The Top 40 Songs of 2014
"Good sex, it never makes you feel hollow / Good sex, it never makes you feel clean." True dat.
39. Foster the People - "Best Friend"
A deceptively dark song, like their smash hit "Pumped Up Kicks." This one pairs lyrics of drug abuse with a feel-good disco vibe.
38. Jeremy Messersmith - "Ghost"
A country stomp pervades this tune, which deserves a prime spot on your road trip mix tape.
37. Robert Ellis - "TV Song"
A love song about TV that's somehow actually quite heartwarming.
36. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - "Hot Wax"
Honestly, I first clicked on this because the band name was so ridiculous. The song is too, but just like wax, it sticks in your ears.
35. Stars - "From the Night"
Like a cocaine-filled night at the roller rink (I suppose that's a thing for some people, right?), it perfectly conveys the image on the cover.
34. Miniature Tigers - "Oblivious"
Captures '80s production brilliantly, but still feels fresh.
33. Jon Langford & Skull Orchard - "Lil' Ray o' Light"
No matter how extreme the actions of Langford's egotist character get, you can't help but sing along.
32. Foo Fighters - "Something from Nothing"
The best song from Foo's grand experiment. There's a reason this song was chosen as the theme for HBO's Sonic Highways.
31. Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad - "Steady"
Combines three of the most popular reggae themes (love, weed, and sunshine) into one slinky ditty.
30. Fancy Colors - "Infinity"
A Talking Heads-style groove attempts to ground a series of minor hallucinatory trips.
29. G. Love & Special Sauce - "Nothing Else Quite Like Home"
G. Love enlists Ben Harper to help pile on the coal for this barreling locomotive of a song.
28. The Black Keys - "Gotta Get Away"
Turn Blue sounded more like a Broken Bells album than a Black Keys record. This closing cut, however, is straight-up rock & roll.
27. Saun & Starr - "Hot Shot"
Sharon Jones' backup singers dropped this catchy, soulful single early in the year.
26. Delta Spirit - "Language of the Dead"
The pummeling bass and Matt Vasquez's screams cut through the electric sheen that hampers many of the songs on Into the Wide.
25. Mike Doughty - "Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future"
Mike makes the case for banjo in hip-hop.
24. Graham Colton - "Another Night"
The stream on Spotify isn't the EP version featuring Wayne Coyne that I mean. Favorite thing Coyne did all year. You can download it for free here.
23. Mad Caddies - "Little Town"
Never afraid to try on new genres, the Caddies take a peppy, African-inspired melody and combine it with lyrics about death.
22. Mark Ronson - "Uptown Funk"
Bruno Mars finally proves his worth on this Kool & the Gang-meets-Zapp funk fest.
21. Cookies - "July Seventeen"
Essentially an extended intro for "Crybaby," but it's just so fucking smooth.
20. Mogwai - "Remurdered"
Instrumental track. Put it on and walk through a crowd of people. You'll feel like a drone at first, and then you'll break through, fully realizing your potential as an individual.
19. Rx Bandits - "1995"
The Bandits let their Fugazi influence shine through on a song that could've been released in the year of its title.
18. Mike Gordon - "Yarmouth Road"
Cactus tries his hand at reggae and succeeds. One of the few Gordon solo songs to find its way into live Phish shows.
17. Speak - "Be Reasonable, Diane"
An incredibly layered pop song.
16. Gordon Voidwell - "First Time"
Gordon deftly combines old and new, merging '80s synths with '90s R&B crooning with today's trap beat. This isn't available on Spotify, but you can check it out here.
15. Desert Noises - "Shiver"
Despite heaps of tribal percussion, it's the serpentine guitars and gang vocals that push this one forward.
14. Phish - "Wombat"
The bomb goes off just before the 2-minute mark, followed closely by a female choir and horns. It's a side of Phish we haven't seen since "Julius."
13. Faded Paper Figures - "Breathing"
A building block song where each time a new sound is introduced, you wouldn't have predicted it, but realize that it makes perfect sense.
12. The New Pornographers - "Brill Bruisers"
Try to listen to this without smiling. I dare you.
11. The Barr Brothers - "Love Ain't Enough"
Rock songs don't often view love in a realistic way. They also don't often utilize a harp.
10. Jack White - "Lazaretto"
Fuzzy, funky, fiery, fearless.
9. Hozier - "Someone New"
Hozier borrows the choir from that church he's always singing about to assist him in this ode to falling in love with strangers.
8. Penguin Prison - "Calling Out"
Glover's sophomore album didn't drop this year as expected, but he did bless us with this sliver of crystalline pop.
7. Chris Mills & the Distant Stars - "Alexandria"
It gallops along at a brisk pace, but not so fast as to miss the ingenious lyrics.
6. Cody Chesnutt - "Gunpowder on the Letter"
Cody teams up with Gary Clark, Jr. for the toe-tappingist tune about PTSD you've ever heard.
5. Kishi Bashi - "The Ballad of Mr. Steak"
A song about a steak that's sure to make your "booty booty shaky shake."
4. St. Vincent - "Huey Newton"
Never mind the explosive riffage in the song's latter half; Clark's vocal performance, which ranges from orgasmic to malevolent, is the real star here.
3. Vacationer - "The Wild Life"
Positive vibes. My most-played song of the year.
2. The Majorleans - "Real Bad"
Nicky Francis is full of clever turns of phrase, but it's the straightforward, honest yearning of the refrain that really gets me.
A deceptively dark song, like their smash hit "Pumped Up Kicks." This one pairs lyrics of drug abuse with a feel-good disco vibe.
38. Jeremy Messersmith - "Ghost"
A country stomp pervades this tune, which deserves a prime spot on your road trip mix tape.
37. Robert Ellis - "TV Song"
A love song about TV that's somehow actually quite heartwarming.
36. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - "Hot Wax"
Honestly, I first clicked on this because the band name was so ridiculous. The song is too, but just like wax, it sticks in your ears.
35. Stars - "From the Night"
Like a cocaine-filled night at the roller rink (I suppose that's a thing for some people, right?), it perfectly conveys the image on the cover.
34. Miniature Tigers - "Oblivious"
Captures '80s production brilliantly, but still feels fresh.
33. Jon Langford & Skull Orchard - "Lil' Ray o' Light"
No matter how extreme the actions of Langford's egotist character get, you can't help but sing along.
32. Foo Fighters - "Something from Nothing"
The best song from Foo's grand experiment. There's a reason this song was chosen as the theme for HBO's Sonic Highways.
31. Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad - "Steady"
Combines three of the most popular reggae themes (love, weed, and sunshine) into one slinky ditty.
30. Fancy Colors - "Infinity"
A Talking Heads-style groove attempts to ground a series of minor hallucinatory trips.
29. G. Love & Special Sauce - "Nothing Else Quite Like Home"
G. Love enlists Ben Harper to help pile on the coal for this barreling locomotive of a song.
28. The Black Keys - "Gotta Get Away"
Turn Blue sounded more like a Broken Bells album than a Black Keys record. This closing cut, however, is straight-up rock & roll.
27. Saun & Starr - "Hot Shot"
Sharon Jones' backup singers dropped this catchy, soulful single early in the year.
26. Delta Spirit - "Language of the Dead"
The pummeling bass and Matt Vasquez's screams cut through the electric sheen that hampers many of the songs on Into the Wide.
25. Mike Doughty - "Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future"
Mike makes the case for banjo in hip-hop.
24. Graham Colton - "Another Night"
The stream on Spotify isn't the EP version featuring Wayne Coyne that I mean. Favorite thing Coyne did all year. You can download it for free here.
23. Mad Caddies - "Little Town"
Never afraid to try on new genres, the Caddies take a peppy, African-inspired melody and combine it with lyrics about death.
22. Mark Ronson - "Uptown Funk"
Bruno Mars finally proves his worth on this Kool & the Gang-meets-Zapp funk fest.
21. Cookies - "July Seventeen"
Essentially an extended intro for "Crybaby," but it's just so fucking smooth.
20. Mogwai - "Remurdered"
Instrumental track. Put it on and walk through a crowd of people. You'll feel like a drone at first, and then you'll break through, fully realizing your potential as an individual.
19. Rx Bandits - "1995"
The Bandits let their Fugazi influence shine through on a song that could've been released in the year of its title.
18. Mike Gordon - "Yarmouth Road"
Cactus tries his hand at reggae and succeeds. One of the few Gordon solo songs to find its way into live Phish shows.
17. Speak - "Be Reasonable, Diane"
An incredibly layered pop song.
16. Gordon Voidwell - "First Time"
Gordon deftly combines old and new, merging '80s synths with '90s R&B crooning with today's trap beat. This isn't available on Spotify, but you can check it out here.
15. Desert Noises - "Shiver"
Despite heaps of tribal percussion, it's the serpentine guitars and gang vocals that push this one forward.
14. Phish - "Wombat"
The bomb goes off just before the 2-minute mark, followed closely by a female choir and horns. It's a side of Phish we haven't seen since "Julius."
13. Faded Paper Figures - "Breathing"
A building block song where each time a new sound is introduced, you wouldn't have predicted it, but realize that it makes perfect sense.
12. The New Pornographers - "Brill Bruisers"
Try to listen to this without smiling. I dare you.
11. The Barr Brothers - "Love Ain't Enough"
Rock songs don't often view love in a realistic way. They also don't often utilize a harp.
10. Jack White - "Lazaretto"
Fuzzy, funky, fiery, fearless.
9. Hozier - "Someone New"
Hozier borrows the choir from that church he's always singing about to assist him in this ode to falling in love with strangers.
8. Penguin Prison - "Calling Out"
Glover's sophomore album didn't drop this year as expected, but he did bless us with this sliver of crystalline pop.
7. Chris Mills & the Distant Stars - "Alexandria"
It gallops along at a brisk pace, but not so fast as to miss the ingenious lyrics.
6. Cody Chesnutt - "Gunpowder on the Letter"
Cody teams up with Gary Clark, Jr. for the toe-tappingist tune about PTSD you've ever heard.
5. Kishi Bashi - "The Ballad of Mr. Steak"
A song about a steak that's sure to make your "booty booty shaky shake."
4. St. Vincent - "Huey Newton"
Never mind the explosive riffage in the song's latter half; Clark's vocal performance, which ranges from orgasmic to malevolent, is the real star here.
3. Vacationer - "The Wild Life"
Positive vibes. My most-played song of the year.
2. The Majorleans - "Real Bad"
Nicky Francis is full of clever turns of phrase, but it's the straightforward, honest yearning of the refrain that really gets me.
1. Animal Liberation Orchestra - "Blind Tony"
Lebo wrote this acoustic song about the character from my Instagram because I enrolled as a two-year member of ALO's Hot Tub Club. You won't find this on Spotify. If you want to hear it, you've got to come see me in person.
Lebo wrote this acoustic song about the character from my Instagram because I enrolled as a two-year member of ALO's Hot Tub Club. You won't find this on Spotify. If you want to hear it, you've got to come see me in person.
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