Top Tunes 2013 Edition

IN NO ORDER...yet

• SuperLove- Charli XCX
• Applause, Do What U Want- Lady Gaga
• Julian, Fool Of Me (ft Chet Faker), Beloved- Say Lou Lou (BEST NEWCOMER OF 2013)
• Your Drums, Your Love- AlunaGeorge
• We Can't Stop- Miley Cyrus *insert groan here*
• Tennis Court- Lorde
• Work Bitch- Britney Spears
• Come and Get It- Selena Gomez
• I Was A Fool- Tegan and Sara
• Valentine's Day- David Bowie
• Resolution- Matt Corby
• Best Song Ever, Story Of My Life- One Direction
• Dear Darlin- Olly Murs
• L'enfer et Moi- Amandine Bourgeois (BEST EUROVISION TRACK)
• Under Control- Calvin Harris and Hurts
• I Love It- Icona Pop and Charli XCX
• You- Nathaniel
• Evil Eye- Franz Ferdinand
• Drew- Goldfrapp
• Wings- Birdy
• Habits- Tove Lo
• All For You- Little Boots
• Atlas- Coldplay
• Over The Love- Florence and the Machine 

• Roar- Katy Perry *rolls eyes*
• Beauty Queen- Foxes

• Permission to Love- Hayden James
• Blood On The Leaves- Kanye West
• Blind, Somebody to Die For, The Crow- Hurts
• Bridges- BROODS 

• Young and Beautiful- Lana Del Rey
• Rendez Vous- La Plage
• La La La- Naughty Boy ft Sam Smith
• Hard Out Here- Lily Allen
• You My Everything, Burn, How Long Will I Love You- Ellie Goulding
• Do I Wanna Know?- Arctic Monkeys
• Got What You Need- Eskimo Joe
• Fantasy- MSMR
• Firestarter- Samantha Jade
• Change Your Life, Bounce- Iggy Azalea
• Thinking About You- Calvin Harris

And now....the top 10.

10. The Wire- Haim
It was so hard to pick my favourite Haim song for the list because, let's face it, THEY ARE ALL AMAZING. But The Wire rightfully owns a spot for being their big radio breakout hit.

9. Love Me Again- John Newman
I cannot wait for the Northern Soul resurgence. John Newman can start it in my opinion.

8. Thursday- Pet Shop Boys ft Example
The best PSB single in a long time. Neil Tennants' classic vocal stylings with Chris Lowe's beats and Examples rap/singing- why wouldn't you stay for the weekend?

7. Pompeii- Bastille

I dare you not to sing along with the male choir. I DARE YOU. Perhaps one of the of the most uplifting, rousing songs of the year.

6. Work- Iggy Azalea

This track was especially motivating on my daily commutes into work and features one of my favourite lyrics this year 'Valley Girls giving blow jobs for Louboutins/Whatchu call that?/Head over heels'. Great video as well featuring homages to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Death Proof and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 

5. Royals- Lorde

In essence, a diatribe against American Cultural Imperialism. Brilliant.

4. Flatline- MKS

A TUNE. I wasn't putting much stock in the comeback until I heard Dev Hynes was producing a few of their tracks. This first single sold me and it's such a shame that it didn't fare better chart wise. 

3. Hold On, We're Going Home- Drake

How did this get here? No-one knows. But it's a genuinely swoon worthy song with a good beat- just check out the fantastic cover by Arctic Monkeys as well for proof.

2. Riptide- Vance Joy

In the film of my life, this song will be used in a montage sequence of myself (portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence or Meryl Streep) staring out of a car window, towards an imagined future, with the wind blowing in my face. My go-to happy song.

1. Get Lucky- Daft Punk

No brainer. This was THE song of 2013 for me. The combination of Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams provided an explosion of funk and disco that soundtracked the entire year. It just makes you want to get up and dance no matter where you are. Iconic.

So, that seems to wrap up 2013 quite nicely. Now go forth and dance!

Only If For A Night: Florence and the Machine Sydney Entertainment Centre May 24 2012

'Please rise for the hymn'

And rise we did, for tonight we worshiped at the altar of Holy Mother Florence and the Reverend Machine. The lights dimmed, the stage was set and the opening notes of Only if For A Night twinkled out of the amps, infiltrating the (sold out) audience. And as Florence appeared, every jaw dropped in the room as she strode over to the microphone, swathed in a cape that seemed to have a life of it's own, adorned in a crystals and crushed velvet.

Florence Welch and her amazing cape.

Waiting for Florence and company to take the stage. Confronted  by a  rogue camera.

My sister has no patience. She too is waiting for the show to start. Also, those  are not her glasses

That voice. Oh my word. That perfect, rich voice rang throughout the arena, bewitching everyone that heard it. Not once did she falter. She might have lowered a note or two, running and jumping like some maniac posessed, but not once did it falter. It may have been the cold, but I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at many times during the show.

From the dark (What the Water Gave Me) to the sublime (Cosmic Love), Florence breezed through the show, pausing only to give shout outs to fans who had sent presents and letters. Spectrum was played amongst a backdrop of disco balls and strobe lights- it reminded me of a comment I read somewhere online when Ceremonials had first come out, that Spectrum is the new age gay anthem. It fits to a tee, the anthemic mantra of 'say my name!/every colour illuminates' thrashed out to a sea of crazed fans dancing for their life.

And then there were life changers like 'the hymn' (You've Got The Love), Shake It Out and Dog Days are Over, where the audience felt like one, big happy family. Dancing, jumping up and down- it was admittedly hard not to.

Some random moments from the show include a 9 year old girl following Florence on stage and being overwhelming cute and full of chutzpah, a fight happening between drunk bogans in the row behind us during Heartlines and, happily, the distinct lack of cameras and phones in the audience.

The encore was a beautiful duality; the haunting Never Let Me Go and the thrilling No Light, No Light, bringing the show to a crashing crescendo, the drum beats pulsating through our bodies.

The changes between this new tour and Cosmic Love tour are evident; it's bigger, brighter and shinier but it's still Florence and the Machine. She was on fine form tonight, running all over the stage, incredibly chatty and livelier. I had my doubts about the move to a larger venue, I didn't think they could pull it off. So glad to say I'm wrong.

Art deco set.

Note the industrial sized fan, Mariah Carey could never.

HBIC

Florence as a deity.

Strike a pose.

'God, grant me the ability to be a flawless ginger bitch'

9 year old Emily and her stage invasion post- Spectrum dance party. I take my hat off to her.

Lots of glowsticks in the crowd. Surprisingly

Fin.

Robbie Tuesday- I've Been Expecting You

First off, Merry Robbie Tuesday to you all. Today we are going to look at Robbie's second album, I've Been Expecting You released in 1998.

Strong: Robbie's sing-a-long song. So much fun to sing to and good album opener. It really sets the mood of the album: let me pour my heart to you and have a cocktail with an umbrella whilst I do so.
No Regrets: One of my all time favourites. Features Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon on guest vocals and is just superb. The choruses are just epic but I think what really shines here are Robbie's lyrics; not so much about who they pertain to (Take That) but the anger and frustration that builds on each line. Key lyric: I didn't lose my mind/it was mine to give away. And Suppose it's just a point of view/but they tell me I'm doing fine.
Millennium: the first single off the album. Uses a sample of 'You Only Live Twice' and this Bond theme was used in the video and the album artwork. A deserving number 1 though I've never quite worked out what it's about. If I'm to harbour a guess, I'd say it is about Robbie.
Phoenix From the Flames: a beautiful ballad that is soft in the verses and loud in the choruses. It's one of his best slow songs- yes, right up there with Angels and Feel. Lovely piano part at the beginning and one of his rare falsetto moments during the verses.
Win Some Lose Some: A mid-tempo number about a summer fling. Really lovely and has a summer vibe.
Grace: Another midtempo number in the same vein, but after learning about what the song was originally about, it kind of made me sad to listen to. Grace was what Robbie was planning on calling his and Nicole Appleton's unborn child and I think the chorus speaks volumes. At first, I thought he was talking about the concept of Grace, which is probably what most people think of now. But with lines like 'Grace, I'm not yet born/come embrace a soul that's torn' its hard not to speculate.
It's Only Us: the replacement song for Jesus in a Camper Van, this was put on the reissued version from 2002 onwards. And it's rocker Robbie, a really fun high action song. Love the 'Rock me Amadaeus' shout out.
Heaven From Here: An acoustic ballad that is the younger brother to One of God's Better People. It's sung beautifully and is a stronger song than its predecessor, though I enjoy both.
Karma Killer: In my top 10 Robbie songs, this has got to be in the top 5. Absolute corker. It builds and builds until it has a spaz attack at the end. And that climax is wonderful- the string section sounds like it's high on coke. And it's the ultimate fuck you song with some brilliant lyrics i.e I hope you choke on your Bacardi and Coke.
She's The One: yes it's a cover, but it's a brilliant cover- the type that makes you forget that the original ever existed. A heartbreaking ballad about love or lost love, I'm not sure. But it's sung with such romance it's hard not to fall in love with it.
Man Machine: Like Karma Killer, if Karma Killer was in a Guy Ritchie film. So it's clever, less angry but its still up there in fuck the world stakes.
These Dreams: a beautiful ballad to end the album and is a touching story about a woman in a relationship that she shouldn't be in.

I think you can tell that I consider this one of Robbie Williams best albums and is in my top 3. Only wish I'd discovered it earlier. It's such a strong, consistent pop album and was a wonderful way to cap off the decade.
9.5-10/10