Music | Jmunney's Blog

Watch And/Or Listen to This: East West Bowl 3: Pro Edition

January 28, 2015

jmunney Key & Peele, Television, Watch And/Or Listen to This Leave a comment

Shit just got real.

Best Songs of 2014

January 27, 2015

jmunney Best of 2014, Best of Music 2014, Music 1 Comment

All songs on this list were released as singles in 2014, or late 2013.

1. Sia – “Chandelier” – In crafting an absolutely legit party stomper, the winkingly camera-shy Australian chanteuse tweaked the standard party pop formula with a devastatingly effective post-chorus about when the party ends. This is self-examination writ large, grabbing listeners’ ears and demanding empathy.
2. DJ Snake & Lil’ Jon – “Turn Down for What” – The controlled chaos of trap music was all over the place in 2014, and this tribute to keeping up that loud was its orgasmic pinnacle.
3. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder” – A swirl of conflicting or compatible romantic emotions made for the most passionate R&B duet in ages.
4. Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – “Dark Horse” – With clutch production from Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Cirkut, Katy trapped her fans with an empowering edge.
5. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy” – A pale white Australian may not be what most people think of when it comes to hip-hop, but Iggy brings a vitally unique voice to the game.
6. Lana Del Rey – “West Coast” – Ms. Del Rey escorted us through the ethereal experience of the year.
7. Hozier – “Take Me to Church” – A social consciousness in the face of religious strictures proved once again to be a recipe for great music.
8. Charli XCX – “Break the Rules” – A dance punk anthem for the ages.
9. Milky Chance – “Stolen Dance” – This quirky, folky curiosity stuck in the ears thanks to the unique vocalizations of Clemens Rehbein.
10. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap” – Charli XCX has quite a way with big dumb choruses.
11. Lorde – “Yellow Flicker Beat” – It’s not very often that a movie gets a theme song that matches it perfectly; cherish it, Mockingjay.
12. Royal Blood – “Figure It Out” – Royal Blood rode their absolutely bloody killer garage rock into the 2014 scene.
13. Big Data ft. Joywave – “Dangerous” – A pounding riff and crackling percussion convey the sense of overwhelming surveillance that Big Data is getting at.
14. St. Vincent – “Birth in Reverse” – Among many superlative qualities, the debut single from Annie Clark’s self-titled album featured the best opening lines of the year (“Oh what an ordinary day/Take out the garbage, masturbate”).
15. Banks – “Begging for Thread” – I think the slinky-voiced Banks really meant to say “I think you secretly knew” instead of “Secretly I think you knew,” but those syntactical tricks are what make us love song lyrics.
16. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space” – The same shit that Taylor’s always been singing about, but much more self-aware and much snappier.
17. Calvin Harris – “Summer” – This track may be repetitive, but that repetition so strongly captures a feeling of passion awakened but not quite fully realized.
18. Ariana Grande ft. Zedd – “Break Free” – The incomprehensibility of Ariana Grande is part of her appeal. Also, that spacey electronic Zedd beat looks good on her.
19. U2 – “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” – Crunchier and punchier than U2 have been in decades.
20. Cold War Kids – “All This Could Be Yours” – The Cold War Kids got their sound just right with a driving piano riff that led right into an oh-oh-oh chorus.
21. The Black Keys – “Fever” – The psychedelic turn that we surely all knew we needed from Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney.
22. Fitz and the Tantrums – “Fools Good” – Soul music is about baring the soul; Fitz and the Tantrums nailed it here with this ode to the absence of love.
23. Tove Lo – “Habits (Stay High)” – Music for recovering from or refueling for partying.
24. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang” – The double entendres are barely hidden in this bouncy soul-pop throwback.
25. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be” – Every year deserves a paean to healthy romantic love; Clean Bandit delivered it in 2014.

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 1/27/15

January 27, 2015

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
3. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
4. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
5. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
6. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
7. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
8. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
9. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
10. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
11. Fall Out Boy – “Centuries”
12. Big Sean ft. E40 – “IDFWU”
13. I LOVE MAKONNEN ft. Drake – “Tuesday (Remix)”
14. Beyoncé – “7/11”
15. Rae Sremmurd – “No Type”
16. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
17. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
18. One Direction – “Night Changes”
19. OneRepublic – “I Lived”
20. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – “Time of Our Lives”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Love Me Harder
2. Take Me to Church
3. Blank Space
4. Jealous
5. Ghost
6. Uptown Funk
7. Centuries
8. IDFWU
9. No Type
10. Time of Our Lives
11. 7/11
12. I’m Not the Only One
13. Heroes (We Could Be)
14. The Heart Wants What It Wants
15. Tuesday (Remix)
16. Sledgehammer
17. I Lived
18. Night Changes
19. Lips Are Movin
20. Thinking Out Loud

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/24/15

January 24, 2015

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
3. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
4. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
5. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
6. Taylor Swift – “Lips Are Movin”
7. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
8. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
9. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
10. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
11. Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz – “Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)”
12. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
13. OneRepublic – “I Lived”
14. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
15. Ingrid Michaelson – “Afterlife”
16. Hoodie Allen ft. Ed Sheeran – “All About It”
17. Fall Out Boy – “Centuries”
18. Matt Nathanson ft. Lolo – “Headphones”
19. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – “Time of Our Lives”
20. Maroon 5 – “Sugar”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Take Me to Church
2. Blank Space
3. Jealous
4. Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
5. Ghost
6. Uptown Funk
7. Centuries
8. I’m Not the Only One
9. Heroes (We Could Be)
10. Time of Our Lives
11. Animals
12. The Heart Wants What It Wants
13. Sugar
14. Sledgehammer
15. Afterlife
16. I Lived
17. Lips Are Movin
18. All About It
19. Thinking Out Loud
20. Headphones

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 1/20/15

January 20, 2015

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
3. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
4. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
5. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
6. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
7. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
8. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
9. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
10. Big Sean ft. E40 – “IDFWU”
11. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
12. Fall Out Boy – “Centuries”
13. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
14. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
15. One Direction – “Night Changes”
16. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
17. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
18. I LOVE MAKONNEN ft. Drake – “Tuesday (Remix)”
19. Rae Sremmurd – “No Type”
20. Beyoncé – “7/11”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Love Me Harder
2. Take Me to Church
3. Blank Space
4. Jealous
5. Ghost
6. Uptown Funk
7. Blame
8. Waves
9. Centuries
10. IDFWU
11. No Type
12. 7/11
13. I’m Not the Only One
14. Heroes (We Could Be)
15. The Heart Wants What It Wants
16. Tuesday (Remix)
17. Sledgehammer
18. Night Changes
19. Lips Are Movin
20. Thinking Out Loud

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/17/15

January 17, 2015

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown 1 Comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
2. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
3. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
4. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
5. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
6. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
7. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
8. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
9. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
10. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
11. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
12. Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz – “Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)”
13. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
14. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
15. Ingrid Michaelson – “Afterlife”
16. OneRepublic – “I Lived”
17. Hoodie Allen ft. Ed Sheeran – “All About It”
18. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
19. Matt Nathanson ft. Lolo – “Headphones”
20. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – “Time of Our Lives”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Take Me to Church
2. Blank Space
3. Jealous
4. Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
5. Blame
6. Waves
7. Ghost
8. Uptown Funk
9. I’m Not the Only One
10. Heroes (We Could Be)
11. Time of Our Lives
12. The Heart Wants What It Wants
13. Animals
14. Sledgehammer
15. Afterlife
16. I Lived
17. Lips Are Movin
18. Thinking Out Loud
19. All About It
20. Headphones On

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 1/13/15

January 13, 2015

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
3. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
4. Tove Lo – “Habits (Stay High)”
5. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
6. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
7. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
8. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
9. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
10. Big Sean ft. E40 – “IDFWU”
11. I LOVE MAKONNEN ft. Drake – “Tuesday (Remix)”
12. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
13. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
14. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
15. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
16. Beyoncé – “7/11”
17. Chris Brown ft. Usher and Rick Ross – “New Flame”
18. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
19. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
20. Fall Out Boy – “Centuries”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Love Me Harder
2. Take Me to Church
3. Jealous
4. Bang Bang
5. Blank Space
6. Habits (Stay High)
7. Uptown Funk
8. Blame
9. Waves
10. Centuries
11. IDFWU
12. 7/11
13. Don’t
14. I’m Not the Only One
15. The Heart Wants What It Wants
16. Heroes (We Could Be)
17. Tuesday (Remix)
18. Animals
19. Lips Are Movin
20. New Flame

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/10/15

January 10, 2015

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
3. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
4. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
5. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
6. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
7. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
8. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
9. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
10. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
11. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
12. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
13. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
14. Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz – “Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)”
15. Tove Lo – “Habits”
16. Ingrid Michaelson – “Afterlife”
17. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
18. OneRepublic – “I Lived”
19. Hoodie Allen ft. Ed Sheeran – “All About It”
20. Matt Nathanson ft. Lolo – “Headphones”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Take Me to Church
2. Jealous
3. Habits
4. Blank Space
5. Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
6. Blame
7. Waves
8. Uptown Funk
9. Ghost
10. I’m Not the Only One
11. The Heart Wants What It Wants
12. Heroes (We Could Be)
13. Animals
14. Sledgehammer
15. Afterlife
16. Thinking Out Loud
17. I Lived
18. Lips Are Movin
19. All About It
20. Headphones