Another Interesting Year in Music (2014) pt. 1

(On Some Alternative Rock / New Wave Albums in 2014)

(part 1)
by aLfie vera mella

As I have done for a few years now, I write my end-of-the-year article listing albums released in the previous year. This disproves the claim of many people that "music nowadays is crap," "there are no more interesting artists or music," or "they don't make good music anymore."

People who think that way are simply not doing their homework. They are most likely basing their claim on only what they hear on radio stations or see on commercial TV. Or, they just simply stopped listening to new music and decided to content themselves in the music of their younger days and dwell on it in mere nostalgia.

There's nothing wrong with limiting one's listening pleasure to the music of one's youth, but to claim that the reason for doing so is the lack of good new music in the current generation is invalid, narrowminded, and shortsighted.

In the Internet age, any passionate music enthusiast should be able to know whatever is new in music, whatever genre that might be.

Here are some albums, may be classified under New Wave / Alternative Rock, that were released in 2014. They made the year as musically refreshing and interesting as any other year since vinyl records, cassette tapes, and CDs were invented. 

The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast 

American Authors - Oh, What a Life  

Here's a very catchy song off the début album of the contemporary Alternative Rock / New Wave band American Authors: "Best Day of My Life."

And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - IX 

B-Movie - The Age of Illusion 

Better than Ezra - All Together Now

Billy Idol - Kings & Queens of the Underground 

Billy Idol's song "Postcards from the Past," from his latest, seventh album is a tribute to his own classic "Rebel Yell."

Black Keys - Turn Blue

Blondie - Ghosts of Download

Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow

Bush - Man on the Run

The Buzzcocks - The Way

Camper Van Beethoven - El Camino Real

The Church - Further/Deeper

Coldplay - Ghost Stories

Counting Crows - Somewhere under Wonderland

Craft Spells - Nausea

Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots

Dragonfly Collector - The World Is Your Oyster

The song "There Is No Remaining in Place," from the debut album of the Philippine band Dragonfly Collector (current musical project of Clem Castro, formerly of Orange and Lemons and The Camerawalls) makes a musical reference to a song by The Smiths, one of Castro's major influences.

The Drums - Encyclopedia

Echo & the Bunnymen - Meteorites

A favorite from Echo & the Bunnymen's latest, 12th studio album: "Market Town"

The Eels - The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett

Erasure - The Violent Flame

Ex-Cops - Daggers

Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways

Foster the People - Supermodel

(to be continued in the next article)