Our Top 10 Music/Video Posts of 2014 list chronicles the most-viewed posts from our Music/Video section, meaning this isn't a judgement based on quality — it's solely based on web traffic, and which album streams, videos and songs got the most clicks on our site.
As with last year, the majority of the most popular posts are album streams, suggesting that the full-length format is still central to the way fans digest music. Beyond that, this is a diverse list, ranging from Canadian favourites to up-and-comers to major international superstars.
Don't forget to head over to our 2014 in Lists section to see more of our Year-End coverage.
Exclaim!'s Top 10 Music/Video Posts of 2014:
10. The Black Dahlia Murder - Grind 'Em All (EP stream)
Michigan mayhem-makers the Black Dahlia Murder are best known for melodic death metal, but they ventured into more punk-y territory on their seven-inch Grind 'Em All, a short EP of covers. It's made up of tunes originally by Left for Dead, Sedition and Gyga, making it a departure from what fans have come to expect from the band. Still, the EP is characteristically heavy, with a ferociously aggressive grindcore sound. They made a fan out of Left for Dead vocalist Chris Colohan, who told Exclaim!, "Not that it takes much to top a $10/hr one-take 1996 basement recording, but the 'Ripped Up' cover sounds great. I love the blast beat, and they nailed Curtis' weird double kick part. It's a trip to hear such a pro recording of an LFD song."
9. Comeback Kid - Rain City Sessions (live video)
When Winnipeg punks Comeback Kid swung through Vancouver on their North American tour, local producers Jesse Gander and Stuart McKillop tapped the group to perform a set at their Rain City Recorders studio. Only a small crowd was able to be present for the intimate performance, but a much larger audience enjoyed it from their homes thanks to the nicely filmed, impeccably recorded live footage that emerged in this 17-and-a-half-minute video.
8. Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams (album stream)
Spooky Canadian folk outfit Timber Timbre kept on creepin' on in 2014 with a new full-length, Hot Dreams. The album was co-produced by Simon Trottier, and featured Colin Stetson playing some uncharacteristically sexy sax. This is songwriter Taylor Kirk and his cohorts doing what they do best: concocting eerie soundscapes made from lonesome folk, seductive balladry and atmospheric bumps in the night. Judging by the popularity of this stream, that's exactly what fans wanted.
7. Big Wreck - Ghosts (album stream)
Long live the '90s! Big Wreck reunited a few years ago and released the album Albatross in 2012. The band have managed to outlast the furor sounding that original reunion, and new album Ghost turned the reunion into a full-blown second coming. Certainly, the band still had lots of ideas after all these years, since the album widened their sonic palette over the course of more than 70 minutes of music. They're still capable of eliciting strong reactions, too: the first two comments on the post were "so amazing" and "garbage."
[Editor's note: This album stream was removed by the artist/label]
6. Bahamas - Bahamas Is Afie (album stream)
Bahamas has been a major player on the Canadian music scene for a few years now, but for those still not familiar with the six-string-slingin' singer-songwriter, Afie Jurvanen told us exactly who he was on Bahamas Is Afie. In a statement, the man himself explained that he had initially intended to make a folksy record, but the final result touched on soul, pop and soft rock. He said, "This feels like a self-titled record to me." Considering the amount of clicks the post got, the fans don't need Bahamas to tell us who he is.
[Editor's note: This album stream was removed by the artist/label]
5. Homeshake - In the Shower (album stream)
Homeshake is the alias of Edmonton-born/Montreal-based musician Peter Sagar, who used to playbass guitar for Mac DeMarco. He's evidently making a mark with the new project, since his album In the Shower was one of our most viewed Music/Video posts of the year — higher, in fact, than any of our posts about DeMarco. Sagar's music bears some sonic similarities to that of his buddy, in that his smooth-yet-weird tunes are filled with slippery grooves and an ever-present sense of wobbly weirdness.
4. Beyoncé - "Crazy in Love" (50 Shades of Grey version)
It's been more than a decade since Beyoncé released her iconic 2003 hit "Crazy in Love," and she gave it a radical reworking for the trailer of the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. While the original was a triumphant, horn-blasted soul-pop anthem, this ultra-creepy reworking slowed down the tempo and added a chilling beat befitting the dramatic, BDSM-themed movie. Whether or not you're excited about the film, this was definitely an interesting take on the song.
3. Pharrell Williams - "Happy" (Beats by Dre Beat Pill commercial)
How do you know when a commercial is successful? How about when it's our third-most popular Click/Hear post of the year? Pharrell Williams' single "Happy" had previously inspired an insanely ambitious 24-hour music video, but this commercial was just 30 seconds long and showed the star (and others) dancing alongside anthropomorphized versions of the Beats Pill mini-speaker. After such a successful ad campaign, the folks at Beats were probably feeling like, oh I don't know — a room without a roof?
2. Partynextdoor - Partynextdoor Two (album stream)
Drake didn't release an album in 2014, but he popped up on a track from his OVO cohort Partynextdoor, whose album Partynextdoor Two got a whole lot of love from fans. The album ended up getting rather mixed reviews, but the pre-release hype machine was clearly in full force, and our readers couldn't wait to dig into his smooth R&B jams.
[Editor's note: This album stream was removed by the artist/label]
1. Hey Rosetta! - Second Sight (album stream)
While this list touches on a range of different genres, Hey Rosetta! ensured that Canadian indie rock ruled the year. The East Coast ensemble hadn't released an album since 2011's Seeds, and that three-year-plus wait was more than long enough to get their followers chomping at the bit for the followup. Second Sight didn't disappoint, and it offered plenty of the group's signature dramatic rock anthems. Kudos to them for scoring Exclaim!'s most popular Click/Hear post of 2014. Listen to it below.
As with last year, the majority of the most popular posts are album streams, suggesting that the full-length format is still central to the way fans digest music. Beyond that, this is a diverse list, ranging from Canadian favourites to up-and-comers to major international superstars.
Don't forget to head over to our 2014 in Lists section to see more of our Year-End coverage.
Exclaim!'s Top 10 Music/Video Posts of 2014:
10. The Black Dahlia Murder - Grind 'Em All (EP stream)
Michigan mayhem-makers the Black Dahlia Murder are best known for melodic death metal, but they ventured into more punk-y territory on their seven-inch Grind 'Em All, a short EP of covers. It's made up of tunes originally by Left for Dead, Sedition and Gyga, making it a departure from what fans have come to expect from the band. Still, the EP is characteristically heavy, with a ferociously aggressive grindcore sound. They made a fan out of Left for Dead vocalist Chris Colohan, who told Exclaim!, "Not that it takes much to top a $10/hr one-take 1996 basement recording, but the 'Ripped Up' cover sounds great. I love the blast beat, and they nailed Curtis' weird double kick part. It's a trip to hear such a pro recording of an LFD song."
9. Comeback Kid - Rain City Sessions (live video)
When Winnipeg punks Comeback Kid swung through Vancouver on their North American tour, local producers Jesse Gander and Stuart McKillop tapped the group to perform a set at their Rain City Recorders studio. Only a small crowd was able to be present for the intimate performance, but a much larger audience enjoyed it from their homes thanks to the nicely filmed, impeccably recorded live footage that emerged in this 17-and-a-half-minute video.
8. Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams (album stream)
Spooky Canadian folk outfit Timber Timbre kept on creepin' on in 2014 with a new full-length, Hot Dreams. The album was co-produced by Simon Trottier, and featured Colin Stetson playing some uncharacteristically sexy sax. This is songwriter Taylor Kirk and his cohorts doing what they do best: concocting eerie soundscapes made from lonesome folk, seductive balladry and atmospheric bumps in the night. Judging by the popularity of this stream, that's exactly what fans wanted.
7. Big Wreck - Ghosts (album stream)
Long live the '90s! Big Wreck reunited a few years ago and released the album Albatross in 2012. The band have managed to outlast the furor sounding that original reunion, and new album Ghost turned the reunion into a full-blown second coming. Certainly, the band still had lots of ideas after all these years, since the album widened their sonic palette over the course of more than 70 minutes of music. They're still capable of eliciting strong reactions, too: the first two comments on the post were "so amazing" and "garbage."
[Editor's note: This album stream was removed by the artist/label]
6. Bahamas - Bahamas Is Afie (album stream)
Bahamas has been a major player on the Canadian music scene for a few years now, but for those still not familiar with the six-string-slingin' singer-songwriter, Afie Jurvanen told us exactly who he was on Bahamas Is Afie. In a statement, the man himself explained that he had initially intended to make a folksy record, but the final result touched on soul, pop and soft rock. He said, "This feels like a self-titled record to me." Considering the amount of clicks the post got, the fans don't need Bahamas to tell us who he is.
[Editor's note: This album stream was removed by the artist/label]
5. Homeshake - In the Shower (album stream)
Homeshake is the alias of Edmonton-born/Montreal-based musician Peter Sagar, who used to play
4. Beyoncé - "Crazy in Love" (50 Shades of Grey version)
It's been more than a decade since Beyoncé released her iconic 2003 hit "Crazy in Love," and she gave it a radical reworking for the trailer of the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. While the original was a triumphant, horn-blasted soul-pop anthem, this ultra-creepy reworking slowed down the tempo and added a chilling beat befitting the dramatic, BDSM-themed movie. Whether or not you're excited about the film, this was definitely an interesting take on the song.
3. Pharrell Williams - "Happy" (Beats by Dre Beat Pill commercial)
How do you know when a commercial is successful? How about when it's our third-most popular Click/Hear post of the year? Pharrell Williams' single "Happy" had previously inspired an insanely ambitious 24-hour music video, but this commercial was just 30 seconds long and showed the star (and others) dancing alongside anthropomorphized versions of the Beats Pill mini-speaker. After such a successful ad campaign, the folks at Beats were probably feeling like, oh I don't know — a room without a roof?
2. Partynextdoor - Partynextdoor Two (album stream)
Drake didn't release an album in 2014, but he popped up on a track from his OVO cohort Partynextdoor, whose album Partynextdoor Two got a whole lot of love from fans. The album ended up getting rather mixed reviews, but the pre-release hype machine was clearly in full force, and our readers couldn't wait to dig into his smooth R&B jams.
[Editor's note: This album stream was removed by the artist/label]
1. Hey Rosetta! - Second Sight (album stream)
While this list touches on a range of different genres, Hey Rosetta! ensured that Canadian indie rock ruled the year. The East Coast ensemble hadn't released an album since 2011's Seeds, and that three-year-plus wait was more than long enough to get their followers chomping at the bit for the followup. Second Sight didn't disappoint, and it offered plenty of the group's signature dramatic rock anthems. Kudos to them for scoring Exclaim!'s most popular Click/Hear post of 2014. Listen to it below.