Best Music of 2013 (So Far)

The title is somewhat misleading: this is the best music I've heard in 2013, not necessarily made in 2013. There are 15 tracks from the 1000 Recordings that made the cut; classical, rap, country, folk and rock. You'll find a varied mix of my favorite songs of the last 4 months.

After those 15 songs I've thrown in my favorites that WERE made this year. 27 songs of up-and-comers and established hit makers. I try not to ignore the music being made today while I catch up on the classics of the past. So check it out below or at the link here. Listen to it in order for 1000 Recordings first, or select shuffle for a very eclectic mix. (Here is a link to just the 1kR mix and one for the 2013 mix).

And download Spotify! It's free (if you don't mind the ads) and one of the best ways to discover new music. The artists get paid pretty much jack squat when you stream their songs, but there are a lot of artists I would never have seen live or bought the album if I hadn't heard it free first.


Related Posts:

• 1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 3
• 1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 2
• 1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 1

1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 3

If the third installment of the 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die sampler has a theme, it might be "rainy day," with jazz pianist Brad Mehldau's "When it Rains," the introspective stylings of Malasian artist Toumani Diabate, Chopin's Nocturnes, and the weepy, epic guitar solo of Funkadelic's Eddie Hazel (according to legend, George Clinton told Hazel to "play like your mother just died"). As before, though, I have tried to highlight a wide swath of genres while picking out tracks I enjoy and hope that you'll enjoy as well!

Play here on Spotify

1. Brad Mehldau - "When it Rains" (Jazz/Rock)
2. Sigur Ros - "Hjartao Hamast" (Indie Rock)
3. Rory Gallagher - "As the Crow Flies" (Blues/Rock)
4. Patsy Cline - "Lovesick Blues" (Country)
5. Toumani Diabate with Ballake Sissoko - "Bi Lambam" (Mali/Strings)
6. Frederic Chopin - "Nocturne No. 1 in B flat minor, Op.9 No.1" [Maria Joao Pires] (Classical/Piano)
7. Funkadelic - "Maggot Brain" (Funk/Epic guitar solo)

If you like the music, buy the tracks on Amazon: Mehldau, Sigur Ros, Gallagher, Cline, Diabate, Chopin, Funkadelic

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• 1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 2
• One Week's Worth of Recordings
• Country Music Playing on the Radio

1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 2

Here's the second installment of my 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die sampler, where I get to mix in a few of my favorite songs from Tom Moon's list. In the first episode I did a tribute to the recent deaths in the music industry, which meant the playlist was heavy on the pop music. This sample is a bit more scattered: although I grew up on rock and pop, I have been introduced to so much great music through the book that I think it's important to help folks find a place to start (especially if, like me, you are not well-versed in jazz, classical, and world). Here's the playlist for this week, you may know a few of these, but hopefully some will be new:

Play here on Spotify

1. Paul Simon - "I Know What I Know" (classic rock/South African)
2. Tom T. Hall - "Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs" (country)
3. Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin - "The Inner Mounting Flame" (jazz)
4. Curtis Mayfield - "Billy Jack" (R & B, soul)
5. Philip Glass - "Knee 1" (opera/weird)
6. John Fahey - "Orinda-Moraga" (folk)
7. King Sunny Ade - "Sunny Ti De" (Nigerian/juju)

If you like the music, buy the tracks on Amazon: Simon, Hall, Mahavishnu, Mayfield, Glass, Fahey, Ade

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• 1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 1
• Like Vanilla Ice Cream for Your Shave Ice
• Chicago Gets No Love From My Parents

1000 Recordings Sampler Episode 1

1000 albums (give or take a few) is a lot of music to get through. I've been working my way through the book for 3 years and I'm just past halfway - if you're a casual listener, it could be overwhelming. So today I am doing the first of a new installment: the Recording the Recordings Sampler. This is a way for me to feature some entries I enjoy without everyone having to sit through a whole album. If you don't like a track, you can skip to the next one; if you do enjoy it, you can pull up the full album on Spotify.

In the past month we've lost an astonishing amount of world-class musicians, many who are household names. This week's playlist is a tribute to those we lost. Stream the playlist here.

1. Isaac Hayes - "Theme from Shaft"
Charles Pitts, 65, guitarist for Hayes. The intro with the "wah" is played by Pitts on this track

2. Chuck Brown - "Midnight Sun"
Chuck Brown, 75, the "Godfather of Go-Go." If you want to hear more about Brown, the 1000 Recordings Podcast guys just reviewed his work last week

3. The Beastie Boys - "The Sounds of Science"
Adam Yauch, 47, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys. This is one of my favorite Beasties songs and I never noticed before that MCA says "Yeah, that's right, my name's Yauch."

4. Booker T. & the M.G.'s - "Melting Pot"
Donald "Duck" Dunn, 70, bassist for Booker T, and a member of the Blues Brothers.

5. The Band - "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Levon Helm, 71, drummer/singer for the Band, who also put out two great comeback albums after temporarily losing the ability to sing due to throat cancer.

6. Gram Parsons - "She"
Chris Ethridge, 65, bassist, co-wrote the above track with Gram Parsons

7. Donna Summer - "I Feel Love"
Donna Summer, 63, known for her disco-era hits, this is the only track that made it into the 1000 Recordings.

*Update*
8. Bee Gees - "You Should be Dancing"
After I wrote this last night Robin Gibb, founder of the Bee Gees, died of cancer at age 62. It's been a rough month for music.

If you like the music, buy the tracks on Amazon: Shaft, Brown, Beastie Boys, Booker T, the Band, GP, Summer, Bee Gees

Related Posts

• NEWS: Beastie Boys' MCA aka Adam Yauch Dead at 47
• NEWS: Levon Helm, Drummer for the Band, Dies at 71
• COVER: Counting Crows Rock Out on Gram Parsons