TOP 100 TRACKS OF 2014: Pt. II #90-81

90. Shy Glizzy – “Funeral”

There are several ways to describe this song, all of which are contradictory. Some that come to mind are morbidly glorious, somberly celebratory, whimsically sincere, and poignantly grandiose. However, strange as that may seem, attempting to describe this track by combining apparent opposites is completely fitting. It’s a new take on the age-old rhetorical devices of religion, and this after all is street gospel. The simple but pounding keys and the echoing choir vocals transport the listener to the warm and airy interior of the cathedral, and Shy Glizzy is at the pulpit baring his soul. Backed by the Holy Spirit, aka the subdued bass, snapping snares and clicking high hats, the Washington DC native proceeds to unleash his nasally braggadocio on the masses. It’s a message that would be greeted with a slight smirk, if not for the disturbing reality behind its central theme. A reality that was made all the more obvious this past year with the events that took place in Ferguson, New York, Cleveland and elsewhere across the United States. Like so many before him, Glizzy fetishizes his death, but instead of drowning in despondence, it functions more as a defining moment of swelling catharsis.

89. Kryone – “Sinais de Gangues”

This song is like a futuristic version of The Little Mermaid’s “Kiss the Girl”, with all the glitched samples, besides the synths, seemingly stemming from living organisms. The sampled lyrics even have that Sebastian flair to their delivery. Only instead of compelling you to kiss a soulless, recently turned human mute, they’re urging you to get up and cut the rug (I actually don’t know what’s being said, but that’s what my body tells me they’re saying).

Even though Kryone hails from Mexico, the Baile Funk influences within this jam are undeniable. It’s a burst of sunny vitality, which effortlessly compels your hips to start gyrating in that way only Central and South America can conjure up. Don’t even try fighting the allure, because if Shakira taught me anything it’s that the hips don’t lie. So don’t make Shakira or your hips liars, and go ahead and turn your immediate surroundings into a dance party.

88. iLOVEMAKONNEN – “Club Goin up on a Tuesday [Prod. By Metro Boomin & Sonny Digital]”

This song was basically the theme song of 2014, and I aint even mad about it. There’s something refreshing about a relatively unknown act bursting forward onto the scene out of seemingly nowhere. Especially when that unknown act isn’t an overt asshole. This song has a certain innocence to it. The relatively soft and subtle production of Metro Boomin and Sonny Digital doesn’t force anything. It just coasts along, riding the rippling waves of subdued chillness. It practices restraint, proving that believe it or not, you don’t need a “drop” that gratuitously bludgeons the ears with whatever the latest trends in EDM are in order to make a hit.

Then of course there’s iLOVEMAKONNEN. He sounds like a pudgy little kid that you just want to hug and squeeze the cheeks of, or a normal dude that you just want to hang out with. This shit is real and raw, because he’s not trying to be anything he’s not, and that’s what makes it so endearing. You can see him writing this song in his bedroom, imperfections and all, maybe a slight smirk forming across his face as he pens the hook and realizes how ridiculously simple, yet catchy it is. I mean, who else could make the word “choosy” a central line of a hit song? It’s awesome. Cherish this folks, cause it will inevitably never happen again (I mean Drake already got his hands on a remix of this song and ruined it). Big names don’t make jams like this. As soon as you get fame and the big name label all of the fun gets sucked out of it. You get forced into a mold and the organic spontaneity and ingenuity that got you there gets forcefully flung into the outer reaches of the mental cosmos, never to be found again.

87. Shlohmo & Jeremih – “Let It Go”

Believe it or not, there was a song released this year called “Let It Go” that was better than the one sung by Elsa. Shocking, I know. I wish I was friends with a bunch of little kids (I mean that in the most non-creepy way possible), so I could get all excited and be like “YOU GUYS WANT TO LISTEN TO ‘LET IT GO’?!?!” then when they all respond in an intertwining chorus of “YEEEAAAAS!!!!” I could play this song and watch the confusion slowly spread across their faces, inevitably followed by annoyance and indignation. Meanwhile I’d just be in the corner maniacally laughing at my joke.

Anyway, that’s enough of my semi-creepy sounding fantasies. This is another perfect example of beauty meshing with grit. It’s also a perfect example of the amalgamation of genres that has been taking place over the last couple of years. The preconceived notions of 90’s R&B are now dead. R&B no longer has to be immaculate. R&B can be chipped and smudged. The vocals can be tinted in lo-fi and drowned in reverb, and the production can be fogged and sludgy. Shlohmo first made it on my “Top 100 Tracks of 2012” list back when he was just beginning to make his way onto the scene, and since then he’s only gotten better while perfecting his sound. The combination of his distorted lo-fi goodness with Jeremih’s intermittently gentle and piercing falsetto is a match made in heaven. Jeremih’s voice functions as an antithesis of sorts, beautifully caressing and cutting through Shlohmo’s low-end muck and mire. It’s a wonderful thing to witness, and a trend I hope to see continued in upcoming years.

86. Springtime Carnivore – “Sun Went Black”

Glo-fi is not dead. Lets all take a moment to thank the gods for that. Alright, everybody done? Good. There’s something incredibly magical that takes place when the beautiful voice of a fair maiden intertwines with the skuzzy fuzz of lo-fidelity. They compliment each other perfectly. It’s like yin and yang, two opposites coexisting to create a bigger beauty, a beauty in the midst of imperfection, which in the end only enhances each singular aspect of said beauty. Its raw and real like life, not overly produced and polished like the digital world. It reminds you that beauty doesn’t have to be perfect. Its an inherent feeling deep down inside that the world you live, feel and interact with is real, not the two-dimensional one you stare at, or the lifelessly rigid and crisp one dominating the Pop charts. Springtime Carnivore excels at capturing and delivering organized rawness. It’s not abrasive, just natural. You can sense the honest warmth of Greta Morgan’s voice as it soars over the reverb and fuzz beneath it. It’s a gem of a love song covered in a thin layer of dirt, just like love is in real life.

85. Weaves – “Hulahoop”

My love for chick-fronted Glo-fi is not limited to organized rawness, but extends to overt rawness as well. Weaves has a rawness that splashes and periodically floods the ship that is Jasmyn Burke’s vocals as it floats along through a sea of warm fuzz. Navigating amidst gusts of musical whimsy that momentarily steer it off course, and teeming currents of distortion and feedback that caress and barrage it back and forth until the listener no longer knows which way is up or down. Doubling vocals threaten to tear the ship apart as they soar every which way, but the methodical rowing of the percussion and bass carry it along through each contortion, past numerous brief eddies of swirling guitars, before finally arriving at the safe harbour that is the song’s end. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable journey, and sunny chaotic warmth at its finest.

84. Mirror Kisses – “Did I Flounder?”

I know a lot of you were wondering, so I’ll just go ahead and assuage any fears you might have. 2014 was unable to kill Chillwave as well. In fact, it’s still very alive and well in the hands of artists like Mirror Kisses. “Did I Flounder?” is a straight throwback to the 80’s. While this plays, you can just imagine our awkward but lovable protagonist, who has far too puffy hair and happens to be decked out in a Canadian tuxedo, finally having a moment of clarity as he realizes what’s been haunting him all 90 minutes of the plot. He did indeed flounder, and its time for him to make it right. The glitchy brittleness and glittering peals of the synths, the echoing reverb of the vocals, and the tin thuds of the percussion urge him along as he takes off running halfway across town, through restaurants, past crowds, down alleys, over rooftops and bridges, to stop the girl-next-door, the love of his high school life, as her family slowly drives through town on their way to their newly bought home three towns over. It’s inspirational and melodramatic stuff, but in the grooviest way possible.

83. Spooky Black x Bobby Raps x Psymun – “Blind”

This collaboration is like somber Cloud Rap. The looming clouds are thick and ominous, and full of dreary shades of gray and black as they engulf and blanket your mental landscape obscuring any sense of clarity. Psymun’s ethereal production orchestrates it all, full of weightless melancholy that leaves the listener feeling as if you’re floating and can’t quite gather your bearings. Even in the brief moments where you do manage to gather sacred lucidity, all you can see and feel is the anxiety of reality’s stranglehold slowly constricting in around you. Within this surreal soundscape you’re suddenly coated in the skin-tingling warmth of Spooky Black’s voice as it enters like some sort of omniscient being, coaxing and serenading you from a distance, revealing your deepest fears and regrets. When the delusion becomes overwhelming and you feel yourself on the cusp of depression the ego finally comes to life as Bobby Raps begins his somber and subdued verse. Your innermost thoughts are on display as you grasp for self-confidence, trying to provide stability amidst a world that’s slowly spinning out of control, but the mysterious conclusion is an ever-elusive goal.

82. Galimatias & Joppe – “One Step Back (Feat. GoldLink)”

GoldLink blew up this past year, or at least he did locally in LA (I’m not too sure about elsewhere, but then again, do they even really matter? I jest). Regardless, the dude has skills. I must admit though, I actually wasn’t a huge fan of his The God Complex album. I thought it dabbled a little too much in everything at the expense of ever feeling fully cohesive. In cliché terms, it spread itself too thin by having its hands in too many pots. It did some cool stuff production wise, but ultimately it was all over the place, which in turn led to his delivery getting stretched and spastic at times. It was innovative and a lot of people rightfully loved it, it just wasn’t for me.

However, this jam is a whole different story. I feel like GoldLink has finally found his ideal aesthetic. The driving but subdued production by Danish duo, Galimatias & Joppe, provides the perfect soundscape in which GoldLink’s lyricism and delivery shines anew. His deliberate and incisive flow somehow finds a way to both float over and slice through the chilled undercurrents, ultimately propelling it all forward until it’s perfectly punctuated by the soulful glitchiness of the hook. It’s a brilliant example of what the modern marriage between the latest Electronic and Hip-Hop trends can sound like when done right.

81. Anand Wilder & Maxwell Kardon – “Wedding Day”

For those of you who don’t know (adjusts thick rimmed glasses), Anand Wilder is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist behind Yeasayer, a well-known band within the Indie-sphere that has spanned multiple genres throughout their various whimsical and eccentric releases. As with most eccentric individuals, he likes to experiment, and for the past decade he’s been working with pianist Maxwell Kardon to create a full-fledged musical that focuses around a doomed interracial romance. The musical gains inspiration from an old folk song that was taught within Quaker schools back in the 50’s, and is set within a remote coal-mining town in Pennsylvania.

Now I know what you’re thinking. It simultaneously sounds like one of the most awesome and pretentious album concepts to emerge in recent years, and I’m here to tell you that that is exactly what it is. If anybody knows me, they know I’m a sucker for concept albums. Music that can tell a cohesive story that meets the listener halfway, meshing imagination with narration, is beautiful thing. “Wedding Day” is the second song of an 11-track story, and focuses on the wedding of the aforementioned romance. It’s a jam that starts out calm, with sparse acoustic strumming functioning as the sole vehicle for the bulk of the lyrical delivery. Until of course, halfway through it suddenly bursts to life, exploding with diversity. It’s the perfect balance between cohesive story telling and addictive catchiness, which is quite the feat, and if my own experience is any indication, I guarantee the second half of this song will be swimming around in your head for days. So if this track piques your interest, I definitely recommend you check the rest of Break Line The Musical out.