My St. Patrick’s Day went like this:

Flogging Molly;

Dropkick Murphys;

Shamrock Shake.

It reeks of phony Irish blood.

We had a solid week of music, though:

Skrillex – Recess

EDM DJs are adorable. Skrillex, Zedd, David Guetta, Kaskade, Steve Aoki – they are all capable owning an entire arena despite being relatively unassuming in appearance. They look more suited for hugs.

But through headphones, all you have is their sound. In Skrillex’s debut album, his unapologetic beats accompanied with an occasional melodic breakdown admirably blend the extremes of this musical discipline. “Ragga Bomb” explodes just like its name, “Ease My Mind” shines as the album’s pop-ballad supreme and “Dirty Vibe” brings rap into the fold.

Considering the albums construct, it has all the elements of a solid listen: diversity, signature beats and catchiness (when applicable).

However, it’s difficult to accept this as an actual album you can sit through in its entirety. EDM albums, considering how dynamic they can be, are best used as spare parts for playlists.

There are plenty of ways to embrace each song on Recess, though I’m not sure they should be together. But for its genre, it’s spot on.

Foster the People – Supermodel

The growth from 2011’s Torches to this week’s Supermodel is night and day. Not only musically, but the songwriting was much more polished than I expected. We’re already far past the “Pumped Up Kicks” days.

I’m still not ready to consider Foster the People as alt-pop elite. But going by the content in some of the songs, this is a pure coming of age record:

“I have tried so hard not to be like them,
I have found they don’t answer nothing in me.
Well, well, the truth,
The truth comes in the end.”

Yes, these are darker times than Torches, but you have to expect a young man will one day see through his naivete and find his own truths.

The Pretty Reckless – Going to Hell

This is a band I’ve never listened to fronted by an actress I’ve never heard of from a show I’ve never watched.

But good music bridges all, so I now can say that I’m a fan of Gossip Girl star Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless, an attitude-filled grunge rock band for the modern age. It’s catchy and edgy all at the same time with a bit more fun than a band like, say, Halestorm.

DO NOT compare them to Paramore, as many music sites have done. I’m sure they find that insulting.

Updated Best of 2014 playlist:

The collection started off rather soft, but it’s starting to get a backbone.

Also, it is astounding how legitimate that Archer album, “Cherlene,” is. How could they make better country than 90 percent of the country musicians out there?