Roger's Year in Music 2014, No. 11: Safety in Numbers, by Scars on 45.

I'm told this band's big break came when its songs were used on popular television dramas like Grey's Anatomy. Thankfully, I watch almost no television, and stumbled across the self-titled Scars on 45 debut in 2012 at the recommendation of a friend.

I thought he meant Stars on 45, which remains the originator of my nomination (along with any and all Christmas music) for the perfect torture/interrogation/psychological warfare procedure.

Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the United States and Australia in 1981. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound. The band, which consisted solely of studio session musicians under the direction of Jaap Eggermont, formerly of Golden Earring, popularized medley recordings made by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and joining them together with a common tempo and underlying drum track.

Rather, the name refers to an Emmylou Harris comment about playing with her father's records as a child and being scolded for putting "scars" on his 45s.

Note that I've now used two arcane references, to the year 1981 and the very existence of 45 rpm records (that's right, pre-dating even 8-track tapes). Meanwhile, the band members are 30 years old or less.

Aging? It sucks.

I see little underlying profundity in Scars on 45, and that's fine. The group writes and performs tuneful and jangly pop songs with folksy good taste. The hooks are meaty, just like the way I prefer my ribs. May they endure.