2013 Scene Awards - Man of the Year

Let's hear it for the boys? Yep. Today's Scene Award goes out to the solo men who we thought delivered the goods in 2013. Some made us laugh, some made us cry, some made other men look better than what they are and a whole lot of them made some very good music. Here's our five picks for Man of the Year. Enjoy!

MAN OF THE YEAR:

#5. Flynt Flossy

Flynt Flossy started out as a long haired hippy with a love of cycling. He released a catchy little song with a disco rendition of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, but it wasn’t until he received a Hollywood makeover that he experienced true fame. This makeover involved wearing a suit at all occasions, along with sunglasses indoors, and being twerked on by the popstar of the moment. Oh shit, wait. That’s not Flynt Flossy, that’s Robin Thicke...

Flynt Flossy is the moustached genius and founder of Turquoise Jeep Records. He’s experienced success thanks to hits such as ‘Lemme Smang It’ and ‘Did I Mention I Like to Dance’. Yes, I’m being serious.


My love for Flynt Flossy bloomed in 2013. I’d been living in a technological blank hole for 18 months without Internet. Instead of looking up cats or porn when I finally moved into a new pad with ADSL2+ I developed another past time – watching Flynt Flossy film clips on YouTube. Can you blame me?


Mr Flossy released two songs this year – ‘Naughty Farmer’ and my personal favourite ‘Treat Me Like a Pirate’. Classic lyrics include “deep sea diving searching for her treasure”, “show me your treasure chest, move it around”, “her thighs so thick she kicks mules for a living”, and “when you board my ship I got a no hand salute, I hope you don’t mind I’m in my birthday suit”. Both film clips are absolutely hilarious, and I probably shouldn’t own up to the number of times I have watched them. Rest assured; it’s a lot.


Is Flynt Flossy serious? Is his moustache real? I only hope that he ventures to Australia in 2014 so I can find answers to these questions. (Katie Langley)

 

#4. Matt Corby

Did you know Matt Corby was on Australian Idol? Don’t hold it against him. I haven’t, especially seeing as I didn’t like him on Idol at all. It seems though, the ones that don’t make it to the finals always seem to make the best music as proven by the likes of Lisa Mitchell, Ngaiire and, well, Matt Corby. When I heard he had some music doing the rounds I had no interest in listening. I ignored the constant demands of a workmate to check him out as I’d already dismissed him as another pretty boy who would potentially be making boring, commercial pop. Boy was I wrong. In a moment of weakness I clicked play on a video of Matt performing ‘Brother’ on Triple J's Like A Version. Whoah… I mean WHOOOOOAH… I was floored, proved wrong, brought to tears, shaken up and forced to think about what I had done. Man alive that was one emotional ride. 


It was this singular moment that sent me on a spiraling YouTube frenzy of anything Matt Corby I could find, instantly going from indifferent to obsessed fan. I wonder what would have become of Matt had he gone on to win Idol? Would his journey have led him to the same point to create such powerful music or would be he making that commercial pop crap? Either way his voice is one of the most powerful instruments my ears have ever had the pleasure of directing sound vibrations to my brain bits. He embodies the serenity and beauty possessed by the late Jeff Buckley with the gravel and spit of Jimmy Barnes with the ability to transition effortlessly between the two. I’m continually left speechless when listening to him and left severely jealous that my own abilities do not match. Matt Corby you transformed me from a ‘don’t care’ kinda guy to a ‘need more NEED MORE’ kinda guy in one song. You deserve Man of the Year for me. (Nayt Housman)

  

#3. Vance Joy

Ok, I admit it. It’s that one song that got me nominating Vance Joy as Man of the Year. 'Riptide' is just one of those songs that has been played on super high rotation in my house since its release in March. I don’t know what it is but I suspect I keep listening to it as it contains everything a good pop song should: great rhythm, a simple hook and quirky yet memorable lyrics that you just need to sing along to and a gorgeous easy to listen to voice provided by Joy. The beautiful EP that this song is from God Loves You When You’re Dancing has been a huge success (including going Double Platinum in Australia) and has seen Joy embark on a tour outside of Australia and gain notoriety in both the UK and the US. I recently read 'Riptide' was used for an American ad campaign advertising Go Pros. Hopefully though, Vance’s career will stretch beyond commercial television and product placement and he will focus on making great music for us all to hear. Meanwhile, as a fellow Australian (and Melbournite), I am proud to say that one of ours is out there making waves across the globe with his music. (Lou Endicott)

Runner-Up: Pharrell Williams

He’s part of one of my favourite hip hop acts of all time, he has worked with so many artists on so many projects, produced, written or guested on so many chart topping songs, it would probably be easier for me to list the things Pharrell Williams hasn’t done, but I write on a blog and words are my thing so let’s just briefly talk about why this guy has been so important to music in 2013. Love or hate it, there is one song that has ensured Pharrell Williams be remembered for this year and that song is ‘Blurred Lines’. I know I’m going to get vilified for saying it, but the facts are the facts, that song is currently the biggest selling song of the year, it was number one in at least fourteen countries and chances are, if you were alive at any time in ‘13, you’ve heard it. While the music industry is often based on marketing and controversy, 'Blurred Lines’ didn’t sell all those copies solely because of the film clip or just because of the guy who sung it (how many people actually knew the name Robin Thicke before March this year? Not so many) and regardless of the controversies that (offensive?) clip caused, regardless of the blatantly overt chauvinism of the (sometimes/often offensive) lyrics, the reason it sold is because…dare I say it? It’s a really good pop song. The voice you hear at the beginning that manages to get itself caught in the very back reaches of your mind; “everybody get up”? That’s Pharrell Williams. The production, the unusual collection of beats and the addictive collection of hooks and melodies that have made a song that defines a year are all the work of Pharrell Williams. Every best of, every collection of songs, every summer party of 2013 will include that song and they’ll all include Pharrell Williams.

If that track wasn’t enough to convince you how important he was this year; I have one more thing to say and if you don’t know this song, you should read our blog more often…“We’re up all night to get lucky” (Jo Michelmore)

WINNER: Eminem

He's Slim Shady, yes... he's still the real Shady. And the real Slim Shady stood up and delivered in 2013 with the sequel to his most successful album, The Marshall Mathers LP2. While Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z returned with underwhelming albums (that still sold squillions) and Kanye's bizarro life and integration into the Kardashian clan cost him points, Eminem just went about doing what he does best and released some damn good rap music. He's also ended the year on top throughout the world with the catchy as hell Rihanna duet, 'The Monster', which I've begun exclaiming is, "my jam!" when it comes on, despite no connection to the lyrical content. At all. For the most part, Eminem has maintained his super serious grown up persona and seems focused solely on making music, touring the world and being a good father (which he used to tell us in every two verses out of three, right?). 

As the most successful artist of the 2000s, at least in terms of commercial viability, Eminem further cemented his already legendary status by scoring his 7th UK #1 in a row with The Marshall Mathers LP2, in a first for an American artist. As a rapper, he seems to have gotten better with age. In his more comic (?) period - you know the one I'm talking about *cough* 'Just Lose It' *cough* - a bit of that Eminem magic disappeared, but those days are long  gone and we've got the free flowing goodness of 'Berzerk' and 'Rap God' to, uh, just lose it to. The year might be 2013, but Eminem took us back in time to the early 2000s and this music fan was loving every minute of it. I might not be the world's biggest rap fan (Drake sucks! YOLO is the dumbest thing ever! YALA!), but I'll always make time for Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Eminem... yeah, that guy. He's still at the top of his game and shows no signs of slowing down. I'll leave you with this insightful moment from the song 'So Much Better'...

"Who do you think you are, bitch? Guess it's time for me to get the dust off and pick myself up off the carpet. But I'll never say the L word again, I L-L-L-L... Lesbian. Ah, I hope you hear this song and go into a cardiac arrest, my life would be so much better." 

Yep. (Matt Bond)

2012 Winner:

Jack White

Runner-Up: Frank Ocean

2011 Winner:

Gotye

Runner-Up: Justin Vernon (Bon Iver)  

2010 Winner:

Kanye West