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Spotify link: Top 50 Songs of 2014

1. Real Estate — “Had To Hear”

It seems odd to have a Real Estate track as the #1 best song of the year. Maybe their music isn’t profound enough to hold the title? Yet Real Estate has consistently satisfied music lovers ever since their debut LP. They have a formula and the formula works. Time after time they have produced pleasant beach rock. But there is something amazing about watching a band really refine their craft. “Had To Hear” is the track that I’ve gone back to over and over again ever since I first heard it. The initial three-chord progression immediately makes me feel better about my life. It calms me down — gives me perspective. This simple music, but goddamn is it my favorite tack of the year.

2. The War On Drugs — “Red Eyes”

“Red Eyes” is triumphant. So much so that Adam Granduciel can’t hold back his wails. Those moments are perfect. When all the energy that has been built up by steady percussion and echoing vocals is released in a natural, “whoo!” Then comes the crisp guitarwork that somehow feels more profound each time it returns. “Red Eyes” shines bright in every which way, but in stays sincere and unobnoxious. There is a sense of conviction in Granduciel voice. His words are important, and so is his music.

3. Caribou — “Can’t Do Without You”

It’s hard to imagine loving a song that is so repetative. But maybe that is why “Can’t Do Without You” is so impressive? Its repetative nature puts you into a drug-like trance. Snaith makes you wait, building the tension and giving you the chance to accept the constraints of the song. But after a minute and thirty seconds, a gush of warm synths erupts and fills the canvas with color. Snaith is trying to capture lovestruck euphoria. The feeling when you are so enchanted with someone that you phsyically need them. The vocal loop represents the thought of them constantly popping back into your mind. “Can’t Do Without You” invokes memories of past love affairs while simultaneously bringing you on a trippy ride full of treats.

(also watch this special live version, it’s amazing)

4. Angel Olsen — “Hi-Five”

Never has there been such an upbeat song about loneliness. “I feel so lonesome I could cry,” does not seem like it would fit well on top of twangy guitar and a bouncy base riff. But it works! That’s because Angel is doing something many people don’t dare to do — celebrate loneliness, embrace it, welcome it, seek it. “Are you lonely too?” Angel sings at the song’s most vulnerable moment. Just when you think Angel is going to stop this game and really let us in on her feelings, she comes back with a, “HI-FIVE!/ SO AM I!” There is a kind of humanizing dark humor that carries the track foward with grace. It makes you care about the lyrics and truly understand what she means when she says, “I’m stuck too. I’m stuck with you.” Hell, if it means being suck with Angel, maybe I want to be lonely.

5. Parquet Courts — “Instant Disassembly”

It’s not hard to figure out how to play “Instant Disassembly” on the guitar. The riff is practically three notes. Furthermore, over seven minutes, the chord progression never changes. But the greatness of this track lies in the simplicity. Lead singer Andrew Savage is pleading for comfort. He’s torn up and breaking down. “Mamasita, hold me now as I ache” he wails. The length of the track is earned as Savage slowly builds up his collapse. Parquet Courts are spreading their wings and going out for a nice slow ride.