Presenting the Best of 2014 soundtrack…it’s perhaps a hair mellower than a couple of the previous years, and has two under-the-surface themes that run the length of the playlist: FIFA and Swedish women. Yea, weird right? There is a growing amount of songs included that are directly a result of the kids, but if these are what they are listening to, then I am holding up my end of an educated childhood for them. Special recognition for being a huge new contributor to my music wonder is a new podcast called Song Exploder…make sure to check it out.
Like always, there are three rules that go into qualifying for the list: Rule #0 (because it applies every year): fit on a traditional CD and come to my library in the calendar year (even though the songs may be older than that). Rule #1 (becoming widely applied to all aspects of life): Don’t suck. Rule #2 (and most important): Be interesting. We made a bit of ground this year by having the largest selection list in a few years at about 200 songs that made it through the 12 months, but then I looked at it again and realized that was significantly boosted by the inclusion and relatively recent addition of the Frozen soundtrack. Meh.
1 – Let Go by RAC
2 – Arrows by Fences
3 – Stay Gold by First Aid Kit
4 – Worship You by Vampire Weekend
6 – I Won’t Be Long by Pan Astral
7 – Rhea by OK Ikumi
9 – Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot
10 – Divisionary by Ages and Ages
12 – We Sink by CHVRCHES
13 – I Know It’s You by Guards
15 – Brain by Banks
16 – No Rest For the Wicked by Lykke Li
17 – Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon
18 – The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service
19 – Howling Moon by Pandas & People
My Favorite: Stay Gold
The One Despite All Efforts I Couldn’t Keep Off: Shut Up and Dance
Biggest Surprise: Sundown (WTF, right? It’s almost 40 years old!)
Really Crank This One…No, Louder Than That: Let Go
Band Not Making The List For The First Time In A Few Years: Actually not applicable this year
Bands Continuing Their Run: OK Ikumi
Dammit If They Didn’t Show Up Again: Pan Astral
Last Song Dropped From The Playlist: Let Her Go, Passenger
Previous Year’s Best Of Lists:
The Life of a Little Hippie 
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