Individual Contributor Lists
Read each contributor’s lists and their comments on music in 2013
Alex Rich — Music Editor
Top Ten Songs of 2013:
1.Reflektor – Arcade Fire
2.Ya Hey- VW
3.New Slaves- Kanye West
4.Master Hunter- Laura Marling
5.Do I Wanna Know?- Arctic Monkeys
6.Retrograde- James Blake
7.Get Lucky- Daft Punk
8. Easy Easy- King Krule
9. Hold On We’re Going Home- Drake
10. You’re Not the One- Sky Ferreira
Top Ten Albums:
1. Modern Vampires of the City- Vampire Weekend
2. Reflektor- Arcade Fire
3. Matangi- M.I.A.
4. m b v – My Bloody Valentine
5. Yeezus- Kanye West
6. Once I Was An Eagle – Laura Marling
7. Pure Heroine – Lorde
8. Night Time My Time- Sky Ferreira
9. 6 Feet Beneath the Moon- King Krule
10. Woman- Rhye
Best Debut Albums of 2013
1. Pure Heroine- Lorde
2. Days Are Gone- HAIM
3. The Bones of What You Believe- CHVRCHES
4. Twin Peaks- Sunken
5. Acid Rap- Chance the Rapper
Comment on music this year:
This year of music has been one of the most exciting for me (since I started seriously caring about music, anyway). It was a year both of discovery and a reminder of why some of my favorite bands are my favorite bands. It was a year for every kind of music -from rap to rock to pop to folk- and every kind of music done well. It was a year full of emotion and full of music that touched my heart, made me want to dance, made me sing out loud, and made me sit in silence and in wonder: sometimes all at once. Truly, it was a beautiful year, a year that people will look back to when they talk about music in the future. I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed it all.
—
Walker Edwards
Sankofa Rap co leader, rap connoisseur, miscreant
top 10 albums of 2013
10. Watching Movies with the Sound Off-Mac Miller
9.Doris-Earl Sweatshirt
8.Marshall Mather LP 2-Eminem
7. Old- Danny Brown
6. Pure Herione-Lorde
5. Long Live A$AP- A$AP Rocky
4. Random Access Memories-Daft Punk
3.Acid Rap-Chance the Rapper
2. Reflektor-Arcade Fire
1. Yeezus-Kanye West
Top 10 Songs of 2013
10. Acid Rain-Chance the rapper
9. Get Lucky- Daft Punk
8. GHetto SYmphony-A$AP Rocky
7.Step-Vampire Weekend
6. New Slaves-Kanye West
5.Earl Sweatshirt-Hive
4.Control-Big Sean, Kenrick Lamar, Jay Electronica
3. Work Remix- A$AP Ferg, A$AP ROcky
2. Here Comes the NIght time-Arcade Fire
1. BLack Skinhead-KAnye West
Top 5 Rappers of all time
5.Kanye West
4. Kendrick Lamar
3. Eminem
2. Tupac
1.Nas
Comment: 2013 produced a ton of classic music, but everyone was so busy calling it “ghetto” or “hipster” to notice how great it was.
—
Jack Crowley
Bio:
Senior Music Lover primarily interested in alternative rock, and also Lack of Focus’ bassist.
Albums (and an EP)
1) Nightworks by Caught A Ghost
2) I Love You. by The Neighborhood
3) When It Was Now by Atlas Genius
4) Stop Talking by Pacific Air
5) Bad Blood by Bastille
6) In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery by Capital Cities
7) Melophobia by Cage The Elephant
8) The 1975 by The 1975
9) Reflektor by Arcade Fire
10) AM by Arctic Monkeys
Songs
1) Sleeping At Night by Caught A Ghost
2) Afraid by The Neighborhood
3) Float by Pacific Air
4) Ways To Go by Grouplove
5) Laura Palmer by Bastille
6) Entertainment by Phoenix
7) R U Mine by Arctic Monkeys
8) Home by Rudimental
9) Bird In An Aeroplane by Oh Land
10) Dreaming by Smallpools
Top 5 Cleveland Venues to check out in 2014
1) The House of Blues
2) Quicken Loans Arena
3) Severance Hall
4) The Grog Shop
5) Blossom Music Center
Comments This being my own opinion, I’d like to discuss AM by the Arctic Monkeys, who are one of my favorite bands. In this new album, like many of the albums of 2013, an entirely different style was adopted. I appreciate the decision to change, but am not personally happy with the result. I have known the Arctic Monkeys as a group that generates chord progressions that are both unique and incredibly smooth, but in AM, they dabbled with distorted guitar melodies, a more public-pleasing approach. I’d like to see a return to the old, with changes in other dimensions.
Overall, 2013 was not the most fruitful year in alternative rock, but some new sounds appeared, such as The Neighborhood and Caught A Ghost.
—
Chris Gillooly
Brief, one sentence bio
The producer behind Three’s Company
Top 10 Albums of 2013
1. Robert Glasper – Black Radio 2
2. Pony Girl – Show Me Your Fears
3. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
4. Atoms For Peace – AMOK
5. Watsky – Cardboard Castles
6. ECID – Post Euphoria EP Vol. 1 & 2
7. Omar – The Man
8. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience
9. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires Of The City
10. Wax – Continue
Top 10 Songs of 2013
1. Pharrell – Happy
2. Maz – Shake
3. Eyal Amir – Bad News Jitterbug
4. Intuition & Equilibrium – Imagining
5. Gwilym Gold – Faithless Arms
6. Anomie Belle – Violence
7. We The People – Shake It On Home
8. Soul Khan – Iron Galaxy Freestyle
9. Dave Lyric – Paint
10. Freeze-Tag – Fall In Love
Top 5 Unexpected Collaborations
1. Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones – Foreverly [Album]
2. Elvis Costello & The Roots – Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs [Album]
3. Robert Glasper featuring Common & Patrick Stump – Persevere [Song]
4. The Black Keys & RZA – The Baddest Man Alive [Song]
5. Atoms For Peace (Thom Yorke, Flea, Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco) – AMOK [Album]
A comment on 2013
This year, some genres seemed to have traveled back in time a bit by reverting to styles and sounds that were previously popular.
—
Nick Adamson
Bio:
“I’m Nick Adamson.”
Top Ten Albums:
1. Doris – Earl Sweatshirt
2. Yeezus – Kanye West
3. m b v – My Bloody Valentine
4. Born Sinner – J. Cole
5. Reflektor – Arcade Fire
6. Long.Live.A$AP – A$AP Rocky
7. Acid Raps – Chance the Rapper
8. Y.R.N. – Migos
9. Pedestrian Verse – Frightened Rabbit
10. The 20/20 Experience (part 1) – Justin Timberlake
Top 10 Songs:
1. Power trip ft. Miguel – J. Cole
2. Work (remix) ft. Trinidad James, A$AP Rocky, French Montana – A$AP Ferg
3. Jonylah Forever – Lupe Fiasco
4. Bound 2 – Kanye West
5. Chum – Earl Sweatshirt
6. Hold on Were Going Home – Drake
7. Mirrors – Justin Timberlake
8. Let Nas Down (remix) ft. Nas – J. Cole
9. Headlights – Eminem
10. Started From The Bottom – Drake
Top 5 Beats of the Year:
1. Black Skinhead – prod Kanye West
2. Panera Bread – prod Lunis
3. Goldie – prod Hit-Boy
4. Tom Ford – prod Timbaland
5. Shabba – prod Snugsworth
Comment:
“2013 will be remembered as a key year for the next generation of musical leaders as they began their ascent to main stream popularity and critical recognition.”
—
Ben Goodman
Bio: Shaker senior music enthusiast, specializing in hip-hop and rap.
Top 10 Albums:
1) “Yeezus” – Kanye West
2) “Reflektor” – Arcade Fire
3) “Doris” – Earl Sweatshirt
4) “Acid Rap” – Chance The Rapper
5) “Modern Vampires of the City” – Vampire Weekend
6) “Run the Jewels” – Run the Jewels
7) “Bankrupt!” – Phoenix
8) “Random Access Memories” – Daft Punk
9) “Flying Colours” – Shad
10) “Born Sinner” – J. Cole
Top 10 Songs:
1) “New Slaves” – Kanye West
2) “Numbers on the Boards” – Pusha T
3) “Chum” – Earl Sweatshirt
4) “Reflektor” – Arcade Fire
5) “Bound 2” – Kanye West
6) “Control” – Big Sean feat. Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica
7) “Touch” – Daft Punk feat. Paul Williams
8) “Pusha Man” – Chance The Rapper feat. Nate Fox and Lili K.
9) “The Mother We Share” – CHVRCHES
10) “1Train” – A$AP Rocky feat. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, and Big K.R.I.T.
Top 5 Mixtapes:
1) “Blue Chips 2” – Action Bronson
2) “Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out” – Tree
3) “Summer Knights” – Joey Bada$$
4) “Indigoism” – The Underachievers
5) “Cavalcade” – Milo
Comment:
2013 seems to have been a divisive year for many established artists, both in hip-hop and rock. Artists like Kanye West, Daft Punk, and Arcade Fire radically reinvented their sounds in an effort to remain relevant in the constantly changing modern musical landscape, and were rewarded for it with critical acclaim and increased relevancy. On the other hand, legends like Jay Z and Eminem, who have admittedly made enough musical impact in their careers already, decided not to reinvent the wheel and stuck with the styles that launched them to this level of notoriety, and were rewarded with huge sales. All in all, despite some artistic stagnation from some big names, innovation from both the Internet-aided independent music scene and established, unsatisfied artists made 2013 a year of musical progress.
—
Bio: Jack enjoys music.
Top 10 Albums of 2013
1. Wondrous Bughouse by Youth Lagoon
2. Monomania by Deerhunter
3. Evil Friends by Portugal. The Man
4. Melophobia by Cage the Elephant
5. Trouble Will Find Me by The National
6. Reflektor by Arcade Fire
7. Bankrupt by Phoenix
8. Major Arcana by Speedy Ortiz
9. AM by the Arctic Monkeys
10. Miracle Mile by STRFKR
Top 10 Songs of 2013
1. Come A Little Closer by Cage the Elephant
2. Dropla by Youth Lagoon
3. Evil Friends by Portugal. The Man
4. Normal Person by Arcade Fire
5. Don’t Swallow The Cap by The National
6. Neon Junkyard by Deerhunter
7. No Below by Speedy Ortiz
8. Sweater Weather by The Neighborhood
9. Chloroform by Phoenix
10. Cool Song No. 2 by MGMT
Top 5 One Direction Songs
1. What Makes You Beautiful
2. Strong
3. Story of My Life
4. More than this
5. Nobody Compares
Comment:
This year several albums came out that I enjoyed it was a good year for music this year was.
—
Rachel Elson
Listens to rad music, and rad music only.
ALBUMS
1. “MVOTC” – Vampire Weekend
2. “Beyoncé” – Beyoncé
3. “Evil Friends” – Portugal. The Man
4. “In a Tidal Wave of Mystery” – Capital Cities
5. “Trouble Will Find Me” – The National
6. “The Electric Lady” – Janelle Monae
7. “Reflektor” – Arcade Fire
8. “AM” – Arctic Monkeys
9. “Heartthrob” – Tegan and Sara
10. “Celebration Rock” – Japandroids
SONGS
1. “Power Lines” – Telekinesis
2. “***Flawless” – Beyoncé (ft. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
3. “3 AM Spiritual” – Smith Westerns
4. “Truth” – Dr. Dog
5. “Do I Wanna Know” – Arctic Monkeys
6. “Drop the Game” – Flume (with Chet Faker)
7. “Ratchet” – Bloc Party
8. “I Wanna Dance (But I Don’t Know How)” – SKATERS
9. “Wishes” – Beach House
10. “Adrenaline Nightshift” – Japandroids
TOP FIVE EZRA KOENIG (@arzE) TWEETS
1. “selfie was my word of the year…in 2012. In 2013, it’s selfy.”
2. “when drivin home w the fellas, we blast “The Boys Are Back in Town.” when returning solo, I enter my flat &whisper “the boy is back in town”
3. “”do you want to be the richest man in the graveyard??” “why yes, that sounds so elegant and spooky””
4. “”CHAMPAGNE 4 MY REAL FRIENDS, REAL PAIN 4 MY SHAM FRIENDS””
5. “on halloween, u should call everyone u frightened, spooked or startled in the previous year & ask for their forgiveness”
—
Shane McKeon
BEST ALBUMS, 2013
1. “Yeezus” — Kanye West
2. “Modern Vampires of the City” — Vampire Weekend
3. “Reflektor” — Arcade Fire
4. “Matangi” — M.I.A.
5. “Random Access Memories” — Daft Punk
6. “White Lighter” — Typhoon
7. “Light Up Gold” — Parquet Courts
8. “AM” — Arctic Monkeys
9. “Same Trailer Different Park” — Kacey Musgraves
10. “Amok” — Atoms For Peace
BEST SONGS, 2013
1. “Hannah Hunt” — Vampire Weekend
2. “Do I Wanna Know?” — Arctic Monkeys
3. “Step” — Vampire Weekend
4. “Control” — K-Dot + …others
5. “New Slaves” — Kanye West
6. “Retrograde” — James Blake
7. “Royals” — Lorde
8. “Stoned and Starving” — Parquet Courts
9. “Asleep” — Makthaverskan
10. “Cocoa Butter Kisses” — Chance the Rapper
Top 5 Car Sing-a-long Moments
1. Impersonating the pterodactyl-like shrieks of Yeezy’s “Black Skinhead”
2. Screaming the end of Vampire Weekend’s “Hannah Hunt”
3. Doing the “La-dee-da-da-dee // we like to party // dancing with Miley(?) // doing whatever we want” part from Miley’s “We Can’t Stop.” Perhaps the catchiest four bars of the year.
4. Making Chance the Rapper noises.
5. Memorizing Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse.
COMMENT: This was the year Kendrick Lamar jumped Jay-Z for second-best rapper in the game (Yeezy’s presence is still a present, and the best one we have.) The proximity of Hov’s mediocre-at-best “Magna Carta Holy Grail” to K-Dot’s earth-shaking “Control” verse made Jay look super-washed-up. And maybe he is. Jigga’s recent work sounds like he’s satisfied with his past contributions to hip-hop, and he’s fine with riding his established status to mediocrity. He doesn’t sound hungry. On “Control,” Kendrick asserts he’s the best. But unlike most other rappers right now — Jay-Z included — K-Dot proves it.
