Top 10 of 2013
/10 - This album had me written all over it. The DP boys went and found disco LEGEND Giorgio Moroder and convinced him to produce their next album. Along the way Nile Rodgers decided he wanted to play too, and the result was an album that had a 70's feel without trying too hard. It also added to the mystery of just how does Pharrell seem to keep ending up on some of the biggest tracks of the year? "Get Lucky" should be on just about everyone's top tracks of the year list.
9 - JT came back after a long hiatus and showed the world why he's probably the heir apparent to the pop throne. I do think the album had a bit of double album syndrome (a few throwaway tracks) but I did prefer Part 1 to Part 2. Mostly because of "Pusher Love Girl", "Suit & Tie" and "Mirrors".
8 - For a 16 year old to come out and not only NOT aspire to be she who shall not be named (I've "twerked" really hard to not mention her in social media all year and I sure as hell plan on crossing the finish line) but to swing and send it over the fences is impressive. And young Ella Yelich-O'Connor, better known to us as Lorde made it look really freaking easy. It gives me hope that this extraordinarily long "pop" period that music seems to be stuck in (I blame reality talent TV shows) may FINALLY be coming to an end. Can't wait to see what her sophomore effort will be like.
Standouts of course being "Royals" and "Tennis Court".
7 - In for what for me was an underwhelming year for hip hop specifically from the "vanguard" (Hov & Kanye and to some extent Em) Kweli dropped a hot one. Featuring a range of guest stars including most notably Kendrick Lamar & leg droppin' Miguel, Kweli once again shows the world why he's lyrically the one that most of hip hop looks up to.
Check out "Human Mic", "Come Here" and "Delicate Flowers".
6 - Paul, Ross & Skye are back! Do I need to say more? Cop this ish, now. Period.
5 - Producer George Reid and vocalist Aluna Francis collectively known as AlunaGeorge released the album that I think Eliza Doolittle was trying to make and failed (more on that later). A dash of pop, some electronic dance feel and a bit old school R&B this album is a solid listen from front to back. My fave tracks are "Outlines" , "Bad Idea" & "Body Music". There's also an amazing bonus track cover of "This Is How We Do It".
The "Prince" of trip-hop finally went full "Prince" and started his own record label and released an album by the same name and it is INCREDIBLE. Joined by Francesca Belmont playing the role of Martina Topley-Bird and Nneka guesting on "Nothing Matters", this is probably his best effort since "Maxinquaye". There is a SICK track that samples Chet Baker's "My Funny Valentine" called "Valentine" which I think I played for an hour straight. There really isn't a bad track on the album to me. Highlights though are "Bonnie & Clyde", "Tribal Drums" and "I'm Ready".
Everyone knows I love my UK based soul singers. Adele killed the planet 2 years ago with "21" and yet Alice Russell has been releasing music since 2005 and still largely is unknown to most music fans, which is a shame. The Brits have almost taken soul and made it their own because the US seems to want nothing to do with it. (see Beyonce and why I don't give a shit) If i could put this album in the hands of every person that has the Adele album, I think Alice Russell would be on everyone's top 10 list this year. Hot tracks are ALL OF IT.
2 - So, i've told everyone who will listen how much I love Spotify. And if for nothing else they launched a feature this year that recommends artists based on your listening habits. Sometimes it's WAY off. This time it was not. I totally missed her debut album "Banshee" back in 2012 (Spotify users needs to go check this out now) and this year she released an album of covers, which normally i'm an album snob about. But the covers are so unusual and random I totally found myself playing this album all the time. The initial track, a cover of Bowie's "Space Oddity" starts out slow but give it a chance and it picks up steam and doesn't look back. An interesting take on my favorite Stones track "Miss You" and a completely reworked version of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" put you on notice. There's also a pretty sick "Wicked Game" cover. I couldn't remember the last time I enjoyed a covers album that much. So once again, in a different year this would have been my number 1 except for.................
Those of you that are FB friends of mine are subject to my alcohol induced Friday night VJ sessions and i'm pretty sure are well aware of how much I love this album. I haven't had a album hit me this hard in I can't remember when. I was watching SNL and almost always skip the musical guest. 20 seconds into their single "The Wire" and I was HOOKED. Went on Spotify and downloaded the album to my phone and it wasn't even close what my number one was going to be. I've always been partial to chick rock groups (my 90's riot grrrl phase) and sibling bands (The Magic Numbers), so the debut effort from the Haim sisters (Danielle, Este and Alana) totally hit my sweet spot. When it rocks it rocks, but there's a 70's Cali rock vibe mixed with 80's synth pop thing that is just infectious. Highlights other than "The Wire" for me were "Falling", "Don't Save Me", "Days Are Gone" and the sleeper track on the album "My Song 5". Is rock finally back? I sure hope so.
