Peace Out, 2015
by Allyson Dwyer
It's that time of the year where people catalog stuff. Memories. Clickable content. You like it! Admit it!
Lucky for you and me, 2015 was probably the absolute best year for music in a long, long time. And that CDM needs that millennial voice to keep the under-100 demographic clicking.
So many good things came out, to the point where it overwhelms my brain. And we were fortunate to have no sign of Iggy Azalea to ruin it! [CoolDad Note: I guess we put bad memories out of our minds. https://youtu.be/uV2uebhnqOw]
So I decided to just throw out some memorable things that happened to me in my own music-loving sphere.:
Best song that, when I heard it, I didn't change the station, and also actively listened to on Spotify
Drake -- "Hotline Bling"
Sometimes songs just come that make no sense (those awful lyrics) and are catchy as hell. I'm not shy of my love for Drake, which is odd considering how much I never cared for Jimmy on Degrassi. I'm heartless. But there's something about that production and the nakedly corny-no-shame approach to pop that this song just bleeds.
Best music video
FKA twigs' -- "M3LL155X"
These videos just dropped one day and blew everyone away. Seen as a companion to the EP, you really cannot separate the imagery of these videos from the songs.There was a lot of interesting discussion on Tumblr about M3LL155X and the best theory I read was that this EP can be read as a statement on FKA twigs's relationship with the music industry and how she wishes to make art that can be separated from her image as a sexualized dancer, her past work, and what is expected of her as a black pop musician. Basically, she is asking us to trust her and not expect something typical. The finale "Glass & Patron" is a firm sign that she will continue to make that art she wants on her terms.
Best Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar -- "Alright"
OK. This whole album is amazing (which I don't think needs my explanation) and it is worth all of its critical praise and spot as #1 on many, many best of lists. This song however, is just time-stopping. I have no doubt that in 20 years from now we will be remembering this song (and album) as an important cultural moment.
Worst Kendrick Lamar
Taylor Swift -- "Bad Blood" Featuring Kendrick Lamar
I don't think "Bad Blood" is necessarily a bad song but this version and the video were so embarrassingly bad. The song "meaning" is also just kind of lame and icky. Kendrick, Elle, Selena, Cara, etc: enjoy your friendship cliques.
Best breakup album
I have two: Screaming Females -- Rose Mountain (favorite track: "Hopeless"), Bjork -- Vulnicura (favorite track: "Family"). Two completely different takes, both masterfully done in their own right.
Best food
Vedge in Philadelphia. The pancakes at Ain Soph Journey in Tokyo. I ate these three times.
Best local show
Beach Slang closing out Asbury Lanes was perfection, but that perfection turned into pure bliss when James Alex invited members of Corrina, Corrina to play "Boxcar" and "Can't Hardly Wait" while the room sang along and confetti rained everywhere. I can't think of a better memory this year.
Best comedy show
Neil Hamburger, America's funnyman, at the Saint.
Best time I danced on stage with Shellshag at Asbury Lanes:
The filming for the season finale of The Chris Gethard Show.
Best show I had to pay a Ticketmaster fee for:
Bjork at Carnegie Hall. It was at noon and I had a front seat in a box. Sometimes I have good fortune.
Best show, period:
Downtown Boys at the Don Giovanni showcase. Mitski at the Lanes is an incredibly close second.
Most mediocre artist retrospective of a prolific Icelandic artist:
Bjork at The Museum of Modern Art
I have such mixed emotions on this retrospective. On one hand, I saw the dress that Bjork wore in the iconic video for Pagan Poetry, and on the other, it was such a tacky, Hard Rock Cafe-Planet Hollywood-esque move on MoMA's part. There was very little tying this retrospective into any kind of analytical, museum setting, but I guess it was still fun to see props, excerpts from Bjork's journal, and two original videos from Vulnicura: "Black Lake" and "Stonemilker" (at PS1 Moma), a 3D immersive video that used Oculus Rift.
Best pop song
Grimes -- "Realiti" (demo and album version)
Honestly this may, on technical terms, be song of the year for me. I find a way to listen to both versions at least once a day. It is one of the best songs she has ever done, and we have two versions to jump between. Blessed.
Best inconsistent album that I don't understand as #1 on many year end lists
Grimes -- Art Angels
Art Angels is indeed, full of straight up bangers that are the best of the best, but not the entire album. I think I am the only person not crazy about "Flesh Without Blood," which I find really...boring (please don't yell at me). But tracks like "Butterfly," "Venus Fly Trap," "Realiti," and "Kill V. Maim." are like drugged out, new age jock jams. And they rule.
Best Beyonce of the year
In a year that was filled with Nicki Minaj, I was insanely underwhelmed by her album The Pink Print. But her track "Feeling Myself," featuring Beyonce, and its video (Tidal exclusive, lol), are like a precious gift that we need to preserve and love forever.
Best Netflix show with the absolute best soundtrack
Master of None. Upon CoolDad's recommendation, I finished this show in one sitting on a Saturday, with a to-do list in front of me that I never touched. I don't think this show needs my bump for people to watch it, but it really was one of the best of the year. And the soundtrack was a perfectly compiled mix of rap, pop, electronic, classic rock and indie, R&B, country, vintage Indian and French music, jazz, corny ass Italian restaurant music, and the best use of a Beach House song ever (see: show title).
Best old-ish critically acclaimed TV drama I watched
The Wire. If you haven't, find someone's HBO Go password and watch this, like, now.
Album of the Year
Joanna Newsom -- Divers
Of course I'm going to choose this as my AOTY, but did you know that I am not choosing it by default for my love of this woman? Divers is one of the most gorgeous albums I have ever listened to. And this is the woman who made Ys, which IS probably the greatest album by any living human. How do you top Ys? Well, by continuing to challenge yourself and make music that isn't looking back nostalgically on past records. The most exemplary track of the record, my personal favorite and of the year, is the finale, "Time, A Symptom" which I would describe as an orchestral sci-fi epic. These songs have already, in such a short time, begun to mean so much to me. I know I will listen to this for years to come. Now I hope I don't have to wait 5 years for another album. Although maybe there's a reason we must wait.
There is so much more music I loved this year. But this here is 2015 to me. Happy 2016!
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