#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".
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