My Fave 5 Videos of 2013

The disclaimer: I fell of the music video conga line sometime mid year.
Other disclaimer: just because it has a great video doesn't mean it has a great song and if it doesn't have a great song, I probably didn't think the video was great, even if it was.

Without further backpedaling:

Krueger's Top Songs of 2013

BEST SONGS

Dawes

1. Eskimojiots - Golden Gate (I'm just a little biased) alright alright, here we go:

1. Dawes - Something In Common (SONG OF THE YEAR. SHOW ME A BETTER WRITTEN SONG. REALLY I'D LOVE TO HEAR IT)

2. Mason Jennings - Wilderness

3. Paul McCartney - Alligator

4. Dawes - Million Dollar Bill

5. Kalen Nash - Ramona

6. Jason Isbell - Elephant (took me a long time to come around on this song in particular, but I did)

7. Haim - The Wire

8. Kurt Vile - Wakin' On A Pretty Daze

9.  Arctic Monkeys - No. 1 Party Anthem

10.  The Weeks - Ain't My Stop

Christmas Mix 2013

1.     The True Spirit of Christmas (Intro)– Seinfeld

2.     One of Everything You Got – Buck Owens & Susan Raye

3.     Christmas All Over Again/Introduction to Festivus – Tom Petty/George Costanza

4.     Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto – James Brown

5.     Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – John Denver & The Muppets

6.     Blue Christmas Tree – Buck Owens & His Buckaroos

7.     Must Be Santa – Bob Dylan

8.     Here Was a Man – Johnny Cash

9.     Soulful Christmas – James Brown

10. Remember (Christmas) / Clark Griswold Freakout – Harry Nilsson/Chevy Chase

11. Blue Christmas – Willie Nelson

12. Santa’s Southside Symphony – JJ Maj & The Unpolished Brass

13. Blue Christmas Lights – Buck Owens & His Buckaroos 

Happy Christmas, friends. 

This is my Christmas Mix for 2013. You may download or stream it via the soundcloud!!! I may have gotten carried away with the Home Alone and Seinfeld soundbites...  But what is Christmas without a little Festivus and some Kevin McCalister?
 THIS IS IT. DON'T GET SCARED NOW.


Peace & Love,
John S. Krueger

Top 5 Cover Songs of 2013

I have to admit, I've always been a sucker for cover songs. Sometimes they are imaginative, other times they seem like a completely different track all together. The juxtaposition of original artist and current, can bridge the gap between genres, decades, etc. So much can be said with a cover song: "I respect the original artist", "Look at we can do", "Someone recognize me!". And on that note, here are (in my opinion) the top 5 cover songs of 2013.

Let's Be Still by the Head and the Heart

I apologize for my perpetual lateness.  I received a Dennis text and come to you with my review!

So I was very excited to find out since the November reviews that a new the Head and the Heart album sneaked out in October of this year without me knowing it (courtesy of Sub Pop).  I have their first album on vinyl because I was so convinced.  For those of you without past knowledge of this band, here's something from their first (self-titled) album:

Adam Green and Binki Shapiro

Released February 4th 2013

Bringing you the hippest new new and only ten months late late. Caught wind of this ruby two days ago and am riding the coat tails of someone else's best of 2013 list by sharing it here. I'm okay with it.  The first and second songs are my apology to which you will respond with very gracious forgiveness and thanksgiving. I believe anyway. 

Krueger's Top Albums of 2013

BEST ALBUMS

1. Dawes - Stories Don't End

2. Paul McCartney - New

3. Kurt Vile - Wakin' On A Pretty Daze

4. Bob Dylan - Another Self Portrait

5. Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye 17

6. Arctic Monkeys - AM

7. The Weeks - Dear Bo Jackson

8. Deafheaven - Sunbather

9. Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends

10. Not Daft Punk, Not Arcade Fire, Not Vampire Weekend

RUNNER UP/HONORABLE MENTION: Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time 

2013 Albums of the Year

2013 – Albums of the Year

Brian Killips

Call me a pretentious music snob all you want…I still believe I have yet to hear the best album of 2013.  There are just too many great albums to listen to in a given year.  Perhaps I will not hear the 2013 album of the year until 2030.  Because Dennis made me, here is my top five of 2013.  They will, inevitably change the minute I submit this.

5.  Kurt Vile – Walking on a Pretty Daze

4.  Dawes – Stories Don’t End

3. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes – Self Titled

2.  Jason Isbell – Southeastern

1.  Arcade Fire- Reflektor

2013 Songs of the Year

2013 – Songs of the Year

Brian Killips

You crazy kids are lucky I didn’t list 50 songs for the top songs of 2013!  I know I left songs off that I will immediately think of as soon as this is submitted.  Oh well.  Rock on!

11.  Suit and Tie – Justin Timberlake. I wanted to hate JT for so long.  Not possible any more.  The kid’s got mad talent!

10. Ohm – Yo La Tengo.  A new offering from YLT?  Classic YLT sound?  YES!

9.  Ya Hey – Vampire Weekend.  Nerdy, weird and totally Vampire Weekend.

8.  Better Days – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.  Impossible not to smile when listening to Edward Sharpe!

7.  A New Life – Jim James.  Not an MMJ rocker but still 100% Jim James.  I love it.

6.  Royals – Lorde.  I will call you a liar if you did not dig this song the first time you heard it.

5.  Agape – Bear’s Den.  Loved it from the first strum of the banjo.

4.  Always Alright – Alabama Shakes.  Brittany Howard is the best female lead in Rock.  Their debut of this on SNL was the best music appearance on that show all season.

3.  Reflektor – Arcade Fire.  They’re back! 

2.  Elephant – Jason Isbell.  Top songwriter in the game right now.  Holy shit is this song powerful. 

1.  Song for Zula – Phosphorescent.  If you don’t know you better…well, you know.  Brilliant, timeless song and my choice for song of the year.

Mutual Benefit - Love's Crushing Diamond

Each time this album begins, the sound of the chimes reminds me of the clicking sound you hear when you ascend to the peak of a roller coaster. Whatever emotion is at the front of your mind, it will be heightened by this album. I don't know Mutual Benefit's full story or how they came about being so wonderful, but I do know that this album has at least one track that could be played in any modern film with good taste.

J. Roddy Waltson & The Business — Essential Tremors

I was tempted to write a manifesto on the virtues of actual instruments. A sprawling diatribe of how a six string and snare drum are a superior vehicle for channeling an artist's talent compared to, say, an iMac. How while guitars with built-in Midi touch pads  and synth pops may dominate the charts, a good song, sung simply and with talent, is still a treat for the ears. But I don't have to do that in this column, because J. Roddy Walston & The Business have done it for me.

The September release of their third LP, Essential Tremors,  is 47 minutes of rock and roll done right. And by right, I mean mixed with healthy dashes of Led Zeppelin-like power chords and the kind of jaunty, southern rock piano that would make pre-Cher Greg Allman proud.

Since this is my first review, I should probably add a disclaimer here: I am not some early middle-aged luddite clinging desperately to the sounds of his youth — the kind that thinks pop music should have stopped evolving before disco and punk made blues-infused rock and soul “classic.” My first album was muddled copy, of a copy, of Green Day's "Dookie" on cassette. I was weaned on the Beatles and mid-90's SoCal punk. I don’t listen to rock radio because I hate stagnation. That said, I like what I like. And I really like this album.

Top Five, Five Seconds of Songs in 2013

Top Five, Five Seconds of Songs in 2013

5. Arcade Fire — “Reflektor” from Reflektor - David Bowie, the band’s most famous fan, chimes in at the end of their jaunty first single. To me, it was the best part of a subpar album. (4:50 to 4:55)

Sébastien Tellier - Confection

Released November 14th 2013

As you can see in the aforementioned release date (look up), I did not have adequate time to listen AND JUDGE this album by our usual 15th of the month due date. You will forgive me once you've feasted on and properly digested the creme brulee dulce de leche-esque grouping of words that follow.