Wednesday we’re taking the pulse of music in the year 2013 with Bob Boilen, the host of NPR’s All Songs Considered. Boilen has noticed a couple emerging trends this year: influential bands from the 90s – like My Bloody Valentine and The Pixies – are making great records again; and a trio of talented acoustic guitar players are putting their stamp on a unique new sound. We’ll talk about that, plus the sexiest music ever, glam rock remade as 1920s jazz, the phenomenal new album from Vampire Weekend, and lots more.
Bob Boilen's top five albums of the year, so far:
- Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
- Front Bottoms, Talon of the Hawk
- Rhye, Woman
- The Bryan Ferry Orchestra, The Jazz Age
- Olafur Arnalds, For Now I Am Winter
And his picks for the top 10 tracks, so far:
- Josh Ritter, "New Lover"
- Lauren Mvula, "Green Garden"
- Foxygen, "San Francisco"
- Ballake Sissoko, "Boubalaka"
- Lowland Hum, "War Is Over"
- Bombino, "Amidinine"
- Atoms for Peace, "Before Your Very Eyes"
- Pixies, "Bagboy"
- Superchunk, "FOH"
- John Grant, "GMF" [explicit]
And here's a Bob's top pick for "weirdest fun song," "Green Blood" by San Francisco band Sonny and the Sunsets:
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Bob Boilen is the creator and host of NPR's All Songs Considered.
