I'm currently sitting in my empty apartment working on updating this site and enjoying doing nothing. It has given me ample opportunity to sing along to Eric Clapton and not worry about anyone hearing me, a very very rare occasion. While there are many things I miss about Vermont, driving in my car where no one can hear me sing is definitely up near the top.
I don't update this blog often, but now that I've redesigned it a bit in anticipation of applying to grad school (SHOCKER I know), I figured I'd put my hellos into the oblivion that is the internet with some of the best music I heard over last year.
2016 has been exhilarating, frustrating to no end, heartbreaking, and a year where I feel I've started to finally come back into myself. I've missed a lot of music the past couple of years mostly due to me sticking my head in the sand and not paying attention to the tsunami that is new music. After graduating from college, I let music go. What had been a comfort and a savior to me for so long was suddenly filled with expectations, pretentiousness, and a constant need to know everything that was new to fill up radio shows. I was exhausted; I put it aside.
But last year was different. I started reading voraciously again. I created dozens of playlists to escape into on the subway. While I'm excited about 2017 and the changes it will bring, the past year has had some of the best music I've heard in awhile from artists all over the map. The most exciting thing for me to find while looking at others lists was the amount of women and people of color on them. Pitchfork's top 3 are all POC with two women (sisters, no less)! And I don't blame them - Solange's A Seat at the Table stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it at work and I couldn't stop listening. It's a beautiful, moving piece of work filled with poetry and heartbreak. If you listen or watch nothing else today, this should be it.
So, 2016's music ended up in a playlist. Find it below and let me know what you think!