Super year end blow out post here. On the last day of 2014 I wanted to share my top albums and songs list as well as supply my annual New Yearās Party mix. Cheers!
(Track list available at Mixcloud link)
Poptimistic: The New Year's Eve 2014 Party Mix by Natelc on Mixcloud
Of all the many trendy and talked about topics discussed on and offline this year the one that I was most fascinated with was poptimism. Ā Not really a movement or description an actual genre of music but more of a description of the current culturalĀ tastemaker's approach to music. In one of most recent unpackings of poptimism the New York said: āpoptimism wants to be in touch with the taste of average music fans, to speak to the rush that comes from hearing a great single on the radio, or YouTube, and to value it no differently from a song with more āseriousā artistic intent.ā Basically they are saying that poptimism give any type of music the chance to be considered great with a capital āGā. Some people think this is a negative trend in criticism, a continued deterioration of our rapidly waning standards as a culture. I tend to disagree with that take. I grew up in the stuffy music fan temperament of "it sucks first, reappreciate later". Why not give it a chance at first spin? Maybe I was so fascinated with this discussion because without realizing it, I myself have become a poptimist. I turned 30 this year and while it hasnāt slowed down my thirst for new music I found myself less concerned with what the Pitchfork/Stereogum/etc. blogosphere was crushing on, and much like when I was a youngster, caring about whose crushing the charts. However, the big difference between how I approached pop music when I was 11 and now is that Iām looking at it through a well cultivated music snob lense that was finely tuned over the past decade of indie rock gentrification. I can now discuss Taylor Swift with the same analytical passion I would have reserved for the new Animal Collective album. Not that I donāt care about āindie musicā anymore, youāll see that ātype of music" well reflected in my year-end lists, I just donāt really distinguish genres anymore. If itās good, itās good with a capital āGā. I am just as fascinated with beefs between The War On Drugs and Sun Kil Moon then I am between Iggy and Azelia. Seriously, itās all Good. The lines between pop music, indie music, country, folk, hip-hop, and electronic music have never been so blurry. I was worried that this would make things much more difficult when gauging what I thought was the best albums and songs of the year. But my list making was simpler then ever. I just asked myself simply, what did I like better? Iāve seen so many music trends come and go in my 4 decades (gulp) of music fandom and I donāt think poptimism is one of them. In reality, poptimism isnāt anything. Itās not a movement or a clarification of someoneās tastes, itās a buzzword that got some decent traction this year. That doesnāt mean itās sentiment canāt be true. As a whole year of new music approaches us, whatās wrong with being hopeful about whatās to come? If you havenāt yet, I think 2015 is the year to get poptimistic.
The Top 25 Best Albums of 2014
Lost In the Dream by The War On Drugs
Black Messiah by DāAngelo
Run The Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
Burn Your Fire For No Witness Ā by Angel Olsen
Metamodern Sounds in Country Music by Sturgill Simpson
Salad Days by Mac Demarco
Too Bright by Perfume Genius
St. Vincent by St. Vincent
Sunbathing Animal & Content Nausea by Parquet Courts
They Want My Soul by Spoon
Broke With Expensive Taste by Azealia Banks
Itās Album Time by Todd Terje
The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
Somewhere Else by Lydia Loveless
Are We There by Sharon Van Eatten
Singles by Futrure Islands
The Top 50 Best Songs of 2014
Season (Waiting On You) by Future Islands
Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) (Feat. Zack De LA Rocha) by Run The Jewels
Tuesday (Feat. Drake) by ILOVEMAKONNEN
Coming Home by Leon Bridges
Red Eyes by The War On Drugs
Take Me To Church by Hozier
Art School by Frankie Cosmos
September Fields by Frazey Ford
Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!
Problem (Feat. Iggy Azalea) by Ariana Grande
Birth in Reverse by St. Vincent
Just One Of The Guys by Jenny Lewis
Rather Be (Feat. Jess Glynne) by Clean Bandit
A Better Tomorrow by The Wu-Tang Clan
How Can You Really by Foxygen
Sanctified (Feat. Kanye West & Big Sean) by Rick Ross
Feels Like Vegas by Tinashe
Donāt Wanna Dance by MĆ
Warm On A Cold Night by HONNE
11 OāClock Friday Night by Hamilton Leithauser
Salad Days by Mac Demarco
Canāt Do It Without You by CARIBOU
Chris Isaak by Lydia Loveless
Do It Again by Rƶyksopp & Robyn
Love Never Felt So Good by MJ & JT
0 to 100 / The Catch up by Drake
Perfectly by Ryan Hemsworth
This Is Not About Us by Kindness
Classic (Feat. Powers) by The Knocks
Uptown Funk (Feat. Bruno Mars) by Mark Ronson
Put Your Number In My Phone by Ariel Pink
High (Feat. Danny Brown) by Freddie gibbs & Madlibs
Tell Me Yeah (Feat. Young Chris) by Girl Talk & Freeway
Klapp Klapp by Little Dragon
Repeat Pleasure by How To Dress Well
West Coast by Lana Del Rey
