The Metaphorical Boat's Best of 2013 - The Lists

For the benefit of those who don't like musical embeds, or opinions about the music featured, here are The Metaphorical Boat's top songs and albums of 2013 in list form. For those who enjoy cold, hard data.
Top Songs of 2013

1. Public Service Broadcasting - Signal 30
2. We Were Evergreen - Leeway
3. Suede - It Starts and Ends With You
4. Swim Deep - King City
5. John Grant - Black Belt
6. London Grammar - Strong
7. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
8. Kodaline - High Hopes
9. A Plastic Rose - This Side of Winter
10. Step Rockets - Kisser
11. Girls Names - Hypnotic Regression
12. Ed Zealous - Medicines
13. Prides - Out Of The Blue
14. Suede - Hit Me
15. The Dancers - For Something In Your Eyes
16. Frank Turner - The Way I Tend To Be
17. Vance Joy - Riptide
18. Jakwob - Fade
19. The 1975 - Chocolate
20. Franz Ferdinand - Right Action
21. In An Instant - All Binds Fall Undone
22. Tribes - Dancehall
23. Hurdles - Kaleidoscope
24. Bastille - Pompeii
25. nano.RIPE - Tsuki Hana
26. Everything Everything - Duet
27. Hentai Babies - One Potato Two
28. Icona Pop - I Love It
29. Shugo Tokumaru - Katachi
30. Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
31. Primal Scream - It's Alright, It's OK
32. Shonen Knife - When You Sleep
33. Superfood - Superfood
34. The Killers - Shot At the Night
35. Foals - My Number
36. A Northern Light - Kill It
37. Avicii - Wake Me Up
38. Best Boy Grip - Runaway
39. Janelle Monae - Dance Apocalyptic
40. Fryars - The Power
41. Parquet Courts - You've Got Me Wonderin' Now
42. Fred V & Grafix - Basilisk
43. Major Leagues - Endless Drain
44. Crash And The Coots -  Don't Kill Bugs
45. Clean Bandit - Mozart's House
46. Outfit - House on Fire
47. Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know
48. TeamRKT - Break Out
49. Little Bear - Killer
50. Daft Punk - Get Lucky

Top Albums of 2013

1. Public Service Broadcasting - Inform - Educate - Entertain
2. Suede - Bloodsports
3. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of The City
4. Eels - Wonderful, Glorious
5. Girls Names - The New Life
6. Swim Deep - Where The Heaven Are We
7. Melt Yourself Down - Melt Yourself Down
8. Arctic Monkeys - A.M
9. Foals - Holy Fire
10. Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - Number One

1. Public Service Broadcasting - Signal 30

There's trouble ahead,

Trouble that may, or may not be, a Signal 30.

What will we find? A minor mishap?

Or will we look on the stark face of death?

And so The Metaphorical Boat's Top Song of 2013 goes to London duo Public Service Broadcasting with their stunning single "Signal 30". Taking vocal samples from a smattering of over-the-top road safety films,  the song saw PSB at their heaviest, rockiest, and most mosh-enducing, with guitars and drums firmly set to 11. It has been highlight of their live sets, the one moment when their fans tend to go just a little bit mental.

Now sit back, press play of either of the embeds below, and enjoy the best song of 2013:

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 5-2

We're very nearly at The Metaphorical Boat's favourite song of 2013, but before that here's the songs that just fell short of the top spot:

5. John Grant - Black Belt

There hasn't been a better, funkier, F U song in 2013 than "Black Belt" by John Grant. Over a minimalist electronic beat, the song's antagonist is told that "what you got is a black belt in B.S," among other insults. Ouch. Irresistible, sharp tongued, and bloody brilliant. 

4. Swim Deep - King City

This is how pop music should be done. Birmingham band Swim Deep released a re-recorded version of "King City" back in June, and periods of great joy were ushered in. They've taken a very familiar chord progression, added youthful lyrics about a crush on Warpaint's bassist and topped it all off with the most earworm-inducing pop hook of the year. Why it didn't become a massive hit, especially after the buzz surrounding the band earlier in the year, is incredibly puzzling, but at least it's one over quite a few people regardless.

3. Suede - It Starts and Ends With You

When you're releasing your first official single as a band in 10 years, you'd better make sure that it's just as good as it was then. Thankfully, Suede, the greatest band of all time, were never going to let us down, giving us "It Starts And Ends With You", a song that harks back to the best moments of their career whilst still sounding like it belongs in 2013. It's got quite a strange structure, given that depending on what way you look at it, in consists of only choruses, or only verses. It's a song that has slotted very nicely into their live sets, and definitely proved the naysayers who said that they had no place in the current musical landscape very wrong indeed.

2. We Were Evergreen - Leeway

"Leeway" by French trio We Were Evergreen one of the quirkier twee-pop songs to be released in 2013, and by far the best. The song takes doo-wop vocal samples, toybox keyboard sounds, xylophones and cute vocal harmonies to create something as sweet and delicious as a Battenberg topped with Caramacs. 

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 10-6

We now plunge straight into the top 10, with some of the best songs of the year, from 10-6, plus a little bit about why exactly they float The Metaphorical Boat: 

10. Step Rockets - Kisser

For rock music to survive, it must evolve beyond its roots. Like their contemporaries Imagine Dragons and AWOLNATION, Minneapolis band Step Rockets have a sound that is recognizably rock, yet is augmented with layers of keyboards and synthetic drums to create something more accessible to the masses. This formula payed off earlier this year when their fantastic single "Kisser" topped the Hype Machine earlier this year, and it's not hard to hear why. Just listen to that soaring guitar solo, a feature that has been much neglected in recent times.

9. A Plastic Rose - This Side of Winter

Very few songs get a double digit amount of spins of Radio 1 solely on the love of individual DJs without ever making the playlist, but that is exactly what happened with "This Side of Winter" by Northern Irish group A Plastic Rose.

And it's not hard to hear why it received so much love, as "This Side of Winter" is, their poppiest, most accessible, and best single to date. The loud guitars and angsty vocals of APR of old are still intact, but on this occasion it has been utilized in an incredibly radio-friendly manner. There are lovely Britpop vibes coming from the song, which is particularly welcome from someone who has long worshiped at the feet of that movement, and is also reminiscent of a heavier version of the similarly influenced Tribes.

8. Kodaline - High Hopes

Yes, the promo clip for "High Hopes" might be the most gratuitous example of emotional manipulation I've ever come across in a music video, but there is no denying that the song by Dublin band Kodaline is one of the finest of the year. It's a soft-rock masterpiece, using familiar yet effective chord structures to create a song to pull at the heartstrings. It gave the band their biggest hit to date, making the top 20 in the UK and topping the charts in Ireland. 

7. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young

Vampire Weekend are by far the finest band to have emerged in the past five years, taking indie guitar music and twisting it in ways that are both unique and enjoyable. "Diane Young" sees the band do their own take on familiar rock & roll chord progressions - with intelligent lyrics, unusual rhythms and THAT pitch-shifted vocal making this their best song of the year, and their 2nd best song ever. 

6. London Grammar - Strong

Sparse emotional indie meets trip-hop on “Strong”, the fantastic single from one of the most critically celebrated breakthrough artists of 2013, London Grammar. The song is carried by the fantastic, almost operatic vocals of Hannah Reid, whose voice belies her young years. If you listen to this song without a tear running down your face, then you’re a stronger person than I am. 

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 15-11

Nearly into the top 10 now, but first here are the songs from 15-11, who just fell short of the mark, but are wonderful songs regardless. This section features a French trio, a Scottish trio, two Northern Irish bands with very different sounds (electro-rock vs post-punk), and the greatest band of all time: 

15. The Dancers - For Something In Your Eyes

14. Suede - Hit Me

13. Prides - Out Of The Blue

12. Ed Zealous - Medicines

11. Girls Names - Hypnotic Regression

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 20-16

We're into the really serious stuff now, songs that we've ranked from 20-16 in our favourite songs of 2013. The part features the band of my early teenage years, a song that was massive on the blogosphere before racing its way up charts worldwide, one of the biggest new bands to break through this year, an artist who just keeps on getting bigger and better with every album he releases, and a 90s dance revivalist sound that I actually can get behind:

20. Franz Ferdinand - Right Action

19. The 1975 - Chocolate

18. Jakwob - Fade

17. Vance Joy - Riptide

16. Frank Turner - The Way I Tend To Be

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 25-21

We're nearly into the top 20, but before that, here's songs from numbers 25-21. In this section, we've got one of the biggest "rock" songs of the year (despite it not having any guitars), the ending theme from a Japanese TV series, sadly departed Britpop revivalists, and two more Northern Irish bands: 

25. nano.RIPE - Tsuki Hana

24. Bastille - Pompeii

23. Hurdles - Kaleidoscope

22. Tribes - Dancehall

21. In An Instant - All Binds Fall Undone

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 30-26

Next up in the countdown, we hit the halfway point with songs from numbers 30-26. Here we find the final #1 single to make the grade, the favourite band of all the indie kids, Japanese post-modern pop (with a superb video), a Japan-inspired duo, and a moment of accidental brilliance from EE - 

30. Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers

29. Shugo Tokumaru - Katachi

28. Icona Pop - I Love It

27. Hentai Babies - One Potato Two

26. Everything Everything - Duet

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 35-31

We're up to numbers 35-31 of our top songs of 2013, and features two top 30 hits from two great rock/indie artists, upcoming Britpop revivalists, a band who were around during the original Britpop, and a girl-band cover of a My Bloody Valentine track:

35. Foals - My Number

34. The Killers - Shot At the Night

33. Superfood - Superfood

32. Shonen Knife - When You Sleep

31. Primal Scream - It's Alright, It's OK

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 40-36

Here's the songs from numbers 40-36 in the countdown. This part features two fantastic Northern Irish artists with very different musical outputs (piano pop vs trance-rock), one of the biggest dance singles of the year, some psychedelia, and an artist whom I'm surprised is not the biggest superstar on the planet.

I mean seriously, how the heck is Janelle Monáe not a bona fide global international pop star when the similarly diverse Bruno Mars is never off the radio? It's beggar's belief. 

But anywho, on to the countdown: 

40. Fryars - The Power

39. Janelle Monáe - Dance Apocalyptic

38. Best Boy Grip - Runaway

37. Avicii - Wake Me Up

36. A Northern Light - Kill It

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 45-41

Up next in the countdown, we have the songs ranked 45-41. This part features Aussie indie-pop, minimal techno-meets-string quarters, liquid drum & bass, and a garage-rock song that features that hallowed instrument we all caused irreparable damage to as 8 year olds - the recorder. 

45. Clean Bandit - Mozart's House

44. Crash And The Coots -  Don't Kill Bugs

43. Major Leagues - Endless Drain

42. Fred V & Grafix - Basilisk

41. Parquet Courts - You've Got Me Wonderin' Now

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2013 - 50-46

Running a music blog is probably the closest we will ever get to being a time traveler. Or at least that's how it can feel near the end of the year on The Metaphorical Boat. Having already visited the future in the form of our Tips for 2014 list, over the next few days TMB will be counting down the blog's top 50 songs of 2013. There will be songs that have featured on the blog, songs that didn't feature on the blog, and songs that really should have featured. Hopefully there will be a few songs here that will float you Metaphorical Boat.

We start with the songs from 50-46 on the list. This part features one of the biggest selling singles of the year, one of the UK's biggest rock bands, the first two Northern Irish artists on the list (of 9 that made the cut), plus a band that I like to think of as "the demented Lightning Seeds":


50. Daft Punk ft Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers  - Get Lucky



49. Little Bear - Killer



48. TeamRKT - Break Out



47. Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?



46. Outfit - House on Fire