December 31, 201311 yr Author http://imageshack.com/a/img571/4833/f0f7.png "I need a little sympathy" (6-3-1-1-1-1-1-4-7-11-21-22-26-27-29-34-37-40) We're in space, again - don't those synths sound like they're darting across the night sky, or lasers, taking down some alien enemy? That could be the march of the beats, too, and the high-pitched manipulation of Stevie Nicks' vocals (taken from 'Stand Back') is an attack, too, or the desperate plea of the title. American DJ Belanger never lets up, here, letting synths and wild vocal lines and booming drumbeats fly, surrounding your ears like a siege.
December 31, 201311 yr BURIAL YASSSS <3 The Lana Wachowski speech <3 Can't believe I didn't catch it last year.
December 31, 201311 yr Author "You just wanna keep me on repeat and hear me crying" (1-1-3-3-5-5-4-6-11-7-5-8-12-21-24-27-36) Disclosure's beats pretty much define the year, or the sound of it, and their biggest hit was this - which seems rather unlikely, given the distinctive, divisive vocals of Aluna(George) they employ here. But her thin vocals work so well with the rapid pace of the beats, all separate drops of sound, and as her vocal line is looped for the bridge, it almost becomes one of their instruments itself. 'White Noise' runs through your ears like a heart monitor, such a fast pace and heightened sound that it transports you instantly to a rave, especially when the chorus explodes with Aluna fading into the background, a euphoric delirium of sound where the noises sound they're all about to take off.
December 31, 201311 yr Author "Always be running away" (1-4-4-3-4-4-6-15-16-25-24-27-33-40) 'Change' bursts into life with a panting sound effect amongst the cacophony, and that's no accident - "Had to come out to breathe", de Forest soon says, and the reach of the chorus is another clue - this is, despite its bright sound, quite a dark song, as the singer runs away from a man who wants her to settle down. "And there is no one to save me!" she cries, desperately alone in the very fibres of her being, which, whatever she or anyone else might say, mean she values independence and solitude too dearly. All this is folded into a monster of a pop song, one less taken to the flighty Celtic sounds of its surrounding albums; instead, it rolls by on a juddering bassline, only using the faintest echoes of flutes to suggest the flight of escape.
December 31, 201311 yr Author "I would wait all night" (1-1-1-2-3-4-4-8-19-24-25-30-29-37-35-39) Nothing disappointed me more this year than this infectious song failing to alight the charts. Why, when it's this soulful and rhythmic, this groovy, this sing-a-long? The beat demands you to dance; the steps are encoded into it. Lyrically, it's a little flirtatious, a little shy, wondering if this dancefloor lust is something deeper; and as the song bursts into that glorious chorus, you definitely feel like it could be.
December 31, 201311 yr Author http://imageshack.com/a/img34/9649/12av.png "Stay for the storm if you can take it" (25-18-10-1-2-2-2-4-3-1-2-2-6-11-) "Kiss her... kiss her..." begins the swoop of 'Julia', the most beautiful song of the year, and a moment that instantly exemplifies the intoxicating mixture of intimate despair and delicate joy that whirls throughout the song. This is a song for the night, as the echoing synths bounce out of the darkness and the sumptuous vocals of SZA fly upwards as the chorus peaks and thrills. The silk of the vocals in the verses doesn't prepare you for the exquisite pain of her crowing in the chorus, the teasing synths gliding beneath her, a glittering base of tears - and then the second half, barely connected, but it does seem to draw the darkest despair from its centre, a quieter, more desolate soundscape.
December 31, 201311 yr Author "And you stashed my heart / Somewhere in the dark" (9-1-1-1-2-6-11-14-22-28-35) I've written a lot about melancholy and despair over the past eighteen songs, but when it comes to my top two, it seems that my year was ultimately defined by a level of happiness I came to experience for the first time. No, no, we're not talking about love, although these songs are both about the security and magic in a coupling; rather, the delight in human connection, and what 'You & Me' explores is the risk of stashing your heart with another person. It all comes from one viewpoint, as Eliza Doolittle - proving a surprisingly warm, honest fit for the music - sings about her love and devotion, peppered with rhetorical questions and expectations that come with never really truly knowing another person. She's been hurt before ("Even though it's tarnished"), and what comes through the fluid, joyous beats of Disclosure's music - fuller and softer than on 'White Noise' - is the excitement and risk of Eliza allowing herself to love again.
December 31, 201311 yr Author "I'll break my back for you" (1-1-1-1-2-4-3-7-8-11-10-16-17-17-17-10-7-4-7-10-14-15-21-28-35-) I'm not even sure why this song has, quite handily, dominated this year in music for me. It's just euphoric - a perfect combination of forces to create a razor sharp song, an utterly blissful experience that, like 'You & Me', speaks of the devotion and sacrifice of love, which vocalist Malin captures with a tender warm and a hint of pain. "Tonight we write our names in the night sky", she sings, high on the intoxicating feeling of love, delirious even, and for its running time, 'Safe With You' is almost blasting that into the sky itself, a relentlessly wonderful experience that feels so much - while also just being a f***ing superb dance song.
December 31, 201311 yr Author 100 | AlunaGeorge - Attracting Flies 099 | Two Door Cinema Club - Changing of the Seasons 098 | Dan Croll - In / Out 097 | Banks - Waiting Game 096 | One Direction - Story of My Life 095 | HAIM - Falling 094 | Arcade Fire - Afterlife 093 | Mariah Carey feat. Miguel - #Beautiful 092 | Jay-Z - Tom Ford 091 | The Kite String Tangle - Given the Chance 090 | London Grammar - Flickers 089 | Rudimental - Right Here (feat. Foxes) 088 | Glasser - Shape 087 | Gesaffelstein - Hate Or Glory 086 | Lulu Rouge & Fanney Osk - Sign Me Out 085 | Aston Shuffle & Tommy Trash - Sunrise (Won't Get Lost) 084 | MØ - Waste of Time 083 | Cassie feat. Wiz Khalifa - Paradise 082 | Bastille - Pompeii 081 | Jagwar Ma - Man I Need (White Label Version) 080 | Lulu James - Sweetest Thing 079 | Disclosure feat. London Grammar - Help Me Lose My Mind 078 | St. Lucia - Elevate 077 | Tove Lo - Habits 076 | Röyksopp feat. Jamie Irrepressible - Something In My Heart 075 | NONONO - Pumpin' Blood 074 | Cut Copy - We Are Explorers 073 | Jhené Aiko - The Worst 072 | Laura Welsh - Cold Front 071 | Gabrielle - Regn fra blå himmel 070 | Beyoncé - Haunted 069 | Labrinth feat. Plan B - Atomic 068 | Iggy Azalea - Work 067 | Banks - Before I Ever Met You 066 | HAIM - Don't Save Me 065 | MØ feat. Diplo - XXX 88 064 | The Mary Onettes - Don't Forget (to Forget about Me) 063 | Active Child feat. Mikky Ekko - Subtle 062 | Stromae - papaoutai 061 | Ghost Beach feat. Noosa - Close Enough 060 | Basecamp - Emmanuel 059 | St. Lucia - When The Night 058 | Laura Jansen - Queen of Elba 057 | CHVRCHES - Science/Visions 056 | Juveniles - Fantasy 055 | Kanye West - Black Skinhead 054 | Katy B - I Like You 053 | Josef Salvat - Hustler 052 | Sam Smith - Nirvana 051 | Kate Boy - The Way We Are 050 | Tove Lo - Out of Mind 049 | Vienna Teng - Level Up 048 | Ciara - Overdose 047 | Postiljonen - Supreme 046 | Young Galaxy - Fall for You 045 | Sky Ferreira - You're Not the One 044 | Small Black - Outskirts 043 | Alice & The Glass Lake - Luminous 042 | Banks - This Is What It Feels Like 041 | Katy B - 5 AM 040 | Little Mix - Move 039 | Lorde - Tennis Court 038 | Dawn Richard - Goldenheart 037 | Henry Krinkle - Stay 036 | Little Mix - Salute 035 | Kanye West - New Slaves 034 | Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops 033 | John Newman - Love Me Again 032 | Blood Orange - Chamakay 031 | Arcade Fire - Reflektor 030 | CHVRCHES - Gun 029 | Charli XCX - Take My Hand 028 | Vienna Teng - Never Look Away 027 | HAERTS - All the Days 026 | Justin Timberlake - Let the Groove Get In 025 | Drake feat. Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home 024 | Disclosure feat. Jamie Woon - January 023 | Disclosure feat. Jessie Ware - Confess To Me 022 | M83 feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oblivion 021 | Lorde - Buzzcut Season 020 | Florrie - Live a Little 019 | London Grammar - Strong 018 | Jhené Aiko - Comfort Inn Ending (Freestyle) 017 | Mdnght - Into the Night 016 | DJ Fresh & Diplo feat. Dominique Young Unique - Earthquake 015 | ASTR - Operate 014 | Annie - Invisible 013 | Jagwar Ma - The Throw 012 | Kelly Sweet - Ashes Of My Paradise 011 | V V Brown - The Apple 010 | Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love 009 | Justin Timberlake - Mirrors 008 | Burial - Come Down to Us 007 | Belanger - Take Me Home 006 | Disclosure feat. AlunaGeorge - White Noise 005 | Emmelie de Forest - Change 004 | Jessie Ware - Imagine It Was Us 003 | SZA - Julia 002 | Disclosure feat. Eliza Doolittle - You & Me 001 | Alex Metric & Jacques Lu Cont feat. Malin - Safe With You
December 31, 201311 yr Author Earthquake was really quite a pleasant surprise. Dibby Dibby Sound is good too although not quite as instantly iconic- still, liking the more 'noisy' DJ Fresh alot more (though it's kinda hard to tell how much input he actually has in these songs)! Oh I better check that out then! Yes, it's really turned me around on DJ Fresh thought it probaby is more Diplo on Earthquake at least! Swooning at Salvat, Sweet and V V :wub: So much else too of course but those three are the big ones for me so far. I was upset at how low down Josef landed. WHY SO MANY GOOD SONGS Oh, and thanks to all for your comments and reading and everything! :wub:
December 31, 201311 yr Your commentaries are so excellently written <3 I've been following this, I haven't actually heard that number 1, but very glad for double Disclosure, London Grammar, Justin in the top 20, that Florrie took me totally by surprise, it's so upbeat compared to what else I've heard from her! I've not seen any of the movies/TV shows except AHS, I think this series is a lot better than Asylum, I did like that but I found it a bit too crammed full with plot points after a while.
January 1, 201411 yr My love! I definitely DO see the affection now don't worry <3 What a stunner, can't really add to anything you've put for it and you know my feelings already so YAYYYYYY :heart: 'You & Me' (and 'Safe With You' to a lesser but still delightful extent) i use too so a wonderful top 3.
January 1, 201411 yr I wish I could write commentary like yours. They are so good at capturing how you feel about the song, while I just descend into a flurry of frantic positive adjectives a lot of the time. Both Disclosures, Belanger and Margaret are excellent entries into that top 10.
January 2, 201411 yr Fantastic chart David, some brilliant highlights from the incredible Disclosure album, plus a very good #1. Love all the commentaries too and I can't argue with the quality in the top ten at all - Take Me Home, Mirrors, I Feed You My Love, Come Down To Us - all so good :wub:
January 9, 201411 yr Hi David! Here's what I like: 096 | One Direction - Story of My Life 095 | HAIM - Falling 093 | Mariah Carey feat. Miguel - #Beautiful 092 | Jay-Z - Tom Ford 089 | Rudimental - Right Here (feat. Foxes) 084 | MØ - Waste of Time 083 | Cassie feat. Wiz Khalifa - Paradise 082 | Bastille - Pompeii 077 | Tove Lo - Habits 075 | NONONO - Pumpin' Blood 070 | Beyoncé - Haunted 068 | Iggy Azalea - Work 066 | HAIM - Don't Save Me 057 | CHVRCHES - Science/Visions Great choice of highlight! Absolutely brilliant live too! 055 | Kanye West - Black Skinhead 050 | Tove Lo - Out of Mind 048 | Ciara - Overdose 040 | Little Mix - Move 036 | Little Mix - Salute 035 | Kanye West - New Slaves 034 | Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops 033 | John Newman - Love Me Again 030 | CHVRCHES - Gun 026 | Justin Timberlake - Let the Groove Get In 025 | Drake feat. Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home 022 | M83 feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oblivion 016 | DJ Fresh & Diplo feat. Dominique Young Unique - Earthquake 010 | Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love Great song. Really didn't think we'd hear from her again after finding out about her in BJSC. 009 | Justin Timberlake - Mirrors Yay. Always so pleased to see this in people's top 10 <3 004 | Jessie Ware - Imagine It Was Us Very good! :D
January 9, 201411 yr Really like all of your top 4, particularly 'Imagine It Was Us'. Great to see 'The Throw' high up in another chart too, also Burial, Belanger and so much Disclosure too. Like Jhené too, one of the better acts I've listened to from towards the top of your chart this year.
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