What I listened to in 2014

Because so much of my favorite music is from the past, I tend to get into musical ruts, where I don't listen to anything new. One of my resolutions for this year is to listen to more new or "new-to-me" music. But before I do that, I thought it would be fun to look back at the songs and albums that characterized my 2014:

I don't listen to a lot of new music, so I started last year still loving the "newest" band I had heard of: The Lone Bellow. I first heard their music in early 2013, when their self-titled debut album came out, and I fell instantly in love. If I had done a post about music I listened to in 2013, that album would be the only one on the list, and my first new music purchase of 2015 will be their second album, Then Came the Morning, coming out next week.

So there I was, happily humming along to the rich, blues-tinged Americana of The Lone Bellow, when I was surprised by something new: a pop song that I actually liked.

That song was Pharrell Williams's "Happy," which I mentioned here on the blog. It was impossible to miss the song, and it was impossible for me not to dance to it. So 2014 became a year of pop surprises for me. I discovered Lorde after the fact and soaked up all her moody postmodern pop hits. With the rest of the world, I hummed along to Sam Smith's neo-soul ballads -- more pop to please my palate. Then, October came, and with it, Taylor Swift's 1989. All at once, with no previous warning beyond mine and Taylor Swift's shared affinity for cats and retro clothes, I became a diehard Taylor Swift fan. My experience was a lot like this SNL sketch:

The other side to my musical experiences of 2014 were two sonically interesting, emotionally rich albums from a couple of well-known Christian worship music songwriters. The first was Borderlands from John Mark McMillan, which I wrote about here, and which surprised me with its use of 80s throwback sounds that I actually liked. The second was David Crowder's latest project, Neon Steeple, which features a pleasing mix of Americana and Crowder's signature high-energy anthemic rock.

The other new artist that I enjoyed hearing in 2014 but would like to explore further in 2015 is Hozier. I was instantly captivated by the hit, "Take me to Church," I enjoy his rich, unusual voice and his layered writing, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from him in the coming year.

What music did you listen to in 2014? What music are you looking forward to in 2015?