11 Best Moments in Music - 2013

I'm working on my 2013 Best Albums list, but I want to try something a little different this year, too. I want to highlight my favorite moments from music this year. We've all said, "I love in that song when...", right? That's what I'm looking at here. It could be a whole song or a drum fill, a killer bridge or a simple guitar line.  I'm looking for the moments that left me speechless, saying "wow" and half-speed scrubbing back 30 seconds to hear it again. It's no surprise then that many of these come from albums in my top 20. Consider this a preview.

Let's get started (these are in no particular order, by the way):

"Contact", Daft Punk, Random Access Memories

Random Access Memories was the most perfect album that came out this year, and it won't sniff my Top 20.  Don't worry, I'm confused too.  RAM is an incredibly well performed piece of music. Every musician in that studio is the best at what they do (I mean, Omar Hakim plays drums for goodness' sake). Every song is a technical achievement of precise musicianship and exquisite production.  And I felt nothing.  In fact, I was a little turned off by the whole affair. It was the uncanny valley of dance music. (Free album review!)

"Contact" was the exception.  I love this song. The space-man talk up front, the synths, the drums (THE DRUMS), and the relentless crescendo. This track is basically the light tunnel scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Let Wikipedia set the imagery for you:

"At Jupiter, Bowman leaves Discovery One in an EVA pod to investigate another monolith discovered in orbit around the planet. Approaching it, the pod is suddenly pulled into a tunnel of colored light, and a disoriented and terrified Bowman finds himself racing at great speed across vast distances of space, viewing bizarre cosmological phenomena and strange alien landscapes of unusual colors."

That's about perfect.

Second chorus, "Anyone/Anything", Touché Amoré, Is Survived  By

The second chorus of "Anyone/Anything" (2:01 - 2:38) is a brief moment of straight-ahead rock in an album chock-full of syncopation. Lead singer Jeremy Bolm screams out for the second time "I don't owe anyone, I don't owe anything / So stop expecting everything from me". In the first chorus he sang alone, but here his bandmates bring some company to his misery with a loud, rebellious "AT ALL!!".

Second chorus, "Hold My Liquor", Kanye West, Yeezus

"Hold My Liquor" is my favorite song on the rather difficult listening Yeezus. Part of the reason is Justin Vernon's presence, both vocally and musically. The guitars behind the second chorus (2:34-3:03) combined with that pulsing bass line form a haunting musical backdrop for Chief Keef to channel Kanye's drunk, DGAF personality.

Bridge/Outro, "The Ceiling", The Wild Feathers, The Wild Feathers

The Wild Feathers' self-titled debut is decent. It's nothing earth-shattering.  Lead single "The Ceiling" is excellent, however. The bridge (3:41-4:59) builds up with one repeated lyric, then leads to a energetic, organ filled tag (4:59-6:15) that keeps going and going. Each time they cycle through the chords I think it's the last time, but another, louder repeat is next, with more organ, more guitar, and more emotion than the last. 

2:35-3:04, "The Pecan Tree", Deafheaven, Sunbather

Honestly this whole list could have been Sunbather moments, as it's (SPOILER ALERT) the best piece of music that came out this year. One stood out to me, this guitar line coming fully out of time as a counterpoint to the driving madness behind it on album closer "The Pecan Tree".

Main riff, "Young", Air Review, Low Wishes

Air Review is a local band here in DFW whose former lead singer used to go to the church I used to go to and knew my brother, and now the band plays at my brother's church sometimes. So, we're practically family!  "Young" is my favorite track. The main riff (0:03-0:31, throughout) caught my ear the first time I heard it on KXT, because I immediately felt familiar with it.  I love how it goes on two beats longer than you think it should. I love the guitar strumming octaves behind the whistle. I love the subtle, undermixed kick. It's a great riff and a great song.

Intro, "This Ladder Is Ours", The Joy Formidable, Wolf's Law

The intro to "This Ladder Is Ours" (0:00-1:11) is stunning. Those strings, that crescendo, the feeling of "what's going to happen?!" and then pure, driving, deliciously syncopated Rock'n'Roll. I think it's the best album opener of 2013.

"Dream Away", Lights & Motion, Reanimation

For an hour to this point Christoffer Franzén had been tearing my heart and soul out of my body with gorgeous, lush, exquisitely symphonic instrumentals. So when "Dream Away" started with an airy acoustic guitar and strings, I thought the album closer would be a soft lullaby befitting the close of such a beautiful album. When the vocals came in (0:30), I melted. This song wrecked me, and I don't know why. I've felt love; I've been sad. "Dream Away", after an hour of nearly flawless music, brought out some genuine feels in me, and to be honest, I'm going to stop writing before things get weird.

Bridge, "Dismantling Summer", The Wonder Years, The Greatest Generation

This song is about lead singer Dan Campbell's grandfather dying while Campbell is out on tour. The bridge (2:27-2:57) repeats the line "If I'm in an airport, and you're in a hospital bed, what kind of man does that make me?" with so much emotion it sounds like Campbell physically wrenches the words from his throat. The song peaks when the rest of band joins him for one last "If I'm in an AIRPOOOORRRRRTTT!!!!"

Bridge drums, "Part II", Paramore, Paramore

Ilan Rubin played drums on Paramore, and is probably the most sought after drummer in the business today. The bridge (3:15-4:10) is his highlight on the album. He goes insane, in the best way possible. There's a fill at 3:42 that gives me that drummer feeling of "ohhhhhhh". It's hard to explain, but it's the feeling of "that's the sickest, most killer thing I've heard in my life" mixed with "there's no way I have the chops, speed, or testicular fortitude to pull that off" leading to "I should probably quit trying and just listen to this badass play drums all the time instead." That's normal, right?

Bridge, "The Oil Slick", Frightened Rabbit, Pedestrian Verse

"There is light but there's a tunnel to crawl through. There is love but it's misery loves you. There's still hope so I think we'll be fine. In these disastrous times, disastrous times." These are the final lyrics of "The Oil Slick" (2:23-3:48), and their excellent album Pedestrian Verse. I love that the crescendo never really reaches the climax it portends, instead settling one chord cycle shy into the decompressing outro. An excellent closer, and one of my favorite moments of 2013.