Category Archives: best of 2013

2013, 31 days of good, best of 2013, music

(31) Days of Good: 12.3.13

December 3, 2013 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

The City and Horses released their third studio album (Strange Range) last June, and like previous releases, it was packed to the brim with fun, quirky indie pop. No track better represents the band’s signature sound (and the awkwardness of growing up) quite like “17”. Fun fact about this track…it all started in a pocket. “Marc wrote the first single, “17”, with GarageBand on his iPhone and used much of the what he recorded in the final version. He also plugged his iPhone directly into the console and used it as an instrument on a number of tracks.” (via)

♩ The City and Horses – 17 [from Strange Range]
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Oakland’s Trails and Ways are one of my favorite discoveries from the past couple of years. You could simply describe their music as indie pop, but I prefer the band’s own description – “bossa nova dream pop.” I saw them live last year in LA and they really put on one heck of a show. In fact, that show is where I first heard this track and i’ve loved it ever since. And as a little bonus, enjoy their incredible cover of my favorite Frank Ocean track, “Lost”.

♩ Trails and Ways – Tereza [from Tilingual]
♩ Trails and Ways – Lost (Frank Ocean cover)
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X PRIEST X is the project of vocalist Madeline Priest and producers Dave Kazyk and Chandler Strang. ”Samurai” is their debut track and it’s fantastic — dreamy, synth-pop at it’s best.

♩ X PRIEST X – Samarai (demo)
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(31) Days of Good: 12.2.13

December 2, 2013 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Porcelain Raft followed up his 2012 debut with another fantastic record. Permanent Signal was one of my favorite records of the year, which usually makes selecting a favorite track even more daunting. But after my very first listen, I this track was my favorite. The way the looping piano blends simplicity and beauty is mesmerizing and the lyrics are gorgeous. I can’t really think of a better way to close out an album.

♩ Porcelain Raft – Echo [from Permanent Signal]
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Picking one track from CHVRCHES’ debut LP was one of my most difficult tasks for this year’s 31 days. The Scotland trio definitely lived up to the hype. The synth pop production, along with the excellent vocals of Lauren Mayberry, combined for yet another of my favorite records of 2013. But as I said earlier, it was super hard to pick just one of many standout tracks, which include “The Mother We Share”, “Gun”, “Recover”, and “We Sink”. So to make things a bit easier, i’m going with my favorite at this moment in time.

♩ CHVRCHES – We Sink [from The Bones of What You Believe]
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Karen O and company have one of the coolest sounds around and though I love it when they “rock out”, I’m quite the sucker for their ballads. Yeah Yeah Yeahs newest LP, Mosquito, was a departure from the “dancier” tunes of 2009’s Blitz and a return to the “grittier” tunes of Fever to Tell. With that said, Mosquito definitely has a sound of it’s own and that’s why i’ll always be excited for new Yeah Yeah Yeahs. With every release, I know i’ll hear something i’ve never heard before.

♩ Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Wedding Song [from Mosquito]
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2013, 31 days of good, best of 2013, music

(31) Days of Good: 12.1.13

December 1, 2013 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Hailing from Los Angeles, The Little Ones produced some of the most enjoyable indie pop this year. The six piece really has a sound all their own, but you can compare it to the sounds of The Beach Boys, Tokyo Police Club, Tilly and the Wall, and The Elephant Six collective. “Argonauts” was actually the first track I added to this year’s 31 days playlist and I never got tired of listening to it. It really is indie pop at its best.

♩ The Little Ones – Argonauts (from The Dawn Sang Along)
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When news broke that San Francisco’s Girls were no more, the blogosphere was quite devistated, myself included. Here I am, still trying to come to terms with the loss of LCD Soundsystem, and now a band I feel like I just met are a thing of the past. Alas, Christopher Owens rose from the ashes with his solo debut Lysandre, packed to the brim with the indie pop goodness Girls fans will come to love.

♩ Christopher Owens – Here We Go Again (from Lysandre)
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If you wish The Beatles were still making music (who wouldn’t?!), look no further than Sir Paul McCartney’s lead single from his latest solo offering – New. The combination of McCartney’s incredible song writing skills and pop musicality and the production of Marc Ronsen makes this track so much fun. It’s already a favorite of my son and he’s not even a month old.

♩ Paul McCartney – New (from New)
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Wondering what (31) Days of Good is?

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(31) Days of Good: 2013

November 30, 2013 Concrete Opinions 25 Comments

The holiday season is finally upon us and with it comes the 2013 edition of (31) Days of Good!

For those of you unfamiliar with (31) Days of Good, it’s an annual trip down memory lane and look back at some of the year’s best music. There really isn’t a particular order or rank for the songs, I simply pick my favorites and hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Some days will feature a handful of picks, some days might only feature one or two, and like previous years, my good friend and frequent collaborator, Brendan (35mmBeats) will be offering up his favorite tunes of the year as well (and maybe even some Slippery Duves action this year as well…).

I’m positive some tracks will go overlooked and you won’t agree with every pick, but you’ll still get a hefty dosage of fantastic music all month long.

It all kicks off tomorrow, Dec 1st, bright and early. See you then and enjoy the ride.

p.s. tune in Dec. 15th for my top 10 favorite albums of 2012

p.p.s. i’m a happy and proud new dad, but having a 2 week old at home will be taking much of my time from now on