OK, so I have actually no qualms with "Harlem Shake." It was a completely deserved #1 and a cultural phenomenon. What made it special was that it was a meme that developed, um, pretty much naturally. "The Fox," however, is anything but. It is an attempt at some sort of super-meme status with so much money thrown at it, that it loses all magic it could have had. Watching the video is an odd experience, you can tell it's no "Harlem Shake," or hell, even a "Friday," which makes it really uncomfortable to watch/listen to. these memes/cultural phenomena became important because they just clicked with the GP and the internet, not because they were manufactured to do so. I couldn't even get a chuckle out of it because its attempt to go "viral" (which basically succeeded, unfortunately) were ingenuine. It looks and sounds like a stiffy middle aged businessman's attempt to make money off of meme songs.
Their album this year kinda sucked, but this is great and slightly reminiscent of their older material while not sounding derivative.
24. Baths - Inter
The ominous closing to this album. Amazing.
23. Annie - Mixed Emotions
This is one earworm! Exactly what I wanted from Annie in 2013, catchy disco with a slight feeling of melancholy.
22. Arcade Fire - We Exist
I lied, this is the best on Reflektor.
21. Azealia Banks - Yung Rapunxel
The last incredible thing she's done IMO. I love the hard hitting beat, her understated verses, and that CRAZY hook. I mean I can't think of any song that has done anything like that so successfully. Plus the bridge/Mary section is completely random but it works so well. A cacophonous masterpiece.
Even if you throw out the title track, "Here Comes the Night Time", man! "HERE COMES THE NIGHT TIME"!
Mostly just a lot of tracks I missed out on last year and will hope to check out last year with these last couple of sets...but I'm sure you knew that would be the case.
omg, Here Comes the Night Time is your fave? My mom likes that one the most too, but I don't know anyone else who does
Young Rapunxel is... weird, I don't know if I like or hate that song, but the music video is so amazing Never been a big fan of the YYY, but Sacrilege is a nice song, really like it.
The best, most danceable song on their new album. I could bop to this any day.
19. Charli XCX - Superlove
So after releasing a solid but nothing spectacular album she releases a song that's better than all of it. This is 80s Pop in the perfect way with still some of her signature sounds. Addictive and it doesn't get old.
18. M.I.A. - Y.A.L.A.
A perfect reappropriation of #YOLO. Complete with an addictive beat, vaguely political lyrics, and a Julianne Moore namedropping that was iconic the moment it was released.
17. Lady Gaga - Applause
A completely ADDICTIVE chorus mixed with a very effectively simple pop song structure. What makes this song pop is the lyrics. They kind of teeter between self important ******** and self mocking. This kind of balance between the two makes the song ridiculously fun.
16. A$AP Rocky - Wild for the Night
It shouldn't work at all, but for some reason it does. Yay.
The rest of the list is good too! Idk how I feel about SuperLove being better than all of True Romance (I mean What I Like is perfection) but it is a really good pop track! And I just downloaded !!!'s album and I'm excited to fully immerse myself in the album.