Mix Tape of the Day: January 10, 2015 - The Best of 2014, Part 2: The Rest

These are the songs I listened to a lot over the past year.  For a song to be eligible on this mix, it must have either been published in 2014 or hit its peak on one of Billboard's Year-End genre charts in 2014.  (That means "Blank Space" will have to wait.)

1. Everything Is Awesome - Tegan and Sara ft. The Lonely Island (2014) Aren't you glad 2014 kicked things off with an awesome movie like The Lego Movie.  In the film, this song was used to keep everyone in line, but when it sounds this fun, you can appreciate totalitarianism.  (Judging from all the positivity heard in pop music last year, maybe this song was trying to warn us that we are being subliminally pacified through our mass media.)

2. The Walker - Fitz and the Tantrums (2013) And then we were forced to listen to this song for a month as we geared up for the Oscars.  Another upbeat piece, but this time, we're encouraged to break away from the confines of society.  Mixed messages much?  (And the background music for this song keeps giving me déjà vu for some reason.  Have we heard it before somewhere?)

3. Word Crimes - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2014) Speaking of mandatory fun, that was the theme of Weird Al's latest album.  While I don't feel it was his strongest offering, I did love this grammar stickler song.  Not only was it clever and funny, but it also allowed us to appreciate the melody of "Blurred Lines" without ever having to listen to that song again.

4. I'm Only Joking - Kongos (2011) With this song and "Come with Me Now," I'm happy that Kongos was finally discovered (were finally discovered?).  Finally, someone has captured the hardcore intensity of joking with someone.

5. Dangerous - Big Data ft. Joywave (2013) This is one of those songs that I enjoy just because of how it sounds.  It reminds me of an instrumental piece that I'll share later this year, but it's something about that unnerving beat that makes you feel like you're living inside a video game that draws me to this song.

6. Girls Chase Boys - Ingrid Michaelson (2014) I just like that popular music is continuing to break down gender barriers.  Also, it was always welcome to listen to after whatever my latest relationship drama was.

7. Stolen Dance - Milky Chance (2013) This! It kept reminding me of the Flight of the Conchords theme song every time it came on, which drew me in.  Then it hit me with it's lyrics.  Big dances are the best and worst thing in life.  So when the next big dance of my life was coming up, I listened to this song to calm my nerves.  We don't need to talk about it.

8. The Troubles - U2 (2014) Remember how U2 just gave everyone a free new album?  It just showed up one day like a present from Santa (or it appeared like a cold sore if you aren't a fan of U2).  I was in the former category.  However, this was the only song I found myself coming back to with any regularity.  It just sounded so different from their usual sound and I appreciated the experiment.

9. Take Me to Church - Hozier (2013) As with "Girls Chase Boys," we have another popular alternative love song.  Here we focus on the conflict between rigid beliefs and natural feelings.  For all the current problems in the world, at least we still get works of art like this out to a wide audience.

10. Try - Colbie Caillat (2014) Colbie Caillat is pretty hit or miss with me.  Fortunately, she hit with this one.  Like Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" before it, we have another positive self image anthem.  It may be cliche in all the wrong ways, and the message may get muddled at times, it's the thought that counts.  And I appreciate that.

11. Push - "Lorde" (2014) Is it sad that one of the best songs of the year was just a minute and a half South Park parody?  Those creators have always been musical geniuses, and this centerpiece of the best episode of the season stuck with me.  Although the conceit is that Lorde is actually Stan's father using autotune, Sia provided her voice for this inspirational song that encourages people to be themselves and fight through the struggles of sitting in a bathroom stall.  Help me unload the car.

12. Best - Neil Cicierega (2014) While all of the Smash Mouth mashups on Mouth Sounds were fantastic, Neil Cicierega really showed is mashup skills on Mouth Silence. I was so impressed that he could use music (and music only) in a comedic fashion.  Every song was great, but this one was "Best."

13. On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons (2012) I kind of had to fudge my rules a bit to get this on the 2014 mix.  Yes, it charted in 2013, but it was so omnipresent last year.  And it was a perfect way to cap the Year of Positivity when, especially that one day towards the end of the year when I was literally on top of the world.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 9, 2015 - The Best of 2014, Part 1: Billboard Hot 100 Edition

Okay, so I wanted to start doing some year specific mixes, and I figured while we are still in the New Year's haze, 2014 would be a great place to start.  Today, I'm picking my 13 favorites from the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart (as it's a helpful guide to see what was popular in each year, to capture that year's "sound").  Any favorite songs that didn't chart will appear on tomorrow's Best of 2014 list. (Also, if a song appeared on a previous year's chart, I'll consider it for that year.)

1. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift (2014) Of course, we're starting with "Shake It Off."  2014's theme seemed to be self-empowerment.  As we shook off the liars and the haters and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world, we found ourselves surrounded by optimism and joy at every turn.  Thank you, Taylor Swift, for everything.

2. Happy - Pharrell Williams (2013) You could tell that 2014 was going to be the year of positivity when it's first hit song was called "Happy."  I almost didn't include this song since it's been overplayed.  But then I remembered how happy I was when I first saw that 24-hour music video, and I knew it belonged.

3. Let It Go - Adele Dazeem (2013) Shake it off.  Be happy.  Let it go.  This playlist speaks for itself.  (And no, I never got sick of this song because...well, I hadn't seen the movie yet, so it just seemed like a recurring taste of something grand.)  And hey! When was the last time a Disney song was all the rage on the radio?!

4. Turn Down for What - DJ Snake and Lil Jon (2013) And once you let it go, you just get silly.  It may be the stupidest song that came out last year, but sometimes we need that stupid.

5. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor (2014) So, I was stuck at 12 songs for a long time.  Nothing was really leaping at me for being absolutely necessary.  And then I remembered that despite all its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed "All About That Bass" the first time I heard it.  It was (mostly) positive and progressive and it reminded me of my favorite musical Hairspray.  All songs should aspire to do that.

6. Come with Me Now - Kongos (2011) It's always great when songs are suddenly pulled out of years of obscurity and shared with the masses.  This was one of the few alternative favorites of mine that managed to chart on the Hot 100.

7. Team - Lorde (2013) This isn't my favorite Lorde track of 2014 (come back tomorrow for that one) but it's refreshing to have someone like Lorde as a pop star.  Hearing her voice and words on the radio always makes me feel content.  Something about her perspective of the world just makes sense.

8. Cool Kids - Echosmith (2013) Okay, we're getting into less positive territory now.  But hey, being a teenager isn't always the most positive experience.  What I like about this song is that everyone can relate to feeling this feeling at some point in their lives, so there is the implied message that it all gets better once we realize that being "cool" is all relative.

9. Pompeii - Bastille (2013) Even if you're two poor citizens of a doomed city, at least you can have a great theme to score the surrounding destruction.  Yes, this one has a more pessimistic vibe, but it also delights in irony and sarcasm, so if that isn't positivity in the face of adversity, I don't know what is.

10. Story of My Life - One Direction (2013) We shall finish off this mix by dealing with heartbreak because all years have heartbreak.  Got to have some bad times in order to stay positive.  One Direction takes a mature, refined look at an ending relationship, resulting in me putting One Direction on my Best of 2014 mix.

11. Say Something - A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera (2013) For a more pained take on a crumbling relationship, A Great Big World presents this masterpiece.  I originally opted to put just their solo version of it on the mix, but I realized that it needs Aguilera's voice to make it that much more powerful.  Both versions are great, but this duet makes the heartache more brutal and universal.

12. Chandelier - Sia (2014) And once again, when you feel so much pain from what the world has dealt you, you just have to break free and let loose.

13. Love Runs Out - One Republic (2013) We've had our heartbreak.  We've run around and shouted and let it go!  And now, we start anew.  New life, new loves, and then we'll do it all over again.  Apparently, this song was held back from being a single because it had no chorus/verse structure.  Instead it just built in intensity repeatedly, over and over again.  Um, that's how you make the best song of 2014!