2014: The Year In Music

2014 – Scotland votes to remain part of the UK. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears. Ebola outbreaks are declared in West Africa. Russia annexes Crimea and threatens the rest of Ukraine. Israel and Gaza have a 50 day conflict that sees many innocents killed. History seems doomed to repeat itself … so let’s see if the music can break new ground!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Stay with Me (Sam Smith)

Slow and plodding. Sam Smith has a decent voice, but “Stay with Me” is too cheesy for me.

9 – Problem (Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea)

Quite a weird Pop song. Distorted saxophone and booming sub-bass don’t sound like they’d have a place on an Ariana Grande song.

I was expecting to hate Iggy Azalea’s verse but that’s fine too. This song is odd but harmless.

8 – All About That Bass (Meghan Trainor)

Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope. Screw this song. One of the worst Pop songs of all time.

7 – Rude (Magic!)

You know what … “Rude” is actually a lot catchier than I remember.

Something about that swing wants to make me dance and sing along.

6 – Talk Dirty (Jason Derulo)

Fun fact – teenage Matt thought it would be a great idea to have “Talk Dirty” as his ringtone. You can imagine the plethora of awkward moments this led to.

The song itself, however, is simple but catchy. That chorus hook is definitely ringtone worthy. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all …

5 – Counting Stars (OneRepublic)

All my classmates fell head over heels for “Counting Stars”. I never got the hype.

A decade later, has my opinion changed? No. It’s far from the worst song of the year but it’s so plain and it tries to hard to be cool.

4 – Fancy (Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX)

An annoying song to be sure, but this wouldn’t even make the top five most annoying songs in this list.

But yeah, that chorus gets on my nerves.

3 – All of Me (John Legend)

At the time I thought “All of Me” was sweet and sentimental. Now I see it as a little shallow.

2 – Dark Horse (Katy Perry feat. Juicy J)

Katy Perry continues to disappoint. Everything she does just gets worse and worse.

1 – Happy (Pharrell Williams)

Aaaaaaarrrghhh why is this year’s Billboard hits getting worse and worse?

“Happy” is happy-go-lucky (funnily enough), but that doesn’t excuse it for being a simple, childish nightmare.

FAVOURITE – “Rude” (Magic!)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “All About That Bass” (Meghan Trainor)

My god. I hated going through these songs. I have no nostalgia for most of these. Is 2014 the year Pop music died?

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Seasons [Waiting On You] (Future Islands)

Hell yeah. I needed more Synth Pop in my life.

“Seasons (Waiting On You)” has a gorgeous layering of nostalgic sounds. I love how enormous those choruses sound.

9 – Thuggin’ (Freddie Gibbs & Madlib)

A good Rap song. Not my favourite per se, but “Thuggin'” has a slick flow.

8 – 212 (Azealia Banks feat. Lazy Jay)

I don’t like drawled rapping or detuned, high-pitched synths. So yeah, “212” doesn’t do it for me.

7 – Screen Shot (Swans)

“Screen Shot” is the first (and probably best) song on “To Be Kind”.

At eight minutes and four seconds, it’s the seventh longest song on the album. Yeah – there’s only three shorter songs of the ten tracks. It’s a hypnotic track with a solid groove.

6 – Weight Of Love (The Black Keys)

A great start to their album “Turn Blue”. It’s like if The Black Keys morphed into Pink Floyd or Tame Impala for seven minutes. The guitar work is phenomenal.

5 – An Ocean In Between The Waves (The War On Drugs)

I can absolutely see where modern Pop Rockers get their inspiration from.

“An Ocean In Between The Waves” sounds like lots of other Pop Rock songs of the late 2010’s and early 2020’s – which is no fault of this song, but it means I didn’t really vibe with it.

4 – Drugs You Should Try It (Travis Scott)

“Drugs You Should Try It” feels like a liminal song caught between worlds. It’s got a really unique vibe.

3 – Archie, Marry Me (Alvvays)

“Archie, Marry Me” comes from another musical era entirely. It’s a modern Folk Rock song with lyrics that tug at the heart-strings.

2 – Under The Pressure (The War On Drugs)

The first and longest song on “Lost In The Dream”, and it’s a great start to the album.

It’s Folk-y, kinda Pop-y Rock. “Under The Pressure” is very much a callback to the lighthearted Rock of old.

1 – Red Eyes (The War On Drugs)

“Red Eyes” is more upbeat than the first track of the album, that’s for sure.

I can see why it’s the hit of the album.

BEST SONG OF 2014 – “Seasons (Waiting On You)” (Future Islands)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – Salad Days (Mac DeMarco)

“Salad Days” doesn’t waste a single second getting to the good bit.

Mac DeMarco is one of those few artists who can pull off the lazed / subdued style. The highlights for me are the title track, “Let Her Go”, “Chamber of Reflection” and my personal favourite “Passing Out Pieces”.

4 – Run The Jewels 2 (Run The Jewels)

Whenever I listen to Run The Jewels I always feel like I’ve been assaulted.

My favourite track of the album is probably “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)” with Zack De La Rocha.

3 – Benji (Sun Kil Moon)

Mark Kozelek has such a unique, warming voice. I thought Sun Kil Moon sounded similar to Red House Painters – and it turns out it’s the same guy!

This kind of Folk, stripped-back songwriting isn’t necessarily my favourite, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship. “Ben’s My Friend”, the final song of the album, is much more upbeat and my kind of style.

2 – To Be Kind (Swans)

It’s been about a decade since Swans have featured on these music retrospectives, but they’re as odd as ever.

“To Be Kind” is a two hour double album, with the longest song clocking in at a whopping 34 minutes. I don’t have the patience for this kind of elongated Noise Rock so the album as a whole isn’t my thing.

1 – Lost In The Dream (The War On Drugs)

You have to be in a very specific mood to listen to an album like “Lost In The Dream”.

I imagine this hitting hard on a hot summer night, or maybe in a low-key get together with friends. I’m sitting at home by myself so it doesn’t really grip me.

BEST ALBUM OF 2014 – “Salad Days” (Mac DeMarco)

Final Thoughts

This … was one of the worst years so far. Pretty much all of the Billboard hits were bad, and there were only one or two high-rated songs I connected with.

Overall Grade: D+

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: