Too late: The best songs of 2013

I meant to post this way back in January—back when it'd have been, y'know, appropriate—but I wasn't posting anything back then, really, except screeds about how I wish I posted things. So this really is way too late, but at the moment I'm trying to switch off some brain cells, so it seems the time has come. Besides, I can use the excuse that the delay has allowed me to add some tracks I hadn't heard until well after the year was over (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).

So allow me to dust of my Big Bag o' Unsolicited Opinions:

Adam's Top 50 Songs of 2013

( Click here for #50 through #11 )

10) "Circle of Trust," Ooga Boogas
After the whole garage punk movement of a decade ago, a lot of folks, myself included, were left saddened and confused, thinking, "Okay, wait, there was the Vines and the Hives and…then…what? Where'd everybody go?" Enter Ooga Boogas. You can relax now, rock and roll is in safe hands.

9) "Amidinine," Bombino
Bombino is Omara Moctar, a Taureg singer-songwriter hailing from Niger. So if you'll indulge me for a moment before you click that link, close your eyes and imagine what the fusion of West African music and blues rock might sounds like. Yes, it is that awesome.

8) "Manic Baby," The Preatures
The Preatures dish out the sort of sound I usually like without loving. So why have I glommed onto every song of theirs I've heard so far?

7) "Number 9," Moon Hooch
Two saxophones and a drum set. Shouldn't work. Nope, shouldn't work at all. And yet I have to warn you that this song will eat your entire head for the rest of the week if you give it the time of day. Probably best not to listen. Yep, probably best.

6) "Get Lucky," Daughter
It's an indication of how far out of the loop I am that I heard this cover well before I heard the Daft Punk original. And if I may wax stubbornly opinionated for a moment, while Daft Punk have themselves the Hit of the Year, Daughter have themselves something a helluva lot better.

5) "Stranglehold," Sarah Borrello
Okay, listen up, people: Sarah Borrello is a local Boston singer-songwriter whose debut album, Exit, just came out this past year, and I'm making a point of telling you about this local Boston singer-songwriter because within the next few years she is going to become jim-frickin' huge. Mark my words, dear readers, this is going to happen. Give a listen. You'll see what I mean.

4) "Stony Ground," Richard Thompson
How the hell does the man keep topping himself? I don't even have the capacity to keep talking about him. Let's all just acknowledge that he's amazing and carry on with our lives, shall we?

3) "Ryba (Fish)," Leningrad
I should probably specify that I mean the acoustic version here. The regular album take sounds like a screamier version of Earth Wind and Fire; the version I allude to sounds like Gogol Bordello, only with a bigger horn section and a fuckton more vodka. Three guesses which one knocked my socks clean off my dancing feet.

2) "Summer Dress," July Talk
Like the Tom Waits/Neko Case collaboration you didn't know you'd always wanted.

1) "The Wild," Kristofer Åström
This list contains a sizable share of folk and folk-rock, to be sure, but lately I've been favoring the portions of my listening habits that have more of a pulse. So when I realized that Kristofer Åström's "The Wild" was going to fill the #1 spot, I was a bit surprised, I must admit. And yet there was no doubt in my mind: it's a flawless little gem of warm, tender fireside acoustica with some of the most evocative two-part coed harmonies I've ever heard. No bigger than what we ask of it, no smaller than what our hearts need. A perfect breath, inhale and exhale.

( Gratuitous and unnecessary bonus track )