Paramore is a very good album, but may be just a little too long.
Nothing Was the Same is brilliant, as usual for Drake. He was so right about making music for driving at night. I didn't fall in love with the album until I drove around at night with it playing.
1. King Push
2. Numbers On The Boards
3. Sweet Serenade (feat. Chris Brown)
4. Hold On (feat. Rick Ross)
5. Suicide (feat. Ab-Liva)
6. 40 Acres (feat. The-Dream)
7. No Regrets (feat. Jeezy & Kevin Cossom)
8. Let Me Love You (feat. Kelly Rowland)
9. Who I Am (feat. 2 Chainz & Big Sean)
10. Nosetalgia (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
11. Pain (feat. Future)
12. S.N.I.T.C.H. (feat. Pharrell)
Standout: Numbers On The Boards, Sweet Serenade, No Regrets, Nosetalgia, S.N.I.T.C.H.
31.
Foals – Holy Fire (2013)
1. Prelude
2. Inhaler
3. My Number
4. Bad Habit
5. Everytime
6. Lights On The Bridge
7. Late Night
8. Out Of The Woods
9. Milk & Black Spiders
10. Providence
11. Stepson
12. Moon
Standout: Inhaler, My Number, Bad Habit, Late Night, Out Of The Woods, Milk & Black Spiders
30.
Wale – The Gifted (2013)
1. The Curse Of The Gifted
2. LoveHate Thing (feat. Sam Dew)
3. Sunshine
4. Heaven's Afternoon (feat. Meek Mill)
5. Golden Salvation (Jesus Piece)
6. Vanity
7. Gullible (feat. CeeLo Green)
8. Bricks (feat. Yo Gotti & Lyfe Jennings)
9. Clappers (feat. Nicki Minaj & Juicy J)
10. Bad (Remix) [feat. Rihanna]
11. Tired Of Dreaming (feat. Ne-Yo & Rick Ross)
12. Rotation (feat. Wiz Khalifa & 2 Chainz)
13. Simple Man
14. 88
15. Black Heroes / Outro About Nothing (feat. Jerry Seinfeld)
16. Bad (feat. Tiara Thomas)
Standout: LoveHate, Sunshine, Heaven's Afternoon, Vanity, Clappers, Bad
Such a slept on Rap record that I actually enjoyed more than most rap albums from your favorite/popular rapper. Wale still has a lot to prove to his naysayers and "The Gifted" is a step in the right direction. He may not be the best or most memorable but it can't be any worse than Jay-Z and Lil Wayne who have (arguable) fallen off. Production wise this is one of the best produced with its smooth and soulful sound.
29.
Arcade Fire – Reflektor (2013)
Disc 1
1. Reflektor
2. We Exist
3. Flashbulb Eyes
4. Here Comes the Night Time
5. Normal Person
6. You Already Know
7. Joan of Arc
Disc 2
1. Here Comes the Night Time II
2. Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)
3. It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)
4. P*rno
5. Afterlife
6. Supersymmetry
Standout: Reflektor, We Exist, Normal Person, Awful Sound. It's Never Over, Afterlife
28.
Tegan And Sara – Hearthrob (2013)
1. Closer
2. Goodbye, Goodbye
3. I Was A Fool
4. I'm Not Your Hero
5. Drove Me Wild
6. How Come You Don't Want Me
7. I Couldn't Be Your Friend
8. Love They Say
9. Now I'm All Messed Up
10. Shock To Your System
Standout: Closer, Goodbye, Goodbye, I Was A Fool, Love They Say, Shock To Your System
Shesh, I didn't know this was their seventh album, where have I been? Fans have said that this is their sell out album but good god this is still one of the best pop albums released in 2013. How can an album about love and rejection be so damn catchy? Each track sounds like a hit.
Quadron – Hey Love
Great thing I didn't miss out on Quadron, they're one of my top discoveries of the year. "Hey Love" is very 'pop friendly' Rhye and I don't see a problem with that; it's still soulful. CoCo's voice is incredibly and carries the song.
On a sidenote this is the route I actually would want Xtina to go with her music but I'm sure she's too busy trying to seek top 40 success than quality.
019.
Paramore – Still Into You
The most pop-driven Paramore has ever been and such a step up from "Now". It seems like with each single or album they stray away from the sound their fans once knew of them, and I feel like that's not a problem. Change is good. "Still Into You" is really cutesy, the lyrics are happy and cheerful. With pop being rather dead in 2013, "Still Into You" became very useful.
018.
Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball
I'll never understand the parody hype and the big deal behind the music video... but I do see the hype for the song. It's EPIC! Simple, short and sweet pop ballad that's executed well by a great vocal delivery.
017.
Vampire Weekend – Diane Young
I'm not the biggest "Step" fan so good thing that was a B-side because "Diane Young" is where it's at. It's incredibly short but still incredible. "Diane Young" is playful with its pitch shifts, easily one of the band’s catchiest songs to date and most adventurous.
016.
Kanye West – Blood On The Leaves
"Blood on The Leaves" is somewhat the closest we would get to having another "808's" with a mix of the crazy Kanye we're warming up to now. Everything is just so crafted perfectly. The instrumental sample of TNGHT's "R U Ready" gets me so hyped when Kanye goes off and the backings of Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" add an eerie feel. The song is so controversial because of that but you have to respect the message and the meaning behind its usage and the song.
Man, missing so much is the pits. You know what’s coming.
I Need Your Love is so nice esp. that Ellie’s vocals does fit with Calvin’s production. I was way into Get Lucky during the summer and really enjoy it in 2013, Imagine It Was Us is nice. Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, The Marshal Mathers LP2, ARTPOP, & The 20/20 Experience are my favs. Oh recap let me see. Glad you have Pompeii, Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?, Team, Entertainment, My Number, Graceless & Do What U Want all here.
Like Started from the Bottom, gun-shy, & the entertaining Dance Apocalyptic. Also Overdose, Recover, Tunnel Vision, and Wait.
Like Everything Is Embarrassing, Royals( duh!), ( Power Trip ) (Yeah!) and #Beautiful.
Like what I heard from The Knife so far so I might check out their album, Sara’s album is truly amazing and liked the standout including Hercules & Little Black Dress on. Initially ,when I listened to the album, I just listened to the amazing music and not focused on standouts, but I can tell what I kinda remember and liked during the listen. Must heat Fantasia’s album. Liked the two singles. Hear one song from Dawn I kinda liked from 2012. Glad that I listened to The National’s album. So nice and did their sound so well. I’m interested in listening to Lissie and also Sleigh Bells. Like Ya Hey, Closer, & Latch.
Sweater Weather is so great with its slow and wonderful sound that’s good for cold weather. Nice music of mix in Carried Away, Gun is good with such explosion sound and Tennis Court is great and like to talk it up like you know.
I did enjoyed Pusha T’s album, Foals has such nice music found in their album to get into, I should hear Wale’s album, really enjoyed that indie dance mix from AF, Heartthrob may have focused on their pop sound more than ever, but still enjoyed it for all its worth. I did like step and Diane Young is one of my fav songs from 2013, Blood on the Leaves is good.
Such amazing and interesting mix of music so far. I will check for more and hope you finish.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Sacrilege
First single off their lukewarm album - I was truly expecting some epic songs like "Sacrilege". It's dark, it's chaotic and it's massive, but not as nearly as emotional as "Maps". It starts off with soft whispers and the usual Karen O belts and gradually builds up until the gospel choir hits, backing up Karen with a climactic outro. It's no top 40 sounding hit but the chorus certainly has that impact on me as if it was.
014.
Local Natives – Heavy Feet
Seems like Local Natives was aiming for a big record here, at least to me. It's so easy on the ears. I think it's a mix between their signature falsetto and harmonies and the handclaps on the chorus that ask for this to be replayed, even though its supposed to be emotional and depressing.
013.
Justin Timberlake – Suit & Tie (feat. Jay-Z)
He could have easily released a smash like "Tunnel Vision" or "Don't Hold The Wall" as his comeback single but for some pretensions reason he didn't. I'm fine with it though because "Suit & Tie" wasn't instant but it was a grower. It's no 'SexyBack' but it's def. sleek and for the grown and sexy. With club-pop and just pop music in general on a decline Timberlake went the retro-sounding R&B route that took over the first two quarters of 2013. Timbo also gets credit for the multilayed beat of saxophones, a submarine sonar and a marimba roll to name a few; all crafted into a bop. And Jay-Z added a nice vibe to the track, I don't mind his rhyme.
012.
HAIM – The Wire
HAIM has great musicality with their various influences, they are one of the best discoveries of the year. "The Wire" is pop perfection without even sounding like the current pop hits. I actually haven't listened to Fleetwood Mac to understand or know about these comparisons their style of singing gets pinned to, but I will say that I love it either way. So far HAIM can do no wrong when it comes to music, anticipating their follow up.
011.
Sky Ferreira – You're Not The One
I love the demo and I love the final product. I might have liked "One" but Sky didn't really catch my attention until "Everything Is Embarassing". "You're Not The One" is probably the most radio-ready pop song we've heard from Sky to date even though the musical inspiration is from the 80s. It's so light and breezy even with that jagged guitar that seems so out of place.
Pusha T – My Name Is My Name (2013)
