The Vinyl Factory: Top 100 Vinyl Releases of 2013

Top picks for 2013, Benji B's PrivateJam, St. Vincent and more in our weekly look at music

ListenUp is a Cool Hunting series published every Sunday that takes a deeper look at the music we tweeted about that week. Often we’ll include a musician or notable fan’s surprising personal interests—#PrivateJam exposes their musical guilty pleasure.

ListenUp

Top picks for 2013, Benji B's PrivateJam, St. Vincent and more in our weekly look at music

St. Vincent: Birth In Reverse David Byrne’s beloved sidekick is back on her own after their whirlwind world tour, and St. Vincent has never sounded so fresh. Annie Clark’s self-titled St. Vincent album hits record stores 24 February, but fans got a sneak peek this week with “Birth In Reverse“—a fast-paced, slightly choppy song packing loads of guitar riffs alongside harmonious vocals delivering distinctly irreverent …

It’s Nice That + NTS Radio’s Black Impulse Playlist

The historic Nelson Mandela anthem, Kirsten Dunst in anime costume, a lot of NTS radio and more in our look at music this week

Our creativity-championing friends over at It’s Nice That have let the folks from Black Impulse on NTS Radio hijack their weekly mixtape—resulting in two hours of music, most of which you’ve probably never heard before. Heather Weil focuses on prog, heavy psych, 1970s and ’80s punk and hardcore. She explains, “These are three really difficult genres to make accessible.” Check out the selection of 30 …