Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Guest List Week 2014: Mike's Top 15

It's the triumphant return of Guest List Week!  Every day from now until I run out of lists, we'll take a look at 2014 through the eyes of people who are not me.  (My list, if you missed it, is here).  I'm lucky that my friends have such uniformly exquisite taste in music. 

Next up, it's Mike Joslin!  Mike's 2013 list is here, and his 2014 favorites are below.





To be completely honest, I really struggled to find 15 songs that I absolutely loved this year as 2014 seemed to be a relatively weaker year in terms of great music. Having a new-born baby probably didn’t help much either (though it did help in making this list concise). Regardless, there were several songs that really took a hold of me and clearly established themselves relative to others as the best of the year. Hope you enjoy!

1. "Busy Earnin'" - Jungle
Soulful brits that you can’t stop singing along with. A bit of dance/disco can’t hurt either. 

2. "Fall In Love" - Phantogram
Strong beats with an electro vibe and killer voice. Love it.

3. "Happy Idiot" - TV On The Radio
Yes, I am. TOTR keeps on making similar sounding songs and I keep getting hooked. 

4. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" - Future Islands
An instant classic pop song - what a weird guy though.

5. "i" - Kendrick Lamar
Aaron got it right - the SNL rendition of this song was one for the ages. 

6. "Red Eyes" - The War On Drugs
Pushing indie rock forward. Experimental at times. 

7. "Everyday Robots" - Damon Albarn
Nearly hypnotized me - just like an everyday robot would be. 

8. "Man of the Year" - Schoolboy Q
A great beat - could probably do without the lyrics though: "Bruh, I see, girls everywhere. Titties, ass, hands in the air, it's a party over here. Shake it for the man of the year. Uh, man of the year, man of the… bounce” 

9. "My Silver Lining" - First Aid Kit
A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. Junebug meets Stevie Nicks?

10. "Black Out Days" - Phantogram
So many great Phantogram songs, just had to pick one to reinforce how great I think they are.

11. "Tough Love" - Jessie Ware
Feels a bit Haim-ish in a good way, but with a bit more chilling, amazing voice

12. "Water Fountain" - tUnE-yArDs
Those wacky tune-yards always making weird off-beat pseudo-music. Often doesn’t work for me, but this one did.

13. "Jealous (I Ain’t With It)" - Chromeo
I’m with it. 

14. "Digital Witness" - St. Vincent
Funky synth-infused beats. Great lyrics too. 

15. "Two Weeks" - FKA twigs
A unique sound with synth-heavy R&B. 

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