Best of: My favourite 60 songs of 2014

It's the time of year for reflection. I say it was another great year for music. I think I saw more bands this year than any other year in my life. I had a great time taking pics of shows. Most of all, I loved the music. It's always about the music. And so without any further ado, here is my list of my favourite 60 songs of 2014.

60. Stars "From the Night"

59. The War on Drugs "Red Eyes"

58. Interpol "All the Rage Back Home"

57. Royal Blood "Come on Over"

56. Lowell "Palm Trees"

55. Blood Red Shoes "An Animal"

54. Band of Skulls "Asleep at the Wheel"

53. Elbow "New York Morning"

52. Temples "Mesmerise"

51. Alex Clare "Never Let You Go"

50. Split Single "Never Look Back"

49. Bob Mould "Hey Mr. Grey"

48. The New Pornographers "Brill Bruisers"

47. Death From Above 1979 "Trainwreck 1979"

46. Mounties "Pretty Respectable"

45. Ex Hex "Don't Wanna Lose"

44. PAWS "Tongues"

43. The C'Mons "Only Ghost"

42. Drowners "Luv, Hold Me Down"

41. Little Foot Long Foot "Mess"

40. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart "Simple and Sure"

39. Dum Dum Girls "Rimbaud Eyes"

38. The Pack A.D. "Big Shot"

37. Augustines "Weary Eyes"

36. Elbow "Charge"

35. The Districts "Funeral Beds"

34. Dinosaur Pile-Up "Peninsula"

33. The Both "Milwaukee"

32. The Balconies "Do It In The Dark"

31. Band of Skulls "Nightmares"

30. Royal Blood "Little Monster"

29. Lykke Li "Gunshot"

28. Spoon "Rent I Pay"

27. Kasabian "Eez-Eh"

26. Jimi Goodwin "Oh! Whiskey"

25. The Jezabels "The End"

24. Lykke Li "No Rest for the Wicked"

23. Bob Mould "The War"

22. Kasabian "Bumblebee"

21. Owl John "Red Hand"

20. The Balconies "The Slo"

19. Public Animal "High Pony"

18. The Hold Steady "I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You"

17. Blood Red Shoes "The Perfect Mess"

16. St. Vincent "Birth In Reverse"

15. The New Pornographers "Dancehall Domine"

14. Augustines "Cruel City"

13. Split Single "Monolith"

12. Lowell "Cloud 69"

11. Haerts "All The Days"

10. St. Vincent "Digital Witness"

9. Mounties "Headphones"

8. Little Foot Long Foot "Woman"

7. Strand of Oaks "Goshen '97"

6. Lowell "The Bells"

5. Royal Blood "Out of the Black"

4. Bob Mould "I Don't Know You Anymore"

3. The Balconies "Boys and Girls"

2. Public Animal "Careful"


1. Augustines "Nothing to Lose But Your Head"

Check out my Favourite 25 Albums of 2014 list, too.

Best of: My top 25 favourite albums of 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, I've taken a few moments to assess my favourite albums of the year. This list is always harder, and shorter, for me than the songs list. A song jumps into my consciousness quickly and I can say, "Yup. Great tune!" much more easily than I can say, "Wow. Solid album."

The other thing I've noticed is that I've seen 18 of the 25 artists on this list live in the past year. Perhaps that's a reason for more of the bands' tunes making an impact.

So, for better or for worse, here's my list of my 25 favourite albums of the past year.

1. Augustines Augustines

2. Royal Blood Royal Blood

3. Public Animal Habitat Animal

4. Bob Mould Beauty and Ruin

5. The Balconies Fast Motions

6. Strand of Oaks Heal

7. Lowell We Loved Her Dearly

8. Split Single Fragmented World

9. Little Foot Long Foot Woman

10. Kasabian 48:13

11. Blood Red Shoes Blood Red Shoes

12. The Districts The Districts

13. Haerts Haerts

14. Dinosaur Pile-Up Nature Nurture

15. The Hold Steady Teeth Dreams

16. Owl John Owl John

17. The C'Mons Places

18. Spoon They Want My Soul

19. Drowners Drowners

20. Mounties Thrash Rock Legacy

21. Elbow The Take Off And Landing Of Everything

22. Lykke Li I Never Learn

23. The Jezabels The Brink

24. St. Vincent St. Vincent

25. Steel Panther All You Can Eat

Strand of Oaks at The Horseshoe Tavern

I was a little surprised when I started to write the Strand of Oaks tag and it didn't auto populate. Have I really been enjoying their latest album Heal so much and I've never posted about them? I guess so. Oversight.

I caught Strand of Oaks live at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern on December 1. The short review - They were amazing and are an instant addition to my favourite bands. The music, the songs, the musicianship, the personalities all shine on stage and I feel so lucky that I got to experience it and photograph it.

My next step is to dive deeper into the Strand of Oaks discography and see what I've been missing.

Here are some of my favourites from their set:

"Same Emotions"

"Heal"

"Goshen '97"

"JM"

Cover of Ryan Adam's "My Wrecking Ball"


"Shut In"

"Plymouth"