Music is one of my greatest passions. I wish I could play an instrument or not sing like a banshee with a hangover, but when it comes to listening, I take music in my heart every single day. Music has gotten me through so much of my transformation. I would go so far as to say, without it, I don’t know if I would be where I am right now. When you are running that race and your perfectly curated playlist is giving you the motivation to take another step and put all of the stress and pain out of your life; you can truly be transported.
2015 was a great year for music. I got to see way more concerts than I ever thought. I look back at my goal list (under Level Up in the menubar), and one of my goals was to see more concerts of my favorite artists. At the time I had seen : (Going to update this soon)
My goal was to see 10 of my favorites after : Christina Perri, Imagine Dragons, Tegan and Sara, Jillette Johnson) :
Wishlist: The Sounds, Bastille, London Grammar
Since then, I have seen Christina Perri again, London Grammar (twice), Bastille, Lykke Li, Robyn, Gin Wigmore, Marina and the Diamonds (twice), Tove Lo, Paloma Faith, MS MR, July Talk (twice), Say Lou Lou, Lana Del Rey,
I surpassed that goal!
One of the best things that happened this year is that I almost didn’t go to Marina the second time. I had no one to go with, and I absolutely despise doing social things by myself. I couldn’t sell the tickets and at the last minute drove to Boston myself to the show. I had already seen Marina, and I knew how great she was, which was why I almost didn’t go because I knew what I would be missing. Had I not gone though, I would have never found Christine and the Queens, who, hands down, was the best live artist I saw this year. I was blindsided and struck. Sometimes I just want the main act to come on, but after hearing her second song, my mind was blown. Then, she sang “Saint Claude”, which I already knew, and I become even more excited that I was truly discovering her in a way I hadn’t given time before. Then, when she sang “Paradis Perdus”, I couldn’t believe that I was standing at the Paradise Rock Club hearing this person. She truly was the best discovered artist of 2016.
I am looking forward to the next year of music. I am already ticketed up for 3 shows : TwentyOne Pilots, Vance Joy, and The Used.
Here is my wishlist this year : Melanie Martinez, Halsey, NONONO, Banks, Christine and the Queens (again, with an entirely different relationship to her music), Ellen King, and my yearly longshot – Celine Dion.
It’s been a great year, and I am going to round up my top 10 artists of 2015 and my favorite song by them (so hard). These are only albums that came out this year.
In no particular order
- Melanie Martinez – Pity Party
- TwentyOne Pilots – Goner
- Selena Gomez – Sober
- MS MR – Wrong Victory
- Halsey – Is There Somewhere
- Christine and the Queens – Paradis Perdus
- Gin Wigmore – I Will Love You
- Say Lou Lou – Hard for a Man
- Marina and the Diamonds – Savages
- Elle King – Kocaine Karolina
Here are a few snippits of my year in review in what Spotify says (which isn’t exactly the truth). If I had to pick a single album this year, it would be Christine and the Queens
