One more year, one more list!
Disappointingly, this year wasn't one of the best years for music. Hardly any album or any band was outstanding ( I guess we have finally/really arrived in the era of spotify/singles). Nonetheless, we had some really great music and some amazing collection of magical sounds coming from all over the places and luckily, I managed to go through as many of them as possible to shortlist 10 best songs of 2014.
This year was life changing (well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but honestly, at least it was genre changing for my music palette). I listened to a lot and I mean a shitload LOT of Hip-Hop this year. From Yeezy to Drizzy to Jay-Z to SHADY to Biggie to K Dot to J Cole. Everyone made my list and I went through a decade of hip-hop music in just less than a year :D
There are two songs placed at 10th, 9th, 8th & 5th spot and I have tried to have just one song per artist for the list. I think I've heard each song on this list at least about 50 times.
I'll give you one secret for free. How to know if it's a good song? Start a song. Do something else while the song is running in the background. Pause it after a while. Somewhere in the middle. If you think you feel better after pausing it, then the song was shit. Instead, if you feel like something good was happening & you feel partially incomplete, then it means the song had that something, something special, that makes it a good song. There you go. You have THE secret :P Ahh,, forget it! Idk why I wrote it, it's silly.
Not wasting anymore of your precious/worthless time, here's the list;)
10. Zigzagging Toward the Light - Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst
Let's get this straight first, I just freaking love Conor Oberst. Or better put, he is my Bob Dylan. He was back with a splendid album which also made my top 10 albums list for this year. This lead single from the album is everything Conor! Genius!
9. Prince Johnny - St. Vincent by St. Vincent
Ok, now this made to the list really late. I had been reading about St. Vincent and her album-of-the-year-lists-topping self-titled album for almost half a year and finally, I decided to give it a try. Man, this song is spectacular! It has that mysterious melancholic undertone to it that's just mesmerizing and haunting. Vocals and guitar productions are top notch.
9. Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar) - You're Dead by Flying Lotus
K Dot featured on multiple hits this year. This song being the best of them. I don't remember exactly where, but one website chose the video for the best video of 2014 and I think it truly deserves that recognition. This song is a perfect example of how hip-hop and electro (?) music can work so well.
8. XO - Beyonce by Beyonce
Technically, it's a 2013 release. But still, I'm including it. It's just that good. Jay-Z is a lucky guy ;)
7. Brooklyn Baby - Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
Probably, Lana's best on her latest release. It has that fuck-the-world-feel-free vibe to it. Really hippie and trippy. Also, if you pay a little attention, you'll see how this song connects her first release to the second. How she goes from " He says to "be cool" but I don't know how yet" on National Anthem to "My boyfriend's pretty cool but not as cool as me" on Brooklyn Baby.
6. A Button on Your Blouse - Drowners by Drowners
Oh man, this one is for the post-punk revival kids from early 2000. Inspired by Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, Drowners have made an album reminiscent of Strokes' earlier works, full of tightly packed rough/bright guitars and simple/cheesy melody to sing along with. This song in particular is the one that stands out due to its nostalgia factor.
5. Blank Space - 1989 by Taylor Swift
What kind of asshole listens to Taylor Swift! Btw, I liked her this year when she lip-synced K Dot's Backseet Freestyle. That was rad!
I am not joking. This song deserves this spot. Taylor Swift broke US album sales record this year for no stupid reason. This song epitomizes everything that goes wrong with people who fall hopelessly in you-know-what-i-am-talking-about ;)
5. Real Love by Tom Odell - Damn, for a cover, it's prettttyyyy good! The video below is by John Lewis tho :P
4. Bloodflood Part 2 - This Is All Yours by Alt-J
By this time if you haven't heard of Alt-J, then I'm sorry to say, you must be living in some parallel universe with no Alt-J and hence no beauty that comes along with listening to this heavenly seductive band ( and also no hipsters :P ). Though, not as great as An Awesome Wave, the new album is loaded with some over the top epic choruses and brilliant sonic build-ups (like that Miley Cyrus sample ;) ).
Idk exactly, but there's some dubstep thing going on in here, some Sigur Ros thing too, combined with some Kid A era Radiohead vibe. It's just that so much is going on within this song. Some say the singer did some shrooms and then sang the ending section. No wonder, it was one of the highlights of the music scene this year.
A love song at its core, this song can be interpreted in ways beyond your power of comprehension :P ( just kidding, it's a pretty straight forward song about everything fucked up in this world)
Also, the ending has some improvised lyrics ( freaking shrooms), so it's hard to make out what he says on the record. But he has been singing different versions, some of my favorite ones are:
3. Always in My Head - Ghost Stories by Coldplay
Ghost Stories was my favorite record of 2014 and this could be my favorite from the album. Back in May, I remember listening this one in particular on repeat for hours! Every morning I'd rise from the bed, put this one on the top of my playlist, and while brushing my teeth, I'd move my head & body in some bizarre Swag-hili dance steps. By the time the song would end, I'd finally open my eyes and wake up. Huh, this is just special.
2. Nose Grows Some - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
1. Human Sadness - Tyranny by Julian Casablancas + the Voidz
This song tops anything and everything released this year by miles! I remember catching its snippet from a promotional video back in July, cutting it and then listening that 10 seconds of bass line on repeat for continuously 2-3 hours. Some mind-blowing writing, gut wrenching guitar wizardry(gwgw) and sad-as-fuck vocals/falsetto.
2. Iris by U2 : Not bad for their "gift album"!
3. On The Floor by Seahaven : Should have been on the top 10 list.
4. Action Cats by Gerard Way : "Do you miss me? 'Cause I miss you so." Gerard Way went all David Bowie-ish with his new release.
5. Best Friends by Foster the People : Hugely underwhelming record but this track is super fun.
6. Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paloma Faith : Not my usual taste but this one is nice!
7. Blame It On Me by George Lazra : Same as above :)
8. i by Kendrick Lamar : K Dot has just killed it! Eagerly waiting for his 3rd release. This track is made to feel you on top of the world.
9. Fancy by Iggy Azaela: Still not sure if it was worth winning the best rap track of the year, but I must admit, the chorus is chatchy as hell and Iggy got some nice flow going on there.
10. Uptwon Funk by Mark Ronson & Come Get It Bae by Pharrell Williams : While Happy was the feel good anthem for half of the world this year, these two tracks were mine.
Specially for Hip-Hop fans ;) :
Big Sean's IDFWU & Schoolboy Q's Hell Of a Night ;)
And here is the playlist that I know you all have been waiting for ;) suggest me anything if you think should also make the cut.
Disappointingly, this year wasn't one of the best years for music. Hardly any album or any band was outstanding ( I guess we have finally/really arrived in the era of spotify/singles). Nonetheless, we had some really great music and some amazing collection of magical sounds coming from all over the places and luckily, I managed to go through as many of them as possible to shortlist 10 best songs of 2014.
This year was life changing (well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but honestly, at least it was genre changing for my music palette). I listened to a lot and I mean a shitload LOT of Hip-Hop this year. From Yeezy to Drizzy to Jay-Z to SHADY to Biggie to K Dot to J Cole. Everyone made my list and I went through a decade of hip-hop music in just less than a year :D
There are two songs placed at 10th, 9th, 8th & 5th spot and I have tried to have just one song per artist for the list. I think I've heard each song on this list at least about 50 times.
I'll give you one secret for free. How to know if it's a good song? Start a song. Do something else while the song is running in the background. Pause it after a while. Somewhere in the middle. If you think you feel better after pausing it, then the song was shit. Instead, if you feel like something good was happening & you feel partially incomplete, then it means the song had that something, something special, that makes it a good song. There you go. You have THE secret :P Ahh,, forget it! Idk why I wrote it, it's silly.
Not wasting anymore of your precious/worthless time, here's the list;)
10. Zigzagging Toward the Light - Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst
Let's get this straight first, I just freaking love Conor Oberst. Or better put, he is my Bob Dylan. He was back with a splendid album which also made my top 10 albums list for this year. This lead single from the album is everything Conor! Genius!
10. Too Bad I Have to Destroy You - SATELLITE FLIGHT: The journey to Mother Moon by Kid Cudi
This song made me take Kid Cudi seriously. The whole album is some sort of space travel experience and this song is him venting out his frustration and anger at someone whom he used to think of as his brother, sister and homie. Huh, after running through some backstories, I have a crazy theory on how it could be all about his mentor and ex-boss Kanye :P Great workout song.9. Prince Johnny - St. Vincent by St. Vincent
Ok, now this made to the list really late. I had been reading about St. Vincent and her album-of-the-year-lists-topping self-titled album for almost half a year and finally, I decided to give it a try. Man, this song is spectacular! It has that mysterious melancholic undertone to it that's just mesmerizing and haunting. Vocals and guitar productions are top notch.
9. Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar) - You're Dead by Flying Lotus
K Dot featured on multiple hits this year. This song being the best of them. I don't remember exactly where, but one website chose the video for the best video of 2014 and I think it truly deserves that recognition. This song is a perfect example of how hip-hop and electro (?) music can work so well.
8. XO - Beyonce by Beyonce
Technically, it's a 2013 release. But still, I'm including it. It's just that good. Jay-Z is a lucky guy ;)
8. Weight of Love - Turn Blue by The Black Keys
This six minute song is the best from their 2014 release. The video is even better & you can find it on vimeo ;) It's an instant classic!
Probably, Lana's best on her latest release. It has that fuck-the-world-feel-free vibe to it. Really hippie and trippy. Also, if you pay a little attention, you'll see how this song connects her first release to the second. How she goes from " He says to "be cool" but I don't know how yet" on National Anthem to "My boyfriend's pretty cool but not as cool as me" on Brooklyn Baby.
6. A Button on Your Blouse - Drowners by Drowners
Oh man, this one is for the post-punk revival kids from early 2000. Inspired by Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, Drowners have made an album reminiscent of Strokes' earlier works, full of tightly packed rough/bright guitars and simple/cheesy melody to sing along with. This song in particular is the one that stands out due to its nostalgia factor.
" These days you know I really leave the house...."
5. Blank Space - 1989 by Taylor Swift
What kind of asshole listens to Taylor Swift! Btw, I liked her this year when she lip-synced K Dot's Backseet Freestyle. That was rad!
I am not joking. This song deserves this spot. Taylor Swift broke US album sales record this year for no stupid reason. This song epitomizes everything that goes wrong with people who fall hopelessly in you-know-what-i-am-talking-about ;)
"You can tell me when it's over
If the high was worth the pain."
5. Real Love by Tom Odell - Damn, for a cover, it's prettttyyyy good! The video below is by John Lewis tho :P
"Seems like all I really was doing was waiting for you."
4. Bloodflood Part 2 - This Is All Yours by Alt-J
By this time if you haven't heard of Alt-J, then I'm sorry to say, you must be living in some parallel universe with no Alt-J and hence no beauty that comes along with listening to this heavenly seductive band ( and also no hipsters :P ). Though, not as great as An Awesome Wave, the new album is loaded with some over the top epic choruses and brilliant sonic build-ups (like that Miley Cyrus sample ;) ).
Idk exactly, but there's some dubstep thing going on in here, some Sigur Ros thing too, combined with some Kid A era Radiohead vibe. It's just that so much is going on within this song. Some say the singer did some shrooms and then sang the ending section. No wonder, it was one of the highlights of the music scene this year.
A love song at its core, this song can be interpreted in ways beyond your power of comprehension :P ( just kidding, it's a pretty straight forward song about everything fucked up in this world)
Also, the ending has some improvised lyrics ( freaking shrooms), so it's hard to make out what he says on the record. But he has been singing different versions, some of my favorite ones are:
"And all the things that I'll do
And I'll die for you
And I waited forever( or.. And I waited an hour or two)
Still waiting for you"
or
"Though my body may die,
I'll still wait for you
And I said I will wait for you
So I waited, waited for you"
Still waiting for you"
or
"Though my body may die,
I'll still wait for you
And I said I will wait for you
So I waited, waited for you"
3. Always in My Head - Ghost Stories by Coldplay
Ghost Stories was my favorite record of 2014 and this could be my favorite from the album. Back in May, I remember listening this one in particular on repeat for hours! Every morning I'd rise from the bed, put this one on the top of my playlist, and while brushing my teeth, I'd move my head & body in some bizarre Swag-hili dance steps. By the time the song would end, I'd finally open my eyes and wake up. Huh, this is just special.
"This I guess is to tell you
You're chosen out from the rest."
2. Nose Grows Some - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
Now let's get a bit serious. The top two songs are not just this year's best, but probably, two of the best songs ever made.
Thom Yorke dropped his second solo buy-through-bit-torrent album this year to almost everyone's surprise and still it sold more than a million copies within its first week of release. This just only goes to prove that there are still people in this world who appreciate good music and know where to look for it. The album boasts of at least two other gems but only this one has made the cut. In short, this song is about committing suicide or something like that with a sweet little melody " If I'm blowing myself away under hot fluorescent light". It's one of those songs where you have to be in a certain spiritual state to really feel it deep into your naive/incompetent brain's core.1. Human Sadness - Tyranny by Julian Casablancas + the Voidz
This song tops anything and everything released this year by miles! I remember catching its snippet from a promotional video back in July, cutting it and then listening that 10 seconds of bass line on repeat for continuously 2-3 hours. Some mind-blowing writing, gut wrenching guitar wizardry(gwgw) and sad-as-fuck vocals/falsetto.
"I'm waiting for you, on and on."
H'ble mentions in no particular order:
1. Bailando by Enrique Iglesias : Luckily, I happened to watch Enrique perform this one live. We sang the "oh-oh-oh" part, with music off and just thousands of people singing along in one perfect tune. That was crazy!2. Iris by U2 : Not bad for their "gift album"!
3. On The Floor by Seahaven : Should have been on the top 10 list.
4. Action Cats by Gerard Way : "Do you miss me? 'Cause I miss you so." Gerard Way went all David Bowie-ish with his new release.
5. Best Friends by Foster the People : Hugely underwhelming record but this track is super fun.
6. Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paloma Faith : Not my usual taste but this one is nice!
7. Blame It On Me by George Lazra : Same as above :)
8. i by Kendrick Lamar : K Dot has just killed it! Eagerly waiting for his 3rd release. This track is made to feel you on top of the world.
9. Fancy by Iggy Azaela: Still not sure if it was worth winning the best rap track of the year, but I must admit, the chorus is chatchy as hell and Iggy got some nice flow going on there.
10. Uptwon Funk by Mark Ronson & Come Get It Bae by Pharrell Williams : While Happy was the feel good anthem for half of the world this year, these two tracks were mine.
Specially for Hip-Hop fans ;) :
Big Sean's IDFWU & Schoolboy Q's Hell Of a Night ;)
And here is the playlist that I know you all have been waiting for ;) suggest me anything if you think should also make the cut.
Some awesome choices! I love Zigzagging Toward the Light. Not very fond of XO though because of the controversy related to the voice track at the beginning. I didn't know some of the songs you named yet so now I've got some new things to listen to. :)
ReplyDeletehej, thanks! really?? i love XO! :P what's the controversy ?
Deleteit's weird, the post says '10', but in total i have mentioned maybe around 40-50 songs. hope you go through them and discover a few you like ;)