Top 100 Songs of 2014 (60-41)

When you're trying to tell your friends something but they're not listening.

When you’re trying to tell your friends something but they’re not listening.

Getting warmer and warmer… Some may view a song ranked 60th or 53rd and not think much of it — I don’t see it like that. All the songs I’ve listed here are impressive. It’s not easy to rank songs when they’re this good, but hey, I give ‘er anyway. Fun fun fun ’til your daddy takes the T-bird away. Top 100 Songs of 2014 (60-41):

60. Grace Mitchell – Runaway

Slow-tempo’d power pop with a fantastic chorus.

 

59. Banks – Beggin For Thread

When I first heard Banks a while back, I thought, nice voice and vibe, but she doesn’t have anything I’d call a good song. That’s since been rectified. “Beggin For Thread” is a beast.

 

58. Merely – Princess Hervor

So chilly. So atmospheric. So good.

 

57. Bleachers – I Wanna Get Better

Insanely catchy. Great debut single.

 

Bonus: Naughty Boy f. Sam Smith – La La La (from 2013)

 

56. Alvvays – Archie, Marry Me

Took me a little while to get into it. A fantastic song, lyrically, melodically, Canadianally.

 

55. Perfume Genius – Queen

Harder than anything Mike Hadreas had done previously. One of his best. Sensational chorus.

 

54. Royal Blood – Figure It Out

Rock ‘n Roll bliss.

 

53. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud

Soulful, sunny, and downright addictive. Isn’t everything the Ginger King does golden though? Or would his jewels be rubies? Either way.

 

52. Eternal Death – Head

One of my favourites from early 2014.

 

51. Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down

Best song she’s yet done.

 

50. Grimes – Go

Took a couple listens before I truly appreciated this masterpiece of a jam. What a jam it is. For some reason, it didn’t connect with the masses like “Genesis” or “Oblivion”, but “Go” is a tune on that level. Blood Diamonds’ production is downright filthy. Love the cymbal work in the chorus.

 

49. The Madden Brothers – We Are Done

When I first heard this track, I had no idea which 70’s band sung it. All I could do was hum and be impressed at the massive chorus. I wondered who it was by for some time. Then one day, I found out the song wasn’t 40 years old, but brand frickin new, and by Benji and Joel from Good Charlotte?! I was floored. Good Charlotte had some decent tunes, but this is by far the best thing the Cali bros have ever released.

 

Bonus: One Republic – I Lived (On my HM list in 2013, left a huge mark in 2014 also.)

 

48. Tei Shi – Bassically

It builds and builds and builds and builds. One of the sexiest pop songs of the year.

 

47. 5 Seconds of Summer – She Looks So Perfect

No escaping a chorus that huge.

 

46. Tove Lo – Over

Oh Sweden. How many times do you win me over in a given year with your mastery of pop music? I can’t count that high.

 

45. Hozier – Like Real People Do

Full discl-hozier, this is my favourite song from the Irish lad. Great lyrics. Fantastic melody.

 

44. The Griswolds – Beware The Dog

So sunny. So gitchy. So good. One of the best sing-a-long songs of the year.

 

Bonus: The Griswolds – Red Tuxedo

 

43. Rudimental f. Emeli Sande – Free

Rudimental lays down a pulsating beat, over which Emeli Sande shines. This song never gets old.

 

42. Enrique Iglesias f. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona – Bailando

Best song Enrique’s done in at least 10 years, if not ever. I had no reason to believe he’d ever be associated with a song of such quality. This tune is pure bliss. I can feel the warmth of summer when I listen to this song. That’s an amazing quality to possess.

 

41. The Alternate Routes – Nothing More

Gorgeous song in all manner of ways.

Top 20 Songs of February 2014

Here are my most played, favourite songs of February 2014:

20. ASTR – We Fall Down

 

19. Dum Dum Girls – Rimbaud Eyes

 

18. Elephant – Elusive Youth

 

17. Neon Trees – Sleeping With A Friend

 

16. Broods – Coattails

 

15. Serebro – Mi Mi Mi

Unrivalled preposterousness. Catchy as all hell.

 

14. Tokyo Police Club – Hot Tonight

 

13. Balance & Composure – Enemy

 

12. Lover Lover – The Fire

 

11. Lord Huron – Time To Run

 

10. Bombay Bicycle Club – Luna

Not surprised this was the second single. Rae Morris and Jack Steadman sound fantastic sharing the vocals.

 

9. Cage The Elephant – Spiderhead/Cigarette Daydreams/Telescope

The more I listen to Cage’s latest album, Melophobia, the more I enjoy it. Their sloppy accessibility is alluring. These three tracks are my current favourites.

Spiderhead:

Cigarette Daydreams:

Telescope:

 

8. Vance Joy – Riptide

Wonderful, sunny, joyous, summery pop music.

 

7. Darlia – Queen of Hearts

Embroidered with grunge and pop fabrics. The result is one catchy tune.

 

6. Katy B – Everything

On her latest album, Katy B’s eschewed the synthpop sound that so many of her contemporaries have clung to of late. In its stead, she’s gone (almost) Full House, a considerable achievement as DJ Tanner is nowhere to be found. “Everything” is a stud.

 

5. Against Me! – Fuckmylife666

One of the many fantastic songs on Against Me!’s latest LP. Though I couldn’t stop singing the line, “Don’t wanna live without teeth, don’t wanna die without bite,” the lyric that hits hardest is, “is your mother proud of your eyelashes?” Slaying gender ideals one burn at a time, Against Me! are back and at their fiery best.

 

4. Magic! – Rude

So, so, so, so catchy. I don’t think I’ll be sick of this song for a long time — if ever.

 

3. Bombay Bicycle Club – Feel

The opening eastern rhythm is out-of-this-world sensational. The guitar riff that joins the fray at 2:38 ups the ante even further, making “Feel” one of the best songs they’ve ever done. Bombay Bicycle Club can, quite simply, do whatever they want with songs, sounds, and music, such is their talent. What makes it so thrilling is that it all sounds so effortless. BBC are a one of a kind beauty.

 

2. Maximo Park – Drinking Martinis/Midnight On The Hill/Where We’re Going

Maximo Park are a treasure I hold very dearly in my heart. I wish they were a massive band the world over — it’s what they deserve. I wish they had a big enough fan base in Toronto to tour here so I don’t have to trek to the U.S. to see them. I can’t be greedy with so many wishes though, as they’re the embodiment of what I want my music to be: catchy for days and weeks and years. And that’s exactly what Maximo Park have been, for years: hard-working, staunch melodists, indefatigably likeable. Every album they’ve released is charming and fresh, and their latest, Too Much Information, is no different. Per usual, a handful of unbelievably good tunes comprise the record, with “Leave This Island” and the three tunes below the big winners. One thing that separates Maximo Park from the rest is that there’s something special, something indefinable about their songs that prevents them from getting tired. “Books From Boxes”, “Postcard of a Painting”, “By The Monument”, and “Questing, Not Coasting”, among many others, have not reached a point where I haven’t enjoyed listening to them. I believe these new set of songs will have a likewise affect on me. This is what many people call magic.

Drinking Martinis

Midnight On The Hill

Where We’re Going

 

1. Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues/Black Me Out/Paralytic States

From the first moment I heard these tunes to now, I’ve been in awe. From a song and melody perspective, these collection of songs are on par with the indomitable “Trash Unreal”, “Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart”, and “The Ocean” from their seminal New Wave LP. From a personal, lyrical, and culture-commenting perspective, the songs are even better. Lead singer Laura Jane Grace (formerly Tom Gabel) has undoubtedly gone through a lot. But she sounds so invigorated, energetic, chomping at the bit to tell a (her?) story that I’m so bloody thankful Against Me! are still around and adorned with their trademark ferocity. Transgender Dysphoria Blues will assuredly end up being one of the records of the year when 2014 is said and done, and these three tracks, along with lead single “True Trans Soul Rebel”, are the big reasons why. Culturally, it’s an important record, and musically, it’s a beast that bellows loudly and froths with intensity. It already sounds like a classic.

Transgender Dysphoria Blues

Black Me Out

Paralytic States