Best Albums of 2013

[Censored by Laurie]

Music talk!

My favorite 13 albums from 2013

13. Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgDMXR5jUD8

12. Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1L5zJ2afLs

11. Johnny Marr - The Messenger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWWq5u5XxxY

10. Arcade Fire - Reflektor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E0fVfectDo

9. Midlake - Antiphon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMMX5yGnVUM

8. The National - Trouble Will Find Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCEr4XbyLR8

7. Bill Callahan - Dream River - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96xpXS3hbec

6. Arctic Monkeys - AM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Zf0IhQ1zc

5. Shout Out Louds - Optica http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alDz_NCha34

4. Typhoon - White Lighter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47kVSgIoHmo

3. Ola Podrida - Ghosts Go Blind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-C2adR08vY

2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWsdqCYvgw

1. Mark Kozelek and Jimmy LaValle - Perils From the Sea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nSuTSyymvU

[oldguystudent]

I really, really dig Bowling for Soup Lunch. Drunk. Love.

[greenminer]

muzik

[oldguystudent]

Johnny Marr consistently does good stuff wherever he goes.

I've tried and tried, but I just don't get Midlake.

I'll continue on down the list. I always appreciate these lists you post each year.

[THOR]

agree about the midlake oldguy...not my cup of beer...

[Green Mean]

Cold War Kids: Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

Great album

[Mean Green 93-98]

I haven't bought/listened to nearly enough albums released in 2013 to make any kind of comprehensive list. Here are some good ones, though:

Christian McBride & Inside Straight, People Music
Chick Corea, The Vigil
Wayne Shorter Quartet, Without a Net

[Coffee and TV]

Toro y Moi - Anything in Return

Son of Stan - Divorce Pop

EDIT: Mixed up an album name with a song title on said album.

Edited December 19, 2013 by Coffee and TV

[outoftown]

Nick Caves is driving down to my home to sing the blues about what several of my friends are working on. Nice

[oldguystudent]

Digging the Arctic Monkeys album.

So I'm kinda curious. Where do you find new music? Radio sucks now. I'm not sure where to look. Spotify discover has been a decent resource for me, but it tends to stay very strictly genre related to stuff I usually listen to. Rarely does it branch out.

Eleanor Friedberger reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde.

Edited December 19, 2013 by oldguystudent

[greenminer]

Digging the Arctic Monkeys album.

So I'm kinda curious. Where do you find new music? Radio sucks now. I'm not sure where to look. Spotify discover has been a decent resource for me, but it tends to stay very strictly genre related to stuff I usually listen to. Rarely does it branch out.

Eleanor Friedberger reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde.

New music is every where. Go to a local bar. Meet the band (they will love you) and ask them what they are listening to.

Support live music.

[oldguystudent]

New music is every where. Go to a local bar. Meet the band (they will love you) and ask them what they are listening to.

Support live music.

Dude. I get to as much live music as I can, but it's really, really hard when raising a kid by yourself. Dan's Silver Leaf isn't generally amicable to 12-year-old audience members.

I do take her to as much as I can get her into though. Highlight this year was X opening for Blondie at the state fair. Not current, but lays a great foundation that causes her to physically gag at the sound of Bieber or whatever it is her middle school peers listen to. Mostly what I can take her to is of the blues and jazz genre.

I might like to get out to some more stuff in Denton this summer (kid typically goes to California for the summer), but I never recognize any of the names. Maybe I'll hit you up for some recommendations when the time comes.

And now that I'm aware of it, I feel somewhat of a moral obligation to go to Rubber Gloves at least once before city politicians realize it exists and shut it down for violating pretty much every code ever.

Edited December 19, 2013 by oldguystudent

[Coffee and TV]

Digging the Arctic Monkeys album.

So I'm kinda curious. Where do you find new music? Radio sucks now. I'm not sure where to look. Spotify discover has been a decent resource for me, but it tends to stay very strictly genre related to stuff I usually listen to. Rarely does it branch out.

Eleanor Friedberger reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde.

I get a lot from Sirius, they have a 'college/indie' station as well as an CBC 3, the Canadian indie music station.

Or there's some blogs that are on top of good stuff. Gorilla versus Bear is based outta Dallas.

www.gorillavsbear.net

Edited December 19, 2013 by Coffee and TV

[oldguystudent]

Or there's some blogs that are on top of good stuff. Gorilla versus Bear is based outta Dallas.

www.gorillavsbear.net

Looks pretty good. Thanks man.

[oldguystudent]

I forgot to mention Camper Van Beethoven La Costa Perdida. Really, really good. Although double billed with Cracker over the summer, it is CLEAR where David Lowery is putting his energy right now. HUGE difference in energy between the two.

[Green Mean]

Digging the Arctic Monkeys album.

So I'm kinda curious. Where do you find new music? Radio sucks now. I'm not sure where to look. Spotify discover has been a decent resource for me, but it tends to stay very strictly genre related to stuff I usually listen to. Rarely does it branch out.

Eleanor Friedberger reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde.

Satellite radio is one place where you'll hear a lot of different stuff and get to know of new bands etc. Other things you can do is try to track as many cool music festivals as you can and look those bands up and hear their sounds. I'm sure there are other ways as well but that's how I usually try to get exposed to new and different music.

[oldguystudent]

Satellite radio is one place where you'll hear a lot of different stuff and get to know of new bands etc. Other things you can do is try to track as many cool music festivals as you can and look those bands up and hear their sounds. I'm sure there are other ways as well but that's how I usually try to get exposed to new and different music.

This is good stuff. My kid keeps telling me that there is no good current music (her surly old man keeps forcing old 80s and 90s stuff on her). I'd love to prove her wrong. I've certainly showed her some of the utter crap we had to weed through back in the 80s to get to the good stuff.

[Censored by Laurie]

Digging the Arctic Monkeys album.

So I'm kinda curious. Where do you find new music? Radio sucks now. I'm not sure where to look. Spotify discover has been a decent resource for me, but it tends to stay very strictly genre related to stuff I usually listen to. Rarely does it branch out.

Eleanor Friedberger reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde.

I probably get/have gotten most of my music through conversations with people of similar tastes...like we're having right now. there is a lot of "hey, I know you like _______...let me play you a bit of _______, it reminds me of some of his work" in my social circles. Take this year...I kind of knew of Bill Callahan, but it took a night of whiskey with an old friend to really get me to explore his work.

And for the most part, my choices above aren't really "new". Nick Cave, Mark Kozelek, Bill Callahan and Johnny Marr have all been making music for 20+ years now...Arcade Fire, The National and Arctic Monkeys are festival headliners and can sell out stadium-venues...Shout Out Louds are a rung or two down in popularity, but this is their 4th full length...Ola Podrida is a Texas band for whom I've developed a near un-healthy fascination...Eleanor Friedberger was the lead in weird avant-garde band called the Fiery Furnaces who had a bit of a cult following in NYC. Really, Typhoon was the only real revelation for me this year.

Pandora and Spotify are other good resources...I don't follow too many blogs anymore, but NPR's Bob Boilen's "All Songs Considered" is still a stand by for me...I also use Metacritic to keep current with new releases.

[THOR]

coheed and cambria - amory wars:afterman ascension and descension

it's a two cd, with descension released this year...their other albums are fantastic as well. they make a comic book with each release as well, if you're into that type of stuff...progressive rock...

[jredallas]

Pearl Jam: Lightning Bolt

[THOR]

another website that i used to find a lot of new bands on is emotionalpunk.com it's not punk rock...it's a bit of everything...

not new, but check out the band: vendetta red - sisters of the red death...from 2006...

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

Check out my buddy's band, Parquet Courts. The lead man and lead guitarist are both UNT alumns and met at Bruce hall. They just made #11 best album of the year by Rolling Stones. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2013-20131202/parquet-courts-light-up-gold-19691231

[Coffee and TV]

Check out my buddy's band, Parquet Courts. The lead man and lead guitarist are both UNT alumns and met at Bruce hall. They just made #11 best album of the year by Rolling Stones. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2013-20131202/parquet-courts-light-up-gold-19691231

Didn't know they had a UNT connection. I enjoy that album.

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

Didn't know they had a UNT connection. I enjoy that album.

Yes, me and the drummer Max went to high school in Irving together and used to play in a band. His older brother is the lead man and he studied Art here at UNT. When we all had lunch at ACL his brother pointed out my UNT hat and said "is that a mean green hat?" and gave me a thumbs up. From what I heard he always praises Denton (where his old band Teenage Cool kids got their start) and UNT.

Edited December 19, 2013 by ChristopherRyanWilkes

[MDH]

Been studying so much this year I've had a bit of a hiatus from new music, but in no order, some of my favs/thoughts:

parquet courts - light up gold + tally the things you broke. just so damn awesome, this is the music the world has been missing for a decade and a half. I got to see them at ACL and they kicked ass.

youth lagoon - woungrous bughouse : Pitchfork liked this album and early on I thought it was going to make a lot of top 50 lists. Powers' first effort was a little juvenile and I didnt love it but I think he REALLY grew up on the sophmore release. If you like animal collective, deerhunter, flaming lips you should like this album.

deerhunter - monomania. ok, my least fave deerhunter album so far and a few misses but i still like it. so pissed i still havent seen them or atlas sound live.

the national/arcade fire new releases - above average, not my favs

new midlake/surfer blood/yuck/wild nothing EP were all let downs

Edited December 20, 2013 by MDH