Amy’s Top50 Songs of 2013

This 2013 has been a record-shattering year, beating my 143rd mark of last year [1] with 200! Despite that, however, I do feel my list this year is very Asian-biased. That’s what it looks like, especially once you reach the Top10- it seems inevitable.

I feel a little lost too, because I would normally run my list drafts with my dad, but he’s no longer here. Hence, some of the track choices may seem… a little emotional on the side.

In contrast to last year, I didn’t struggle so much with the top of the list, but the bottom tracks. It’s been a lukewarm year for music for me too — though not as bad as the movie one [1] — my early favorite turned out to stay the same.

50. ROME (РИМ) – Tsunami  (Цунами) [1] [YouTube]

49. Juanes – La Luz

Hot off the presses~

48. Wanting (曲婉婷) – Joker Needs Laughter Too

After the release of her China smash hit You Exist in my Song (我的歌声里) [MV], Wanting — full name: Qu Wan Ting — could have made career singing sappy ballads in Mandarin (like some of her balladist peers who *cough* launched their careers with her song), and she certainly didn’t escape them ballads in her sophomore studio album Say the Words, but she also showed other shades~

This track specially gives me Regina Spektor vibes. I like it ;P

47. MONKEY MAJIK – ALIVE [1] [YouTube]

46. Sunny Hill featuring Hareem – Darling of All Hearts (만인의 연인) [1] [YouTube]

45. Tizzy Bac – People (有人) [YouTube]

44. Block B – Very Good [1] [YouTube]

43. B.A.P – Coffee Shop [YouTube]

42. Vampire Weekend – Unbelievers [clip]

41. IU featuring Jonghyun – A Gloomy Clock (우울시계)

I’m gonna tell you what I like about this song. It’s a depressing song. It starts with “I’m depressed, it’s depressing, at this time. I’m depressed, I’m depressed, it’s depressing- What time is it now? 11:30.” [lyrics] Yet, it passes itself as a happy-go-lucky song to be enjoyed in a leisurely listen by the unaware fan who doesn’t bother to read translated lyrics.

amy

YAM Magazine editor, photographer, blogger, translator and part-time web designer. Film junkie, music junkie… and lately series (a.k.a. TV) junkie.

17 Responses

  1. Thanks for introducing salyu x salyu + Sandee Chan

    • amy says:

      @Giacomo d. Lee, well… salyu x salyu is just salyu being playful with cornelius xD it’s kinda freaky that their live performances feature salyu look-alikes for effect~~~

      And yes! Sandee Chan~ I think I discovered her in that rare CNN Go epi they did in Taiwan.

  2. Ah! So that’s what Cornelius has been up to. I didn’t know he’d returned. I think this Beck remix is the best thing he’s ever done

  3. Camiele says:

    Man! I forgot Joanna Wang’s album was released this year! It’s actually been such a long and good year for music, I don’t remember what albums were released… HaHA. Glad to see her on the list! As always, I’m gonna have to listen to EVERYTHING that’s happened on your list… HaHa.

    Umm… god… what songs are my favorite? That’s hard. Mostly I’d have to separate it into genres, except for maybe one or two songs. I’ll have to think long and hard about this one… HaHa. I guess your list is a good place to start ^^ I’m trying to think about what I could do for an end-of-year post… Something ELSE to think about!

  4. Elly L. says:

    Wanting, B.A.P, Block B, Sunny Hill, IU, Tizzy Bac, Sting, Drunken Tiger, Lee Hi, Janelle Monae, Xiah Junsu (gee, strongly biased there), G-Dragon, Shiina Ringo, Sodagreen and Faye Wong. Exactly the artists who inhabit my iTunes library. Are you like my long lost twin?? :D

  5. Elly L. says:

    I’m getting all the songs on this list now, which I don’t know! Thanks for this amazing list!

    • amy says:

      @Elly L., make sure to let me know how you like those songs.

      • Elly L. says:

        @amy, okay, may favorites from this list so far:
        Javed Ali, Kirti Sagathia & Pooja AV – Tum Tak (I really love this! Is there any other Indian music you can recommend?)
        Simona Molinari featuring Peter Cincotti – Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde
        salyu x salyu – じぶんがいない
        Janelle Monae – Dance Apocalyptic

        And following songs I already knew, but love nonetheless:
        Faye Wong – In Honor Of Our Youth
        Shiina Ringo – いろはにほへと
        Xiah Junsu – 11 AM
        Drunken Tiger – The Cure
        Block B – Very Good
        B.A.P – Coffee Shop
        IU featuring Jonghyun – A Gloomy Clock

        The other songs from the list Imma give some more listen to’s and prolly will turn out to like them, too.
        I’m really enjoying these songs – thank you! :)
        And I’m looking forward to more music lists! Or can I find more on this website already?

        • amy says:

          @Elly L., I see you like beat-driven songs xD Tum Tak was done by A.R Rahman, famous for winning the Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire’s Jai Ho. He’s like the non-plus-ultra of Bollywood. I’ve been waiting for his album to come out, but only Aabhi Jha [MV] has been released. He also did the OST for Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se… which is amazing [Check 1st #15 on this list]. He also did an MTV Unplugged India show that might leave you impressed. This year, he’s done another bunch of soundtracks, but he’s garnered some more praise for his work on Highway. I also liked his work on Delhi-6, Guru and Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities. You’ll find everything you need in YouTube xD

          If you liked Simona, you might also enjoy Cincotti’s East of Angel Town album. And with Salyu, you gotta check out the soundtrack she did for All About Lily Chou Chou under the alias Lily Chou Chou. Especially if you love Faye and Shiina.

          We don’t do many lists (better keep up with the MV postings), but you might enjoy Giacomo’s list or Diandra’s list.

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