Saturday, January 17, 2015

2014 Summa Cum Laude, TOP 10

Here we go!
10) You probably have heard this song, it's very popular right now. From Ireland, Hozier with Take Me to Church


9) One Republic, Something I Need


8) The Pretty Reckless, Why'd You Bring a Shotgun to the Party


7) Ingrid Michaelson, Over You (feat. A Great Big World)



6) Gabrielle Aplin, Salvation


And now, the top five!
5) NONONO, Pumpin Blood


4) Joseph, Cloudline


3) Nina Nesbitt, Selfies


2) Elizavita, Hero


1) UK chicks rule! 3 of my top 6. Birdy, Wings

Thursday, January 15, 2015

2014 Summa Cum Laude (11-20)

The best part about this part of the list is how much I love these songs.
20) Gabriella Cilmi, Symmetry
19)One Republic, Love Runs Out


18) Ingrid Michaelson, Home

17) No Sinner, Boo Hoo Hoo


16) It seems I love Sweden this year even more than usual. NONONO with Jungle

15) Another amazing talent from the UK, Birdy with Strange Birds


14) Vance Joy again. Best That I Can


13) Within Temptation (featuring Xzibit), And We Run


12) The Strange Familiar, Surrender


11)You had know Nina Nesbitt would show up near the top. The Hardest Part

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

2014 Summa Cum Laude 21-30

30) Polly Scattergood, Cocoon


29) Australia gives us Gossling, Heart Killer


28) Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden strike again with Let Me Go


27) Seems like LA based artists are scoring well with me this year. Here is Jess Penner with Summertime


26) Joseph is a three sister act from Portland, OR. Here is Wind


25) Christina Perri, i don't wanna break


24) Oh Honey is a duo from New York that got noticed in 2014. Be OK


23) The Rentals is an American band lead by the Bass player from Weezer (according to Wikipedia). Just try to not like this song. It's Time To Come Home


22) Ingrid Michaelson's Light's Out may well be the best album this year (it's up there). Saw her at First Avenue this year. She is so special! Here is Afterlife


21) Oh Land, No Particular Order


2014 Summa Cum Laude 31-43

The rank ordering starts:

43) Lauren Aquilina is a brilliant young singer from the UK. Here is Lovers or Liars


42) Sweden brings us Tove Lo's Habits (Stay High)


41) Australia gifts us with Gabriella Cilmi. Here is The Sting


40) My Brightest Diamond is a project of the singer Shara Worden (New York). Here is Pressure


39) Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden (Seattle but based in Nashville) put a super duper album out this year. Here is Wide Open Plain


38) Another New York act on my list, Haerts with Giving Up


37) SNL did skit about people who don't want to admit they like Taylor Swift's music. I am over it. Here is Out of the Woods


36) New Jersey's Nicole Atkins is amazing. Girl You Look Amazing


35) From Wisconsin and currently out of New York, Grace Weber gives us Till I Hurt You


34) Philadelphia gives us Christina Perri, who is 2 for 2 on albums now. Human


33) From Norway, Highasakite with Iran



32) The Pretty Reckless is a band I obviously like a lot. Here is Heaven Knows

31) Cold War Kids is a cool band from Long Beach. Here is Drive Desperate

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

2014 Magna Cum Laude IV

The Novelists, another band I don't actually know much about. This song features Megan Slankard, who is quite a talent. I'm In No Pain


I really love The Pretty Reckless. Perhaps too much, which could result in my Going to Hell


I apologize for the repeat bands at this point. But in my defense, there are a lot of artists on the big long list. Turns out, my favorites dominate near the top. Here are two from The Strange Familiar (who totally deserve to dominate).
Painkiller

Rain


Here is band from LA that is pretty cool I think. Wildcat! Wildcat! with Up & Beyond


Are there two greater pillars in Symphonic Metal than Nightwish and Within Temptation? So, what if the orignal front from Nightwish did a joint song with Within Temptation? You'd get this


In the same genre, here are two great tracks from Xandria. Sacrificium

Nightfall


From Phoenix of all places, here are two from Zola Jesus
Dangerous Days

Hunger


My last Magna, perhaps appropriately, Sick Like Me from In This Moment

2014 Magna Cum Laude III

Another one from Nicole Atkins. Worst Hangover.


A favorite from Denmark, Oh Land had a song in my top 10 last year. She put a new album out late in 2014, and I like it. Nothing is Over.


From Nashville (I think), Olivia Jean. Green Honeycreeper.


From Baraboo, WI, PHOX. Song is called Evil.


Two more from the wonderful Polly Scattergood. Miss You

I've Got A Heart


S (Jenn Ghetto), Losers


The order is alpahbetical, but this will change the mood a bit. Stream of Passion with Monster


Here are two from an obscure artist named Taylor something.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

2014 Magna Cum Laude, II

From Seattle, Jen Wood.
Fell In Love

From Las Vegas, Jenny Lewis. Head Underwater

From Australia, Jezebels. Beat to Beat


Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden (are we are not done with this band)


Again, I just adore Katie Herzig - and this video is a stitch.


Lia Ices, Higher


For whatever reasons, Canada seems underrepresented this year. Here is Lights (Up We Go).


On other hand, Scandinavia is doing very well this year. Lykke Li with Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone


MØ - XXX 88 ft. Diplo


From New York, Mister Wives. This is Twisted Tongue.
Here are two more from the very productive Nerina Pallot
Lay Down With Me

Men Are Not From Mars