The Soundtrack Of My Life's Top 25 Albums Of 2013

Oh, what a wonderful time 2013 has been!  As another year comes to an end, we look back and realize just how many fantastic albums were released.  Along with the arrival of a new year comes the treacherously amusing task of creating a "best of" list.  This year I've even included clickable album titles, so you can grab each one if you feel the urge.  So without further delay, here are The Soundtrack Of My Life's top twenty-five albums of 2013.

25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

24. Hunx And His Punx - Street Punk
23. Bastille - Bad Blood
22. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time
21. Devendra Banhart - Mala
20. Arctic Monkeys - AM
19. Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
18. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
17. Tegan And Sara - Heartthrob
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
15. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals
14. Small Black - Limits Of Desire
13. Pet Shop Boys - Electric
12. Icona Pop - This Is...
11. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe

10. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City

9. Haim - Days Are Gone

8. M.I.A. - Matangi

7. Savages - Silence Yourself

6. Lorde - Pure Heroine

5. Kate Nash - Girl Talk

4. Doldrums - Lesser Evil

3. Goldfrapp - Tales Of Us

2. James Blake - Overgrown

1. David Bowie - The Next Day

Friday I'm In Love - 25/10/13

Friday I'm In Love is a weekly feature

It highlights what I loved over the past week

Week = Friday to Friday

May include things of a non-musical variety

M.I.A. - Bring The Noize

I'm pretty sure you've heard this by now, but I just had to post it.  M.I.A. has a new single!  I remember writing a piece back in 2010, completely destroying her hit or miss single "Steppin' Up".  Seems like that was just yesterday. While I'm still not fond of that drilling assault of the ears, I do love some M.I.A..  Within the last month, Kala has seen a random revival on my headphones as a favorite record.  Her new single, "Bring The Noize" is interesting, maybe not what I expected, but it brings the noize.  Her verses remind me of Arular material with a "Bamboo Banga" beat.  It's definitely an exciting sample of the always-delayed Matangi.  Let's just hope the album's not too positive.

UPDATE: There's now a video to go with it! Check it out...

SebastiAn - C.T.F.O. (Feat. M.I.A.)

M.I.A. completely polarized audiences last year with /\/\ /\ Y /\.  My initial reaction to the record was less than magical, as the screeching "Steppin Up" was the first track I heard.  As a whole, I enjoyed the album significantly more.  Tracks such as "Lovalot", "XXXO", "Story To Be Told" and "Born Free" really made up for the questionable parts of the album.  Since the album's release, we've seen a good handful of Twitter controversies and non-musical hubbubs from her.

M.I.A.'s latest musical project is with the French electro-DJ, SebastiAn.  "C.T.F.O." is a track from SebastiAn's upcoming debut album, and it features fuzzy vocals from M.I.A..  I love the production on the track.  It feels dark and dirty with a pairing of synth lines running under the beat.  "C.T.F.O.", short for "chill the f*** out", sounds like a club about to riot.

SebastiAn's record, Total, is out on May 30.  It features "C.T.F.O." and a massive amount of 21 other tracks.  Along with M.I.A., you'll hear contributions from Mayer Hawthorne and Gaspard Augé of Justice.  You can head over to Some Kind Of Awesome for a stream of the song.  Go ahead and try to resist dancing along, you won't succeed.

M.I.A. - Steppin Up

The first sound you hear upon listening to M.I.A.'s new single, "Steppin Up", is a grinding chain saw and blasting drill.  The buzzing and squealing, which could have been an amazing sample, actually becomes quite irritating through out the song.  The songs beat is capable of holding it's own without the sample.  Besides the looping saw and the pounding beat, the music is kept at a minimum.  You can still hear a faint electronic synth line and guitar that keeps a chord progression under the lyrics.  This element keeps a slight sense of structure to the music.

The lyrical content is very out of the ordinary and very lacking.  With strange lines such as, "Rub a dub a dub dub, rub a dub a dub a dub." this song isn't poetry.  It really isn't even unique in an entertaining way.  This would be more acceptable if the instrumental for the song was outstanding, but the music doesn't save the track.  Overall, there's just too much "noise".

M.I.A.'s album, /\/\/\Y/\, will be released on July 13.  If this song fits into the context of the full record, then the lacking power could be excused.  However, on it's own, "Steppin Up" is nothing to get excited about.  Her other singles for this upcoming album are much stronger than tis one.  For all of the feuding and controversy that M.I.A. gets herself into, "Steppin Up" isn't up to par.

Vampire Weekend - Contra

Creating a unique sound and image is hard to do today in today's music industry, but Vampire Weekend did just that.  In 2008, they released their self-titled debut album.  The LP was filled to the top with upbeat indie rock songs.  The bouncy staccato tinge that they added to their music became their key to success.  Contra continues that same sound, but adds new elements to many of the songs.

The album starts off immediately with "Horchata".  This song sets the tone for the entire album.  It's filled with xylophone and a steady bass beat.  This song also introduces the "new" elements I spoke of.  This time around, Vampire Weekend takes influences from the electronic genre.  Several of the songs contain synthesizers, while others have techno beats.  Surprisingly enough, this approach actually works.  It's noticeable, yet it isn't overwhelming.

On the track, "Diplomat's Son", they even go so far to include a sample from M.I.A.'s "Hussel".  This is another example of how the band has reached out farther musically, but still kept their unique style.  They have avoided the "sophomore slump" step by not taking the safe route.

Standout tracks include...

Run

Cousins

Giving Up The Gun

Holiday


I would definitely check out Contra if you loved their first album.  If your a fan of catchy upbeat music, then this is for you.  Vampire Weekend have shown where they stand in music, and they did it flawlessly.