We asked Pitchfork writers and editors to share their personal highs and lows of 2013. Check back for more installments of My Year in Music.
Favorite Tracks of 2013:
01 Prurient: "You Show Great Spirit"
02 Deafheaven: "Sunbather"
03 In Solitude: "Pallid Hands"
04 Bill Callahan: "Small Plane"
05 The Field: "Cupid's Head"
06 VHÖL: "The Wall"
07 Omar Souleyman: "Wenu Wenu"
08 Pharmakon: "Crawling on Bruised Knees"
09 Death Grips: "Whatever I Want (Fuck Who's Watching)"
10 French Montana: "Trap House"
Favorite Albums of 2013:
01 VHÖL: VHÖL
02 Deafheaven: Sunbather
03 Prurient: Through the Window
04 Power Trip: Manifest Decimation
05 Vulgar Fashion: Vulgar Fashion
06 Death Grips: Government Plates
07 Youth Code: Youth Code
08 Da Mafia 6ix: 6ix Commandments
09 Celeste: Animale(s
10 Vaura: The Missing
Most Played Song of 2013: Cold Cave's "People Are Poison". The perfect song for an introvert who hates staying in on a Friday night.
An Old Album I Discovered/Rediscovered This Year: Mojave 3's Ask Me Tomorrow. "Love Songs on the Radio" has caused me to be almost late to more than a few dinner dates.
Musical Highlights: Prurient at 35 Denton. Kids moshing to Badbadnotgood's piano-jazz version of Gucci Mane's "Lemonade" at SXSW. Finally getting into the Field. Listening to Tollund Men's "Fire" over and over again. Burial helping me make sense of sad days and lonely nights. Turning URL friends into IRL friends at Maryland Deathfest. Revenge and Cobalt caving in my skull at MDF. Pre-gaming with Lime-a-ritas at Chaos in Tejas. Sets from Akitsa, Bolt Thrower, Antwon, Lil Ugly Mane, and Mitocondrion at Chaos. The fight outside the Akitsa show, complete with dudes yelling "Worldstar!" Hangs with Deafheaven dudes, as well as following their exploits on Twitter. Finding out a girl you went to middle school with makes noise music, thus validating the struggle of growing up in Galveston, Texas—s/o Dromez. Wreck and Reference pulverizing Hotel Vegas. Seeing Goblin twice in one weekend, thanks to Housecore. Bill Callahan on a boat, floating down the Colorado River. Wolf Eyes and John Olson's noise crotch burning my mind in Chicago. POWER TRIP. IRON AGE.
Musical Lowlights: Jeff Hanneman's death. LSK's suicide. Blowfly playing to a nearly empty room at State Theater. My music crit peers' lust to be outraged over every fucking thing, further devaluing what we do. Too much of the metal world still clinging to old rock tropes. People who look at you like you're stark raving mad when you tell them you're not that into Yeezus, despite that you know they wouldn't last 10 seconds at a Bloodyminded show. The fact that people still listen to Vampire Weekend.