So how did 2013 stack up in terms of culture in my life? I confess that my interests don't reflect any kind of coherent sensibility but I did enjoy a bunch of stuff: music, TV, films, books, and whatever. Others have made this point before, but the way in which popular culture is fragmented is really striking these days. In other words, it is possible to be fairly engaged with music, movies, TV, etc. and still not know what the hell is going on with
other people's preferences. This is most starkly reflected when I look at year-end lists from some websites, and I find (once again) that not only have I not
heard or
seen or
read what is considered the best of the year, I have not even heard
of the people on these lists.
Let's go to a fairly mainstream middle brow list, for example, something like
Entertainment Weekly. According to them, the
top 10 best albums included those by Earl Sweatshirt, Pusha T, Local Natives, Paramore, and Kacey Musgrave. I don't know who those people are. Among the others on the list, I have heard of The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus, and Drake, but I have not heard any music by them. So that brings me the remaining two acts: Vampire Weekend and Kanye West. I have heard their music and I also like them.
And then you go the top 10 singles, and it's got stuff by Lorde, Palma Violets, and Florida George Line. I don't know who they are. .. Also on the list is Haim. I know that hipsters like Haim, but honestly I can't bring myself to listen to them. Conceptually they just sound awful. Katy Perry and Rihanna are also on the list. They are young people who sing about young people things, and that's OK.
Anyway, I'm feeling a bit lazy, so what I'll do is just six songs that I listened to a lot this year.
This song by
Portugal. The Man entitled "Modern Jesus" is wonderful. Reminds me a bit of Alt-J, the kind of lush pop that time-traveled forward from the seventies to 2013, while picking up a few technological tricks on the way.
This following song, "Step," by
Vampire Weekend is clever (in the way that Elvis Costello might be clever) but not clever for its own sake (in the way that Elvis Costello might be). It's just a pretty song. You don't honestly need to know anything about what he's singing, but beneath is a lot of complexity, especially in the musical arrangement. The vocal melody seems to head in odd directions. The musical instruments are strange but pretty in that same way that the Beatles' "Penny Lane" walked that fine line between the two.
I listen to
Boards of Canada a lot, especially when I write. This song, "Palace Posy," from their new album sounds, as one might expect, like music from a soundtrack of a movie that was made on a different planet 5,000 years in the future.
The new album by
Deerhunter is an anomaly in their discography, given its slightly distorted production value. But the songs are still pop gems. This song, "T.H.M.," keep swirling in my head. The riff is simple, elegant, beautiful. I imagine that this was a song on an album that Television might have put on
Adventure.
And because I sometimes feel like jumping out of my skin, here is
Nine Inch Nail's "Copy of A." Remarkably understated for a NIN track and much more electro/techno in feel. The whole album is one with clean lines, nothing distorted or broken, very sparse, very cool.
And finally,
Arcade Fire's "Reflektor," the opening track on the new album. Honestly, forget the hype and all of that. This is a great song with great lyrics. They somehow managed to combine late 1970s disco with something contemporary. A relationship song you can dance to.
