#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.
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