Top 113 Songs of 2013 - Honourable Mentions

Here comes December. No, wait... it's here! Which means It's My Kind of Scene is almost ready to present to you our list of the Top 113 Songs of 2013. Over the next twelve days, we'll be revisiting our favourite tracks of a year that kicked all kinds of music butt. It was a year of 16 year old music dynamos, French robot people, twerking like only a white girl can and so much more. While the international music scene has been a little bit cray and a whole lot Miley (and a little less Gaga, Beyonce and Britney), the Australian music scene has exploded with exciting new talent that are ready to rock your socks off. You're going to be meeting a lot of them over the next week and a bit. Sadly, not all of our favourite tracks can make the list... so we thought we'd offer a little preview with some honourable mentions. If songs this good didn't make the cut, just think how awesome the ones that did must be. Now go forth, listen and get your white girl twerk on with these 10 brilliant tracks from 2013!

Honourable Mentions:

Worthy

by Jacob Banks

The time has come for fate to decide,

If a part of me is even worthy. 

Rah Rah Radio

by The Delta Riggs

And she said you should go back to where you come from,

She said you should go back to where you come from. 

Hard Out Here

by Lily Allen

And if you can't detect the sarcasm, you've misunderstood...

Down On Life

by Elliphant

I could use a break, me need to go down, down, down, down on life,

I need you to take all my shadows for a walk tonight. 

Over The Love

by Florence + The Machine 

And I'll sing from the piano, tear my yellow dress and,

Cry and cry and cry... over the love of you.  

Fun Fact - Florence Welch has made the top 10 of our end of year countdowns dating back to 2009, with 'Cosmic Love' hitting #1 in 2009, 'Heavy In Your Arms' was #9 in 2010, #3 with 'Shake It Out in 2011 and #7 last year with 'Sweet Nothing', her collaboration with Calvin Harris. 2013 will be the first year Ms Welch has been absent from the upper echelon of our chart. Spoiler alert? 

Glory Days

by Iluka

I'll never let it go, no I'll never let it go...

Motorway

by Little Boots

They have lives, they have plans,

They could never understand. 

The Sound

by Ariela Jacobs

All I can hear is the sound of how we bid farewell.

Ohio

by Kingswood

She's got pretty almond eyes, I was taken by surprise,

She was standing at the show, 

Why? I guess I'll never know.

Fun Fact - The video for 'Ohio' has Kira Puru in it. Everything is better with Kira Puru. Thelma Plum makes an appearance as Puru's badass lady friend and you just might see a whole lot more of her throughout this countdown. Or will you? The drama... the excitement. What?   

Young and Beautiful

by Lana Del Rey

Hot summer nights, mid July,

When you and I were forever wild.

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The Top 113 Songs of 2013 countdown begins tomorrow! 

 

Top 25 - 7 April, 2013

Chela!

Songs of the Week, 07/04/13 from itsmykindofscene on 8tracks Radio.

1. Crystal Fighters - Wave (NEW)
2. Curxes - Further Still
3. Chela - Guts (NEW)
4. Asta - I Need Answers

5. Little Boots - Broken Records (NEW)
6. Chvrches - Recover (Re-Entry)
7. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young





8. The Love Junkies - Maybelene (NEW)

9. Primal Scream - It's Alright, It's Ok (NEW)
10. Fever Pitch - It's In My Veins (NEW)
11. Vasco Da Gama - Brigadiers (NEW)
12. NERVO - Hold On

13. Little Daylight - Name In Lights (NEW)
14. George Maple - Fixed
15. Max Frost - White Lies (NEW)
16. Ginger and The Ghost - One Type of Dark
17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilege

18. Lana Del Rey - Chelsea Hotel No. 2 (NEW)
19. The Velvets - Shoots You Down
20. Justin Timberlake - Mirrors (Re-Entry)
21. Dragonette - My Legs (NEW)
22. M83 ft. Susanne Sundfor - Oblivion

23. Florrie - Live A Little (NEW)
24. Active Child - Evening Ceremony
25. Popstrangers - What Else Could They Do? (NEW)

Top 25 - 17 March, 2012

Say hello to The Velvets!

Songs of the Week, 17/03/13 from itsmykindofscene on 8tracks Radio.

1. Asta - I Need Answers (NEW)
2. Little Boots - Motorway (NEW)
3. The Velvets - Shoot You Down (NEW)
4. Colour Bomb - Beautiful Parade
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilege

6. Wild Belle - Love Like This (NEW)





7. The Sun and The Sky - Already One (NEW)
8. The Trouble With Templeton - Like A Kid
9. Owl Eyes - Closure (NEW)
10. The Polyphonic Spree - You Don't Know Me



 

11. Natalia Kills - Problem (NEW)
12. Texas Tea - The Alphabet Song






 

13. Nosaj Thing - Eclipse/Blue (NEW)
14. Bastille - Pompeii (NEW)

15. Katy Steele - Fire Me Up (NEW)





16. The Raffaellas - Words (NEW)
17. Ngaiire ft. Nai Palm - Dirty Hercules
18. George Maple - Uphill (NEW) 
19. All The Colours - Second To None

20. Ghost Loft - Seconds (NEW)
21. Major Lazer ft. Ezra Koenig - Jessica (NEW)
22. Laura Marling - Where Can I Go (NEW)
23. Foals - Late Night (NEW)





24. Crystal Fighters - Separator
25. Forever's Gonna Start Tonight - Impossible (NEW)

New Music Monday #43

MARCH FIRES
by Birds of Tokyo (2013)

Australia has been waiting for what feels like forever for a band to fill the void left in the wake of Silverchair and Powderfinger's early retirements. That's not to say there haven't been good Aussie bands the past couple of years, but Tame Impala works in that whole psychedelic rock genre that is never going to capture the attention of an entire nation and The Temper Trap are just too indie (tindie) for their own good. There hasn't been that band that the entire country can go, "yeah they're alright." It would seem that band is now Birds of Tokyo. Fourth album, March Fires, captures that sound you're going to want to sing along to in a stadium, down at the pub or at a barbecue. This is Australian rock and you know what? It's pretty darn good. You've got two impressive anthems in the singles 'This Fire' and 'Lanterns;' songs that cover all the bases and will be played on the "alternative" Triple J, the "hip" Nova stations and your boganish AuStereo ones. Deservedly so. These songs are catchy slices of rock perfection that will take a long time to tire of, no matter how much they're smashed down your throat. Or ears... whatever. 

'Liquid Arms' kicks us off, building in intensity gradually throughout and creating a 'big time' feel. Ian Kenny's final cry of "please don't wake up" pretty much establishes him as the premiere frontman in Aus rock. 'This Fire' makes that a fact. Not every track can be a winner though and here we arrive at 'When The Night Falls Quiet.' While not bad, it's not exactly memorable when stacked against many of the other numbers. "Coz we're all in this riot, we riot as one." Urgh. No. We most certainly do not. Angsty teens will eat it up though. And some will eat their feelings. What? Giving 'Lanterns' its own instrumental and named introduction in 'Motionless' is slightly confusing, but it's a solid intro to the album's standout track. "On we march with a midnight song, we will light our way with our lanterns on." Much better writing. That whole 'rioting as one' thing is forgiven. Follow-up, 'The Others' is a dreamy indie-rock track that keeps the March Fires momentum going. It also keeps this 'fighting against something, but we don't quite know what exactly' theme at the forefront. It worked for Muse and it's working well enough for Birds of Tokyo. 

'Boy' is another standout track, mostly because it manages to deviate slightly from the standard and enter ballad-proper territory. There's no attempt to create an epic, anthemic tune and it works all the better for it. An intimate conversation with Kinney's inner-child, 'Boy' walks that line between heartbreak and joy so well, you'll find yourself coming back for more. "Even on cold days, my door's always open, where grey is enough light, to colour my world." Did I say 'Lanterns' was the best song on the album? I was wrong. It's 'Boy.' Final song 'Hounds' brings us to a well-written, calm and quiet conclusion. A surprise, as I was sure they'd attempt to go out with a final bang, but 'Hounds' is actually the perfect way to send us on our merry way (or back to the start). March Fires isn't a perfect album by any stretch of the imagination, but there's far too much to like that outweighs any minor negatives. That's probably the best way to describe the album... it's extremely likeable, much like Birds of Tokyo themselves. Which is exactly why they're well on the road to becoming the Australian band with a special place in the entire nation's heart. I'm expecting the ARIA's to solidify this notion come awards season. 

Matt Bond gives March Fires four Michael Hutchence's out of five...

 

Motorway

by Little Boots

Album: Nocturnes (May, 2013)

Victoria Hesketh, known better by the moniker Little Boots, combines touches of old Hollywood romance with classy electronica on 'Motorway.' You've got the atmospheric strings opening the track alongside distant beats, before fading away to introduce the starlet of the piece; Little Boots herself. From there it's all neon lights fading in the distance as two lovers leave what they knew behind for a life on the open road. "Meet me on the motorway, together we can make our great escape." On the surface the story might sound familiar, but LB's purring voice makes it all seem brand new. "We can drive away, meet me on the motorway, it's just me and you." Romantic-electro pop. I like the sound of that and I'm loving the sound of new Little Boots. Nocturnes might just blow us all away. 

Matt Bond gives 'Motorway' four Lady Gaga's out of five...     

Body Party

by Ciara

Album: One Woman Army (2013)

"My body is your party baby, nobody's invited but you baby." Ciara then mentions going down a couple of thousand times and that's pretty much the whole song. We get it... you're sexier than all of us. You're the definition of a lady in the streets, but a freak in the bed. "You can't keep your hands off me, touch me right there - rock my body." Yeah, yeah... everyone wishes their girlfriend was hot like you. It kinda makes you look like a bitch to rub that fact in everyone's face, love. The song? Rubbish. Ciara is mighty fine though, right? 

Matt Bond gives 'Body Party' two Ke$ha's out of five...

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

The Alphabet Song

by Texas Tea

Album: Sad Summer Hits (2012)

Oh my, Texas Tea, this is too much! Could you possibly get any more awesome? I didn't know what to expect for the clip to what is probably my favourite song on their fabulous album, Sad Summer Hits; but I do know I wasn't expecting this. The beautiful Kate Jacobson and her baby goat/rabbit/sheep (what is that?) sitting on her lap, the handsome Ben Dougherty, sitting shoeless, right across the creek; all the while being watched by a menagerie of puppet animals, it's like Jim Henson gone indie country. The spiteful lyrics are balanced with the absolute charm of the zoo and that little turtle tapping his foot with Ben (foot, I assume? Do turtles have feet or is that tortoises? This always confuses me) while swinging his head; this is so cute I almost want to spew (in a really, really good way). F is still my favourite letter and that owl is my favourite TT puppet creature. So cute, so evil, just like the song. Love!

Jo Michelmore gives the video for 'The Alphabet Song' five Johnny Cash's out of five...

Snarly 

by MKO
EP: Lily Lotus Orchid Sunflower (2013)

 

There are many words to describe a clip like this and although it's an incredibly overused word, I'm going to use it anyway, because it's true; this clip is beautiful. So simple, so delightful, it's exactly what this song needed, the stunning Hannah looking every bit the deity, floating in a pool of green and flowers and music, mathcing the dreamy vocals of Snarly perfectly. The stop start camera motion is used precisely, the small movements placed exactly at the beats they need to be, this is so fabulous; like I've listened to the song over and over, now I want to watch the clip over and over. It's gorgeous, exquisite, let me just say it again, it's beautiful.

Jo Michelmore gives the video for 'Snarly' five Madonna's out of five...

Lilies 

by Bat For Lashes

Album: The Haunted Man (2012)

 

It's like a team of really creative people brainstormed and then decided to use every single idea they came up with. Puppets, paper, cotton balls, face painting, animation...what is going on here? This is one of my favourite songs from The Haunted Man, but this is nowhere near my favourite clip of the week. In fact, this is far from it. Stop it Natasha, the more you try to be odd the less convincing it is. 

  
Jo Michelmore gives the video for 'Lillies' one Germaine Greer out of five...

Top 20 - 17 June, 2012

Passion Pit!

1. Passion Pit - I'll Be Alright (NEW)




2. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Man On Fire




3. Cassette Kids - Horizon (NEW)




4. The Jezabels - City Girl (NEW)




5. Noosa - Walk On By (NEW)

Top 20 - 6 May, 2012

Metric are ready for a big 2012!

1. Santigold - The Keepers





2. Curxes - Haunted Gold







3. Metric - Youth Without Youth (NEW)





4. Gin Wigmore - If Only (NEW)





5. The Oh Hello's - Lay Me Down

Top 111 Songs of 2011, #80 - 71

More goodness from 2011 coming right up...


111. Clare Maguire - Ain't Nobody
110. Ball Park Music - It's Nice To Be Alive
109. The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness
108. Coldplay ft. Rihanna - Princess of China
107. Coldplay - Paradise
106. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull - On The Floor
105. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
104. Professor Green ft. Emeli Sande - Read All About It
103. Cage the Elephant - Around My Head
102. Warpaint - Warpaint
101. Adele - Rumour Has It
100. Beirut - East Harlem
99. Ida Maria - Cherry Red
98. Digitalism - 2 Hearts
97. Washington - High Treason
96. Ben Lee - Get Used To It
95. Oh Land - Sun Of A Gun
94. Wolfram ft. Hercules and Love Affair - Fireworks
93. David Guetta ft. Sia - Titanium
92. Kimbra - Old Flame
91. Little Dragon Nightlight
90. The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love?
89. Beirut - Santa Fe
88. Architecture in Helsinki ft. Sally Seltmann - W.O.W (Invisible Version)
87. PJ Harvey - The Last Living Rose
86. Emeli Sande - Heaven
85. TV On The Radio - Will Do
84. Dr. Dre ft. Eminem and Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
83. Boy and Bear - Feeding Line
82. Monarchy ft. Britt Love - You Don't Want to Dance With Me
81. Gotye - I Feel Better

#80 - Money

by The Drums

I want to buy you something,

But I don't have any money, I don't have any money.

I'd like to buy many things for myself but, like The Drums, I don't have any money, I don't have any money. Unlike me, The Drums should have plenty of money, but the sophomore slump hit them pretty hard. Labelled only two years ago as one of the great hopes for indie music with the success of their self-titled debut album, these NY rocksters lost some of the magic on Portamento. Luckily, 'Money' was, uh... right on the money. It's as catchy as 'Forever and Ever Amen' or 'Let's Go Surfing.' In fact, it's probably even more catchy. It's just such a shame the rest of their second LP couldn't match the greatness of it.

#79 - The Struggle

by Liam Finn

Things are looking up, I'm looking good,

I'm getting all audacious...

Top 20 - 13 November, 2011

Black Keys run right back to #1.

1. The Black Keys - Run Right Back





2. Florence + The Machine - No Light, No Light





3. Amy Winehouse - Our Day Will Come





4. Little Boots - Shake





5. Mumford and Sons - Ghosts That We Knew

10 and 1 - UK Ladies



Polly Jean!


If you're unfamiliar with the '10 and 1' concept, let me break it down for you; I select an area in music and highlight ten good things about that genre, person, theme... it could be anything to do with music... and then I pick one crappy thing to bring you back to reality. Harsh, but that's life kiddies. Last time we looked at ten fantastic cover songs and, of course, one stinker of a cover. That was none other than Madonna's version of 'American Pie.' Such an awful, awful song. Anyway, today we're going to look at some of the best women to come out of the UK and then I'm going to try and find one not so amazing lady to represent the country. Who's it gonna be? Let's find out!

Top 300 Songs of the 2000s, #230 - 221



Bring back crazy Britney!


 The biggest hip-hop duo of the decade, an X-Factor winner, two of the most popular rock bands in music and 'crazy' Britney are all part of this entry in the countdown. Excited? You know you are...

#230 - All My Life (2002)

by Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters - All My Life
Uploaded by ludo2mars. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

All my life I've been searchin' for somethin'...

The Foo Fighters may have slipped a little, quality wise, with their last album... but a return to form looks like it could be in the cards for 2011. Don't bet against Dave Grohl.