I mentioned on Facebook that I thought this was a great year for music, and in fact this is the longest playlist I've had since starting around 1991 or so. Surprisingly, there are a few people who are interested in what I listen to, so I thought I would again share the list this year.
It's worth noting that a lot of my music discovery mechanism is the AltNation channel on SiriusXM. It reminds me a lot of how "alternative" radio was in the mid-90's, in that it's kind of diverse and not afraid to play stuff that has little or too much commercial appeal. I guess when you're simply a part of a wider service with many different genres, you don't have to appeal to a broad range of listeners with too narrow of a playlist.
So before I get into a few notes, here's the big list, clocking in at 54 songs:
"The Wire" Haim
"Let Go [Feat. Kele, Mndr]" RAC
"Electric" Atlas Genius
"House Of Gold" Twenty One Pilots
"Cannibal" Silversun Pickups
"Doses & Mimosas [Explicit]" Cherub
"Dangerous (feat. Joywave)" Big Data
"Cardiac Arrest" Bad Suns
"Thunder Clatter" Wild Cub
"Fall In Love" Phantogram
"Young Heart" Blondfire
"It's About Time" Young The Giant
"Elephant" Tame Impala
"Let It Go" Idina Menzel
"Bridges" Broods
"Coming of Age" Foster The People
"Pseudologia Fantastica" Foster The People
"Lanterns" Birds Of Tokyo
"Deadbolt" SKATERS
"Says She Loves Me" Aer
"I Wanna Get Better" The Bleachers
"Happy (from Despicable Me 2)" Pharrell Williams
"Digital Witness" St. Vincent
"Recover" Chvrches
"Waves" Sleeper Agent
"Lazaretto" Jack White
"Stolen Dance" Milky Chance
"Luck" American Authors
"High" Young Rising Sons
"Work It out (Radio Edit)" Knox Hamilton
"Flaws" Bastille
"Come With Me Now" Kongos
"Come a Little Closer" Cage The Elephant
"One Minute More" Capital Cities
"Coffee" Sylvan Esso
"Riptide" Vance Joy
"We Sink" Chvrches
"Geronimo" Sheppard
"Royals (live on AltNation)" Sheppard
"Firelight" Young The Giant
"Busy Earnin'" Jungle
"Rollercoaster" Bleachers
"Beggin For Thread" Banks
"Budapest George" Ezra
"clouds" Kasabian
"eez-eh" Kasabian
"Yellow Flicker Beat" Lorde
"Mother & Father" Broods
"Mess Is Mine" Vance Joy
"Tongues [Feat. Kopps]" Joywave
"You Haunt Me" Sir Sly
"Bad Habit" The Kooks
"Hypnotic" Zella Day
"Cycle Song" Imogen Heap
This list is kind of single-heavy, but don't let that fool you. There were some great albums this year. The stand outs were Chvrches, Sleeper Agent, Kasabian and Young The Giant. The last two in particular caught me by surprise. They're really, really good. On the other hand, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by Imogen Heap's album. Here's the thing, she's a brilliant composer, and I think the collaborative nature of the work, while gratifying for her, kind of dilutes her own genius. It's not bad at all, it's just not nearly perfect like the previous effort.
I have to give special mention to Sheppard though. They only released an EP in the US, and I'm sure "Geronimo" played really well to the pop crowd. But listen to everything else and they are really talented. Check out their cover of Lorde's "Royals." Best version of the song ever.
And yes, there were a lot of really good singles. I can listen to this playlist every day and I don't get tired of it. I love "Work It Out," by Knox Hamilton, and it might be one of my favorite songs this year.
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