Tag Archives: 31 days of good 2014

2014, 31 days of good, best of 2014, music

(31) Days of Good//12.4.14

December 4, 2014 Concrete Opinions 1 Comment

Merril Garbus, aka Tune-Yards, is one of the most talented, creative, and unusual musicians making music these days. “Water Fountain” perfectly displays said characteristics…and then some.

♩ tUnE-yArDs – Water Fountain [from Nikki Nack]

[tune-yards.com]

I love this song, but it really makes me miss Rilo Kiley (don’t get me wrong though, I love Jenny Lewis’ solo offerings).

♩ Jenny Lewis – Love U Forever [from The Voyager]

[jennylewis.com]

The intro, chorus, and keys hook me everytime; i can’t get enough.

♩ Hospitality – Last Words [from Trouble]

[hospitalitylives.com]

I love a good cover. I also love a good tribute album. This is a FANTASTIC cover. This is a FANTASTIC tribute album.

♩ Telekinesis – This Time Tomorrow (The Kinks cover) [from I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson]

[alr-music.com]

#31days2014

2014, 31 days of good, best of 2014, music

(31) Days of Good//12.3.14

December 3, 2014 Concrete Opinions 2 Comments

If this doesn’t hook you right out of the gate, there’s something wrong with you. And probably my favorite album title of the year.

♩ BRONCHO – Class Historian [from Just Hip Enough To Be Woman]

[bronchoband.com]

If T. Rex was still making music today, it would sound a lot like this.

♩ King Tuff – Beautiful Thing [from Black Moon Spell] (track begins at the 13:56 mark)

[kingtuffworld.com]

Fuzz pop, chick band…obviously i’m gonna love it.

♩ Alvvays – Archie, Marry Me [from Alvvays]

[alvvays.com]

It’s hard not to be jealous of these Chicago rockers and their immense talent. They sound like a 70s rock band, yet they graduated from high school in 2013. And if you’re gonna write a ballad about driving an ex to a suicide attempt, you might as well make it catchy. Very much in the same vain as The Misfits’ “Saturday Night”.

♩ The Orwells – Blood Bubbles [from Disgraceland]

[theorwells.com]

#31days2014

2014, 31 days of good, best of 2014, music

(31) Days of Good//12.2.14

December 2, 2014 Concrete Opinions 2 Comments

Between the infectious doo wop influences and tight horn sections, it was love at first listen with this track.

♩ Slow Club – Suffering You, Suffering Me [from Complete Surrender]

[slowclubband.com]

It was super difficult for me to select just one track from Kishi Bashi’s incredible sophomore effort Lighght, so to make things easier for me, I went with my 1 year old son’s favorite. This is his jam.

♩ Kishi Bashi – The Ballad of Mr. Steak [from Lighght]

[kishibashi.com]

And speaking of my son, Chris Staples sums up fatherhood beautifully. Not gonna lie, i’ve shed more than a few (happy) tears listening to this track.

♩ Chris Staples – Dark Side of the Moon [from American Soft]

[chrisstaplesmusic.com]

#31days2014

2014, 31 days of good, best of 2014, music

(31) Days of Good//12.1.14

December 1, 2014 Concrete Opinions 1 Comment

I can’t get enough of this inspirational and upbeat track from Portland’s Ages and Ages. Easily one of the top 10 tracks of 2014. I dare you to a) not sing-a-long with this track and b) not have a more positive outlook on life after listening.

♩ Ages and Ages – Divisionary (Do The Right Thing) [from Divisionary]

[agesandages.com]

I’m a sucker for girl group, doo-wop, so it’s no surprise this track’s been on heavy rotation since first listen. One of the best EPs of 2014.

♩ Babes – ATMO [from Babes EP]

[babesband.com]

Good old fashioned indie-pop fun. Don’t think i’ll ever get tired of this track, especially the chorus.

♩ Tennis – Never Work for Free [from Ritual in Repeat]

[tennis-music.com]

I wouldn’t consider myself a big fan of alt-J. I don’t doubt their talented and creative bunch of musicians, there sound just doesn’t really resonate with me. So with all that said, I wasn’t super excited for their sophomore effort. Honestly, I didn’t even know it was in the works, but I was pleasantly surprised with the new LP. There are a handful of good tracks on this record, but “Warm Foothills” (which features Conor Oberst, Lianne La Havas, Sivu, and Marika Hackman) is easily my favorite…even though Pitchfork shat all over it in their review, which probably has more to do with the band not being as “hip” as they were when they seemingly came out of knowhere in 2012.

♩ alt-J – Warm Foothills [from This is All Yours]

[altjband.com]

#31days2014

2014, 31 days of good, best of 2014, music

(31) Days of Good//2014

November 30, 2014 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

The holiday season is finally upon us and with it comes the 2014 edition of (31) Days of Good!

For those of you unfamiliar with (31) Days of Good, it’s an annual trip down memory lane and look back at some of the year’s best music. There really isn’t a particular order or rank for the songs, I simply pick my favorites and hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Some days will feature a handful of picks, some days might only feature one or two, and like previous years, my good friend and frequent collaborator, Brendan (35mmBeats) will be offering up his favorite tunes of the year as well. We’ll also be treated to some favorites from the one and only Slippery Duves, so “hold on to your butts”.

I’m positive some tracks will go overlooked and you won’t agree with every pick, but you’ll still get a hefty dosage of fantastic music all month long.

It all kicks off tomorrow, Dec 1st, bright and early. See you then and enjoy the ride.

p.s. tune in Dec. 8th for my favorite EPs & Dec. 15th for my favorite LPs of 2014.

#31days2014