Spotify will be in my Acknowledgments- A Best Of 2015

When I was 8 or 9 years old I received a boombox, in all its mid 90's glory. My first CDs were Billy Joel (I loved "Only the Good Die Young"), Mariah Carey, Amy Grant, and Ace of Base's The Bridge. Before that purchase I had a Sony Walkman and a cassette player. This was followed by many Discmans and various iterations of iPods. As a Christmas gift one year I asked for a car stereo that was compatible with my iPod.

Which is all to say that I can't remember a point in my life when music wasn't intrinsically part of it.

More often than not you'll see me with my headphones in. I run to music, I work to music, I meander in the rain to music.

Spotify will be acknowledged in my thesis, somewhere before Jack, but near the end.

So when my colleagues in the TheoLab issued an invitation to anyone capable of reading Kevin Hardagen's blog to compile a "Best of" music for 2016, I decided it would be a good exercise in looking at the past year by way of music.

With the addition of Spotify I have the ability to access more music than I ever expected, yet I found that there were similar themes in all these songs. Although there were some definite songs that I would add to this list (most notably, "Tomorrow will be Kinder" by the Secret Sisters that has basically gotten me through the last month and a half) these compiled songs are all new to me this year.

Here's the Spotify playlist. Commentary below (and videos in case you don't have Spotify). Total play time is 86 minutes.

San Francisco- The Mowglis

The Mowglis are a new favorite and this is by far my favorite track that I've come across so far. It's upbeat and the choral backing makes it a fun song to sing along to when I'm driving around Houston this break.

Wagon Wheel- Old Crow Medicine Show

I'm late to the game in terms of the Old Crow Medicine Show, as people have been recommending them to me for years. The melody and folksy banjo of "Wagon Wheel" reminds me home.

Odds Are- Barenaked Ladies

Oh the Barenaked Ladies. I loved "One Week" when I was in middle school, but they aren't often on my radar. This song is courtesy of my best friend Gillian who suggested that it might do me good to listen to on repeat. Watch the video and read the scrolling text at the bottom. It's the best part of the video.

Hello My Old Heart- The Oh Hellos

Amy sent me this song back in early November and I've had it on several playlists since then. The chord progression and vocals are beautiful. I think this year I've been drawn to songs that are both sad and hopeful. This song evokes both of those feelings in me. The want to guard your heart from being broken and hurt, but knowing that in guarding your heart you aren't able to love others either. The passage "Perfect love drives out fear" seems to be behind the song in my mind.

Make it Rain- Ed Sheeran Cover

This song is making it on the list because of Alexa PenaVega's dance to it on Dancing with the Stars. She does it as a contemporary piece narrating her struggle with bulimia. Music and dance are so closely tied in my mind that now whenever I heard this song I'm reminded of her performance. I also discovered that I write well to Ed Sheeran's Live from Wembley album, but obviously couldn't put everything on this list.

Lit Your Head Weary Sinner (Chains)- Crowder

I have a love/hate relationship with David Crowder, as I do with most contemporary Christian music. When I't good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's really bad. There's just not a lot of middle ground on music that's dealing directly with ultimate questions of theology. To be far, a lot of theologians can write tomes that have just as bad theology so I should perhaps cut some slack on musicians trying to convey theology in 3 minutes. But in this instance I think Crowder does well. The percussive backing invokes a sense that we're all in a march toward something, but the lyrics provide a reprise from that monotony. That there's something to break out of. And honestly, the chorus just helps remind me that there's a respite from weariness.

I Wanna Get Better- Bleachers/Tinashe Remix

I liked the original, I like this remix. The beat and synths work with Tinashe. 

Farther Along- Josh Garrels

I heard this hymn for the first time in August and then Kevin Sinclair posted this "cover" sometime this fall and I decided I liked the cover even more. If you've sensed a thematic pattern in my songs, the addition of Garrels won't be that surprising. I've spent a lot of this term in particular trying to figure out what on earth I'm doing. So many points haven't made a lot of sense and Garrels' verses coupled with the chorus vocalize that struggle better than I could in words. This song has evoked tears of frustration, joy, and just tears for no particular reason.

Until We Die- Gentle Bones

Another song with a good percussive beat. 

Rainbow Connection- Trespasser's William

Trespasser's William entered my radar with "Different Stars" back in college and then quickly disappeared again. Until this year. This is the most beautiful cover of a Kermit the Frog song that I've ever heard. 

World Spins Madly On- The Weepies

I think I like this song because it's so easy to forget that things are happening when you are writing a thesis. I can get so caught up in my head and work that I forget that the world is going on outside.

Wasteland- NEEDTOBREATHE

NEEDTOBREATHE has been a constant favorite and generally writes songs that are deceptively theological AND good quality music.

Falling Faster Than You Can Run- Nathaniel Rateliff

I don't normally like music that is more spoken than sung, but Rateliff's "Falling Faster Than You Can Run" appeared on a playlist and hooked me. Somehow it makes me think of the whole PhD process. Which leads me to this important PSA about graduate work and mental health. It's made the rounds on a few social media sites this fall and is an important thing for anyone doing graduate work or knows someone doing graduate work to read. Sometimes it does actually feel like you're just constantly in free fall. Actually a lot of the time it feels like you're in free fall.

Tea with Cinnamon- Katzenjammer 

Yay for all girl music groups! This Norwegian quartet has delightfully fun music and they (according to their bio) play 20+ instruments, so the music is also fairly diverse across their albums. "Lady Grey" is another favorite.

heartsigh- Purity Ring

Electronic-y music normally isn't something I listen to, but "heartsigh" is a beautiful vocal track over synth-y backing. It reminds me of Sia's earlier stuff.

I'm an Albatross- AronChupa

This song is just ridiculous and silly. 

Do Not Let Me Go- Joshua Hyslop

Much like the Secret Sisters's song, I've found myself playing this a lot in the last month or so. It makes me think of the Psalms, particularly 13 and 22- full of lament but lined in hope.

Islander- Robyn Sherwell

I'm going to claim that this is a less pop version of Rachel Platten's "Fight Song," and one that I found much earlier in January. 

Not Your Way- MisterWives

I liked "Reflections" last year but didn't bother listening to the rest of MisterWives album. This was a mistake. On the whole I've really enjoyed it and "Not Your Way" in particular because it's all about breaking down traditional gender roles.

Hair- Little Mix

I almost didn't put the song on hear because it's so pop-y, but I love singing along to it. I love singing along at the top of my lungs to it. If Taido can put a Justin Bieber song on his list, I have no shame putting Little Mix on mine (I think).

You and Me- Sara Watkins

This is the 2015 song that reminds me of Jack. In previous years it's been Ingrid Michaelson so I was a bit surprised to see the switch over. But! Sara Watkins is most famous for her fabulous fiddling and vocals in Nickel Creek. I also like the line about tarrying because it reminds me of the hymn "In the Garden."

Rivers and Roads- The Head and the Heart

Okay, I've had this album for some time, but I don't think I really listened to this song until it was played on the season finale of New Girl. Thus, I'm claiming it as new. It struck me because it reflects so much of my life in the past 10 years. Coming and going. Next year, we'll have left one community and returned to another. 

More Heart, Less Attack- NEEDTOBREATHE

NEEDTOBREATHE provides me with a lot of quotable fodder. My email signature for a long time was from "A Place Only You Can Go." This song is slow, but the final two minutes are worth the wait, "I'm nearly sanctified, I'm nearly broken. I'm down the river, I'm near the open. I'm down the river to where I'm going."

So there's my 2015 in music. No rap or metal this year, probably because I'm spending so much time listening to music and reading/writing and am finding rap less conducive to that.