2014 in Review: Music

I bought 136 new songs this year (a bit less than last year) including two albums, Unrepentant Geraldines/Tori Amos and The Brink/The Jezebels. 

2014 songs on heavy rotation (indicates top 5)

Every Other Freckle - Alt-J

Palace - The Antlers

Beggin for Thread - Banks

*Rollercoaster - Bleachers

Ashes & Embers - The Casket Girls

My Favourite Faded Fantasy - Damien Rice
Meowy Kitty - David Fey

*Beneath the Brine - The Family Crest

Tonight - Glass Towers

Yours to Shake - Greylag

Hymnals - Grizfolk

Afterlife - Ingrid Michaelson

*The Brink - The Jezebels

Past Life - Lost in the Trees

Night Like This - LP

No Rest for the Wicked - Lykke Li

The Writing's on the Wall - OK Go

Nothing But Trouble - Phantogram

Let it Go - Saint Savior

Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Forest of Glass - Tori Amos

*Weatherman - Tori Amos

Love Stained - TV on the Radio

Love is to Die - Warpaint
*Heavenly Creatures - Wolf Alice


Favorite finds from previous years (indicates top 5)

Loud Like Love - Placebo (2013)

Blush - Wolf Alice (2013)

*Something Good - Alt-J (2012)

Landfill - Daughter (2012)

How to Be a Heartbreaker - Marina and the Diamonds (2012)

Angels - The xx (2012)

Wonderland - Natalia Kills (2011)

Close Watch - Agnes Obel (2010)

Dancing Under Influence - Bedroom Eyes (2010)

*Pick Up The Phone - Dragonette (2009)

Hotblack - Oceanship (2009)

Sweet and Low - Augustana (2008)

Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River (2008)
*Oboes Bleat and Triangles Tink - Say Hi (2008)
Back and Forth - Maps (2007)

*Slow Show - The National (2007)

*Set Fire to the Third Bar - Snow Patrol (2006)

Life Less Ordinary - Carbon Leaf (2004)

Consequence - The Notwist (2002)

Don't Go Away - Toad the Wet Sprocket (1989)

Thanks to my main sources for new music this year: iTunes, NPR, Spotify, Justin Chanda, David Fey, & Christina Franke.

Live Music in 2014

+ Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Frankfurt, Germany - January (My BIL bought us tickets to see the former lead singer of Pavement with his new band. Fun!)

+ The Jezebels - Frankfurt, Germany - March (Highlight: A Little Piece!! They are awesome live and I loved the whole concert)

+ Tori Amos - Frankfurt, Germany - May (Highlight: This was my first time hearing Weatherman. Mellow show, but had a blast with my SIL)

+ Tori Amos - Berlin, Germany - May (Highlight: Sugar and Northern Lad and Purple People all in the same set? Yes, Please!)

+ Tori Amos - Vienna, Austria - June (Highlight: Nice to get Josephine again. Also! Got to chat with Tori before the show and had a seat in the second row)

+ Tori Amos - Linz, Austria - June (Highlight: Tori's cover of Rise Like A Phoenix by Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst who won for Austria. What a great surprise! Also, chatted with Tori again and got a front row upgrade.)

+ Tori Amos - Stuttgart, Germany - June (Highlight: I've been requesting Beulah Land since 2007 and she finally played it for me! This show's setlist was pretty dark and my favorite of the 5. Also gave Tori a copy of Chasing Before/Chick and got a front row upgrade!)

+ We had tickets to see Ingrid Michaelson and Warpaint, and both acts had to cancel for family reasons. Shame!

Tori Amos with my books!!

Looking forward to 2015 -- we already have tickets to Alt-J with Wolf Alice (Feb 7th) and Rachael Yamagata (Feb 20th). Super excited!

Any recommendations for me?