2014

Annual blog post for posterity. I don't really want to write about these songs and albums because this year, I felt them more than I really thought about and understood them.

Songs

10. The Men - "Another Night"
9. Ought - "Today More Than Any Other Day"
8. Cheap Girls - "7-8 Years"
7. Sun Kil Moon - "Ben's My Friend"
6. Joyce Manor - "Catalina Fight Song"
5. Merchandise - "Green Lady"
4. David Bowie - "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)"
3. Future Islands - "Seasons"
2. Twerps - "Consecutive Seasons"
1. Hurry - "Oh Whitney"


Albums

Honorable mention: Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal, Real Estate - Atlas, Pixies - Indie Cindy, Sundials - Kick, Loose Planes - S/T & Unwound, Posse - Soft Opening, Sun Kil Moon - Benji, The Weaks - The World Is A Terrible Place And I Hate Myself And Want To Die

10. Hurry - Everything/Nothing

9. Twerps - Underlay

8. Bob Mould - Beauty & Ruin

7. Camper Van Beethoven - El Camino Real

6. St. Vincent - St. Vincent

5. The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams

4. Viewfinder - Do You Even Want Anything?

3. Cheap Girls -  Famous Graves

2. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams

1. Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again 

2014 was a terrific year for music. I loved a lot.  I spent a lot of time with new music because I wanted to, and it rarely felt like a chore. Reliable favorites delivered (Mould, Cheap Girls), some bands proved that things are just as good under the radar (Viewfinder, Hurry), and post-hype sleepers came back from the dead (Hold Steady, Ryan Adams). Regarding Ryan Adams: it has finally come to this, a full on embrace of one of the foremost purveyors of Starbucks rock. It makes sense to me now to be completely honest about my favorite albums and not dock bands for being uncool. I can't say that doesn't bum me out a little. I think Ryan Adams is embarrassing. Oh well.
I think of Joyce Manor as some kind of futuristic miracle. Their first album was a classic; Never Hungover Again is better. 10 songs, 19 minutes. The hooks are obvious, but the structures are profound. Take "Falling In Love Again:" it feels like every new section begins on the second chord or the last time through the previous section. You rarely get verse/chorus/verse. Their progressions are meant to disorient the same way My Bloody Valentine's do. And it's never overwhelming because the songs are two minutes long. But despite all the hooks it's all presented in such an unfamiliar way that 6 months later there's still enough going on to keep me on my toes. Lyrically, it's totally distinctive - every song sounds like a house party with a surreal twist and just the right touch of sentimentality. "'Never Better' read the letters on your hands/as you lay next to me by the heated swimming pool." Settling in to young adult purgatory with fuck-up slacker friends sounds just about as good as it gets.