The Best Songs of 2014

THE BEST SONGS OF 2014

Rdio Playlist:

http://www.rdio.com/people/BlairFink86/playlists/8768349/Best_Songs_of_2014/

See the full list after the jump:

Best Albums of 2012

Best Albums of 2012

SHARON VAN ETTEN.  Source: Stereogum


Here are my picks for Best Albums of 2012:


15. The Magnetic Fields – Love at the Bottom of the Sea
Best Track: "Andrew in Drag"

14. Grizzly Bear – Shields
Best Track: "Gun-Shy"

13. Beach House – Bloom
Best Track: "Myth"

12. Great Lake Swimmers – New Wild Everywhere
Best Track: "Think That You Might Be Wrong"

11. Cat Power – Sun
Best Track: "Ruin"

10. Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits
Best Track: "My Love is Real"

9. Chairlift – Something
Best Track: "I Belong In Your Arms"

8. Metric – Synthetica
Best Track: "Clone"


7. The Lumineers – The Lumineers
Best Track: "Ho Hey"


6. Passion Pit - Gossamer
Best Track: "Constant Conversations"

5. Sun Kil Moon – Among the Leaves
Best Tracks: "Sunshine in Chicago," "Elaine," "Young Love"

4. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
Best Tracks: "Thinkin' Bout You," "Pyramids," "Lost"

 

3. Hospitality - Hospitality

Best Tracks: "Eighth Avenue," "Friends of Friends," "Argonauts,"

2. Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is An Animal
Best Tracks: "Dirty Paws," "King and Lionheart," "Little Talks"

















1. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
It wasn't until after I'd become enamoured with this album that I found out it was produced by Aaron Dessner of The National (my favourite band and pick for Best Album of 2010) and features Zach Condon of Beirut (my pick for Best Album of 2011).
Best Tracks: "Give Out," "Leonard," "We Are Fine (feat. Zach Condon of Beirut)," "I'm Wrong"

Best Songs of 2012

Best Songs of 2012

 
CHVRCHES. Source: ThePhoenix.com

My picks for the best songs of 2012:


25. Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Pusha T – Mercy

24. Sharon Van Etten – I’m Wrong

23. Grimes - Genesis

22. Sharon Van Etten - Leonard

21. Beach House – Myth

20. Divine Fits – My Love Is Real

19. Nas – Daughters

18. Sharon Van Etten – Give Out

17. Great Lake Swimmers – Think That You Might Be Wrong

16. The Magnetic Fields – Andrew in Drag

15. Sun Kil Moon – Young Love

14. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe

13. Fiona Apple – Hot Knife

12. Mumford and Sons – I Will Wait

11. Usher – Climax

10. Frank Ocean - Pyramids

9. Cat Power - Ruin

8. Of Monsters and Men – King and Lionheart

7. Alabama Shakes – Hold On

6. Azealia Banks – 212

5. Hospitality – Friends of Friends

4. The Lumineers – Ho Hey

3. Frank Ocean – Thinkin’ Bout You

2. Chairlift – I Belong In Your Arms

Japanese Version:

1. CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share

Best Albums of 2011

I'm not a music writer so I have a hard time explaining exactly why I like the albums below but I did want to share them to whoever might be interested and/or is looking for new music to check out. Let me know if you think I'm right or wrong. My picks for best albums of 2011:

20. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
19. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

18. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

17. Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys

16. Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne

15. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

14. Destroyer – Kaputt

13. The Lonely Island – Turtleneck and Chain

12. Real Estate - Days

11. Low – C’mon

Best Songs of 2011

Here are my picks for Best Songs of 2011:

Guilty Pleasure: The Warblers - Misery

25. Wild Flag – Romance

24. Foster the People – Helena Beat

23. Real Estate – Out of Tune

22. Jay-Z and Kanye West – N****s in Paris

21. Wye Oak - Plains

20. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

19. Death Cab for Cutie – You Are a Tourist

18. St. Vincent - Cruel

17. Beirut – East Harlem

16. Bon Iver - Holocene

15. The War on Drugs – Baby Missiles

14. The Joy Formidable – Whirring

13. Iron & Wine – Tree By the River

12. The Lonely Island – Jack Sparrow

11. TV on the Radio – Will Do

10. The National – Think You Can Wait

9. Madison Violet – Christy Ellen Francis

8. Low – Especially Me

7. Feist – The Circle Married the Line

6. Destroyer – Savage Night at the Opera

5. M83 – Midnight City

4. Beirut – Santa Fe

3. Wye Oak – Civilian

2. The Antlers – I Don’t Want Love

1. Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks

Best Music of 2010

Before I post my picks for Best Music of 2011, I thought I'd put up the lists I meant to post last year for Best of 2010.

Best Albums of 2010

1. The National - High Violet

2. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

3. Beach House – Teen Dream

4. The Black Keys – Brothers

5. Vampire Weekend - Contra

6. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

7. Broken Bells - Broken Bells

8. Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away

9. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

10. Seabear – We Built a Fire

Best Songs of 2010

1. Josh Ritter – "The Curse"

2. The Black Keys – "Tighten Up"

3. LCD Soundsystem – "Home"

4. Kanye West – "Monster" (ft. Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Jay-Z, Rick Ross)

5. Broken Bells – "The Ghost Inside"

6. Vampire Weekend – "White Sky"

7. Tokyo Police Club – "Bambi"

8. Sarah Harmer – "Late Bloomer"

9. The Arcade Fire – "We Used to Wait"

10. The National – "Bloodbuzz Ohio"

Music Video Hall of Fame

OK Go - Here It Goes Again


I think everyone's seen this a million times but the choreography is pretty impressive. I wonder how many takes it took to get this in one shot?

Late to the Party

The Cure

For a long time, I never understood the reference when Adam Sandler said “Okay, I just want to warn you that when I wrote this song I was listening to The Cure a lot” before singing “Somebody Kill Me” in The Wedding Singer. Now I do. I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned that The Cure albums used to come with a razorblade and a suicide note template. Robert Smith whines and whines and whines on every song. I think I just found myself a new coaster for my coffee table. Awful.

Personal Favourites

If I had to pick, I’d say “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Friday I’m In Love”

Music Video Hall of Fame

Sonseed - Jesus is a Friend of Mine


The funniest things about this video have nothing to do with Jesus. Zap!

Music Video Hall of Fame

The White Stripes - Fell in Love With a Girl


It's awesome because it's all Lego. And it probably took approximately a billion years to make.

Music Video Hall of Fame

Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At?

Nostalgia

Space Jam Soundtrack
Lightning Strikes, The Court Lights Get Dim

I was ten years old when Space Jam came out and like every other kid who liked basketball and movies at that age, I liked it. It wasn't my favorite movie ever, but it had Michael Jordan and it had Bugs Bunny. How could you go wrong? It even had Newman in it, but I didn't know or care about that in 1996.

I watched it again when I was fifteen. Throughout the whole movie, the only thing I could think was Why the hell didn't Michael Jordan win a frickin' Oscar for this? His performance is inspired! It's gritty, honest...okay, seriously, it's an abomination. A piece of plywood would have shown more acting ability than that. Here's the worst part: He was playing himself! He barely had to act at all! I'll throw him a small bone and say it probably wasn't easy talking to animated characters that aren't there. I guess he wasn't really there to act, just to be Michael Jordan. I'm sure if they ever make a sequel, they'll get Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role. He'd drink the Monstars' milkshakes.

Movie aside, the soundtrack has become an all-time favorite for me. Every few years I revisit it, expecting to like it less than before and every time it surprises me. Maybe it's just nostalgia. Maybe it's because it was one of the first CDs I ever bought. Maybe it's just one of those things that I like because it reminds me of my childhood. Or maybe, just maybe, it's actually a pretty good album. Of course, their are definitely some garbage songs but the good ones more than make up for it.

Click "Read More" to see a track-by-track review.

Music Video Hall of Fame

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist

One of the weirdest I've ever seen.

Music Video Hall of Fame

Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice


Probably my favorite music video of all-time.

Late to the Party

The Smiths

I’m not going to lie. Until I saw (500) Days of Summer, I had never heard of The Smiths. I had heard of Morissey, but wasn’t familiar with any of his music.

So when Zooey Deschanel leaned over and told Joseph Gordon-Levitt that she recognized the band he was listening to as The Smiths, I immediately had to know who they were and what they sounded like.

I was in for a treat. I put The Very Best of The Smiths into the CD player in my car and didn’t take it out for weeks. While a lot of the lyrics are fairly depressing (see “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” and “Girlfriend in a Coma”), the songs are easy to listen to and catchy enough to sing along to. I’m not very adept at describing musical style, so I won’t even try. I just know that I want to thank (500) Days of Summer for introducing me.

Personal Favourites

“Ask”

“The Boy With a Thorn in His Side”

“This Charming Man”

“Girlfriend in a Coma”

“Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before”

Image Credit: Brittanica.com