The Best of 2014

Here is a late and lazy list of the best of 2014.

Music: Not one of my favorite years in music. I did like some albums but none as much as I liked last year's release from the Arctic Monkeys, AM. AM has continued in my rotation and has earned its place in the Griff Album Hall of Fame. Anyway back to 2014.



1. "Turn Blue" - The Black Keys. "Turn Blue" found the Black Keys incorporating psychedelia into their retro blues rock and soul. "Weight Of Love," has Dan Auerbach finally tearing off a solo that puts him among history's elite guitarists. "Gotta Get Away," was not the hit that I was expecting to take over radio and signal a return of classic rock into the mainstream, but it still is one of the best and catchiest tunes in the Black Keys repertoire.

2. "Live" - Gary Clark Jr. Some would consider it cheating to include a live album but its not like this an archival album of a show from a decade ago. This is a recent recording that showcases the best current blues rock guitar player on the scene today. This version of "Please Come Home," combines Clark's sexy falsetto with a searing soul drenched guitar solo.

3. "Metamodern Sounds In Country Music" - Sturgill Simpson. Country music has been in a sad state for a long time. Other then a pair of releases from Jamey Johnson and Dwight Yoakam's "3 Pears" from 2012, there hasn't been much to speak of since the deaths of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and George Jones. "Metamodern Sounds In Country Music," is the work of a new country music outlaw. Sturgill has the old school twang of Waylon and Merle and like all the great country singers before him, he sings songs about broken hearts, booze, jail and Jesus. What makes Simpson unique is he also makes references to Buddhism, meditation and possibly drugs of the psychedelic variety. Album closer "It Ain't All Flowers," even opens with some Hendrixian backwards guitar playing before becoming a classic country hard times kind of song.

4. "Manipulator" - Ty Segall.
Ty Segall is incredibly prolific. The guy usually releases 2-3 albums a year. Its cool if you are a fan because you always have some fresh new sounds. However, he has yet to release a timeless classic album. One can't help but think that if he took the best tracks from a years worth of albums he would be releasing consistently brilliant slabs of 60s inspired lo-fi garage rock mania. With Manipulator, Segall took some time, 18 months in fact, and released a double album.... of course. The results are mostly fantastic with just a little meh. Overall this is one of Segall's most solid pieces from the garage as he resurrects the glam of prime T. Rex and Ziggy Stardust era Bowie. The tunes are loud, catchy as hell, and sugary sweet.

5. "Lazaretto" - Jack White.While no where near as classic as any of his albums from the White Stripes, "Lazaretto," is the second solid solo album from Jack White. Highlights include the blues punk stomper "Three Women," the epic "Would You Fight For My Love," the hammer crushing instrumental "High Ball Stepper," and the millenial indictment "Entitlement."

6. "Magical Dirt" - Radio Moscow. Radio Moscow has sort of become the underground psych blues equivalent of AC/DC, meaning don't fuck with formula. There is something comforting about a band knowing what they do well and then doing it with the kind of confidence that is on display with the latest Radio Moscow release. This album does differ in one important way however. It is the first studio album to feature a live drummer. Resident guitar whiz, Parker Griggs, used to perform all of the drums himself. So what we have is a true recreation of 60s pysch blues power trio, and much like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Blue Cheer and Mountain before them, Radio Moscow take the blues into the stratosphere with lots of wailing, whammy barred, wah wah pedaled guitar abandon. Great stuff.

Movies:

I haven't had a chance to see "Gone Girl" or "Foxcatcher" yet, but the following 11 movies were the best of 2014. I would say in my opinion, but lets be honest, my opinion is fact. Just kidding.

1. Interstellar: I can practically hear all of the Nolan haters groaning at this pick, but they can all get sucked into a black hole. For me its no contest. Interstellar like 2001:A Space Odyssey before it, is science fiction that challenges viewers to think about the big questions of human life and the universe in which we find ourselves. There aren't many movies that can lecture on the complexities of relativity while also being entertaining and full of heart.

2. Boyhood: Anyone who has viewed Richard Linklater's "Before" trilogy or "Dazed and Confused," knows that he likes to tell human stories in real time. But even his biggest fans had to be surprised by "Boyhood," an epic film about growing up shot over twelve years with the same cast. We are able to watch Mason grow up from the age of six until he is eighteen. While there isn't much of a plot, this is a truly unique film experience that keeps your attention throughout its 2 hour and 45 minute run time.

3. Calvary: This is one hell of a heavy watch, but it is damn worth your time. "Calvary" features Brendan Gleeson as a good priest whose life is threatened as payment for the sins of priests past. Gleeson's priest is figuratively put on the cross as the story focuses on themes of belief and nihilism.

4. Nightcrawler: "Nightcrawler," is a scathing rebuke of the TMZ generation, but most of all it features a fantastically creepy performance from Jake Gyllenhall.

5. Whiplash: This flick will burn itself into your consciousness. Miles Teller plays an aspiring jazz drummer at a prestigious music school where he must excel under the totalitarian teaching of his music director played by J.K. Simmons. Simmons psychologically and physically torments his students in order to be the best. Are his methods justified if they produce the next Charlie Parker or Buddy Rich? You'll have to decide for yourself.

6. Cold In July: What at first seems to be your standard home invasion / revenge flick takes a complete left turn when Don Johnson rolls into town in a big red Cadillac. This is an intense and bloody flick that goes against expectations and cliches. Also bonus points for the John Carpenteresque synth score that pops up throughout the film.

7. Wild: Reese Witherspoon stars in the true story of a woman who while hiking the 1000 mile plus Pacific Crest trail must confront her past relationships, drug and sex addictions. It may seem there isn't much of movie here but thanks to the skilled direction of Jean-Marc Vallee we have a movie that keeps your attention.

8. Skeleton Twins: SNL alumni Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader do drama well in this melancholy dramedy about a pair of estranged twins struggling to accept themselves and each other warts and all.

9. Inherent Vice: The latest flick from Paul Thomas Anderson is a hilarious and slightly incoherent early seventies Los Angeles drug haze of a flick. This one will probably require multiple viewings to fully ingest but damn I laughed. Good work from Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin.

10. Birdman: Fueled by fantastic performances, unique camera work that makes the movie feel as if it is one extended take, and an incessant jazz drumming soundtrack, "Birdman" was one of the most unique films of this or any year. If it wasn't for that damn ending this movie would easily had made my top 5. The ending aside, don't miss "Birdman." Cheers to the return of Michael Keaton.

11. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: An awesome sequel to the surprisingly awesome "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." A much needed redemption to an underrated franchise that was marred by a shitty Tim Burton movie and some pretty lackluster sequels. The 1968 version is still the definitive Apes movie but the last two are pretty damn sweet.

A great year of cinema that also boasted some disappointments: Grand Budapest Hotel: I love Wes Anderson and I didn't hate Grand Budapest, but I also didn't love it. I love nearly all of his flicks but in Grand Budapest he over did it. As my good friend Kenny D said, it was a Wes Anderson movie on heroin. Its too much. Tone it back Wes. You make great flicks. My personal fave is the criminally underrated "A Life Aquatic," followed closely by "Rushmore." I am also annoyed at all the praise that "Under the Skin" is getting. Is it artsy? Sure. Is it unique? Fine. Is it any good? Hell no. I hated this fucking movie. There is a classic moment on "Arrested Development" when Maebe suggests ending a movie with someone walking on water. She felt that everyone would love it because they wouldn't know what it meant and they wouldn't want to appear stupid by admitting their ignorance. I'm not making any accusations but.... Finally there was "Men, Women and Children." Directed by Jason Reitman this flick was an embarrassing, unbalanced, cranky and dated critique of internet culture. The voice over narration is unnecessary and the attempted links to Carl Sagan were forced and cheesy. I would dare say I hated this movie slightly more then I hated Under the Skin.