naughty boy

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 May 2014

May was absolutely absurd. The top 8 (!) songs listed were all worthy of being number 1. The rest of the top 15 could easily be top 3 songs in another month. In short, I heard and loved a bunch of stunning songs in May, and it might go down as the best music month of the year.

20. Bear Hands – Giants

Sweet chilli heat, the groove, the beat.

 

19. John Legend – All Of Me (De Hofnar Bootleg)/All Of Me (Tiesto Remix)

I’m not sure which remix I prefer more. I think it’s the De Hofnar one, but I can’t be sure. Tiesto came to play here.

De Hofnar Bootleg:

Tiesto Remix:

 

18. Eagulls – Possessed

Static electricity caught by a lint-remover.

 

17. The Subs f. Colonel Adams – Trapped

A bone-rattling house bang-show.

 

16. Lykke Li – No Rest For The Wicked/No Rest For The Wicked (Klangkarussel Remix)

The more I hear from Lykke, the more I listen. She’s got it.

 

15. X Priest X – Enemy Mind

I adore the bass-y house undertones in this pop marvel. Keep your friends close, keep Enemy Mind closer.

 

14. Manic Street Preachers – Walk Me To The Bridge

A forceful re-emergence for possibly the most underrated band around.

 

13. La Roux – Let Me Down Gently

I had fears La Roux missed the boat. This teaser release assuaged those fears at once. Don’t call it a comeback, even if it’s been five years.

 

12. Bear’s Den – Sahara Pt. 2

In a bear’s den,

you must watch your yen.

For if not, you will lose,

Something hairier than your shoes.

 

11. Manchester Orchestra – The Mansion/Cope

If this is Manchester Orchestra’s mansion, it’s replete with standards of fear and bushels of beards.

If this is how Manchester Orchestra cope, they’ve steel reinforced what it is to hope.

This is rock music.

This is bloody fantastic music.

 

10. Ask Embla – Legion

I asked Embla, and she said she must pop. (And lock in hits, like this song.)

 

9. Naughty Boy f. Sam Smith – La La La

Heard it. Then was Ricked it. Then listened some more. Then got on page with all else who’ve heard. This track is absurd.

 

8. Betty Who – Lovin’ Start

I had a lovin’ start with this Betty Who track, which then progressed into a lovin’ middle. The end is out of sight, but I’m positive it’s lovin’ too.

 

7. Robyn & Royksopp – Every Little Thing

“Every Little Thing” is, for my money, the best song on the EP from Robyn & Royksopp. There’s groove, there’s pulse, there’s a move, a protruding pulse. The singles from the EP, “Do It Again” and “Sayit”, don’t hit nearly as hard as this track. This song is blood and beats and mud from cleats.

 

6. Paloma Faith – Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Only a piece of pop dynamite as explosive as this could place this high in a month so strong. The music is irresistible and Paloma Faith lays down a mammoth vocal.

 

5. Beth Jeans Houghton & Samuel T. Herring – Pelican Canyon

This? From a random road trip?! I’d hate to see what these two could come up if they had endless time together. (Huge lie. I’d love to see, hear, and feel more from them.) Beth Jeans Houghton lulls like a luscious lullaby, while Sam T. Herring is the base to which the melody abides. I believe this is what the best kind of collaboration looks/sounds/feels like.

 

4. Marc Anthony – Vivir Mi Vida/Khaled – C’est La Vie

Is this Marc Anthony’s best ever song? It’s a legit question, and I think it might be. I really dug “You Sang To Me”, but the passion in “Vivir” exudes a freedom that I haven’t heard in any of his previous tracks. The song’s sun is so strong it leaves a full-body tan even if fully clothed, which this song makes sound completely ludicrous. This is the type of heat that never brings sorrow, only the excitement of tomorrow.

As good as Marc Anthony’s version of the melody/song/idea is, (Cheb) Khaled’s is equal to the task. This is exactly what euphoria sounds like. It’s what frolicking looks like. It’s what the the World Cup feels like. Is it too late to change this year’s official song?

 

3. Allie X – Bitch

“Prime” and “Catch” were the first two releases from this new artist, but I think “Bitch” is the best of the bunch. The distorted chorus is just tremendous.

“Bitch” is neither male nor female. “Bitch” is no dog. “Bitch” is of a moment, a moment where pop is transfused by electronics, enthused by histrionics.

 

2. La Roux – Uptight Downtown

I’d thought for quite some time that La Roux really dropped the ball by waiting so long to release a follow-up album, after all, 2009 (when they debuted) was eons ago. The duo built up so much momentum, with majestic stompers “Bulletproof”, “In For The Kill”, “Quicksand” (a.k.a. the hits) combining with “As If By Magic”, “I’m Not Your Toy”, “Cover My Eyes” (and more) to form what I felt like (and still feel now) was one of the best pop records of the decade. I thought it was a huge mistake to let that buzz dissipate — music fans can be fickle, and five years between albums is an eternity in this day and age.

Oh ye of little faith.

La Roux (now apparently just singer Elly Jackson) rendered all of that concern a waste. I can’t prove that La Roux travelled via wormhole, but it can’t be dismissed. When your comeback single is as sensational as “Uptight Downtown”, a song so current, yet so of another time, it’s hard to think about why it took so long between efforts.

“Uptight Downtown” sounds like a wave, and the wave is warm and unrelenting. Some may find this track repetitive. Some might not see its utter, complete, eargasmic dominance. Some may be in tune. Some may be before the zoom. Some might be after it. Whatever to some, here’s the sum: this track is one that sounds like it’ll battle the test of time with conviction.

La Roux knows the streets are lined with people, people who want to move, move, move.

The people always want to dance, even if they’ve changed their shoes, shoes, shoes.

 

1. Manchester Orchestra – Trees

Rock. Song. Of. The. Year.

That riff. That fucking wall and plaster and stone and foundation shattering riff. That attention to melody and rock out to the point of felony. Those insurmountable mountains of hooks. Those shadow stealing nooks.

This is why I love music.