TOP TRACKS OF 2013 BY PETER FEY Here at the Zakka Shop we love to turn up new music and assemble our store mix by hand.  We regularly look forward to compiling our list of faves for the year and have invited a few of our friends to share theirs as well! Another longtime friend and 21st Century Sound alum, Pete Fey, kindly shared his favorite tracks of the year with us.  Pete told us that he spent the year digging into more archival stuff this year, spending time with as many re-mastered and reissued albums as new releases.  Although Pete didn’t divulge any big milestones of his year, I’m going to blow up his spot and mention that he’s been chilling with Elvis Costello on occasion lately and we’re super jealous.  How do you even work that out?!?  So cool.  Thank you, Pete! Do the Strand by The Bryan Ferry Orchestra - Even if you don’t really know Roxy Music, these hot jazz versions of their songs stand on their own. If I had to guess I’d say the orchestra was recorded through an inverted megaphone. Can I get this on shellac? Etch-A-Sketch (Mix 3) by Bill Lloyd - Bill Lloyd is one of my favorite Nashville-based people--he has a great sense of humor and music history. This track is kinda like War meets Bowie meets that toy we all were frustrated by as kids. Sometimes he puts stuff like this up on his website. Green River Valley by Crackerboots - Speaking of favorite Tennessee folk, the coolest cat in Nashville is without a doubt New Jersey’s own Bill DeMain. He’s got a bit of the Doc Brown about him: truly a man out of time. Bill writes catchy pop songs that sound at home in eras past and present. Like a jukebox Tardis. You may have heard of Swan Dive, which is Bill on guitar and typewriter and the incomparable Molly Felder on vocals and cocktail kit. Crackerboots teams him with the owner of another distinctive and evocative voice, Melissa Mathes. Are you listening, Mad Men? Hey Laura by Gregory Porter - Stumbled onto this via the Blue Note Spotify page. Solid album with all the tracks but one written by the owner of this soulful voice. Unpretentious and heartfelt. I Saw the Light by David Uosikkinen’s In the Pocket - If I had contributed to this blog last year I would’ve listed the In the Pocket cover of Robert Hazard’s Change Reaction, but this year’s track will do nicely. The project is new recordings of great Philly pop/new wave/whatever you wanna call it from the last 30 years or so. If Todd is God, does that make Upper Darby heaven? It’s Time (iTunes Session) by Imagine Dragons - I was introduced to this band by my son, and I think this live-in-the-studio version shows how talented these guys are. Be interesting to see how they follow up their massive album. I have a feeling they’ll do just fine. We saw them in concert--in the pouring rain at Jones Beach--and they were superb. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart - Almost went with Homecoming Heroes but this is a good little mantra, especially now. Old Dirt Road (Alternate Version) by Harry Nilsson - A new release but, obviously, an archival recording from around 1980. Harry co-wrote this song with John Lennon, and it appeared on 1975’s Walls and Bridges album, my first Lennon album. Two great voices, too soon gone. Things I Shouldn’t Have Told You by Sam Phillips - Sam’s put out consistently solid records four 25+ years. You’d think someone would notice. Well, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss did (Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us). This song should be covered right now by Messieurs Nesmith, Dolenz, and Tork. Tripwire by Elvis Costello & The Roots - Wise Up Ghost is my album of the year, and this song in particular I find harrowing and moving. Like its spiritual predecessor Shipbuilding, it’s an observational lyric of a world in crisis expressed by its impact on people, not nations. Where Are We Now? by David Bowie - Mournful and yet still hopeful in its own way. It will always evoke our beloved Dianne, a Bowie fan who passed away on the day this album was released. The moment you know you know you know...
