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.

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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. 

Guest List Week: Joslin's Top Fifteen (Plus Four)

[It's Guest List Week! We had so much fun with Guest List Week last year that we're hoping it becomes Guest List Month this time around. We've already got a bunch of great lists lined up, and we're looking for more. If you have opinions on the year in music, we'd love to hear from you. Previous Guest List Week posts are collected here. And, if you're looking for my 100 Songs for 2013, you can find it here.]

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[Guest List Week continues with Mr. Mike Joslin! As both a Minnesotan and a Michigan Wolverine, Joslin perfectly splits the difference between Ilana and me. We share a psychic connection that can only be borne of long winters, crippling Twins playoff losses, and the very special time in every Minnesotan's life when you first see Har Mar Superstar in some form of undress (mine was on public-access TV somewhere around 2002-2003).]

After combing through thousands of songs from my Spotify playlists, I've finally come to terms with choosing just 15 songs to make my 'Best of 2013'. While I like to think that my musical tastes are eclectic and expansive, upon review of my final picks I am pretty sure that I just want it to be the 1980s again. If you do too, please read on.

15. "R U Mine?" - Arctic Monkeys

This guitar riff makes me want to put my hands in my pockets and violently nod my head. If I wasn't a balding thirty-something man that's borderline too old for most concerts, headbanging while wildly throwing punches in a mosh pit would be in order.

14. "DNA" - Empire of the Sun

I don't normally 'do drugs', but this song makes me want to pop some pills and get weird. Or just go to an Empire of the Sun concert, which is basically the same experience.

13. "Step" - Vampire Weekend

After living in Cambridge, MA for a few years, this song reminds me of rich, white and preppy Harvard students with boat shoes, coral-colored shorts and Polo button-up shirts laying by the Charles River on a cloudless summer day. Remove the Harvard students and this is a near-perfect song (and memory).

12. "Out of My League" - Fitz and the Tantrums

Makes me want to do the Carlton dance from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Or embarrassingly sing into a comb in front of a mirror in my bathroom.

11. "Graceless" - The National

Cool and low key. It's a song that you MAYBE tap your toes/fingers to, but afterwards everyone feels compelled to say "That was just a really good song."

10. "Prisoner" - Har Mar Superstar

LET YOUR SOUL GLO... After seeing a middle-aged, balding man strip down to his underwear to sing a song about Tallboy beers at a local street festival in Minneapolis circa 2010, I knew I was sold. What I didn't expect was this instant classic album, a soulful throwback to days of Motown. NOTE: Listen to "Lady, You Shot Me" as well if you like this.

09. "Trying to Be Cool" - Phoenix

The story of my life. Also, a really catchy song.

08. "Get Free" - Major Lazer feat. Amber of Dirty Projectors

Major Lazer has one of the most unique sounds I know. Digital Raggae/dancehall? Yes please. While hits like "Bubble Butt" and "Keep Cool" are borderline ridiculous and AWESOME, "Get Free" with Amber's angelic voice was the one track that really captured my attention.

07. "Chain My Name" - Polica

Another Minnesota native - Polica - has an incredibly unique sound that mixes electro-pop, R&B and goth-pop along the lines of Grimes and Purity Ring. This track in particular is my favorite off the new album.

06. "Doin' it Right" - Daft Punk

Daft Punk does it again. Futuristic sound with an amazing hook.

05. "Falling" - Haim

Hey, remember the 80s? After listening to this song, you will. I can only assume that the three sisters from Haim had side ponytails with crimped hair when they recorded this song.

04. "Modern Jesus" - Portugal. The Man

This Danger Mouse-produced song is quirky. And it works.

03. "Farrah Fawcett Hair" - Capital Cities feat. Andre 3000

A song that just lists random things that are "good shit" is really good shit. And with a hook like below, how could you not agree? "You know it when you see it. You know it when it's there. Like Michael Jackson Thriller. Like Farrah Fawcett Hair. It's good shit It's good shit. It's good shit. Oh yeah."

02. "Recover" - CHVRCHES

I really wanted to put about ten CHVRCHES songs in my top 15, but since Aaron is already doing that for the top 100 of 2013, I ended up just limiting it to just my favorite song of theirs. No explanation needed for this one.

01. "Tiff" - Polica feat. Justin Vernon

Listened to this song repeatedly for about six months. Still not sick of it and probably never will be. 80s soul-groove masterpiece. Just check it out already.

Honorable mention: "Rap God" - Eminem, "Miracle Mile" - Cold War Kids, "Her Favorite Song" - Mayer Hawthorne, "You're My Friend" - Eels.