The Top 40 Songs of 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFSGe-l18Yo
Todd Terje (feat. Bryan Ferry) – “Johnny and Mary”
Glam rock had a sneaky good year. Norwegian producer Todd Terje gave Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry, one of the very best frontmen of the 70s (or any era), his greatest moment of relevance since Bill Murray won Tokyo karaoke. Singing a relatively obscure Robert Palmer song over elegantly rising synth and piano keys, Ferry sounds about a million years old, which only adds to the romance. The song is a Grecian ruin softly glowing from strung strands of all-white Christmas lights.
Ty Segall – “The Singer”
Ty Segall is freakishly able to emulate the tics of any vinyl bin sub-genre, to the point that discerning his own personality has sometimes been difficult. “The Singer” finds him holding a full-body seance for the still-sexy spirit of T. Rex’s Marc Bolan. A medium in contact with the ghosts of the rock and roll underworld is actually a pretty appealing persona. Something this exact shouldn’t feel this uncalculated.
Perfume Genius – “Queen”
The most vital glam of the year came from Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas. Putting queerness forward in a way that even peak-scandal Bowie’s songs were too shy for, the angry, preening “Queen” scoffs at the idea that anyone should give a shit if their identity makes anyone else uncomfortable.