40. Caveman-Chances: The closest thing to a spiritual descendant of 2011’s brilliant “Old Friend.” Only difference being, perhaps, this one is all build and no climax. As it climbs for two minutes, everything grows, the drums, the feedback of the guitars,…and then it just fades, beautifully.
39. Deathfix-Better than Bad: An altogether unlikely 70s guitar-rock song from a DC hardcore band. I feel like this song was my compass in making this list. This is a really, really good song, and to move up the list from here is high praise.
38. Lucius-Hey, Doreen: While there are a lot of “pretty darn good” songs on Wildewoman, this is the one that pushes the needle closest to “great.” The tempo is pushed up a little, and as cliché as it is, they seem to be firing on all cylinders here.
37. Saturday Looks Good to Me-Sunglasses: I’ve been a fan since All Your Summer Songs in 2003 (check out the first “Untitled” track and “Underwater Heartbeat,” to start), but “Sunglasses” is an altogether different story. This moves the group from 60s pop heavily towards R&B, and it’s great. Hard to disagree as they sing “I feel / I feel / I can’t be wrong / in bed / with my sunglasses on.” One of the most instantly and imminently listenable tracks on my list.
36. Okkervil River-White: If you think back to high school (the ostensible subject of The Silver Gymnasium), you invariably think back to your summers. So the chorus, “summer’s here / and I’m gonna crack / crack,” fits well into my pathos. Nah, I don’t remember much about Mrs. Kearney’s geometry class, but I remember every single phone conversation with the girl I had a rush on in 1998, and I remember the ice cream I ate after my first breakup, and I will remember this song, new but echoing in my old memories.
35. Mikal Cronin-See it My Way: The first of 4 Mikal Cronin songs on this list, it’s strange how these things come in waves. Out of Laguna Beach, CA, Cronin has played with Ty Segall, but I think has released a better record than anything the prolific Segall has ever compiled. MCII is one of my favorite records of 2013, polished, melodic, but with a certain sharpness that keeps it fresh. Here the surprise is a violin that fills in after the chorus, providing emotional heft.
34. Lorde-White Teeth Teens: This is my second-favorite Lorde song, I just like the imagery of “white teeth teens” for some reason. It just reminds me of when teeth whitening started being over the counter in high school (I used it—I went through a weird period in middle school where I didn’t brush my teeth much), and it always seemed futuristic like a flying car. The confessional part of this song is the best, as Lorde tells us “I am not a white teeth teen,” though I suspect that given recent events, she could probably find herself a couple of strata above them.
33. David Bowie-The Next Day: Life is strange—Lou Reed died this year and David Bowie released a new record. So when Bowie wails “here I am / not quite dying / my body left to rot / in a hollow tree,” there seems to be some necessary reverence on our part (in addition to that already accorded the man). Plus, the song rocks in a way that was at least somewhat unexpected.
32. Okkervil River-Down the Deep River: Six and a half minutes long, so it better be good. And it is. Great lines, especially this father/son story buried nearly four minutes in:
Shivering from the late fall cold,
I felt like a solid ghost.
I ran and then I couldn't slow.
My father found me though, my father took me home.
He said, Oh, son, I saw you get knocked down,
and I ran out I bet your head was spinning.
With that bright pain you stunned,
when you've only just begun to be only just beginning.
Tossed in the viper pit, all those feelings and fears,
and all that difficult shit in all those tender years.
There was something in the air; something gathered in the air.
Something singing in the wind.
I'll be your fighter and you'll be my mirror.
And you'll be all right because I'll be right here.
Oh kid, now I'm not going anywhere.
I swear I'll try to not be going anywhere.
Though it's not all right. It is so far from all right.
We'll make it into a choice somehow.
I don't know, but you'll have a choice somehow.
31. Phosphorescent-Ride On/Right On: Straightforward rock, but yet not, and so it's fresh.
30. T. Hardy Morris-Hard Stuff: Morris said in an interview with his record label that the record, Audition Tapes, centered on “the way a lot of the friends we had down there slipped away to their vices. Friends that dabbled and then couldn’t quit dabbling.” This is most apparent here—as Morris leads in: “ease up on the hard stuff / you’re going to rot your gut / all the way.”
29. Vampire Weekend-Everlasting Arms: This song is probably the closest thing to what you might call a “traditional” Vampire Weekend song—it sounds the most like their previous records. I’m not sure if that’s a disappointment or not—I certainly think Modern Vampires of the City, as a whole, is an improvement of both of their previous records. Still, I suspect there’s space for an exercise like this, a sharpening of the tools previously exhibited.
28. Rhye-Open: This is the type of song that makes you stop, look up, and ask “what are we listening to?” Also, probably, “this is a dude singing?” Yep. Unlike anything else you heard last year, I’d bet.
27. The Minks-Doomed and Cool: Still, straight out of the 80s, the Cure, or whoever. Then, the chorus: “there’s no better place/ there’s no better way to kill tomorrow / than staying out with us tonight.” The best line, however, is the one that gives the track its name—doomed and cool like every other 80s hero.
26. Mikal Cronin-Peace of Mind: It’s weird to see the violin as the outstanding element on a guitar-heavy record, but that’s exactly what’s going on here. Cronin is able to combine his strong sense of melody with a few longing couplets, and then the violin comes in to really send the message home.
25. The Men-Bird Song: In an interview with the Chicago Reader, singer Mark Perro stated of the unfamiliar sound they found on New Moon: “Well, I don't think any of this is conscious. We don't really ever talk about what kind of direction we want to go in. We just go based on what ideas are floating around. A lot of that comes from what you're listening to at the time or what you're feeling at the time, and for whatever reason with this record we were getting into a lot more power pop and country music.” Me too, Mark, me too.
24. Haim-Honey & I: The breathy hesitation here is what sells the song—it’s something akin to Roger Daltrey trying to find the right timing on “My Generation.”
23. The Avett Brothers-Open-Ended Life: The Magpie and the Dandelion was released to relatively little fanfare in 2013, which is a shame considering it’s a better overall record than 2012’s The Carpenter. On the whole, the record and this song feel like a return to form for the Avetts, an effort closer to their pre-Rick Rubin production days (note: this record was produced by Rick Rubin). There’s a sense of journey here (“pack a change of clothes / and the pillow for the road / for when you drift off”), as well as a fiddle solo at the end. I can’t speak for others, but as someone who’s loved the Avetts for years, this record is an encouraging sign.
22. Lily & Madeline: Devil We Know: This sounds like a folksy version of Little Scream’s “Black Cloud.” There are elements of Gillian Welch in here as well, and the age-old tradition of re-working something timeless (here, the phrase “devil you know). As with all re-imaginings, it must be done well. Here, it is.
21. Neko Case-Night Still Comes: Best song on her 2013 release, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, as Neko finds the perfect chorus to showcase her now infamous voice, admonishing us that “you never held it at the right angle.”
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