Sounds of 2013: Nos. 49 to 45

Time to get back to Everfree Radio's poll from 2013 of what its listeners thought were the best 100 fandom songs of the year. Actually, long past time to get back to it, but here we are at last. A quick refresher of my inclusion criteria first:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

Now for this edition's list. Unfortunately there's a song I've had to skip this time, so here are the ones that I can include:

49: Sim Gretina and Feather – Allons-y
48: Alex S. feat. Odyssey – Life As We Know It
47: Yoka the Changeling – Anthropology (remix)
46: Phileo – The Way She Flies
45: skipped

You'll find YouTube embeds of the songs featured here, as well as some thrilling (perhaps) detail about them, after the page break.

49: Sim Gretina and Feather – Allons-y

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 8 Feb 2013
This collaboration between major names Sim Gretina and Feather is what I believe the young whippersnappers today call a "banger". As the more perceptive amongst you will have gathered from its title – or at least the video thumbnail – this is a Dr. Hooves song. It's about how he's racing around time and space but doesn't ever stop, open the doors and "let her in". Given this is the fandom, you can guess who the "her" is. Derpy, of course. The song does stop a little abruptly, but otherwise it's great stuff. Unfortunately the Bandcamp link in the video description no longer works.

48: Alex S. feat. Odyssey – Life As We Know It

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 24 Apr 2013

Here's the artist now known as Andromulus, with another club-style track in which he collaborates with none other than Odyssey. It's quite a nice sound, though once the drop hits a bit before the two-minute mark it does run up against my general lack of enthusiasm for dubstep. I'd have found it a more enjoyable sound without the heavy wubs, and the sections that don't feature them have a rather nice, chill quality about them. Want this in HQ? Pick it up for $1 on Alex S.'s Bandcamp.

47: Yoka the Changeling – Anthropology (remix)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 20 Sep 2013

Surely far and away Yoka the Changeling's best known track, this is a jazz-tinged remix of Awkward Marina's classic that has a relentless energy and very much lives up to the atmosphere its cover image suggests. The inclusion of a short Monty Python sample is a distinctly startling intrusion, but in context it really works. Make sure you don't switch off at the false ending! I think I still prefer the original "Anthropology", but I can well see why some think Yoka's reinterpretation is even better. Grab a 320k MP3 from the Mediafire link in the video description.

46: Phileo – The Way She Flies

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 17 Apr 2013

If anyone can be said to be a one-hit wonder in the Pony fandom, it's Phileo. This wonderful, rocking-out tribute to Rainbow Dash is his only known song – and, indeed, I have no idea what became of him after this. It's such a shame he never made anything else for the fandom, because "The Way She Flies" is well made, infectious and distinctive. It also makes judicious use of samples from the show – not least the "Louder! yay" sequence, which is always going to endear a song to me. My only real annoyance is the long intro before the actual music kicks in, which some find sets the atmosphere well but which I find a bit boring. Skip to about 0:55 if you feel like me! 320k MP3 download available via the video description.

45: skipped