dude... incredible. : the songs, 2014.

03/ariel pink/put your number in my phone

this is the story of a boy and a girl and a taco truck in silverlake. attention has been grabbed, and a conversation has been struck. numbers have been exchanged. familiar scenario, sweet and simple. or is it? for the majority of put your number in my phone's brief running time, there's magic in the air, and we appear to be witnessing a genuine meet cute between ariel and an unnamed beauty with luscious lips who could possibly tame his gypsy heart. you're tapping your feet to the sunny old school brit pop vibes of mr. pink's buoyant little ditty when all of a sudden, a voicemail is checked midsong. it's jessica. she who struck up a convo with ariel at the taco truck. she's still waiting for a response, and he still hasn't called. and just like that, you realize something else is going on here, and the song reveals itself, slowly unfurling a smirk as you catch on. put your number in my phone is a song about not wanting to be bothered, and saying all the right things/playing along cause it's something to do. after hearing that voicemail for the first time, you can never listen to or look at the song in the same light. jessica is less an objection of ariel's affection, and more of an interested stranger seeking a connection or anything from a man who couldn't care less (or cares more about whatever delicious offering he's about to grab from the truck). it's a sly, almost sinister track that manages to make our protagonist not look like a dick, despite the mind games being played. that's why the song sounds the way it does. he knows what he's doing here, and maintains that kooky brand of ariel pink humor throughout. unhappily ever after never sounded so good.

04/run the jewels feat. zack de la rocha/close your eyes (and count to fuck)

05/beyonce feat. jay z/drunk in love

06/chris brown, usher, and rick ross/new flame

07/todd terje feat. bryan ferry/johnny & mary

08/parquet courts/ducking and dodging

09/lady gaga/g.u.y.

10/ilovemakonnen feat. drake/tuesday

11/haim/if i could change your mind

12/sisyphus/rhythm of devotion

13/tweedy/high as hello

14/black lips/boys in the wood

15/julian casablancas + the voidz/take me in your army

16/sbtrkt & ezra koenig/new dorp. new york

17/banks/this is what it feels like

18/avey tare's slasher flicks/little fang

19/metronomy/love letters

20/st. vincent/birth in reverse

21/the black keys/turn blue

22/death from above 1979/right on, frankenstein!

23/fka twigs/lights on

24/jessie ware/you & i (forever)

25/jenny lewis/just one of the guys