My Thirty Favorite Tracks of 2014
It’s that time-a-year again! Time for me to obsessively mull over and rank my very favorite music things. In an attempt to challenge myself, I tried to make every blurb only about the length of one Tweet. I was doing pretty well but then failed at that. So what who cares. Here mine are. What are yours?
30. Joyce Manor “Falling In Love Again”
“Thanks for showing me around last night. Hope you don’t think I don’t care. Because I do, I just don’t know if I should feel this bad about you.”
Emotional, simple, undiluted pop-punk that remains subdued in all the right places. Feel the yearning.
Listen on: BandCamp / Spotify / YouTube
29. Wovenhand “Good Shepherd”
“My good shepherd. He does take. Great delight in you.”
A gigantic, psych-folk anthem of the fire-and-brimstone variety. The best track off one of 2014's most interesting/underrated albums.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / BandCamp
28. Ex Hex “How You Got That Girl”
“I used to cry, cry, cry. Now I don’t remember why. I just never want to hear that sound.”
With an irresistible Ric Ocasek riff and a hook fit for the Heartbreakers, this song contains all there is to love about Ex Hex’s super lean brand of power pop.
27. Ariana Grande “Break Free (feat. Zedd)”
“I only want to die alive. Never by the hands of a broken heart. Don’t wanna hear you lie tonight. Now that I’ve become who I really am”
Try to avoid the overblown Zedd beat. Try to dismiss that perfect pre-chorus. Try to resist the soaring vocal harmonies layered one-by-one seemingly to infinity. Try, goddamn you!
26. Chromeo “Jealous (I Ain’t With It)”
“Back in 2011, I decided to not let this play with my mind. But when the boys from out of town, they come back around, I feel like committing a crime.”
Another wholly unavoidable electronic pop gem. Chromeo’s breakout hit (about damn time) comes with arguably the catchiest refrain of 2014 and lyrics that read so, SO much clumsier than they actually sound.
25. Panda Bear “Mr. Noah”
“Don’t want to get out of bed unless he feels like it’s justified.”
A droning, burble-y, abstract, and entirely catchy song about (I think) a dog getting bit on the leg and the trippy happenings that ensue. Unmistakeably Panda Bear.
24. Sturgill Simpson “Turtles All The Way Down”
“Every time I take a look inside that old and fabled book, I’m blinded and reminded of the pain caused by some old man in the sky. Marijuana, LSD, Psilocybin, DMT. They all changed the way I see. But love’s the only thing that ever saved my life.”
A confounding mesh of cosmology, religion, hallucinogenics, romantic sentiment, and classic outlaw country. I don’t care who y’are: Give this song a shot. I suspect that you (like me) will find something utterly compelling where you may normally expect to drop off.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / BandCamp
23. Spoon “Inside Out”
“And now it’s only like I told ya.”
A beautiful downtempo track that sticks out as unique amidst pretty much all the rest of Spoon’s catalog. It’s five minutes long and can be looped approximately one zillion times without you ever noticing because it’s just that kind of song.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
22. How To Dress Well “Repeat Pleasure”
“Without your neck to kiss, I was thrown to the night.”
The ever-thinking, yet ever-feeling anomaly that is Tom Krell crafted a middlingly batshit R&B love jam with no discernible structure and a falsetto breakdown that can only punctuated with multiple exclamation points. Bring a towel!
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
21. Parquet Courts “Content Nausea”
“Too much data, too much tension. Life’s leaved least when less is mentioned”
The frantic titular track off of Parquet Courts (ahem.. Parkay Quarts) second awesome LP of 2014 contains rambling “Fear of Music” paranoia with just the right amount of astute consciousness to make you go “This guy can’t be for real… can he?”
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
20. Mastodon “Tread Lightly”
“Open your eyes! Take a deep breath and return to life!”
It takes approximately three minutes for Mastodon to make it to the strident chorus of “Once More ‘Round The Sun”s opening track, but once it hits: Hot Damn! Sounds more like “Jar of Flies” than it does “Leviathan” and I am so willing to embrace that.
19. The Hotelier “An Introduction To The Album”
“The pills that you gave didn’t do anything. I just slept for years on end.”
SPEAKING of slowly-building cathartic opening tracks… There is no other way that The Hotelier’s literally masterful emo pop-punk breakout “Home, Like Noplace Is There” could have begun than this appropriately titled jaw-dropper of a song.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / BandCamp
18. St. Vincent “Digital Witness”
“What’s the point of even sleeping if I can’t show it? If you can’t see me? What’s the point of doing anything?”
In this, the lead single off St. Vincent’s glammed-up powerhouse of a self-titled album, Annie Clark assumes the role of doomsaying rock & roll queen as she casually asserts exactly how tech-warped the collective mindset has become. “Digital Witness” teems with funk, finesse, and condemnation.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
17. Fireworks “Bed Sores”
“These houses are headstones. These basements they are graves. After getting out I never thought I would want back in. I want back in.”
A striking track that showcases what Fireworks does best: goddamned bleak lyrics that can almost instantly change from candid to obtuse and some of the earwormiest hooks you’ll hear anywhere. The best song off of (arguably) the best pop-punk confessional since “…Is A Real Boy”.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / BandCamp
16. tUnE-yArDs “Water Fountain”
“I can’t seem to feel. I’ll kneel. I’ll kneel. I’ll kneel. The cold steel.”
A manic jump-rope trip through the fiendishly creative mind of Merrill Garbus. ‘Water Fountain’ is a madly addictive song that doesn’t once let down — rather, it just bottles up and bottles up to create a raucous, explosive finale.
15. Mac DeMarco “Let Her Go”
“Tell her that you love her if you really love her.”
It makes sense that Mac DeMarco’s most straightforward pop song reads a little funny. On the surface, it’s pure sunshine that might have been ripped off from the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ soundtrack; but a deeper dig reveals that it’s more like the lethargic sister song to “Love The One You’re With”. The dead giveaway is Mac’s barely audible spoken word interlude that fades out the track. “Or you can keep on talking,” he offers, “It’s up to you. Make your own choice.” Well, shit.
14. Real Estate “April’s Song”
Pocketed and protected in the first half of Real Estate’s great/moody third album ‘Atlas’ is a lovely instrumental called “April’s Song,” which sounds precisely like sun rays doing their best to peek through overcast; an eager guitar lick with a weighty hint of melancholy backing it. So, it has all the makings of a great Real Estate song save the words.
13. The Menzingers “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore”
“Baby, baby, I’ll be good to you.”
An apology song for the ages that is every bit as raw and honest and pleading as its name implies. You have to admire any that song begins with a variation on the ‘Johnny B. Goode’ riff, includes the line “I’ve been wandering nightly through the garden of your heartache,” and all the while remains totally genuine.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
12. Kendrick Lamar “i”
“I love myself!”
I guess I understand why this single is so polarizing, but I think it’s completely awesome because A) if there’s anything worth motherfucking preaching it’s self-love, B) that Isley Brothers sample is as irresistible here as it was on ‘Paul’s Boutique’, and C) it still feels entirely like Kendrick being Kendrick — just through a different frequency than we’re used to.
11. The War On Drugs “Eyes To The Wind”
“I’m a bit run down here at the moment.”
I tried to put the damn-near equally stellar “Under the Pressure” off the same album in this spot, but just couldn’t bring myself to do so. I think it’s because when I hear this song, it triggers gestalt memories from deep within my heart/body/soul/wherever that are simultaneously unmistakeable and impossible to pinpoint. It’s nostalgia incarnate for me — which is peculiar because it’s less than eleven months old.
10. Cymbals Eat Guitars “Jackson”
“So there’s nothing to do when it’s a foregone conclusion. A pool overflowing and bursting. Now come the fuck on.”
THE pinnacle six-minute scorcher from a criminally underrated indie rock band that is no stranger to six-minute scorchers. “Jackson” is a true epic with a sweeping range of highs and lows — and maybe the most well-earned and gratifying guitar solo of 2014.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
9. Future Islands “Seasons (Waiting On You)”
“As it breaks, the summer will wake. But the winter will wash what is left of the taste. As it breaks, the summer will warm. But the winter will crave what is gone, will crave what has all gone away.”
I, like many folks, was turned on to this particular song by Future Islands’ fortuitous Letterman appearance of Spring 2014. As fate may have it, I have never been able to hear “Seasons” without the near-legendary image of a sweat/passion-soaked Samuel T. Herring beating the absolute shit out of the song on late night TV. The punches! The intense staring! The dancing! It’s all there and it makes this intense, earnest single all the more endearing.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
8. Angel Olsen “Forgiven/Forgotten”
“I don’t know anything but I love you.”
Contrary to popular belief, the truly fabulous“Hi-Five” is not the best track on Angel Olsen’s excellent breakthrough LP “Burn Your Fire For No Witness”. This is. It’s 2 minutes of saturated folk-rock with a double-layered power chorus that also serves as an outro. That’s the thing about it! Before you even realize, and probably before you wanted it, the song is over — but not before it’s captured your full attention with vibrant, desperate immediacy.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
7. Against Me! “Transgender Dysphoria Blues”
“Your tells are so obvious. Shoulders too broad for a girl.”
“Transgender Dysphoria Blues” is a spirited folk-punk rambler that fits in with any of the very best songs in Against Me!’s genre-defining, 12-year spanning discography. It’s also an astounding, honest document of frontwoman Laura Jane Grace’s transition from being a married man to being a married woman. There’s striking candidness in each and every verse, with a chorus that sends a nuanced, universal message about the comfort of spending time with a person you love.
6. Future “Benz Friends (Watchutola) (feat. André 3000)”
“I might not never buy a new car again if I can help it. ‘Cause if I buy one, they gon’ sell ten, then what I’m left with? Throw a nigga one on the strength, then we might could talk. ‘Till then, I will ride my fuckin’ bike. Or walk.”
First, there’s the beat: A weird Gregorian cadence of sorts which has no business working as well as it does. Then, there’s the hook: An equally weird, esoteric dismissal of Mercedes Benzes that converts “I don’t give a fuck” to about three syllables. There’s Future’s short, but effective, section of the autotuned Atlanta-Patois he does so very well. And then, without any further ado, there’s André 3000 with a long, bummed-out, and overarchingly rad verse — which is approximately 65% about cars but also 100% about all the slimy chumps who use him on a daily basis. It’s a totally witty and inspired cut through and through with a radiant, deadpan André 3000 as its glorious centerpiece.
5. Paramore “Ain’t It Fun”
“So what are you gonna do when the world don’t orbit around you?”
I think it’s a fairly interesting sign o’ the times that the single greatest Top 40 song of the year came from a band that was almost literally birthed on Warped Tour — yet it sounds like it could be a B-side from “True Blue” or something. To be honest, I don’t know how “Ain’t It Fun” got to this spot on the list. I really don’t. Could it be that neo-New Jack beat? Or the über-confident lead vocal performance? Or that infectious music video? Or that freaking GOSPEL CHOIR? Again, not sure. But it is undeniably here, lodged many miles deep in my auditory cortex, never to escape.
4. The Hotelier “Your Deep Rest”
“You said ‘Remember me for me. I need to set my spirit free.’”
The Hotelier make heavy, emotional music through a pop-punk sieve. “Your Deep Rest” is where these traits come most coherently to fruition. It uses its four minutes of space wisely to evolve and weave a story of suicide and the proceeding fallout and rumination — all leading to a scraping, raw-throat breakdown segueing into a closing reprise of the song’s refrain that leaves me awestruck with every playthrough.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / BandCamp
3. Parquet Courts “What Color Is Blood”
“Excuse me as I slip on out.”
The lead guitar riff buzzes on repeat, the bass plays single notes at a time, there’s barely a chorus at all, and the shouted vocals stay locked in pretty much the same place for the entire 3 minute, 25 second duration. Yet, by the time the powerdrill feedback-laden guitar solo gives conclusion to the track, you practically need to hear it again. The unique Parquet Courts energy that flows, I think instinctively, through every one of their songs is perhaps best exemplified by the live, one-take sound of “What Color Is Blood”. It’s absolutely one of the leanest, tightest rock and roll songs of the year, but it wears this genius disguise of endearing aloofness that rewards obsession.
2. Run the Jewels “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) (feat. Zack De La Rocha)”
“Fashion slave! You’re protestin’ to get in a fuckin’ lookbook!”
“We’re out of order? Your honor, you out of order. This whole court is unimportant. You fuckers are walking corpses.”
“It’s De La on the cut, liftin’ six on your snitching’ crew. I’m Miles ahead of you. You can sip my Bitches Brew.”
When I first saw the track listing for RTJ2, this was the song that I anticipated most. It seemed a match made in heaven — Rage Against The Machine flaunted no-bullshit musical angst better than anybody… before Run The Jewels, that is. So, I had high hopes for “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck).” I mean, just look at that title! Luckily, it’s a remarkable track. It’s every bit as aggressive and destructive as you’d hope, while also maintaining a certain old school shit-talking, turn-taking hip-hop flavor throughout. Except instead of taking jabs at one another, El-P, KIller Mike, and ZDLR (as the RATM chatroom kids called him, not that I would know cough cough) take jabs at the judicial system, the rich, big business, the concept of incarceration, and the global sense of justice. Because that’s what these guys do.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
1. The War on Drugs “Red Eyes”
“WHOO!”
At exactly five minutes long, this feels like it has an entire universe of space to breathe. It’s a soundscape where Adam Granduciel’s voice is left to swirl around an ever-driving drumbeat and warm synth lines. And when it finally catch hold, the burst is indescribable and breathtaking. It lets down to a distant sigh for a stanza or two before it catches again — this time even more satisfying than before. “Red Eyes” has a tangible glow; a luster that only shines brighter with repeat listens. It’s an unforgettable highlight off of an outstandingly special album that, as a whole, embodies all those same qualities.
Listen on: Spotify / YouTube / SoundCloud
And that’s all for this year.
Here’s a Spotify playlist with all of my picks in it — plus the five tracks that LITERALLY JUST MISSED the cut which were extremely painful to omit from this list so I put them on the playlist as a compromise. Thanks for reading!
