Top Songs of 2014: 61-80

  

80. "Violently Wild" by Horse Feathers (from So It Is With Us) 

"The dirtiest deeds justified merely by the need / to seldom lay down alone"

A minor comeback. Horse Feather's 2006 debut was our #21 album of the last decade, but each successive album was a bit more forgettable. So It is With Us is a much more lively affair than their recent output, to the extent moody, string-heavy folk is ever lively.  

79. "All the Time" by Bahamas (from Bahamas is Afie)
"I had all the time in the world / you wanted none of that"

We are all for bands making making a few dollars on commercials, but when the song fits really well it makes it hard not to hear the track and immediately imagine James Franco falling off a building.

78. "Pressure" by My Brightest Diamond (from This is My Hand)
"Disperse the white light"

An individual giving themselves a band name is something many others have done (LCD Soundsystem, Iron & Wine, Say Hi, etc.) but Shara Worden is the first we know to write an origin story.

77. "Every Night" by Hannah Diamond (single)
"I like the way you like that I like how you look"

The PC Music collective provided such a sugar rush in 2014 that we could only stomach putting one song on this list (“Hey QT” probably could have slipped on here as well if we didn’t mind risking adult-onset diabetes).

76. "I Retired" by Hamilton Leithauser (from Black Hours)
"As long as I can keep the train rolling / uh huh'"

The Walkmen have never made this list, failing to rise much above simply being "listenable" for us. The lead single from their frontman's throwback solo album starts with more of the same, until about halfway through when the Rostam-produced track slows down and gets retro.

75. "Dangerous" by Big Data feat. Joywave (single)
"How could they know / what I've been thinking?"

Sometimes a big ass hook and some handclaps is enough, though it lags a bit at nearly 5 minutes. (some ambiguity as to whether this is a 2013 or 2014 track --- if necessary swap out with "Tongues" also from Joywave)

74. "Mercy" by Mr. Little Jeans (from Pocketknife)
"Beginner's luck ran out / one reason you're on your knees"

In a year cluttered with chart topping and critically acclaimed female pop albums, Mr. Little Jeans (Monica Birkenes) released, for our money, one of the best and most consistent. Advance single "Oh Sailor" was in our top 20 last year. 

73. "The Man" by Aloe Blacc (from Lift Your Spirit)
"Be a king when kingdom comes"

Under normal circumstances, its classic soul vibe and Blacc's prior appearance on this list would drive a higher ranking -- but the song is a constant reminder of CK7 definitively not being The Man in the Pacific Northwest (or in general these days) despite his overpriced headphones. 

72. "Flashed Junk Mind" by Milky Chance (from Sadnecessary)
"And we were bound to the city life"

We've seen Milky Chance described as a mix of Gotye and Citizen Cope, which is pretty accurate (for better or worse).

71. "Beggin For Thread" by Banks (from Goddess)

"My words come out as a pistol / and I'm no good at aiming"

A lot of Lana Del Rey comparisons, but this song is a lot more active than anything on Ultraviolence.  

70. "On&On&On&On" by Baio (single)

<instrumental>

Chris Baio joins Rostam Batmanglij as Vampire Weekend members making the list with non-vocal solo efforts.  Wonderful, but let's not stray too far from the day job, boys. 

69. "Zigzagging Toward the Light" by Conor Oberst (from Upside Down Mountain)

"Home is a perjury / a parlor trick / an urban myth"

Conor Oberst has been at it for 20 years as Bright Eyes and under his own name. We know what to expect by now.  That's not always a bad thing.  

68. "3Jane" by EMA (from The Future's Void)

"Like an American superpower / turn on the spotlight and nobody cowers"

A song about how soulless and terrible the Internet is. Which we learned about from the Internet. 

67. "Severed Crossed Fingers" by St. Vincent (from St. Vincent)

"I got hope but my hope isn't helping you"

If this was a list for most insanely awesome hair, Annie Clark would be a lot higher on the list. 

66. "Attak" by Rustie w/ Danny Brown (from Green Language)

"Your ho look atrocious / my bitches look ferocious"

You will never have to work so hard trying to follow a lyric video.

65. "Thousand Eyes" by Lia Ices (from Ices)

"And we know that we go on"

Ices plays like a solid album to us, despite being quite poorly received overall.

64. "A Little Lost" by Sufjan Stevens (from Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell)

<Arthur Russell cover>

Sufjan topped the first installment of this list in 2005. What a strange career. 

63. "From Eden" by Hozier (from Hozier)

"Innocence died screaming / honey ask me I should know"

While we like this song, we are discomforted by the near certainty that it will appear over a closing montage of characters looking forlorn or hopeful or forlorn/hopeful on Grey's Anatomy or similar, if it hasn't already.

62. "Eyeballs" by Pillar Point (from Pillar Point)

"Open all your doors and be released"

It’s always a pleasant surprise after a band disappears to have the lead singer come back sounding just as good. In this case, Throw Me The Statue released two upbeat pop albums in 2008-2009 (including “Waving at the Shore” our #21 song of 2009) before simply going away until Scott Reitherman came back as Pillar Point this year. 

61. "Don’t Wait (Chance the Rapper + Social Experiment Remix)" by The Mapei (from Don't Wait EP)

"I'm only back for funerals / we should throw a wedding"

Guest verses will have to hold us over as we wait for Chance's follow-up to Acid Rap.

Top Songs of 2014: 81-100

Here we go again, 100 songs, 100 artists. Just under 7 hours of music when all is said and done. Spotify playlists, and where songs are not available as of today, we've included a link to a location to stream. Enjoy.

100. "Why You Got To Be So Flim" by Apex Swift  

<Taylor Swift / Aphex Twin mashup>

According to Metacritic's summary of critic top tens lists, Taylor Swift's 1989 and Aphex Twin's Syro were two of the top 10 albums released this year. But neither album will appear here. Instead, we'll kill a couple of birds with one track, from David Rees's recent mashup. (soundcloud link)

99. "How Can You Really" by Foxygen (from ...And Star Power)
"It's my fault / it's your fault too"

Foxygen released one of our favorite albums of 2013. So when they announced that their follow-up would a sprawling double album, expectations were elevated. The old line is that there is one amazing album buried in the three disc sprawl of Sandanista! Well, Foxygen would be lucky to pull a half decent EP out of this mess. But it has a few moments.  

98. "Cut Your Teeth (Kygo Remix)" by Kyla La Grange (from Cut Your Teeth)
"I bled words onto a page for you / and you never knew my name"

We know very little about Norwegian DJ Kygo (and even less about Kyla La Grange), but after hearing several of his remixes we respect his apparently strong belief that every song can be made better with a ton of electronic pan flute. He's like the Bruce Dickinson of the remix and the only prescription is more pan flute. 

97. "Wanderlust" by Wild Beasts (from Present Tense)
"Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck"

A dangerous earworm; not good to be walking around the office mumbling the line above (as we were today).

96. "The House" by Air Traffic Controller (single)
"And the girls in the living room playing Nintendo"

Kinda dumb, but pleasantly upbeat without feeling quite like the pre-fabricated fun of fun.

95. "Black Out Days" by Phantogram (from Voices)
"Mirror on the wall / tell me all the ways to stay away"

Several decent remixes of this track were released as well, including versions by a few acts that will appear later in the list (Danny Brown and Future Islands). Sadly Kygo was too busy to pan flute it up. 

94. "Doses & Mimosas" by Cherub (from Year of the Caprese)
"to all the high class ass / that's too hard to pass / oh yeah, I hate you too"

Very The Love Below-ish, especially in the chorus. Not "Hey Ya"-level, mind you, more like that weird Dracula song. 

93. "Coffee" by Sylvan Esso (from Sylvan Esso)
"Sentiment's the same but the pair of feet change"

Another one for the classic-song-within-the-new-song playlist we need to post one day (here represented by the mid-song rendition of "Hanky Panky"). 

92. "A Place With No Name" by Michael Jackson (from XSCAPE)
"And not a world could I want to leave"

From the very outset, the grunting and the u-che-ahs sound not just like vintage MJ, but like no singer before or since. Dude was real strange, possibly a (not smooth) criminal, and without doubt one of the most talented musicians ever.  A posthumous reminder like this rework of America's "Horse With No Name" is a welcome surprise. 

91. "Smoke Dancehall" by Theophilus London (from Vibes)

"And in the morning when you smile / and your eyes meet mine"

Here because of the last minute. 

90. "Wonderland" by ceo (from Wonderland )

"Cold sweats / pirouettes / all the swans flew / so when you smash into the mirror what you gonna do?"

Where does ceo end and Yeasayer begin?

89. "Come With Me Now" by Kongos (from Lunatic)

"I tried to sell my soul last night / funny he wouldn't even take a bite"

It took three years between the release of this track in their native South Africa and any U.S. airplay / record deal. 

88. "Bullet Train" by Gardens & Villa (from Dunes)

"The young die young / if they work too hard"

Remarkably similar color scheme to #90.

87. "Lazaretto" by Jack White (from Lazaretto)

"Making models of people I used to know / out of coffee and cotton"

Comes storming out of the gate like hellfire, and then just kind of farts around for the last two minutes.

86. "Gotta Get Away" by The Black Keys (from Turn Blue)

"I searched far and wide hoping I was wrong / but maybe all the good women are gone"

Positioned one spot better than "Lazaretto" just to troll Jack White.  

85. "Archie, Marry Me" by Alvvays (from Alvvays)

"Too late to go out / too young to stay in / they're talking about / us living in sin"

The quintessentially Canadian band. Incredibly pleasant.  Thoughtfully arranged. Difficult to find much more to talk about. 

84. "Who Needs You" by The Orwells (from Disgraceland)

"Listen up forefathers / I'm not your son"

While Future Island's Letterman performance immediately made them one of indie rock's most likable acts, the trainwreck of an appearance by the Orwells made them pretty easy to want to punch in the face.

83. "True" by Operators (from EP 1)

"She said she's waiting for the soundtrack"

Dan Boekner's various projects since Wolf Parade have started to blur together, but with modestly diminishing returns. The Operators' debut EP sounds like a collection of outtakes from a Handsome Furs album. That's not an insult, but its a pretty mild compliment for one of our favorites. 

82. "Curse Curse" by James (from La Petite Mort)

"Praise the lord / and kiss me on my mouth"

From the 13th album by a U.K. band that has never really been on our radar. 

81. "Instant Disassembly" by Parquet Courts (from Sunbathing Animal)

"Mamacita, I've prepared my defense / flawed as ever in the drunkest tense"

Not to be confused with Parkay Quarts, the similar sounding band featuring the same members that also released a pretty good album in 2014.

2013 Songs: The Top Twenty

20. "Weight" by Mikal Cronin (from MCII)

"Take me from myself"

This is probably the most we've ever liked a song for which we can never seem to remember the lyrics or melody. Seriously, in 10 minutes we will not be able to hum a bar. 

19. "Grace for Saints and Ramblers" by Iron & Wine (from Ghost on Ghost)
"There were misled misfits / teething biscuits / fountains full of penny wishes / parties full of pretty fishes"

Ghost on Ghost is probably the weakest Iron & Wine album to date, and its still pretty good. 

18. "Varsity" by Smith Westerns (from Soft Will)
"Thought I always had to win / or I wasn't anything / guess it's a point of view"

There is a thin line between gorgeous folk rock and boring folk rock. For our money, Fleet Foxes' and Grizzly Bear's second albums crossed over to the wrong side of the line. Smith Westerns' did not. 

17. "Oh Sailor" by Mr. Little Jeans (single)
"When you feel like you're out there on your own / know there is someone watching over you"

Child choirs in pop music, awesomely creepy or creepily awesome? 

16. "Afterlife" by Arcade Fire (from Reflektor)
"I've gotta know / can we work it out?"

Funeral was our #4 album of the 2000s.  Neon Bible and The Suburbs, meanwhile, were critically beloved (and placed songs on this list) but felt impaired by Win Butler's gloomy seriousness. So the lighter feel of Reflektor is a welcome change. As is the very present Talking Heads and Sandinista-era Clash influence. But the double album, sub 75-minute runtime thing is weird. 

15. "Crying My Heart Out (radio edit)" by Young Galaxy (from Ultramarine Deluxe Edition)
"And it's hard / when I'm playing 'Love Tear Us Apart'"

Strange year for Young Galaxy.  They released a pretty OK album in Ultramarine.  Then they released a deluxe edition of Ultramarine that added five new songs, all of which were (somewhat objectively) as good or better than the best song on the original version.  

14. "Sonsick" by San Fermin (from San Fermin)
"Sell lies like they're only drugs / it'll pick me up"
An excellent debut album from San Fermin, even if very little of it sounds remotely like "Sonsick", starting with the fact that most tracks have a male singer.   

13. "Black Skinhead" by Kanye West (from Yeezus)
"You n*****s ain't breathing / you're gasping"

Yeezus is fine as a showcase to appreciate Kanye's ridiculous production skills, but outside of a few tracks it feels like a significant step backwards in songcraft and features half an album's worth of lazy sexual prowess boasting.  Maybe we all just love loving Kanye a bit too much. (Pretty negative for our #13 track, huh?)

12. "Oh Yeah" by Foxygen (from We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic)
"I'm feelin' groovy on another one's dime"
One of the hardest albums to pick a single track off of. "No Destruction" or "San Francisco" could have easily taken a comparable spot. This may be a better Jagger-esque falsetto than Jagger ever had ("Fool to Cry" kind of sucks, "Sweet Thing" is awesome, though). 

11. "Blurred Line" by Robin Thicke (from Blurred Lines)

"hey hey hey"

Inescapable, but deserving. Robin Thicke (co-worker's brother-in-law) is the first zero or one degree of separation artist to make the list. Others in play include Capital Cities (went to high school with one of the guys) and John Legend (shared an office with Mrs. Hummed of Mystery at Boston Consulting Group, because John Legend was once John Stephens and a consultant)

10. "Creep in a T-Shirt" by Portugal. The Man (from Evil Friends)

"Just because I lost it doesn't mean I want it back"

Danger Mouse quickly debunks the theory we put forth last year that hiring him as a producer is a sure fire way to create one of your better albums, but never your best. Evil Friends is a career high point for P.TM. 

9. "Ragtime" by Neko Case (from The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You)

"I'll reveal myself invincible soon"

Including her work on the New Pornographers, this is the 5th top 25 appearance for Neko Case.  

8. "Play by Play" by Autre Ne Veut (from Anxiety)

"I don't wanna be there tonight / you make me low / you make me crawl"

This song has a great chorus, but it's the 1:40 - 2:05 section that is one of our favorite vocal snippets of the year. 

7. "Hopeful" by Josh Ritter (from The Beast in its Tracks)

"But I know the look in his eyes and I know all the old signs / just a couple more curves before his own road unwinds "

The most positive track on an album of heartbreak.  Is the "she" that is hopeful the old girl, the new girl, or both?

6. "Young Fathers" by Typhoon (from White Lighter)

"I was born in September / and like everything else I can't remember / I'll replace it with scenes from the film / that I / will never make"

If the album cover is a Rorschach test, we see Tanzania. Which validates the whole theory of the test. Also, Tanzania looks a lot like Wisconsin. Also, only five of these damned things left. 

5. "Chain Smoker" by Chance the Rapper (from Acid Rap)

"This part / right here right now right here / this part my shit"

The best rap album of 2013 was a debut mixtape (available here). Stream the track here. 

4. "Hit Me" by Mystikal (single)

"Whether they diamonds / Madonna / designers / iguanas / Rihanna / vaginas / piranhas / hit it!"

What the fuck was that? This insane tribute to James Brown brings the funk, but is also ridiculously quotable. Runners up for the quote:
5. "That n***a is sicker and slicker than oil on a pelican"
4. "We go together like stanky & smelly / tummy & belly / peanut butter jelly"
3. "Say it proud / I'm black and I'm loud"
2. "I’m the maestro / I’m the n***a with the stick in this bitch" 
(you tube link)

3. "Gustavo" by Mark Kozelek & Jimmy LaValle (from Perils from the Sea)

"And I looked down and my hands were trembling"

We are big fans of Sun Kil Moon, but have found his recent albums a bit dull musically. We are big fans of The Album Leaf but don't love the addition of vocals to his instrumentals. So combining the best of both artists in Perils from the Sea is a perfect match.  

2. "November 2011" by Moonface (from Julie With Blue Jeans On)

"Let me take you up these stairs / let me take you to my life / let me take you like a lamb leading the slaughterer to the knife"

Spencer Krug does an Alphas tracks, but with slightly more hopefulness than the doomed Mountain Goats couple.  Someone is going to use this as a first dance song at their wedding and the couple in question will be awesome. Spencer just misses out on a #1 with a fourth band (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake) and makes an 11th top 10 appearance on this list. Stud. 

1. "Step" by Vampire Weekend (from Modern Vampires of the City)

"Maybe she's gone, and I can't resurrect her / the truth is she doesn't need me to protect her / we know the true death /  the true way of all flesh / everyone's dying, but girl you're not old yet"

MVotC is such an incredibly strong album that it may have been the deathblow to the Vampire Weekend backlash.  It should be, at least. If "Step" didn't exist, "Hannah Hunt" may still hold this spot and "Ya Hey", "Diane Young" and "Unbelievers" wouldn't have been far behind. But "Step" does exist and it is just about the perfect pop song. Even our favorite songs usually have a moment that we look forward to or miss once it is passed (see #8 above), which can't help diminish the rest of the song. "Step" is all highlights. Great verses, great chorus, great build, great lyrics that are just obtuse enough to resonate, great odd little "every time I see you in the world..." bit that is neither a chorus nor verse, great way all but the drums drop out at the penultimate chorus, great video that recalls the great album cover. It's not a song that changes the music landscape or the world in any way, its just an undeniably great song in all respects, making it the easiest #1 decision we've had to make in a while. Thanks for reading and listening.