The B&C Best Albums of 2013 Thread

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Well, thats just terrible.

My perspective may be a little tainted though. I've never enjoyed Matt's singing. I have tolerated it throughout the years. On some tunes, it really works. Like "About Today"....that song is fantastic and his voice works, but otherwise it's just very hard for me to get past it.

I guess I've always been a sucker for singers with range.
 
Here's a short list of my most listened to songs from the year from Last FM.

1. Okkervil River - Down Down the Deep River
2. M83 (feat. Susanne Sundfor) - Oblivion
2. The Knife - Full of Fire
4. The National - Sea of Love
4. Sigur Ros - Isjaki
6. Kurt Vile - Wakin On a Pretty Day
6. The National - Don't Swallow the Cap
8. Atoms for Peace - Judge, Jury, Executioner
8. Autre Ne Veut - Play By Play
8. Autre Ne Veut - Counting
8. Okkervil River - It Was My Season
12. The National - Graceless
13. Foxygen - No Destruction
13. Glass Candy - Warm In the Winter
 
GAF should listen to this Kacey Musgraves album if he hasn't already. It's great country pop in the vein of Taylor's first album, but with really sharp lyrics that remind me of Miranda Lambert. I like country with a little more bite on the guitars, but it definitely seems right up his alley. It's been on a ton of year end lists too.
 
Factory Floor is popping up on a lot of lists, reminding me that I have wanted to hear it for quite some time.
 
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Cut and pasted from my blog with some edits (I am currently doing a 2013 listening session, while drinking lots of wine, of all the new albums I purchased this year):

The Flaming Lips are currently enjoying a 30 year anniversary of their existence. I cannot think of many bands** (that I am aware of) that have evolved as much as The Flaming Lips have, and continue to push themselves musically and creatively as much as The Flaming Lips still do to this day. Maybe that is in part due to Wayne Coyne’s restless energy and Steven Drozd’s music genius.

After a slew of collaborative singles with other artists released from 2011 and onward, and with the culmination of those efforts being The Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends release, and not to mention, various other releases, (A cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, a 24 hour song and other record breaking attempts by the band) The Flaming Lips released The Terror on April 1st, 2013 (No joke!)

Wayne Coyne described the album’s theme as “We want, or wanted, to believe that without love we would disappear, that love, somehow, would save us that, yeah, if we have love, give love and know love, we are truly alive and if there is no love, there would be no life. The Terror is, we know now, that even without love, life goes on… we just go on… there is no mercy killing.”

While 2009′s Embryonic was a sprawling 18 song work that seemed, somehow, coherent, and all the while having tracks that greatly differed in sonic territory – like space age jazz instrumentals, etc, “The Terror” is a dark, and focused effort. Clocking in at 9 songs (which helps retain focus), the album is tied together by the musical efforts of Steven Drozd, and Wayne’s lyrics, which, on this album, seem to be about love failing, and as he said, still going on. It’s not a bummer of an album by any means, despite lyrics such as “However love can help you, we are all standing alone, the terror’s in our heads, we don’t control the controls.” I still find optimism in Wayne Coyne’s lyrics and I find The Terror as one of my favorite releases of 2013. I had the joy of seeing them live on two occasions in 2013 and I was greatly impressed with how the songs from The Terror translated to the live setting.


**sorry U2.
 
GAF should listen to this Kacey Musgraves album if he hasn't already. It's great country pop in the vein of Taylor's first album, but with really sharp lyrics that remind me of Miranda Lambert. I like country with a little more bite on the guitars, but it definitely seems right up his alley. It's been on a ton of year end lists too.

Oh, I've heard it. I like it. The opening track is definitely my favorite. She's got a pretty voice and, not that this has anything to do with anything, but I would have sex with her.

It isn't 1/10th as good as Taylor's debut.
 
listening to the transplants album i overlooked earlier in the year. i think i probably should have continued to overlook it. it's too bad, that first album was fun (btw, mofo...the first transplants album came out in 2002. holy shit!). this is as horrible as the second, three tracks in anyway. but three really bad tracks.
 
I listened to the first 30 minutes of Factory Floor on my morning commute. Each track seems to be a single loop repeated over and over and over again with some occasional pitch bending and electronic drum fills. There are also heavily processed repetitive vocal tracks layered on. I found myself waiting for each track to end.

I guess that's not a very positive review.
 
I listened to the first 30 minutes of Factory Floor on my morning commute. Each track seems to be a single loop repeated over and over and over again with some occasional pitch bending and electronic drum fills. There are also heavily processed repetitive vocal tracks layered on. I found myself waiting for each track to end.

I guess that's not a very positive review.

that sounds awful.
 
I listened to the first 30 minutes of Factory Floor on my morning commute. Each track seems to be a single loop repeated over and over and over again with some occasional pitch bending and electronic drum fills. There are also heavily processed repetitive vocal tracks layered on. I found myself waiting for each track to end. I guess that's not a very positive review.

Okay, guess I can cross that one off my list, then. I was on the fence about it to begin with.
 
It's nice to see Personal Record in some end-of-year lists. It's a warm, underrated record that I go back to very often. She's a Mirror is one of my favorite songs of the year.
 
It's not gonna make the cut for me, but that's hardly an indictment. This year was just too strong.
 
i bet u bought dat tshirt1!!!!!!!111!!!!!! i bet u bought 2 of doze tshirtz11!!!!1!!!!!!!!!
 
Anyone heard Pale Green Ghosts by John Grant? This thing is turning up on all kinds of year-end lists.
 
1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away (13)
2. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City (10)
3. Queens of the Stone Age – Like Clockwork (9)
4. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (9)
5. Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady (8)
6. Arcade Fire - Reflektor (7)
7. Manic Street Preachers – Rewind the Film (7)
8. The National – Trouble Will Find Me (7)
9. David Bowie – The Next Day (6)
10. Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob (6)
11. Bad Religion – True North (5)
12. Kanye West - Yeezus (5)
13. Neko Case – The Worse Things Get… (4)
14. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience (Part 1) (3)
15. Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe (1)

The honorable mentions:
Elton John – The Diving Board
Dropkick Murphys – Signed and Sealed in Blood
Flaming Lips – The Terror
Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt
Paul McCartney - New
Arctic Monkeys – A.M.
Elvis Costello & the Roots – Wise Up Ghost
Atoms for Peace - Amok
Sigur Ros - Kveikur
The Tossers – The Emerald City
 
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