The Biggest Hits Of 2013 That Never Made The Blog...Until Now

As frequent (or even casual) readers of this blog can attest, I have done a heckuva lot of music posts this year. Maybe I'm just on a music kick (okay, definitely I am) or maybe I just don't have much time to compile many other kinds of posts (that's true, too). Throughout the course of the year, I've posted a fair number of current hit songs – that's both coincidental and by design – but I did miss a few big ones here and there. Having thought of no better way to include the songs before year's end, I've gathered them all together here for your listening (and viewing) pleasure. Enjoy!   ~  JH

1)  AWOLNATION  ~  "Sail"  (Yes, technically, I did post an a cappella cover of this song a couple weeks ago, but in my book that doesn't count.)

2)  Katy Perry  ~  "Unconditionally"  (She has her faults, topically and lyrically speaking, but I have to give Katy Perry props for crafting some really good pop songs.)

3)  Maroon 5  ~  "Love Somebody"  (I've heard this song I don't know how many times, but I'd never seen the video till now – it's weird. Good song, though!)

4)  P!nk  ~  "Try"  (P!nk never ceases to amaze me – she's consistently awesome!)

5)  The Band Perry  ~  "DONE."  (Good song by a good modern country band – but I really wish those brothers would get new hairdos – Ughsville!)

6)  Lady Gaga  ~  "Applause"  (Somewhat questionable video, but a catchy song – annoyingly so!)

7)  One Direction  ~  "Story Of My Life"  (I must grudgingly admit that this is a surprisingly good song!)

8)  Taylor Swift  ~  "I Knew You Were Trouble"  (I know I should be embarrassed to admit it, but I really like [and own most of] Taylor Swift's music – this song is no exception!)

9)  Baauer  ~  "Harlem Shake"  (Don't worry, there's no booty shaking in this video – it's audio only.)

10)  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton  ~  "Can't Hold Us"  (I wish this guy didn't pepper the majority of his songs – this one mostly excluded – with foul language, because if so I would probably buy and listen to his music. Oh, well...)

11)  Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams  ~  "Get Lucky"  (It's an undeniably good tune, but I can't in good conscience recommend the lyrics. Big hit, though.)

12)  Eminem ft. Rihanna  ~  "The Monster"  (Sorry, music purists, I couldn't post the official music video for this one. It contained a couple of un-family-friendly words that weren't bleeped, and I prefer to keep it PG here.)

13)  Lady Antebellum  ~  "Downtown"  (This one's obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek, and that's a good thing. 'Cuz if not…)

14)  Carrie Underwood  ~  "Two Black Cadillacs"  (A darker song for Carrie, but no less enjoyable than her cheerier hits. Sorry that Sound Of Music Live! thing didn't work out so well for you, chica…)

15)  Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX  ~  "I Love It"  (Again with this song, I couldn't post the original music video because of some uncensored lyrics, but the clean version is just as good – no, better! – to me, even if it's not actually a video.)

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TETp3OFNa3U

BONUS TRACK:  Ylvis  ~  "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)"  (Would you believe I never even heard this song till last week? I didn't say "heard of" – I first heard of it a few months ago, but had somehow managed to avoid it till recently. I'm sorry it took me so long to experience it, because the song is hilarious – not epic, but hilarious – as it was obviously intended to be.)

"Need" & "Want" Songs

Will this "Opposites" music post madness ever end? I hope not. Because if it does, it probably means that I am "no longer with us." Enjoy? ~  JH

1)  OneRepublic  ~  "Something I Need"

2)  Cher Lloyd  ~  "Want U Back"

3)  Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding  ~  "I Need Your Love"

4)  Journey  ~  "Any Way You Want It"

5)  Lady Antebellum  ~  "Need You Now"

6)  Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra  ~  "Want It Back"

7)  Mariah Carey  ~  "Anytime You Need A Friend"

8)  Vertical Horizon  ~  "Everything You Want"

9)  Maverick Sabre  ~  "I Need"

10)  Spice Girls  ~  "Wannabe"

11)  Within Temptation  ~  "All I Need"

12)  Toad The Wet Sprocket  ~  "All I Want"

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVYYpNaSs2Y

13)  Plumb  ~  "Need You Now (How Many Times)"

14)  The Human League  ~  "Don't You Want Me?"

15)  Third Day  ~  "I Need A Miracle"

16)  Christina Aguilera  ~  "What A Girl Wants"

17)  Matt Maher ft. Audrey Assad  ~  "Lord, I Need You"

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaVPupbNFAo

18)  Gavin DeGraw  ~  "I Don't Want To Be"

19)  Tim McGraw ft. Faith Hill  ~  "I Need You"

20)  Cyndi Lauper  ~  "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"

Songs About America...But Not Really

Here's a collection of songs with "America," "U.S.A.," or some similar derivative in their titles, most of which have little or nothing to do with our country. In a future post, I'll put together a group of songs which actually mention America more than just in passing. But for now, this is all you get. Enjoy – or roll your eyes. Both responses could be justified.  ~ JH

1)  Demi Lovato  ~  "Made in the USA"

2)  Beach Boys  ~  "Surfin' USA"

3)  Cimorelli  ~  "Made In America"

4)  Bruce Springsteen  ~  "Born In The U.S.A."

5)  Miley Cyrus  ~  "Party In The U.S.A."

6)  Razorlight  ~  "America"

7)  Victorious Cast ft. Victoria Justice  ~  "Make It In America"

8)  Alice Cooper  ~  "Lost In America"

9)  Bonnie McKee  ~  "American Girl"

10)  David Bowie ft. Nine Inch Nails  ~  "I'm Afraid Of Americans"

11)  Kim Wilde  ~  "Kids In America"

12)  Jedward  ~  "Miss America"

13)  Jimmy Eat World  ~  "Bleed American"

14)  Brad Paisley  ~  "American Saturday Night"

15)  Don McLean  ~  "American Pie"

16)  Lady Antebellum  ~  "American Honey"

17)  Natalie McCool  ~  "America"

18)  Casting Crowns  ~  "American Dream"

19)  Dave Matthews Band  ~  "American Baby"

20)  Electric Light Orchestra  ~  "Calling America"

Songs With Greetings In The Titles

Yes, I'm at it again. But this may be my best random collection of songs yet! Each song in this particular list contains a greeting in the title, whether that be "Hey, "Hello," or "Hi." There are some truly timeless songs by classic artists here, as well as some great modern songs that I've thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  The Lumineers  ~  "Hey Ho"

2)  Lionel Richie  ~  "Hello"

3)  OutKast  ~  "Hey Ya!"

4)  The Doors  ~  "Hello, I Love You"

5)  Kip Moore  ~  "Hey Pretty Girl"

6)  Karmin  ~  "Hello"

7)  Filter  ~  "Hey Man, Nice Shot"

8)  The Beatles  ~  "Hello Goodbye"

9)  Train  ~  "Hey, Soul Sister"

10)  Conway Twitty  ~  "Hello Darlin'"

11)  Plain White T's  ~  "Hey There, Delilah"

12)  Neil Diamond  ~  "Hello Again"

13)  Mat Kearney  ~  "Hey Mama"

14)  Shontelle  ~  "Say Hello To Goodbye"

15)  The Beatles  ~  "Hey, Jude"  (Yes, twice in one post – so sue me!)

16)  Lady Antebellum  ~  "Hello World"

17)  Gin Blossoms  ~  "Hey Jealousy"

18)  Louis Armstrong  ~  "Hello, Dolly!"

19)  The Baseballs  ~  "Hello"

20)  The Mowgli's  ~  "Hi, Hey There, Hello"