This is a follow up to my previous look at the Spotify Top 100 songs for 2014. First post with 1-10 here.
Am I Wrong - Nico and Vinz: I love this song. This was a purchase this year for me. I think the tone, message, and execution are spot on from start to finish. I am a huge fan of the horns. The video is nicely done as well.
Chandelier - Sia: Its nice but I just can't care about this type of song anymore. The Rhianna influence is great, and the vocals are good, but I just don't need another edgy female power ballad right now.
Fancy - Iggy Azelea ft. Charlie XCX: The only people who like this song more than the college girls pretending to be hood at the bar are Iggy and Charlie. This is one of those rare instances of a song that does everything it needed to, but did all of it so well no one even noticed what it was doing. First, this makes Iggy a household name. Its a great introduction to her for the mainstream. We hear some nice rap chops that use the lingo and the cadence, but none of the aggressive lyrics. Charlie also enjoys widespread exposure, but doesn't commit herself to anything. Her name is in lights but she isn't the light. Most impressively, she avoids being the "just a female voice" like Keri Hilton on some songs. The beat is catchy, the lyrics have a certain level of self-promotional defiance to them. Even the video hits on every level. If I were a female rapper from Australia that wanted to capitalize on the world's largest consumer market, this would be how I would go about it.
Stay with Me - Sam Smith: Possibly my least favorite song this year. It isn't soulful, its just whiny and grating. Please make it stop.
Demons - Imagine Dragons: Oh, you mean this year's Coldplay song? Its fine, if you like Coldplay.
A Sky Full of Stars - Coldplay: Yep, its Coldplay. I think its high time they figure out something else. Coldplay actually reminds me a lot of U2, except that I think Coldplay needs to innovate further before they go full on Apple sell out.
I See Fire - Ed Sheeren: This is the first one on this list that I don't have a lot of experience with. Its nice. Quiet, soft, sensitive, but it isn't overdone like Stay with Me. It channels a little bit of James Taylor at times, and actually a lot of Vertical Horizon. This is well handled.
Pompeii - Bastille: If I have to listen to top 40 pop, it might as well be this. Its a nice song, the complicated construction is well hidden behind a solid vocal track and easy listening sounds, but there is some real depth here.
Bad (ft. Vassy) - David Guetta: I actually like David Guetta and some of his mainstream big room stuff, but this isn't one of them.
Magic - Coldplay: Its cool, a little slower and more meaningful. Still, its just too "eh"
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