2014 Faves: #10-#1

This is it, my cream of the crop. Thanks to those of you who poked through this list a bit. Hopefully you've heard at least one cool song that you had never heard before. Happy New Year!

#10: "Red Eyes", The War on Drugs

I was just listening to a playlist version of this countdown today and I was blown away that this song was stuck at #10. I thought "this top 9 had better be damn good" (it turns out that it was - phew!). I was bummed to have missed out on TWoD when they came through town this past September, but then again, nothing else on the album quite connected with me like this song did. I have a feeling that I'll be listening to this song for years to come.

#9: "Shooting Stars", Bag Raiders

Yep, a five-year old chart-topper from Australia surfaces at #9. I actually don't remember where I first heard this song, although I'd put money on it being a music blog I found while looking for other stuff. It doesn't even look like these guys have been active in the past couple of years. Regardless, I loved this song the first time I heard it and we haven't broken up yet!

#8: "Don't Wait", Mapei

Swedish! This song just barely missed my best of 2013 list but came on strong through the winter months and hung around on my playlists for most of the year. The video's been seen on YouTube over 3M times and the track has been streamed on Soundcloud over 1M times, so somebody's paying attention. I feel like this was a big miss for North America this past year - the track only eked into the top 30 of Billboard's Club Music chart - although, as per her Wiki page, Mapei performed the song on Letterman in November so maybe this chapter has yet to be finished.

#7: "Paris", Little Dragon

Swedish! When I first heard that some tracks from the 2014 Little Dragon album were floating around the internet, I tracked them down ASAP. I was disappointed in "Let Go" and "Klapp Klapp", but "Paris"…oh man, this was possibly my favourite recording of theirs to date! The oddest place I heard "Paris" this year was in a local sports bar on satellite radio, wedged in between a couple of classic rock tracks. I'll have to give Nabuma Rubberband a more thorough listen to make sure I haven't missed anything good.

#6: "Year Round Summer of Love", Lolo

This song seems to be something I've kept all to myself. Released as a single in September of 2013, it still doesn't have much in the way of Soundcloud or YouTube streams. Regardless, I fell in love, despite the fact that it was probably something I probably wouldn't have cared for a few years ago. It's always interesting to me to think about what musical likes and dislikes of mine evolve over time and which ones seem to stick around. Note: Lolo is American, not Swedish.

#5: "Ribs", Lorde

What this song lacks in lyrical complexity, it makes up for with an interesting structure and a percussion pattern that I still can't quite wrap my head around. I think this is the one song in the top 10, in retrospect, that I'm a little surprised that I ranked as high as I did, but iTunes Play Count don't lie. And this isn't even the last we hear of Lorde...

#4: "Black Skinhead", Kanye West

This one's embarrassing. Not how much I love the song, but the chronology. Yeezus was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2013 so you'd think that I'd have at least taken the time to listen to it once through. Shame! I think I heard "New Slaves" and "Bound 2" and gave up on the album, saving it for when I had time to give it proper attention. I think it was after everyone put this song at the top of their best-of lists that I finally gave it a listen (SHAME! I even missed the SNL performance:( ). Needless to say, it blew my mind. I feel like this is on the short list now for songs to pump me up if I need an energy boost. Whether that's appropriate or not.

#3: "Team", Lorde

Going back to what I was mentioning earlier about listening to a rundown of these songs in order: I really love "Team", but there is NO WAY it is meant to be played after "Black Skinhead". This is the last of five songs to have been featured on my 2013 and 2014 year-end lists and it almost went all the way to the top this year. Definitely my favourite track off the album and yet it never quite duplicated what "Royals" did before it. It will be interesting to see whether all of this chumming around with T Swizzle at awards shows will distract her from making a killer second album.

#2: "Come Alive", Chromeo feat. Toro y Moi

Pure pop perfection. NAILED IT! Two of my favourite artists over the past 2-3 years collaborate to make something impossible to feel happy listening to. Unless you like metal, in which case this will anger you greatly. Chromeo enjoyed a very successful year with newfound fame and exposure all over the U.S. and the U.K. (White Women fared well in both countries). I suppose it's Toro y Moi's turn to release a new album now.

#1: "Berlin", RY X

And there it is, the second-shortest song of my favourite 100 of 2014 is also the top dog. Someone was definitely hurting when they wrote this one. While I don't typically cry to music, on a scale from 0 (definitely not crying) to 10 (still definitely not crying but pretty sure somebody else has cried to this song), I'm a 10. Heck, when Amber conceived a child out of wedlock on Parenthood, she was listening to this song and dollars to doughnuts, she was crying. I'm currently enjoying another RY X song, "Sweat", although it won't come anywhere close to defining a year like "Berlin" did.

2014 Faves: #20-#11

The dream is still to complete the countdown by 2015. Here's another slice of ten songs for your listening enjoyment:

#20: "If I Could Change Your Mind", HAIM

You might have thought it was strange that I had mentioned that the albums by Chvrches, Lorde, The National and HAIM were the ones I had listened to most this year when HAIM hadn't made an appearance on the countdown. Well, here is the first of their two big tracks for me this year (and they were at numbers 3 and 2 last year). The most talked about thing regarding this song was probably the video, choreographed by Fatima Robinson (most acclaimed for choreographing Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair" video back in the day). If you can't wait to find out what other HAIM track made the cut, feel free to cheat and scroll down.

#19: "Never Say Never", Basement Jaxx feat. ETML

I might go wire to wire on videos in this post - I'm suspicious that some of the page-loading issues of previous posts may be linked to the Soundcloud embeds. Maybe it's just the quantity. Who knows? While Avicii and "Turn Down for What?" dominated the Dance/EDM year-end charts on Billboard, it was "Never Say Never" that stole the top spot for 2014 on the Dance Club chart. I can see it. I'd like to think that if I still had ye olde DJ gig of 17 years ago, I could destroy the place with this song. Or maybe I'd have another beer bottle thrown at me. Again, who knows? This is the first of three entries on the list that were my favourite songs over the course of two months…it's only ranked this poorly as it came on the scene in July.

#18: "Ghosts 'n Stuff", deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire

Uploaded in 2009? Wow, I missed the boat on this song. deadmau5 has been a mainstay on my year-end lists (see: "The Veldt", "Raise Your Weapon", "Some Chords", "I Remember") but for whatever reason never heard this song until I was rolling through Vancouver this summer. Very strange. And now it's on top of my December list and #18 for the year.

#17: "Magic", Coldplay

I really, honestly, seriously and truly thought I was past the point in my life where Coldplay would be relevant to me. Then "Midnight" announced the release of Ghost Stories and somehow, the band caught my attention again. The second song I heard from the album was "Magic" and I still have a hard time believing that it was a lesser hit than the Avicii-produced "Sky Full of Stars". As far as I can tell, there are about a dozen artists I've seen more than once live and Coldplay is the only one still standing on my chart.

#16: "Marvin's Room", Sir Sly

So it seems that quite a few people have taken a shot at covering "Marvin's Room". There's something about what little instrumentation there is in this version that makes it go down so smoothly. Sir Sly just released their first full-length album in September and so far have only one alternative hit to their name ("Gold", 2013). This is my favourite song of theirs, although my favourite original material of theirs would be "Easy Now", a song that made my 2013 list.

#15: "Coffee", Sylvan Esso

These guys seemingly came out of nowhere this year and took music blogs by the throat. "Hey Mami" might be leaving more of a lasting impression with people, but "Coffee" was the supernova. Plus, it was one of the 1,482 songs performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this year. I have no idea what's next for Sylvan Esso, but I will be paying attention.

#14: "Skeleton Key", Kenzie May

I don't know much about Kenzie May, other than she was born in the U.S., is now based in London, has provided vocals for a few tracks (including my much listened-to "I'm Aquarius", by Metronomy, surprisingly) and has now released an EP featuring "Skeleton Key" alongside a track she released independently last year, "Hide & Seek". She's also contributed to the Mahogany Sessions, live recordings done by the Mahogany music blog (worth a look).

#13: "Pompeii", Bastille

This song was praised by music bloggers early last year, rose to the top of the Alternative chart by the end of the year and became a pop smash this year. I'm not sure things will ever be this good again for Bastille, but it's definitely been a nice ride with "Pompeii". Is this one of those songs that will still turn up on the radio in five years? Not sure, but I still find it immensely relistenable. That's not a word.

#32: "Honey & I", HAIM

This is pretty much the only song in this set of ten that really has no video on YouTube (aside from that looping thing for "Marvin's Room", I guess). However, there are a few live performances. Do be warned that their live sound is not nearly as polished as it is in the studio. Does this make them worse artists or more real because they are clearly singing whenever they're live? I'll go with option b.

#11: "New York Morning", Elbow

This veteran alt-rock band from England made their first big waves in North America this year and due largely to this song (and possibly its video, definitely my favourite of the year). "The Take Off and Landing of Everything" is their first album to crack the top half of the Billboard 200 (whatever that means these days) and became their first chart-topping album in the UK, Ireland and Belgium. I heart this song, dennis and lois.
For sticking with me this far, I'm going to throw you this bonus Elbow video, allegedly recorded live in a BBC Live Lounge Session. Not quite as highbrow as when they played the Closing Ceremony at the 2012 Olympics, but funny.

2014 Faves: #40-#21

My top 40 hits of the year. I feel like a hermit Ryan Seacrest with crooked teeth but better taste. Truth be told, I do take the time to rank my favourite songs once a month and some of that info goes into compiling this list. So far, we've only covered thirteen of my monthly top 10s - almost everything from here on out is a top 10 (32 of the remaining 40 songs). Only "Went to War" and "Heavenly Father" so far have been top 5s.

#40: "A World Alone", Lorde

This is the second entry from Lorde on the list and I promise you won't hear anything else from her or about her until next time. Although I will mention that I am intrigued by her involvement in assembling the Mockingjay, Part 1 album.

#39: "Hey Brother", Avicii

Avicii was on a serious roll for me up to the point when this song came out: "Levels", "Silhouettes" and "Wake Me Up" were all personal faves. I didn't know what to make of "Hey Brother" when I first heard it - clearly further down the EDM/other genre fusion rabbit hole that "Wake Me Up" had opened up. Then it turned into an ear worm and I was hooked. I seem to remember hearing it three times during a single volleyball tournament I played earlier this year so it was doing the rounds with other people too. In case anyone is wondering who does the vocals on "Hey Brother", it's bluegrass singer Dan Tyminski who is either best known for playing with Alison Krauss in the band Union Station, for providing vocals on "A Man of Constant Sorrow" from the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack or for winning 14 Grammys. So, definitely not a nobody.

#38: "Days With You", Snakehips feat. Sinead Harnett

This is the first of two more top 5s to be presented in this instalment. It was the top track on my "Fall Adds" post and I still stand by it. I feel like this song would be right at home on Top 40 radio and could very well catch on like Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne did this year with "Rather Be"…they just need a break.

#37: "Faded", ZHU

Funny. This song is playing right now on a local radio station. If someone had told me that this song would show up anywhere on my dial when I first heard it, I would be amazed. Actually, I'm still amazed. "Faded" is up for a Grammy this year and if you're interested in reading more about ZHU's rise to prominence, check out this article at Billboard. This song also provided one of my more vivid memories from my cross-country road trip this summer: sitting in the minivan in Yellowstone National Park with the boys, waiting for Mom to finish shopping for souvenirs and absolutely cranking this song at the boys' request until the bas shook the windows. Awesome.

#36: "I Got You", Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones

I think I've listened to Whitney Houston's "My Love is Your Love" more times this year than any other year in the last decade thanks to this song. My weirdest Duke Dumont moment this year? I was at a board game cafe and music was being supplied by a live DJ. Over and over again, I couldn't place a single thing that he was spinning (and not because it was bad). Finally, "Need U (100%)" came on and the score was DJ 15, me 1.

#35: "Happy", Pharrell Williams

Not sure who the dude is in this Soundcloud picture. Moustafa Osman, I presume? At least he's happy. Is there anyone out there who didn't like this song? I mean, yeah, now it's a bit played out, but still. Great falsetto, awesome harmonization from the backup singers, a delightful piece of pop music. I'm actually surprised that Owen Pallett hasn't tackled this song in his analysis of successful pop hits via music theory (feel free to peruse his published pieces on Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, Katy Perry, Haim, Usher, Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea and DJ Snake and Lil Jon).

#34: "Let Go", RAC feat. Kele and MNDR

It was a pleasant surprise to hear this song on the local alternative rock station (Live 88.5) this year. RAC (Remix Artist Collective) are better known for remixing the heck out of anything they can get their hands on. This year, RAC decided to release a couple of albums of original material, collaborating with a few indie artists along the way. This is the standout track from the Don't Talk To EP (the EP was released at the end of 2013 and preceded the release of the Strangers albums this year), although "We Belong" featuring Katie Herzig was also solid.

#33: "Thinking About You", Calvin Harris feat. Ayah Marar

After striking gold with "Sweet Nothing" and "I Need Your Love", Calvin Harris sputtered for most people with "Thinking About You". Perhaps it was that Ayah Marar did not have as much cachet as Florence Welch or Ellie Goulding. Perhaps it was that the lyrics were not quite up to snuff. Regardless, "Thinking" kind of flopped. Except that I loved it. I've mentioned in previous posts that I love quirky rhythm structures and time signatures and I can't even wrap my head around this one. Over the course of four measures, there are 11 beats that are irregularly staggered throughout…and the piano notes don't even coincide with those beats. So complicated. Brain melting.

#32: "In the Grass", Vacationer

Thanks Wikipedia. Not only have you informed me that Vacation has toured with recent faves Asteroids Galaxy Tour and Tennis as well as playlist mainstays Bombay Bicycle Club, but you have told me that Vacationer's musical genre is "Nu-Hula". Huh? This is a wonderful, breezy summertime tune that has made me quite happy this year. Hopefully you enjoy it too.

#31: "Hideaway", Kiesza

Can't remember the last time someone from Alberta other than Nickelback hit it big. My initial reaction to this song when it starting playing on Canadian radio was similar to when I first heard "Call Me Maybe": I had a feeling that stations were paying lip service to satisfy CanCon requirements, but I was thinking "No, this song's actually decent..play it more!". Then the viral video of Kiesza (fka Kiesa Rae Ellestad) dancing in a single take through the streets of New York blew up and this prairie girl had a top 20 US hit on her hands. Although while guest-hosting, er pimping her album on AT40, Ariana Grande still "only knew that Kiesza had really red hair". So not quite a household name. I'm also loving the Ben Howard BBC Live Lounge acoustic cover.

#30: "Coming of Age", Foster the People

I was astonished to have ended up liking this song as much as I did. It kind of came out of nowhere and stuck with me throughout the summer. Enough that I ended up being more excited than normal to see them perform at September's FolkFest. A good show too, considering that I had heard that they were a little milquetoast at Coachella in the spring. Still a good listen.

#29: "Fireproof", The National

The crown jewel of The National's album, "Fireproof" really made me wonder who this "Jennifer" is that is name-checked in this song while a "Jenny" comes up in "This is the Last Time". It's possible that they' re different people, but not necessarily so. Plus, who actually mentions a person by name in a song anymore? I've read in a couple of places that these aren't really people and that the writer uses whatever name fits rhythmically…Jennifer just seems to work well.

#28: "Tether", Chvrches

Now begins the part of the countdown brought to you by the Scottish band Chvrches. As mentioned before, The Bones of What You Believe was a massive album for me this year. It probably ranks alongside HAIM's Days are Gone and Lorde's Pure Heroine as the albums (all released late in 2013) that I listened to most this past year. The Chvrches album, as you can infer from the next few songs, was like a greatest hits album, with a number of phenomenal songs that could have served as singles (although they still have yet to score a major hit even in the U.K. "The Mother We Share" is the closest thing to a hit they've had - it reached the top 40 back home and reached #12 on the Billboard Alt Rock chart this past year).

#27: "Gold", Chet Faker

This one's starting to get some play on alternative stations now. Chet Faker's first big break in North America? We shall see. The Flume rework is pretty nice too, but there's nothing like the original in this case.

#26: "We Sink", Chvrches

Ahh a relic of Canadian pop culture. Jian's voice at the end reminds me that the various Wiki pages for Chvrches alternatingly claim that it's pronounced "churches" or "cha-VUR-ches".

#25: "Under the Tide", Chvrches

By a nose, "Under the Tide" comes out as my favourite Chvrches track of the year. Though I still think "Lies" is the best song on the album (see last year's best-of list).

#24: "Luna", Bombay Bicycle Club

And this comes out as my favourite Bombay Bicycle Club track of the year. It's not quite in the discussion for best ever as "Rinse Me Down", "Shuffle" and "Always Like This" are still out in front. Still hope I can get to see them live at some point.

#23: "Know You", Bonobo

Bonobo's The Northern Borders was a nice little album in the mould of work done by artists such as Four Tet. "Cirrus" was the first release from the album and was the first song that I heard, but it was "Know You" that stuck with me.

#22: "Dangerous", Big Data feat. Joywave

After Joywave released "Tongues" last year, I wasn't sure if we were ever going to hear from them again. Then Big Data released "Dangerous" and suddenly they were featured on one of the biggest Alternative songs of the year (#5 as per Billboard). Got to love the claps.

#21: "The Finishing", Stavroz

And here it is, on the precipice of the top 20, my favourite instrumental song of the year. This song is simply amazing and will probably put on years from now and still enjoy. I seem to have picked up on a lot of singles this past year that featured some sax work. Kenny G is doing Snickers ads too. Coincidence? Maybe the sax is making a comeback. Stick with this one for the full 8 minutes, it's worth it.

2014 Faves: #60-#41

A full quarter of the recap is now taken care of. These songs are getting good. Subjective opinion, of course. Let's run it through right up to the top 40.

#60: "Chamakay", Blood Orange

Pitchfork went and named Blood Orange's "You're Not Good Enough" as one of the best music videos of the year. I'm confused. I kind of thought it was a joke. In any case, I love the retro 80s R&B feel of Dev Hynes a.k.a. Blood Orange. A lot of people want to collaborate with him now, so his star is definitely on the rise.

#59: "Riptide", Vance Joy

This is actually the second song on the list to feature the word "riptide" in the lyrics. Now you have to go back again and listen to the rest:) Now that Vance is slated to open for T Swizzle on her massive tour, Top 40 radio is deeming "Riptide" worthy of spins. It will be interesting to see if he can parlay all of this attention into something Sheeranesque.

#58: "Chandelier", Sia

This song is so short, so simple, but also so well written. I've been championing Sia for years so it was nice to see her get a ton of exposure (except that she's the type of person who doesn't necessarily want exposure). Prior to this year, Sia had a lone Grammy nomination to her name. This year, she tacked on another four so maybe this will be the year for her to take home a trophy.

#57: "Sing", Ed Sheeran

Pharell Williams certainly had the magic touch this year. This song dropped just as "Happy" was falling off and it helped catapult Ed Sheeran and his album X into the stratosphere. Given how this song exploded onto the scene, I was surprised that it failed to hit the top 10 on major charts and that "Don't" was the song to eventually do the trick. We'll have to see if Sheeran fatigue sets in over the coming months.

#56: "Emanate", Phoria

The sonic blast at the end of this song doesn't quite fit for me, but the first 75% of the song is amazing. This is the lead single off their third studio album. Actually, their Wiki entry is fairly interesting; you can link to it here.

#55: "Do What U Want", Lady Gaga feat. R. Kelly

What would happen if R. Kelly insisted asked Tony Bennett to "Turn the mic up". This is the second of five songs to rank on the best-of lists from both 2013 and 2014 and still stands as an amazing jam. Now if only Michael Buble and Diana Krall would cover it.

#54: "Buzzcut Season", Lorde

Well, I've finally broken the seal on Lorde tracks. One of the biggest albums of last year generated "Royals" and "Team" on last year's recap and three other songs also make an appearance this year. I was fortunate enough to catch the first half of Lorde's set at the Ottawa Folkfest (until my son passed out on my shoulders) and she was pretty solid. Her Coachella set this year was also quite good.

#53: "Hunger of the Pine", alt-J

After my infatuation with An Awesome Wave, I expected a lot out of This is All Yours. For now, I'm a little disappointed, but I'm sure I just haven't listened to the album enough to get it. Or maybe it's just weaker. At the very least, I don't think I'll ever get into the current single, "Left Hand Free".

#52: "Help Me Lose My Mind", Disclosure feat. London Grammar

One of my two favourite tracks from Disclosure's Settle (the other being "Latch", which was featured near the top of my 2013 list). This is yet another 2013/2014 straddler and was destined to be huge, given my love of these two artists.

#51: "Budapest", George Ezra

This song had a strange trajectory in my household. I heard it. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I played it for my wife. She liked it more. She put it on repeat and then the kids got addicted. My three year-old started requesting it. My oldest child wanted to know what a "castillo" was. Then I got burned out on the song in short order. Four months later, it surfaces on alternative radio and the kids go bananas when they hear it again.

#50: "Sleepwalking", Chain Gang of 1974

And here's the other song from GTA 5. In fact, it seems that this song was featured in the trailer. Not that I believe I ever saw it. Another retro-feeling tune that hearkens back to the 80s, this was constantly getting cranked in my sweet ride (minivan, not stolen) all spring long.

#49: "Lost on the Way Home", Chromeo feat. Solange

Was the Elevator Fiasco really just this past year? Weird. It feels like that was quite some time ago and that Jay-Z and Beyonce have broken up and gotten back together a couple of times since then. Chromeo secretly had a pretty big year, with "Jealous" getting some attention all over North America. Heads up, this is not their biggest song of the year for me.

#48: "Younger", Seinabo Sey

It's been way too long since we've heard from a Swede (way back at #77: Junip). Seinabo Sey came out of nowhere this year and has released a bunch of interesting material. I've heard "Hard Time" on network TV and "Pistols at Dawn" is popping up on an awful lot of music blogs right now. But it was "Younger", featuring the production team behind Mapei's "Don't Wait", that got everything started. Kygo's remix seems to be the more popular track online, but I'm going back to the original on this one. Is it strange that one of my favourite parts of the song is the 6-second pregnant pause at 1:10?

#47: "I Need My Girl", The National

And the National is back for more. This is the second of three tracks on the list and is definitely one of the highlights of Trouble Will Find Me.

#46: "Went to War", Amason

The fourth of five 2013/2014 best-ofs, we're going back to Sweden to hear from this supergroup of indie musicians that, just like Galantis, features an ex-member of Miike Snow. This was a monster song for me and would have been well inside the top 10 of the year if it ran summer-to-summer.

#45: "Heavenly Father", Bon Iver

I had been starving for some Bon Iver and, unlike the alt-J experience, I am not disappointed one bit in their first material in a couple of years. "Heavenly Father" was featured in the Zach Braff's Kickstarted film Wish I Was Here. I heard the movie stunk so I'll just have to be content with this song from the soundtrack.

#44: "Mess is Mine", Vance Joy

More Vance! "Riptide" was a cute and a nice way to grab attention (that uke!), but this is the real meat. He had me at clap track. If Vance Joy can really cross over, then this might be playing all over the place next spring.

#43: "The Journey", Tom Misch

The first of only two truly instrumental tracks on the 2014 list, "The Journey" is one smooth number. Tom Misch seems to be hailed as the second doming by a number of blogs. I've listened to a few of his pieces, some instrumental and some featuring his or other people's vocals, and this is by far the standout.

#42: "Old Pine", Ben Howard

Oddly enough, I found out about this song thanks to someone who commented below George Ezra's "Budapest" video on YouTube that the song reminded them of "Old Pine". Not totally sure I see it. It's funny, though, that "Old Pine" ended up outdoing "Budapest" on the countdown. I still blame the kids.

#41: "I Owe You This", Chad Valley feat. Twin Shadow

Another weird find. In 2012, I fell for Chad Valley's "Fall 4 U" from his debut album Young Hunger. For some reason I never found this song until I was looking for some more Twin Shadow material following my discovery of "Old Love/New Love". In the end, "I Owe You This" is 7 spots higher up the list than "Fall 4 U" got in 2012. Who knows what track I'll stumble onto in 2016 from the same album?

2014 Faves: #75-#61

A full quarter of the recap is now taken care of. These songs are getting good. Subjective opinion, of course.

#75: "Old Love/New Love", Twin Shadow

We're kicking things off today with one of very few video game soundtrack songs to ever catch my attention. The greatest video game soundtrack in my life was probably Wipeout XL (if you like 90s electronic tunes, you're welcome)>, although the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto 5 put two songs on this list, so it must be in the discussion. Twin Shadow will also make another appearance later on as a featured artist.

#74: "Love Never Felt So Good", Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake

Shoot. I've phrased things a couple of times as if there was only one dead guy on this list. R.I.P. MJ. I've included the original version, although I prefer the JT version (Soundcloud has some sped-up version of that song that doesn't do the song justice). Michael Jackson seriously knew what he was doing circa 1980 and this song goes right back to those days. A surprising sound to hear on the radio this past summer, but very refreshing.

#73: "Flickers", London Grammar

And here is the second of three tracks from London Grammar's 2014 release on the 2014 wrap. It was a tough call to put this one above "Wasting My Young Years" and there may even be a bit of regret in doing so. Too close to call. FYI it looks like they're kicking off a tour in 2015 in Montreal and Toronto before heading down the east coast and then skipping over to the West Coast of the US in February and then Australia in March.

#72: "Bath is Black", Marika Hackman

This song is actually from Marika's second EP, released in February of 2013 (she has released another two since). A very playful little tune. I have to admit I haven't listened to much of her other material but am making a mental note to do so in the near future.

#71: "The Way We Touch", WE ARE TWIN

I'm shocked this song didn't make my 2013 best-of list - it must have just fallen short. It reminds me very much of "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse featuring production work by Mark Ronson. This is a good thing, by the way.

#70: "Stand Still", Flight Facilities feat. Micky Green

The stopwatch percussion throughout the song is awesome. Not as awesome (or organic, for that matter) as Clapton and Sting flicking a Zippo lighter in "It's Probably Me", but they still score points. Flight Facilities has put out a number of quality tracks over the past few years and if popularity were measured in Soundcloud streams, then the winner would clearly be "Clair de Lune" featuring Christine Hoberg. Check it out.

#69: "Bloodsport", Raleigh Ritchie

Our favourite Game of Thrones eunuch is responsible for this one. Rithcie, a.k.a. Grey Worm, a.k.a. Jacob Anderson released two Black and Blue EPs this year and "Bloodsport" was featured on the January release. Again, I've been remiss in not following up with some of his other material. Add it to the to-do list.

#68: "Gravity", Lusine

This is one of the weirder finds of the year. While watching the YouTube feed from Coachella back in April, the above clip would come on as filler in between sets. I ended up going down the rabbit hole to find out about Lusine as well as Poetic Kinetics, the group that designs a number of the art installations for the music festival.

#67: "Looking too Closely", Fink

I just finished writing about this track last month so feel free to check that post out. I still can't believe that this guy used to be a bleeps and bloops Ninja Tune DJ. Bananas.

#66: "Seasons (Waiting On You)", Future Islands

Man that Letterman performance is still awesome to watch. Some people just want it more than others and never mail it in. Love that bass riff too. This song is very difficult to classify, which makes it more surprising that it found a nice little audience this year. For something completely different, check out this remix of "Seasons" that makes it feel even more retro.

#65: "Hey Mami", Sylvan Esso

As per The Hype Machine, Sylvan Esso was the 15th most blogged-about artist of the year. Not a bad way to kickstart a career with a whole pile of buzz. Also of note, this song hung around in the Spotify Viral 50 for something like six months. I don't even understand how one can sustain viral-ity (little blue pills?)

#64: "Home", Naughty Boy feat. Sam Romans

I don't typically fall for this uplifting feel-good stuff, but I got suckered this time. Naughty Boy, best known for their hit "La La La" featuring Sam Smith, hit some nice notes with this soulful number, which ended up being a minor hit in the U.K. Romans is a ROC Nation signee and was featured on the new Mary J. Blige album, The London Sessions. Looking forward to seeing what he does next with that voice.

#63: "I Can't Keep Up", Tourist feat. Will Heard

3,000,000 Soundcloud streams!? Wow, that's unexpected. So some other people might have been feeling this one in 2014. Wiki says that "With much comparison to the likes of Amy Winehouse, D'Angelo, and Daniel Merriweather, [Will Heard] has been named as one of the world's most-up-and-coming Jazz-influenced musicians with high regards from industry natives" and that his next single, "Walking Down the Street" is coming out next month.

#62: "Southern Sun", Boy & Bear

After The War on Drugs' "Red Eyes" broke my computer earlier this year, it was a bit of a no-brainer that I'd be into this song. The kind of track that lets you get into classic rock without listening to classic rock (as per hypem.com). A big year for these Aussies - not only did this song hit #63 on the local charts back home but they rocked some European's worlds too, reaching #82 in France. I suppose that was slightly sarcastic.

#61: "Drifting", Nate Eiesland

I still don't know too much about Nate. He started out in the American heartland in a five some named Scattered Trees and this trimmed down to a trio named ON AND ON. As far as I know, this is his only piece of solo music out there, and it's definitely worth a listen. I'm hoping that there's more to come.

2014 Faves: #90-#76

OK, the country music and the dead guy are in the rearview mirror so let's see what this next slate of tunes has in store. Maybe some more Swedes… And I realize that going in increments of 15 songs is strange, but it's what I had time for today.

#90: "Tough Love (Cyril Hahn Remix)", Jessie Ware

Another song that came to me later in the year. Jessie Ware's first album, Devotion had so much good stuff on it that there was no way that Tough Love was going to slip past my radar. One thing I can never predict is whether a remix will take or not. In this case, the remix gets the nod over the original.

#89: "Night Sky", Chvrches

The Bones of What You Believe is definitely one of my most played albums of the year. "The Mother We Share" and "Lies" were huge hits for me last year and Chvrches dominated my personal soundscape for the first half of this year. I promise they'll be back for more later on down the line.

#88: "Stolen Dance", Milky Chance

There was this time a couple of months ago when I wondered if "Stolen Dance" would outperform "Take Me to Church" on the Top 40 charts. Then a dance mix of "Church" was cut, the single erupted and Hozier ended up at Number 2 (as of this writing) on the Billboard Hot 100 and seems destined for #1. Well, so much for that. P.S. "Take Me to Church" was not one of my favourite 100 songs of the year. Neither was the remix.

#87: "The One", The Knocks feat. Sneaky Sound System

I'm still trying to figure out how The Knocks got onto the Ottawa Bluesfest bill last summer. Slightly dismayed that they didn't bust out "There's Something About Us Between the Sheets", but it was a good set nonetheless. This track would have gotten the 100 people in attendance dancing for sure.

#86: "Dear Boy (Dave Edwards Remix)", Daft Punk x Avicii

This is the only mash-up on the year-end round-up. It's really hard to succeed with a mash-up. Typically the mashed songs were both good to start out with, so how do you elevate them both by combining them? Not my problem. Then again, it's hard to ruin the recipe when Avicii and Daft Punk are the ingredients.

#85: "Don't Call it Love", Zero 7

Zero 7 and I have a long history, dating back to Simple Things, when they introduced me to this promising young artist named Sia Furler. "Warm Sound", "Destiny", "In the Waiting Line" and "Somersault" are classics for me. Time to add "Don't Call it Love" to the list.

#84: "Mine", Beyonce feat. Drake

So I really thought I'd like Beyonce more than I did. When Billboard claims your album is the best of the year, expectations are high. The problem for me was that the songs were a bit too all over the place within themselves for my liking. I mean, even this song feels like three different songs. Honourable mentions go to "Jealous", "Pretty Hurts" (Sia-penned, natch) and "Partition". I was fortunate enough to be in Winnipeg to catch Bey and Jay at a stop of the "On the Run" tour. Great show, although I'm curious as to how often she was actually singing. And P.S., for those of you who missed her staggering 15+ minute medley of (maybe?) every track off her album at the MTV VMAs, you can see it here.

#83: "Fall in Love", Phantogram

It had actually been a while since the last time I heard this song. Wow. Still amazing. Glad that Phantogram finally got some wide-spread exposure with this song and the accompanying album. I've had two near-misses catching these guys in concert (they lost out due to scheduling conflicts against Chromeo and The Strokes at Coachella 2011 and I was on the road when they hit Bluesfest this summer) so maybe we're just not destined to meet.

#82: "It's Alright Now", Bombay Bicycle Club

Speaking of near-misses, these guys played the local college in October while I was out of town. ARRGHH! I had been wondering earlier in the summer how often BBC toured and now I'm hoping it's frequent enough that I'll get another shot at seeing them live. This is the first of two tracks from So Long, See You Tomorrow, the band's fourth full-length release.

#81: "Wasting My Young Years", London Grammar

From the first time I heard "Hey Now", I was very intrigued by London Grammar. Their collabo with Disclosure melted my brain and then I picked up their album If You Wait. It didn't resonate with me right away, but after many, many listens, it has settled in as one of my favourites from 2014.

#80: "Two Weeks", FKA Twigs

Ahhh, the first F-bomby song on the list. You've been warned. FKA Twigs is possibly one of the strangest artists to break out this year. Like, take Janelle Monae's persona, make it more twisted and that's a good start. I really liked a few songs on LP1 but just plain didn't get many of the others. If I were to recommend a second song, I'd probably go with "Pendulums".

#79: "Loveless Way", Belgian Fog

I just love that this guy idolizes Jacques Brel and named his stage persona after Belgium, Jacques's country of birth. One of the more infectious ear worms I stumbled onto this year.

#78: "Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)", Oscar Isaac & Marcus Mumford

While I didn't totally understand the fanfare surrounding Inside Llewyn Davis, I really enjoyed listening to this song. Oscar Isaac is clearly talented and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next. I also love Marcus Mumford's voice and am currently listening to some of his work with The New Basement Tapes ("When I Get My Hands on You", "Kansas City").

#77: "Walking Lightly", Junip

And here is the second Junip track on the run-down. Both "Walking Lightly" and "Line of Fire" would have held down higher positions if I'd first heard them this year instead of last year. I have no idea if this band was a one-off or if there is more to come. I'll definitely be keeping my ear to the ground.

#76: "Late Night", Foals

That last statement applies to this song too. One of my absolute favourites from the last two years (one of five songs featured on the best-of lists for 2013 and 2014), it had sadly run most of its course by the time January came around. If you're looking for some more Foals, I would steer you to what might be their best-known track, "Spanish Sahara". IMHO, though, it's not nearly as good as "Late Night".

2014 Faves Part 1: #100-#91

Well, the time is finally here. I spend a couple of weeks spewing out a list of the songs I listened to/loved the most from this past year and then I turn around and spend a couple of weeks trawling the internet for everyone else's lists so that I can kick next year off with a bang. Before I get too excited about checking out those other sites, though: first thing's first. Welcome to my favourite songs of 2014! Granted, some of these songs were released in 2013. Some of them were released closer to 2010. One was released in the 90s by a guy who is now dead. My only rules for inclusion on this list are that I have to have first heard these songs in 2014, or in late 2013 and their impact on my life carried over to 2014. I first found out about many of these songs via either The Hype Machine or the Spotify Viral Charts, but have also been introduced to tracks via TV shows, pitchfork reviews, retro Rick Dees countdowns, Grantland podcasts, the Grammys telecast, radio stations in strange cities and albums purchased as a result of liking other songs on the countdown. Yes, I still occasionally buy albums.

Without further ado, let's get this party started.

#100: "Line of Fire", Junip

Roughly a quarter of the songs on this list are hold-overs from last year. This is one of them. From his solo days to doing guest vocals with Zero7 to Junip, I've always been a fan of Jose Gonzalez. And he's Swedish.

#99: "Cop Car (Live from 2014 Grammys)", Keith Urban & Gary Clark Jr.

I openly mock country music all the time. Country artists all look the same, sound the same and are masters of conjugating their lyrics in the past tense, for starters. I can't explain what it was about this performance that sunk its hooks into me. Gary Clark Jr. is awesome - that helps. Nice guitar work at the end, too. Regardless, I end up feeling moderately embarrassed that this song is sitting here. iPod don't lie.

#98: "Drowning in Your Eyes", Ephraim Lewis

This is also pseudo-embarrassing. I'm very nostalgic for 1990s pop music and syndicated AT40 and Rick Dees shows have become a bit of a soundtrack to my weekends. At some point late last year, I heard this song from way back in 1992 and swear I had never heard it before. I instantly thought to myself that if only I had latched on to this song in the early 90s, it probably would have been an all-timer (given my penchant for artists like Seal and Shai back in the day). So I started listening to it and it still felt right 22 years later. R.I.P., Ephraim.

#97: "Are You That Somebody", BANKS

This one is not embarrassing. As you might have surmised from the last blurb, I was a pretty big Aaliyah fan. I am also a BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge fan. WORLDS COLLIDE! A sweet acoustic jam you can even hear the backing musicians getting into if you listen closely. There was no question this was going to get a lot of run around here this year.

#96: "Reflektor", Arcade Fire

Another remnant from 2013, I'm not sure why I didn't end up liking "We Exist" or "Afterlife" nearly as much as "Reflektor". The video for "We Exist" still goes down as one of the year's best (and the Grammy nominations for 2015 seem to agree:). This is one of many songs featuring French lyrics that snuck onto my playlists over the past year.

#95: "Humiliation", The National

About a year ago, after being in love with "Sea of Love" for the better part of last year, I bit and picked up a copy of Trouble Will Find Me and have not regretted it one bit. This is the first of three songs from the album on the year-end list.

#94: "Wonder", Adventure Club feat. The Kite String Tangle

Hey, didn't I just feature this at #8 in my last post? Yup. Foreshadowing? Yup.

#93: "No Diggity (Live)", Chet Faker

While I'm sorry I missed this track as it was going viral a while back, I'm not sorry I stumbled onto it in the end. Loved this song the first time around and this arrangement is amazing. This might even sneak onto the 2015 best-of list.

#92: "Holdin' On", Flume

From Chet Faker to a frequent Chet Faker collaborator, Flume checks in at #92 with a short and sweet little confection. While a pile of this guy's remixes are floating around on the Internet, I seem to be more struck by his original compositions. "Possum" is getting a lot of spins around here these days.

#91: "Campo", Toro y Moi

Perennial favourite Toro y Moi dropped this track last year and it immediately went into heavy rotation for me. I love the smooth vibe of the song, the stuttering rhythm structure and the use of "sequoias" in the lyrics. Chaz Bundwick, you done good.