Sunday, December 22, 2013

Hasta El Nuevo Año


In just about an hour, a car will be picking me up to take me to JFK for my flight to Santiago, Chile.  I am at the moment both nervous and excited, but I wanted to say that there probably won't be any posts from me on here until the New Year.  So Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year to all of my readers, and thank you for your readership!

John's World Top 30 Dance/Club Songs of 2013, Part 3: The Top Ten

Happy New Year 2014 to all of my fellow dance music fans.  For the third year in a row I've decided to tackle my 30 favorite dance/club songs of the year 2013.  Please keep in mind that though I've checked out a lot of other top dance song lists for the year, my tastes are different and unique to me, and so the songs you see here may or may not be included in what the 'experts' say. 

Like last year, I will be posting these in three separate posts of ten songs, in descending order.  Here is the final post, the top ten.  But first, take a look at #'s 30 to 11:


#30 - Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia
#29 - Clarity - Zedd
#28 - Controversy - Natalia Kills
#27 - Far Away From Home - will.i.am
#26 - Wild - Jessie J
#25 - Woman's World - Cher
#24 - Applause - Lady Gaga
#23 - Bangerz - Miley Cyrus
#22 - Scream & Shout - will.i.am, with Britney Spears
#21 - Give It 2 U - Robin Thicke
#20 - Let Me love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself) - Ne-Yo
#19 - Gettin' Dumb - will.i.am
#18 - Lay me Down - Avicii
#17 - I Like How It Feels - Enrique Iglesias
#16 - You Make Me - Avicii
#15 - Walking On Air - Katy Perry
#14 - Donatella - Lady Gaga
#13 - Addicted to You - Avicii
#12 - Come n' Get It - Selena Gomez
#11 - Timber - Pitbull and Ke$ha

As always, comments are appreciated.  And here we go...



#10 - Don't Stop the Party - Pitbull

Are y'all havin' a good time?

One of Pit's faster moving tracks always gets everybody up and dancing whenever it's played.


Pitbull - 'Don't Stop the Party' by Codebear2

#9 - Summertime Sadness - Lana del Ray

Ooh, Miss Lana!!!  When I first heard all of the buzz about her I just downloaded her whole Born to Die album without so much as a listen, and I was overwhelmingly disappointed.  But then over the summer I started hearing the remix version of this track and she at least redeemed herself with one song!  I can't find the remix on audio or video, but here's the original:


Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness (Radio Mix Extended Version) HQ from Charlie78 on Vimeo.



#8 - Somebody Loves You - Betty Who

Who can forget that flash mob wedding proposal video from a couple of months back?  That's what got me to love this happy, dancey tune.  Check out the vid right here.

#7 - I Love It - Icona Pop

I got this feeling on a summer day when you were gone
I crashed my car into the bridge. I watched, I let it burn.
I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs.
I crashed my car into the bridge.

I don't care, I love it.
I don't care.


One of the biggest dance anthems of the summer, which channeled 1980's Bananarama.Check it out on John's World.



#6 - Work B**ch - Britney Spears

I just featured this one the other day as Song of the Day.  It took awhile to grow on me, but grow on me it did!  

#5 - Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke, featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers 

I chose this one as the #1 pop song of 2013, but I couldn't make it the #1 dance club, too, if only for how sick I became of it after hearing it way too often.  The song, very reminiscent of 1980's Prince, is a great, funky dance tune, so I'lll leave it at #5.

#4 - That Power - will.i.am, featuring Justin Bieber

I loved will.i.am's #willpower and I absolutely love this bass-heavy track that was made specifically for dance floors.  It really is a good tune, even if you don't love the Biebs.  Check it out:


Will.i.am - That Power ft. Justin Bieber (Audio) by MulticulturalTV

#3 - Get Lucky - Daft Punk

Vintage disco reincarnated!  This one was almost as popular as Blurred Lines, another song with a vintage feel, but this one to me was just a wee bit more authentic.  Perhaps it has something to do with Nile Rodgers.



Daft Punk Feat Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers - Get Lucky (Official Reworked by #djClaudioVizu) from Claudio Vizu on Vimeo.

#2 - Dark Horse - Katy Perry, featuring Juicy J

Anyone who knows me personally knows how much I love this one.  Ever since the first time hearing it, I fell in love with the eerily dark and funky track off Katy's Prism album.  I've talked about the song enough on here, so now let's check it out...

So you wanna play with magic...
dark horse - katy perry full (lyric video) from belen on Vimeo.



#1 - Wake Me Up - Avicii

Far and away the most unique and in my opinion best, dance song of the year is the now classic Wake Me Up, by Avicii.  The song is wonderfully arranged and produced, the lyrics are moving and poignant, the vocals magnificently reminiscent of Tracy Chapman, and the combination of a slamming dance track with some square dance folly are ingenious.  Check it out...
Avicii ft Aloe Blacc - Wake Me Up (Junior Senna & M Torrez Tribal Remix - Tony Mendes Video Re-Edit) from Tony Mendes on Vimeo.

So there you go!  My choices for the thirty best dance/club songs of the year.  I hope you've found something within to whet your dance music appetite.  I know I have!  Be sure to check out some of my choices for the past two years, as well, and my Yahoo piece for the best in pop music for the year 2013.

2013 

The Top Twenty Pop Songs of 2013



John's World Top 30 Dance/Club Songs of 2013, Part 2: #'s 20-11

Happy New Year 2014 to all of my fellow dance music fans.  For the third year in a row I've decided to tackle my 30 favorite dance/club songs of the year 2013.  Please keep in mind that though I've checked out a lot of other top dance song lists for the year, my tastes are different and unique to me, and so the songs you see here may or may not be included in what the 'experts' say. 

Like last year, I will be posting these in three separate posts of ten songs, in descending order.  Here is the middle post, from #20 - #11.  As always, comments are appreciated.  And here we go...




#20 - Let Me Love You  - Ne-Yo

I've always loved the soulful voice of Ne-Yo, especially on a dance track, and this one is awesome, feelgood stuff! !  Check out Let Me Love You...


Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To... by juicyremixes


#19 - Gettin' Dumb - will.i.am, with apl de ap  2NE1

I reviewed this one in May as a part of the track by track reviews of #willpower.  I've listened to it plenty of times since and I've concluded that it's a great dance track.  The vocals, the beats, the music...funky!!!!! Check out Gettin' Dumb on Daily Motion.

#18 - Lay Me Down - Avicii

Avicii first came under my radar with his awesome club track, Levels, a little over a year ago.  Then came the fabulous Wake Me Up, and then when his True album came out, I downloaded it and it soon became one of my favorite albums of the year.  In addition to that first smash single, there are plenty of great dance tracks to be found here, including this one.

Lay Me Down is a typical, fast-paced, anthemic dance track that's got a really nice groove.  Featuring the vocals of Adam Lambert and the talents of Nile Rodgers, this one needs to get more listeners.  Check it out on YouTube.



#17 - I Like How It Feels - Enrique Iglesias

I'm not sure if it's me and the way I listen to music or just the way music is presented these days.  I hadn't really heard too much from Enrique in awhile, but a short browse on iTunes and I found that he is indeed still making music and good stuff at that.  I posted this one as Song of the Day in October and it did well with page views.  It's Enrique style all the way and that means it's catchy and fun!


Enrique Iglesias Feat. Pitbull - I Like How It... by Henrietta-Aime-Fumer_Tv

#16 - You Make Me - Avicii

Another awesome track from True, this one's thumpin' and bumpin' all the way!  Awesome!


Avicii - You Make Me (Official Music Video) by WoudaRecords

#15 - Walking On Air - Katy Perry

Here's yet a new dimension to Katy Perry on her new Prism album, a track made for dancing!  YES!

#14 - Donatella - Lady Gaga

Here's my immediately favorite song off ARTPOP.  I love the spoken, saucy intro, and the Gothic dramaticism of the entire track.  It is THE dance track on the record.  Check out Donatella right here.


Audra Mae - newsok

#13 - Addicted to You - Avicii

Yet another Avicci song, and this one's similar to Wake Me Up in that it's got that nice and unique blend of country and club music.  The singer is Audra Mae, who sounds on here a lot like a cross between one of those big name women country singers of a few decades ago and the vintage female singers of a few years ago, like Duffy or even Adele.  Wonderfully arranged and  nicely produced, this one feels just like an old country song reworked into a club tune.  Check out Addicted to You.

#12 - Come n' Get It - Selena Gomez

This Indian-influenced tune from Selena Gomez is especially catchy and became the singer's first top ten hit on Billboard's Hot 100.  Check out the infectious Come n' Get It...


Selena Gomez - Come & Get It by emreorhan_1997

#11 - Timber - Pitbull, featuring Ke$ha

It's going down, I'm yelling timber
You better move, you better dance
Let's make a night you won't remember
I'll be the one you won't forget


This pleasant dance tune from unlikely duo Pitbull and Ke$ha works surprisingly well.  Check it out...


Pitbull feat. Kesha - Timber by kiss_fm

So there you have it, #'s 20 to 11 on my countdown for the best dance tunes of 2013.  Stay tuned to the top 10 dance music songs of 2013 coming soon, and in the meantime, check out the past two years of great dance songs and relive some fond memories, as well as part one of this list:

2013

John's World Top 30 Dance/Club Songs of 2013, Part 1: #'s 30 - 21

2012




2011