2013 Mixtape

I know it's a few weeks late, but I always like to give myself a little time to let the previous 12 months of music sink in before I create my playlist of my favorite songs of the year. Basic rules are these:

1. playlist can be no longer than 80 min so it can fit on a single cd
2. No repeating artists on the same mixtape (except in the case of guest artists or extremely awesome albums)
3. These are songs that I love and still enjoy at the end of the year. Therefore overplayed songs get bumped from the list. Sorry Avicii.
4. Don't be afraid of guilty pleasure songs (you'll see what I mean below)
5. Songs must be from the year in Question. No holdovers from the precious year allowed.

So here it is, The official 2013 mixtape according to The Scattered Approach

1. Lady You Shot Me - HarMar Superstar
The coolest thing to ever be associated with the HarMar Mall

2. Strictly Reserved for You (feat. Menahan Street Band) - Charles Bradley
Somebody introduce this guy to Sharon Jones stat so they can make a duet album and I can die happy.

3. Dance Apocalyptic - Janelle Monae
Best R&B/Soul Artist under the age of 40

4. Royals - Lorde
Yes it's overplayed. No, I'm not sick of it yet.

5. Cut My Hair - Luca Vasta
Thank you Amazon for highlighting this song

6. It Is The Way You Name Your Ship - Gogol Bordello
This song makes me want to drink whiskey, sing, and fight at the same time....

7. Rollin' Over - Skinny Lister
...While this song make me want to drink beer, sing, and dance in a circle at the same time.

8. Follow Your Arrow - Kacey Musgraves
I heard it was a good year for female country artists.

9. You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter) - Ashley Monroe
Why yes, yes it was.

10. Timber - Pitbull feat. Ke$ha
What can I say, I'm a sucker for a sick Harmonica riff. Anyone who's been around me when Outkast's "Rosa Parks" comes on can attest to that.

11. Acapella - Karmin
I also love pop music that is tongue in cheek.

12. Wild - Jessie J feat. Big Sean
How is Jessie J not the biggest pop star in the world?! She's got one of the best pop voices I've ever heard.

13. Remix (I Like The) - New Kids on the Block
Yeah, I do love a NKOTB song. So What? It makes me wanna dance like the girl in the video.

14. Harlem - New Politics
Kudos to my wife for introducing me to this awesome indie rock anthem. I defy you not to jump around to this song.

15. Pumping Blood - NONONO
Another great track my wife found. Either she's upped her game or I'm slipping. Probably both.

16. Holy Roller - Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
It's songs like this that make me grateful for NPR's free SXSW samplers.

17. Open - Rhye
Nope, that's not Sade. It's a dude singing this song. Which somehow makes it even more awesome.

18. Dark Horse - Katy Perry feat. Juicy J
This is by far the best song on her new album, and much better for dancing than "ROAR"

19. Rhyme or Reason - Eminem
You either love or hate Eminem at this point. Personally, I thought this was his most exciting album yet, and this is one of several stand out tracks on a stellar album. This song gets my vote simply for the shout out to Yoda over a Zombies sample.

20. New - Paul McCartney
With each new release, I realize I was very wrong about Sir Paul. The man is a genius and living legend. And this song makes me happy. Like, Muppets levels of joy.

21. Plastic Cup - Low
Low gets the nod for honorary haunting bummer of a song, unseating both The National and Arcade Fire to win this spot.

22. I Hope You're the End of My Story - Pistol Annies
I always get sentimental at the end of these lists, and thankfully Pistol Annies provided me with this gorgeous love song to end the 2013 mix

So That's the list. Let me know what gems I missed this year.