This will probably be less comprehensive as part 1, mostly because songs are pretty tough to pull out of thin air. I'm an album guy. So, the only rankings I'll do for songs are 1-15, followed by a smattering of a bunch of songs. If I get the motivation, maybe I'll make a spotify playlist. Also included in this post are some alterations to the original list and last words on albums I didn't mention, incase there are some people that want my limited amount of knowledgeable input on them. I also tossed in a list of good albums that I started listening to this year, that weren't released this year, and a list of vinyl reissues that were pretty cool for me. I'm just trying to give everyone a smorgasbord of different albums to check out lol.
1. The Hold Steady- Spinners
2. Leonard Cohen- Did I Ever Love You?
3. Father John Misty- Bored in the USA
4. Sylvan Esso- Hey Mami
5. Conor Oberst- You are your mother's child
6. Myriam Gendron- Solace
7. Sun Kil Moon- Carissa
8. Orwells- Who Needs You
9. Soko- For Marlon
10. Strand of Oaks- Shut In
11. Ought- Weather Song
12. Courtney Barnett- History Eraser
13. J.E Sunde- A Blinding Flash of Light
14. Echosmith- Cool Kids
15. Cat Power with Coldplay- Wish You Were Here
The New Pornographers-Champions of Red Wine
Ex Hex- Waste Your Time
Vance Joy- Riptide
Hozier- Jackie and Wilson
La Roux- Sexotheque
The Men- Pearly Gates
Isaiah Rashad- Heavenly Father
Jenny Lewis- Just One of the Guys
Run the Jewels- Lie, Cheat, Steal
Beck- Blue Moon
Vince Staples- Blue Suede
Perfume Genius- Queen
Against Me!- Black Me Out
Cloud Nothings- I'm Not Part of Me
Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You)
Iggy Azalea- Fancy
Bleachers- I wanna get better
Strand of Oaks- Mirage Year
Sam Smith- Stay with me
Alt-J- Left Hand Free
Jack White- Lazaretto
Charlie XCX- Boom Clap
PHOX- Slow Motion
Spoon- Inside Out
Parquet Court- Sunbathing Animal
Generationals-Gold Silver Diamond
The Notwist- Kong
Kendrick Lamar's new untitled song
clipping- Work Work
Wussy- Teenage Wasteland
Against Me!- FUCKMYLIFE666
Tweedy- Nobody Dies Anymore
Generationals- Black Lemon
St. Vincent- Birth in Reverse
Warpaint- Disco//very
Owl John- A good Reason to Grow Old
Benjamin Booker- Violent Shiver
Myriam Gendron- Threnody
Top Album Add-ons:
Sun Kil Moon- Benji*
I kept hearing about how great this album was, but, I was skeptical because, while I'm a fan of Red House Painters, I know Sun Kil Moon is a bit on the slow depressing side. In a way, I was right. With that said, this album is really really amazing. I finally decided to check it out this Thursday and felt so much listening to just the first two songs. The rest of the album just keeps digging and digging deeper into shit, that by the end of it, you're a wreck. An album about death pretty much. It is so detailed, but ambiguous about whether what he is saying is real or not. His voice is just so earnest that it doesn't matter. A very wordy album, you have to listen to the words intensely to really enjoy it. Honestly, it was worth it. If I could go back, I'd place this album in a 12 and up position. Favorite Lyric: "Carissa was thirty-five, you don't just raise two kids and take out your trash and die." CO- I implore you to check out Carissa. Truck Driver, Pray for Newtown, Ben's My Friend.
Strand of Oaks- HEAL*
When this album came out, I kind've wrote it off because I had seen him open up for Tallest Man on Earth and wasn't impressed. Reviews started to roll in and it was gathering a nice collection of praise. I checked it out from the library, listened to it in the car, and was just okay with it. Fast forward to December 18th, it is 8 at night, I'm walking to the library, and I start to sing the chorus to the song Shut In ("Know my name, no, I mean it"). I hadn't listened to the song earlier that day, or even lately. I get to the library, put on my headphones, and play the album on Spotify. Holy shit did it resonate with me! I remember the album was written with the intent to pretty much exorcise his demons, and just listening to it, you can feel the catharsis. This is an album meant for headphone listening, I think this is where I went wrong the first listen through. Some albums are meant to listen to in the car as background music as you transverse the road, and others are meant to be paid attention to fully. Once again, if I were to update my original list, I'd place this somewhere around the 15 mark. CO- Shut In, Mirage Year, JM.
She and Him- Classics
Hey, M.Ward are you going to do Zoey Deschanel or what, because you need to release a solo album ASAP. HOly shit, it feels like it's been forever. These albums are nice and all, but two albums of cover songs kind of seems like a waste of time. It's an okay album, it's a pleasant listen. I enjoyed it, not overly so, but, yea, I enjoyed it. It just feels like they are wasting time doing these kind of albums. Their three original song albums were above average releases. Maybe I'm bitter because I'm a big M.Ward solo fan, or whatever. Anyway, it's a good listen if you're in a somewhat nostalgic mood. They don't radically change the songs but still add a little twinkle to them.
Notwist- Close to the Glass*
I'm kind've embarrassed I forgot this album lol. Kong was one of my favorite songs for a while there. I remember sitting in the computer lab, last semester, and Sub Pop announcing that they had just signed a major artist for a release. I had no idea who it was but I was excited because Sub Pop have been great tastemakers. The announcement came and it was Notwist. I had not heard of them and was let down a little. Their album came out, I checked it out from the library, and it was actually really cool. The album is a mix of The Shins, glitch hop, and like acoustic Radiohead-ish (I don't know, I just wanted to include a third haha). I think I would definitely bump off another album off my list to make room for this one, probably in the 20-30 area. So far, I've kicked off Freddie Gibbs, Vance Joy, and Foxygen (sad) lol. CO- Kong, Run Run Run, 7-Hour-Drive.
Gaslight Anthem- Get Hurt
I feel bad that I didn't enjoy the album more than I did. I've been listening to Gaslight since about 2009 (?) and I've loved their first three albums and was cool with their fourth. I think the problem with this album is something that I had a problem with with the newest Frank Turner album, there is a bunch of songs and, thematically, they aren't strung together. The songs aren't bad (except for Vicious, which I can't stand), they just aren't rising above being pure cotton candy. The production is too good, it's causing a gloss. It's hard rocking at times and "obligatory sincere" at other times. I just didn't really feel the passion that I hear in earlier albums, and that passion is what pushes a rock song from merely turning up the volume, and a slow song from merely being "time to slow it down." There's a notable difference between, say, Break Your Heart and She Loves You or even 45 and Rollin and Tumblin', there's an extra oompf. Good songs that I'm sure will work better in a live setting, they just don't work strongly as a cohesive album. CO- Get Hurt
Jenny Lewis- The Voyager*
I have such a crush on Jenny Lewis, she's straight up banging. I love Rilo Kiley. I love Jenny and Johnny. Her solo, though, has been hit or miss for me. In this case, I think it's mostly hit. Not enormously, I guess, but solid to the point that I feel like if I listened to it a few more times that I would start to like it much more (does that make sense?). Just One of the Guys is one of those songs that have a playful child-like swagger that makes it catchy, then it goes into this breakdown where she says, "I'm just another lady without a baby," and it breaks my heart a little. It's a sad sentiment. I'm listening to the album as I write this little blurb and I can already feel myself liking it more.
King Tuff- Black Moon Spell
I'm a fan of earlier King Tuff albums, this new one feels a little duller. I think live it would sound better because King Tuff is known for being loud and junk, you know, garage rock stuff haha.
Alvvays- Alvvays
I haven't gone all the way through this album yet, but they are opening up for the Decemberists so I'm thinking they've been getting some nice exposure. Archie, Marry me has been playing on the radio, I believe. The album sounds like contemporary indie pop placed in the 60's. I say give the album a shot, I've been enjoying it.
Lana Del Rey- Ultraviolence
I don't have the patience to get through all the songs because they are all decently long, hazy, and slow. I do see the draw, though, once I listen to the songs individually. Brooklyn Baby is pretty good. Lana's first album was great, I was all about Diet Mountain Dew, Video Games, Off to the Races, and pretty much the rest of the album, so I'm not coming at the new album with the hipster bias associated with Lana ( which, I guess goes one of two ways: 1. You love her. 2. You hate her because she was already affluent and has this air of pretentiousness about what she does.). I'll keep working at it.
Non-2014 Releases That I've Discovered This Year
Alex Turner- Submarine EP: Singer for the Arctic Monkeys soundtrack for the film, Submarine. There's only six songs and they are all amazing. I spent a majority of the year listening to this, I love it more than any recent release from the Arctic Monkeys.
Dressy Bessy- Pink Hearts, Yellow Moons: Some guy on eBay had these crazy auctions going on, and a lot of them were Elephant Six releases. This album doesn't show up on eBay often. I lost by two dollars and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Very fun pop album that conjure the Dressy Bessy doll image. CO- Jenny Come on, If You Should Try to Kiss Her, Just Like Henry.
The Gerbils- Are You Sleepy?: Not part of those series of auctions (although, I would pay top dollar for this very limited release), I went Elephant Six crazy for a few months and found this album. A member of Neutral Milk Hotel, this a cool lo-fi gem that is equal parts weird and great.
Colleen Green- Milo Goes to Compton: I first came across Colleen Green when I read an article from a magazine that I was given for free at the Exclusive Company. One of the questions asked was, "Why did you choose to use a drum machine on these songs?" and she replied, "because I can't play drums." That was probably the coolest answer she could've given. She's like some kind of melodic punk. CO- I Wanna Be Degraded, Goldmine, Nice Boy (I Want A).
The Daredevil Christopher Wright- In Deference to a Broken Back: This is J.E Sunde's band. I've already professed my love for J.E Sunde. This album is a little bit of everything, very great lyrically. CO- The East Coast, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, A Conversation About Cancer.
Warpaint- The Fool: Super beautiful, murky, sexy album. An album of mood, not really of super catchy hooks. See them live!
Elf Power- Dream in Sound: Elf Power is one of those bands that I think should be a bigger deal than they are. I don't feel like they get the respect they deserve, I mean, they've been at this since the mid 90's. Recently, I've been listening to some of their albums (I bought their first album on vinyl for 10 dollars on eBay, which isn't even on iTunes) and Dream in Sound is a good representation of them (and, also, When the Red King...). I remember going to see Neutral Milk Hotel in Madison with my friend and Elf Power was opening. We sat during their performance but after they were done, my friend said, "they were actually pretty good." So yeah. CO- Jane, High Atop the Silver Branches.
Electrelane- The Power Out: I bought this one a whim from that eBay guy because the more I bought the more I saved on shipping lol. Hadn't heard of them before, what a pleasant surprise. Every song is unique (The Valleys is a choir song), a great album if you want to be snooty to your friends about knowing a little gem of an album. CO- Gone Under Sea, The Valleys, Take the Bit Between Your Teeth.
Common- Like Water for Chocolate: I've always known of Common but never really explored. Oh man, what a rewarding album. Listen to all of it.
Snoop Dogg- Doggystyle: Snoop dogg's always kind've been a figure in pop culture that is present, and you know he's important, but over time you've lost why that is. I finally got around to listening to his debut. Holy shit this could be one of my favorite rap releases. God no wonder he can fuck around as much as he does, coaching football, becoming a lion, and shit. After an album like this you can do whatever you want afterwards.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven: They are a band that really doesn't make music for commercial gain, they make actual pieces of art. If you want to listen to something that'll tell a story without using a lot of words, this is the album for you.
Favorite Vinyl Reissues
5. Lewis- L'amour, finally unearthed. For the longest time, his existence was a mystery.
4. Sleater Kinney's entire discography released in a boxset
3. Washington Phillips- What Are They Doing in Heaven Today, I don't actually think this was reissued this year but whatever, one of my favorite albums to listen to on vinyl. It's an old timey sounding religious recording by a man playing an instrument called the Phonoharp.
2. Modest Mouse- The Lonesome Crowded West and This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about, on black vinyl, although(!), Newbury Comics released a special edition of limited color vinyl, which are sold out now.
1. The Unicorns- Who will cut our hair when we're gone, on pink vinyl after many years of being out of print
Lastly, my updated Best Of list:
30. La Roux- Trouble In Paradise
29. Vince Staples- Hell Can Wait
28. Gerard Way- Hesitant Alien
27. Warpaint- Warpaint
26. Notwist- Close to the Glass
25. Ex Hex- Rips
24. Jenny Lewis- Voyager
23. Benjamin Booker- Benjamin Booker
22. Soko- I Thought I Was An Alien
21. Future Islands- Singles
20. Bleachers- Strange Desire
19. Leonard Cohen- Popular Problems
18. Vincent James Mcmorrow- Post Tropical
17. Courtney Barnett- The Double Ep: A Sea of Split Peas
16. Strand of Oaks- HEAL
15. Jack White- Lazaretto
14. Hozier- Hozier
13. Sun Kil Moon- Benji
12. Sylvan Esso- Sylvan esso
11. Ought- More Than Any Other Day
10. Run the Jewels- Run the Jewels 2
9. Cloud Nothings- Here and Nowhere Else
8. J.E Sunde- Shapes That Kiss the Lips of God
7. Orwells- Disgraceland
6. Spoon- They Want My Soul
5. Conor Oberst- Upside Down Mountain
4. Against Me!- Transgender Dysphoria Blues
3. St.Vincent- St.Vincent
2. Hold Steady- Teeth Dreams1. Myriam Gendron- Not So Deep as a Well
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