Top Songs 2014. The fourth annual listing of top music for the year. Not strictly ranked, warming to the faint of heart, and oxford comma approved.

YouTube playlist:

Or Spotify if that’s your preference (not complete).

Top 50 Songs of 2014

The Breakaway Four

  1. Beautiful World by Colin Hay
    A beautiful, simple song of that general feeling of joy for life.
  1. Everything is Awesome!!! by Tegan and Sara feat. The Lonely Island
    If you have not seen The Lego Movie stop reading this and rectify your life choices.
  1. To Be Alone (Live in Kilkenny) by Hozier
    Hozier was on MPR before his big American breakout and this song gripped me much more than Take Me to Church. Hozier’s howling is haunting.
  1. Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovich
    Weird Al’s fans never age. His wit apparently doesn’t either.

Cycling Songs

I started attending spinning classes at the Y this year; these are the songs that would make the time go easier.

  1. Let Me Be Real (Radio Edit) by Fedde Le Grand feat. Mitch Crown
  2. MMM Yeah by Austin Mahoney ft. Pitbull
    Catchy song, but ugh, Pitbull. The video is a semi-decent homage to the amazing Jamiroquai video for “Virtual Insanity.”
  1. Shower by Becky G
    This song is pretty bad, but in that innocent way in which you only realize it after listening to it a few times.
  1. Love Runs Out by One Republic
  2. Bad ft. Vassy by David Guetta & Showtek

The Peloton

  1. Ambling Alp by Yeasayer
  2. Ashes and Fire by Ryan Adams
  3. Bang Bang by Jesse J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj
  4. Beat Like Mine by Lucy Michelle
    An obscure one from the face of the Velvet Lapelles.
  1. Dark Sunglasses by Chrissie Hynde
    The chorus makes me feel cool. Sunglasses are cool.
  1. Daylight by Matt and Kim
  2. Don’t Save Me by HAIM
    It seems like a travesty that HAIM did not make the list last year, but I did listen to them much more this year.
  1. Girls Chase Boys by Ingrid Michaelson
    A gender bending homage to Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible
  1. Ghost by Jeremy Messersmith
  2. Happy by Pharrell
  3. Harlem by New Politics
  4. How to be a Heartbreaker by Marina & The Diamonds
    Thanks Brad.
  1. Hundreds of Ways by Conor Oberst
  2. If I Should Fall from Grace with God by The Pogues
  3. I Miss the Radio by Segarini
    I heard this on Pandora many years ago, but could not find it online. It simply did not exist, and the album Pandora says it was on was a compilation that clearly bombed as it was also MIA. Thankfully, I stumbled across it on the music blog of the artist himself, Segarini.

An Instrumental Interlude

Theatre B production poster for Wit by Margaret Edson

“Professor Bearing. How are you feeling today?” – Jason

  1. Incidental music from Theatre B’s W;t by Colin Holter (composer)
    I was in my first stage play this year – W;t by Margaret Edson – at Theater B in Fargo. Colin’s music underpinned the show. Listen to it here. (A special fill-in has been inserted in the YouTube playlist since this is only available on SoundCloud.)

Returning to the Race

  1. Joan of Arc by Arcade Fire
  2. Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups
    A fun bass groove on Rock Band too.
  1. Magick by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
  2. Me and You and Jackie Mittoo by Superchunk
  3. The Monster by Eminem ft. Rihanna
  4. Nanobots by They Might Be Giants
    Nanobots as an album was mediocre for TMBG, but the title track is nice and catchy.
  1. Pompeii by Bastille
  2. Returning to the Fold by The Thermals
  3. San Francisco by The Mogwli’s
    Awesome chorus.
  1. Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
    If you do not like this song please refer yourself to the chorus for my rebuttal.
  1. Stay With Me by Sam Smith
  2. Step by Vampire Weekend
  3. Stone Cold Coup D’État by They Might Be Giants
  4. The Sunset by The Thermals
  5. Tik Tok Blues by Mark Lee from OverThinkingIt.com
    Ke$ha as reimagined through Muddy Waters.
  1. Time to Run by Lord Huron
  2. Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles
    I get in a mood every blue moon with this song when I have to listen to it endlessly.
  1. Waiting for My Real Life to Begin by Colin Hay
  2. Walking with a Ghost by Tegan and Sara
    The second a) Ghost song and b) Tegan and Sara song of 2014.
  1. The Wire by HAIM
  2. The Writing’s on the Wall by OK Go
    I wish OK Go would release music more often so we could get more amazing videos.

  1. The Woodpile by Frightened Rabbit
  2. Working Woman Blues by Valerie June
  3. Work It Out by Knox Hamilton
  4. World Upside Down by Jimmy Cliff
    Ending with a song in my favorite style! … Reggae? … No. Depressing songs with an up beat!

 

Peruse all of the Top Songs posts.  

(Note: The post “Top Songs 2014” was originally posted on December 13, 2014 via the author’s Facebook page. Updates have been made.)

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