I'm starting to think my music preferences don't matter anymore, if they ever did. They've never mattered in the larger realm of music opinion. Even if I drowned myself in an ocean of music every day of the year and documented piles of lists of the greatest works of every genre imaginable in 2014, my opinions would still be buried in a galaxy of other opinions. That's the magical data rich world we live in. There are some reliable opinions that float above the typical internet garbage, but I'll never be among them. I'm not doing this as a career. I write as a hobby, a very infrequent hobby driven by boredom and restlessness and that secret itch that creative people sometimes die from.
But even in the small space I inhabit globally, I'm not sure my music choices matter to ME anymore. I take new music in very haphazardly, either in large gulps or nearly invisible trickles. I don't live for music, or think much about it daily. If I have headphones on it's usually to play podcasts or some other talk radio download. Most years I'm lucky to buy 10 albums, and maybe sample 10-15 more. That's a good year. 2014 was a good year. I spent MP3 money frugally. I tried before I buyed [sic]. I played catch up at the end like I sometimes always do. When a hobby requires research, well that's...gotta stop this thought train. I'm boring myself. Never mind, just read please.
My Favorite Albums of 2014 - in no order whatsoever:
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
This is the first time St. Vincent has grabbed me and
held on for an entire album. The pop
quality and homages to David Bowie are endearing, while the quirkiness is less
off-putting compared to previous albums. Or maybe it seems to lead in a direction I’m
able to grasp this time. Her engaging
interview with WTF’s Marc Maron recently helped me relate to her a little bit too. Whatever it was that clicked, I’m finally on board.
Royal Blood - Royal Blood
Discard what I don’t like about Jack White (his voice/sense
of entitlement) and include what I love about Thickfreakness-era Black Keys
(their balls) and you have a decent description of Royal Blood’s power duo debut album. But, as with any comparison/contrast of singular bands, Royal Blood does enough right to stand apart from either of those two. “Ten Tonne Skeleton” is this year’s “Seven
Nation Army” or “Your Touch”. I hope it
gets as much airplay (or is currently getting as much; who listens to radio anymore?).
Prince - Art Official Age
Regardless of my lifelong devotion to Prince’s lengthy,
prolific musical journey (which had several dead spots after Graffiti Bridge),
this album is really good. The lyrics don’t reach too desperately to be “with
the times”, the overall concept isn’t distracting (though I’ve always disliked
spoken segues in between songs) and more than one or two of these songs sounds
altogether different than anything he’s ever done before. For a guy in his mid-50’s, Prince seems to be
interested in avoiding the veteran musician coasting on his catalog thing that
keeps a lot of aging artists hanging around in the mainstream. And there’s that whole other original album that came
out at the same time and isn’t like this one at all. Name another artist of Prince’s generation
that is capable of that much product (shut up Elvis Costello).
FKA Twigs - LP1
She’s toured with Prince (a ringing endorsement) and combines
a lot of my favorite things in one package (agile voice, good rhythms,
avoidance of pop formula, soul/electronica hybrid…). This is the voice that could power a thousand
dance mixes. Don’t make me analyze it
too much. I’m still enjoying it a lot.
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
As a guy who never understood the appeal of The Strokes, I gave this album a chance in a way that I probably never could have done for The Strokes. And yet, I get a similar vibe from each, minus the shameless Stones cloning by the latter. Cloud Nothings have obviously consumed the entire catalogs of Green Day and Jimmy Eat World. Still: the guitars and drums are tight, the vocals are sloppy/sappy, there is a little bit of Cheap Trick peaking in at the seams. It’s my frayed pair of American Eagle Jeans kind of garage band this year. Is that 100 words, Teacher? This album is very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very decent. There.
Broods - Evergreen
Synth pop for the unloved. Smooth vocals, not-too-pushy
dubstep-y instrumentals, catchy hooks. This
whole album could be the creation of a sentient computer, but it smells sweet
and has a beating heart: two things computers haven’t figured out how to manifest
yet. I actually don’t know why I like
this album. Yes I do: the song “Never
Gonna Change”. That’s enough of a
reason.
The
New Basement Tapes - Lost on the River
Smelly old Bob Dylan may have never intended these smelly old basement tapes to hit the mass market, but it seems like they are talked about in his career history more than anything else he did that wasn’t Blonde on Blonde or Blood on the Tracks. As with “All Along The Watchtower”, I like all Dylan songs better when they are performed by someone else. This New Basement Tapes project is pretty cool too, but I’m probably more interested in the process that went into creating the songs than I am with most of the songs themselves. The HBO documentary covering the whole thing is very special. I’m curiously attracted to the art that goes into music production. That’s probably the only reason I like ONCE and its soundtrack so much (LOL no it’s not).
Sharon
Van Etten - Are We There
Album as heart-rending confessional catharsis machine (See those Dylan essentials mentioned above). I really hope Sharon Van Etten feels better after making this album. I hope it lifted whatever crushing weight that helped create the bones of it. Of course it’s amazingly depressing to listen to and should come with a bottle of whiskey and self-cleaning hanky. Is it possible to cry yourself to sleep and still listen to an entire album in a conscious way? In other words, it’s great music for solo listening by empathetic lovelorn fools.
Opeth - Pale Communion
You got me good this time, Nils Lofgrensensten or whatever your name is (I know it’s Mikael Akerfeldt, damn it. I’m watching Vikings Season 2 right now and just wanted to push the Sveeeedish name joke one time). Seriously though, this band will surprise anyone familiar with their metal roots or their gradual conversion to alt-rock, but will be a welcome surprise to fans of the band's chameleon tendencies. Whatever genre this album belongs to (I won’t bother trying to categorize for fear of sounding stupid to myself) is bound to piss off their hardline metal fans because it rejects almost everything that metal does for those fans. This is the equivalent of Slayer putting out an album of 1960’s country standards. And guess what? It’s fantastic.
London
Grammar - If You Wait
There’s
nothing especially groundbreaking about this London Grammar album. It’s intensely understated at times and jangly
and over-programmed at others. Yep, kind
of like Eurythmics. Also like
Eurythmics: the other blokes in the band are only there to support the
incredible voice of the female lead, in this case Hannah Reid instead of Annie
Lennox. I don’t think I’ve heard a voice
this powerful and full of potential since Lennox. Prediction: by album two or three, Reid will
be going solo too. There’s just too much
budding greatness going on there to hide behind a band name for long.
***
***
Other
new stuff I liked this year (some not from 2014 but recent anyway)
Angel
Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness, Devin Townsend - Casualties, Flying
Lotus - You’re Dead, Honeyblood - Honeyblood, Spoon - They Want My Soul, Strand
of Oaks - Heal, Mastodon - Once More ‘Round, Prince and 3rdEyeGirl - Plectrumelectrum,
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Made Up Mind, Fantasia - Side Effects of You, Bastille -
Bad Blood, Birdy - Fire Within, Disclosure - Settle, Gabrielle Aplin - English Rain,
Inside Llewyn Davis - Original Soundtrack, Jessie Ware - Devotion, Lost in the
Trees - Past Life, Volcano - Repave
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