Viva 2014 in Pop Music

Music for me in 2014 was bookended by two fierce women in music, whose prowess (rather easily) convinced me to purchase their entire albums––frankly because it was the only way to listen to them. And I know I’m not alone in that. Kudos Queen Bey and TSwift. Your albums were entertaining and immediately a pop culture topic.

What filled the bookends of my music exploration in 2014 includes some of the top pop hits of the year that you simply could not avoid and plenty of other songs perfect for dancing, singing and nostalgia.

How I Listened to and Discovered Music

Though Beyonce and 1989 were the only full albums I purchased in 2014, I spend an overwhelming amount of my time with streaming music in the background. To capture a snapshot in time, my iPhone has six different music apps (Songza, Shazam, Rdio, Spotify, Pandora and iTunes) most of which have some daily rotation. Each of these services brought a ton of joy and new music into my life, making for a great year.

Before jumping into the thick of what I spent my time listening to, here’s a small segue about why I need six different music apps and how they helped make music a daily enjoyment for 2014.

• Songza – This app easily became my most reliable music curator with their humorous and creative playlist creations. No wonder Google acquired them. My top stations of the year: Songs from Apple Commercials, Sunshine Indie Pop and Handclapping and Footstomping. To keep up my pop music street cred, The Ultimate 100 is a must listen. This curated list is set from data on Google Play, YouTube, VEVO, radio airplay, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. And if you favorite a song, you can readily find it later in their app should you want to buy it.
• Shazam – If you haven’t used this app in a while, it’s worth a revisit. For me it’s a great music notepad to tag songs you hear in the wild (noting time and location) but now also syncs to your music libraries and other apps to find that music as well as that artist/band’s touring schedule. Even more fun is the Explore tab to see what’s hot by location. I’d also recommend this interesting Atlantic Magazine read on “The Shazam Effect” and how the music industry is using it to test new artists.
• Rdio – The friendly interface makes this app an enjoyable experience to see what new music came out recently, listen to full albums and, perhaps most importantly, to sync music to my phone for airplane mode.
• Spotify and Pandora – These apps are used less frequently but are reliable music libraries for more cruise control powered listening.
• iTunes – A must have app for your downloaded music but the addition of iTunes Radio has made this app an increasing addition to my rotation. Fun for discovery of new music and curated lists by top artists.

2014 Music Songs on Repeat

Early 2014

Getting to the good stuff, my year started off with a few 2013 releases often on repeat. Admittedly I was one of the 1.3 million who bought Beyonce’s self-titled album. At the time I had to delete a boat load of photos on my phone to make room. In spite of the controversial intro to the song, “XO” gained the most repeat listens and continues to entertain. The video at Coney Island is also pretty fun to watch. Two other 2013 songs that I couldn’t let go of nor stop dancing to were Generationals’ “Put a Light On” and Foals’ “My Number”. And hearing the Generationals play my favorite tune in October at U Street Music Hall was equally enjoyable.

Spring 2014

As spring came around I first heard the new releases from Aloe Blacc and Ingrid Michaelson. Uplifting and easy to sing along with, they were quick favorites and on frequent rotation. In light of recent news stories, the video for Blacc’s “The Man” is even more interesting. Several danceable songs on Michaelson’s album gave me a nice excuse to relisten to some of her old hits.

Summer 2014

The summer song season seemed to have kicked off with the launch of two pop-rap songs that you couldn’t avoid: Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” and Lil’ Jon’s “Turn Down for What“. Love it or hate it, they were on repeat and catchy. [Pro-tip: If you ever need that #TD4W boost in your day, just bookmark this.]

For those who attended #CampThirty, our summer really kicked off at Memorial Day with this throwback hit from Paula Cole inspired by the serene Chesapeake Bay.

All summer, British pop music invasion took over my rotation. The ballads of Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran. Thanks to curated lists a bit of Jungle and––if I’m being honest––One Direction.

Late 2014

As the leaves turned in fall, I too turned a leaf and openly welcomed Taylor Swift to my music collection for the first time. Her catchy “Shake It Off” is undeniably fun. The entire 1989 album warmed my pop music loving heart with “Blank Space“, “Style“, and “I Know Places” as my favorite sing-along songs. Beyond that, the entire launch of her album seemed to captivate superfans and longtime haters alike. Refreshing and ingenious. Looking forward to what you have next, Taylor.

Bonus tracks

While the world (of toddlers, tweens and families) was swept by Frozen and its hit “Let It Go” which has 394 million views as of publication, don’t miss out on “The Lego Movie.” Light-hearted and entertaining probably more for adults than kids. And you’ll walk out singing the hilarious “Everything is Awesome” by Tegan and Sara with The Lonely Island.

Lastly, thanks to a fun performance on SNL, I easily welcomed the Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson funky jam to round out the year. Great for a good dance party.

Playlists

You can listen to all these tracks on Spotify or Rdio.

And here is the full YouTube video playlist.