Luckily for humanity, the world didn’t end last month. Maybe 13 isn’t such an unlucky number after all. Drink a toast to the Mayans and don’t take it for granted. The world is for the taking, and this might just be the year that you do that one thing you’ve wanted to do for all these years. Whether 2013 finds you filled with resolve or ready to dissolve, you’ll need a good soundtrack to do it by. Happy new year, and many returns.
“Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear
This euphoric song is a good one for forgetting your troubles. In fact, the band is so relaxed in the music video that they don’t even mind when their heads burst into flame.
“Conquest” – The White Stripes
As you set out with visions of grandeur and glory this year, keep this song in mind and don’t get too carried away by your passions. If things don’t work out, you can always do something pseudo-exciting, like getting a weird haircut or trying a new flavor of ice cream.
“Shadow People” – Dr. Dog
This year, any night can be “the right night for the wrong company.” Take every chance you get to hang out with you ne’er-do-well friends. The universe might sling a meteor at the planet and end the world a couple weeks late out of some sick sense of irony.
“Singapore” – Tom Waits
An inviting tale of strange adventures on the high seas put to music. Tom never fails to endear his listeners with accounts of his terrifying dreams and exploits. Don’t take his word for it though—there’s a whole weird world out there awaiting exploration.
“Sun Will Shine” – Akron/Family
The vibrations of warm winter sun that this song spews would have been perfect to put Rip Van Winkle to sleep, if it weren’t for the raucous chorus of Auld Lang Synge that explodes at the end.
“Little Talks” – Of Monsters and Men
Nothing rings in a new year like a bright and trumpety folk song. The interchange of male and female vocals is interesting; they manage to sound like Mumford and Sons with less testosterone. The video is a spectacle as well, and features the band as a troop of cardboard cutouts that battles monsters in an icy land.
“Movement and Location” – Punch Brothers
Inspired by legendary baseball player Greg Maddox, this stirring melody is about perfecting an art form, whether it be pitching or picking. Good inspiration for a new year’s project.
“Auld Lang Synge” – Jimi Hendrix
No one could do this song more justice than the left-handed, starry-eyed and smoke-wreathed king of guitar. Reminders to spread some good will and keep the past in mind are punctuated with crunchy guitar licks. Neither will we forget one of his fellow 1960s musicians, Ravi Shankar. The tremendously accomplished sitar player passed away last month at the age of 92.
