SOUND BITES

It's been a long year, and another great one for rock n' roll. While the pop charts were overrun with barely legals obsessed with their asses, rock soldiered on undeterred even as pundits (hell, in some cases even rockers themselves) mourned the genre. Sure, rock didn't dominate the money game in 2014, but that shouldn't evoke sad nostalgia and eulogies. Even for as little perceived impact rock music made, a hell of a lot happened if people had only paid attention. From grizzled vets adding jewels to their crown (Springsteen, Petty) to new beginnings (Against Me!, Antemasque) to happy returns (Faith No More, The Tea Party) and all points in between, rock continued to thrive, evolve and thrill in 2014. Enough talk. It's winning time. Your Year in Rock winners for 2014 are...

There aren't too many artists as restlessly, relentlessly artistic as Billy Corgan; even in Smashing Pumpkins' infancy, plenty of great songs ended up cast aside due to time and/or space restraints. Corgan's prolific tendencies were running at their peak in the mid-nineties; he recorded enough quality tunes during the Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness sessions to fill five CDs before paring it down to a manageable two. A incredible run of songs such as that couldn't possibly be, and has never been, matched; even if we factor this newest album in as part of his ongoing Teargarden by Kaleidyscope series, we're only up to about 35 songs, and that's over the course of half a decade. Besides, few would accuse Corgan of continuing to offer the same quality as he was twenty years ago; to be fair, though, how could he? It's only natural for artists to evolve, and to move away from the perceived sweet spot of creativity that so many expect them to stay nuz...

If you've paid attention to AC/DC's rock voyage, you're well aware by now just what kind of rocking you're in for when they release a new rock album. With their fifteenth worldwide album (they rocked out two in their native Australia previous to the beginning in earnest of their rocking career), the rock remains more or less unmoved from where it's always been. If it feels like I'm saying the word "rock" often, I suppose I am; however, that's a direct result of frontrocker Brian Johnson's recent transformation into Fred Flintstone. With Rock or Bust , AC/DC adds four songs with the word "rock" in their titles to their already bustling rock title songbook; the title track, Rock the Blues Away, Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder and Rock the House . It's almost as though Johnson picked titles using rock n' roll flash cards and/or is a malfunctioning android at this point whose prime directive is to rock as often as possible and...

The most prestigious honour I award (in my mind, at least), an Album of the Year win doesn't mean you simply made a really good record. It's an indicator of artistic importance, an acknowledgment that your work means more than the music you record. The albums that win this award are the ones that speak to me on more than a cerebral level; they don't just satisfy my mind and soul, they burrow into my heart and take root there forever. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Album of the Year:

We're down to the big ones now. Traditionally, winners of Sound Bites' Song of the Year award have been the ones that stayed with me until the end of the year, sounding as fresh and exciting on their 100th spin as they did on the first. This year's nominees comprise perhaps the most earworm-inducing batch I've ever put up for consideration of the award. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Song of the Year:

Whether former members of important bands or exceptionally talented folks just starting out on their own, the five nominees below chose to release their artistic visions in their purest form, with their own name signed to them. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Solo Artist Recording of the Year:

It's bad enough that heavy music gets a raw deal from society as a whole, it often gets a raw deal from its own people; constant bickering over whether so-and-so "counts" as metal, bitching out bands for not being heavy as they used to be, etc., etc. That's why this category doesn't give a shit how tr00, brutal or metal you are, just as long as you're heavy. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Heavy Recording of the Year:

As a proud Canadian, I couldn't let the opportunity to give an entire category to my native land pass me by. As it happens, Canada turned out some pretty hot jams this year. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Canadian Recording of the Year:

Having given the "kids" their due, it's time to salute those who have returned from long absences. Whether through break-ups, procrastination or situations beyond anyone's control, the following nominees all went a decade or more before breaking their silences with new recordings in 2014. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Comeback Recording of the Year:

As much bellyaching is done about the state of rock, there is always new blood flowing through its veins, ensuring its survival through even its darkest times. Gene Simmons isn't a prophet any more than KISS is a relevant band, and the five artists who comprise this list are proof that not only is rock not dead, but its future is actually pretty bright. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for New Artist Recording of the Year:

Ah, the video: once the very cornerstone of album promotion and a boundless platform for artistic expression, now the pale shadow of its former glory, relegated to competition with cat videos and ever-changing viral trends on YouTube. Yet, there is still a modicum of respect to be had for the format and, while many spend their shoestring budgets on crudely animated lyric videos, some artists still strive to make their videos interesting. Here are Sound Bites' nominees for Video of the Year: