Monday, December 30, 2013

2013 in Review: Music


I bought 180 songs in 2013 (same amount as last year!!), including four complete albums (last year I only bought one). The albums were all from bands I also saw in concert:



Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob More poppy than their earlier albums, this is one I can listen to start to finish. The beats are great for cleaning house ;)


The National - Trouble Will Find Me  The National is showing up in all my favorite things lately. They were on The Mindy Project. They had a song on the Catching Fire soundtrack. And they sang The Rains of Castamere on Game of Thrones. They are amazing and I love this entire album.


MS MR - Secondhand Rapture At first I was only into a couple of the songs, but upon repeated listens, I really fell in love with the catchy lyrics, melodic hooks, and sultry pop atmosphere.


Bastille - Bad Blood My pick for best album of 2013. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that I am certain Dan and I have the same muse. So many of the themes he explores are present in my forthcoming novel CHASING BEFORE. So much so that I am gobsmacked. See especially Bad Blood, Flaws, and Things We Lost in the Fire.


2013 songs on heavy rotation (indicates top 5)

*Things We Lost in the Fire – Bastille
*Hurricane – MS MR
Fireproof – The National
Love They Say – Tegan and Sara
*Midnight Drive – Still Corners
*Overdose – Little Daylight
*Lies - Chvrches
Beauty Queen – Foxes
Youth – Daughter
The One That Got Away – The Civil Wars
Get Lucky – Daft Punk
Safe and Sound – Capitol Cities
Troublemaker – Camera Obscura
Lilies – Bat for Lashes
If So – Atlas Genius
Sweater Weather – The Neighborhood
Drift – RZA (from Pacific Rim soundtrack)
Mirror - Ellie Goulding (from Catching Fire soundtrack)
Dream - The Boxer Rebellion
Waiting for Something to Happen - Veronica Falls

Favorite finds from previous years (indicates top 5)

*Deadlines and Commitments – The Killers (2012)
*Harbor Lights – A Silent Film (2012)
Youth Without Youth – Metric (2012)
Myth – Beach House (2012)
Let Her Go – Passenger (2012)
No Rest - Dry the River (2012)
Afternoon - Youth Lagoon (2011)
*A Little Piece - The Jezabels (2010)
*On The Surface – Civil Twilight (2010)
Girls Like You – The Naked and the Famous (2010)
Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap (2009)
No Direction – Longwave (2008)
Lights Out – Santigold (2008)
*Satellite – Guster (2006)
Le vent nous portera – Noir Desir (2001)

Live Music in 2013

+ Mumford & Sons - Dusseldorf, Germany - April (Highlight: none. I absolutely hated the venue, Mitsubishi Halle, and will never attend a concert there again. The terrible venue affected my overall enjoyment of the concert)
+ Tegan and Sara - Frankfurt, Germany - June (highlight: Call it Off)
+ The National - Luxembourg - November (highlight: Bloodbuzz, Ohio)
+ MS MR - Frankfurt, Germany - November (highlight: how excited they were to be on stage. Loved it!)
+ Bastille - Luxembourg - November (highlight: umm... during Flaws, Dan came into the audience, touched me on the shoulder and said hello. Note that I was the only person sitting (in a bar stool) in the whole place due to my recent surgery. It was pretty surreal.)
+ I had tickets to see The Light Princess in London, but couldn't go due to my hospitalization. Major Bummer. Glad that Tori Amos is embarking on a tour in 2014 and I already have tickets to five shows.



Have any recommendations for me based on my taste? Would love to hear them!!

6 comments:

Beth S. said...

Despite your bad experience at the Mumford and Sons concert, I still REALLY want to see them in concert.

Wow! Five Tori Amos shows? I haven't seen a Tori show in years. I think Johnathon and I were engaged when we saw a Tori show last. I need to remedy that.

Lenore Appelhans said...

Beth - If I had actually been able to see them it would have been one thing, but nope. I might as well have been in a crowded airport listening to my iPod, catching random snatches of the band on a tv screen. That's what it felt it like.

Kailana said...

I am so beyond behind in music. I am kind of impressed I even know who some of these people are... I think I might bookmark this to explore more.

bermudaonion said...

I went to one concert last year - The Black Keys. Can you believe Mumford and Sons came to our little town?

Alison Can Read said...

Great list and great taste in music. I haven't gotten into the new Tegan and Sara album like the old ones. I should give it more time. I adore the new National album. I'm going to see them in concert in February at the Sydney Opera House (super excited...coincides with our trip to Australia).

Are you an Alt-J fan? I really like their album. Also spent a lot of time listening to the new Vampire Weekend and The Mowgli's albums.

Jennifer @ BookShelfery said...

I see we have similar tastes in music. This may well come in handy at BEA!

I love Mumford and still want to see a show.