Staff......................”2014: A Musical Odyssey”

2014: A MUSICAL ODYSSEY

Written by the NoFi Staff

Hello everyone. 2014 isn’t over yet, but fall term is, so why not? We have another three issues under our belt, and hopefully you have another three issues on your bookshelf (or crumpled up under your bed next to your crusty socks). The following are blurbs from staff, readers, and whoever is on our mailing list. It documents our best musical moments of 2k14. We hope you enjoy! - NoFi staff

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) soundtrack: It came out less than a year ago, so I’m counting it. If I could ascribe wanderlust to a sound, it would be to this soundtrack. Not only do I just really enjoy this movie, but the soundtrack just makes me want to dive with great whites, skateboard down a volcano, and marry Kristen Wiig. - Bollinger

Epica’s release of their latest album The Quantum Enigma. Beautiful, orchestral, heavy. This one was my second favorite Epica release of all time and it really struck at the chords of my heart. Turned the lights off, lay down on my back, and let the music wash over me. Plus, after I sent a letter to the guitarist, he replied with a short thank you and a smiley face. Two words and an emoticon. I could have cried for joy. - Southwick

That the best album of the year was a punk album depresses me about the state of music today. But what an album. Hats off to Ought and their debut, More than Any Other Day. A few other artists treated the year with grace: Death Grips, tUnE-yArDs, FlyLo, Circulatory System, Neil Cicierega, Run the Jewels. Music is great in 2014, but fuck 2014. - Harrison

Queen of the Clouds, Tove Lo - Every stoner’s dream girl releases a sad album. It features “Habits” (my favorite song of 2014). Funny, yet sad, lyrics that just tear out your heart, it shows us a different reason for getting high. If you’re ever missing someone (and under the infuence), Tove’s got just the album for you. -Palmer

Biggest Mistake I Made: Missing King Krule at Lincoln Hall

Most Played Track of 2014: The Breeders - Do You Love Me Now?

Best Live Show: St. Vincent Pitchfork (duh)

Favorite Album of the Year: Sunbathing Animal by Parquet Courts

2014 Band that is actually worth the hype: Cherry Glazerr

Best Cover of 2014: Rocketships originally by Daniel Johnston covered by the Unicorns -Lance

When I frst listened to Fidlar’s Cheap Beer I experienced two thoughts in rapid succession:

1) Holy shit this is some good fucking punk rock 2) Jesus Christ these guys have been around since 2012 I am seriously fucking up.

I drink cheap beer. So what? Fuck you. -Watson

Mouth Silence really is the best thing I’ve heard this year. It’s a cultural statement, it’s a technical masterpiece, and it’s fucking hilarious. Seriously, check that out. My biggest disappointment was the new Yung Lean album. Listen to Kyoto 15 times in a row instead. -Hayward

My Top 25 most played albums: Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene (511 plays) Real Estate – Days (340 plays) Deerhunter – Monomania (305 plays) Broken Social Scene – Feel Good Lost (238 plays) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record (225 plays) Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan (214 plays) My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (190 plays) Alex G – DSU (184 plays) S – Sadstyle (168 plays) Ducktails – Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics (157 plays) Pity Sex – Feast of Love (152 plays) Kurt Vile – Walkin’ on a Pretty Daze (151 plays) Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas (140 plays) Four Tet – Pause (139 plays) Ducktails – The Flower Lane (138 plays) Talking Heads – Remain in Light (134 plays) Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffti – Before Today (128 plays) The Besnard Lakes – Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO (126 plays) Ex Hex – Rips (104 plays) Deerhunter – Microcastle (103 plays) Rodriguez – Cold Fact (100 plays) Deerhunter – Halycon Digest (98 plays) Grizzly Bear – Yellow House (96 plays) Sky Ferreia – Night Time, My Time (96 plays) Ducktails – Ducktails (90 plays) -Tippett

A BRIEF LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF FRANKIE TEARDROP: thank you. thank you guys for getting me when i needed someone to “get me.” thank you for “100%” and “raiders” and for those pump up sessions around a six-pack to start off the night. thank you for “no more drugs” (to blast me through the tough shit we had to go through) and for “it takes time” (for every reason). thank you for making spring concert 2014 magical and for the cave show you played when I needed it most. thanks for being my friends (gunnar and jack) and for being my fucking down-toearth real-life idol (jordan). you guys have gone through so much shit and you deserved the love you got this year. thank you for 2014. let’s make 2015 fucking great as well.

love, David DeMark #KILLALLSADBOYS These are a few of my favorite 2014 music moments,

in no specifc order:

The premiere Adult Swim’s delightfully disturbing “Too Many Cooks” Release of Bob Dylan and The Band’s bootleg recordings of The Basement Tapes Running into Frankie Teardrop at Kwik Trip at 3:00AM Mark Mothersbaugh’s art book, Myopia, was unveiled to the world This was my year of garage rock bliss Getting to offer a broken cigarette to the Стена Цоя (Viktor Tsoi Wall) in Moscow. -Calderon

My 14 Most Played Songs of 2014: 14. Sam Smith - “Money On My Mind” 13. Grimes - “Go” 12. Baths - “Ocean Death” 11. Schoolboy Q - “Break the Bank” 10. Chromeo - “Jealous (I Ain’t With It)” 9. Cloud Nothings - “Now Hear In” 8. Shabazz Palaces - “Forerunner Foray” 7. St. Vincent - “Regret” 6. Isaiah Rashad - “R.I.P. Kevin Miller” 5. Ella Eyre - “Deeper” 4. Tinashe - “2 On” 3. Hundred Waters - “Out Alee” 2. Childish Gambino - “The Worst Guys” 1. Flying Lotus - “Never Catch Me” -Wedin

Best “album I listened to once a few years ago, dismissed initially, revisited in 2014 and fell in love with” of 2014: Andrew Jackson Jihad - People That can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World Best “album I used to listen to a whole bunch in middle school but eventually stopped until I forgot about it but then I found it again and remembered why I loved it so much” of 2014: Death Cab for Cutie - The Photo Album

Best “new album by musicians from Carson City, NV” of 2014: Roo - Certainty / Uncertainty Best “album most directly responsible for my continued existence” of 2014: The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

Best Albums of 2014 (quasi-expert opinions): 1. St. Vincent, St. Vincent 2. FKA Twigs, LP1 3. Conor Oberst, Upside Down Mountain 4. Angel Olsen, Burn Your Fire for No Witness 5. Wye Oak, Shriek Bonus Album: The Wytches, Annabel Dream Reader Song of the Year: St. Vincent, “Bring Me Your Loves“ -Naron

Greatest musical discovery of the century, let alone 20,014: Yip Deciever - Double Future b/w an actual studio recording of “Just the Tip” by Kishi Bashi

Best “favorite new album of 2013” of 2014: The Uncluded - Hokey Fright Summer soundtrack 2014: Beck - Midnite Vultures David Byrne & St. Vincent - Love This Giant Happy End - Kazemachi Roman Kick Majestic - Deepest Reaches / Alpine Trenches Laura Stevenson and the Cans - Sit Resist -Otsuka

Best Live Show: St. Vincent Wild grey hair + an imposing pink pedestal + rigid-robot-like motions =a show that captivated audiences and left them wondering what world St.Vincent would create next.

Best New Artist: BANKS Clean r&b vocals obscured and enforced with electronic vibes and a mysterious persona.

Best Album: LP1, FKA Twigs I frst listened to her a year ago when I heard that she was opening for James Blake. LP1 encompasses her defning features and aspirations. Simultaneously clean and sensual.

Best Breakout: Future Islands Seriously these guys have been around forever, but their 2014 singles propelled them to new heights. At Boston Calling, Sam Herring (their frontman) ripped his pants because he dances even harder than the crowd. -Adamczyk

Greatest Musical Moment: Interpol playing “PDA” immediately after “Untitled” at their First Ave. show.

Late-To-The-Party Obsession: Pink Floyd’s 20-something albums. “Dogs” has become one of my favorite songs of all time.

Made-My-Dad-Proud Award: Drove from Cleveland to Chicago for the sole purpose of seeing Slowdive’s frst show in America in more than two decades.

Best Show Vibe of the Year: The ecstatic bliss that was Hudson Mohawke’s Blue Stage set at Pitchfork 2014. -Mercer

HER MOUTH IS LIKE A REVELATOR.

Best \m/ of 2014 I like my coffee like I like my metal: black. Hail Santa.

Best Thing (actually) of 2014 The head of the (holy) vacant trinity. There was no (holy) vacancy in quality albums this year. And I felt like dyin’ love, but it doesn’t change a thing... I always mean less to you, than what you mean to me. Trophy Scars – HOLY VACANTS. Check it out. Bluescore forever. -Rossi

Best Album: Like, there weren’t any but I guess either Say Yes to Love or Annie Clark’s S/T

Best EP: This is where I get super pretentious in that it isn’t “famous” bands “per se,” but locally speaking and for the sake of the sentiment, Raiders by Frankie Teardrop. Objectively speaking, Yuck by my close friend Sean Dalton was the only thing I actually listened to this summer, and I guess I helped produce it, so no bias but you all would actually like it because it has that “iNdIe vIBE” and “trubred all-toob toan.”

Best Vinyl Purchase: My First-Edition UK pressing of Psychocandy. A notable runner-up is my copy of Say Yes to Love. So, you know how Meredith Graves did that thing where she put her blood into 100 copies of transparent vinyl, well there were 40 fuck-ups (“Imperfect Edition”) that had this gray marbling effect on them so, to cut this short, I own #1 of 40 and her fucking blood is in it. Also, she approves of the usage of the word “cunt” along with being an extreme feminist so like that “viebz” with me.

Coolest Person: See above, or Sadie Dupuis because holy shit.

Best Concert Moment: When Frankie Teardrop dedicated my favorite song of all time to me or when The Karate Squids dedicated my second favorite song to me and stopped it from being a reminder of what was previously one of the saddest times of my life (it’s a long story, we don’t need to get into last winter)… LOL! But also when Annie Clark ended her Pitchfork set by banging her head on the bass drum repeatedly.

The only four songs on my sheepPhone because of hoarding, perpetual storage concerns, and shitty attention span: Real Estate - “It’s Real” (What a surprise) Deerhunter - “Sleepwalking” (I mean, it’s perfect) Vampire Weekend - “A-Punk” (Fuck you, I’ll prove why in an objective musical analysis in the next issue of NoFi) Aztec Camera - “Walk Out to Winter” (I’m lucky none of you give a fuck about me, because you’re missing out so damn hard and will continue to do so. Johnny Marr heard this and immediately wrote “This Charming Man” (arguably the best Smiths song)) -Volpendesta