The Year in Music

Musically, 2013 was an interesting year. Some strong albums from older, more established artists (David Bowie, Daft Punk, Johnny Marr) coupled with a decided 80's influence in the sound of a lot of younger bands (Ducktails, High Highs, Savages) made me wonder if I was listening to new releases from 2013 or 1988. Not a bad thing.

A few things that went into consideration when I put together this list: Hip-hop makes up a very small percentage of what I listen to (Deltron 3030 being the only representative here), so while I'm sure Kanye/Drake/Danny Brown/M.I.A./Eminem/whoever made some amazing music, they won't be on my list. Neither will Robin Thicke, Miley Cyrus, or anybody not wearing robot helmets who played the VMA’s. There were also quite a few albums from names I would usually jump on, but for whatever reason, I just didn't spend enough time with their new stuff for them to be part of the list (you'll find them at the end of the post). Finally, outside of Tegan and Sara, Ducktails, and Kurt Vile, there were no obvious standouts for me this year, so rather than try to rank a lot of albums that were all equally interesting, I went with quantity: What follows are the 20 albums released in 2013 that I listened to the most. In these days of being able to listen to whatever I want whenever I want, if an album pulls me back for multiple listens, it makes my list for the year. Here's what I've had in heavy rotation for the past 11+ months:

Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob
My hands-down album of the year, as evidenced by more than double the listens of anything else on the list. Tegan and Sara albums have always been a little hit-or-miss for me, but the production makes Heartthrob their strongest one to date. It was a surprise to discover that the emotionally heavy lyrics one expects from Tegan and Sara benefit greatly from being wrapped in danceable, synth-heavy, new-wave hooks that veer well into sugary pop territory. Some of their fans are calling this their sellout record, but for me, it only added another dimension to their music, one that made it a lot more fun to listen to.

David Bowie, The Next Day

Superchunk, I Hate Music

Ducktails, The Flower Lane

Daft Punk, Random Access Memories

Kurt Vile, Wakin on a Pretty Daze

Deltron 3030, Event 2

High Highs, Open Season

Johnny Marr, The Messenger

Arctic Monkeys, AM

Volcano Choir, Repave

Har Mar Superstar, Bye Bye 17

Caitlin Rose, The Stand-in

The Thermals, Desperate Ground

The Mary Onettes, Hit the Waves

Savages, Silence Yourself

Arcade Fire, Reflektor

White Denim, Corsicana Lemonade

Dawes, Stories Don’t End

Mount Moriah, Miracle Temple

If you're on Spotify (and if not, do it), listen to all of these albums for yourself:


Also, here's 20 more albums from this year that I enjoyed:
Local Natives, Hummingbird; Kate Nash, Girl Talk; Chris Thile, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1; Camper Van Beethoven, La Costa Perdida; Mogwai, Les Revenants; Yo La Tengo, Fade; Dinosaur Jr., I Bet on Sky; Shearwater, Fellow Travelers; Night Beds, Country Sleep; The Men, New Moon; Jimi Hendrix, People, Hell and Angels; Marques Tolliver, Land of Canaan; King Khan & the Shrines, Idle No More; Toad the Wet Sprocket, New Constellation; Julianna Barwick, Nepenthe; The Joy Formidable, Wolf’s Law; Josh Rouse, The Happiness Waltz; Foxygen, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic; The Deep Dark Woods, Jubilee; Deerhunter, Monomania

And finally, the albums that for whatever reason, I haven't spent enough time with to have an opinion on them yet. If you know who I usually listen to, you'll recognize a lot of names here:
Andrew Bird, I Want to See Pulaski at Night; Jason Isbell, Southeastern; Kings of Leon, Mechanical Bull; Janelle Monae, The Electric Lady; Sigur Ros, Kveikur; Forest Swords, Engravings; Yuck, Glow and Behold; The National, Trouble Will Find Me; Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City; Steve Earle & The Dukes, The Low Highway

Why Should the Fire Die?

Nothing like starting off the week with some crappy news. I opened my email this morning to this message from one of my favorite bands, Nickel Creek:

Dearest Listener,

After seven years of extensive touring in support of three records (seventeen years as a band), we've decided to take a break of indefinite length at the end of 2007 to preserve the environment we've sought so hard to create and to pursue other interests. It has been a pleasure to write, record, and perform for you through the years and we'd like to heartily thank you for your invaluable contribution to our musical lives.

Yours,

Nickel Creek
(Sean, Sara, and Chris)

Doesn't sound too promising, does it? I've been lucky enough to see these guys four times over the past six years, (most recently at Bonnaroo) and every time, they put on a fantastic show. In between Nickel Creek albums, both Chris Thile and Sean Watkins have released numerous solo albums and performed with a variety of different artists, but the band definitely had something special when they played together. I'll keep listening to whatever their new projects are (like Chris' new album), and I hope they continue to be successful, but here's hoping their break doesn't last too long. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see them again before the end of '07, and I also hope that after that time, Sara Watkins will find have plenty of opportunities to continue singing. Meanwhile, I'm keeping their music alive by listening to my entire collection of Nickel Creek, side projects, and solo albums (which, according to my iTunes, should be good for about seven hours).

UPDATE: After a bit of Googling, I found an article on Billboard.com that sheds more light on the situation, and Rexblog goes even further into the "hiatus". Billboard has more info on upcoming projects, including the happy news (for me, anyway) that Sara has a solo album due out in the next six months.