Choice Cuts: Franklin Avenue's Favorite Tracks of 2013, Part 5

In no particular order, I've selected the favorite tracks from 2013's playlists for our twelfth annual Choice Cuts end-of-year mix. I'm revealing them throughout the week. The final four:



17. You Know You Like It -- AlunaGeorge

I can't get enough of AlunaGeorge. Aluna Francis and George Reid's "Your Drums, Your Love" made our Choice Cuts 2012 list, and now "You Know You Like It" makes this year's list.



18. Instant Crush -- Daft Punk Feat. Julian Casablancas

It wouldn't be a best of 2013 mix without some Daft Punk, right? I couldn't put "Get Lucky" here, I think we're all a bit tired of that track. Pushing "Instant Crush" over the top to land a slot here may be the rather sad music video, which, believe it or not, the Blogger Toddler 2.0 loves.



19. The Bad Days -- David Ramirez

I wonder if anyone plays this song at their wedding. If so, I give them six months. But seriously, Ramirez's track -- about his life on the road, and leaving his loved one behind -- may be the most emotional song on this year's Choice Cuts roundup.



20. SummerMash '13 -- DJ Earworm

Here's another one that made the Choice Cuts mix because of the Blogger Kids. DJ Earworm's mashup of this summer's pop tracks is just too irresistibly catchy. And yep, both "Blurred Lines" and "Get Lucky" sneak in here. Happy New Year!

Also on Franklin Avenue:

Choice Cuts: Franklin Avenue's Favorite Tracks of 2013, Part 1

Choice Cuts: Franklin Avenue's Favorite Tracks of 2013, Part 2

Choice Cuts: Franklin Avenue's Favorite Tracks of 2013, Part 3

Choice Cuts: Franklin Avenue's Favorite Tracks of 2013, Part 4

Billboard Crowns The Song of the Summer 2013. And The Winner Is... (VIDEO)

Billboard has named "Blurred Lines," by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell, the song of the summer. Despite a valiant fight by Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive," Billboard says it wasn't even a contest:

"Lines" took hold of the top rank on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 22 for its first of 12 frames at No. 1. (It cedes the summit to Katy Perry's "Roar" this week.) It ties two other songs for the most weeks tallied at No. 1 on the Hot 100 encompassing charts covering Memorial Day through Labor Day: Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together," the top summer song of 2005, which collected 12 of its 14 total weeks on top in that span, and Brandy & Monica's "The Boy Is Mine," which notched 12 of its 13 weeks at No. 1 in the Songs of the Summer chart's tracking period in 1998.

"Lines" has dominated multiple charts over the summer. In addition to its Hot 100 reign, it set the record for the highest weekly audience (228.9 million, according to Nielsen BDS) in the 23-year history of Billboard's Radio Songs chart, passing Carey's "Belong" (212.2 million). It leads the list for a ninth frame this week. The song also scored the Hot 100's top Airplay Gainer award for a record 10 weeks.

Looks like it wasn't even close. In our unofficial Franklin Avenue poll, "Get Lucky" dominated:



At last week's FXX network launch party, Thicke himself performed to a pumped-up industry crowd, and of course, he saved the big hit for last. Here are two Vines I made of it:



And some Blurred Pics from the party:

What is REALLY the 2013 Song of the Summer?

MTV caught some flack on Sunday when the network's Video Music Awards let fans vote to proclaim the 2013 song of the summer. I assume millions of pre-teen girls texted their choice, because the winner was... "Best Song Ever" by One Direction. Wait, what's "Best Song Ever"? Exactly. It's not a song that dominated the airwaves and was inescapable this summer. I have no idea what it even sounds like.

No, this summer belonged to Pharrell. The hitmaker was behind the two leading contenders: Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." Daft Punk had the "song of the summer" title in the bag until July. "Get Lucky" was such a major crossover hit that you could hear it on alternative rock, top 40, hip-hop and hot AC radio stations. That's the mark of a dominant hit. But no so fast. Thicke's "Blurred Lines" isn't quite the crossover hit (you'll never hear it on KROQ), but it became so ubiquitous that it was impossible to escape.

So let's put it to the test. No ringers, no songs you've barely heard of. Let's pit the two contenders opposite each other. Franklin Avenue readers, as we head into Labor Day weekend, what was truly the "song of the summer"?