Craig’s Friday Countdown 2014 iPod Additions
2014 iPod additions
A year-end Top 10 song list? A Top 50 list? Couldn’t decide so let’s do both. Not saying these are the best 60 songs of 2014, or even that they’re 2014 songs (a few aren’t). I am saying these are the best 60 songs added to my iPod in 2014. Ms. Swift was left off (as were others) because she really doesn’t need my help to sell one more record.
Not Quite - Habit, Ought, More Than Any Other Day -- He’s forming a habit, and editing isn’t it (Ought humor).
60. Come A Little Closer, Cage the Elephant, Melophobia -- Gotta start a list somewhere.
59. The Wire, Haim, Days Are Gone -- Best new artist Grammy nominee (which they often get wrong).
58. Unbelievers, Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
57. American Dream Plan B, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Hypnotic Eye
56. Stay, BoDeans, Amped Across America -- A heartwarming intro.
55. Detroit Made, Bob Seger, Ride Out -- Saw the video first on Jalopnik, the memory of which moves it up at least twenty places on the list.
54. Ghost, Ella Henderson, Ghost -- An x chromosome song, well done.
53. Supernova, Ray LaMontagne, Supernova
52. Blue Moon, Beck, Morning Phase -- There are 51 songs better than this? Perhaps.
51. Grace Lake, Thurston Moore, The Best Day -- A cautionary tale of what happens when your band is on hiatus, you get divorced and you have time on your hands. Seven minutes of prog rock guitar.
50. i, Kendrick Lamar, tbd -- Higher on most lists, and justifiably so. But it’s a list from my iPod, and the songs in front of it got played more.
49. Blues On the Corner, McCoy Tyner, The Real McCoy
48. Memphis, Tennessee, Adam Levy, Town & Country -- A place, sonically summarized.
47. I Wish You Would, JD McPherson, The Warm Covers EP -- Bought the song to support the effort. It’s a good song, and a good effort.
46. She Loves You, The Gaslight Anthem, The B-Sides -- The best Gaslight album released this year. Not that the other one is bad.
45. Someone to Watch Over Me, Ted Rosenthal Trio, Rhapsody in Gershwin -- Quite splendid.
44. I Found A New Way, Twin Peaks, Wild Onion -- Quite loud.
44. Gold (Solo Version), Chet Faker, iTunes Session
42. Petite Fluer, The Hot Sardines, The Hot Sardines -- Looking for jazzy French pop? Seems unlikely, but if you’ve come all this way … here you go.
41. I Don’t Know You Anymore, Bob Mould, Beauty & Ruin -- It’s like he never left.
40. The Return to the Mountains, George Fenton, Bears Original Score -- Didn’t see the movie. I’m guessing, some bears climbing through the morning mist.
39. Master Pretender, First Aid Kit, Stay Gold -- Swedish sisters doing alt country, with Liz Phair lyrics. Pretty swell.
38. No Surrender, Bruce Springsteen, Born In The USA -- A high school friend’s father died, and I went searching for this on the iPod. It wasn’t there. Now it is.
37. Most Messed Up, Old 97’s, Most Messed Up -- Rhett lets the f-word fly when he recognizes there are only so many words you can rhyme with heart. One of the best albums of the year.
36. Running On Empty, Jackson Brown & David Lindley, Love Is Strange -- A melodic, acoustic take on a classic.
35. Levelland, James McMurtry, Where’d You Hide The Body? – Another that somehow didn’t make the jump from cassette to mp3. Operatic and Midwestern. Tough to beat that combo.
34. (tie). Atomos IX, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Atomos // White Fire, Angel Olsen, Burn Your Fire For No Witness -- Both atmospheric, one with words easily understood.
33. Gotta Get Away, Black Keys, Turn Blue
32. Amazing Game, Mindi Abair, Wild Heart -- With Trombone Shorty.
31. Lanterns, Birds of Tokyo, Lanterns -- We are ready, we are young, we have nothing to fear. Except, implicitly, age.
30. Rainbow, Robert Plant, lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar
29. Slow Poison, The Bravery, Stir The Blood -- Mix some Echo and the Bunnymen with some Psych Furs …. Currently on hiatus.
28. Adult Diversion, Alvvays, Alvvays – Imagine the GoGos singing on REM’s Murmur.
27. More Heart, Less Attack, NEEDTOBREATH, Rivers In The Wasteland -- Gently suggesting, don’t be a jerk.
26. The Middle, Vitamin Sting Quartet, Strung Out -- A string quartet plays Jimmy Eat World. Sounds ridiculous, but kinda cool.
25. Truck Stop Gospel, Parker Millsap, Parker Millsap -- As advertised.
24. Slow, Leonard Cohen, Popular Problems -- Year’s best rap song from any octogenarian Canadian (guessing, I’ve not conducted an exhaustive survey of the genre).
23. This Must Be The Place, The Lumineers, The Lumineers
22. A Shot In The Arm (Remix), Wilco, Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- A great album for the faithful.
21. Spinners, The Hold Steady, Teeth Dreams -- Crunching guitars, and moving on.
20. I’m Not Part of Me, Cloud Nothings, Here and Nowhere Else -- Crunching guitars from Cleveland rather than Minneapolis.
19 (tie). Take Me to Church, Hozier, Hozier // Let’s Get Drunk & Get It On, Old 97’s, Most Messed Up -- Compare and contrast.
18. My Silver Lining, First Aid Kit, Stay Gold
17. Under The Pressure, The War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream -- On dozens of top ten albums of the year lists for a reason.
16. Do You, Spoon, They Want My Soul -- Spoon leaves The Pixies in the rear view, and scores the earworm of the year.
15. Catfish Blues, Gary Clark Jr., Gary Clark Jr. Live -- A favorite from a brilliant album.
14. Rollercoaster, Bleachers, Strange Desire -- 33% Fun.
13. Moving On, James, La petite mort -- Good song and a sublime music video, but it’s not a music video list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdcN4BRpmGI
12. Sheilia Put The Knife Down, Junior Prom, Junior Prom – Alt. pop meets knife-wielding girlfriend. Not for the curse word squeamish.
11. The Pretender, Lucinda Williams, Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Brown -- Gravely voiced, soulful cover.
10. Tumbling Dice, The Gaslight Anthem, The B-Sides -- Apparently, I’m a sucker for gravely voiced soulful covers.
9. Life of Sin, Sturgill Simpson, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music -- He goes a little Garth Brooks for few seconds, but what he doesn’t do is try to be the next Def Leppard country band, which is a bit of a problem these days.
8. Left Hand Free, alt-J, This Is All Yours -- An accessible throwaway? Aren’t you the alt-J snob.
7. Stardust (Live), Branford Marsalis, In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral -- Single instrument, single performer, singular acoustic space. Exceptional.
6. Kansas City, The New Basement Tapes, Lost On The River -- Mumford sings Dylan, with a backing band of gifted musicians. Yeah, that’s gonna work out ok.
5. Alex Chilton (Alternate Version), The Replacements, Pleased To Meet Me (Expanded Edition) -- It’s better with the rougher edges and false start.
4. Palace, The Antlers, Familiars -- Most beautiful song of the year? Don’t tell the bears in the morning mist.
3. Frankie Fell In Love, Bruce Springsteen, High Hopes -- The B side to Crush on You, 24 years later.
2. Longer Than You’ve Been Alive, Old 97’s, Most Messed Up -- Decades in the making and an ode to craft.
1. Songs That She Sang In The Shower, Jason Isbell, Cincinnati Recording Service –
We’re idiots, mostly. A song from 2013 comes back in fine form at a sound check in Cincinnati. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZKzW-ASP_Y
