Life as the father of a one-year old makes it tough to devote hours and hours to keeping up with the ever-growing list of quality television shows on the air. With that being said, I still find myself with plenty of time to consume music and podcasts. And with most music, I don’t mind Evelyn listening. She even seems to enjoy some of it (first of many Spotify playlist links in this post).
Since around the beginning of January, I’ve been more strategic in how I seek out new music. My hometown radio station, KROQ in Los Angeles, hosts a weekly countdown show “Out of Order.” Although I rarely am able to listen to it – the local modern rock station airs it on Sunday mornings – I can still follow the track listings through their online presence. So that’s one way to keep up with the kinds of bands I like. Another is the world of music podcasts. I now listen to All Songs Considered and have recently taken up the appropriately-named Dad Rock podcast.
When I come across a new song I think is interesting, I add it to a Spotify playlist called New Music. That list grows as I find more songs, and it also leads me to diving deeper into an artist’s library. After an undetermined amount of time, if I like the song enough, I add it to my Starred playlist on Spotify. That’s my (incomplete) list of all-time favorite songs, and it’s currently at more than 1,300 tracks.
So that’s my process.
I’m hoping to make an actual top 10 list for my favorite albums and songs of 2015, but for now I have the following lists of contenders. I may change my mind by December, but my leaders in each category have an asterisk.
Album of the Year
- Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
- AWOLNATION – Run
- *Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit*
- The Decemberists – What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World
- Desaparecidos – Payola
- Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
- Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material
- Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
- Kopecky – Drug For The Modern Age
- Modest Mouse – Strangers to Ourselves
- My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall
- Passion Pit – Kindred
- Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
- Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface
- Wilco – Star Wars
Song of the Year
- Alabama Shakes – “Gimme All Your Love”
- AWOLNATION – “Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)”
- *BØRNS – “Electric Love”*
- Courtney Barnett – “Pedestrian at Best”
- Desaparecidos – “City on the Hill”
- Eskimeaux – “I Admit I’m Scared”
- Genevieve – “Colors”
- Joywave – “Tongues”
- Kacey Musgraves – “Biscuits”
- Kendrick Lamar – “King Kunta”
- Modest Mouse – “Lampshades on Fire”
- My Morning Jacket – “Tropics”
- Nate Ruess – “Great Big Storm”
- Passion Pit – “Until We Can’t (Let’s Go)”
- Torres – “Strange Hellos”
- Twenty One Pilots – “We Don’t Believe What’s On TV”
What I’m Listening To: