Year End Review: Best Songs of 2013

Two weeks ago, I gave you all my list of top albums for 2013. Last week I supposed to give you a song list to go along with it, but I wrote a post about video games instead. So this week, I'm going to do what I was supposed to do last week and write a list about this year.

All clear? Good.

When I do my list of top songs each year, I always leave off anything that was on one of my top albums. The reasoning is pretty simple; I'd be retreading too much ground. So I like to use my song of the year list to pay tribute to those artists who put out excellent work that wasn't on an album good enough to make my final cut. Neko Case isn't going to be here anymore than Parquet Courts. I already wrote about how much I loved those records, so on this post, I'll sing of some new champions.

So let's get to it.

10. High School Lover by Cayucos

Hailing from their namesake in California, Cayucos is pretty much exactly the indie band you'd expect them to be. Which is a very kind way of saying that they're Vampire Weekend without the cheesy Africanna affectations. Their music is bouncy, catchy and entertaining without saying or doing anything particularly new or interesting. Which is fine; it does catchy and entertaining well enough to stand on its own. 2013's Bigfoot is packed the brim with songs like these that bring to mind sunny cruises in convertibles, warm beaches and other breezy So-Cal cliches. "High School Lover" is a warm shot of summer, and probably one of the catchiest songs that's graced the airwaves all year.

9. Seek and Hide by Lucy Wainwright Roche

Finishing out my 2013 award for "Album of the Year Performed by a Bubbly Female Coffee Shop Singer" (working title) is Lucy Wainwright Roche's 2013 effort There's a Last Time for Everything. This is a very distinct, though not clearly defined sub-genre of music that I totally love, even if I can see why it irritates everyone else. All kidding aside, however, Lucy is a Wainwright of the Loundon fame. Is there a more talented family in music? Not to my knowledge. Lucy has proven with this record and her release a few years back that she's like a softer, friendlier version of the old man; a melancholy, occasionally hilarious and an excellent singer-songwriter all around. All of the songs here are good, but this one stands out because it throws in Colin Meloy for flavor. And I love that man in a way that may or may not be strictly heterosexual.

8. Too Dry to Cry by Willis Earl Beal

Willis Earl Beale turned out a sleeper record last year that I only woke up to after it was just too late to adjust my album of the year list. His record this time around fell short in a lot of ways, but he remains at his best when he's performing gritty, frustrated blues music. That's what he's doing on the track "Too Dry to Cry", and it is excellent. There's an old saying that you have to live the blues to play the blues. I find that dubious, but if there's even a grain of truth to it, WEB must have had a hard life. His music sounds almost physically pained somehow. And while I think he hams ups his "tortured soul" routine offstage, his music is jaw dropping in its emotional gravity.

7. Sisters by Cate Le Bon

Mug Musuem is not a great album from pop rock artist Cate Le Bon. "Sisters", however, is a great song from it. Stuck somewhere between French pop and British punk rock, "Sisters" rollicks in healthy medium of edginess and polish. Her vocals, while quite good, are so deliberately European in execution that she might as well be singing in another language. And that's okay, because her airy, punctuated delivery creates a perfect contrast to the song's breakneck pace.

6. Blowin Smoke by Kacey Musgraves

I already reviewed Kacey Musgraves' 2012 record Same Trailer, Different Park. My feelings haven't changed on what a great album I thought it was, particularly for its Nashville Pop genre. "Blowin Smoke" was the breakout hit for the record. Although it's about as radio-country as music gets on the surface, there's a lot more to it when you scratch a bit deeper. To start, Musgraves is miles ahead of her contemporaries as a vocalist, and her delivery on this track perfectly fits the song's sense of cynicism. The song details a waitress and the gossip she shares with her coworkers. The narrator is clearly frustrated with her own lot in life and unwilling/unable to do anything about it. So instead, she makes quips about her coworker that got away, or the one who still has baby weight. "Blowin' Smoke" is a very subtle, coy commentary on the hypocrisy of rural America; it's on hard times, but is too proud to admit that anything's wrong. Having grown up in that environment, it's a reality I can very much relate to.

5. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

(I know you've heard the song and seen the video, so I'm not even going to bother)

Yes. That Blurred Lines. I'm no more happy that it's on this list than you probably are. But if I'm being honest with myself, I can't deny how much I love listening to this tune. Yes, Robin Thicke is the biggest douchebag in music today. Yes, this song and (dear God) its video are jaw droppingly sexist. And yes, I was just as embarrassed for America during that VMA performance as you, Billy Ray Cyrus and especially God were. But that doesn't stop this song from being one of the catchiest pop hits I've heard in years. There's a real economy here to execution of this song. That the beat can be as instantly memorable and danceable as it is, despite its minimalism, is a real testimony to writer/producer Pharell Williams' mastery over his craft. And I sincerely mean every single word of that sentence. Despite my endless war on the vapid, misogynistic subhuman man-child that is Robin Thicke, even I gotta give this one to him.

"And that's all I have to say about that"

4. When I'm Alone by Sam Phillips

Moving along to something much more positive, Sam Phillips just barely missed my album wrap up with her effort Push Any Button. Apart from some of Franz Ferdinand's more subtle moments on their record this year, no other artist was able to be so introspective and contemplative while staying upbeat and fun at the same time. Phillips' knack for striking that balance stands out particularly well on this track. Where other artists might have taken the same lyrics and crafted something much more brooding, Phillips has fun with it. The result is a sunny, toe tapping song to put a smile on your face...that just so happens to be about leaving someone making you miserable. Breakups are bad in general, but Phillips really manages to find the silver linings in just about any cloud thrown her way. I can think of about a dozen people who need to hear this song.

3. Royals by Lorde

That girl is 17. Seven. Freaking. Teen.

That's remarkable for a few reasons. First, this song has an amazing amount of thematic maturity for something written by a teenager. While Jay-Z (who, at least on paper, is supposed to be one of the greatest writers in pop music today) spent an entire album masturbating to his art and clothing collections, "Royals" eschews that type of conspicuous consumption in favor of more meaningful, purposeful relationships with...y'know...humans. Even if you think the message gets a little hamfisted at times (which there's certainly an argument for), that such a young girl is bringing a conversation about the traps of fame an excessive indulgence to the table is impressive, to say the least.

Your move, hip-hop.

The lyrics are matched by a deliberately seductive vocal performance and beat. it is club music that espouses an anti-club lifestyle. Minimalist bass and electronic touches come together to create an infinitely catchy backbeat, and punctuating finger snaps just add icing to the cake. Lorde is awfully young to be performing at this caliber, and I'm excited to see where her career takes her. I've got my eye on this one, and I think she could be great someday.

2. Walk Us Uptown by Elvis Costello & the Roots

When I first heard that the Roots and Elvis Costello were collaborating, I was bewildered as to what I should think of it. The Roots are the greatest band in hip-hop today, and can do anything they damn well please, but Costello's had a bust or two in his history of collaborations. The two combined to make half a great album and half a mediocre snoozefest. The highlight of the former, however, was this tune. The Roots are in typical form here, doing the kinds of Roots things we expect from them; which is to say that they create a marvelous hip-hop, funk and jazz fusion that makes me use phrases like "the greatest band in hip hop today". What's surprising is how well Costello's nasally, cynical delivery jives with it. He seems perfectly comfortable slow-rapping his way through this track, and the ebb and flow of it is spectacular. The lyrics seem sewn from the 80s alternative tradition of saying a lot of neat words that could mean anything or nothing when strung together. But the way Costello delivers them, alternating between punchy and grooving, is really fantastic. There's a lot of fantastic wordplay going on in this song.

That said, the star of anything involving the Roots is and will always be the Roots. This is a tremendous group of musicians playing at the top of their form, and everything they touch turns into inventive, must-hear gold. It's their funk grooves that really make this song shine this high on my list.

1. Runner by Laura Stevenson

This is my favorite song of the year, bar none. Even including the best tracks from my top albums, I adore this song more than anything else I heard in 2013. And it's not even close. I first heard this song back in January as a promo, and it had me practically salivating for the album's release. Unfortunately, the record ended up being a bait and switch that did less of this and more of the bubbly coffee shop music I expected from Stevenson. And while that sort of thing is really quite good coming from her, this was a bold, new direction that I would absolutely love to have heard more of.

The mediocrity of the album doesn't diminish the strength of "Runner", though. Stevenson is on fire here, playing impassioned verses that lead into an explosive chorus brought back to earth by a refrain that repeats the process. The lyrics indict a lover for sabotaging her relationships, lying to herself about it and using it all as an excuse to escape her failures altogether. Stevenson does a fantastic job on this track of alternating between legato and staccato delivery, and gives the song the feeling of emotional instability that at once matches the lyrics sung and the passion with which the song is played. This is a bombastic, high energy song with explosive high notes. Stevenson plays her heart out on it, and it shows. If she can move forward from here and craft her sound more in this vein, I think she's a legitimate star in the making.


So there you have it. I have one more post left in my year end wrap up: the dreaded 2013 Roast. In it, I'll go over the five biggest disappointments of the year. So if you've ever wondered what it's like when I don't love something, check it out.

Album Review: Same Trailer, Different Park by Kacey Musgraves

Among my family and friends (though my family more than anything) there's this myth that I don't like country music. Part of this is self inflicted, as I spend an awful lot of time complaining about it. The reality, however, is that I actually quite like country. In fact, my favorite album last year was a country record (I Like to Keep Myself in Pain by Kelly Hogan, to be exact). But while I like Country, I hate the generic, recycled pop that passes for it 90% of the time on radio. The music out of Nashville has devolved into a formulaic genre crowded with bland music, mediocre vocals and tropey songwriting that has justifiably become the butt of a very large national joke. The big labels have taken over the vast majority of the genre, and the only the music from it that gets any sort of publicity is exactly what I'm complaining about. Unless it's specifically pointed out to me (or I'm on one of my occasional alternative country benders), I tend to avoid country music altogether.

So all that being said, I'm glad that Kacey Musgrave's March release Same Trailer, Different Park was brought to my attention. Signed by Mercury Nashville (one of the largest country labels in the world) and a frequent opening act to Miranda Lambert, I had no need whatsoever to pay her any mind. Yet for all my grievances with popular country today, Musgraves album is a very different sort of country record than what typically comes out of that scene.

The record opens not with a bang, but a whimper. Silver Linings is a fairly generic darkest-before-the-dawn type songs with blase` music. On My House, the second track, things begin to pick up. This is where Musgraves music really begins to set itself apart from the pop-country herd. My House is driven not by  barley-there acoustic guitar chords, but by a wailing harmonica that would be more comfortable on a Bob Dylan record than a Taylor Swift one. Other tracks, such as Merry Go Round, Dandelion, Step Off and It is What It Is veer closer to bluegrass than traditional country with banjos, steel guitars and gentle to non-existent percussion leading the way. I Miss You smacks of old, Patsy Cline style honky-tonk while tracks Blowin Smoke and Stupid pack enough of a rock and roll wallop that they would comfortably be called alternative country, were they performed by someone who hadn't already established herself as a pop artist. Even though there are a few fairly generic Nashville twangs on this record, Musgraves does a very good job showcasing the diversity that country music has to offer across the record's 12 tracks. Though it doesn't work with every sound she attempts, her airy, pretty voice does a good job carrying most tunes and establishes her as one of the better singers in her genre.

And there's no. Fucking. Auto-tune.

Though her music is solid, Musgrave's real strength is in her songwriting. On this record, the folksy nostalgia for rural America and Disney style love songs that pollute modern country are replaced by more realistic themes. The track Merry Go 'Round might well be the most poignantly accurate song I've ever heard about life in small town America.

"Mama's hooked on Mary Kay.
Brother's hooked on Mary Jane.Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down.Mary, Mary quite contrary.We get bored, so, we get married
Just like dust we settled in this town"

Though Musgraves is never hostile towards small towns (which I can only assume, though can't confirm that she grew up in), she ditches the notion that rural Americans are always the best of Americans. Instead, she shines light on the darker underbellies of addiction, isolation and intolerance that exist there right alongside the strong attachments to family and community solidarity typically hyped by country songwriters. In Blowin' Smoke, Musgraves sings from the perspective of a diner waitress gossiping about her coworkers' lives. It exposes another the flip side of rural life: everyone might know you, but that also means that they all know and talk about your business. That her and her coworkers all snark about the girl who leaves town while professing their desires to change their own lots implies a sense of jealousy, made all the more artful because it's never explicitly stated. Some of the themes on this record are strongly reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen's more story driven work: loveless marriages made all too young, decaying small towns and the broken dreams that lie therein.

Of course, that isn't to say that all of the songs here are negative. Step Off is a defiant cry of independence directed toward anyone trying to tie down Musgrave's sense of freedom. The aptly named, It is What it Is relates a couple inexplicably drawn to each other in spite of all the reasons they shouldn't be. And one of the album's more impressive lyrical tracks, Follow Your Arrows, encourages listeners to follow their hearts in spite of the judgement of others. "Just 'cause you can't beat em, don't mean you should join em." The album says of drinking, following ones faith, and even generally speaking one's mind. Refreshingly, Musgraves bucks the anti-feminist, machismo thinking that dominates much of the scene when she even encourages her listeners to follow whatever sexual impulses they have: single, married, gay or straight. 

This record is by no means perfect. There are times when it sounds a bit generic, or when Musgraves's exceptional songwriting fails her. But overall, this is a fantastic album that really showcases what the genre can be at its finest. Musgrave demonstrates skill at crafting a variety of musical composition, and a passion for songwriting that makes her one of the best storytellers in music today, country or otherwise. Same Trailer, Different Park is a solid album that I would recommend both for country listeners, and rock fans more skeptical of the genre.

Track List

1	Silver Lining	3:51
2	My House	2:42
3	Merry Go 'Round	3:29
4	Dandelion	3:04
5	Blowin' Smoke	3:09
6	I Miss You	3:50
7	Step Off	3:03
8	Back On the Map	4:06
9	Keep It To Yourself	3:17
10	Stupid	2:39
11	Follow Your Arrow	3:21
12	It Is What It Is	3:46