BEFORE WE GET TO THE MUSIC (With Spotify lists this year)...
Part of the reason I do this list is so that I can re-read and re-live moments. If there is no documentation of an event, I tend to forget them.
That’s just how I roll.
So, here is my love letter to future me.
Dear Future Me,
You are awesome and quite possibly the sexiest mofo I would ever write a letter to. However, your memory sucks. I can say this as I know you will forget I said it soon enough. With that in mind, please do not forget these things from 2014.
You are awesome and quite possibly the sexiest mofo I would ever write a letter to. However, your memory sucks. I can say this as I know you will forget I said it soon enough. With that in mind, please do not forget these things from 2014.
Europe trip this year with whole family – Paris, London, Belgium. You probably
still have Euros left over in your wallet so maybe you won’t forget.
Zack’s DJing – as an 8th grader, he was invited to DJ a high school
Homecoming
dance. They could not believe he was so young and said
he was the best DJ they ever had. Coaching his soccer team to their first
championship this year was a close second. Here is an image of a warmup - his DJing at an event at LoudounOne
You laugh
at your own puerile jokes even when they are old – You made this drawing to illustrate Macklemore “Thrift
Shop” from even further back (2013?) and still think it’s funny
You went
to prison – ok granted it was a haunted house tour of Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary but that still counts. No?
How about a near-prison experience then: You got out of a speeding ticket this year because your cop joined the secret service and he didn't show for court.
Your son Pete passing his Goshen cub scout camp swim test – He actually practiced in order to pass it after being so disappointed last year. 100 yards isn't easy even for an adult. When 2014 test time came he jumped in….and immediately panicked, struggling for breath. He tread water for a minute and then kept going. Your friend Atticus was purposely doing his test at the same time and encouraged Pete through the last 25 yards. The smile of pride from Pete is one you don’t want to ever forget.
- PS Future Me, please forget the guy vomiting into the urinal next to you at that game
- PPS Also remember Wendy taking you to playoff Steeler-Ravens game and your Dad taking you to annual regular season one - but maybe gloss over the final scores
- PPPS Hopefully your Godson Kieran is still a fan by the time you are reading this too. He joined the fold this year. Godson Ben was brainwashed earlier :)
Love and many passionate kisses,
2014 Andy
And now on to the music
Top 20 things I listened to this year (check out my spotify playlist here)
1) Death Cab for Cutie – “Blacking Out the Friction” – how did I never hear this one before?
2) TuneYards “Fiya” and “Powa” – Strange but enchanting
3) Cake
“Shadow Stabbing” - see #2. No, not that
#2.
4) Ted
Leo – As an artist in general. Sad to say all my top 4 did not release this year.
5) Clap
Your Hands Say Yeah – “As Always” and “Blameless” – Songs U2 should have made
6) Mike
Doughty – Stellar Motel and “So Far I Have Not Found the Science” – best from
him in a while.
7) Barenaked
Ladies – “Odds Are” - Like their old
school stuff
8) OK
Go – Hungry Ghosts – actually liked the songs before the videos this time.
9) Bishop
Allen – “Click, Click, Click, Click” – another find I shoulda heard by now.
10) Ray
LaMontagne – Supernova and seeing them in NYC at the Beacon on a whim.
11) Eric
Church – “Give Me Back my Hometown” - Rhyming “My Hometown” with “My Hometown”?
Genius!
12) Highasakite
– In and Out of Weeks EP – lyrics like “hold my hair while I vomit”
13) Regina
Spektor – “Hotel Song” – Best song with lyrics about Orca whale dreams. Ever.
14) Tokyo
Police Club – “Toy Guns” and “Argentina Parts 1,2 and 3” – Outstanding Pop no
one has heard of (yet).
15) Dale
Earnhart Jr, Jr – “If You Didn’t See Me” – Song is almost as good as their
name.
16) Prince
“Wow, “Time”, “Breakfast Can Wait”, “Fallinlovetonight” - Finally re-enters the year end list. No longer on my Dead to Me list
17) Passion
Pit – “Sleepyhead” - Annoying until it
isn’t.
18) Postal
Service – “Brand New Colony” – I keep rediscovering this album song by song.
This one has video game song snippets.
19) Spoon
– “Do You” and “They Want My Soul” – Every album they make has at least one or
two good ones.
20) Mountain
Goats – “Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton” – No explanation needed.
Honorable Mention
- Major Lazer – “Aerosol Can (feat Pharell Williams)”
- Stephen Malkmus – “Chartjunk” and “Lariat”
- The xx – “Crystalized”
- Old 97s – “Give it Time”
- Natalie Maines – “Mother” and “Without You”
- The Evens - “Wonder Why”
- St Paul and the Broken Bones – “Sugar Died and “Dixie Rothko”
- Mr. Little Jeans – “Rescue Song (RAC remix)”
- Scala cover of Teenage Dirtbag from the first 5 minutes of the movie “Bully”. Powerful.
- Alt – J “Left Hand Free”
- Ben Howard – “The End of the Affair”
- Maroon 5 - “New Love”, “Unkiss Me” and "Maps" (see below)
- Taylor Swift “Shake it Off”
- Brad Paisley “American Flag On the Moon. Just for the start of it. The rest of really is too much for me.
Best Covers I discovered this Year
- QuietDrive - "Time after Time"
- Scott Weiland - "But Not Tonight"
- Presidents of the United States - "Video Killed the Radio Star"
