2016: My Year in Music
Here we go again. I've been curating my playlist for this post since January 1, and now we're already in 2017! We've come a long way, 2016.
At a certain point in the mid 2000s Counting Crows and I broke up because I was so sick of Adam Duritz complaining in his songs. I wanted to pull his dreadlocked head out of the sand and say to his face, "Hey man, ain't nobody got time for your whining! Find something to be grateful about!" I think the difference between these songs and Counting Crows is that there's a fire behind this discontentment that I think belies a hope and pursuit of something better that I never heard in Counting Crows songs. I only heard resignation. These songs engage the anger and the longing. They are funny, passionate, and true. And maybe I feel it more acutely because I, too, am a woman who has problems with men, and the world around me. All of the conflicts represented in these songs, I've had them or I have them or I will have them. Patti Smith's poetry! I believe that her well-crafted words can help "wrestle the earth from fools". Leyla McCalla's cello channels her Haitian folk heritage and plaintively wonders why was she spared from the 2010 earthquake? Why is she still here? And what is she supposed to do now that she is still here in the wake of all that destruction? Pray. Hunt for goodness and call it forth. Margaret Glaspy's emotions and math! We've all run the numbers of exactly how long 'til the person comes back, feeling lots of feelings and thinking too much about things in the space between, and sort of stewing about being in that position in the first place. Lucy Dacus "do[es]n't wanna be funny anymore. [She's] got a too short skirt, maybe [she] can be the cute one." OH man. What witty girl who's been passed over for an objectively hot one hasn't felt that feeling? Angelica Garcia received an orange flower from a guy, who took her out to dinner, paid, and then called her "dude" the next day. So much confusion and ambiguity. So much reticence to commitment and clarity. This is the best lyrical representation of the modern dating scene I have come across. There is edge and power in these songs and still femininity. They were never mutually exclusive and they've never been on better display than this year in music.
It's a sardonic and removed look at what I'm sure was a real interaction that took place with the writer and a girl at some point. The overall callousness of this song doesn't sit well with me but I'm oddly fascinated by it. The Miniature Tigers could literally be a hit band 30 years ago. However, they are a band today! And I really like this song for its 80s overtones. And then Joy Division. Well, many of us owed a large portion of our entertainment in 2016 to Stranger Things and I was very appreciative of the soundtrack, which included this song. It's rare that a song is led by a bass line and such a strange voice becomes so captivating. I love how weird and interesting it all sounds. So thankful for the break from Drake, Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Ariana Grande, and J. Beebs who are all pretty much sounding the same to me these days.
The songs of this year fell pretty easily into clear categories. I don't know if my year could be categorized so easily, or even into the same categories, but it was helpful to see how these themes just naturally came forth when I started taking a hard look at this year's selections. And some of them are pretty accurate reflections of my thoughts about what the year has led me through. I've culled this list WAY down from 79 songs, so count yourselves lucky. I could have written about all 79 of them, and many of the ones I cut appear on my "Albums of 2016" list, which, I fully admit, is sort of cheating. I tried, really tried, to get it down to 25 songs. But I just couldn't do it. In many ways, this list serves as an archive of my memories for the year, so if a song has a specific memory tied to it, I didn't remove it because I want to remember. This has always, from the beginning, been a project to document the soundtrack of my year, and I'm always so grateful to share it.
If you think of it, would you share some of your soundtrack to 2016 with me? I'd love to know what you've been listening to.
Here's my list...
Organized by theme:
1) Admitting you have a music documentary problem is the first step to recovery
Polk Salad Annie - Tony Joe White
What Kind of Woman is This? - Buddy Guy
Sittin' on my Sofa - The Kinks
Everyday Should be a Holiday - The Dandy Warhols
Early on in the year, I tackled the Foo Fighters series on HBO called "Sonic Highways". I loved hearing how the different cities inspired different songs for Dave Grohl, and how he could respond so accurately to the culture and musical traditions represented in a given place. So many different stories and personalities could be represented and shaped into new forms by collaborating. I can't get enough of witnessing the way musicians create, and the creative process in general. So it started with the Foo Fighters and Sonic Highways, which led me to dive deep into Tony Joe White and Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters and Allen Toussaint. Then I just started watching all the music documentaries on Netflix and Amazon Prime. So I watched one about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Dandy Warhols feud called Dig! which was a crystallization of the 90s indie rock scene, about which I knew almost nothing. And I watched one about this Boston Globe reporter trying to reunite The Kinks (Do It Again), which you could easily continue your life without seeing. I can and do highly recommend the PBS documentary series Soundbreaking. AMAZING. So, yeah, I have a problem. But it did lead me to some great new genres and artists, and to rediscover or learn more about semi-unfamiliar bands or artists, and that was a very rewarding journey this year. I also have a much deeper appreciation for the people around the music too, producers, studio musicians, engineers, etc. There's too much to say about the different sounds represented in the songs in this section. Too much to say about the bands and the times in history that they represent. I only hope that having the songs here will help me remember all the things that these songs and the ones they are pointing to make me think of, make me love about music, make me appreciate about what people have put forth and how they translate what is in us as humans to sound that people understand on some mystical level. And that we can commune through that across the ages and different histories, understandings, and cultures that we represent as listeners.
Early on in the year, I tackled the Foo Fighters series on HBO called "Sonic Highways". I loved hearing how the different cities inspired different songs for Dave Grohl, and how he could respond so accurately to the culture and musical traditions represented in a given place. So many different stories and personalities could be represented and shaped into new forms by collaborating. I can't get enough of witnessing the way musicians create, and the creative process in general. So it started with the Foo Fighters and Sonic Highways, which led me to dive deep into Tony Joe White and Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters and Allen Toussaint. Then I just started watching all the music documentaries on Netflix and Amazon Prime. So I watched one about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Dandy Warhols feud called Dig! which was a crystallization of the 90s indie rock scene, about which I knew almost nothing. And I watched one about this Boston Globe reporter trying to reunite The Kinks (Do It Again), which you could easily continue your life without seeing. I can and do highly recommend the PBS documentary series Soundbreaking. AMAZING. So, yeah, I have a problem. But it did lead me to some great new genres and artists, and to rediscover or learn more about semi-unfamiliar bands or artists, and that was a very rewarding journey this year. I also have a much deeper appreciation for the people around the music too, producers, studio musicians, engineers, etc. There's too much to say about the different sounds represented in the songs in this section. Too much to say about the bands and the times in history that they represent. I only hope that having the songs here will help me remember all the things that these songs and the ones they are pointing to make me think of, make me love about music, make me appreciate about what people have put forth and how they translate what is in us as humans to sound that people understand on some mystical level. And that we can commune through that across the ages and different histories, understandings, and cultures that we represent as listeners.
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| Delaware Water Gap in February |
2) Angry Chick Rock
People Have the Power - Patti Smith
A Day for the Hunter/A Day for the Prey - Layla McCalla
Emotions and Math - Margaret Glaspy
A Day for the Hunter/A Day for the Prey - Layla McCalla
Emotions and Math - Margaret Glaspy
I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore - Lucy Dacus
Orange Flower - Angelica Garcia
At a certain point in the mid 2000s Counting Crows and I broke up because I was so sick of Adam Duritz complaining in his songs. I wanted to pull his dreadlocked head out of the sand and say to his face, "Hey man, ain't nobody got time for your whining! Find something to be grateful about!" I think the difference between these songs and Counting Crows is that there's a fire behind this discontentment that I think belies a hope and pursuit of something better that I never heard in Counting Crows songs. I only heard resignation. These songs engage the anger and the longing. They are funny, passionate, and true. And maybe I feel it more acutely because I, too, am a woman who has problems with men, and the world around me. All of the conflicts represented in these songs, I've had them or I have them or I will have them. Patti Smith's poetry! I believe that her well-crafted words can help "wrestle the earth from fools". Leyla McCalla's cello channels her Haitian folk heritage and plaintively wonders why was she spared from the 2010 earthquake? Why is she still here? And what is she supposed to do now that she is still here in the wake of all that destruction? Pray. Hunt for goodness and call it forth. Margaret Glaspy's emotions and math! We've all run the numbers of exactly how long 'til the person comes back, feeling lots of feelings and thinking too much about things in the space between, and sort of stewing about being in that position in the first place. Lucy Dacus "do[es]n't wanna be funny anymore. [She's] got a too short skirt, maybe [she] can be the cute one." OH man. What witty girl who's been passed over for an objectively hot one hasn't felt that feeling? Angelica Garcia received an orange flower from a guy, who took her out to dinner, paid, and then called her "dude" the next day. So much confusion and ambiguity. So much reticence to commitment and clarity. This is the best lyrical representation of the modern dating scene I have come across. There is edge and power in these songs and still femininity. They were never mutually exclusive and they've never been on better display than this year in music.
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| Pre-Blizzard Sunrise - Old Town ALX |
3) Soul, Soul, Soul, Sweet Soul
How Long Do I Have to Wait for You? - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Good to You - Jonny P
Good to You - Jonny P
The Three of Me - William Bell
If you can sit still during these songs, something inside of you has died. And speaking of died....RIP Sharon (2016 was a rough, rough year for losses in the music industry). What a voice and a soul you brought to the stages you performed. These beats, these horn sections, these incredible voices, these smooth sounds. I feel everything about them. And if I could sum up a lesson I want to take away from 2016 it would be this lyric from William Bell: "There was the man I was, the man I am, and the man I want to be...the three of me. I've got to figure out who I wanna be. It took losing your love to make me see, oh, there ain't no room for the three of me."
If you can sit still during these songs, something inside of you has died. And speaking of died....RIP Sharon (2016 was a rough, rough year for losses in the music industry). What a voice and a soul you brought to the stages you performed. These beats, these horn sections, these incredible voices, these smooth sounds. I feel everything about them. And if I could sum up a lesson I want to take away from 2016 it would be this lyric from William Bell: "There was the man I was, the man I am, and the man I want to be...the three of me. I've got to figure out who I wanna be. It took losing your love to make me see, oh, there ain't no room for the three of me."
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| New Years Day on the Chesapeake Bay |
4) Country Coming Out Party
Springsteen - Eric Church
Made Up Mind - Tedeschi Trucks
You Make My Heart Beat Too Fast - Wynonna, Cactus Moser
Shine a Different Way - Patti Griffin
This section goes out to SCP! That was this year. I went to see Christ Stapleton and Jason Isbell in concert, for crying out loud. And liked it! One of my favorite memories from this year was sitting on a boat late at night with a bunch of friends over Memorial Day weekend and having a "round robin" DJ experience where we would pass the phone around and everyone would pick a song to play for the group to listen to together. SCP played "Springsteen" and I immediately fell in love with it, just like I did with my high school/college love, the story of whom this song describes perfectly, right down to the Springsteen songs. And, thankfully, how I feel about it now, the distance and the sweet nostalgia of it. Then we go straight into Tedeschi Trucks and THE SEXIEST guitar hook I heard all year. I am also obsessed with Susan Tedeschi and I want to be her. Cactus Moser's slide guitar riff in the next song is so raw (and a close second to Derek Trucks' for sexiness). Wynonna's sassy vocals over it, plus their sweet love story behind the whole song, so good. And finally Patti, that lovely vibrato in her voice and those beautiful words she always sings like these: "I’m gonna let it be the moon/ Let it play the tune/ The one that keeps repeating/ I’m gonna let it be your will...". Yeah, if this is country music, I'm really okay with it.
This section goes out to SCP! That was this year. I went to see Christ Stapleton and Jason Isbell in concert, for crying out loud. And liked it! One of my favorite memories from this year was sitting on a boat late at night with a bunch of friends over Memorial Day weekend and having a "round robin" DJ experience where we would pass the phone around and everyone would pick a song to play for the group to listen to together. SCP played "Springsteen" and I immediately fell in love with it, just like I did with my high school/college love, the story of whom this song describes perfectly, right down to the Springsteen songs. And, thankfully, how I feel about it now, the distance and the sweet nostalgia of it. Then we go straight into Tedeschi Trucks and THE SEXIEST guitar hook I heard all year. I am also obsessed with Susan Tedeschi and I want to be her. Cactus Moser's slide guitar riff in the next song is so raw (and a close second to Derek Trucks' for sexiness). Wynonna's sassy vocals over it, plus their sweet love story behind the whole song, so good. And finally Patti, that lovely vibrato in her voice and those beautiful words she always sings like these: "I’m gonna let it be the moon/ Let it play the tune/ The one that keeps repeating/ I’m gonna let it be your will...". Yeah, if this is country music, I'm really okay with it.
5) Wild Heart
Into the Wild - LP
Alaska - Maggie Rogers
Wild Animal - Michael Tolcher
Painting (Masterpiece) - Lewis Del Mar
Painting (Masterpiece) - Lewis Del Mar
Chillin' On the Beach with My Best Friend Jesus Christ - Susto
Canary Cage - The Whistles and the Bells
Something inside me woke up this year. It's always been there. I've known about its existence but never felt it activated. But this year it woke UP. I've had an insatiable appetite for exploration and adventure, especially as regards my faith and the lengths of where God is and wants to be on earth. I crave the wild, especially after possibly the best 5 days of my life camping and hiking solo in the wilds of Banff and Jasper National Parks this summer. LP always sounds epic and this song is just the anthem I want to play every time I grab my shoes and hit the trails. Maggie Rogers' song is just beautiful. "I walked off you, and I walked off an old me". Yes. So often when we go on journeys, that's what we are trying to do. The Michael Tolcher song basically sums up how I felt when I got home from China. I was so fed up with inauthenticity and sameness. I felt acutely the crushing weight of things that aren't living into their truest selves, and the burden of saving face and keeping up appearances. I don't think the song is produced particularly well but I just really appreciate the chorus: "Don't dress me up like a puppet, no, I'm an animal. Runnin' wild on this planet, dammit, burnin' from my soul." I saw him perform it live and I think it was better in the stripped down, acoustic form but the sentiment is the same. Burn from your soul! And if you're doing that, then watch out world! I connected with these songs so much because of that. And also, not taking myself too seriously and feeling okay, within the freedom of Christianity and a loving God, to doubt and to talk to him about it. Lewis Del Mar's "Masterpiece" makes me happy to think of getting a vision and throwing paint on the walls, because I see the colors and they just have to be there. I think the last songs speak of an untethered comfort with Christ, in which we trust so fully that we can then act and move freely and see him as a friend with whom one can enjoy Bud Light! I don't think Susto is in any way being offensive or facetious about their words, though the song might sound a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's real, and it's fun and Christ is both of those things too! He CREATED laughter, and, if you want to go there... beer. "Canary Cage" talks about that doubt, and Job, and bad things but faith through them. God is wild, and fierce, but understands too, and can stand up to your doubt. Come with your questions and God will welcome you in all the same.
Something inside me woke up this year. It's always been there. I've known about its existence but never felt it activated. But this year it woke UP. I've had an insatiable appetite for exploration and adventure, especially as regards my faith and the lengths of where God is and wants to be on earth. I crave the wild, especially after possibly the best 5 days of my life camping and hiking solo in the wilds of Banff and Jasper National Parks this summer. LP always sounds epic and this song is just the anthem I want to play every time I grab my shoes and hit the trails. Maggie Rogers' song is just beautiful. "I walked off you, and I walked off an old me". Yes. So often when we go on journeys, that's what we are trying to do. The Michael Tolcher song basically sums up how I felt when I got home from China. I was so fed up with inauthenticity and sameness. I felt acutely the crushing weight of things that aren't living into their truest selves, and the burden of saving face and keeping up appearances. I don't think the song is produced particularly well but I just really appreciate the chorus: "Don't dress me up like a puppet, no, I'm an animal. Runnin' wild on this planet, dammit, burnin' from my soul." I saw him perform it live and I think it was better in the stripped down, acoustic form but the sentiment is the same. Burn from your soul! And if you're doing that, then watch out world! I connected with these songs so much because of that. And also, not taking myself too seriously and feeling okay, within the freedom of Christianity and a loving God, to doubt and to talk to him about it. Lewis Del Mar's "Masterpiece" makes me happy to think of getting a vision and throwing paint on the walls, because I see the colors and they just have to be there. I think the last songs speak of an untethered comfort with Christ, in which we trust so fully that we can then act and move freely and see him as a friend with whom one can enjoy Bud Light! I don't think Susto is in any way being offensive or facetious about their words, though the song might sound a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's real, and it's fun and Christ is both of those things too! He CREATED laughter, and, if you want to go there... beer. "Canary Cage" talks about that doubt, and Job, and bad things but faith through them. God is wild, and fierce, but understands too, and can stand up to your doubt. Come with your questions and God will welcome you in all the same.
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| Mongolia |
6) Self-destructive behavior
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk - Rufus Wainwright
Perfect - One Direction
I'm Not Feeling It Anymore - Van Morrison
I Need A Forest Fire - Bon Iver, James Blake
Turn Our Eyes Away - Ruby Amanfu, Trent Dabbs
The reason I'm almost a month late with this post is because of this section right here. As soon as I recognized that this was a theme of 2016 (and these were the songs that showed it to me, loud and clear) I didn't want to own that. I got to this section to write it and just stopped cold, and couldn't pick it up for three weeks. It's too true and I don't want it to be an accurate description of where I am. In college I used to love the lilting piano, funhouse sound of "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk".
Listening to it again this year it felt painfully accurate. "Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me...". And then I heard the song "Perfect" by One Direction which concurrently made me very angry as well as making me sad because I know that what the singer(s) of the song is/are offering is something meaningless, with high social-media/selfie value, reckless and ultimately destructive....but probably at least a little bit fun while it's happening. Maybe a lot fun. I really want that but also really don't want that. How do both exist at the same time? That's something I'm thinking a lot about in 2017. Van Morrison gives an honest rendition of what I think fame must be like. And probably what it feels like when you come down on the other side of a relationship like the one described in One Direction's song. The harsh light of reality glaringly reveals the emptiness of what we get caught up in when it comes to fame and celebrity. What Van is talking about in this song is that disillusionment that comes when you can finally free yourself of the confines of caring what other people think and pursue truth, and truth alone. That's admirable, and I want to be able to do that. I think one of the first steps of that journey is what James Blake and Justin Vernon talk about in "I Need a Forest Fire". I absolutely love this song in large part because of the recurring image of the forest fire. I think about how important forest fires are to keeping a forest healthy and how they're so destructive and awful during them, but they need to happen! Rangers set controlled burns to keep forests thriving and I cling to that metaphor when I feel like there is something in me that I know needs to go. I like that it doesn't just say just because it is in you it must be true or good. We do have things in us that aren't good and need to be cleared away, maybe even with a metaphorical fire. And I had to end the section with the bittersweet ballad of sad hope by Ruby Amanfu. It acknowledges the brokenness in us, but it is also brave and confident too, which is sort of how I feel about my own personal situation, mostly because of grace.
Turn Our Eyes Away - Ruby Amanfu, Trent Dabbs
The reason I'm almost a month late with this post is because of this section right here. As soon as I recognized that this was a theme of 2016 (and these were the songs that showed it to me, loud and clear) I didn't want to own that. I got to this section to write it and just stopped cold, and couldn't pick it up for three weeks. It's too true and I don't want it to be an accurate description of where I am. In college I used to love the lilting piano, funhouse sound of "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk".
Listening to it again this year it felt painfully accurate. "Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me...". And then I heard the song "Perfect" by One Direction which concurrently made me very angry as well as making me sad because I know that what the singer(s) of the song is/are offering is something meaningless, with high social-media/selfie value, reckless and ultimately destructive....but probably at least a little bit fun while it's happening. Maybe a lot fun. I really want that but also really don't want that. How do both exist at the same time? That's something I'm thinking a lot about in 2017. Van Morrison gives an honest rendition of what I think fame must be like. And probably what it feels like when you come down on the other side of a relationship like the one described in One Direction's song. The harsh light of reality glaringly reveals the emptiness of what we get caught up in when it comes to fame and celebrity. What Van is talking about in this song is that disillusionment that comes when you can finally free yourself of the confines of caring what other people think and pursue truth, and truth alone. That's admirable, and I want to be able to do that. I think one of the first steps of that journey is what James Blake and Justin Vernon talk about in "I Need a Forest Fire". I absolutely love this song in large part because of the recurring image of the forest fire. I think about how important forest fires are to keeping a forest healthy and how they're so destructive and awful during them, but they need to happen! Rangers set controlled burns to keep forests thriving and I cling to that metaphor when I feel like there is something in me that I know needs to go. I like that it doesn't just say just because it is in you it must be true or good. We do have things in us that aren't good and need to be cleared away, maybe even with a metaphorical fire. And I had to end the section with the bittersweet ballad of sad hope by Ruby Amanfu. It acknowledges the brokenness in us, but it is also brave and confident too, which is sort of how I feel about my own personal situation, mostly because of grace.
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| Lake Moraine |
7) Nothing New Under the Sun/80s child forever
A Change of Heart - The 1975
Oblivious - Miniature Tigers
Love is a Stranger - Eurythmics
Atmosphere - Joy Division
If I listened to all of these without any contextual knowledge, I would be hard-pressed to separate which songs came from which decade. The first two are from the 21st century, the second two are from the illustrious dawn of the synthesizer, and I love them equally. More evidence that music is just doubling back on itself, (in addition to the new retro, and newgrass) I can't be mad. I have always had a soft spot for the strange sounds of experimental 80s synth-pop and I've never appreciated the Eurythmics more. I really DON'T like "Sweet Dreams", probably because of strong association with Marilyn Manson, but "Love is a Stranger" is awesome! Annie Lennox's voice is a force to be reckoned with. And I am awarding The 1975 the quirkiest lyrics prize for 2016. I am continuously amused by these lines:
You smashed a glass into pieces/ That's around the time I left
When you were coming across as clever/ Then you lit the wrong end of a cigarette
You said I'm full of diseases/ Your eyes were full of regret
And then you took a picture of your salad / And put it on the Internet
If I listened to all of these without any contextual knowledge, I would be hard-pressed to separate which songs came from which decade. The first two are from the 21st century, the second two are from the illustrious dawn of the synthesizer, and I love them equally. More evidence that music is just doubling back on itself, (in addition to the new retro, and newgrass) I can't be mad. I have always had a soft spot for the strange sounds of experimental 80s synth-pop and I've never appreciated the Eurythmics more. I really DON'T like "Sweet Dreams", probably because of strong association with Marilyn Manson, but "Love is a Stranger" is awesome! Annie Lennox's voice is a force to be reckoned with. And I am awarding The 1975 the quirkiest lyrics prize for 2016. I am continuously amused by these lines:
You smashed a glass into pieces/ That's around the time I left
When you were coming across as clever/ Then you lit the wrong end of a cigarette
You said I'm full of diseases/ Your eyes were full of regret
And then you took a picture of your salad / And put it on the Internet
It's a sardonic and removed look at what I'm sure was a real interaction that took place with the writer and a girl at some point. The overall callousness of this song doesn't sit well with me but I'm oddly fascinated by it. The Miniature Tigers could literally be a hit band 30 years ago. However, they are a band today! And I really like this song for its 80s overtones. And then Joy Division. Well, many of us owed a large portion of our entertainment in 2016 to Stranger Things and I was very appreciative of the soundtrack, which included this song. It's rare that a song is led by a bass line and such a strange voice becomes so captivating. I love how weird and interesting it all sounds. So thankful for the break from Drake, Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Ariana Grande, and J. Beebs who are all pretty much sounding the same to me these days.
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| Banff |
8) Ear Candy
Warm Foothills - Alt-J
Side Pony - Lake Street Dive
Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya
Jonti - Wild Cub
These are just fun picks that sounded innovative and fun to me this year, that I really couldn't stop playing. I don't really have much to say about them other than that. They are infectious, layered, and wildly different from each other. Variety is the spice of life, n'est-ce pas?
As always my friend, wishing you a year filled with amazing music, in which you find truth, beauty and joy.
As always my friend, wishing you a year filled with amazing music, in which you find truth, beauty and joy.
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