Best Of 2013

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

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JohnErle
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by JohnErle »

I was getting worried that Surfer would make it through his whole top 10 without posting anything I liked, but that Thee Oh Sees track is awesome. Pity about the video, though.

And I also liked Six's recent pick of Dirty Beaches.

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numbersix
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by numbersix »

Accidentally deleted this post by mistake.

Album #8. Iceage, "You're Nothing"





Song #7. Atoms for Peace, "Ingenue"

Last edited by numbersix on December 19th, 2013, 9:40 am, edited 2 times in total.

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

Is it too late to join the party? :)

From what I can gather you guys are posting your top 10 songs AND albums?

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silversurfer19
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by silversurfer19 »

Brockster wrote:Is it too late to join the party?
Definitely not too late, either catch up or go at your own pace, the more the merrier. And I'm just posting my favourite albums, six is doing both. Up to you in the end though, whatever you have to offer is very welcome.
JohnErle wrote:I was getting worried that Surfer would make it through his whole top 10 without posting anything I liked, but that Thee Oh Sees track is awesome. Pity about the video, though.
While it's nice to have some appreciation for the music you also like, I also think it's highly important we all have very different musical tastes too. It would be very boring if we were all just patting each other on the back, congratulating our awesome taste in music, and each having 8 of the ten records the same. You have to take the rough with the smooth, and as long as something clicks, then all is well.

Having said that, glad to see MBV turn up again, while it didn't quite make my top ten, it's a great record. I downloaded Dirty Beaches record, and while I suppose it has it's merits, in the end I just didn't find myself listening to it at all. Listening to it again, still didn't do anything for me, a lot of atmosphere but no real hook. Also listened to the Iceage track again, and I think I just really don't like the vocals, they just grate on me too much. Perhaps ten years ago this would have appealed to me more, but the abbrasive music clashing with the angry vocals just turned me off.

How many times have we been let down by awesome album openers too? You always anticipate that a band working on an album at one time will get into a groove and many of the tracks will be of equal measure, but then you find it just to be a one track record where everything else just fades into the oblivion in comparison. Liked the Weekend track though, I may track down some other songs to compare, but even if this is the only decent one I hear it's always nice to discover something like that.

Parquet Floors is a record I've been meaning to track down for a while now. I know it received quite a bit of buzz upon release but never got around to getting it. Definitely hear the Strokes reference in the music, there's a real spark of energy to the song, will have to get round to picking it up. Agreed in regards to the Atoms For Peace record too, I find myself listening to it a little, but it just hasn't grabbed me like I'd hoped. There are the odd couple of decent tracks on there, Ingenue for one alongside Judge Jury and Executioner, but overall it's pretty substandard Kid A stuff.

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

I'll have an easy time coming up w/ my top 10 favorite songs, but I'll probably have a hard time coming up with more than 5 albums. I don't typically buy full albums anymore. The days of artists putting out albums where I like all the songs enough to buy them all are long past, but there have been a select few I've done that for this year.

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silversurfer19
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by silversurfer19 »

To an extent I agree with you, the industry has moved into a realm that rewards instant success without having to really care about the longevity of artists. Bands are so 'now' and usually disappear after a song or two. I do still feel there is a real place for the album though. A piece of work that is more than just a 'best of' collection, more a coherent piece that works from start to finish, and I have been able to find a few that satisfy in that regards. But to an extent, it almost feels like we've gone back to the days of the blues, early 50s, where artists were not expected to make an album, but more a collection of songs which are eventually released on something like Chess as either a compilation of one artist's work over a number of years or a company collection of numerous artists.

The industry can't sustain the album business due to downloads taking over the market, and for me it's a shame, but there are still a number of acts who are willing to make the effort, and if you can find them, it's still the most rewarding thing for me.

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

I really respect artists that can put a full album together in this day and age...you'll see some of them on my top 5 list :)

Ok, here we go, getting caught up w/ you guys:

Songs...

#10: The Boxer Rebellion - "Diamonds"


I've always loved indie bands from across the pond, and these guys are great.

#9: The Saint Johns - "Your Head and Your Heart"


I play acoustic, so I'm always fond of signer/songwriter types, and this is a beautiful song.

#8: Matt Wertz - "Get To You"


I'm a huge 80's music fan, so naturally this song is right up my alley. This song sound like Bryan Adams could have recorded it and put it on the B Side of Summer of 69

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

Also, I'm going to go back and listen to the songs you guys posted already tomorrow...I'm always looking for ways to find new artists :)

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Leestu
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by Leestu »

I still listen to albums almost exclusively by choice and just use singles or individual songs as a discovery point. The problem is with limited time and exposure I don't discover a lot, (eg I didn't even know MBV released a new album) however I will join in later with the five albums from 2013 I've listened to the most.
Listened to about half of the songs so far picking and choosing all over the place and my favourite so far is the Var song, but also liked the song by The Men, MBV, & Speedy Ortiz.

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silversurfer19
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by silversurfer19 »

7. California X, "California X"

With their Dinosaur Jr. influence firmly emblazoned on their sleeves, California X is a debut album I have found myself rocking out to more than I ever expected. It helps that our little girl is just as into them as me, she has already mastered the head banding moves after listening to this so many times! Fuzzy guitars, wailing vocals, amps set to the max, it has it all. It seems to be all the rage these days to bury yourself in your influences, and to an extent the album can be generic on a couple of tracks, but I think there's enough on California X to suggest they have come out the other side having gained a sense of self thanks to some awesome hooks and this only promises more for future records.

"Sucker"

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

#7: John Mayer - "Badge and Gun"



Yeah, yeah, yeah...start the mud slinging b/c I like John Mayer :) I'll get into it a bit more later when I'm going over my favorite albums of the year, but he's a great musician, and I really like his new direction into the Americana/Country style, it really suits him and it's very easy to listen to. Reminds me a lot of the Eagles.

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BrocksterDuex
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by BrocksterDuex »

Thoughts so far:

Yo La Tengo - "Fade" - Meh, it was ok, easy on the ears, but for some reason didn't pull me in completely. I've heard of this group, but have never given them a listen until now. I'll probably explore their catelog a bit further though.

My Bloody Valentine - "In Another Way" - not my style at all...there aren't too many songs that I don't give a full listen to, but this was one of them, sorry.

Neko Case - "Man" - I don't know why, but there aren't many female musicians that I am in to...and I really don't have a good answer for it. This wasn't really my cup of tea.

Foxygen - "On Blue Mountain" - hmm, a group I have never heard of (that's odd for me). I liked this. It was weird in a good way. Definitely going to check out their catelog. Sort of reminded me of Jack White or a toned down Wolfmother...very Zeppelinesque

Arctic Monkeys - "R U Mine" - I've never been able to get into these guys and I've tried on several occassions. Not feeling this song.

Var - "The World Fell" - hmm...I liked the actual music to the song. I would have enjoyed it more if they didn't start singing, lol.

Chelsea Wolfe - "The Waves Have Come" - Weird, again I like the music to the song but not the singing. Will this be a theme to your choices six? Moving on...

Forest Swords - "Thor's Stone" - a little too odd for me, and that takes a lot when it comes to music.

Sigur Ros - "Kveikur" - finally a selection I've heard of (where do you get these artists Six? :) ) - Another act I've tried to get in to in the past, but just can't. This was just ok for me, nothing to make me check out other stuff though.

The Men - "I Saw Her Face" - this is a little too indie for me.

Speedy Ortiz - "No Below" - meh, nothing about this grabbed me. Sounded like a high school garage band to me, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing...bad in this case for me.

Dirty Beaches - "Casino Lisboa" - too odd and disjointed for me...I like music with a little more structure.

Chelsea Light Moving - "Sleeping Where I Fall" - I've never been a huge fan of punk music, so this naturally wasn't in my wheel house.

Iceage - "Everything Drifts" - see above review.

Ok, I feel like I'm trashing everything...I'm trying to keep an open mind here!!! Sorry :( Moving on...

Weekend - "Mirror" - I'm going back and forth on this song. I liked some parts...which makes me want to check out their other stuff. Also, wouldn't this song be awesome in a racing video game?

Thee Oh Sees - "Floating Coffin" - first of all, that is an awesome name for a song. However, I'm not feeling the song :(

Parquet Courts - "Master of My Crafts" - again, too indie for me

Atoms for Peace - "Ingenue" - I was expecting to like this, some of Radioheads music is genius...I guess it's a fine line b/c I didn't like this at all. I expected more from Thom. Also, WTF about the video? I hated it more than the song.

California X - "Sucker" - not digging it.

Well....ummmm...it seems as if Surfer, Six, and I will be at odds regarding our selections :) You guys seem to be much more into punk, extremely indie, almost grundgy music, while I sway a little more mainstream. Hopefully we'll have a few in common :) However, even though I wasn't a big fan of most of the selections so far, I always love listening to music I've never heard of before and expanding my listening selections. I'm still keeping an open mind going forward.

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numbersix
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by numbersix »

Brock, interesting that you saw Chelsea Light Moving as punk, as for me they're very different. Heavy, at times, but far more into experimentation and complex noise as opposed to punk's use of simple chords and energy to propel the songs. That said, I too tend to lump songs I don't like into a genre I'm not that into as a shorthand to explain why it's not for me.

I think you're right, I think we will have very different picks by the end of this (a lot of your picks didn't do a lot for me because they didn't feel distinct or powerful enough), but perhaps there will be some crossover. I certainly have two hugely popular acts coming up...

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Chienfantome
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by Chienfantome »

I haven't even heard of 10% of the bands you guys talk about :oops:
Fluctuat nec mergitur

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Geezer
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Re: Best Of 2013

Post by Geezer »

I definitely want to join in on this this year, probably going to at least put up a top 5, once I get it sorted out. I know what my number one is, but the other 4 are up for grabs still!
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude

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