Noahspike

Had happily forgotten about this thread after it took up an inordinate amount of my time over the last while but the comments haven't gone unnoticed so thanks! :D Appreciate that! Was a real struggle for some of them cos it's hard to put into words why certain songs appeal to me and I'd just blank. Had to listen to some of them like five times in a row to think of anything that made any sort of sense! And that's interesting - 'A Sky Full Of Stars' was a huge grower for me but yeah, obviously it never got near 'Magic'. Ha, I was thinking it'd be a bit underwhelming for a lot of people but I knew you'd approve at the very least! Not really familiar with the 'Parachutes' era as a whole so hadn't considered that. 'King' is superb and I have high hopes for its hit potential. That's great to hear, thanks! Yeah that's an appropriate word for it and I didn't particularly want my #1 to be a song that could be described as 'pleasant' but it just wins me over in so many other ways that I can't deny it and go with a more ~inspired~ choice! :drama: Amazed you hadn't heard 'Take Shelter' :o but not surprised that you like it! Still their best for me, despite loving 'King' more and more each day. Yeah, well I think the fact 'Still' did nothing may (hopefully) discourage the ballad strategy and I agree completely about a '5AM' style comeback. That's my favourite song of hers. I thought at the time that 'Still' was too similar to CFNR to catch on but it does sound single-worthy and flopped surprisingly hard. In a perfect world 'Aaliyah' would have returned her to the top 10 and given Jessie her first one. :heart: Cheers, loved reading yours for the same reasons! You're great with the moments, aren't you?! Yep, that 'full force' one is a stunner - nice to see you appreciate it despite not being a big fan of the song. Haha, it is indeed subtly anthemic and triumphant but I feared I'd absolutely rinsed those adjectives dry throughout so didn't mention that! I agree though - it makes for a nice conclusion I feel. Thanks again for all your thoughts!

What?! I haven't been on since this morning! Had no idea you messaged me, honestly.

Well yeah, I was. :o I was logged onto Skype this morning and during the week anyway so I didn't do a great job of playing dead. :drama:. :hi:

Have been busy this week and left my final listen a bit too late, apols. :) Anyway, really high quality and enjoyable final apart from a couple of absolute stankers. Made some nice discoveries. :music:

'Champagne Kisses' is nice but doesn't do much for me and feels a bit bland. 'Want Your Feeling' should be getting the single treatment instead IMO. Just noticed the video for 'You & I (Forever)' was never posted/discussed at all. A really lovely, well-executed concept giving you a nice glimpse of her personality, something which doesn't often come through in her videos. (Don't watch if you're feeling especially alone though :cry:) Wo2QB2kqG_w Also, Miguel makes an appearance at 3:35. :o

^ Great video. I'm thinking it may help Jake get back on board! :o I agree that this release really feels like it'll be big.

My shortlist had 32 songs and I thought I was being discerning. So much carnage. :cry: Allday - You Always Know The DJ Banks - Beggin For Thread Ben Khan - Youth Calvin Harris - Pray To God {Ft. HAIM} Eliot Sumner - Information Hopium - Dreamers {Ft. Phoebe Lou} Josef Salvat - Open Season Kwabs - Wrong Or Right Pharrell Williams - Gust of Wind Years & Years - Take Shelter That was fun though, thanks!

Well done Math! +12 Q +10 Varakë // Nicholson - For What II +08 Q +07 Q +06 Q +05 Q +04 Q +03 Q +02 Numaynia // Fritz Kalkbrenner - Back Home +01 Q Varake :/ Otherwise, pretty good going. :D A bit disappointed 'Heart' didn't make it through but 18th is respectable I guess. The song was a huge (but quick) grower for me which may have been a factor. Particularly chuffed to see Harmonica finally qualify and deservedly so. Florina's song was my backup so oops on that one!

Take all the time you need, Math!

Talent Show The X Factor Skills Challenge Show The Apprentice Comedy Miranda Chat Show Host Graham Norton (Head and shoulders and then several more shoulders above the rest.) Daytime Pointless Multichannel Celebrity Juice Entertainment Presenter Emma Willis Entertainment Programme Celebrity Big Brother/Big Brother TV Judge Lord Sugar I don't actually own a TV at the moment! :/

Interesting, you may be right on an album being a bit samey - can't say they've shown much diversity in their sound so far but I've loved everything I've heard. By the way, for anyone interested, this cover is amazing. Been playing on a loop for the last few days. :wub: g6D2aRuvCS0

Ahhhhhhh they just keep bringing it. :heart: Majorly hyped for their album. :D

Yes, don't lose hope Izseph. Big fan of 'Porcelain' right hurrrrrrr. Also, two Desbuandese entries in your top 10! :o :D

Not sure I can add anything that hasn't already been said! Everything about this is a triumph - the song, message, video, tribute, the whole 'feel' of it. They got it all completely spot on and it's the perfect nod to Simone while allowing them move on as a four-piece. The song itself is a stunner and I'd love to see it do really well for them.

The complete countdown: #01 | Coldplay | Magic #02 | Years & Years | Take Shelter #03 | Katy B | Crying For No Reason #04 | Kwabs | Wrong Or Right #05 | Jessie Ware | Tough Love #06 | Josef Salvat | Open Season #07 | Mr. Probz | Waves (Robin Schulz Remix) #08 | Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd | Love Me Harder #09 | Kwabs | Walk #10 | BANKS | Beggin For Thread #11 | Taylor Swift | Out of the Woods #12 | Ben Howard | End of the Affair #13 | TOKiMONSTA ft. Anderson Paak | Realla #14 | HAIM | If I Could Change Your Mind #15 | Ella Henderson | Ghost #16 | Cheryl | Only Human #17 | Pharrell Williams | Gust Of Wind #18 | Hozier | Sedated #19 | Tove Lo | Stay High (Hippie Sabotage Remix) #20 | The Midnight | The Years (Prologue) #21 | Lana Del Rey | West Coast #22 | Take That | These Days #23 | Justin Timberlake | Not A Bad Thing #24 | Selena Gomez | The Heart Wants What It Wants #25 | Josef Salvat | Diamonds #26 | Ed Sheeran | Don't #27 | Imagine Dragons | Demons #28 | James Bay | Hold Back The River #29 | Paolo Nutini | Iron Sky #30 | Calvin Harris ft. HAIM | Pray To God #31 | Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX | Fancy #32 | Ed Sheeran | Afire Love #33 | Years & Years | Desire #34 | Sam Smith | I'm Not The Only One #35 | Lorde | Yellow Flicker Beat #36 | Tove Lo | Not On Drugs #37 | Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne | Rather Be #38 | MAGIC! | Rude #39 | Marina and the Diamonds | Froot #40 | Lorde | Team #41 | Sia | Chandelier #42 | Hozier | From Eden #43 | One Direction | Steal My Girl #44 | Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz | Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Radio Edit) #45 | Hopium | Cut #46 | Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato | Up #47 | 5 Seconds Of Summer | She Looks So Perfect #48 | Marina and the Diamonds | Happy #49 | Rixton | Me And My Broken Heart #50 | CHVRCHES | Dead Air #51 | Ben Howard | I Forget Where We Were #52 | Hozier | Take Me To Church #53 | Fka twigs | Two Weeks #54 | Nicki Minaj | Pills N Potions #55 | Henry Saiz | All The Evil Of This World #56 | Taylor Swift | Blank Space #57 | Josh Record | Wide Awake #58 | Katy B | Stay Down #59 | Paloma Faith | Only Love Can Hurt Like This #60 | Walk The Moon | Shut Up and Dance #61 | G.R.L. | Ugly Heart #62 | Rhodes | Your Soul #63 | One Direction | Fireproof #64 | Busta Rhymes ft. Q-Tip, Kanye West and Lil Wayne | Thank You #65 | Lykke Li | Gunshot #66 | Ed Sheeran | Runaway #67 | VÉRITÉ | Strange Enough #68 | Vance Joy | Riptide #69 | Sam Smith | Like I Can #70 | Rita Ora | I Will Never Let You Down #71 | Shakira ft. Rihanna | Can’t Remember To Forget You #72 | Pearl | Not Enough #73 | The Script | Superheroes #74 | Hopium ft. Phoebe Lou | Dreamers #75 | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars | Uptown Funk #76 | M.O | Dance On My Own #77 | London Grammar | Hey Now #78 | Katy Perry | This Is How We Do #79 | will.i.am | It’s My Birthday #80 | OneRepublic | I Lived #81 | The Magician ft. Years & Years | Sunlight #82 | One Direction | Night Changes #83 | Professor Green ft. Tori Kelly | Lullaby #84 | Nothing But Thieves | Lover Please Stay #85 | Charli XCX | Boom Clap #86 | Josef Salvat | Shoot And Run #87 | Beyoncé | Partition #88 | Lana Del Rey | Ultraviolence #89 | Coldplay | A Sky Full Of Stars #90 | Luke James | Dancing In The Dark #91 | Foxes | Holding Onto Heaven #92 | JUCE | Call You Out #93 | Ella Eyre | If I Go #94 | Gorgon City | Ready For Your Love #95 | Eliot Sumner | Information #96 | Ella Henderson | Hard Work #97 | Nothing But Thieves | Graveyard Whistling #98 | Aloe Blacc | The Man #99 | Jamie T | Zombie #100 | Tinie Tempah ft. Labirinth | Lover Not A Fighter Yaaaaaaaay so glad that's finally finished - I was really running out of positive adjectives and adverbs towards the end there! I've definitely enjoyed doing this though, despite how much time it took me and I really appreciate the interest in it and all the comments throughout! Thanks! :D

:magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: :magic: #01 | Coldplay | Magic Qtb11P1FWnc UK | 10 Ire | 04 I actually surprised myself when I created my top 100 and Coldplay's 'Magic' came out victorious! I played around with ordering the top few songs, the rest of which were glaringly obvious favourites, but somehow nothing felt quite as right as having this song at #1. Unlike much of my top 20 or so, 'Magic' didn't make a great first impression on me. In fact, I recall listening to the lead single of 'Ghost Stories' due to my casual interest in the world-conquering band and initially thinking it sounded somewhat disingenuous and try-hard, like they were attempting to modernise their sound in a way that didn't feel natural (and I also thought they were taking a few too many cues from Bon Iver, which I completely fail to hear when I listen to it now :huh:). I didn't take long to start appreciating the song, however, and as it began to rack up the weeks in the UK Top 40, my fondness for it only blossomed, to the point now where it still somehow sounds fresh and immensely enjoyable to me. From the understated Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque bass intro, through its straightforward and heartfelt lyrics, the repetition in its subdued chorus and the gradual instrumental and vocal build throughout, I find it a beautifully relaxing listen. I've played the track at times when I've been stressed out for various reasons during the year (and at other times when I've been dreadfully hungover :drama:) and it has never failed to calm my anxiety and generally enhance my mental state, something which I've found is very rare for a piece of commercial music. As such, it tends to wash over me like a warm wave of stress alleviation, but when I concentrate on the song's lyrics I'm always struck by their gorgeously simple and sentimental charm, particularly the concluding lyrical change from 'Yes I do' to the touching 'Of course I do'. I've felt for a while that the track has an inherently nostalgic quality. I'm not sure exactly why but I just know that I'll play it in years to come and feel strongly connected through it to my past (and I'm even talking about my childhood here, which obviously doesn't make any sense but there you go -_-). In this way, it seems only fitting that 'Magic' should be deemed the track with the utmost noahstalgia of 2014 *.*

#02 | Years & Years | Take Shelter Z0atZQSUE80 UK | 140 Ire | - 'Take Shelter' captured my attention instantly when I first listened to it at the end of the summer, as my initial post in the song's thread attests: 'Absolutely awesome track with flawless vocals :wub:. I'll be hammering this for the forseeable future'. Misspelling of 'foreseeable' aside :wacko:, hammer the song was exactly what I did - in fact there were evenings I'd listen to this on a loop for an hour or so and feel perfectly fulfilled and contented with life :mellow:. Although an 11/10 stunner when taken as an entire package, perhaps the song's premier feature is Olly Alexander's absolutely stellar voice - one of the best, most captivating pop voices I've encountered in a long time (and I'm delighted it's likely to feature heavily in the musical landscape this year, what with the band's BBC Sound Of 2015 victory). On the whole, it's an expertly crafted mid-tempo pop song; melodically diverse, lyrically interesting and sonically experimental (particularly the reggae influences in its vocal samples and production) while being remarkably catchy from start to finish and still managing to present its breathtakingly good chorus as a clear highlight, which elevates the track to something of a spiritual listening experience :angel:. Another standout feature is its middle 8, with the sublime echoing of its breathy, anxiety-filled vocals creating a spectacular build up into the final refrain. No amount of nitpicking could possibly find fault with this track - even its video is excellent and gives the whole thing a wonderful new dimension. 'Take Shelter' is extremely close to being my favourite song of the year. There's really nothing between the top 2. :cry:

Ditto, if possible! EDIT: Missed your post, Jahq, apols.

That's a very solid top 5. :heart: 'Rude' is tragically under-appreciated on here so it's great (but not at all surprising) to see it do so well! K I've just listened to 'Ain't It Fun' out of curiosity as I couldn't remember it and it's veeeeeeeery good (and I do have a faint recollection of it). Can see it being a massive grower. :o WD on finishing this before starting school! Not all of us are as disciplined unfortunately :drama:. This thread has been a really great read throughout and thanks again for the discoveries! :D

#03 | Katy B | Crying For No Reason BOboa27SHDE UK | 05 Ire | 21 'Crying For No Reason' was the most satisfying single release of 2014 for me from a chart-following perspective, with it managing to return Katy B to the top 10 (the top 5 even :o), as I'd hoped when I first heard the track, and then outperforming my expectations in becoming a genuine commercial hit with considerable staying power. The singer, one of my favourite artists of the last few years, has never sounded more impressive on record and it was great to see her get recognition for her beautifully elegant voice, as it was something that was often overlooked based on her previous material. The sophisticated electro-ballad, which deals with the damage done by suppressed emotions, was a noticeable departure for Katy yet never felt contrived in any way, with it retaining her dance orientation and seamlessly fitting sonically and thematically onto her second album, 'Little Red'. The track is clever in giving prominence to the strikingly honest and relatable lyrics throughout, initially introducing starkly vulnerable vocals through minimal instrumentation before the second verse brings a sudden crash of pulsating production, filled with synths and electro-drums, which supports the singer's progressively impassioned emoting. I've always been a sucker for a song to which you can bop your head while having a good cry think, and the quality of this song's lyrics ('I try to hide it all away on top of the shelf/I can lie to everyone but not to myself'), theme, vocals and production merge wonderfully to create a rousing, intense, multi-dimensional listen. WD Kathleen! :cheer:

No worries! Yeah, 'Brain' is indeed a stunner but something I haven't returned to anywhere near as much as 'Beggin For Thread', for whatever reason. Haha I've become quite a hardcore stan of 'In Your Prime' as you can see so thanks again for putting me on to it! I find them so hard to compare :drama:. Love them pretty much equally but 'Wrong Or Right' has the advantage of being around longer and having such a strong first impression. I've a feeling the one you've guessed is #3 so yay for continued excite and suspense! (And :o indeed :o) 'Pray For Love' actually just missed my top 100 ooooooops. It got a mention at the start of the thread though :magic:. I love it but just don't play it much. :/ YES those bits you picked out are really great, I completely agree! It is a shame - I really hope she's doing well enough through touring etc. to keep making music.

Which reminds me... Olhzpqcf-u0 What a beaut :heart: :/

Is this actually a viable market though?! Who has exploited it almost exclusively and maintained success? I guess Joe McElderry at a push. I do get your general point though.

I think she actually had quite wide appeal at the beginning, which was obviously helped by being fresh off X Factor. Her second album only really had one, arguably poor, single and was badly promoted which would have lost her a lot of momentum, something I feel could be somewhat won back with the release of a radio-friendly/hit-chasing single now. I do appreciate that she was geared towards an older demographic as well but I can only see her further losing grasp of her younger (casual) fans with this. I don't buy into the idea that it'll bring a different generation of music to them or do well in general but we'll see - it's all about promotion.

Covering an entire album is such a bizarre move. I can't see how it was justified as a good decision at this stage of her career. Even on the off-chance that it does well, I'd imagine it'd be selling to an older demographic who may not be interested in a studio album from her and she'd be alienating a lot of younger/other fans, which she can't really afford to be doing. I would think it'll pretty much flop though which is obviously even worse. Both her albums were superb and she should be focusing her attention on another instead of this. -_-