I listen to new music more often than I go to the movies but
not too much more. Here is how I rank the narrow list of new music I heard in
2013.
9. Delta Machine by Depeche Mode. Back
when artists would release at least one album per year, it was easy to brush
off a bad one because a new album would be along shortly. Today it’s
disappointing when an artist releases a bad album, especially when that artist
is on a schedule of one album per presidential inauguration. Depeche Mode was
away for four years and this is what
they came up with? What a waste of my time and theirs.
8. The 20/20 Experience by Justin
Timberlake. I won’t be back for part 2 (of 2). It’s OK but the songs go on
way too long without justification. I like the trill effect on the single “Suit
and Tie” but I don’t get the accolades for “Mirror.” As a love song, it’s
narcissistic and misguided because if you tell someone “It’s like you’re my
mirror,” you’re really saying “When I look at you, all I see is myself.”
7. Artpop by Lady Gaga. I only listed
to Artpop (I stand corrected — ARTPOP) once and will give it a few more
spins. It’s alright but unbalanced. On the good side are the seductive “Do What
U Want” and slurred ballad “Dope,” while on the bad side are first single
“Applause,” which sounds generic to me, and the terrible “Venus.” I am a little
disappointed that after all Lady Gaga’s talk about merging art and pop, so many
of the songs have that same-y car alarm dance sound. There should be more
variety.
6. Reflektor by Arcade Fire. I’m not
sure what to make of it yet. I like “Here Comes the Night” but during the title
track, I get a little tired of hearing the word “Reflektor” after they repeat
it 2,700 times.
5. Thr!!!er by !!!. This wasn’t the
band’s best work but was still a fun album, although a little mellower than
previous efforts.
4. Hesitation Marks by Nine Inch Nails. The
title apparently refers to the marks people leave on their wrists when they try
to slit them but don’t go through with it so Hesitation Marks is sort of a sequel to The Downward Spiral in which we find out what happened to the guy
after he didn’t commit suicide. I love the aggression of “Copy of a” and other
songs like “Satellite” and “Came Back Haunted.” “Everything” is bizarrely
upbeat and sounds out of place. My only complaint is starting the album with
some ponderous instrumental bullshit like “The Eater of Dreams.” If you have a
great song like “Copy of a,” just open the album with that instead of some
droning intro.
3. Nanobots by They Might Be Giants. I
love how They Might Be Giants sort of reprised “Fingertips” with the handful of
short tracks interspersed through the album, like “Hive Mind,” “Decision
Makers,” “Nouns” and “There.” I liked Nanobots
much more than some of their recent work.
2. Electric by Pet Shop Boys. After the
snoozefest album Elysium, the Pet
Shop Boys returned nine months later (as if issuing a corrective) with the
wonderful Electric, a collection of
nine bangers. It’s PSB’s vintage combination of dance floor sounds with a very
specific brand of romantic and social commentary, as in “Love Is a Bourgeois
Construct.” I love the hysterical overstimulation of “Shouting in the Evening”
and album closer “Vocal.”
1. The Next Day by David Bowie. In
contrast with number 9 on this list, a decade was worth the wait for new
material from Bowie, considering both its quality and that everyone assumed he
had slid into retirement. The Next Day
is his best album in ages, opening with the title track, which stomps with a
defiant energy that contrasts with morbid lyrics like “Here I am/ Not quite
dying/ My body left to rot in a hollow tree.” Other highlights are “The Stars
(Are Out Tonight)” and album closer “Heat,” in which Bowie croons creepy lyrics
like “My father ran the prison” like a man walking to the gallows.
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