I had a lot of fun doing the 2012 year-end music post so here’s the 2013 edition. These are songs that I loved this year; though some were released in previous years, almost all of these reached triple-digit plays (source: my iTunes). In most cases, I’ve had to link to remixes, but you can still listen or download for free. And yeah, YouTube ads are still a drag.
Tracks
- “The Wire” – Haim
- “Pumpin Blood” – NONONO
- “Shelter Song” and “Prisms” – Temples If you like the early Beatles, you’ll dig it.
- “These Shadows” – Wooden Shjips
- “Summertime Sadness” (Cedric Gervais Remix) – Lana del Rey
- “Shot at the Night,” “Just Another Girl,” and “Read My Mind” – The Killers Two are new and I’m obsessed with the other. “The stars are blazin’ /Like rebel diamonds/Cut out of the sun…”
- “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” and “Alone Together” – Fall Out Boy One of the better live shows I’ve ever seen. Ever. All the sweeter because I thought they were broken up for good and I’d never see them live.
- “Roar” – Katy Perry If you are about to dive into a swimming pool that only has about a foot of water in it, “Roar” is the track to have around. Katy says it’s like armor and I agree.
- “California Blue” – Roy Orbison Orbison’s last album was released in 1989 shortly after he passed away. But I never let that stop me. “One sunny day/I’ll get back again/Somehow someway/But I don’t know when…”
- “Don’t,” “It Feels So Right,” and “I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell” – Elvis Presley I hear the greatest new-to-me Elvis tracks on Sirius channel 19.
- “Kansas City” – Wilbert Harrison Another Sirius find, this one from ’50s on [channel] 5.
- “Pompeii” – Bastille
- “Ways to Go” – Grouplove “Tongue Tied” is a forever love but this one is pretty good too.
- “Dancing On My Own,” “Hang with Me,” and “Call Your Girlfriend” – Robyn I don’t know how many times I’ve asked this and I still don’t have a good answer: why isn’t Robyn more popular? She kicks so much @$$. Sigh.
- “Get Lucky” – Daft Punk You knew this would be on here…right?
- “Don’t Swallow The Cap” – The National
- “Royals” and “Team” – Lorde So sue me. They’re catchy and smart songs.
- “Do I Wanna Know?” – Arctic Monkeys This witty little ditty will drill itself into your brain. Really weird video too. No, they aren’t Northern, they’re from Sheffield. Anyway. Song of the year honors.
Albums
- Modern Vampires of the City – Vampire Weekend Sing along everybody!
- Battle Born and Direct Hits – The Killers. This band is DEADLY live, I lost my mind and my voice at their show. If you haven’t seen them, do whatever you have to get there next time. You will not regret it.
- Cut It Out EP – Kitten
- Crazy for You – Best Coast
- Only in Dreams – Dum Dum Girls
- Static – Cults
- The Bones of What You Believe – Chvrches, everything except “The Mother We Share.” I liked that track when it came out, but it is possible to overplay a good thing.
- Observator – The Raveonettes
- Move in Spectrums – Au Revoir Simone
- Days of Being Wild soundtrack – Music from Wong Kar-Wai’s 1990 film. It seems to be quite rare. I’ve assembled most of the Xavier Cugat tracks from Emusic, but I’m missing the title track, Anita Mui’s Cantonese version of “Jungle Drums.”
Paula's Cinema Club 
One thought on “Top 30 (more or less) tunes of 2013”