In one corner: Flagpole Music Editor Gabe Vodicka, itching to unleash his list of Top 10 non-local albums of the year onto a probably-suspecting public. In the other corner: News Editor Blake Aued, a new father whose awareness of 2014 music is limited to "Shake It Off" and Pharrell's giant hat. From Dec. 22–31, Gabe will count down his list, and Blake will review each album in response.

8. Daniel Lanois: Flesh and Machine

Gabe: While U2 spent 2014 doing whatever it is U2 does, that band's longtime associate and producer, Daniel Lanois, quietly released a fascinating, freewheeling collection of ambient drones and damaged studio loops. The album's title hammered home a theme its sound hinted at: mind becoming matter, the uneasy marriage of our bodies to the digital world.

Blake: Sorry, I dozed off for a minute. What is Daniel Lanois and how did it get in my iTunes?

Based on your description, I was expecting some kind of industrial Cronenbergian hellscape, but seriously, this is the most boring song I've ever heard in my life. The future is going to sound like seagulls, apparently. Maybe the seagulls are cyborgs?

Gabe's Top 10, so far:

10. Aphex Twin: Syro
9. Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band: Intensity Ghost
8. Daniel Lanois: Flesh and Machine