Top 20 Albums of 2013

I didn’t write about music all that much in 2013, but I did set aside a bit of time to listen to music, so I thought I’d share the albums that I most enjoyed last year. Honourable mentions go to Future of the Left – How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident, which just…

Arcade Fire – Reflektor (2013)

I guess I’m just going to have to get used to being an Arcade Fire contrarian. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guys. I have a beard and wide-rimmed glasses and I wear skinny jeans, what did you expect? But I always found the smoky neo-Springsteen stylings of Neon Bible just that little bit…

Extended Cut: Kanye West – Yeezus (2013)

(Extended Cut posts are articles where I’ll exceed my usual 200-word limit to allow for more detailed discussion) ““Dark Fantasy” was my long, backhanded apology … It’s always going to be 80 percent, at least, what I want to give, and 20 percent fulfilling a perception.” –          Kanye West, on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,…

Extended Cut: Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)

(Extended Cut posts are articles where I’ll exceed my usual 200-word limit to allow for more detailed discussion) Daft Punk’s hotly anticipated new album, Random Access Memories, doesn’t sound much like their previous albums, but this is hardly a surprise – none of Daft Punk’s albums sound that much alike. The vibe here is very…