Top 100 Songs of 2013
This was posted on May 24th . . . but I'm posting it here for easier reference.
As I do every year, I took a Top 100 list of songs as decided by a radio station and have made my comment on them. Completing this 5 months after 2013 has ended has taught me that the bulk of "important" music of 2013 was really forgettable . . .
1 Blurred Lines feat. Pharrell and T.I. Robin Thicke
This song was pushed so hard as the “song of the summer” I wouldn’t have gotten sick of it from overplay alone, but my dislike runs deeper than that. I was meh about it when I first heard it-at work, softly playing on the radio all I really knew it by for a while was the song with all the “Hey hey HEY”s-and came to like it less and less as I learned the lyrics and it continued to play over and over and over again. It’s funny, because the Internet also fucking hates it-- and yet everyone in person seems to love it and gets super affronted and shocked when I say that I don’t.
That being said, I do feel a little bad that Blurred Lines specifically gets so much hate for something which isn’t even remotely uncommon in pop music, since it’s not like Robin Thicke personally invented rape culture. I mean, just think of every song that celebrates the persistent pursuit of someone who has clearly expressed their disinterest. (Every Breath You Take? One Way Or Another? Etc). But it is nice to see that society (at least Internet society) is apparently not going to stand for that anymore, at least not without a lot of bitching.
It is really catchy though, I’ll grant you that! I will dance along sometimes.
2 Thrift Shop feat. Wanz - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
This was amongst my favorite songs of last year, but it remained popular into this year and maybe the popularity was delayed over the on the East Coast, or something.
3 Just Give Me A Reason feat. Nate Ruess - P!nk
Normally I love P!nk and most of the songs I’ve heard by F.U.N. . . . but this was bland and tedious as hell.
4 Can't Hold Us feat. Ray Dalton - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
I went about 3 months before I realized this song wasn't saying "like this city can't hold us" but "like the ceiling can't hold us." And it was this video that broke the news:
Apparently others had trouble comprehending this lyric as well. But mondegreens aside, it was a good song. Catchy and despite being played a lot, I didn’t get sick of it.
Though am I the only one who finds all the New World explorer/conqueror imagery in the video a little uncomfortable, especially given Macklemore’s position as a white rapper? (Ie already flirting with concerns about appropriation?). I dunno, I’m probably reading too much into it-- musicians like to show themselves traveling around and being beloved by everyone as a general rule-- but given the deliberate colonial-era imagery and how Macklemore’s talked about white privilege and whatnot I kind of wonder how this wouldn’t have occurred to him. (Or if it was intentional . . . what on earth he means by it?).
5 Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
This song was so weird for me, it was like every other time I heard it I liked it, and other times I just wanted to change the channel. I seriously have no idea how I feel about it.
6 Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
This was one of those songs that faded into the background for me. I liked it fine when I noticed it, but it didn’t jump out at me as something I needed to own and listen to in perpetuity or anything.
7 Stay - Rihanna
This was ALWAYS on, and luckily faded into the background enough to not completely piss me off. But I change the channel when it comes on the radio because it’s just so boring and overplayed.
8 When I Was Your Man feat. Mikky Ekko - Bruno Mars
Another fairly boring one that mostly went under the radar for me. But I remember listening to it around Valentine’s Day last year when Mikel was being weird about buying Jess flowers and I just wanted to be like JESS PUT THIS ON TOP VOLUME ON REPEAT ALL DAY AND SEE IF HE GETS THE HINT.
9 I Knew You Were Trouble. - Taylor Swift
I heard this less in 2013, but I hated it in 2012 and that didn’t change.
10 Roar - Katy Perry
This song is so basic, I do not understand why it is so popular except simply that Katy Perry has established industry presence. (Which I’m sure is of course the reason). It’s repetitive with weak, phoned-in lyrics and it’s not even fast enough to pump the energy it’s meant to drive; at least kick it up to double time so it might suit a pre-game pump-up medley for high school girls’ sports teams or something. And I am so over this fake-skipping business; can’t we just be grateful that we have the technology to provide smooth musical phrasing? Not to mention using autotune to create pseudo-trills instead of actually demonstrating any vocal skill . . .
At one point I encountered a review that complimented Roar on being *so culturally literate* for referencing Queen, Survivor, and Muhammad Ali. Which is funny, because I just thought those were hack-y ripoffs of clearly superior work.
At least we did get this Vine out of it:
Which is like this year’s Taylor Swift screaming goat, only cuter.
11 Royals - Lorde
It started to get overplayed by the end of the year, but for the most part I like this song. I like the minimalism and almost a capella harmonies-- such a contrast to the overload of EDM these days-- which I’m sure was a deliberate choice given the message.
However, one thing I can’t figure out if the song is genuinely an anthem to having fun with less or if it (perhaps inadvertently) is more of a “sour grapes” thing. Maybe I’m just caught up in the dramatic irony of just how many singers and rappers start off going on about having/coming from nothing and inevitably end up reveling in the riches, but for someone who doesn’t want to rich life she seems awfully pressed about the lifestyles of the rich and famous and how hers is such a contrast. There’s also the bit where she wants to “live that fantasy” of pretending to be a ruler called Queen B(ee). So, you’re not about class and money but you’ll fantasize and posture as royalty?
(The lyric is especially funny to me because when I hear “Queen B(ee)” I automatically think of it as the nickname of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, who 1) was in fact shamelessly materialistic and crafted her entire identity around her privilege and class, and 2) actually was legit royal--by marriage-- for like 2 episodes in the show. Queen B does not count her money on the train and drive a Cadillac in her dreams, lol. I feel like Lorde would at least be vaguely conscious of this reference but she is only like 16 so who knows).
This possible hypocrisy doesn’t make me like the song any less, though. Why not be self-aware of our lust for status and riches even as we *know better* that we should appreciate what we have?
Also . . . am I the only who hears “My friends in Iowa crack the corn” instead of “My friends and I, we’ve cracked the code” in the second verse?
12 Get Lucky feat. Pharrell Williams - Daft Punk
Robert got the new Daft Punk album as soon as it came out because he really likes them. I like Daft Punk well enough myself , but you have to admit, their songs are inherently repetitive. This is fine if you’re listening to the song every once and a while. This is not fine when you are subjected to the usual pop hit treatment of once-an-hour airplay for weeks on end.
I liked Get Lucky the first few times I listened to it while in Robert’s car, the ‘70s throwback feel and the simple joke-y narrative of a girl who wants to stay up to do her thing while the guy is only staying up with her in hopes of getting laid. However, after listening to it more than 8 times a day while at work, I had to ask him to skip over it every time it came on. I even pissed him off when we went to karaoke in July and I refused to let him sing it, that’s how sick of it I was. Now that its rein is over I’m less dial-jumpy when it comes on, but thanks, radio, for doing what you do best: ruining good songs with overplay.
It’s come back into good graces again for me now, at the end of the year now that it’s heyday is done, but holy shit I don’t like it when Daft Punk has hits on the radio. WAY. TOO. REPETITIVE.
13 Suit & Tie feat. JAY Z - Justin Timberlake
This was fun. I was never obsessed with it but it was fun.
14 Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars
Got really annoying really fast.
15 Ho Hey - The Lumineers
Oh hey I seem recall wondering why this wasn’t on LAST year’s list. Seriously, does it take songs that are popular in California 6 months to reach the East Coast?
16 Scream & Shout - will.i.am and Britney Spears
Boring as fuck and like Roar and We Can’t Stop, the tone of the song completely fails to match the lyrics.
17 We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
This is one of those songs that everyone was talking about during the year but I literally never heard on the radio. I did look it up at one point and it actually kind of disturbed me. Given the lyrics/theme you’d think it would be this pumped-up party song, but it’s surprisingly subdued and that confuses me. Like, I don’t understand when I would want to listen to this song? It doesn’t pump me up.
The video vaguely reminds me of a more polished/bright version of Fiona Apple’s Criminal, what with aftermath of what looks like a really weird sex party, stuffed animals, pools, and lots of way-too-close shots of the lead singer scantily clad and playing up her “underage” look . . . but that’s all probably accidental.
Of course Wrecking Ball blatantly rips off Nothing Compares 2 U, so who knows.
18 I Love It feat. Charli XCX - Icona Pop
This song was okay when I was in the mood for dance pop. But it’s really a mean song, if you think about it. You got bored so you trashed all your boyfriend’s shit for no reason? (Or maybe the reason is because he’s 20 years older than you-- “you’re from the ‘70s but I’m a ‘90s chick”-- and you’re apparently having trouble relating to him? In which case, why even date him to begin with?). Jesus, get a get grip O.o
19 Don't You Worry Child feat. John Martin - Swedish House Mafia
Remember this more as a 2012 song, but it was okay. A little overplayed, but fine.
20 Wake Me Up - Avicii
I started off really liking this song, as well as this general sort of folk-pop revival we’ve been getting lately what with Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, etc. The Avicii stuff has been especially interesting given the odd and yet oddly acceptable combination of folk + EDM. (Which is not entirely unprecedented. I must say, Sweden, your inexplicable love of American folk + electronic dance music from it will never not be entertaining). And I liked the lyrics of this song so far as being young and wishing I were older and understand more about my shit resonates with me right now.
However, over time it was played to death and I got pretty sick of it >.< And I will say I like the soloist and his melody much more than the EDM breakdown itself and I wonder if I could track down an acoustic version or something instead. I think I would like that better than the actual single. I also feel the same way about their follow up Hey Brother, which I think I like even better on the whole.
21 Daylight - Maroon 5
Meh.
22 Cruise feat. Nelly - Florida Georgia Line
I barely heard this song this year, but the concept cracks me up. I don’t really know what Nelly has been doing with his life the past few years, but I have aways enjoyed him and I find his periodic collaborations with country artists to be amusing. I mean, he’s the St. Louis rapper and St. Louis is like a little urban beacon in otherwise rural country culture so it’s not like it doesn’t entirely make sense, and yet it’s just so funny to me.
23 Holy Grail - Jay-Z
I didn’t hear much of this this year, but I dunno, it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It’s essentially about how awful it is to be famous? Which, I mean, I’m sure it can be . . . but from a fan perspective, why am I supposed to want to buy something that is essentially telling me how awful I am? And maybe he’s singing more vaguely about *Fame* itself, or the media in general . . . but I dunno, if so I feel like it would have been better to make that clear?
Plus it’s just not that catchy or memorable to me, either.
24 Come & Get It - Selena Gomez
The song itself was infinitely less memorable than all of the wank about Selena wearing Indian costume in the video.
25 Gangnam Style - Psy
I think of this as more of a 2012 song, but YASS PSY YOU KEEP ON KEEPING THE AMERICAN POP CHARTS FROM BEING 100% ENGLISH.
26 Feel This Moment feat. Christina Aguilera - Pitbull
Borrrring. Also yes Pitbull, we know you enjoy Miami. Because you have told us in LITERALLY EVERY SONG YOU ARE IN.
27 Safe and Sound - Capital Cities
The little trumpet-y noises really started to piss my shit off after a couple months of this and now whenever it’s on I immediately turn it off before they’re stuck in my head forever.
28 Clarity feat. Foxes - ZEDD
Tedious and annoying. Also I could not get over the lyrics:
If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?
Um, if your love is tragic and insane, probably he’s NOT your remedy and clarity and you should GTFO. Like, yesterday.
29 Same Love feat. Mary Lambert - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
I mean, I liked it. I especially liked when it would come on the radio at work and my overtly homophobic coworker would hum along and clearly had no idea what it was about :P
That being said, there has been a fair amount of criticism for Macklemore as a straight white male artist using a traditionally black medium to speak out on issues like homophobia and white privilege, which raises questions of why the pop/hip hop platform hasn’t opened enough to actual gay and POC artists to say these things themselves, at least with anything close to the audience of Macklemore. Like, why couldn’t Mary Lambert herself have gotten the same level of recognition and popularity for the original She Keeps Me Warm (with its positive video of a nice normal girl-meets-girl love story with a HAPPY ENDING) instead of Macklemore using her hook with some verses about how he briefly *thought* he was gay but oops, maybe not, etc?
But I suppose given the world being as it currently is, better to have an ally saying something useful on the subject than nothing at all. Let’s just hope it actually opens the door to something, and not just more ally self-congratulation?
30 Treasure - Bruno Mars
Of all of the Bruno Mars songs this year I think this was the catchiest, most enjoyable for me, but I wouldn’t miss it if I never heard it again.
31 My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy
Oh hi there Fall Out Boy, I missed you!
32 Cups - Anna Kendrick
Is this based on a folk song or something? Because it’s so catchy and familiar-sounding to me.
I like to imagine this song paired with Passenger’s Let Her Go like she’s being like “Um, you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone, just warning you . . . “and then the next day Passenger’s like “ONLY KNOW YOUR LOVER WHEN YOU LET HER GO!!” and she’s like “What did I tell you?”
33 Sweet Nothing feat. Florence Welch - Calvin Harris
Oh I heard this a lot. It didn’t bug the crap out of me but I wasn’t dying to hear it all the time, either. At least now I know what she’s actually saying, because for a long time I thought the lyric was “sweet madness.” Because I listen really carefully, apparently.
34 Diamonds - Rihanna
I heard this song like 8 times a day for about a month and then never again for the rest of the year, lol. I guess it wore out fast on people. I didn’t mind it when it wasn’t overplayed; it’s super repetitive, but it’s also in a minor key, and you know how that sits with me.
35 Heart Attack - Demi Lovato
Usually I like Demi and her intensity, but this was a little too over the top to me. Just so much belting . . .
36 Try - P!nk
P!nk wasn’t really on for me this year. I think I just don’t care for her slowed-down tracks so much. I prefer when she’s got more energy, whether it’s upbeat, angry, or playful.
37 The Way feat. Mac Miller - Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is one of those people I hear mentioned online a lot but have no idea who she is. And I don’t know this song. I don’t know.
38 One More Night - Maroon 5
I went back and forth between whether or not I liked this song. I think it’s one of those cases where I liked the verses but not the chorus, and I didn’t care so much for the “ooh-ooh-ooh” bit in what sounded like a painful range for the lead singer.
39 I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
And now it makes the list. There must be some kind of West-to-East lag with these hits charts, because I heard this song way more in 2012.
40 Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus
Everyone had so much to say about this music video-- that it was exploitative and hypersexualized, that it ripped off Sinead O’Conner and so on and so on-- and while I really don’t have much to say about it myself.
Except that this cracks me up:
(Especially considering she’d just broken up with his brother. In real life. Not Loki).
And this is adorable:
However, I did actually like the song itself! >.< I listened to it a lot especially at this beginning of this year, post-breakup. Yes, I did just admit that.
41 It's Time - Imagine Dragons
This song is okay but I wasn’t hugely fond of it and it got overplayed.
42 Love Somebody - Maroon 5
Meh.
43 Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men
This was on the list last year and although I briefly got sick of it from overplay, I still like it at this point. It still makes me think of Simon and River Tam. I don’t know. Shit makes sense in my head.
44 Home - Phillip Phillips
I didn’t hear this a lot but I liked it. More of this pop-folk revival thing I’ve been digging.
45 Some Nights - fun.
Another from last year.
46 I Need Your Love feat. Ellie Goulding - Calvin Harris
I liked “Lights” better but this was okay.
47 Beauty And A Beat feat. Nicki Minaj - Justin Bieber
No different thoughts from last year.
48 Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson
Fine but mostly forgettable.
49 The Other Side - Jason Derulo
Also fine but mostly forgettable.
50 Carry On - fun.
I didn’t like fun’s stuff as much this year. This was meh to me.
51 Gone Gone Gone - Phillip Phillips
I remember this more from last year. I do like this guy, I think, though.
52 Hold On We're Going Home - Drake
I remember hearing this occasionally and knowing it was Drake and vaguely liking it, though apparently not enough to learn the title or lyrics because I had to look this up :P
53 Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey
I have a bunch of songs from Lana Del Rey’s first album so I’ve been listening to her for a couple years, but this is the first song of hers I’ve heard on the radio. It’s not my favorite Lana song but it’s okay. The weird tragic lesbian suicide music video is kind of weird, though.
54 Sail - AWOLNATION
This may be my favorite song of the year, actually! It was never popular enough to be overplayed and I was always happy to hear it. Also, this Vine cracks me up more than it probably reasonably should:
55 Next to Me - Emeli Sand_
I liked this! This chick can actually sing, not just be enhanced by autotune . . .
56 22 - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is becoming more and more sour on me as she no longer represents some nostalgic avatar of my own lonely little teenage self but has become a twentysomething with a very different take on being a twentysomething than I do. My experience with age 22 was very different from this song and I hope to hell I was not anywhere near this obnoxious S:
57 Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys
I do like Alicia Key’s voice, but like many Alicia Key’s songs the lyrics were rather repetitive and kind of superficial.
Though it is funny to think that maybe there is about a girl who is literally on fire and Alicia Keys is just like “Hey guys check this shit out!”
58 Applause - Lady Gaga
I just remember there being a lot of talk about this song online and not realizing I’d actually heard it because I didn’t recognize it as Lady Gaga or it didn’t particularly stand out to me. However, the more I listened to it the more it grew on me. It’s not my favorite thing but I enjoy it well enough.
Also lol @ radio stations bleeping the line “One second I’m the kunst, then suddenly the kunst is me.” She’s either referring to the German word for “art” or the artist Jeff Koons whose art inspired her album cover (and probably both, tbh). Not cunt. Who the fuck pronounces cunt with that long of an “oo” sound, anyway?? Even outside of the US?
59 Troublemaker feat. Flo Rida - Olly Murs
I do not remember hearing this song at all.
60 Madness - Muse
Normally I like Muse, but this was too slow/boring or something for me, and it got overplayed. I didn’t care for it.
61 I Cry - Flo Rida
I only remember the chorus with the high voice in this. Otherwise, no thoughts.
62 #thatPOWER feat. Justin Bieber - will.i.am
Ugh songs have hashtags in the title now? That hashtag-laden music video for Blurred Lines wasn’t enough? Out of principle I’m not even going to look up what the fuck this song even is.
(And then along came #SELFIE . . . ).
63 Alive - Krewella
I don’t remember hearing this at all, but it’s not bad?
64 Demons - Imagine Dragons
This is a classic example of a 4-chord song. Which means I recognized that it was basically psychologically engineered to be a hit and liked it nonetheless, lol.
65 Best Song Ever - One Direction
Oh hey, One Direction actually stopped being this thing I heard about on the Internet and actually showed up on the radio! I thought this was fairly cute in your standard pop-y boy band way, making the same joke as Tenaciuous D (a song about a song that isn’t the song being sung).
The video is weird as hell, though . . .
66 We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
Same comments from last year still apply, though I heard this less.
67 Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) - Ne-Yo
Oh yes, I remember this from last year. LET ME LOVE YOU. AND I WILL LOVE YOU. AND I WILL LOVE YOU. AND I WILL LOVE YOU. AND . . . I guess he eventually then says “until you learn to love yourself” but it sounds like the whole song is just one line being repeated over and over again.
68 I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
I remember this song but I don’t remember having any particular feelings either way. It wasn’t my usual Jason Mraz song in that I only wanted to hear it when I was already happy and when I wasn’t it just pissed me off . . . it’s more like it just sort of faded into the background unnoticed?
69 Lego House - Ed Sheeran
I remember this but never had any particular feelings about it.
70 Here's To Never Growing Up - Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne still does stuff? I did not hear this.
71 Kiss You - One Direction
I don’t remember hearing this. It just sounds like One Direction. *Shrug.*
72 Counting Stars - OneRepublic
I think this has been much bigger in 2014 and I don’t know if I would have had much to say about it in December, but I do like it well enough now. It’s catchy. (Although the message of giving up on chasing fame and watching money burn never seems quite as profound when you know it’s sung by people who are already filthy rich . . . ).
73 Still Into You - Paramore
I didn’t hear this much but I liked it well enough. I do really like Hayley Williams’ voice.
74 Brave - Sara Bareilles
It makes me sad this is so much lower on the list compared to Roar, when it’s basically a much better version of the same song. It actually has original lyrics instead of smatterings of lines borrowed from other songs! I quite liked it.
75 Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
I feel like half the reason this song was so popular was that people were just discovering it in late summer when they were starting to get in the mood for fall, and everybody from YouTube fashion gurus to Bath and Body Works was capitalizing on the “Sweater Weather” catchphrase, lol.
I liked it well enough, though it did get pretty overplayed at one point. I also have a probably totally off-base theory that this song is about how much it sucks to live in California (and he’s only there because his hipster girlfriend wants to be). He hates the beach but he’s there anyway, and he keeps assuring his girlfriend that they can go someplace colder and he’ll keep her warm, it’ll be fine. There’s also a part of the video where they show an upside-down house which clearly references the upside-down property values of property in California :P
76 Let Her Go - Passenger
I was meh about this song in actual 2013 but liked it a lot in the immediate aftermath of my breakup in 2014 >.<
77 Everything Has Changed - Taylor Swift
Another I remember but never felt strongly about. The video is making me laugh, though; it’s so cheesy-romantic it would seem trite if it were teenagers or adults but that it’s two prepubescent kids makes it frankly weird. (This 8-year-old boy is reading the fucking Notebook? Lmao!). There’s aww-kid-crush and then there’s just straight-up projection fantasies . . .
78 Take Back The Night - Justin Timberlake
I don’t have much to say about this song except it’s weird the title shares the name of a widespread anti-rape protest and I don’t think that’s what the song is about?
79 Wild Ones feat. Sia - Flo Rida
I remember this from last year, it was okay.
80 Drive By - Train
Another from last year. I still maintain this song is about killing someone.
81 True Love feat. Lily Allen - P!nk
Both Lily Allen and P!nk have a similar cheeky, playful style about them so I liked the combination of the two of them together. I don’t remember hearing this a lot but I liked it when it was on.
82 Give It 2 U feat. Kenrick Lamar - Robin Thicke
The only Robin Thicke I remember is Blurred Lines and that was enough for one year.
83 Right Now - Rihanna
I remember this, never had much in the way of thoughts on it. Consider how low it is on the search results already it seems like most of the world has already forgot about it, too.
84 Slow Down - Selena Gomez
I don’t remember this, but it’s a minor key so it’s catchy to me.
85 Turn The Night Up - Enrique Iglesias
I don’t remember this at all.
86 Closer - Tegan & Sara
I don’t remember this but it’s catchy.
87 Gorilla - Bruno Mars
I didn’t hear this song on the radio, but only encountered it as a review by Todd in the Shadows, who amusingly pointed out just how ridiculous it is. Making love like gorillas really doesn’t sound all that appealing actually . . .
88 Work B**ch - Britney Spears
EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS ONLINE. And I don’t think I ever heard it once on the radio.
89 Chloe (You're The One I Want) - Emblem3
I don’t remember this at all.
90 White Walls feat. ScHoolboy Q and Hollis - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Did not hear this at all.
91 The A Team - Ed Sheeran
Remember this from last year, same thoughts.
92 #Beautiful feat. Miguel - Mariah Carey
No @ this hashtag nonsense.
93 Harlem Shake - Baauer
Lol I never heard this on the radio and was only familiar with it as the Internet meme. But I’m glad it made the list to preserve the meme in 2013 posterity XD
My favorite is still:
94 Berzerk - Eminem
Don’t remember this.
95 Fine China - Chris Brown
Not even going to dignify this artist with a single hit to his VEVO account.
96 Crooked Smile feat. TLC - J. Cole
I never heard this but I just watched the video and O.o
97 Beat It - Sean Kingston
I don’t remember this at all.
98 Little Things One Direction
More standard One Direction.
99 Crazy Kids - Ke$ha
I didn’t realize Ke$ha had done anything this year until Tory played me Timber upon picking me up from the airport before Christmas. I don’t know what this song is, but Timber is pretty hilarious.
100 People Like Us - Kelly Clarkson
Don’t remember at all.
List taken from: Z100's Top Songs of 2013
Previous years: 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
As I do every year, I took a Top 100 list of songs as decided by a radio station and have made my comment on them. Completing this 5 months after 2013 has ended has taught me that the bulk of "important" music of 2013 was really forgettable . . .
1 Blurred Lines feat. Pharrell and T.I. Robin Thicke
This song was pushed so hard as the “song of the summer” I wouldn’t have gotten sick of it from overplay alone, but my dislike runs deeper than that. I was meh about it when I first heard it-at work, softly playing on the radio all I really knew it by for a while was the song with all the “Hey hey HEY”s-and came to like it less and less as I learned the lyrics and it continued to play over and over and over again. It’s funny, because the Internet also fucking hates it-- and yet everyone in person seems to love it and gets super affronted and shocked when I say that I don’t.
That being said, I do feel a little bad that Blurred Lines specifically gets so much hate for something which isn’t even remotely uncommon in pop music, since it’s not like Robin Thicke personally invented rape culture. I mean, just think of every song that celebrates the persistent pursuit of someone who has clearly expressed their disinterest. (Every Breath You Take? One Way Or Another? Etc). But it is nice to see that society (at least Internet society) is apparently not going to stand for that anymore, at least not without a lot of bitching.
It is really catchy though, I’ll grant you that! I will dance along sometimes.
2 Thrift Shop feat. Wanz - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
This was amongst my favorite songs of last year, but it remained popular into this year and maybe the popularity was delayed over the on the East Coast, or something.
3 Just Give Me A Reason feat. Nate Ruess - P!nk
Normally I love P!nk and most of the songs I’ve heard by F.U.N. . . . but this was bland and tedious as hell.
4 Can't Hold Us feat. Ray Dalton - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
I went about 3 months before I realized this song wasn't saying "like this city can't hold us" but "like the ceiling can't hold us." And it was this video that broke the news:
Click to viewApparently others had trouble comprehending this lyric as well. But mondegreens aside, it was a good song. Catchy and despite being played a lot, I didn’t get sick of it.
Though am I the only one who finds all the New World explorer/conqueror imagery in the video a little uncomfortable, especially given Macklemore’s position as a white rapper? (Ie already flirting with concerns about appropriation?). I dunno, I’m probably reading too much into it-- musicians like to show themselves traveling around and being beloved by everyone as a general rule-- but given the deliberate colonial-era imagery and how Macklemore’s talked about white privilege and whatnot I kind of wonder how this wouldn’t have occurred to him. (Or if it was intentional . . . what on earth he means by it?).
5 Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
This song was so weird for me, it was like every other time I heard it I liked it, and other times I just wanted to change the channel. I seriously have no idea how I feel about it.
6 Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
This was one of those songs that faded into the background for me. I liked it fine when I noticed it, but it didn’t jump out at me as something I needed to own and listen to in perpetuity or anything.
7 Stay - Rihanna
This was ALWAYS on, and luckily faded into the background enough to not completely piss me off. But I change the channel when it comes on the radio because it’s just so boring and overplayed.
8 When I Was Your Man feat. Mikky Ekko - Bruno Mars
Another fairly boring one that mostly went under the radar for me. But I remember listening to it around Valentine’s Day last year when Mikel was being weird about buying Jess flowers and I just wanted to be like JESS PUT THIS ON TOP VOLUME ON REPEAT ALL DAY AND SEE IF HE GETS THE HINT.
9 I Knew You Were Trouble. - Taylor Swift
I heard this less in 2013, but I hated it in 2012 and that didn’t change.
10 Roar - Katy Perry
This song is so basic, I do not understand why it is so popular except simply that Katy Perry has established industry presence. (Which I’m sure is of course the reason). It’s repetitive with weak, phoned-in lyrics and it’s not even fast enough to pump the energy it’s meant to drive; at least kick it up to double time so it might suit a pre-game pump-up medley for high school girls’ sports teams or something. And I am so over this fake-skipping business; can’t we just be grateful that we have the technology to provide smooth musical phrasing? Not to mention using autotune to create pseudo-trills instead of actually demonstrating any vocal skill . . .
At one point I encountered a review that complimented Roar on being *so culturally literate* for referencing Queen, Survivor, and Muhammad Ali. Which is funny, because I just thought those were hack-y ripoffs of clearly superior work.
At least we did get this Vine out of it:
Which is like this year’s Taylor Swift screaming goat, only cuter.
11 Royals - Lorde
It started to get overplayed by the end of the year, but for the most part I like this song. I like the minimalism and almost a capella harmonies-- such a contrast to the overload of EDM these days-- which I’m sure was a deliberate choice given the message.
However, one thing I can’t figure out if the song is genuinely an anthem to having fun with less or if it (perhaps inadvertently) is more of a “sour grapes” thing. Maybe I’m just caught up in the dramatic irony of just how many singers and rappers start off going on about having/coming from nothing and inevitably end up reveling in the riches, but for someone who doesn’t want to rich life she seems awfully pressed about the lifestyles of the rich and famous and how hers is such a contrast. There’s also the bit where she wants to “live that fantasy” of pretending to be a ruler called Queen B(ee). So, you’re not about class and money but you’ll fantasize and posture as royalty?
(The lyric is especially funny to me because when I hear “Queen B(ee)” I automatically think of it as the nickname of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, who 1) was in fact shamelessly materialistic and crafted her entire identity around her privilege and class, and 2) actually was legit royal--by marriage-- for like 2 episodes in the show. Queen B does not count her money on the train and drive a Cadillac in her dreams, lol. I feel like Lorde would at least be vaguely conscious of this reference but she is only like 16 so who knows).
This possible hypocrisy doesn’t make me like the song any less, though. Why not be self-aware of our lust for status and riches even as we *know better* that we should appreciate what we have?
Also . . . am I the only who hears “My friends in Iowa crack the corn” instead of “My friends and I, we’ve cracked the code” in the second verse?
12 Get Lucky feat. Pharrell Williams - Daft Punk
Robert got the new Daft Punk album as soon as it came out because he really likes them. I like Daft Punk well enough myself , but you have to admit, their songs are inherently repetitive. This is fine if you’re listening to the song every once and a while. This is not fine when you are subjected to the usual pop hit treatment of once-an-hour airplay for weeks on end.
I liked Get Lucky the first few times I listened to it while in Robert’s car, the ‘70s throwback feel and the simple joke-y narrative of a girl who wants to stay up to do her thing while the guy is only staying up with her in hopes of getting laid. However, after listening to it more than 8 times a day while at work, I had to ask him to skip over it every time it came on. I even pissed him off when we went to karaoke in July and I refused to let him sing it, that’s how sick of it I was. Now that its rein is over I’m less dial-jumpy when it comes on, but thanks, radio, for doing what you do best: ruining good songs with overplay.
It’s come back into good graces again for me now, at the end of the year now that it’s heyday is done, but holy shit I don’t like it when Daft Punk has hits on the radio. WAY. TOO. REPETITIVE.
13 Suit & Tie feat. JAY Z - Justin Timberlake
This was fun. I was never obsessed with it but it was fun.
14 Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars
Got really annoying really fast.
15 Ho Hey - The Lumineers
Oh hey I seem recall wondering why this wasn’t on LAST year’s list. Seriously, does it take songs that are popular in California 6 months to reach the East Coast?
16 Scream & Shout - will.i.am and Britney Spears
Boring as fuck and like Roar and We Can’t Stop, the tone of the song completely fails to match the lyrics.
17 We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
This is one of those songs that everyone was talking about during the year but I literally never heard on the radio. I did look it up at one point and it actually kind of disturbed me. Given the lyrics/theme you’d think it would be this pumped-up party song, but it’s surprisingly subdued and that confuses me. Like, I don’t understand when I would want to listen to this song? It doesn’t pump me up.
The video vaguely reminds me of a more polished/bright version of Fiona Apple’s Criminal, what with aftermath of what looks like a really weird sex party, stuffed animals, pools, and lots of way-too-close shots of the lead singer scantily clad and playing up her “underage” look . . . but that’s all probably accidental.
Of course Wrecking Ball blatantly rips off Nothing Compares 2 U, so who knows.
18 I Love It feat. Charli XCX - Icona Pop
This song was okay when I was in the mood for dance pop. But it’s really a mean song, if you think about it. You got bored so you trashed all your boyfriend’s shit for no reason? (Or maybe the reason is because he’s 20 years older than you-- “you’re from the ‘70s but I’m a ‘90s chick”-- and you’re apparently having trouble relating to him? In which case, why even date him to begin with?). Jesus, get a get grip O.o
19 Don't You Worry Child feat. John Martin - Swedish House Mafia
Remember this more as a 2012 song, but it was okay. A little overplayed, but fine.
20 Wake Me Up - Avicii
I started off really liking this song, as well as this general sort of folk-pop revival we’ve been getting lately what with Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, etc. The Avicii stuff has been especially interesting given the odd and yet oddly acceptable combination of folk + EDM. (Which is not entirely unprecedented. I must say, Sweden, your inexplicable love of American folk + electronic dance music from it will never not be entertaining). And I liked the lyrics of this song so far as being young and wishing I were older and understand more about my shit resonates with me right now.
However, over time it was played to death and I got pretty sick of it >.< And I will say I like the soloist and his melody much more than the EDM breakdown itself and I wonder if I could track down an acoustic version or something instead. I think I would like that better than the actual single. I also feel the same way about their follow up Hey Brother, which I think I like even better on the whole.
21 Daylight - Maroon 5
Meh.
22 Cruise feat. Nelly - Florida Georgia Line
I barely heard this song this year, but the concept cracks me up. I don’t really know what Nelly has been doing with his life the past few years, but I have aways enjoyed him and I find his periodic collaborations with country artists to be amusing. I mean, he’s the St. Louis rapper and St. Louis is like a little urban beacon in otherwise rural country culture so it’s not like it doesn’t entirely make sense, and yet it’s just so funny to me.
23 Holy Grail - Jay-Z
I didn’t hear much of this this year, but I dunno, it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It’s essentially about how awful it is to be famous? Which, I mean, I’m sure it can be . . . but from a fan perspective, why am I supposed to want to buy something that is essentially telling me how awful I am? And maybe he’s singing more vaguely about *Fame* itself, or the media in general . . . but I dunno, if so I feel like it would have been better to make that clear?
Plus it’s just not that catchy or memorable to me, either.
24 Come & Get It - Selena Gomez
The song itself was infinitely less memorable than all of the wank about Selena wearing Indian costume in the video.
25 Gangnam Style - Psy
I think of this as more of a 2012 song, but YASS PSY YOU KEEP ON KEEPING THE AMERICAN POP CHARTS FROM BEING 100% ENGLISH.
26 Feel This Moment feat. Christina Aguilera - Pitbull
Borrrring. Also yes Pitbull, we know you enjoy Miami. Because you have told us in LITERALLY EVERY SONG YOU ARE IN.
27 Safe and Sound - Capital Cities
The little trumpet-y noises really started to piss my shit off after a couple months of this and now whenever it’s on I immediately turn it off before they’re stuck in my head forever.
28 Clarity feat. Foxes - ZEDD
Tedious and annoying. Also I could not get over the lyrics:
If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?
Um, if your love is tragic and insane, probably he’s NOT your remedy and clarity and you should GTFO. Like, yesterday.
29 Same Love feat. Mary Lambert - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
I mean, I liked it. I especially liked when it would come on the radio at work and my overtly homophobic coworker would hum along and clearly had no idea what it was about :P
That being said, there has been a fair amount of criticism for Macklemore as a straight white male artist using a traditionally black medium to speak out on issues like homophobia and white privilege, which raises questions of why the pop/hip hop platform hasn’t opened enough to actual gay and POC artists to say these things themselves, at least with anything close to the audience of Macklemore. Like, why couldn’t Mary Lambert herself have gotten the same level of recognition and popularity for the original She Keeps Me Warm (with its positive video of a nice normal girl-meets-girl love story with a HAPPY ENDING) instead of Macklemore using her hook with some verses about how he briefly *thought* he was gay but oops, maybe not, etc?
But I suppose given the world being as it currently is, better to have an ally saying something useful on the subject than nothing at all. Let’s just hope it actually opens the door to something, and not just more ally self-congratulation?
30 Treasure - Bruno Mars
Of all of the Bruno Mars songs this year I think this was the catchiest, most enjoyable for me, but I wouldn’t miss it if I never heard it again.
31 My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy
Oh hi there Fall Out Boy, I missed you!
32 Cups - Anna Kendrick
Is this based on a folk song or something? Because it’s so catchy and familiar-sounding to me.
I like to imagine this song paired with Passenger’s Let Her Go like she’s being like “Um, you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone, just warning you . . . “and then the next day Passenger’s like “ONLY KNOW YOUR LOVER WHEN YOU LET HER GO!!” and she’s like “What did I tell you?”
33 Sweet Nothing feat. Florence Welch - Calvin Harris
Oh I heard this a lot. It didn’t bug the crap out of me but I wasn’t dying to hear it all the time, either. At least now I know what she’s actually saying, because for a long time I thought the lyric was “sweet madness.” Because I listen really carefully, apparently.
34 Diamonds - Rihanna
I heard this song like 8 times a day for about a month and then never again for the rest of the year, lol. I guess it wore out fast on people. I didn’t mind it when it wasn’t overplayed; it’s super repetitive, but it’s also in a minor key, and you know how that sits with me.
35 Heart Attack - Demi Lovato
Usually I like Demi and her intensity, but this was a little too over the top to me. Just so much belting . . .
36 Try - P!nk
P!nk wasn’t really on for me this year. I think I just don’t care for her slowed-down tracks so much. I prefer when she’s got more energy, whether it’s upbeat, angry, or playful.
37 The Way feat. Mac Miller - Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is one of those people I hear mentioned online a lot but have no idea who she is. And I don’t know this song. I don’t know.
38 One More Night - Maroon 5
I went back and forth between whether or not I liked this song. I think it’s one of those cases where I liked the verses but not the chorus, and I didn’t care so much for the “ooh-ooh-ooh” bit in what sounded like a painful range for the lead singer.
39 I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
And now it makes the list. There must be some kind of West-to-East lag with these hits charts, because I heard this song way more in 2012.
40 Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus
Everyone had so much to say about this music video-- that it was exploitative and hypersexualized, that it ripped off Sinead O’Conner and so on and so on-- and while I really don’t have much to say about it myself.
Except that this cracks me up:
(Especially considering she’d just broken up with his brother. In real life. Not Loki).
And this is adorable:
However, I did actually like the song itself! >.< I listened to it a lot especially at this beginning of this year, post-breakup. Yes, I did just admit that.
41 It's Time - Imagine Dragons
This song is okay but I wasn’t hugely fond of it and it got overplayed.
42 Love Somebody - Maroon 5
Meh.
43 Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men
This was on the list last year and although I briefly got sick of it from overplay, I still like it at this point. It still makes me think of Simon and River Tam. I don’t know. Shit makes sense in my head.
44 Home - Phillip Phillips
I didn’t hear this a lot but I liked it. More of this pop-folk revival thing I’ve been digging.
45 Some Nights - fun.
Another from last year.
46 I Need Your Love feat. Ellie Goulding - Calvin Harris
I liked “Lights” better but this was okay.
47 Beauty And A Beat feat. Nicki Minaj - Justin Bieber
No different thoughts from last year.
48 Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson
Fine but mostly forgettable.
49 The Other Side - Jason Derulo
Also fine but mostly forgettable.
50 Carry On - fun.
I didn’t like fun’s stuff as much this year. This was meh to me.
51 Gone Gone Gone - Phillip Phillips
I remember this more from last year. I do like this guy, I think, though.
52 Hold On We're Going Home - Drake
I remember hearing this occasionally and knowing it was Drake and vaguely liking it, though apparently not enough to learn the title or lyrics because I had to look this up :P
53 Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey
I have a bunch of songs from Lana Del Rey’s first album so I’ve been listening to her for a couple years, but this is the first song of hers I’ve heard on the radio. It’s not my favorite Lana song but it’s okay. The weird tragic lesbian suicide music video is kind of weird, though.
54 Sail - AWOLNATION
This may be my favorite song of the year, actually! It was never popular enough to be overplayed and I was always happy to hear it. Also, this Vine cracks me up more than it probably reasonably should:
55 Next to Me - Emeli Sand_
I liked this! This chick can actually sing, not just be enhanced by autotune . . .
56 22 - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is becoming more and more sour on me as she no longer represents some nostalgic avatar of my own lonely little teenage self but has become a twentysomething with a very different take on being a twentysomething than I do. My experience with age 22 was very different from this song and I hope to hell I was not anywhere near this obnoxious S:
57 Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys
I do like Alicia Key’s voice, but like many Alicia Key’s songs the lyrics were rather repetitive and kind of superficial.
Though it is funny to think that maybe there is about a girl who is literally on fire and Alicia Keys is just like “Hey guys check this shit out!”
58 Applause - Lady Gaga
I just remember there being a lot of talk about this song online and not realizing I’d actually heard it because I didn’t recognize it as Lady Gaga or it didn’t particularly stand out to me. However, the more I listened to it the more it grew on me. It’s not my favorite thing but I enjoy it well enough.
Also lol @ radio stations bleeping the line “One second I’m the kunst, then suddenly the kunst is me.” She’s either referring to the German word for “art” or the artist Jeff Koons whose art inspired her album cover (and probably both, tbh). Not cunt. Who the fuck pronounces cunt with that long of an “oo” sound, anyway?? Even outside of the US?
59 Troublemaker feat. Flo Rida - Olly Murs
I do not remember hearing this song at all.
60 Madness - Muse
Normally I like Muse, but this was too slow/boring or something for me, and it got overplayed. I didn’t care for it.
61 I Cry - Flo Rida
I only remember the chorus with the high voice in this. Otherwise, no thoughts.
62 #thatPOWER feat. Justin Bieber - will.i.am
Ugh songs have hashtags in the title now? That hashtag-laden music video for Blurred Lines wasn’t enough? Out of principle I’m not even going to look up what the fuck this song even is.
(And then along came #SELFIE . . . ).
63 Alive - Krewella
I don’t remember hearing this at all, but it’s not bad?
64 Demons - Imagine Dragons
This is a classic example of a 4-chord song. Which means I recognized that it was basically psychologically engineered to be a hit and liked it nonetheless, lol.
65 Best Song Ever - One Direction
Oh hey, One Direction actually stopped being this thing I heard about on the Internet and actually showed up on the radio! I thought this was fairly cute in your standard pop-y boy band way, making the same joke as Tenaciuous D (a song about a song that isn’t the song being sung).
The video is weird as hell, though . . .
66 We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
Same comments from last year still apply, though I heard this less.
67 Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) - Ne-Yo
Oh yes, I remember this from last year. LET ME LOVE YOU. AND I WILL LOVE YOU. AND I WILL LOVE YOU. AND I WILL LOVE YOU. AND . . . I guess he eventually then says “until you learn to love yourself” but it sounds like the whole song is just one line being repeated over and over again.
68 I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
I remember this song but I don’t remember having any particular feelings either way. It wasn’t my usual Jason Mraz song in that I only wanted to hear it when I was already happy and when I wasn’t it just pissed me off . . . it’s more like it just sort of faded into the background unnoticed?
69 Lego House - Ed Sheeran
I remember this but never had any particular feelings about it.
70 Here's To Never Growing Up - Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne still does stuff? I did not hear this.
71 Kiss You - One Direction
I don’t remember hearing this. It just sounds like One Direction. *Shrug.*
72 Counting Stars - OneRepublic
I think this has been much bigger in 2014 and I don’t know if I would have had much to say about it in December, but I do like it well enough now. It’s catchy. (Although the message of giving up on chasing fame and watching money burn never seems quite as profound when you know it’s sung by people who are already filthy rich . . . ).
73 Still Into You - Paramore
I didn’t hear this much but I liked it well enough. I do really like Hayley Williams’ voice.
74 Brave - Sara Bareilles
It makes me sad this is so much lower on the list compared to Roar, when it’s basically a much better version of the same song. It actually has original lyrics instead of smatterings of lines borrowed from other songs! I quite liked it.
75 Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
I feel like half the reason this song was so popular was that people were just discovering it in late summer when they were starting to get in the mood for fall, and everybody from YouTube fashion gurus to Bath and Body Works was capitalizing on the “Sweater Weather” catchphrase, lol.
I liked it well enough, though it did get pretty overplayed at one point. I also have a probably totally off-base theory that this song is about how much it sucks to live in California (and he’s only there because his hipster girlfriend wants to be). He hates the beach but he’s there anyway, and he keeps assuring his girlfriend that they can go someplace colder and he’ll keep her warm, it’ll be fine. There’s also a part of the video where they show an upside-down house which clearly references the upside-down property values of property in California :P
76 Let Her Go - Passenger
I was meh about this song in actual 2013 but liked it a lot in the immediate aftermath of my breakup in 2014 >.<
77 Everything Has Changed - Taylor Swift
Another I remember but never felt strongly about. The video is making me laugh, though; it’s so cheesy-romantic it would seem trite if it were teenagers or adults but that it’s two prepubescent kids makes it frankly weird. (This 8-year-old boy is reading the fucking Notebook? Lmao!). There’s aww-kid-crush and then there’s just straight-up projection fantasies . . .
78 Take Back The Night - Justin Timberlake
I don’t have much to say about this song except it’s weird the title shares the name of a widespread anti-rape protest and I don’t think that’s what the song is about?
79 Wild Ones feat. Sia - Flo Rida
I remember this from last year, it was okay.
80 Drive By - Train
Another from last year. I still maintain this song is about killing someone.
81 True Love feat. Lily Allen - P!nk
Both Lily Allen and P!nk have a similar cheeky, playful style about them so I liked the combination of the two of them together. I don’t remember hearing this a lot but I liked it when it was on.
82 Give It 2 U feat. Kenrick Lamar - Robin Thicke
The only Robin Thicke I remember is Blurred Lines and that was enough for one year.
83 Right Now - Rihanna
I remember this, never had much in the way of thoughts on it. Consider how low it is on the search results already it seems like most of the world has already forgot about it, too.
84 Slow Down - Selena Gomez
I don’t remember this, but it’s a minor key so it’s catchy to me.
85 Turn The Night Up - Enrique Iglesias
I don’t remember this at all.
86 Closer - Tegan & Sara
I don’t remember this but it’s catchy.
87 Gorilla - Bruno Mars
I didn’t hear this song on the radio, but only encountered it as a review by Todd in the Shadows, who amusingly pointed out just how ridiculous it is. Making love like gorillas really doesn’t sound all that appealing actually . . .
88 Work B**ch - Britney Spears
EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS ONLINE. And I don’t think I ever heard it once on the radio.
89 Chloe (You're The One I Want) - Emblem3
I don’t remember this at all.
90 White Walls feat. ScHoolboy Q and Hollis - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Did not hear this at all.
91 The A Team - Ed Sheeran
Remember this from last year, same thoughts.
92 #Beautiful feat. Miguel - Mariah Carey
No @ this hashtag nonsense.
93 Harlem Shake - Baauer
Lol I never heard this on the radio and was only familiar with it as the Internet meme. But I’m glad it made the list to preserve the meme in 2013 posterity XD
My favorite is still:
94 Berzerk - Eminem
Don’t remember this.
95 Fine China - Chris Brown
Not even going to dignify this artist with a single hit to his VEVO account.
96 Crooked Smile feat. TLC - J. Cole
I never heard this but I just watched the video and O.o
97 Beat It - Sean Kingston
I don’t remember this at all.
98 Little Things One Direction
More standard One Direction.
99 Crazy Kids - Ke$ha
I didn’t realize Ke$ha had done anything this year until Tory played me Timber upon picking me up from the airport before Christmas. I don’t know what this song is, but Timber is pretty hilarious.
100 People Like Us - Kelly Clarkson
Don’t remember at all.
List taken from: Z100's Top Songs of 2013
Previous years: 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007