2013 Year in Music

Every year I create a Smart Playlist in iTunes that accumulates all the songs I listened to (all the way through) in a year more than 10 times. The result at the end of the year is a “best of” playlist. The best part about it is that it’s so objective. Of course in my head I have certain songs that I think of as “my favorite” or other guilty pleasures I know aren’t good songs but I listen anyway. But that all doesn’t matter, iTunes play counts don’t lie and if I listened to “We Can’t Stop” 100 times this year, dammit, it’s on the books. So without further ado:

The 10

10.) Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke (63 plays)

9.) Fineshrine, Purity Ring (63 plays)

8.) Where’s the Fun in Forever, Miguel (65 plays)

7.) Kaleidoscope Dream, Miguel (67 plays)

6.) Body Party, Ciara (82 plays)

5.) Adorn, Miguel (97 plays)

4.) We Can’t Stop, Miley Cyrus (100 plays)

3.) Do You…, Miguel (105 plays)

2.) Started From the Bottom, Drake (113 plays)

1.) Get Lucky, Daft Punk (120 plays)

So clearly, this was the year of Miguel, which is funny because the album definitely came out in 2012. I slept on it, I admit, but I sleep on a lot of albums; sleep is important, and what’s more important is that I did get around to it. I’m typically not very much one for R&B, but when I got the album to hear “Adorn”, I would always slip in to “Don’t Look Back” without thinking, then “Use Me” would come on and who can skip that? And my favorite track on the album is “Do You…” which flows so well into the album’s title track, “Kaleidoscope Dream”. You can see how half the album ended up in my top 10. Sonically, I think it’s an incredible album that delivers lots of nuance in multiple listens.

The rest of the list is more top-40ish than I like to admit my taste is, but damn do I like a good pop beat. Get Lucky, Started From the Bottom, We Can’t Stop, kinda Body Party, we all know what these are about. Maybe not the most depth ever, but still very fun to hear. The sleeper hit of the year for me is Purity Ring’s Fineshrine. My cousin put me on Purity Ring and I didn’t expect to like the group as much as I did, especially because I’m not all that in to EDM, but I do enjoy Purity Ring. Maybe 2014 will see me try some more EDM out?

Now, I have a few projects that were a big part of my year even though the numbers didn’t add up for my top 10:

Honorable Mentions - Albums / Mixtapes

Beyonce - 4

I was late to the party for 4 (except for “Party”, I was early to the “Party” party). I only discovered the rest of the album early this year and it deserves mention because Beyonce is the only artist that will give you a solid 25 minutes of EVERYTHING. I’m talking about every song from Party (track 5) to Run the World (track 12). Bey is giving you so much that you don’t dare change songs. 4 is more than an album, it’s a time commitment and I’m not even mad.

Joey Bada$$ - 1999

PRO-ERA gives bars. It’s that simple. I don’t know if there’s another posse out there with this much lyrical talent. And this is coming from a total OF stan. And they all have the nerve to be like under 20. I’m from LA, but I’m down for the beast coast movement.

Acid Rap - Chance the Rapper

Chance gets my spirit award because Acid Rap had more soul in it than any other project I heard this year. Chance is a unique voice and he is not afraid to let his weirdness and quirks leak into the songs. I like the way he contrasts with what we’re used to hearing from the outside looking in on Chicago (Kanye, Common, etc.) Plus the album is just so happy. Tell me you don’t do a 2 step when the juke beat on “Good Ass Intro” hits.

Wolf - Tyler, the Creator

What can I say about Tyler? This album was so theatrical, I almost feel like a lot of the songs didn’t make the top 10 because I watched their music videos so many more times than I listened to the tracks. I love how the Camp Flog Gnaw narrative is unfolding and I’m looking forward to the movie Tyler’s working on.

5 years ago  /  0 notes