this isn't a "best of" list | 2017 |

i haven't done one of these in a while, which is a bit of a travesty. 2017 has been a superb year for music, + conveniently, life too. i got engaged, bought + renovated a home, spent more time with my closest friends that i have in almost 10 years, + joined a great team at work. all of this has kept me extremely busy with less time than usual to listen to music, but no complaints here.

so many of my old favorites put out new albums this year + several new artists came into my radar making this "best of" list one of the most difficult yet. let's start with the favorites though:

from an album standpoint, i would have to say slowdive. sometimes you come across music that feels like it was written just for you, and slowdive's first album in 10+ years did just that. it is so dreamy + i could not get enough.

this is always the tough one, but in terms of top song, i would have to go with "thinking of a place by" war on drugs. for those of you who don't know, nostalgia is my favorite feeling of all time + this songs just hits the nail on the head in that department. "everything hits at once" by spoon wins out for me for top live song this year. i hadn't heard it in years + was truly the highlight of a somewhat "meh" show. best show, by the way, was arcade fire at the metro.

in 2017 also continued my new + welcomed hobby of reading books about music. "meet me in the bathroom" by lizzy goodman was perfection. remember when i said i loved nostalgia? this book did just that. sadly, i wasn't in new york during the early 2000's, but i was in the suburbs of st. louis listening to heavy amounts of yeah yeah yeahs, interpol, kings of leon, etc. this book really rekindled my love for these bands.

lastly, in terms of new talent, i was very into japanese breakfast (also best song name) + kelly lee owens. then there's my favorite category for me -- the new to me artists. ariel pink wasn't totally unknown to me before this year, but got much closer to his full discography.

that was a lot. but there is more. here's the full list, in no particular order:

1. how do you sleep? || lcd soundsystem

2. road head || japanese breakfast

3. thinking of a place || the war on drugs

4. dam surfer || king krule

5. everything hits at once || spoon

6. anxi || kelly lee owens

7. shadow || chromatics

8. no i in threesome || interpol

9. slomo || slowdive

10. electric blue || arcade fire

11. nobody else will be there || the national

12. prom || sza

13. marilyn || mount kimbie

14. modafinil blues || matthew dear

15. baby || ariel pink

16. shine a light || shabazz palaces

17. noonside || yaeji

18. los ageless || st. vincent

19. dragon queen || yeah yeah yeahs

20. replica || the xx

21. the pilot || clap your hands say yeah

22. cutlass cruiser || tops

23. three rings || grizzly bear

24. andromeda || gorillaz

25. two thousand + seventeen || four tet

2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010

you can also hear my full list of 2017 contender HERE

this isn't a "best of" list | 2016 |

overall, 2016 was a much more mellow year for me musically. a lot of the songs on this list are a little on the sad side too. i don't necessarily think that was a reflection of my personal life, but i suppose i was a little more stressed than usual. 2016 completely flew by which is probably an indication that i didn't do the best job at taking moments to pause + enjoy things. instead i just sought solace in my headphones (not the worst thing).

2016 was a pretty solid year for music though. the highlight was hearing radiohead's "true love waits." years ago i came across a super bootleg version of this song by illegally downloading it on napster. to hear it again years later cleaned up + beautiful was the most unexpected + wonderful gift ever. no words could adequately describe how much love i have for that song.

this list isn't just about the new to 2016 songs though. equally as important to me are the songs that i may not have previously given a good listen to or might have missed completely that ended up being incredibly meaningful to me. this year i listened to a lot of broken social scene, blonde redhead, interpol, + yeah yeah yeahs. for whatever reason they all sounded so relevant. also, sharon van etten. holy cow. how did she fly under my radar for so long? lou reed's "street hassle" was probably my favorite uncovered gem though.

i have to also give a shout out to stranger things + the survive guys. i'm always on the hunt for something new when it comes to music + synth nostalgia did the trick for me in 2016. it didn't quite make the list, but clint mansell's score from the san junipero episode of black mirror is done in a similar vein.

here's the full list you've all been waiting for (or not)...

1. finder || moderat
2. shut up kiss me || angel olsen
3. it hurts until it doesn't || mothers
4. true love waits || radiohead
5. cranes in the sky || solange
6. a 1000 times || hamilton leithauser + rostam
7. kids || survive
8. it means i love you || jessy lanza
9. your love is killing me || sharon van etten
10. because i'm me || the avalanches
11. my plants are dead || blonde redhead
12. funeral pyre || phantogram
13. do you still love me? || ryan adams
14. five minutes || her
15. orlando || exploded view
16. somebody else || the 1975
17. big black coat || junior boys
18. 22 (over soon) || bon iver
19. shampoo suicide || broken social scene
20. ivy || frank ocean
21. no || nicolas jaar
22. wolves || phosphorescent
23. i+1 || luh
24. staurolite stroll || night moves
25. street hassle || lou reed




2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010


you can also hear my full list of 2016 contenders HERE

moderat || finder

come see moderat with me at concord music hall on saturday, may 21st.

this is what it sounds like when doves cry

a generation lost another one of its great talents. death is, albeit sad, a part of life. some come as a greater surprise than others + prince's passing was a total shock. the irony being that prince was an incredibly controversial artist who lived a very straight-laced life. not necessarily the path i would have chosen myself, but extremely admirable none the less.

like bowie, prince was bigger than life. i have the fondest memories of listening to prince covers on repeat ("when you were mine" by ani difranco + "when doves cry" from romeo + juliet) + drunkenly dancing around to "little red corvette" on my twenty-first birthday. i hope you rest in peace, purple man.

 

tourist || run (the range remix)

the original is great but the remix is better. well done!

lykke li || hold on, we're going home

war on drugs || touch of grey

aaron + bryce dessner of the national are developing a grateful dead tribute album with the help of a few very talented friends. courtney barnett, phosphorescent, jenny lewis, kurt vile, local natives + many more are offering a helping hand with this one. you can see the full tracklist here.

while a bit cliche, touch of grey is definitely one of those anthems of my youth thanks to the countless hours i spent pestering my brother while he listened to music in his room. the fact that this song was paired with war on drugs just puts a bit smile on my face.

you can hear a few other songs from the album here.

mothers || it hurts until it doesn't

i have really enjoyed the new mother's album. it's got this easy, spring-like air to it. i have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about them coming out of sxsw where they have several shows. they'll also be playing at empty bottle on may 7th which unfortunately conflicts with floating points live show at the metro which i already have tickets for.

whitney || no woman

excited to see these guys open for unknown mortal orchestra on may 10th at thalia hall.

wild nothing || a woman's wisdom

underworld || i exhale (dj koze remix)

i'm pretty excited about underworld's march 18th release of barbara barbara and while i am a fan of "i exhale' in it's original state, dj koze does add something nice to it with this remix.

underworld's video for "i exhale" is pretty nutty too if you haven't checked it out yet.

moderat || reminder

burning bridges light my way.

allan kingdom || fables (featuring chronixx)

 i've never been much into hip hop but recently i have started listening a bit more. i think i've finally been open to this musical genre and have gotten better at pinpointing the fine line between likes + dislikes. i've found that allan kingdom isn't too hard for my gentle soul. his father comes from south africa and you definitely hear some of those influences in his music.

hinds || chili town

hinds is so hot right now. and rightly so. they won my award for best album name in 2015 with their very awesomely named "very best of hinds so far." they're also super fun to see in concert. and on top of that hinds is comprised of four super cute spanish chicks. time to come on down to chili down if you know what i mean. what do i even mean? just give them a listen instead.

luh || i+i

remember luh? they're the pair that keeps impressing me over + over. just yesterday i was thinking to myself that there hasn't really been any music recently that has moved me (because i'm a weirdo + think about things like that), but this track does the trick. almost makes me want to be a morning person.

luh will be making some tour stops in europe in march. i would love to get them state side this summer.

the range || florida

First single from The Range's new album, Potential, due out on on March 25th. This song is beautiful + has me very excited to hear the rest. Definitely one of my more anticipated album releases of the year. The back story on this album is pretty incredible too. You can read more about it on Pitchfork.

anderson paak || come down

i just recently stumbled upon anderson paak's album + was very pleasantly surprised. this song reminds me of a modern day james brown.

jennylee || boom boom

i really hope men everywhere don't take these lyrics literally because i personally don't want to get "boom boomed" the next time i move my body. aside from that, jennylee of warpaint looks to have a pretty promising solo career ahead of her. looking forward to hearing more + possibly checking out her february 23rd show at the empty bottle.

update: tickets bought.

moby || sunday (the day before my birthday)

In my lifetime there will be a handful of deaths that will feel truly unbelievable to me + David Bowie's passing is one of those. How can a man so larger than life be releasing an album one day + gone the next? As a read though the news this morning I knew that I had to pay my respects but how do I even begin to choose a song to say goodbye + thank you when the list to choose from is truly endless? "Rebel, Rebel," "Rock'N'Roll Suicide," "Heroes," "Life On Mars." I could never begin to pick just one.

Last week David Bowie was reintroduced into my life with Black Star but there was one other legend whose music popped backed into my music rotation thanks to Spotify radio. "Sunday (The Day Before My Birthday)" by Moby came on + it kind of stopped me in my tracks. It seemed familiar + I have likely heard it before but I guess I've just never really listened before now. It was beautiful.

Like so many other artists out there, Bowie was definite inspiration, collaborator, + friend to Moby. They wrote music + toured together so it seems appropriate to choose one of his songs as a memorial of sorts. Although Bowie left us incredibly too soon at least he left on a high note. I only regret never seeing him perform live. Rest in peace you fabulous angel.

this isn't a "best of" list || 2015 ||

To be completely honest, 2015 was not my favorite year for music. My schedule did not allow for as much listening so that had a definite impact but overall it just didn't feel as strong as years past. Even some of my all time favorites (MMJ + Hot Chip, for example) failed to really excite me with any of their songs. 

All was not lost though! There were a few gems hidden throughout the year. I have to say, the ladies really brought it in 2015. I don't think I've had so many songs sung, written, or covered by women on my list before. I also didn't have too many older songs that stood out this year. After reading "Girl In Band" I had Sonic Youth on rotation quite a bit. I also had to add "An Ocean Between the Waves" from War On Drugs even though it came out last year. This was my all time favorite song to see live + I thankfully got to do so twice in 2015. The rest are all songs that were either in heavy rotation or invoked some special feeling inside me. Enjoy!

1. Loud Places || Jamie xx

2. An Ocean Between the Waves || The War On Drugs

3. I Can Never Be Myself When You're Around || Chromatics

4. No One Is Looking At U || Nico Jaar

5. No Way Out || Warpaint

6. Pass Dat || Jeremih

7. All You Had To Do Was Stay || Ryan Adams

8. Teen Age Riot || Sonic Youth

9. Cause I'm a Man || Tame Impala (HAIM remix)

10. Just || Bicep

11. When You're Smiling + Astride Me || Father John Misty

12. Small Poppies || Courtney Barnett

13. I Can't Feel My Face || The Weeknd

14. Pretty Pimpin || Kurt Vile

15. Gimme All Your Love || Alabama Shakes

16. Cream On Chrome || RATATAT

17. Sparks || Beach House

18. The Three Sides of Audrey + Why She's All Alone Now || Nico Jaar

19. SeeSaw || Jamie xx

20. Morning Side || Four Tet

2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010