As I seem to mention every year, crafting a strict Top 100 Songs of The Year list is an impossibility for me, because I listen to and like way more than 100 songs. So in order to shine a light on some of the songs that are still very good but don’t crack my top 100, I’ve issued lists recognizing the “honourable mentions” the past couple years. This is the first of those lists for 2014. More than anything though, these lists serve as a record keeping endeavour, so when I look back at 2014 some years down the line, I’ll be able to re-visit all the songs I was into. Having something neat and tidy to refer to at any time appeals to me, and that’s a big reason why I compile these lists. If anyone else who reads them discovers/likes something new, that’s great too.
Without further ado, here is the first of four lists detailing the best songs of 2014, Honourable Mention style, in alphabetical order.
I wrote the following last year, but the words don’t belong to 2013. What follows is an evergreen sentiment that applies to all remixes. Here it is:
Transformation can do many things to an object. It can make something louder, quieter, bigger, smaller, heavier, lighter, darker, brighter, and so much more. The process of transformation is of some measure science, art, and parts unknown, and thus, cannot be coerced into formula.
Remixes seek to transform, in some manner, the source material into something new, fresh, and vibrant. The best remixes do this, and also pave a bridge of familiarity to the original. Developing something new while maintaining some semblance of the old is an enormously difficult task, and that’s why it rarely happens.
If a remixer is smart, the simple act of picking the right song to treat will come with a certain amount of cache, and will garner a certain level of intrigue (read: there will be a built-in audience). But that doesn’t mean the remix will end up being good. So many are not. There are some though, that are good, and some, even better than that. Not only do they transform, they transcend: the source material, emotions, and every so often, time itself. To be lost in a piece of art where an entire dimension ceases to exist is one of the joys of the artistic process, and indeed, one of the joys of this life.
To remix is to change. The best of the best though, remember to keep something of the original intact, whether it’s on the surface or buried deep beneath it. The great Roman poet Ovid, in his sprawling poem, “The Metamorphoses”, gives us an idea that serves as supreme directive for approaching remixes, “Omnia mutantur, nihil interit (everything changes, nothing perishes).”
50. alt-J – Left Hand Free (Lido remix)
49. Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down (Steve Smart & Westfunk Club Mix)
The Pun Is Sure 