Top 10 Songs of August 2013

Just a Guy’s monthly music article includes the top songs of August. The restrictions are simple, the album or the song must have been released during the month in review and to encourage diversification, we only select one song per album. Ryan and Steve take you through the tracks that they’ve been listening to.

Big Sean – Control

“Control” might be the most controversial song of the year due to featured artist Kendrick Lamar’s verse. It’s been labeled as a diss track and that’s largely embellished. What Kendrick does is name drop a number of popular rapper’s including: J. Cole, Big KRIT, Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electronica, Tyler, and Mac Miller. This isn’t the first time he’s name dropped; see his “Monster” freestyle of Kanye West fame. This isn’t a diss, but rather a collective call to up their game. While they might even be friends, such as Big Sean, they’re the competition. In a marketing sense it’s been quite the sensation, as it has gotten all hip-hop fans in a frenzy wondering who will respond and what they’ll say.

Asking Alexandria – The Death of Me

Asking Alexandria’s third album, From Death to Destiny, rocks pretty hard. “The Death of Me” is the second single off this album and has a little more mass appeal than a traditional Asking Alexandria song. That’s not to say it isn’t loud and brash, but it does have a ballad-esque chorus that states, “I won’t let you be the death of me. No I refuse to let you bring me down”. Those words summarize the song well in both tune and lyrics.

John Mayer – Wildfire

John Mayer is back with Paradise Valley and “Wildfire” is the lead song on the album. It immediately introduces you to the feel of the album, and is a laid back intro into a phenomenal album. Mayer even shows his chops on guitar, throwing in some nice solos along the way. Paradise Valley not an album to miss out on.

Eminem – Survival

Marshall Mathers pairs up with Liz Rodrigues, of the New Royales, for what looks to be the first single of his upcoming album Marshall Mathers LP 2, that will be featured on Call of Duty: Ghosts. You might recognize Liz Rodrigues as she appeared on Em’s Recovery album in “Almost Famous” and “25 to Life”. She was also originally on “Won’t Back Bown” but Pink ended up being featured and I bring this up because the track sounds like an evolution of that very song. It’s an instant hit and definitely hypes up Eminem fans, who are in great anticipation of his 2013 album release.

Avenged Sevenfold – Hail to the King

Avenged Sevenfold has had their ups and downs over the past few years, but the band continues to keep it going. “Hail to the King” is more radio rock. The band won’t be returning to their hardcore roots anytime soon, but if you are a fan of their more recent work, then you’ll enjoy this new offering.

Drake – All Me

Drake kicked off the month of August with of “All Me” from his upcoming album Nothing was the Same. The song features a verse from 2 Chainz and Big Sean beyond two verses and a chorus driven by Aubrey Graham himself.  It’s the second single from what will be his third studio album. It begins with an excerpt from Aziz Ansari from the movie Funny People and continues the “Started from the Bottom” attitude with lyrics like “I don’t even know how much I really made, I forgot, it’s a lot” and “I get paid a lot, you get paid a bit” that show off his proud feeling of success. If these first few singles are indication, this album will surely be a hit.

Zebrahead – Call Your Friends

“Call Your Friends” is the title track for the bands 10th studio album, Call Your Friends. Zebrahead is a a diverse band with a pop punk with an alternative rock type of sound. They’ve been around since the mid 90s and hail from Orange County, California. That’s tremendous longevity and a ton of songs for a band, who is relatively unheard of. “Call Your Friends” is a fun, but semi-typical party song with a chorus that states, “Lets make some bad decisions. Do things we won’t remember” and repeated lyrics, “Grab a beer, throw it back, take a hit, talkin’ smack party yeah-rock the party. Pull some strange, take a shot, rally back back yeah-rock the party”. They’re an interesting band with a long tenure and “Call Your Friends” is an upbeat song for any party.

Juicy J – Show Out

The track has been out a while now, but Juicy J finally released his new album Stay Trippy in August. “Show Out” is a club banger and there’s plenty more where that came from on the album. The thing about “Show Out” is that you know exactly what you’re getting. A good song to throw on in your car and crank the volume up. Juicy J may not be pushing the envelope, but that hardly matters.

Panic! at the Disco – This is Gospel

Panic! at the Disco has gone through some changes in recent years but they’re back with their new album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die which comes out in October. “This is Gospel” sounds like one of Fall Out Boy’s new track, that is to say, arena pop rock. It’s not a bad track or a ripoff by any means, Panic! is simply growing as a band into the next stage of their career. This song is a good indication of the direction the band wants to take themselves.

Honorable Mentions
Blessthefall – You Wear a Crown, But You’re No King
Pusha T – Who I Am

Did your favorite artist, album, or song not make the cut? Let us know in the comments below. Got a song that you think deserves to make in next month’s list? Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

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