As the sand runs out on 2013, it's time to take a look back at the soundtrack to the year. As is my annual tradition, I tried to put together a somewhat all-inclusive top 10 from pop to metal to rap. Of course there are a lot of smaller label releases that will slip through the cracks, but a lot of that is due to the fact that I don't collect vinyl and don't run in those circles anymore. And that's the point — everything I've listed here is easily accessible to the average music consumer and available on popular streaming services, such as Spotify. There's something here for everyone and I think that most open ears will even find redeeming traits about all 10.
Without further adieu....
There might not be a weirder, more eclectic pop record out this year than the one that has been delicately crafted with an eagle eye by Charli XCX. Famous for writing and giving away one of the biggest records of the year "I Love It" to Iconapop, she proves that she doesn't necessarily need it to make a stellar album. When her ambition extends beyond her talents, the production is still intriguing enough to keep you interested. And it doesn't hurt that "You (Ha Ha Ha)" is one of the best tracks of the year.
Key Tracks: "You (Ha Ha Ha)" & "What I Like"
Drake has redefined R&B and rap by melding the two into some unholy monster with his last album, "Take Care." On "Nothing Was the Same," he picks up where he left off and makes an even more challenging, but ultimately rewarding, record. Even when he is beating a hook mercilessly into your brain to the point of blackout, like on "Worst Behavior", he still pulls you back in with an unexpected rhyme. And that's why Drake is here, because no matter what he churns out at this point, you can't really expect what's coming.
Key Tracks: "Hold on, We're Going Home" & "Tuscan Leather"
When "Royals", the hit lead single off "Pure Heroine", was first released on the radio, I was amazed we could hear something so sparse, soulful and honest on the mass airwaves. In the post-Adele world, songstresses have a viable career path and the teenage New Zealander has the voice and writing ability to bend the concept of popular music to her will. Evoking the writing and delivery of Lana del Rey mixed with the gusto and pipes of the aforementioned Brit, Lorde could be the real deal. And "Pure Heroin" is filled with dark, roomy production, allowing her voice to fill in the gaps so the wise-beyond-her-years lyrics build a world for the listener.
Key Tracks: "Royals" & "Team"
My biggest surprises of the year were: A.) Fall Out Boy was releasing a new album. B.) That anyone should still care. And C.) It's actually pretty damn good. It comes down to their usual brattiness evolving from angst-fueled to being utilized as full-on swagger. Other than a misstep with rapper Big Sean, they effectively use cameos such as Courtney Love and Elton John to great effect. Singer Patrick Stump proves he is the MVP, elevating many average songs to be better than they really are. With "Save Rock and Roll", FOB is wearing its intentions on its sleeve and comes pretty close to achieving it.
Key Tracks: "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)" & "Save Rock and Roll"
After basically shelving his longstanding one-man band, Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor surprised everyone by announcing a new album and quickly dropping the longstanding industrial band's most accessible, urgent and refreshing entry in its catalogue. The fact that it was an outgrowth of his stepping away from his musical obsession for five years is undeniable. "Hesitation Marks" is a return to the basics of "Pretty Hate Machine" but with more danceable beats, layered melodies and blasts of rhythms to create a Depeche Mode power pop rush that is the highest in NIN's discography.
Key Tracks: "Everything" & "All Time Low"
After an eight year hiatus, Daft Punk fans were waiting for the book to be rewritten on all the dubstep, house/techno artists who had capitalized in their wake. Instead, the French duo turned back the clock to create something akin to a 70s rave with "Random Access Memories". A much more organic record, genre defying guest spots — from super producer Pharrell Williams, The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, alternative hero Panda Bear, and funk legend Nile Rodgers — fans got what they expected, just not what they wanted. It's hard to review RAM and not talk about one of the biggest songs of the year — "Get Lucky." The highest compliment I can pay the track is that upon stumbling upon the song on the radio, I wondered why funk was on the pop station and why Pharrell was singing it. Leave it to Daft Punk to make a record that sounds nothing like what is going on right now, even though everything sounds just like they used to.
Key Tracks: "Instant Crush" & "Lose Yourself to Dance"
For such a critically beloved band, Vampire Weekend never connected with me. Too bright, needlessly quirky, and wordy for the sake of showing off their knowledge of the Thesaurus, they were the perfect musical embodiment of a Wes Anderson film. With "Modern Vampires of the City", the band has turned inward and embraced more musical elements to showcase their maturity and confidence. Trading upper class angst for psychoses and quirks for flaws in characters, the album opens quietly, crescendoes, and then exits as it begun. So instead of the usual Ivy League house party experience of "Vampire Weekend" and "Contra", in "Modern Vampires of the City" we get the late 20-something schlepping at a bar for the night.
Key Tracks: "Ya Hey" & "Don't Lie"
The six studio album from Josh Homme's revolving door collaboration that is Queens of the Stone Age, "...Like Clockwork", sounds like every other QOTSA record while managing to be something entirely different. Sexy, dark, menacing, heavy, melodic, it's all there and it's rearranged to create a sonic experience unlike anything in their catalogue. It's doesn't explode out of your speakers the way "Songs for the Deaf" did, or hypnotize you like "Era Vulgaris", this is a much deeper, dense record that is still concise and just flat out cool.
Key Tracks: "I Sat by the Ocean" & "My God Is the Sun"
The Bronx has been churning out riotous rock for years, but they slightly dialed back the abrasiveness and turned up the craftsmanship to make an album that goes off like a pop bomb with every track. If you ask me why I love this album, I can't give you a definitive answer. Maybe it's just refreshing to hear something that honest to God rocks. From the throwback rage of "Under the Rabbit" to rewriting the rules of modern day punk of "The Unholy Land", "The Bronx" melodies are finally as incendiary as their riffs.
Key Tracks: "The Unholy Land" & "Under the Rabbit"
For an album to be the best of the year and be released in January, it has to cast a long shadow. Heartthrob manages to do this with its simplicity. It's not the most personal, artistic or even interesting album Tegan and Sara have ever released, but it's the most immediate, accessible and memorable. The melodies and production transport you back to the 80s and feel like they've been a part of you for every decade since. It's the purest slice of popular music you'll hear all year.
Key Tracks: "Closer" & "Now I'm All Messed Up"
9. You (Ha Ha Ha) — Charli XCX
8. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up) — Fall Out Boy
7. Radioactive — Imagine Dragons
6. Suit and Tie — Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z
5. Hold on We're Going Home — Drake
4. Closer — Tegan and Sara
3. Royals — Lorde
2. Get Lucky — Daft Punk feat. Pharrell
1. Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell
Best Top 40 Singles of 2013
10. Rap God — Eminem
8. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up) — Fall Out Boy
7. Radioactive — Imagine Dragons
6. Suit and Tie — Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z
5. Hold on We're Going Home — Drake
4. Closer — Tegan and Sara
3. Royals — Lorde
2. Get Lucky — Daft Punk feat. Pharrell
1. Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell
