The Year in Songs

13 of the best acts and songs of 2013 and some of the oldies but goodies revisited this year.

2013 has been an interesting year for music...From mainstream pop revelations to newcomers on their way to stardom to dependable artists and their dependably good music, here is a rundown of 13 songs I've enjoyed, made memories to and most definitely will keep on replay even when 2013 is over. Enjoy!

J. Cole feat. Miguel Power Trip

 For Pete's sake, homie, pull it together

                  Just fuck her one time and be through it forever

But...

You can't sing, rap, write a song about love playing you like a game and make it sound, honestly sexy and effortlessly cool. J. Cole does just that. When Miguel starts singing in the chorus, followed immediately by J. Cole's persistent "we are, we are, we are...", you know you got yourself a song you'll be playing on those kinds of  nights, when all your broken heart could do is walk the streets and those orange lights alone and some drink in you. One of the-to borrow the term, sickest hip-hop, RnB hits this year. 

Sam Smith Nirvana

Oh you take me to Nirvana
I don't think this will last
But you're here in my arms

Listening to Sam Smith soar through  high notes and give justice to all the fantastic musical build-up of Nirvana's verses makes you want to cry. It's grand in terms of vocals, but humble because of its intimate, it's just-you-and-me lyrics. Definitely makes the perfect pair: handsome, dramatic vocals courtesy of Sam Smith and great, unbridled writing. It's one of 2013's little known gems of a sad love song. 

Lady Gaga feat. R. Kelly Do What U Want

Sometimes I'm scared I suppose
If you ever let me go
I would fall apart
If you break my heart
So just take my body
And don't stop the party

Regardless what people say about Gaga, she still had an awesome year. ART POP is a serious (dancey) contender in the musical arena and people ought to give her more credit for versatility AND keeping all things Gaga still intact. Teaming up with the smooth R. Kelly on this one-the way he sang his verse was just perfect, makes it an addicting song, you'll have to stop yourself from listening to it after a while. Who knew someone as hardcore Pop as Lady Gaga would make great music with a straight-up RnB singer like R. Kelly.? That's why I still anticipate Lady Gaga...

Phoenix Trying To Be Cool

Cool
I'm just trying to be cool
It's all because of you
Some fanatic attitude
We're both on

Phoenix has always been an intelligent band. They set the standard for what people should be listening to next. Up and coming bands that fall under good, are paying homage to the Phoenix sound, and you couldn't blame them. Trying To Be Cool is poetic, mellow but undeniably done up in true Phoenix fashion, never missing  out on the energetic beat. Plus you can't ignore the well orchestrated music video. Watch and repeat.

One Direction Little Black Dress

Little Black Dress 
just walked into the room
Makin' heads turn
Can't stop looking at you

To us Directioners (yes, late bloomer here), we're all quite aware how much the boys have grown up. One Direction is slowly peeling off the bubble gum trading it in for new spirits, borrowing from 80s rock n' roll. Little Black Dress is an example of their new sound. Simply written but catchy and still fun like most 1D songs, credits go to Louis and Liam who co-wrote the track and with credits to all their more mature, rugged voices combined, it's definitely one of the better songs off their new album. 

Miguel feat. Kendrick Lamar

How many drinks would it take you to leave with me?
Yeah, you look good and I got money 
but I don't wanna waste my time

Miguel had a great 2013. He's finally warming up under the spotlight he's long deserved and talent like his should never go unnoticed. How Many Drinks is just one of his many, growing hits, that reminds people how sexy should sound like in music. And what's so amusing about this song too is despite its honesty (the lyrics will help you understand), it doesn't sound trashy at all. So, how many drinks will it really take you to leave with me? Good job, good job.

Ariana Grande feat. Big Sean Right There

And if you never change,

I'm gonna stay right there

By now you'd think every whistling, high-hitting female singer has dried up the Mariah Carey comparison, right? Until Ariana Grande made it to the big leagues. The Nickelodeon star does have the chops (and courage) to cover a Mariah Carey hit like Emotions and make it sound like we're back to the early 90s, when Mariah had cute, curly hair. I'm a fan of Ariana because I'm a Mariah Carey fan and also because her timing is perfect. At a time crowded with Mileys, Gagas, Katys, Taylors and everyone else in between, Ariana's sound- the sweet fusion of RnB, Hip Hop and Pop, will take you back to the late 90s to early 2000s when this was the sound of choice. While it's not new, it's refreshing. She proves how timing is indeed everything. We're counting down Ariana. The skies real soon.

Midspiration

Nike fan for life. This video is genius, but probably could've been better with less talk.

Songs could definitely perk you up the same way coffee does for people like myself who swear the world by it. Other times, when you slide straight to the middle of the week, you search for other things to keep you motivated--and not just cause you want to head straight to Friday night. Here are some cool videos I've gathered from around the web that'll give you that extra inspiration and also keep you looking forward to, well, more inspiring days.

The Spectacular Now is a book. And it's one those book-to-silver screen cases where you learn of the film first before the book (for me). Believe me when I say, I haven't, in the 23 years I've been alive, have felt this "melty" and fuzzy over these two pairing up. Kilig is the Tagalog term for it, that probably won't ever find its counterpart in the English language. Miles Teller (one of the cool kids on Project X) reminds me of Shia LaBeouf-spell check, and Shailene Woodley, I've loved since The Descendants. When Miles tells Shailene she's "absolutely beautiful" and she just erupts in this candid laughter, it feels like they're not in a movie at all. It's actually like watching classmates fall in love. And that's adorable. It's reminiscent of many t-shirt-wearing, simple-town America love stories that just stay with you until you're spent. It also helps that it's a coming-of-age tale that runs the whole spectrum of life experiences from falling in love to finding ones identity, to enjoying youth, the works. I bet my non-existent ass on it, that this soundtrack will be good. If not, that's a shame. Watch this and watch these two rocket to the skies faster than you'd expect. PAY ATTENTION!



I haven't seen anything as flawlessly edited a YouTube series as Jacks Gap's. Had they been Filipinos, I'll be rallying outside their doors to sign exclusive to W, then again...But yes. It helps that the two-twins Jack and Finn Harries look boy band-ready, but they also have substance. They're funny and they edit their videos the way YouTube videos should be edited. They've got their young girls screaming for them and their early 20s as a market and when you have a platform such as Jacks Gap-which is basically a video blog of their life and things they're interested in, you could start competing with celebrities. At least, that's how we do it here in Manila. I'm not yet sure if there are Filipino YouTubers out there who could produce something as clean, as consistent and as focused as these guys.