So, in 2014 a whole bunch of music came out. A lot of it was very good. In that way it was similar to many other years before it. Without getting too conceptual or sounding like some news report that your dad would watch on TV, one of the main differences between 2014 and, for example, 2006, was the precise music that was released during this year. Perhaps as you have guessed, this blog post is designed to contain an array of information about some of that specific good music released in 2014 (though obviously it is far from exhaustive). However, because the method by which the music in this exquisite corpse playlist was selected was, admittedly, a little baroque, what follows will be a brief explanation.

An exquisite corpse is a piece of art that's created by an array of contributors, all adding their own parts in sequence. For the purposes of this playlist, what that means is, I assembled a group from Musical Family Tree's content team, put them in random order, and had them each select an Indiana song from 2014 that they loved. They were instructed to select the song based on the intentionally subjective criteria of relation to the song that preceded theirs. As a result, the playlist is constantly branching outward along the lines of personal interpretive musical relationships. If you're looking to catch up on some of the cool stuff that came out in Indiana this year, this is a good place to start. It's full of excellent stuff and 2014 is almost over.

1. "Can't Shake" - Jessica Albatross

"Starting a playlist is tricky for me, especially if it's a mix for someone I'm just getting to know musically, so I always try to ease into it with something unassuming and understated. 'Can't Shake' is a great standalone song, it really can fit anywhere in a mix; it's easy and a little melancholy and that's how 2014 has felt for me." - Rachel Enneking

2. "Bird on 'Em" - Diopostle

"Bird is the word, so my pick is 'Bird on 'Em' by Diopostle. Special surprise at 1:26." - Abby Goldsmith

3. "Beepers & Beamers" - John Stamps

"It's been a great year for local hip hop in Indiana, and John Stamps' 'Naked Lunch' is definitely one of my favorite albums of 2014. Diop's 'Bird on 'Em' has an awesome vibe and beat, so I want to prolong that good feeling with something in the same vein. 'Beepers & Beamers,' like most of Naked Lunch (and the associated Ghost Town Collective), has that perfect combination of killer rap verses and a catchy chorus that can get anyone singing along by the song's end." - Jon Rogers

4. "Avon Babies" - Sunset Pig

"Sunset Pig was one of my favorite new local music discoveries this year and has been integrated into many of my playlists. Their experimental instrumental pop stylings seemed to be a great transition from the previous track 'Beepers & Beamers' by John Stamps." - Jessica Dunn

5. "Oh Boy!" - Chives

"Hello corpses! I pick 'Oh Boy,' by Chives on The Chirping Chives cassette, because, now stick with me: it was released on Headdress Records, a label which lives inside Westgate, a super cool all-ages spot on the Westside, which is also where Avon is located. And that is my tenuous connection to 'Avon Babies' by Sunset Pig, a track that I really enjoy." - Katherine Coplen

6. "Deep Dark Hole" - Sir Deja Doog

"I knew I wanted to pick something from Love Coffin, considering it's my favorite album of the year, and I felt like 'Deep Dark Hole' was a good jam to follow 'Oh Boy!' due to its energy and slapback echo." - Adam Gross

7. "Dying Days" - Digital Dots

"Obviously, death is the over-arching theme of Sir Deja Doog's Love Coffin. So, I decided to stick with that theme with my selection of Digital Dots' 'Dying Days.' Greatest Hits is one of my favorite albums of the year. Jon Wood knows how to churn out immediately accessible pop classics. 'Chicago,' 'Let's Go Dancing,' and 'Radiation Rock' are all winners. 'Dying Days' is a little less hook-driven than some of the other songs on the album, but every bit as great." - Rob Peoni

8. "Aquamarine Love Machine" - The Cowboys

"I picked this song by The Cowboys because I hadn't heard of these dudes before Taylor did the review for Volume 3 but they definitely rock throughout their volumes and I'm stoked I got to pick em!" - Dylan May

9. "The Fingers You Know" - Mike Adams at His Honest Weight

"I felt 'The Fingers You Know' by Mike Adams at His Honest Weight was a super sexual follow up to 'Aquamarine Love Machine' by The Cowboys." - Benny Sanders

10. "Food Chain" - The Hungries (A.M.O.)

"Worn out, Mike? Have some food buddy that will get your energy levels up. This after-school project that Adam Gross and Ben Leslie are orchestrating is v inspiring. The groups they work with participate in a collaborative songwriting exercise and go home with a finished CD of their song! The music they're coming up with along with the kids in the program is a positive fresh breeze. Mike Adams definitely released another great album this year, but if adult life gets too heavy the children can always remind you of what is really important, eating food. This track features food rap verses and a confident power synth chorus sung in unison from the top of munchie mountain." - David "Moose" Adamson

11. "Let's Make a Dial Tone" - Ben Traub

"I feel like it starts and blends just as innocent as 'Food Chain' appears, but quickly dissolves into the wall of JOYFUL noise. This is one of my favorite tracks on MFT this year." - Justin Shimp [ed. note: check out the Music Video in a Day that Shimp and Jessica Dunn made for Traub's track here]

12. "Selling Drugs" - White Moms

"I was in the studio with these guys when they were writing this song. It was during the process of me conducting interviews for the MFT story I wrote on them. When I heard the hovering layers in Ben Traub's song, this was definitely a track that came to mind for me." - Seth Johnson

13. "Heroine" - Sirius Blvck

"I chose Heroin because of the drug relation to the previous track, 'Selling Drugs.' That, and it's a good song from Sirius' YOTS." - Sean Stuart

14. "Girl From Fountain Square" - Benny & the 25th and College Ave Band

"I pick 'Girl From Fountain Square' By Benny Sanders and the 25th Street Goat Chokers because I love the really druggy sound of this track, and I love girls from FSDC, and most girls from FS love drugs, except one, and it's prolly for the best that she doesn't." - Jeff Napier

15. "Bitches Online" - KO

"Kristin was one of the most solid musicians in Indianapolis this year. Unfortunately, I think she's in Chicago now. I saw KO at Joyful Noise. Maybe 'Girl from Fountain Square' is about a dog on a computer?" - Ben Leslie

16. "Channel Seal II" - Miami Mice II

"What's more post Lycnhian than being stuck in a 24-hour channel of non-stop Seal? Yeah, bitches are online, but Miami Mice II (an artist I should have included in my best of 2014) reminds us the Internet is silly -- and 'Channel Seal II' blends musically between live and electronic in the best ways." - Greg Lindberg

17. "Wrap it Up" - Dr. Ray

"When I listened to 'Channel Seal II' I was reminded of a Dr. Ray track from this year's Boots in the Club EP. Then I played them back-to-back and thought it was always meant to be. No jokes here. I'll 'Wrap It Up.' Thank you." - Kasey Bradley

18. "Conquer the Lethargy" - S.M. Wolf

"I remember when the S.M. Wolf album was posted on MFT. I was freaking out about it. It was so good. And then I met Adam [Gross] and played with him in Raw briefly. There's something special about befriending people who you've only known distantly from their music in your youth and then growing to become peers. I felt this way about so many people I met in the past two years. Mark (a.k.a., Dr. Ray) is one of them. I saw Dr. Ray at the top of MFT's charts for years and now we don't see each other much, but I feel like we're buds. I feel like a lot of good things are happening. I wish I were closer with everyone. I wish I could take care of my vessel so I can create music half as good as my friends." - Duncan Kissinger

19. "Baked in the Bakery" - Shame Thugs

"My choice is 'Baked in the Bakery' by Shame Thugs. If anything says conquering lethargy to me it's at least one single U.S. grade marijuana cigarette coupled with sugary baked pastries. I think these girls got the right idea." - D.H. Strother

20. "Pineapple Guts Medley" - John Flannelly

"Yo, there's mad baked goods up in here. Cherry, apple, pineapple guts all over that sugar-coated dough, man. Maybe I ate one or two too many. Gettin' nauseated. The chill loop of Shame Thugs is starting to burst outward all colorful on me--Flannelly's open/turnt-up jamming smears the air. He might've thrown his Fall Mix up and moved on, but I've kept on coming back to it. But everything's spinning, spinning anyway." - Taylor Peters