music

Listen to This: 2016 in Review

As a follow-up to my 2016 #top, part 1 post, I made a playlist of my favorite new songs of 2016 to share with you all. I have been a big fan of making playlists since the mixtape days of my youth, but I feel like I’ve gotten a little out of the habit in its purest form now that everything is digital and therefore of pretty much unlimited length. Most of the “playlists” I currently have on my Spotify are more rambling, stream-of-consciousness mood soundtracks rather than carefully curated sonnets on particular subjects. But I tried to actually limit this one: It’s just 20 songs, and I even spent some time arranging the songs and thinking about the musical flow. It contains only songs from 2016 releases, and only my true favorites. There’s at least one track from each of my favorite 2016 albums, as listed in my previous post, with the obvious exception of Beyoncé, since Lemonade is famously not on Spotify. I think listening to this will give you a pretty good idea of the types of genres, sounds, and voices that make me happy.

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2016 #top5, part 1: media

2016 #top5, part 1: media

As I wrote last year, despite popular opinion, I am actually a big fan of end-of-the-year lists, roundups, and rankings. I like to hear people talk about things they love, I like getting recommendations from smart people, and I like forcing things I enjoy onto the people around me, so this is basically my favorite time of year. 

Here's the first half of my Best of 2016 compilation, specifically focused on all forms of media.

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What's Making Me Happy This Week/Five Things Friday

I've been wanting to do this kind of post for quite a while, but I never seemed to get around to it. I've seen other bloggers use this sort of trope and of course it's a central section every week on my favorite podcast, Pop Culture Happy Hour. It just seems like a nice way to talk about some things that have been making my life better lately and that you might be able to enjoy, too.

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Listen to This - Spring

Listen to This - Spring

I am always seeking out new music, especially when the season are changing. Different times of year definitely call for different types of music. Lately, my standards for new go-to songs have been pretty high, but here's a playlist with a few that I've been enjoying. They are all over the place, but I make no apologies. Not even for the weird, haunting modern choir arrangement of the Depeche Mode classic, or for the one song that was inspired by my recent and very much ongoing rewatch of Grey's Anatomy.... Just give it a try. This isn't exactly what spring sounds like, but the weather has been weird in New England over the last month or two, so the vibe is a little weird, too. What songs are spring to you, this year or every year? What have you been listening to lately? I'm definitely still looking for new tunes. 

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