Hey everyone, remember 2014? It wasn't all the long ago. In fact, there were some really great records and songs that came out in 2014, and earlier this week New York's The Village Voice put an exclamation point on matters with its annual music critics' poll, Pazz + Jop. The poll have been running for over 40 years now, and is probably the most extensive and definitive of its kind with more 600 critics being included in the voting.
Among those critics were several of our very own writers from here at DC9 at Night. So as start finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything other than the weekend on this beautiful Friday afternoon, why not take one last look back 2014 by perusing our picks for the best albums and songs of the year?
See also: The 2014 Dallas Observer Music Awards Winners The Best Dallas Albums of 2014
The real beauty of Pazz + Jop lies in the fact that it takes place as late as it does, usually in the weeks following the New Year. That often means holiday releases that wind up omitted from other year-end lists feature prominently here. Last year, Beyonce's surprise, self-titled release did enough to land fourth in the poll. This year, D'Angelo's long (long, long) awaited follow-up to Voodoo, Black Messiah, went all the way to No. 1. Peruse the full results and a host of excellent essays at the Pazz + Jop homepage.
Getting a special nod in the results wrap-up was none other than yours truly, the editor of this here blog. Whatever for? Because, as Glenn McDonald notes, " The 2014 voter with the ballot closest to the critical consensus was Jeff Gage, who voted for all of the top six, and then Nos. 13, 19, 30, and 57." Credit it to clairvoyance or to mediocre taste, but either way, that may well be my 15 minutes. Dang.
Here's how the Observer contributors all voted, as well as a couple other folks whose names should be familiar to local readers. Read them and judge us to your heart's desires (not that you need me to tell you that):
Jeff Gage, Music Editor H. Drew Blackburn, Clubs Editor Amy McCarthy, Contributor Jaime-Paul Falcon, Contributor Jonathan Patrick, Contributor Drew Ailes, Contributor Kiernan Maletsky, Former DC9 Music Editor Preston Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Music Editor
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