Graduation's Best of 2013: Top 100 Songs | 10-1 REVEALED - Page 7

TRF.

Run the Jewels, Matangi, The Bones of What You Believe, Pure Heroine, Woman, Night Time My Time, Nothing Was the Same, Body Music, Night Time My Time, Reflektor are all amazing albums.

Need to listen to The Cupid Deluxe, I loved what he did with Sky and Solange.

And "What I Like", one of my least favourite songs from 'True Romance'.

Honestly, TRF.

K$Ellie

I bought NWTS on iTunes yesterday

it's really good

backtoback

RAM and Pure Horoine

Drake's music has also grown on me, his new album was great

Billie Joe

Recover, Get Lucky, Hannah Hunt, You're Not Good Enough

blackheart

6/10

Monomania

Brando

The previous song set is simple flawless

This one is great too.

What An Experience is one of my faves as well. There are so many standouts on that album.
Fragment Two & Organ Eternal are some of my faves from Field of Reeds.
Can't believe how similar our album list is though

Sunderland 4ever

The Bones Of What You Believe, Matangi and RAM.

Graduation

Daft Punk | Lorde | Justin Timberlake

Recap of Songs 100-11

10 KANYE WEST (FEAT. FRANK OCEAN) New Slaves

9 LORDE Team

While Lorde was busy making a name for herself with the sleeper hit “Royals,” she also took to task the pop music industry machine and it’s perpetuation of harmful female stereotypes. Her words, and their direction towards Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, and Selena Gomez hit some people the wrong way. What her detractors forgot, or were just too plain ignorant to research, was that Lorde’s 2013 Pure Heroine is full of anthemic, communal tracks that find joy in our common bonds. Take for example the excellent, and future smash single, “Team.” Despite what she has written, Lorde sings, “And you know / We’re on each other’s team.” Just like any great teammate, Lorde will congratulate you when your successful, but will not let that get away from offering constructive criticism when the occasion warrants.

8 EARL SWEATSHIRT (FEAT. VINCE STAPLES & CASEY VEGGIES) Hive

7 HAIM The Wire

6 DARKSIDE Paper Trails

5 PHOSPHORESCENT Song For Zula

“Song For Zula” was originally released in late 2012, yet it’s impact has been felt more than a year after its initial release. For one, let’s talk about those strings. How they are able to illicit such a strong emotional response is beyond me, but between those strings and Matthew Houck’s affecting, visceral vocal performance, nothing sounded as painstakingly beautiful as “Song For Zula.”

4 DISCLOSURE When a Fire Starts To Burn

3 VAMPIRE WEEKEND Ya Hey

There are a lot of things I can point to that make me feel like an old man, from every time I go to a gas station and see that MUST BE BORN ON OR BEFORE THIS DAY sign acknowledging cigarette and liquor age restrictions, and how wrong it is that someone born in 1995 can now by cigarettes, to every time I watch collegiate sports. But what makes me feel older than any of that is how far Vampire Weekend has come. It still doesn’t seem possible that they’ve been around for more than half of a decade, that is until you hear something like “Ya Hey,” which far exceeds the best moments of any of their previous two albums. It’s a festival anthem in making, with Koenig’s unbridled emotions taking his vocals to places few thought possible years ago. While 2010’s Contra showed strides in the band making more expansive, substantial songs, there was something very insular about the whole thing. Yet on “Ya Hey” the band aims for the rafters and land in the clouds.

2 AUTRE NE VEUT Play By Play

“And I say / Baby,” begins Autre Ne Veut’s gargantuan “Play By Play.” Over twinkling, starlit synthesizers, he belts that phrase four times, each one taking more breath and blood from Arthur Ashin, who records under the Autre Ne Veut moniker. From their, the song builds, and builds, and builds, and then builds some more, until the seal is cracked like a tea kettle violently whistling. “I just called you up / To get that play by play / By play by play / Don’t ever leave me alone,” sings Ashin, hanging on to every note. You get the feeling that this is his last chance to make an impression on whoever it is he’s singing about, and he holds on to it as long as he can. It’s that intensity that fuels the song, saving it from being considered an overwrought self-indulgence, and making it an earnest, passionate plea to finding the strength to survive life’s most challenging moments. It doesn’t get much more honest than this.

1 DRAKE (FEAT. MAJID JORDAN) Hold On, We're Going Home

We started from 100, now we’re here. Drake has been the target of many in the hip-hop community for his proclivity to sing on his own records, which somehow makes his music “soft” according to his detractors. Well, Drake took those verbal jabs to heart and he acted accordingly. Not only does he not rap on “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” the year’s best track, he delivers a remarkable vocal performance, as if to give his haters a middle finger by flashing them a peace sign.

“I got my eye on you,” begins Drake, cutting straight to the point. He’s never pushy, and the allure comes from his dedicated delivery, as he owns every moment with a tender, loving care. Each moment further cements the song’s place among the best of this century, from that glossy, sun soaked bridge to those fantastic background falsetto vocals courtesy of R&B group Majid Jordan.

True to its place on top of this chart, the song has inspired some of the best covers of the year, from Dev Hynes to Holy Ghost! to Arctic Monkeys. The best of the lot is most definitely Holy Ghost!’s, which replaces Drake’s modern touches with some disco touches even Daft Punk must applaud. But without the outstanding original, none of those splendid covers would exist. With “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” Drake made the year’s strongest case for the removal of genre labels and made it look entirely effortless. There’s nothing more endearing than his utter devotion to crafting what will be considered a classic in the years to come, unafraid of confronting his detractors with a heavy dose of affection. All he asks for in return is hot love and emotion, endlessly.

JGibson

3/10

Team + The Wire <33

Graduation

Kanye West | Beyoncé | Kurt Vile

Top 50 Albums of 2013: 50-11

10
KURT VILE Wakin on a Pretty Daze

“I never smoke that stuff,” sings family man, and stoner-at-heart, Kurt Vile on the closing track of his phenomenal Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze. Throughout Daze, Vile gives us a close look into his inner workings, showing us how he stands out among his peers, while never casting a judging eye on anyone but himself.

9
AUTRE NE VEUT Anxiety

Autre Ne Veut hit it out of the park with his excellent 2013 collection. For ten tracks, Arthur Ashin therapeutically exposes his soul, while never distancing himself from his audience.

8
JAGWAR MA Howlin

This remarkably cohesive debut LP from Australia’s Jagwar Ma was the perfect summer record. Full of infectious beats, wonderful melodies, and unique and engaging compositions, Howlin’ reverberates to this day.

7
DARKSIDE Psychic

Minimalist electronica artist Nico Jaar and blues guitarist Dave Harrington created a sprawling epic with their gorgeous 2013 release Psychic. Over the course of eight tracks, the duo use each moment to convey an emotion; from each guitar lick to every electronic blip to the moments of silence, there’s a purpose to it all.

6
DANNY BROWN Old

Goofball rapper Danny Brown has been begging to be unleashed ever since The Hybrid. 2012′s “Grown Up” showed a different, no less brilliant version of DB, which was further explored with the excellent Old. The album’s mix of traditional hip-hop beats and electronica club jams would certainly not work for just anyone. But Danny Brown has spent so much time cultivating and tending to his image, he’s able to make both sides sound genuine and essential.

5
VAMPIRE WEEKEND Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekend made their biggest musical leap yet with their third studio LP, Modern Vampires of the City. While their previous two albums almost sounded like the band was hitting their notes by accident, there’s a consistency to this music, as well as clear thematic elements thus far unforeseen by the New York group.

4
HAIM Days Are Gone

Los Angeles’ sisterly trio Haim, and their increasingly pleasurable debut LP Days Are Gone, had been anticipated ever since the group was recognized by the BBC as the “Sound of 2013.” And while the album was initially applauded for its amazing consistency, the album only got better as the year went on. Their melodies are some of the most buoyant and carefree of the year.

3
DISCLOSURE Settle

Brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, despite being offensively young (thanks for making me question all my life decisions to this point, guys!) cannot be denied due to their young age. Settle was THE electronica album of the year, and its rotating cast of collaborators showed how to keep things flavorful without diluting the music’s essential qualities. The album is made to be played loud and proud, and the many featured artists help cement that notion by buying into Disclosure’s carefully composed music.

2
KANYE WEST Yeezus

For the longest time, Yeezus was the best album of 2013. Arguably the most talked about rapper in the world, Kanye West oversaw one of the more ambitious promotional campaigns of 2013. It started with video projections from across the globe of a close-up of the excellent Yeezus track “New Slaves.” There were no prerelease singles, no promotional appearances other than the season finale of Saturday Night Live in May, and basically no album cover. By putting all the attention on the music, Kanye West made his biggest musical statement to date.

1
BEYONCÉ Beyoncé

Critics everywhere cursed under their breaths when Beyoncé surprisingly released her fifth studio album with no fanfare proceeding its release. I had given up on the idea of Mrs. Carter releasing anything this year other than “Grown Woman” and “Bow Down,” and had began anticipating 2014 as the Year of Bey. After all, her 2013 was already pretty remarkable. She made jaws drop with her stunning cover shoot for GQ, she made us all remember why she’s our generations best entertainer during her tour de force Super Bowl halftime performance, and she made the internet gush with each new hairstyle she Instagram’d.

But she saved her biggest accomplishment for last. BEYONCÉ is unquestionably 2013′s most important, and best, album. The world’s biggest star shouldn’t be able to keep such a monumental project under wraps for as long as Bey did. Each track on her record-setting fifth studio LP is accompanied by stunning visuals that were shaped by Yoncé’s strong visual ideas. From the powerful imagery of black models taking ownership of their bodies in “Yoncé” to the American Horror Story-influenced imagery of ”Haunted,” Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has never been as in control of her musical destiny as she is here. The album is full of so many high points that it is difficult to single out just a few. I could talk about this album all day, and listen to it even longer. And really, isn’t that what the best music is all about?

blackheart

Songs: 7/10

Albums: 7/10

Psychic

collin

Settle, Beyonce

I listened to Psychic, too - kinda nice! Not really my style, but it was refreshing and nice.

activebeast

Team, The Wire and HOWGH <3

Comment on mine, too. The Top 50 has just started.

AshleeSimpsonFan

Team, The Wire! I love the #1, my favorite song from Drake ever

Great set

backtoback

Beyoncé

5/10 for the songs

Team is going to be higher on my next Best Of :

Fireman25

Good pick for your # 1 album

mathuss

I've lost all the updates, but I see a great lists round here.

Songs: 7/10. Song For Zula, Play By Play, Ya Hey

Sunderland 4ever

Beyoncé's album is really good. I've been constantly playing it.

MP2K

Graduation, you always have such an amazing taste. I'm a fan of all your picks. I'll be here next year.

ForeverNow90

Flawless top 2