Year: Steve Earle - "The Low Highway"

It’s always nice when one of your favourites releases something that reminds you why they became one of your favourites in the first place.
“The Low Highway” is my favourite Steve Earle album since his incredible run during the 90s when he set the high-water mark for Alt-Country. The passion and righteous anger that was largely missing on his last few albums has returned, and he’s back to being an ornery cuss you do not want to mess with.
He’s also trying new things musically, such as the swinging piano on “Pocket Full Of Rain” and the New Orleans influence on songs like “After Mardi Gras” and “Is That All You Got?” which comes from his time on the show Treme.




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