Dear 2014,
You were crazy as hell and for the most part I am glad you are over.Thanks for giving me so many great records to listen to though!
Sincerely,
T. Cole Rachel

TOP 40 RECORDS OF 2014

Perfume Genius – Too Bright
Real Estate - Atlas
The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
Sun Kil Moon -- Benji
Mac Demarco – Salad Days
Grouper -- Ruins
Matteah Baim – Falling Theater
Todd Terje – It’s Album Time
Caribou – Our Love
Merchandise – After the End
Lykki Li – I Never Learn
Hamilton Leithauser – Black Hours
Alvvays -- Alvvays
FKA Twigs – LP1
Ty Segall -- Manipulator
Flying Lotus – You’re Dead!
Iceage – Plowing Into The Field of Love
Wild Beasts – Present Tense
J Mascis – Tied to a Star
Liars -- Mess
Nils Frahm -- Spaces
Pharmakon – Bestial Burden
White Lung – Deep Fantasy
Ratking – So It Goes
Dum Dum Girls – Too True
Swans – To Be Kind
The Soft Pink Truth – Why Do The Heathens Rage?
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Against Me – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Andy Stott – Faith in Strangers
Peaking Lights – Cosmic Logic
The Men – Tomorrow’s Hits
Tori Amos – Unrepentant Geraldines
WIFE – What’s Between
Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right
Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Run The Jewels – RTJ2
Lana Del Ray -- Ultraviolence
Adult Jazz – Gist is
Luluc - Passerby

TOP 21 MOST-PLAYED SONGS OF 2014 AROUND MY OFFICE

Perfume Genius – “Queen”
Real Estate – “Primitive”
Sun Kil Moon – “I Watched The Film The Song Remains The Same”
The War on Drugs – “Suffering”
Todd Terje – “Johnny and Mary” (featuring Bryan Ferry)
Mac Demarco – “Passing Out Pieces”
Beyonce – “Partition”
Matteah Baim – “Peach Tree”
Alvvays – “Archie, Marry Me”
Caribou – “Our Love”
Merchandise – “Green Lady”
J. Mascis & Chan Marshall – “Wide Awake”
Ex Hex – “Don’t Wanna Lose”
St. Vincent – “Prince Johnny”
Grouper – “Holding”
Nils Frahm – “Says”
Tori Amos – “America”
Lykke Li – “Gunshot”
Ty Segall – “Susie Thumb”
Sophie – “Lemonade”
Future Islands – “Seasons (Waiting on You)”

TOP 10 LIVE SHOWS OF 2014

As always, one of the best things about my jobs is the fact that I get to see so much live music FOR FREE. Occasionally I get burned out—and I don’t see nearly as many shows these days as I used to—but still, I’ll never complain about it. 2014 was filled with great stuff—particularly this year’s installment of the Basilica Festival—and no year is complete without somehow managing to see Stevie Nicks twirling across a stage in person. Also, for all you lovers, going to see a Van Halen cover band on Valentine’s Day is basically the perfect thing to do. Just saying.

Slowdive// Pitchfork Festival, viewed from side stage
Fleetwood Mac // Madison Square Garden
Swans // Basilica Festival
Bottoms Up (Van Halen cover band) // St. Vitus
Vegan Cannibal // Ceremonia Festival, Mexico City
Pet Shop Boys // Terminal 5
Money // Glasslands
Caveman // Baby’s All Right
Cat Power (solo show) // Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Knife // Terminal 5

TOP 10 REISSUED RECORDS IN 2014

For all the nerds out there…here are the top 10 reissues of records that I loved and re-purchased in 2014. I’m biased about the Beth Orton record because I had the good fortune to be asked to write the liner notes. Also, in case you didn’t know, Beth Orton is basically an angel from heaven and one of the dearest people ever.

Beth Orton – Central Reservation
Pixies – Doolittle 25
The Velvet Underground -- The Velvet Underground – 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
The Clientele – Suburban Light
Lavender Country – Lavender Country
Grace Jones -- Nightclubbing
Lewis – L’Amour
Bedhead – 1992-1998
Yo La Tengo – Extra Painful

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2014

I feel like I should almost do an entirely separate list specifically for all the shitty horror movies I dutifully watch on cable late at night but since I’m already a little list-weary, here are ten movies that I loved this year. I’m embarassed to admit how many of the year’s big movies I still haven’t seen, but it’s hard to see things like Interstellar and The Imitation Game when I’m busy rewatching 80’s horror messes like Tourist Trap and The Sentinel as if my life and livelihood depended on it.

Ida
Boyhood
Under the Skin
Stranger by the Lake
Finding Vivian Maier
Snowpiercer
Jodorowsky's Dune
The Babadook
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film

THE 11 BEST BOOKS THAT I ACTUALLY READ IN 2014

A frightening number of books that I purchased in 2014 are still floating around my house and waiting for me to read them, but here are ten that hit the spot…

Citizen: An American Lyric -- Claudia Rankine
Is It My Body? Selected Texts – Kim Gordon
The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion (Essays) – Meghan Daum
Collected Poems – Mark Strand
New Selected Poems – Les Murray
Icon (Essays) – Edited by Amy Scholder
Wolf in White Van: A Novel – John Darnielle
Horrorstör: A Novel – Grady Hendris
The History of Rock and Roll in Ten Songs – Greil Marcus
Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78rpm Records -- Amanda Petrusich
Inside A Pearl: My Years in Paris – Edmund White

MY TOP 23 FAVORITE INTERVIEWS OF 2014

I say this every year--sitting down to do interviews with people remains my absolute favorite thing about my job. This year I had the excellent good fortune to talk to a lot of amazing humans who represent a pretty wide swath of what is happening right now in popular culture (not to mention being able to chat up a few of my own personal heroes in the process). I had a particularly good year interview-wise, so it’s hard to pick just ten…but getting sweet-talked by Kim Deal (who insisted on calling me Thurman) and being momentarily scared-silly by Joni Mitchell (“You aren’t going to call me a folk singer, are you? You aren’t going to refer to me as the female Bob Dylan, are you???”) are moments I won’t soon forget.

Joni Mitchell // V Magazine
Kim Deal // Stereogum
almost all of The B-52s (Kate, Keith, and Fred) // The Pitchfork Review
Ratking // The FADER
Stevie Nicks // V Magazine
Perfume Genius // Stereogum
Kate Zambreno // Bon
St. Vincent // Interview
Bryan Ferry // Man of the World
Marianne Faithfull // V Magazine
Lykke Li // Stereogum
Laura Jane Grace // Stereogum
Nile Rogers // V Magazine
Panda Bear // Stereogum
Erasure // V Magazine
Ann Margret // Interview
Kirk Hammett // Stereogum
Death Cab for Cutie // Stereogum
Clive Davis // V Magazine
Nina and Louise from Veruca Salt // Stereogum
Kevin Drew // Stereogum (notable because he was taking a bath the entire time)
Lily Allen // Stereogum
Foxygen // Interview

Regarding 2014…

The main reason I do these lists every year is really just to remind myself to be grateful. After suffering a few unexpected losses over the past couple of years, I just always want to remind myself not to take things for granted and to love things fully and without irony. Even though this year got off to a rough start, I got to do a lot of amazing stuff in 2014 and spend time with a lot of amazing people. Aside from my journalism work, I’m now a part-time bartender at two amazing places--the ACE Hotel and Richlane—where I get to work with a bunch of hilarious people that have come to feel like my family. My continuing “Poetry & Photography” workshops at the Camera Club not only provide me with amazing students (many of whom have become dear friends), but also helped jump start my own poetry writing practice again, which is something I’ve too often neglected over the past three or four years of mostly writing about music. In addition, this year I got to see a lot of old friends from all eras of my life, which always reminds me how blessed I have been to always have been surrounded by so many amazing humans. Lastly, at a time when the world seems so profoundly INSANE and truly frightening, I have an amazing support system, a wonderful partner, and a sweet family. I truly can’t complain.

As always, thanks to everyone has given me so much love and support over the past year.

And may we get the happy, healthy, cat-filled 2015 that we all so richly deserve.

Best of 2014