Roger's Top 50 Tunes: Part 1







50. Awolnation - Thiskidsnotalright
49. MS MR - Hurricane
48. Serena Ryder - What I Wouldn't Do
47. Avicci - Wake Me UP
46. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
45. Walk Off The Earth - Red Hands
44. Katy Perry - Unconditionally
43. Bastille - Pompei
42. OneRepublic - Counting Stars
41. HAIM - The Wire

This lot is a bit of a mixed bag really - but anyone who's no stranger to this chart knows that this is the norm rather than the exception.

Let's start in the pop arena that's well represented. OneRepublic continue to randomly come out with bonafide hits every so often - although they are no stranger to success here having scored a big year end hit for me with 'Stop and Stare'. 'Counting Stars' benefits from a strong twangy reprise near the tracks finale. Speaking of no stranger to success, look no further than Katy Perry who commonly rules the roost here. But this year - she kinda stumbled for me. 'Roar', was overrated despite being ubiquitous, and despite being the clear winner against 'Applause' on the charts, I do feel like the latter is the far superior track but I digress. Nonetheless, 'Unconditionally', multiple awkward syllables aside, is a good enough Perry track to make the roster - but nothing on her latest album is tickling my fancy like 'Teenage Dream'. Although she may have taken a step back on her record, Avicci went full throttle forwards with 'True' - led by the super smash, EDM folk jam 'Wake Me Up' - a true jukebox record for the year.

Odds and ends remain; Awolnation continued to blow up 'Sail' three years later, but I was totally loving 'Thiskid' for a good part of the year. The female contigency proves strong; Serena Ryder (Canada represent!), HAIM, and MS MR - with all their Alanis Morissette, Sinead O'Connor, etc references aside - put out pretty fantastic singles this year. Shame I couldn't put 'Stompa' from Serena on the list as well. And watch out for HAIM - I expect big things in 2014. Oh and on a tangent of Canada represent - Walk Off The Earth went from Gotye cover wonders to releasing a mega multiformat smash in Canada this year. 'Red Hands' is a song tailor made for a viral video hit.

One big shout out to Vampire Weekend who had one of the year's biggest and best albums. Despite it's often tired Boy George "baby baby baby" rundown - "Diane Young" was VW's first true big radio hit at their home format. I had the pleasure of seeing them live twice this year, and needless to say, they are a ****ing riot.

Roger's Top 50 Tunes: Part 2







40. Kanye West - New Slaves / Black Skinhead
39. Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us
38. Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?
37. The Neighbourhood - Afraid
36. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais - Summertime Sadness
35. Pearl Jam - Sirens
34. Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - Same Love
33. Lana Del Rey - Young & Beautiful
32. Jake Bugg - Lightning Bolt
31. The Civil Wars - The One That Got Away

Lots of big names in this set and big egos.

Big egos; Kanye West dropped an absolutely ferocious album in 'Yeezus' - but hardly any of it was accessible to the mainstream formats. Case in point, did he even release a single? Nonetheless, his two big tracks here share the spotlight as some of the year's best. I'm putting Mackelmore in the ego lot - I saw them live at Osheaga and they were awesome - but an all too short six song set could have been avoided if they weren't so damn preachy. While I commend them for their inspiring message and advocacy for change, music is music bro - let's hear it, because they do it damn well. 'Same Love' - is obviously a defining record for the year, and should get some deserved Grammy love. And last on the ego list - Jake Bugg! Whose debut album I loved but I have yet to hear his kind of premature follow up 'Shangri-La'. 'Lightning Bolt' got big time exposure on NCAA Madness last year, and its the fastest 2.5 minutes of music you'll hear since the early hay day of the Arctic Monkeys (who are also in this set with their perfectly cheeky 'Why'd You Only Call?). Speaking of the Monkeys, 'AM' - all I gotta say is wait for my write up. So glad these guys got it together in 2013.

How about Lana Del Rey? "Born To Die" was an important, but misunderstood record in 2012. But this year - she completely won everyone back. How left field of a hit was 'Summertime Sadness'? No one in their right mind could have ever predicted the song would have been as big as it randomly became. And although it got Cedric Gervais treatment, she also had 'Young and Beautiful' from one of the best soundtracks to come around in some time. YAB is classic Del Rey - sultry, smooth, brooding, and oozing with vulnerability. It also got a wicked Cedric Gervais remix, but the original is still refreshingly haunting.

On the note of haunting and dreary - look no further than the saga surrounding The Civil Wars. After releasing one of the best albums of the past 5 years, 'Barton Hollow', the duo, best known for their magical, organic chemistry, unexpectedly called it quits. While it put a bit of a dampened rag on their penultimate, sophmore album - it was strong start to finish to no one's surprise. I reckon a Joy Williams solo record is not too far off.

The Neighbourhood had a dynamite year obviously with the enduring 'Sweater Weather', which is to come much later, but it was nice to see they weren't one trick pony's, as the vicious 'Afraid' resonated this past fall at the format. And I always love it when Pearl Jam drops a midtempo rock ballad like 'Sirens' - it's always some of their best work.

Shame I couldn't put 'Stompa' from Serena on the list as well.

And I always love it when Pearl Jam drops a midtempo rock ballad like 'Sirens' - it's always some of their best work.

47. Avicci - Wake Me UP 46. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young 44. Katy Perry - Unconditionally 42. OneRepublic - Counting Stars 41. HAIM - The Wire 40. Kanye West - New Slaves / Black Skinhead 38. Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? 36. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais - Summertime Sadness 34. Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - Same Love

47. Avicci - Wake Me UP 44. Katy Perry - Unconditionally 43. Bastille - Pompei 42. OneRepublic - Counting Stars 40. Kanye West - New Slaves / Black Skinhead 39. Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us 36. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais - Summertime Sadness 34. Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - Same Love 33. Lana Del Rey - Young & Beautiful

30. Dan Croll - From Nowhere
29. Lady GaGa - Applause
28. Miguel f. Wiz Khalifa - Adorn
27. Jake Bugg - Two Fingers
26. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man
25. Darius Rucker - Wagon Wheel
24. Phoenix - Trying To Be Cool
23. Kings of Leon - Supersoaker
22. Cage The Elephant - Come A Little Closer
21. City & Color - Thirst

Who exactly is Dan Croll? I have no bloody idea. What I do know is that the simplistic sound of 'From Nowhere' remained a permanent fixture on my iPOD this year, and for that, it deserves recognition. Speaking of longevity, a similar story unfolded for Jake Bugg's 'Two Fingers' - who sounds like a nostalgic mix of Bob Dylan and any Beatles track off "Sgt Peppers". Bugg is way beyond his young 19 years, musically at least. And on the note of, which of these is not like the other, how about Darius Rucker? I got on board the 'Wagon Wheel' very late this year, but the southern drawl hit me like a hurricane on my loooong road trip back to Ontario from Green Bay, Wisconsin. This song will always remind me of that trip. Who knew Hootie had it in him?

Pop market. Lady GaGa may have lost the battle against Katy Perry's 'Roar' - and her deafening command of Top 40 has definitely turned the corner - but 'Applause' defied the odds on the sole basis that it's a dynamite track. Although the verses get lost in some nonsensical story telling, the bridge and chorus are probably the most serviceable pieces of music she has produced since 'Bad Romance'. Does the rest of the album have what it takes to keep GaGa relevant in the game? I'm not entirely sure. While she had everything to prove, Miguel had nothing to lose. 'Adorn' was available in 2012, but it wasn't until his unforgettable Grammy's performance this year that the track began to resonate, as did the album. This is probably the smoothest piece of rnb music I've heard in some time. I saw him open up for Drake, and instead of taking on a low key John Legend approach to his set, he was an over the top entertainer with a big lights show. Needless to say, it didn't always (or at all) work.

The last four tracks are defining jukebox records for the format in 2013. Up first is Phoenix, who had big shoes to fill after the massive success of 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'. While 'Bankrupt' is serious fun, 'Entertainment' hit with a large thud, and thankfully 'Trying to be Cool' restored some order. With it's oriental sounding leading in and Eastern influences, the retro track definitely saved some face for the band whose live show totally didn't win me over this year. Also struggling on the live scene are Kings of Leon, who I am giving another try in 2014 to see live, and I hope they deliver because I'm a big fan of their new album and the lead single 'Supersoaker'. There was a refreshing sense of urgency in this track, and I feel it would have been a much bigger hit had the band not lost a lot of goodwill with their previous album. Speaking of one upping previous albums, Cage The Elephant are boding well given how strong 'Come A Little Closer' is. Likely to be the biggest hit on the format in Q4, CTE definitely showed they aren't to be counted out of the race for new rock supremacy just yet.

And last but not least, City & Colour. Dallas Green began a transition from moody, emotive tracks to elements of bass-heavy and genuine rock and roll on their last album, 'Little Hell'. That transition continued on his new, fantastic album 'The Hurry and the Harm', and lead single 'Thirst' was a brash, commanding, and confident entrance to the stadium setting. While his music will always sound suited for small venues, you can't help but feel his ambition permeate his newer music.

Roger's Top 15 Albums: Part 1



15. Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg

Will he be the new Bob Dylan? He's still too young, and he's a bit cocky, and he kind of released an album 'Shangri La' at a really nonsensical point in his career. Regardless, the comparisons are pretty sound, and I think he also deserves appreciation for his ode to classic early 60's Beatles pop. 'Two Fingers' and 'Lightning Bolt' are two singles that show the dichotomy he possesses, and he fleshes out those sounds for an album that is short, sweet, and has a no ******** approach of being to the point.



14. Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist

It would have been really easy to keel over and die after 'Thrift Shop' - which I mean, thats what most acts do after releasing a successfull novelty song. But these guys don't rest on their laurels, and usually, they bust out 'Thrift Shop' really early in their live sets because they are so confident in their other material. And so they should be. Laced with guest appearances, and glistening with important messages and viewpoints, Mackelmore challenge a new generation to think for themselves and make conscious decisions, all the while putting out music that makes you wanna dance.



13.Phoenix - Entertainment

'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' brought the band to the masses who didn't know them before that album. But how do you follow up the album, and it's two brilliant masterpieces? (1901 and Listzomania?). Well they tried - and you can tell they tried really hard to be honest. Much of this feels forced to make a hit record, at times over produced, at times over compensating. But at the end of the day, 'SOS In Bel AIR' excels in its urgency, 'Trying to be Cool' is cool and nosatlgic, and 'Chrome' is dynamic and complicated. Here's hoping these guys don't feel too much pressure next time around.



12. Lorde - Pure Heroine

'Royals' is an anti-commercialism anthem for the ages - and it's sarcastic subtleties laced with sultry vocals was enough to surprise anyone when they found out this chick was like, what, 17? Curly locks, fair skinned, and stunningly beautiful - Lorde captivated audiences around the world with quite possibly the biggest hit of the year. Could she sustain it across an entire album? Well she certainly came close. 'Love Club' EP was the preamble that spilled into the major length debut 'Pure Heroine', laced with surprisingly mature, and deeply motivating tracks like 'Tennis Court', 'Bravado', and the sturdy follow up, 'Team' - which has the highlight lyric - "I'm kinda over getting told to throw my hands up in the air, so there". Nicely put.



11. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

It goes without saying that 'Get Luck' was an instant, gratifying smash of epic proportions. Given that, expectations for the album were sky high and first week sales are proof of that. Nonetheless, I can't say that this album delivered, firing on all cylinders, because it most certainly didn't. Nothing came close to touching that game changing lead single, and while that may be expected, it's still slightly dissapointing. The remainder of the album actually takes less of a page from disco funk and more from retro lounge, and at least half of it is quite successful. Love the Julius Casablancas collabo, and 'Lose Yourself to Dance' has a crazy catchy bass line. Oh and don't forget the zany 'Doing it Right' and 'Panda Bear'.