Top Things of 2013
2013 was a pretty exciting year. Maybe I am getting older or I am just spending more time on the internet but it really felt like A LOT of things happened this year. Now this isn't going to be a large list but I feel like these are a but a few things that stood out to me in 2013.
Hope you enjoy!
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
KANYE WEST
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One of the big let downs for me this year was Kanye West. Now don't get me wrong... I am a pretty big Ye fan and his last album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' is considered one of my favourite albums and is still circulating all my playlists. So I was pretty excited to hear 2013 was the year for a brand new solo album.
Yeezus dropped on June 18th and although I appreciated it's new unique sounds, it could not follow suit to the greatness of 'MBDTF'. There are 10 tracks on the album and I would say 5 are worth keeping on your playlist. This was also the first album in which I did not go out and actually buy a physical copy (YES i still buy CD's of artists I do like). Sure, I get that he was trying to make a statement with the minimalistic packaging, but I just couldn't justify this one...
To solidify his spot as the biggest disappointment of 2013... You guessed it... THE YEEZUS TOUR. In which he first postpones the first set date and then adds insult to injury by cancelling on the day of for the new set date! Yay... It looked like a damn good show too...
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GAME OF THE YEAR
THE LAST OF US
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Gamer's rejoice, because 2013 was an amazing year for games. When you reach the end of a console generation, developers are finally tapping into the real power of the consoles and making games that really push what current systems can do.
The Last of Us by Naughty Dog is a perfect example of a team that understands the PS3 hardware and is squeezing out every little bit of power remaining in a 7 year old console.
The Last of Us is more than just pretty graphics. Great voice acting, believable character development, environment and story all work together to make you actually care about the game and the characters that live within it. This is story telling at its best people!
Post-apocalyptic games have been done time and time again, but nothing has been done in such a complete way as The Last of Us. If you own a PS3 you NEED to play this game! If you don't own a PS3 but know someone who does, borrow their PS3 and play this game!
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TOP YOUTUBER
CASEY NEISTAT
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If you're 'working' on a computer that has internet... Chances are you're gonna be spending most of your time browsing YouTube for some random entertainment. We all have our favourite YouTuber's we subscribe to and this year I think Casey Neistat has his best year yet.
If he sounds familiar, you may know him from his most famous video where he promoted Nike's Fuel band by travelling around the world within a short amount of time with the slogan 'Make it Count'. That video is what got me really interested in Casey first and got me watching all his other videos as well (which are all really great).
His film style is unique and I find Casey as a master story teller, who relies on the message over anything else... If you have watched his films, they usually are all shot on very modest equipment, not crazy high-end cinematography cameras. Casey is able to keep your attention with his method of story telling and his 'think outside of the box' way of approaching different challenges.
He ends 2013 with what I think is his best film yet. He basically took 20th Century Fox's marketing budget for 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' and showed how far he could take the $25,000 to help those who were effected by Typhoon Haiyan.
if you haven't seen it. STOP READING AND WATCH IT >> HERE <<
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TOP DESIGN DRAMA
iOS 7 / FLAT DESIGN / DEPTH
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Design fanatic or not. If you used an iPhone you couldn't get away from the hot topic discussion of the major design changes present in iOS 7. Apple's new iOS update carried a major shift in design away from the skeuomorphisms of the past and shifts it towards a more modern clean design. Now instead of making things looking like they do in real life, iOS 7 relies on minimal typography, bright shapes and the already preconceived notion of how a user should know the basic smart phone UI operation. iOS 7 isn't all flat design, Apple pushes the idea of 'depth' through the use of parallax and frosted glass elements in its UI design (control/notification centre), which leaves traces of the previous screen in the blurred background.
This year more then ever I also noticed the shift towards flat design elements. Call it a fad or not, it appears like it is here to stay for at least another year or so. Google is probably the best example of this as they heavily push their flat design along with their illustrative graphical elements.
Hate it or love it. Prepare to see a lot more of these design trends in our every day lives.
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TOP NEW MUSICAL ARTIST
LORDE
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2013 was a year with a lot of great (and not so great) catchy tunes. Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky', Robin Thicke 'Blurred Lines' and Miley Cyrus's 'Wrecking Ball'... Just to name a few.
BUT my top artist this year goes to this girl from New Zealand. She is 16 and is already taking over the radio with her breakout hit 'Royals' and now 'Team'. Her album 'Pure Heroine' is making its repeat rounds on my playlist and her sound is a refreshing break from the normal sounds you would hear coming from artists her age.
Her hair is crazy and I would probably avoid watching her live performances for now (kinda awkward). 2013 is definitely her year and I can't wait to hear what she has coming next.
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Well that does it for me! Just a few quick things I wanted to share before the years end.
What are your top things of 2013?
Happy New Year and thanks for reading!