Let’s hop into my favorite 10 tracks of 2014. You’ll also find the link to my favorite 50 on a playlist at the bottom. Enjoy!
1). Lydia Loveless – “Really Wanna See You”
This song. Goddamn. Every single time–every single damn time–I listened to this song this year, I got sing-along-in-the-car excited. Lovelorn country that is as fast as some punk songs, that’s what this song is. The rhythm section is insistent. The vocals are bratty and begging and delirious. I knew I was in love with this song at precisely 3:07, when it’s just Lydia and the drums banging out the last few measures before the chorus. Absolutely glorious.
This year I also purchased the reissue of the very first eponymous Lucinda Williams LP, and the first track on it is called “Just Wanted to See You So Bad.” It has a similar sentiment as this song, and to be honest–I think Lydia out-Lucindas Lucinda in terms of sheer longing and emotion. Which makes sense, of course, considering that Lydia Loveless is a mind-bogglingly young 24-year-old, desperate and drunk with her ex-boyfriend only a cell phone’s length away at a party. When Ms. Williams wrote her similarly themed song, she was only a slightly excited 35 year old, her feet planted maturely and firmly on the ground–and you can tell the difference in song.
It’s interesting to compare the two. It’s even more interesting for me, especially, because I love this song so much despite the fact that I’ve never, ever drunk dialed anybody in my entire life, never once become so overwhelmed with drunken emotion that I did something self-destructively cathartic. But when Lydia Loveless is wailing and gnashing of guitar chords, though, I couldn’t help but be transfixed at the raw, rampant emotive power. This fall I got to see Lydia Loveless live, and she definitely delivered. Like most female singers, she’s smaller in person than you’d expect. But that voice though. She gets extra points, too, because I walked away thoroughly impressed and with another female musician koozie to add to my growing collection. I’ve reached peak concert t-shirt and peak show poster at this point in my life, but I can always make room for a $5 beer koozie.
2). St. Vincent – “Digital Witness”
When I listen to St. Vincent, the first thing that pops into my head is just how much of an artist she is. Like, “How in the hell did this song ever come together and how does she it make sound so goddamn effortless?” good. The horns buoy this song and keep it up beat, afloat in the incredible melody and cautionary sci-fi-esque tale she creates in the length of a 3-minute pop song.
St. Vincent is so cool that sometimes, if I’m feeling down, I’ll remember that she was born the same year I was, and I’ll take solace in imagining that if we had went to the same high school, she would have been a musical confederate. For a moment, then, I’ll get sad, disappointed in myself for not having achieved as much as her in our same 32 years on Earth. But then I remind myself that she’s of another world, and that she works just as hard and diligently at music as I’ve done in college, law school, my volunteer passions and my current job. In interviews, she routinely states that her real home is on the road, and that her “home” is just where she keeps all her guitars. That’s dedication to one’s craft, for sure. Her show this year at the Tabernacle in Atlanta was one of the best I saw in terms of absolutely performance perfection and musical excellence. It was truly, sublimely, art–and that’s light years ahead of most average musicians these days.
3). Hurray For The Riff Raff – “Blue Ridge Mountain”
This song is an indelible part of my 2014, and I listened to it–as everyone should do, if given the chance, to gain an extra appreciation of it–while driving through the mountains. It sounds outside of time, and it transports you to the roots of Americana, Bluegrass, and Country. This song could have been written this year or perhaps 100 years ago. It is rich, beautiful, and very, very American. When I close my eyes, I see this song in sepia-colored tintype, and then just a few seconds later, paradoxically, in the brilliant blue and green and yellow of a mountain afternoon memory, giddy with anticipation. Singer Alynda Lee Segarra is somehow tapping in the collective unconscious memory of generations of Americans with this song.
4). Cloud Nothings – “Psychic Trauma”
It starts mid-tempo but then a few short bars later, it explodes. Like actually explodes. I didn’t love their first album. I thought it too bratty, too existential. With this album, and this song, however, they abandon youthful angst and questioning for pure mechanical catharsis. They play as fast as humanly possible, and drum like they’re punishing the kit, like the drums are panting out each syllable, struggling to keep up with the running-together guitar chords. This song is definitely not for everyone, but every time I listen, my heart starts racing–in a good way. I got to see them play outside of Criminal Records in Little Five Points this year, right as the rain started crashing down on the cymbals, splashing everywhere.
5). Perfume Genius – “Queen”
Lyric of the year goes to “No family is safe / when I sashay.” This song is brutal, beautiful and epic. I interpret this triumphant chorus as a hard-biting satire, with Mike Hadreas spitting back out the vitriol often directed to the gay community, “OF COURSE NO FAMILY IS SAFE.” I join him in this anger. Let’s sashay all over this motherfucker.
6). Rodney Crowell – “Fever On The Bayou”
Get me on a train to New Orleans, stat. There will be shrimp, cheap beer, and Hank Williams. I love this song, but also realize it’s a more socially acceptable version of Zac Brown Band-type songs. That’s O.K. It sounds like being on vacation in the South, which is the best kind of vacation.
7). Hospitality – “I Miss Your Bones”
Perfect staccato indie pop. With each repetition of the chorus, it burrows deeper into your head, forever. When the melody and guitars start to crack, it cements even further.
8). Against Me! – “Transgender Dysphoria Blues”
The Against Me! I’ve always loved. But this time you’re hearing a new woman, unafraid to speak candidly about what’s she feeling in no uncertain terms. It’s so damn amazing to hear this point of view in this type of music. It’s brand-new, freeing, and incredibly important. Well done, Laura Jane.
9). Ex Hex – “How You Got That Girl”
There’s aren’t enough power trios in this world. I wouldn’t have expected Mary Timony to trade obtuse, beautiful and darker pop for pure rock and roll bliss, but she did, and it suits her well. All I need for Ex Hex to do next is cover Thin Lizzy, but make it “The Girls Are Back In Town.”
10). Courtney Barnett – “Avant Gardener”
This Aussie storyteller is only just getting started, and I look forward to what she’s got up her sleeve as she gets older. As a singer/songwriter, she’s got a unique voice and a unique way of telling stories. Most importantly, she doesn’t bore me and she doesn’t come across as derivative. Highly recommended.
Here’s the link to all 50 of my favorite songs from 2014, in no particular order: