2014 had some good musical breakthroughs and some welcome returns of old favorites. What is didn't have was any true hits in my estimation. It wasn't easy for me to pair down my top 40 to a top 20 nor was it easy to rank any of the top songs. Any of the top 10 songs could be #1 based on my mood during the day. Alas, someone needs to reign supreme in the land of Big Sexy. This year, that title goes to:
1. Seven Nights Seven Days – The Fratellis
Fave Lyric: I’ll be the comeback kid, on his way home from hell.
Fave Lyric #2: Show me the way brother. Give me a sign sister. I’m not the
only one that’s waiting to be born.
What do you know, a fun mime video! You don’t see that every
year. Such a welcome comeback by The Fratellis. I loved their debut LP back in 2006 even
though I could barely make out the lyrics of this Scottish band. Their second
album seemed like it was over produced and the rawness that I love from the
band was missing. Then they disappeared. I thought they were gone forever, unless the Chicago Blackhawks scored a goal. 5 years later they are back with the
original swagger and really, just the fun that I first loved from them. Check out
the whole album, We Need Medicine.
2. Do It with a Rockstar – Amanda Palmer
Fave Lyric: Do you wanna dance, do you wanna fight. Do you wanna get
drunk and stay the night. Do you wanna know all the things I do. Do you wanna,
do you wanna, do you wanna, do you, do you, do you..”
Followed up later with: Wait, wait, wait. I’ll be fine in a minute.
Amanda Palmer is very theatrical. She is the wife of author
Nail Gaiman, who is also a bit odd. I’m not sure what I would think of this
song if my first introduction is from the video. I heard the song many times
before I saw the video and her unsightly armpits.
My interpretation from the song is that she is a rockstar,
out on tour, and is very, very lonely and depressed. She is craving love and
attention. She wants him (her?) to come home with her. She will sex him if that
is what it takes to have him come home with her. They can talk. They can cry.
He can hit her. Whatever. She gets more and more desperate as the song goes
along. He is seeing more and more that she is crazy and a bad idea. She sells
that he can tell everyone he had sex with a rock star. He’s been giving her all
sorts of excuses - his animals are all alone, there’s chicken waiting on the
stove, he needs to charge his phone.
3. The Feast and the Famine – Foo Fighters
Fave Lyric: Where’s is that PMA?
Another great album by who I could probably call my favorite
band. They consistently put out good music and Dave Grohl is probably my
celebrity man crush. This song is the most rocking song from Sonic Highways. I
really wanted to love the HBO series Sonic Highways and I did like it. The best
episodes were the ones that specifically influenced Dave, like this one from
Washington DC, near where he was raised. I wanted all of them to be like that.
My only other knock on the songs from this album are that they feel like Mad
Libs. Dave would stick phrases that his interview subjects mentioned during the
episode into the song. I feel songs should be more from the heart and mean
something personal. It makes the Foos seem more like a song producing machine
than I would like to envision my artists. Either way, this song rocks.
4. Gotta Get Away – The Black Keys
Fave Lyric: I went from San Berdo to Kalamazoo, just to get away from
you.
The Black Keys typically have a cool video. This song set to
The Addams Family dancing, I do not think is the official video, but it will
do. The song is the last song on a bit of an uninspiring album for me. I had
big hopes, but only a couple songs stood out for me. I may need to listen to it
more. Their refusal to cow to the demands of Spotify made it harder to for me
to enjoy since I am now one of the many drones main lining Spotify. Spotify or
GTFO.
5. Snap Out of It – Arctic Monkeys
Fave Lyric: I wanna grab both your shoulders and shake, baby, snap out
of it.
This album ended up #2 on the 2013 Big Sexy Album list, but
I may have listened to this album more than any other in 2014. This song is a
little bit more radio friendly than any of their other songs. I originally
thought it was that he loves his significant other but she is driving him crazy
with her crazy. The more I hear it, the more I think that the singer is talking
to a friend that is in love with someone else and he wants him/her to snap out
of it so they can hang again. Either way, awesome song.
6. Trainwreck 1979 – Death From Above 1979
Fave Lyric: Cuz I want it all. I can’t get enough.
Years ago, when I just started getting into the heavy
electronica rock that is Death From Above 1979, the two member Canadian band up and disbanded on me. I was stuck listening to their first EP and LP over and over while I
conquered the elliptical machine. I am so psyched they’re back! I think the new
album is a little more accessible than their older stuff, but it still grinds.
I’m glad the video shows these guys all sweaty on the stage because that’s how
I always pictured them, in a small, hot area, banging heads.
7. Out of the Black – Royal Blood
Fave Lyric: Don’t breathe when I talk because you haven’t been spoken
to.
Fave Lyric #2: I got a gun for a mouth and a bullet with your name on it.
A finalist for Big Sexy New Band of 2014, Royal Blood is
just some good old fashioned rock and roll. It is what I would call hard
alternative. He seems pretty angry here, but this song kicks all the asses.
Royal Blood is a two man band from England, but they sound very American to me.
8. Who Needs You – The Orwells
Fave Lyric: You better join the army. I said, ‘No thank you, dear old
Uncle Sam’.
This young band from Chicago has come on real strong at the end of 2014.
Disgraceland is an LP in heavy rotation with me right now. This song has a
Strokes feel to them but this album shows a bit of diversity. The leader singer is kind of an odd ball on
stage based on some live clips I've seen. Who Needs You is a pretty happy,
quick tune for one that might considered an anti-America song. My take is that
is it about loving your family above your country and it’s wars, but there are
only about 10 lines in the whole song so who knows.
9. I’m Not Part of Me – Cloud Nothings
Fave Lyric: I'm not telling you all I'm go through. I'll be fine.
Back to the crunchy guitar chords and angsty singing of the
Cloud Nothings. I really liked their last album but really haven’t listened too
much of the new one yet. I love this front single though. It’s a catchy punky song. I think the song is about putting his past behind him and being a new
person now that he doesn't have the other person that was a part of him. He’s
no longer that part of himself.
10. Sea of Love – The National
Fave Lyric: Hey Jo, sorry I hurt you but, they say love is a virtue,
don’t they.
I love Matt Berninger’s baratone voice. It really
accentuates his sorrowful lyrics. This song goes the other way for The
National. This time, the singer is the dumper not the dumpee. That’s a pretty
cold break up lyric up above to tell someone that loves you but you don’t feel
the same way.
11. Whisky Saga – The Fratellis
Fave Lyric: Here lies the remains of every girl I have loved.
Fave Lyric #2: Pitchforks pointed my way and it’s no coincidence.
I told you I loved this album! This another fun, almost a
rockabilly song from The Fratellis. I couldn't keep this song off the Top 20.
It is just makes me too happy.
12. Lazarreto – Jack White
Fave Lyric: When I say nothing, I say everything.
I have loved Jack White for a long time now. This song is as
good as I would expect from him. Nice, squealing guitar break in the middle,
right before a slow down. A little electric violin. I like the Spanish thrown
in near the beginning, even though I don’t know what it or the song even means.
Keep rocking you pale freak.
13. I Won’t Let You Down – Ok Go
Fave Lyric: Maybe all you need is someone to trust, maybe all you need
is someone.
Another fun choreographed video from the kings of it. But I
liked the song before I ever saw the video. Just a happy, positive song.
Nothing too deep. Just happy.
14. Hometown Girls – The Strypes
Fave Lyric: I reek of sweat and teenaged innocence.
It’s the Beatles 50 years on. Except these guys are all
teenagers, with fast rock songs. I can hear girls screaming in the background
when I hear them. Nice guitar solo in the middle of the song. These kids sing
about being shy around girls but I bet they are pulling just fine.
15. Fancy – Iggy
Azalia w/ Charlie XCX
I almost hate myself for how much I like this song. Complete guilty pleasure. I don’t
like Iggy Azalia in general or her butt implants. I think it is that synth beat
that runs through the whole song. When those first 5 beats hit before any other
music, I have a good feeling. I would like to assume they know they cannot
drive from LA to Tokyo, but I wonder.
16. Rumble and Sway – Jamie N Commons
Fave Lyric: Don’t tell me no truths, I want all of your lies.
Nice funky little number here. Very soulful voice on this
white boy. This song sounds very old school.
17. I Wanna Get Better – Bleachers
This is a pretty popular song and my Venn Diagram of songs
that are very popular and songs that I really like is usually pretty slim. This
is just an uplifting song for me with a good beat and a nice guitar break. Hard
to not love the infectious, dun-dun-dun-dundun, pounding on the keys.
18. Washing Dishes – Jack Johnson
Fave Lyric: Who took the time and where did they take it?
I mentioned the Foo Fighters consistency earlier and the
same can be said for Jack Johnson. This is just a pretty love song on a guitar
that makes me think of being at the beach. He keeps doing it, so I’m going to
keep praising him.
19. Twerk It Like Miley – Brandon Beal
Here’s a cool and funky beat beneath a pop culture
reference. I DJ/announce for our high school football team and dropped the
first 60 seconds of the song during a timeout. The head of the cheerleaders
came up and told me that this song was inappropriate. I say, at least, at this
part of the song, he is just seeing a girl on the dance floor. Hey, I don’t
come to your work and knock the dicks out of your mouth. I didn’t play it again
despite seeing all the suggestive moves she was teaching for the halftime show.
20. Left Hand Free – alt-J
Alt-J is sliding into Dave Matthews territory for me. I very
much think I should like them, but I’m having a hard time embracing them. They
have been mentioned in the same vein as Radiohead, but aside from being
British, I have a hard time making too much of a connection. I do like the funky
twang working in this song. It is by far my favorite song of theirs. However,
this song barely slides onto the Top 20 of this year.
21. Cubs in Five – The Mountain Goats
I had to add a #21 because I couldn't get this song out of my head all year. Maybe it isn't TOp 20 worthy, but try to get the chorus out of your head. I already talked a lot about this song in a previous post,
so I won’t here. It is a hard song to get out of your head if you can get past
the poor production quality. This is an almost 20 year old song showing up on
my top songs of 2014, but I listened to this over and over this year, so here
it is. You've never heard it anyway.
Honorable Mention:
I said it was hard for me to narrow it down. These barely made the list and on some days should be on it. I loved them all at one time or another through the year. Presented in no particular order...
Dangerous - Big Data
Miracle Mile - Cold War Kids
Underworld - Brody Dale
Wait a While - The Hold Steady
Like a Fool - Kiera Knightly
To Hell With Good Intentions - McKlusky
Tell Her - Rizzlekicks
Rent I Pay - Spoon
Fever - The Black Keys
There it is! 30 songs that all get the Big Sexy seal of approval. 2015 is already starting strong. I hope to have an equally hard time paring the list at the end of the year.
