This has been my third year at The Morton Report. I wrote 44 columns this year which included approximately 440 songs to offer up to you, my precious readers. The following are not in any order of importance but rather in what I hope has the love and listenability of a carefully selected playlist. The contents are not specifically tracks released in 2013, but rather tracks from my column this year that piqued your interest each week more than others. I am glad to be able to offer you great music that you are probably too busy (or lazy) to search out yourselves and I hope my percentage of ringing your bells is quite high.
With the new year ready to knock the door down momentarily, I am looking forward to starting right at the edge; hopefully a year from now it will be twice as difficult to pick the best of 2014. To make my life easier as I hope I have made yours, all I ask is that when you find a new favorite that gets to you like they did in the old days, please take a moment and write a comment about it (the comments section is at the end of each column). On the other hand, if you feel my taste is terribly wrong, I don’t mind hearing that either because we all hopefully have the capacity still left to learn a little something every day.
Okay then. Everyone say a little prayer that somehow the world situation will get better or you'll be lucky enough to get a ticket on board Noah’s Second Great Voyage. I hear that Jay Z and Beyoncé will be playing the entire journey and that they also own the boat (you should see their daughter's stateroom!).
Happy New Year and don’t OD on your medical marijuana.
1. "Heaven" — Emeli Sandé (3:23)
2. "Touch the Sky" — Julian Lennon (3:48)
3. "Beaut" — Brooke Waggoner (2:39)
4. "Swallow My Pride" — Billy Bragg (2:46)
5. "Keep My Feet Up" — The Subdudes (3:25)
6. "I Wouldn't Be a Man" — Josh Turner (3:27)
7. "Remember Me This Way" — Edie Brickell/Steve Martin (3:19)
8. "Walk On By" (track) — Burt Bacharach (2:57)
Jeez, wouldja look at the size of those talented hands?
9. "She Won't Cheat on Us" — Paul Thorn (2:31)
10. "Ghost of a Smile" — Peder (3:05)
11. "Surf's Up" — Conrad Tao (4:18)
12. "The Man Who Never Was" — Rick Springfield, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Pat Smear (2:59)
13. "Happiness Is" — New York City (3:07)
14. "Truth" — Chris Ardoin (2:55)
15. "What Dying Feels Like" — Rebecca Lynn Howard (2:41)
16. "Fireproof" — The National (2:33)
17. "Falling" — Bob Carpenter (2:59)
18. "The Pin Drop" — Steven Wilson (3:31)
19. "Too Hot to Last" — Snarky Puppy (3:51)
20. "Misunderstood" — Carolyn Wonderland (3:01)
21. "The Smartest Monkeys" — XTC (3:30)
22. "I Will Come" — Alpha Rev (2:33)
23. "Crush" — MaiMou (3:08)
24. "Howling at the Moon" — Peter Rowan (3:35)
25. "Beautiful Dreamer" — Cowboy Jack Clement (3:22)
