I know many of you have been waiting all year for this, and it is finally here. Yes, time to unveil my 20 favorite songs of the past year. Rather than share the entire list up front and then post videos/audio files and comments for each one, I’m going Casey Kasem on you and unveiling them one at a time.

Many of these were featured as Friday Vids over the past year, so some should be familiar. But others, like our first song, will be new to the blog.

So let’s kick things off with song #20 for 2014.

“Black And White” – Parquet Courts

The sound of New York in the summer time. Tense, on edge, your personality crushed by the weight of the city.

Do I bother to define myself beyond what they allow?
Have I already forgotten how?