Best of 2013 - Albums, Tracks, Movies and TV

2013 Top Albums

Probably the most difficult decision for me was selecting the number 1 album - I rate albums on a number of criteria including production values, songcraft, artistry, melody and overall memorability - over the sum total of all the tracks (I often consider additional promo tracks and b-sides too). Some albums are more immediately appealing but then fade away, whilst others burn slower into your consciousness but resonate for longer. In the end, the favourite albums are the ones you return to again and again and which gain the most plays over the whole year. The majority of end-of-year charts will have Yeezus in or near the very top, and even though I love Kanye’s latest, it’s not my favourite of the year, not even my current favourite Hip Hop album - that honour goes to Danny Brown’s ’Old’. English electronic artist Ema Joly - aka Emika - pipped them all with her sophomore opus - ’DVA’ which is an amazingly eclectic affair and of which the best tracks still remain to be released as videos / singles. Each of the top 10 has occupied my ’top favourite’ position at some point during this year - and it’s taken me several weeks to lay down an approximate order of preference, which would probably be different again if I compiled this list again in a week or two ...:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oscuSiHfbwo

1. DVA - Emika
2. Body Music - AlunaGeorge
3. The Bones of What You Believe - Chvrches
4. Shulamith - Poliça
5. Reflektor - Arcade Fire
6. Zeitgeist - Camo & Krooked
7. After Dark 2 - Italians Do It Better
8. Old - Danny Brown
9. Cut 4 Me - Kelela
10. Yeezus - Kanye West
11. Matangi - M.I.A.
12. Trouble - Natalia Kills
13. 1017 Thug - Young Thug
14. True Romance - Charli XCX
15. Night Time, My Time - Sky Ferreira
16. Rudimental - Rudimental
17. Black Water - Tinashe
18. Woman - Rhye
19. Overgrown - James Blake
20. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
21. Cupid Deluxe - Blood Orange
22. Pull My Hair Back - Jessy Lanza
23. Pure Heroine - Lorde
24. Outrun - Kavinsky
25. Ice on the Dune - Empire of the Sun
26. Somewhere Else - Sally Shapiro
27. Tracing Echoes - Bloodgroup
28. For Now I Am Winter - Ólafur Arnalds
29. Settle - Disclosure
30. Torus - Sub Focus
31. False Idols - Tricky
32. AM - Arctic Monkeys
33. Supersonic Pulse - Ralph Myerz
34. Samaris - Samaris
35. Inhale - Marsheaux
36. Afterlife - Sin Cos Tan
37. Primitive Techniques - The Upbeats
38. The Beat Becomes a Sound - Late Night Alumni
39. Electric Lady - Janelle Monáe
40. Shaking The Habitual - The Knife
41. A Long Way to Fall - Ulrich Schnauss
42. Lullabies for the Apocalypse - D.P. Kaufman
43. Tetra - C2C
44. Tomorrow’s World - Tomorrow’s World
45. Party Never Ends - Inna
46. Catching Fire Soundtrack - Various
47. If You Leave - Daughter
48. Thr!!!er - Chk! Chk! Chk!
49. MBV4 - My Bloody Valentine
50. Lumen - Natalia Clavier

2013 Top Tracks

I loved the Cyril Hahn Remix of ’Please Don’t Say You Love Me’ for most of the year, in the end it was pipped by an even more amazingly haunting song - ’Water Me’ by FKA Twigs (aka Tahliah Barnett) - her EP2 is amazing and I really hope she wins BBC’s Sound of 2014 - she so deserves it! Sophie’s ’Bipp’ is also a standout as is Sia’s near perfect pop song ’Elastic Heart’ which features on the great ’Catching Fire Soundtrack’.:

1. Water Me / How’s That - FKA Twigs
2. Please Don’t Say You Love Me (Cyril Hahn Remix) / Panic Cord (Hucci Remix) - Gabrielle Aplin
3. Bipp / Nothing More to Say - Sophie
4. Elastic Heart - Sia
5. Disintegration - Monarchy
6. Let’s Talk About Gender (Planningtorock Remix) - The Knife
7. After the Fall / Primary Colours - Emika
8. Royals / Million Dollar Bills - Lorde
9. Nothing’s Changed / Parenthesis - Tricky
10. Get Lucky / Giorgio by Moroder - Daft Punk
11. Move Around / All Night - Camo & Krooked
12. Problem / Saturday Night - Natalia Kills
13. Sad Eyes / Affection - Crystal Castles
14. Open / Last Dance - Rhye
15. Annabel / Drew - Goldfrapp
16. 25 Bucks Ft. Purity Ring / Torture - Danny Brown
17. Black Skinhead / On Sight - Kanye West
18. 2 Cups Stuffed / Yeah Yeah - Young Thug
19. Chain My Name / Tiff - Poliça
20. Reflektor / It’s Never Over - Arcade Fire
21. Chamakay / You’re Not good Enough - Blood Orange
22. Retrograde / Our Love Comes Back - James Blake
23. Keep Moving / Giddy - Jessy Lanza
24. You (Ha Ha Ha) / Just Desserts (with Marina D) - Charli XCX
25. Gun / Recover - Chvrches
26. Burn - Ellie Goulding
27. What Love is Made Of (Felix Da Housecat Remix) / 5AM - Katy B
28. White Noize (Hud Mo Remix) / You & Me - Disclosure
29. Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys
30. Back 2 the Wild / What A Difference Your Love Makes (Chic Bootleg) - Basement Jaxx
31. Young & Beautiful (Kaskade Remix) / Summer Time Sadness (Asadinho Vocal Mix) - Lana Del Rey
32. Work (Burns Purple Rain Remix) / Bounce - Iggy Azalea
33. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) / Where are we now? - David Bowie
34. The Way ft. Mac Miller (Seamus Haji Remix) Ariana Grande
35. Hold On (Fred Falke Remix) - Nervo
36. The Other Side (Fred Falke Remix) - Jason Derulo
37. Youth (Seamus Haji Remix) - Foxes
38. Safe With You feat. Malin - Alex Metric & Jacques Lu Cont
39. So Good To Me - Chris Malinchak
40. Sonnentanz feat. Will Heard - Klangkarussel
41. Eat Sleep Rave Repeat - Fat Boy Slim & Riva Starr
42. Nonstop! / Gonna Get You- Sharam Jey
43. Bigger Than Prince - Green Velvet
44. Fall / Nothing is Written in the Stars - Bloodgroup
45. King and Lionheart / Silhouettes - Of Monsters and Men
46. Adios / EVery Time - Natalia Clavier
47. Roar / Unconditionally - Katy Perry
48. Everything / Senseless - Maya Jane Coles
49. Attracting Flies - AlunaGeorge
50. Axis - Pet Shop Boys

2013 Top Movies

I was lucky enough to catch American Hustle in advance of its 2014 UK roll-out (one benefit of living in London). Before then I was pretty sure Gravity in 3D would take the honours. American Hustle though with its perfect cast and acting, amazing soundtrack, phenomenal production values and superb screenplay (albeit slightly week but factually correct ending!) - which combines a smorgasbord of emotions - but is heavily laced with humour - and produces a kind of Goodfellas for this current generation. Les Miserables - which I saw near the start of the year also deserves mention as it was beautifully staged and deeply emotionally resonant - I even felt that Russel Crowe’s not-quite-perfect delivery suited the character portrayed.:

1. American Hustle
2. Gravity
3. Les Miserables
4. Hunger Games - Catching Fire
5. Blue Jasmine
6. Behind the Candelabra
7. Django Unchained
8. The Hobbit - Desolation of Smaug
9. The Way Way Back
10. Much Ado About Nothing

2013 Top TV

Even though its UK selection is somewhat slim - Netflix totally nailed it for me this year - cementing its reputation as the main contender for television of the future. I enjoyed all of Netflix’s original content - Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Arrested Development 4, and even parts of Hemlock Grove. Netflix also premiered Breaking Bad in the UK - one of the most perfectly judged TV shows of all time. It still does not beat my all-time favourite ’Twin Peaks’ but it most likely occupies my current number 2 all-time TV slot.:

1. Breaking Bad 5 (US)
2. Orange is the New Black (US)
3. House of Cards (US remake)
4. Borgen 3 (Denmark)
5. Utopia (UK)
6. Banshee (US)
7. Les Revenants (The Returned)(France)
8. Justified 4 (US)
9. Scandal 2/3 (US)
10. Ripper Street 2 (UK)