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.
Here are the heavyweights, my top 25 remixes of the year…
25. Britney Spears – Alien (Nick and Country Club Martini Crew Remix)
Brit Brit’s been remixed a kajillion times over the years, and this reboot is one of the best.
24. Maximo Park – Leave This Island (Mogwai Remix)
Mogwai completely change the amazing source material, yet it remains eminently listenable.
23. Future Islands – Doves (Vince Clarke Remix)
Remixes of Future Islands songs tend to be a little obtuse; this track is not that. It’s a slick, straightforward dance remix of a great tune. Refreshing.
22. Paris Suit Yourself – Won’t K (Sophie Remix)
Sophie’s sound is unmistakable. This remix is too.
21. Noel Gallagher – In The Heat Of The Moment (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
Awesome remix that all but erases Noel’s vocal, but electrifies the melody in stark, crisp ways.
20. Oasis – Wonderwall (Sava and Razz Remix)
Don’t think I’ve ever heard Liam’s voice attached to something so overtly happy. Obviously nothing will ever touch the original, but 20 years later, it’s cool to hear a new take on one of the best tracks of the last 30 years.
19. Bombay Bicycle Club – Luna (Karl G Remix)
An ethereal, space-filling remix of one the two best songs on BBC’s latest record. This track is at peace with calm, an aural balm.
18. Moby – Almost Home (Sound Remedy Remix)
My favourite Sound Remedy remix of the year. His output the last two years has been incredible. There’s something about his sound that greases the emotional wheel, in the process producing all the feels.
17. Tove Styrke – Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You (White Sea Remix)
White Sea construct a complete face-lift of the original, turning an unabashed pop smash into a chilly Scandinavian exploration track. Snow falls in cascading crystals upon this quiet, lonesome white sea.
16. Beyonce f. Kanye, The Weeknd, Jay-Z – Drunk In Love (Remix)
Yeezy and The Weeknd lead and kill this remix.
15. Lilly Wood and The Prick – Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)
One of the more popular remixes of the year. Deservedly so.
14. Tove Lo – Habits (Hippie Sabotage Remix)
Nothing can touch the source material, but this down-tempo remix is a brooding, pulsating banger in its own right.
13. Charli XCX – Boom Clap (Cahill Edit)
Nothing more and nothing less than complete dance-pop decadence.
12. John Legend – All Of Me (De Hofnar Remix)/(Tiesto Remix)
Still can’t decide which remix of the two I prefer. I’ll take both and call it a win.
11. Lykke Li – No Rest For The Wicked (Klangkarussell Remix)
Bangin’ and Klangin’ up and down and all around. A sweaty Swedish night to melt all the ice.
10. Little Daylight – Overdose (Future Islands Remix)
Not only did Future Islands release one of the albums of the year and drop probably the best live tv performance of the year, but they had a few minutes of spare time, dabbled in the remix trade, and nailed the shit out of that too. So the great fire they wrote about for On The Water was an autobiographical prophesy?
9. Royksopp and Robyn – Monument (The Inevitable End Remix)
This will be a beacon when they’re gone, that much is sure. This remix is a monument of considerable light and size, a prize fight throwdown by 3 Scandinavian EDM/Pop stalwarts.
8. Lily Allen – Air Balloon (Digital Farm Animals Remix)
A massive, otherworldly earworm of a remix.
7. Banks – Beggin For Thread (Gryffin & Hotel Garuda Remix)
If Hotel Garuda is as pleasant a stay as this remix sounds, I booked a vacay there yesterday.
The following six remixes are on another level from everything else in 2014.
6. Jose Gonzalez – Heartbeats (Filous & Mount Remix)
The core song that is “Heartbeats” can thrive in any condition. The original version by The Knife is a weird, warbly, synth-pop hit. Jose Gonzalez’s cover is a complete makeover; it’s vulnerable, striking, and rife with a sad beauty. Now several years after “Heartbeats” and its cover were released, this wonderful dance remix drops. Where the cover lives in its sadness, this remix merely alludes to it. No matter which heart it occupies, the lyrics and melody that comprise this tune beat uninterrupted.
5. La Roux – Let Me Down Gently (Sailors Remix)
Simply irresistible. This song is a boat with legs navigating its course by dancing on water. It’s not the most direct way to get from point a to b, but to be a romancer on this level requires one take a tropical chancer.
4. Ed Sheeran – I See Fire (Kygo Remix)
The sound of serenity. Kygo put in a lot of work in 2014, but no remix of his was better (or bigger) than this one. Ed Sheeran’s warm, pleading vocals are married perfectly with the pop-indebted track. Kygo insulates the vocals with gorgeous sounds at every turn. If Ed Sheeran is the creator and seer of this fire, Kygo is its protector, its guardian in a galaxy where streaks of red-orange heat are strewn across every conceivable world, a place where life must be hot in order to unfurl.
3. Jessie Ware – Tough Love (Cyril Hahn Remix)
I wrote this at the beginning of October and not a damn thing has changed:
“Sourcing an impossibly sexy and slow-tempo’d original, Hahn takes this remix somewhere else entirely. He makes the song scoot in its boots, turns the pensive vibe of the original into a celebration of hard work. He makes tough love seem like a joy. What an accomplishment.”
This remix was, is, and will remain an incredible track. Only one or two remixes per year achieve this level of brilliance. Cyril Hahn should be forever proud he’s done that with his “Tough Love”.
2. Sam Smith – Stay With Me (Rainer & Grimm Remix)
Sam Smith has a voice that can do anything. That said, I think his incredible talent is best suited in ballads and dance songs. He’s delivered tremendous moments with both types already; his “Nirvana” and “Stay With Me” prove his mettle with ballads, while his power to make people dance was proven on Naughty Boy’s “La La La” and Disclosure’s “Latch”. We can add the Rainer & Grimm remix of “Stay With Me” to that list straight away.
The Toronto duo take the heart-wrestling ballad and turn it into a slinky, sexy, dance-pop gem of the highest order. Hands down, one of the catchiest remixes of the year.
1. Sufjan Stevens vs. Signalrunners – Chicago (Club Mix)
Something kind of odd happened as I was working on this list; I realized my favourite remix of the year was not from 2014.
I’m not exactly sure what year this remix is from, though a cursory search on Youtube seems to suggest its from 2007. For as much as I love “Chicago”, I didn’t hear this remix in 2007, or any other year, until this one. And my non-denominational deity, what a mark it left in 2014. When I say I love Sufjan Stevens’ original, I really mean it; when I think about compiling a list of the best songs from 2000-2009, “Chicago” would be near the top. Its tenderness is incomparable, its melody is indefatigable, and its heart is bigger than the sun.
When I first heard this Signalrunners remix some weeks ago, I was immediately walloped by a searing sense of nostalgia, taken back to a time when I first heard Stevens’ masterpiece, to my life at the time. The direct train to Nostalgia Land that certain songs give us free tickets to is one of the very best things about music.
Make no mistake though, this track’s brilliance does not begin and end with the fact that it brought me back to the original, and to another time in my life. This remix is absolutely sensational musically. The flourishes are fantastically timed, the build-up is a bonanza, and the entire offering is an escape to elation. It’s like gliding weightlessly and without worry through clouds, oscillating between being taken on a tantalizing trip and becoming a cloud itself. This atlas is entirely comforting, shrugging off any concern that the flightpath is wrong.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but going to Chicago — remix, original, or any other suburban destination, interpretation — was not one of them.
On a whim, we’ll sell our clothes to the state, drive all night, revel in the passionate spontaneity. We might fall in love. We’ll probably fall out of it. But in the end, we’ll come back. To Chicago — whether we’re from there or not. We made our minds up. You had to find it. All things go, all things go.
The Pun Is Sure 