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.)

A Baker's Dozen Of "Weird Al" Parody Songs

Okay, so obviously the theme of the day is "Weird." Being a writer of several parody songs myself (maybe I'll share them here someday), I've always been a fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic. Not only are his songs spot-on at satirizing pop culture, they're also extremely well-done, technically speaking. With their numerous visual jokes, the music videos are so much better than just listening to the songs themselves. Here are 13 of "Weird Al"'s all-time best... Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  "Smells Like Nirvana"  (parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana)

2)  "Gump"  (parody of "Lump" by The Presidents of the United States of America)

3)  "Amish Paradise"  (parody of "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio ft. L.V.)

4)  "Fat"  (parody of "Bad" by Michael Jackson)

5)  "White & Nerdy"  (parody of "Ridin' Dirty" by Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone)

6)  "Headline News"  (parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies)

7)  "Perform This Way"  (parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga)

8)  "Like A Surgeon"  (parody of "Like A Virgin" by Madonna)

9)  "I Love Rocky Road"  (parody of "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts)

10)  "Eat It"  (parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson)

11)  "Another Tattoo"  (parody of "Nothin' On You" by B.o.B. ft. Bruno Mars)

12)  "Whatever You Like"  (parody of "Whatever You Like" by T.I.)

13)  "Party In The C.I.A."  (parody of "Party In The U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus)

Weird Christmas Songs!

It's the holiday season, so it's only appropriate that I post a gaggle of memorable Christmas tunes, right? Well...the songs in this collection are definitely memorable, but not always in a good way. Enjoy this wonderfully odd collection of Weird Christmas Songs. If you dare!  ~  JH

1)  Sufjan Stevens  ~  "Christmas Unicorn"

2)  Star Wars: Christmas In The Stars  ~  "What Can You Get A Wookiee For Christmas (When He Already Owns A Comb)?"

3)  RUN-DMC  ~  "Christmas In Hollis"

4)  James Brown  ~  "Santa Claus, Go Straight To The Ghetto"

5)  Lady Gaga ft. Space Cowboy  ~  "Christmas Tree"

6)  The Christmas Chids  ~  "Christmas Helmet"

7)  Akim & Teddy Vann  ~  "Santa Claus Is A Black Man"

8)  Debbie & The Darnells  ~  "Santa, Teach Me To Dance"

9)  The Little Stinkers  ~  "I Farted On Santa's Lap (Now Christmas Is Gonna Stink For Me)"

10)  New Kids On The Block  ~  "Funky, Funky Christmas"

11)  The Killers  ~  "Don't Shoot Me, Santa"

12)  Important-Looking Pirates  ~  "I Hate Santa"

13)  "Weird Al" Yankovic  ~  "Christmas At Ground Zero"

14)  Gayla Peevey  ~  "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas"

15)  The Downer Party  ~  "Christmas Sucks In San Francisco"

16)  The Weather Girls  ~  "Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)"

17)  Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band  ~  "Christmas At K-Mart"

18)  Ray Stevens  ~  "Santa Claus Is Watchin' You"

19)  Snoop Doggy Dogg ft. Daz Dillinger, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee, & Bad Azz  ~  "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto"

20)  Elmo & Patsy  ~  "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"

A Baker's Dozen Of "White Christmas" Renditions

So, I've pulled 13 different versions of the same song for your holiday listening pleasure. Now it's up to you to decide which one you like best. I have my favorites among these – and ultimately, my single favorite – as I've noted here. But I'd love to hear your take on it too. Get used to this idea, by the way. I'm likely to do a couple more of these posts – all Christmas songs, of course! Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Rod Stewart  (Nice traditional take on a classic – isn't that David Foster on piano?)

2)  Michael Bublé & Kellie Pickler  (Classy cool with a dash of raucous redneck – not bad at all!)

3)  Cee-Lo Green  (Somehow Cee-Lo seems to make this song his own – well-done!)

4)  Lady Gaga  (Surprisingly subdued – plus, she wrote a new verse to it…and it's actually NOT nasty!)

5)  Tony Bennett  (Crooners and Christmas just seem to go together for some reason – a masterful jazz rendition.)

6)  Garth Brooks  (Hey, I found Garth Brooks on YouTube! I thought that was impossible! Nice version, too!)

Video wouldn't load properly –

 of course! – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYfgWSF81TE

7)  Michael Bolton  (I'm not a huge fan of Bolton – I think he tries too hard at that blue-eyed soul thing – but I suppose this one isn't too bad.)

8)  Martina McBride  (I've always loved Martina's voice/music, and she doesn't disappoint here either – surprise, surprise!)

9)  Il Divo  (A little too slow for my tastes, but there's no denying that these guys are mega-talented.)

10)  Kelly Clarkson  (I wish this were an actual video, but whatevs… Kelly is, as always, fantastic on this song.)

11)  Glee Cast  (Not surprisingly, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer knock this one out of the park!)

12)  The Drifters  (Often-copied, never-duplicated – this is the group that originally recorded the doo-wop, Motown-style version of the song made über-famous on the Home Alone soundtrack.)

13)  Bing Crosby  (For my money, Crosby's is the quintessential version of what is truly a quintessential Christmas song. Many have performed it well, but no one does it better than Bing!)

"Everything" & "Nothing" Songs

Yep, I'm still doing the "Opposites" themed music posts. Probably better just get used to it. What follows is an extremely diverse collection of songs from a variety of genres. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran  ~  "Everything Has Changed"

2)  The Script  ~  "Nothing"

3)  Lights  ~  "Timing Is Everything"

4)  Calvin Harris ft. Florence Welch  ~  "Sweet Nothing"

5)  Boys Like Girls  ~  "Be Your Everything"

6)  Dire Straits  ~  "Money For Nothing"

7)  Sky Ferreira  ~  "Everything Is Embarrassing"

8)  Whitney Houston  ~  "I Have Nothing"

9)  Jason Mraz  ~  "Everything Is Sound"

10)  Metallica  ~  "Nothing Else Matters"

11)  Steven Curtis Chapman  ~  "Do Everything"

12)  The Pretty Reckless  ~  "Miss Nothing"

13)  Bryan Adams  ~  "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"

14)  Lady Gaga  ~  "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)"

15)  The Veronicas  ~  "Everything I'm Not"

16)  Sinéad O'Connor  ~  "Nothing Compares 2 U"

17)  Soluna Samay  ~  "Everything You Do"

18)  B.o.B. ft. Bruno Mars  ~  "Nothin' On You"

19)  Fefe Dobson  ~  "Everything"

20)  Rebecca Ferguson  ~  "Nothing's Real But Love"