With 2014 drawing to a close, our intern Max decided to put together a list of some of his favorite music of the year. However, his brain has been fried from a recent jaunt to the sauna, and so lacking the brain power to actually rank anything that he heard this year, he opted to give us a handful of 2014’s musical highlights.
Best Song About the Meaninglessness of Life – Father John Misty – “Bored in the USA”
—Only Father John Misty can sing soul-crushing lines like “How many people rise and say, ‘My brain’s so awfully glad to be here for yet another mindless day?” and you kind of swoon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIFrG_6fySg
Most Likely Explanation for Why You Want to Dress Like an Egyptian Goddess – FKA twigs – “Two Weeks”
—The video is as hypnotizing as the slow-burning jam. Plus, it’s good proof that it would be pretty awesome to have a bunch of miniature dancers for friends.
Best Growl – Future Islands’ Sam Herring
—Earlier this year Future Islands took the world by storm with their album Singles and their spectacular Letterman performance – already the stuff of legend. The song they performed, “Seasons (Waiting On You),” is pretty great, but hearing Herring hit those demonic Tom Waits growls live takes it to new heights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ee4bfu_t3c
Biggest, most Joyful and Euphoric “Thank God!” sigh of relief – D’Angelo – Black Messiah
—It’s been 14 years since D’Angelo released his iconic neo-soul record Voodoo. Then, just a couple weeks ago, he surprised the world with Black Messiah, an album he originally planned to release next year but moved up in light of the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Explaining the album’s title, D’Angelo says, ““For me, the title is about all of us. It’s about the world. It’s about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah.”
In hindsight, it might be easy to say that we knew he had another incredible album in him, but for those of us who were holding our breath, the pay off is pure ecstasy.
Best Spoon Song – “Inside Out”
—This year the rock band Spoon they put out their eighth studio album, They Want My Soul. Standout track “Inside Out” ditches their brittle guitars for a hip-hop beat, dreamy synthesizers and Britt Daniel’s heartbreaking request to “Break out of character for me.”
Hip-Hop Beat That Most Sounds like a Pinball Machine – clipping – “Work Work”
—Are those steel drums or recorded pinball machines?! What’s happening??? The strange, rattling percussion builds slowly, until the thumping kick drum hops in and sets everything straight.
Hook That You’re Least Likely to Get Out of Your Head – Sharon Van Etten – “Even When the Sun Comes Up”
—This song is so simple: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, ooh-ah thing, chorus. But the titular refrain is pure magic, bringing to mind Fleetwood Mac’s sun-soaked Rumours.
Best Collaboration – Brian Eno and Karl Hyde – High Life
—Master-of-all Brian Eno and house / techno mainstay Jack Hyde team up for High Life, a wacky album of funky grooves that brings to mind Eno’s work on Talking Heads’ Remain in Light.
Best Guitar Work – St. Vincent
—It’s not just her technical strength, or her brilliant melodies. It’s the range of sounds that Annie Clark, also known as St. Vincent, can wrangle out of six strings. On “Rattlesnake,” from her self-titled album, the menacing climactic riff crashes through the buzz of the synthesizers and never lets go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgZWGJZHkGM