2013's Ten Best Pop Songs

Of course, you know, this is Mama Kath so this list is not tracks you heard on the radio this year.  They were not millions sellers.  They will not be nominated for Grammys, AMAs or have a shot at an MTV moonman.  Nope, this is the truly GREAT pop music that the industry does not want you to know exists.  They want you to keep believing the drek they promote is quality art.  IT'S NOT SO WAKE UP!  Fire up Spotify and lets do this.

10)  "The Best Thing (That Never Happened) We Are The In Crowd.  This band is another that stands to take on Paramore and win.  Fun, dance and in your face.

9)  "Give Me Your Hand" remixes.  This was the only way I could legally get The Ready Set into 2013 releases.  This is an artist that is way under-rated.  Jordan is everything Justin Bieber can only hope to be.  He writes his own music and sings it live.  The guy OWNS a stage and an audience.

8)  "Cool Kids" from Echosmith's debut album "Talking Dreams" is a great pop song.  This is a band with some super potential.  After a full run on Vans Warped Tour this summer, they got to play Nickelodeon/TeenNick's Top10 Countdown for New Year's.  Echosmith is a family act from L.A. that is genuine competition for Paramore and Katy Perry.

7)  "I Still Dream" from Young London's 2013 release "Instincts".  These two do an amazing job taking techno dance out of the studio and performing it live.  I dare anyone who goes to one of their shows to stand still.  Sarah and Matt have perfect synergy and are such a fantastic musical team.

6)  "Get Lucky" Daft Punk were another group that came back in 2013 with killer material.  This song was the product of the full-house collab between the robots, wunderkind Pharell Williams and guitar legend, Nile Rodgers.  There was no way this song couldn't be a great pop track. All the collaborations on this record were genius.

5)  "Savior" and "Geisha Dance" by Ricky Rebel.  Two singles released from his upcoming "Blue" album.  This guy has such a solid grasp on pop music and his creative eye should have him everywhere.  His music videos are beautifully theatrical and his sound engineering is impeccable.  I can't decide between these two tracks.

4)  "Benny and Joon" William Beckett's "Genuine and Counterfeit".  This guy was totally on to it as far as phenomenal pop right out of the gate with The Academy Is...  He found his stride again immediately in his first solo release last year and it just keeps getting better.  Beckett also has a hard, steel grip on social media and is using every bit of it to his advantage including the new Stage-It site.  He is touring starting in February with another favorite, previously mentioned, We Are The In Crowd.

3)  "Girls/Girls/Boys" Panic at The Disco "Too Weird To Live-Too Rare To Die".  This album is brilliant but I wouldn't expect less from Brendon Uri.  I picked this track due to it's balls.  The lyrics play with subject matter that is in the headlines and deals with it fearlessly.  The video is even more fearless.

2)  "Fight or Flight" off Sam Sparro's EP Quantum Physical Vol. 1 is that smooth Sparro I love so much.  But honestly I don't think Sam can do a bad song.  This whole EP is on loop often.  The rest of this EP series is highly anticipated and should just keep giving us more killer Sam.

1)  "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)" Fall Out Boy.  This song is so anthemic.  Fall Out Boy came back with a vengence in 2013.  They closed this year by performing at the Victoria's Secret fashion show.  They are far from done smashing the pop-punk world.

2014 has a lot more great pop to look forward to.  Feel free to weigh in with your choices.  Nothing from mainstream though.  People already know who the industry is pushing.  Look behind the curtain, beyond the smoke and mirrors.

William Beckett and TAI - truly great pop

Ok, don't call me out yet.  Yes, The Academy Is... did get a little radio time back in '06-'07.  But come on...admit it, some of the best tracks, especially from Santi were only known to us fans or those we dragged to shows.  See...I'm right.  Alright, TAI did have some clunkers too..Fast Times At Barrington High was rather self-indulgent and was not the highest note this otherwise truly great pop band should have gone out on.  Let's just remember the good songs that William Beckett and Mike Cardin penned.

My sympathies to anyone who never got to see TAI live.  William is a great frontman and had a fantastic band behind him.  The Butcher killed a kit and Sisky Business on bass was not only a good musician but great comic relief.  Carden took his guitar job seriously but with a wink and a nod.  Even with different rhythms the chemistry always worked.  These guys could bring it whether in the blistering heat of an afternoon Warped Tour set or headlining a show in a 2000 body venue with light show and staging.  They always left us wanting more.

Then it all came to an end.  William went back to Chicago and mulled over his next move.  Try as he might he couldn't stop writing or singing.  But this guy was determined to do whatever "it" was going to be on his terms.  No selling out to labels who would demand he do music handed to him or even doing his own music within their perimeters.  So he started creating, on his own.  He was able to get studio time to engineer recordings that are full, rich with all the necessary instrumentation and effects.  He also had a plan.  Release the project as three EPs, each one a different chapter of a love story.  The sales of each would fund the creation of the next and hopefully generate money for touring.

Touring, that posed another problem.  There was no band.  There was one William Beckett, a MacBook Pro and an acoustic guitar.  This incredibly intelligent and talented artist figured it out.  Some songs are done straight up acoustic and others use backing tracks...and it works.

I had a bit of a wish come true when I actually met Mr. Beckett last year but it was better than my wish because I got to sit down and interview him for over a half hour.  William Beckett is indeed a quiet person off stage.  He watches and listens.  He is a walking encyclopedia of music of the second-half of the 20th Century.  He was the "smart kid" in high school and was determined to head east after graduation.  Beckett still has a number of Jersey artists in his list favorites.  He takes a little bit to warm up to strangers but if you find a topic he's passionate about he'll talk, sharing knowledge, facts and feelings.  The one question I never did get to ask him though, because I didn't notice it till we were wrapping the interview, is the meaning behind his ampersand tattoo.  However, it's easy to see that with William Beckett it's always "and" never an "or" or a "but".

After the interview I got to hear all of the first EP of the trilogy along with a couple of tracks from the second which had not been released at that point.  Especially after hearing it live and even now, my favorite song is still "Girl, You Shoulda Been A Drummer".   He also treated us to some of TAI's greatest hits.  Although a little subdued and matured, he still has very magnetic stage presence...still a great pop artist.  If you are going to Warped Tour this year make a point to catch his set on the Acoustic Basement stage all summer.   It will definitely be worth it.   Add William Beckett to your Spotify, Pandora and LastFM lists and but his EP's on iTunes.

p.s. I think my current Spotify choice will be next week's feature-Cobra Starship!