This mixlist, (2014) Best of Last Year, which you can listen to on Spotify, is comprised of the best songs that I’ve come across in the year of 2014.
The number of tracks on this list that come from the same album is certainly a testament to little new music really caught on with me this year. However, don’t take it as an indication that these songs are somehow inferior.
I discovered some fantastic songs by artists I’d never heard of, and I came across some brilliant new albums by old favorites. Weird Al released another album of parody gold, Cold War Kids really got me with their 2013 release, and Don’t Stop or We’ll Die released Gorgeous, their first LP. Gorgeous was particularly poignant to me as I made this list because of the passing of drummer Harris Wittels to a drug overdose.
- Bad Dream (the theme) – Nick Thorburn
- Preflight Nerves – Brightly
- Word Crimes – “Weird Al” Yankovic
- Miracle Mile – Cold War Kids
- All My Loving – The Well Pennies
- Come and Get Your Love – Redbone
- Blood – Don’t Stop or We’ll Die
- Let Go (feat. Kele & MNDR) – RAC
- Loner Phase – Cold War Kids
- Foil – “Weird Al” Yankovic
- Fall is a Good Time to Die – Jami Lynn
- A Brain In A Bottle – Thom Yorke
- The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) – U2
- Sunlight – The One AM Radio
- Handy – “Weird Al” Yankovic
- Bottled Affection – Cold War Kids
- Good Ol’ Boys – Don’t Stop or We’ll Die
- Habits (Stay High) – Jensen Reed & Taryn Southern
- I Luv the Valley OH!! – Shearwater
- Jackson Park Express – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Jackson Park Express makes me laugh out loud every time I listen to it. There’s is a part of me that is sincerely disappointed that I don’t think I could ever come up with such an unpredictably funny series of lines/expressions/etc. in a song of that nature. I haven’t listened to a ton of stuff on your list (other than Come And Get Your Love, which I fell in love with long before it was featured in one of the most delightful cinematic cold opens of all time. I’ll have to check out the rest of the list sometime. Or not. We’ll see.