My Favorite Songs of 2014

Here's a few tracks that I looooved in 2014:

Queen (England)
"Let Me In Your Heart Again"

Well, this is easily the happiest music news for me all year! Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor took this unused vocal from Freddie Mercury, circa 1984, added new instrumentation and backup vocals, and the result was pure magic. So yes, I'm happy and a little sad of course. Because Freddie's still not really with us, is he?

The Earth (Wales)
"The Earth Beats The Machine"

Sorry there's no link directly to the song, but I recommend going to Google Play (or wherever) and listen to the soundbite of the last track, and maybe even buy it. It just gets more beautiful as it goes.

Little Dragon (Sweden)
"Klapp Klapp"

By far the best song on the album, this song swings and grooves in silky ways.

Echo & The Bunnymen (England)
"Meteorites"

Hey, it's those guys, from the 80s! Unless you're a big fan, they've been operating under the radar for quite some time, but they continue to put out gorgeously epic works like this.

Seasurfer (Germany)
"We Run"

Goth meets shoegaze. Lovely.

Mike Oldfield (England)
"Nuclear"

Deducting points for sounding like Greg Lake with King Crimson circa 1969, but still a very powerful, resonant song.

Off! (USA)
"I Won't Be A Casualty"

Whoo! Punk like it used to be. This link takes you to the whole album, where this song starts. This song is my new personal anthem.

Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana (USA)
“Taming The Dragon”

This is called a "jazz" album, but this track is in a category all by itself. And it is sooo cool...

The Notwist
"Kong"

The only favorite of 2014 I got from an iTunes' free download. I swear! It's just sweet and jamming. Enjoy.

The Ting Tings
"Green Poison"

Remember these guys? Trying to forget? Well, this is a nice change of pace, and reallllly funky. Is that a cowbell I hear? Play on!

Favorite Rock Albums of 2014

Loved these albums the most in 2014, in some particular order:

Dum Dum Girls
Too True

Shoegaze meets goth in 2014, with luscious results. Every track on this album is a treat.



The New Pornographers
Brill Bruisers

Sixteen years on and this Canadian supergroup (still featuring Neko Case!) keeps putting out amazing pop hits. The title track here starts with a relentless hook and never lets up. (Different song, favorite album lyric: "They say we can't make this stuff up. But what else can we make?")



The Earth
Keltic Voodoo Boogaloo

My favorite album of 2014. Welsh band featuring rock guitar, big bass sound, tasteful electronic keyboards, and wonderfully soulful vocals. Every song's a winner. Here are my two favorites, one creepy and one lighter:





Bob Mould
Beauty & Ruin

Ex-Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman Bob Mould releases another strong album, and this one rocks mightily. Bonus points on this video for the humorous two-minute intro featuring Colin Meloy (Decemberists), filmed in my hometown of Portland.



Aaron Freeman
Freeman

Nice how Aaron's last name forms the title of his second solo album. Now in recovery (from alcohol excess) and freeing himself of his Ween legacy, this album covers much stylistic ground and features both rave-up rockers and delicately personal songs, sometimes in one song.



Monster Magnet
Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol

Heavy and psychedelic, this "reimagining" of last year's good album "Last Patrol" makes it even better. Great music to get lost in. And this is one heavy, bad-ass video to accompany the release (featuring Fugazi's Ian MacKaye as The Scientist!)...



Peter Murphy
Lion

Another great album by a veteran artist. His voice is strong and the music is powerful. Murphy has written some of the best goth music, then and now.



Reverend Horton Heat
Rev

Another veteran act, rockabilly genre. Great album, uptempo and lots of fun.



Chrissie Hynde
Stockholm

Hard to believe this is the Pretenders frontwoman's first solo album, as she's been in the game for about 35 years now. I liked this as much as any Pretenders proper album of the last 30 years.



Beverly
Careers

Debut album, and it rocks. This is the kind of music that showed up just under the radar in the late 80's and early 90's that I was really digging. Keep it up! Looking forward to more from this band.



The Feeling
Boy Cried Wolf

What a wonderful band. Powerful but vulnerable, cinematic music. Just the way I like it.



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Missing Ween a little less

Alt-rock pranksters Ween broke up a few years ago. For about 20 years, they were funny, weird, musically diverse, and talented in equal measure, but never predictable. The story goes that Aaron Freeman ("Gene Ween") of the band achieved sobriety and couldn't maintain his relationship with Mickey Melchiondo ("Dean Ween") who wanted to sustain his lifestyle of...oh who knows...but apparently involved drinking to some extent. Good for Aaron for doing what he must to take care of himself, but sad for Ween fans like me.

Well, Aaron just released a solo album this month and I'm happy to report it goes a long way to my getting over the grief of losing the band. There are sensitive moments, snarky moments, reflective moments, and just pure oddball musical moments, often in the space of a three-minute song.

While Aaron's music often sounds vaguely like someone else (say 10cc or Eels for example) the total package is wholly his own. Good for you Aaron! It will be interesting to hear what Mickey comes up with, if he decides to take a break from guiding fishing tours to make more music (and good for you Mickey for doing something you love as well).

Here are two samples. This album is going to stay on my active playlist for a good while.