My 13 Favorite Albums of 2013!

2013 was another wonderful year for music! I've had the chance to discover a number of new artists this year. While I've spent a significant amount of time listening to music and attending concerts, it would have been impossible to review every release. I call this list my favorites because I'm certain that I haven't had the pleasure to hear some of the best albums of the year. I'm not a critic nor do I claim to be any sort of expert on taste. Music is a personal experience and to rank a particular record as better than something else is completely subjective.

I think it's interesting to see what people have enjoyed the most through their end of the year compilations; but when everyone's list starts looking the same, you have to question its authenticity. When I'm compiling my list, I allow my mind to go for the music that left a lasting impression on me in one way or another. There's usually a handful or two each year that are definite "best-of" material; then, it comes down to choosing between 50 or so other great albums to pick my final selections. It was a rather arduous task this year. I'm sure this list is full of oversights but here is my favorites...


13. Darkside, Psychic.
Released: October 2013
Best Tracks:
3) Heart
4) Paper Trails

12. Atlas Genius, When It Was Now.
Released: February 2013
Best Tracks:
4) Trojans
5) Through The Glass
11) Symptoms

11. Wampire, Curiosity.
Released: May 2013
Best Tracks:
2) Orchards
7) Trains
9) Magic Light

10. Arcade Fire, Reflektor.
Released: October 2013
Best Tracks:
1) Reflektor
1) Here Comes The Night Time II
3) It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus)
5) Afterlife

9. Volcano Choir, Repave.
Released: August 2013
Best Tracks:
4) Byegone
5) Alaskans

8. Foxygen, We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic.
Released: January 2013
Best Tracks:
2) No Destruction
3) On Blue Mountain
6) Shuggie

7. Polica, Shulamith.
Released: October 2013
Best Tracks:
2) Smug
4) Warrior Lord
8) Tiff

6. A$AP Rocky, Long.Live.A$AP.
Released: January 2013
Best Tracks:
5) Hell
7) Fuckin' Problems
10) Fashion Killa
16) I Come Apart (ft. Florence Welch)

5. Portugal. The Man, Evil Friends.
Released: June 2013
Best Tracks:
1) Plastic Soldiers
4) Modern Jesus
11) Purple Yellow Red and Blue
12) Smile

4. Lorde, Pure Heroine.
Released: September 2013
Best Tracks:
3) Royals
4) Ribs
6) Team

3. The National, Trouble Will Find Me.
Released: May 2013
Best Tracks:
1) I Should Live In Salt
3) Don't Swallow the Cap
7) This Is The Last Time
12) Pink Rabbits

2. Rhye, Woman.
Released: March 2013
Best Tracks:
1) Open
2) The Fall
6) 3 Days

1. Woodkid, The Golden Age.
Released: March 2013
Best Tracks:
1) The Golden Age
4) Boat Song
5) I Love You
7) Ghost Lights
10) Conquest of Spaces

Honorable Mentions:

• Valerie June, Pushin' Against A Stone
• Arctic Monkeys, AM
• Devendra Banhart, Mala
• Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
• Daughn Gibson, Me Moan
• James Blake, Overgrown
• Mazzy Star, Seasons of Your Day
• Kodaline, In a Perfect World
• Drake, Nothing Was the Same
• King Krule, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon
• Kurt Vile, Wakin On A Pretty Daze
• Cage the Elephant, Melophobia
• Jim James, Regions of Light and Sound of God

June 2013 Playlist

1. "Doin' It" by LL Cool J (1996)
*haha!
2. "All Shook Up" by Avila (2013)
*Thank you, Trojan commercial.
3. "This Love Fover" by YesYou (Jay-Z/MGMT) (2013)
*Hope I got that credit right?
4. "Blue Jeans" by Lana Del Rey (2012)
*I love her music.
5. "Sing to the Moon" by Laura Mvula (2013)
*She's unique.
6. "Disparate Youth" by Santigold (2012)
*Love this song so much! Sounds like Summer to me.
7. "Bo Peep (Do U Right)" by Shlohmo ft. Jeremih (2013)
*Dig Jeremih's sound.
8. "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin (1969)
*One of my all time favorites.
9. "Sorry Love" by Butterclock (2013)
*Randomly came across this.
10. "Magic Light" by Wampire (2013)
*So so good!
11. "Suicide Demo for Kara Walker" by Destroyer (2011)
*From one of my favorite albums that year.
12. "Cheers" by Don Trip (2012)
*If you after success then we got the same goal.
13. "Come and Get It" by Selena Gomez (2013)
*Fun song for the Summer. Gorgeous video.
14. "Miss You" by Foster the People (2011)
*I dance to this.
15. "Sexy Boy" by Air (1998)
*Always plays at work. 10 Things I Hate About You.
16. "Smile" by Portugal. The Man (2013)
*Another stunning piece of music from my fav. band.
17. "Hard to Find" by The National (2013)
*I kinda think you always will. So sad. So beautiful.
18. "Gypsy" (Fleetwood Mac, 1982) cover by Gardens & Villa (2012)
*Love these dudes.

My 12 Favorite Albums of 2012!

2012 was a great year for music! While I spent a good amount of time listening to new releases or attending concerts and festivals, I certainly haven't had the opportunity to hear everything. This is a small list of some of the music I enjoyed the most. I hesitate to call it the best of 2012 but they're all certainly among my favorites. Enjoy!


12. Antony and the Johnsons, Cut The World.
Released: August 7, 2012
Best Tracks:
1) Cut The World
4) You Are My Sister

11. The xx, Coexist.
Released: September 10, 2012
Best Tacks:
1) Angels
3) Fiction
7) Missing
11) Our Song

10. Michael Kiwanuka, Home Again.
Released: May 8, 2012
Best Tacks:
3) I'll Get Along
4) Rest
5) Home Again
6) Bones

9. Frank Ocean, Channel Orange.
Released: July 17, 2012
Best Tracks:
2) Thinkin Bout You
10) Pyramids
14) Bad Religion

8. Cat Power, Sun.
Released: September 3, 2012
Best Tracks:
1) Cherokee
2) Sun
8) Manhattan
10) Nothin But Time

7. Grimes, Visions
Released: February 21, 2012
Best Tracks:
3) Oblivion
6) Vowels = Space And Time
8) Be A Body
12) Skin

6. Father John Misty, Fear Fun.
Released: May 1, 2012
Best Tracks:
1) Funtimes in Babylon
2) Nancy From Now On
5) O I Long to Feel Your Arms Around Me
7) Only Son of the Ladiesman

5. Wild Nothing, Nocturne.
Released: August 28, 2012
Best Tracks:
1) Shadow
2) Midnight Song
3) Nocturne
8) Paradise
11) Rheya

4. Miguel, Kaleidoscope Dream.
Released: October 2, 2012
Best Tracks:
1) Adorn
2) Don't Look Back
3) Use Me
4) Do You...
9) Arch & Point

3. Tame Impala, Lonerism.
Released: October 9, 2012
Best Tracks:
3) Apocalypse Dreams
4) Mind Mischief
7) Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
9) Elephant

2. Beach House, Bloom.
Released: May 15, 2012
Best Tracks:
1) Myth
2) Wild
3) Lazuli
4) Other People
5) The Hours
7) New Year

1. The Shins, Port of Morrow.
Released: March 16, 2012
Best Tracks:
2) Simple Song
3) It's Only Life
9) 40 Mark Strasse
10) Port of Morrow

Honorable Mentions:

• New Build, Yesterday Was Lived and Lost.
• Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city.
• Chappo, Moonwater.
• Crystal Castles, III.
• Jack White, Blunderbuss.

Music Monday: Miguel

I recently had the pleasure of catching Miguel for the first time on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I thought his voice was beautiful, his song ("Do You...") was fantastic and he had a great stage presence. His album, Kaleidoscope Dream, is out now. There isn't a bad track on it.

http://www.facebook.com/miguelmusic


"Use Me"


"Do You..."


"Arch & Point"

Automatic Writing: An Open Submission to Kanye West (Or Whomever)

I gift you with these lyrics that just randomly came into my head. I wasn't writing or even thinking about music at all. I was simply reading something that used "past tense" in a sentence. Everything else immediately built around that. The first quatrain is what came to me from out of nowhere. The second set of lines is what I wrote to group with it. I'm not a rapper, so I obviously have no use for this lyrical poetry. After the rap came into my head, I couldn't tell it to go away. I Googled the word pairings. From what I could gather, it seems that no one has used this ridiculously magical flow. Make it happen. You're welcome...


So light the incense
This is gonna be intense
The last time's in the past tense
This time it'll make sense

Hold on to your lenses
Before they go hazy
Dreaming of the day when things'll get crazy
Between you and me
The way it's meant to be
Always and forever baby
That's what they call destiny

November Workout Playlist!

I'm trying to get in shape before my birthday in February (and continue on through the new year), so I updated my workout playlist to help me along with my goals! Good music always gets me going :)





1. "Black and Blue" by Miike Snow (George Mathews Remix)
2. "Heads Will Roll" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Tiesto Remix)
3. "Call On Me" by Eric Prydz
4. "Haterz Everywhere We Go" by B.o.B. (Remix)
5. "Rich & Black" by Raekwon ft. Nas
6. "Next Girl" by The Black Keys
7. "Love Lost" by The Temper Trap (Keljet Remix)
8. "Guns and Dogs" by Portugal. The Man
9. "Hang You From The Heavens" by The Dead Weather
10. "Crown on the Ground" by Sleigh Bells
11. "Heartbeats" by The Knife (Rune Lindbaek Remix)
12. "Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney (Bimbo Jones Remix)
13. "Once Again" by Girl Talk
14. "Drop The World" by Lil Wayne ft. Eminem
15. "Black & Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa
16. "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G.
17. "Kids" by MGMT (Datsik Remix)
18. "I Follow Rivers" by Lykke Li (Tyler the Creator Remix)
19. "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO (David Guetta Remix)
20. "We Can't Stop" by jj ft. Ne-Yo
21. "She Wolf" by Shakira (Kaiori Breathe Remix)

Flashback Friday!

The early 90s. Such a special time in my life. I was in elementary school and remember these songs vividly. The internet wasn't around (for me, atleast) and I listened to the radio quite a bit. Here is a favorite for Memorial Day weekend! I loved Color Me Badd. My sister's 27th is tomorrow and I have a 4 day weekend. I'll be taking some time off from blogging but I'll be back soon!

I Wanna Sex You Up by Color Me Badd LIVE (1991)
This performance made me smile ear to ear and laugh 'til there were tears in my eyes! The outfits, the dance moves, the hair. Classic :)

Flashback Friday!

I apologize for not posting as frequently as I have been. I started a new job that requires me to stare at the computer for most of the day. When I come home, the last thing that I want to do is get back online. I love the internet and computers but I need a break from time to time!

This week's Flashback Friday comes at you from Kris Kross (one of my nicknames in college)! I absolutely loved this song back in the spring of '92! I was only 6-years-old and in kindergarten when it was released, but I remember hearing it on the radio as if it were yesterday. My sister's cheerleading squad even danced to "Jump" for one their competitions. GO ST. ALOYSIUS PANTHERS, haha! Enjoy :)