Dear god, this was a disappointment. I wanted this to be so much better than it was... Anyway, next up... holy shit, Muse, Of Monsters And Men, Algiers, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment, Billy Currington, so many albums I want to cover... anyway, stay tuned!
I did not know this album was dropping until a few days ago. And to be fair, I don't think that unless you follow the band anybody knew. There was no single on the radio, American or Canadian, no major review sites south of the border seemed to mention it much, the hype has been nonexistent. And on some level it's a damn shame and another example of people not giving the Barenaked Ladies enough credit. Breaking out in the mid-90s with an album that's a borderline classic with Gordon, they did consistently well up here until Stunt and Maroon broke them in the U.S.. And then without warning, everything seemed to fall apart. Their 2003 album didn't land them traction in the rougher, darker rock scene of the early 2000s, and pop rock acts that actually had a sense of humour were marginalized. So the Barenaked Ladies did the next best thing - they went independent and continued to put out albums of reasonable quality... until the second blow hit and frontman Steven Page left the band. It was a shadow that hung over the otherwise excellent All In Good Time that was released in 2010 as the Barenaked Ladies grappled with the loss. Fortunately, by 2013 things had recovered and while I didn't love their 2013 record Grinning Streak, longtime fans of this channel might remember I included 'Odds Are' as my favourite song of 2013 across the board. And I stand by that choice - 'Odds Are' is damn near a perfect pop rock song and the music video made with Rooster Teeth was all kinds of wonderful. But what gave me hope coming out of Grinning Streak was that the band was starting to construct a new identity minus Page, and while the lyrics weren't quite as biting or obscenely clever, there was still a sense of whimsy and underdog charm that was impossible to take away. Sure, there were cracks in the production and writing, but they could refine that going forward, right? And so of course I was going to cover Silverball, and I had high hopes. These guys are Canadian pop rock veterans, and what meagre buzz I could find suggested that this album was even better than Grinning Streak - so did they pull it off?
Some of you are probably scratching your heads with confusion at the title of this list and wondering, 'Wait, didn't he already make this exact same list a few days ago?' Well, this list is significantly different than the last one, mostly because we're no longer talking about the hits. No, these are the songs, singles or otherwise, that appeared on the albums I listened through this year and stuck with me. They aren't the hits - most of you might not recognize the songs I mention, but all of them bear the highest of my personal recommendations. That's right, from the 135 albums I reviewed this year, these were my favourite songs. I'm not segregating them by genre or success - singles or deep cuts all have a chance to make this list, which was initially reduced from thousands down to 436, which was then narrowed down to fifty. And believe me, even with that I had to make some painful cuts, and what is on this list will surprise you. So, without any more delay, here are my Top 50 Songs of 2013! Let's get started!
What, you actually thought I wasn't going to open with this clip? Tsk, tsk, it's almost like none of you know me at all.
And yet, the clip raises an interesting point, and for an American audience, one could easily think that Jeff has a point here. After all, are The Barenaked Ladies that relevant or essential in today's day and age? Why do so many people leap to defend the band, when they've never quite earned the critical praise or success to merit such a reaction? To put it simply, why do people care about The Barenaked Ladies?
Well, I'm sure everyone has their reasons - I know I like them because they're excellent lyricists, have a gift for catchy hooks, and a real poignancy that runs through their best tracks - but I think it comes down to one simple fact: The Barenaked Ladies are a musical personification of the awkward yet adorable teenage nerd. Putting aside all of the songs that seem to be clearly written from that perspective, The Barenaked Ladies might be one of the nerdiest bands to ever perform. Sure, Devo and Depeche Mode fall into the same category, but The Barenaked Ladies seemed to be of a different type in that they clearly embraced their distinct lack of coolness and used it to make unironic, incredibly sincere music. And yes, there was plenty of hidden depths and darkness in some of their material, but for the most part, their discography is much lighter and happier than most would expect, particularly for an alt-rock band from the 90s. And in an era soaked in ironic detachment and a morose 'whatever' attitude, The Barenaked Ladies' wholehearted embrace of sincerity stood out. And thus, it makes sense why people cherish their memories of The Barenaked Ladies: they were the solitary rays of sunshine in the grunge-ridden alt-rock scene of the 90s.
That said, I also get why Jeff has a certain distaste for the band, and as a fan of The Barenaked Ladies, I would be hardpressed to consider all of their output solid. Part of me knows that their major label debut Gordon wouldn't have been nearly as popular without the bootlegging phenomenon of the time period, and while that album is indeed one of the best albums of the 90s, it's not surprising that many people thought the band would flame out, particularly considering their subpar followups with Maybe You Should Drive and Born On A Pirate Ship. Fortunately, the band had recovered by the end of the 90s and put out Stunt and Maroon, two ridiculously great albums that seemed to fit perfectly in the sunny, optimistic music scene of the time, even despite the occasional biting satire and hidden darkness lurking in each album.
And then 9/11 happened, and happy, optimistic music evaporated from the charts, taking The Barenaked Ladies' success along with it. It's really the only explanation I can think of why The Barenaked Ladies stopped having hits, because it wasn't as if they got less witty or their material got worse. In fact, many critics argued that their next few albums got even better, with sharp wit and an uncanny knack for memorable hooks anchoring their material. But this was the era of post-grunge and emo-driven pop rock, and while some alternative rock acts managed to notch hits, The Barenaked Ladies wouldn't have really fit well with modern radio. I hesitate to use the term 'too good' for airplay, because I don't think it's apt - no, if anything, I think The Barenaked Ladies stopped having hits because their music defiantly lacked a surface 'edge' to it. They never were a 'sexy' act, they were distinctly uncool, and while their songwriting had plenty of cutting words and barbed themes, I can definitely see where mainstream radio wouldn't have accepted them.
It didn't help matters that in 2009, Steven Page left the band amidst rumours of cocaine addiction. This was a big problem for The Barenaked Ladies, half because Steven Page was one of the faces of the band, and half because he was also one of the better songwriters of the act. His music tended to be more sour and complex, utilizing his acrid wit to disguise some real darkness in his material, and a lot of people thought that The Barenaked Ladies couldn't really survive without him. Yet in 2010, they put out the reasonably sold album All In Good Time, which worked as well as it did by focusing tightly on the departure of Steven Page and making that loss the emotional core of the album. And for the most part, it worked, mostly on the strength of Ed Robertson's incredibly emotive delivery and the lyrics that seemed to leap straight from the heart.
But outside of the mild chart success of 'You Run Away', The Barenaked Ladies got nowhere with All In Good Time, mostly because alternative rock was getting nowhere on the charts. Keep in mind this was 2010 - the club boom was in full swing, and modern rock radio was on life support, subsisting on the Foo Fighters and whatever was left in the post-grunge wasteland. Even if The Barenaked Ladies had released another Gordon or Stunt, they wouldn't have broken through the club hits that year.
But now it's 2013, and the charts are much more receptive to rock music. 90s and 70s nostalgia is in, and if there was a band that could define the 90s 'mood' in popular culture, I'd probably cite The Barenaked Ladies. And on cue, they have a new album, albeit with the disquieting title Grinning Streak (those two words just sound awkward together, at least to me). So will it be the hit to catapult them back into stardom, or the final blow to sink their careers for good?
It didn't help matters that in 2009, Steven Page left the band amidst rumours of cocaine addiction. This was a big problem for The Barenaked Ladies, half because Steven Page was one of the faces of the band, and half because he was also one of the better songwriters of the act. His music tended to be more sour and complex, utilizing his acrid wit to disguise some real darkness in his material, and a lot of people thought that The Barenaked Ladies couldn't really survive without him. Yet in 2010, they put out the reasonably sold album All In Good Time, which worked as well as it did by focusing tightly on the departure of Steven Page and making that loss the emotional core of the album. And for the most part, it worked, mostly on the strength of Ed Robertson's incredibly emotive delivery and the lyrics that seemed to leap straight from the heart. 