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Song of the Day #2,372: ‘Take Me to Church’ – Hozier

hozier

Best Songs of 2014 – #8
‘Take Me to Church’ – Hozier

Hozier is the second artist, and ‘Take Me to Church’ the second song, to arrive on this list courtesy of The Voice.

This compelling song was performed by Matt McAndrew, the contestant who should have won but came in second to country he-man Craig Wayne Boyd.

It’s probably some sort of commentary on American culture that the guy who sang this dark indictment of religion lost to the guy who sang ‘The Old Rugged Cross.’

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Song of the Day #2,371: ‘Riptide’ – Vance Joy

vance_joy_dream

Best Songs of 2014 – #9
‘Riptide’ – Vance Joy

Two songs in my top ten found me not through the Billboard charts but another mainstream musical source — The Voice.

Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ had enjoyed moderate success since its release on an EP but a performance by Team Gwen on the popular vocal competition brought it wide exposure.

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Song of the Day #2,370: ‘High Life’ – Brad Paisley

brad_paisley_moonshine_trunk

Best Songs of 2014 – #10
‘High Life’ – Brad Paisley

After the disastrous ‘Accidental Racist’ derailed his ambitious album Wheelhouse, Brad Paisley retreated to lick his wounds and came back this year with a good-old country record, Moonshine in the Trunk.

It’s a fun album but not an entirely memorable one, especially when compared to the excellent stretch of records that culminated in American Saturday Night.

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Song of the Day #2,369: ‘My Way Home’ – Kanye West (featuring Common)

kanyeHas anyone ever been as simultaneously laughed at, despised and revered as Kanye West?

He is often portrayed as a joke for his tremendous ego and outrageous statements, not to mention his marriage, and yet his last four albums have all topped critics’ lists and received praise so lavish it borderlines on absurd.

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Song of the Day #2,368: ‘Streetcorner Symphony’ – Rob Thomas

rob_thomas_something_to_beI like Rob Thomas as a person (based on some interviews I’ve seen and read) and I like a few of his songs (‘Smooth’ is still brilliant 15 years later), but this white-boy soul track just doesn’t do it for me.

Thomas hasn’t released an album in five years, and the last reference on his Wikipedia page is to 2010, so I wonder what he’s up to. Playing the festival circuit? Chilling with his pretty, lupus-afflicted wife?

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