2016 Year in Review: Favorite Songs

Once again, it’s time to look back on the music of 2016 with my favorite songs of the year.

I’ve featured many of this songs in my Song of the Week posts this year.  If you see a link from a song title it will take you back to the Song of the Week post for that song, or other time I wrote about that band.

For previous year-end lists of previous years check out my lists for 2015,  2014, 2013, 2012,  2011,  2010  and  2009.

In alphabetical order, here are my ten favorite songs of the year:

“Atomic Number” by case/lang/veirs

“Brother, What Happened” by Muddy Magnolias

“Big Bad Good” by My Bubba

“Freedom” by Beyoncé

“Mighty (feat. JFTH)” by Caravan Palace

“Quiet” by Erik Blood

“To Have You Back” by Tourist

“Wave of History” by Downtown Boys

“Your Best American Girl” by Mitski

“You Want it Darker” by Leonard Cohen

 

And here are five honorable mentions:

“Augustine” by Blood Orange

“Frankie Sinatra” by The Avalanches

“Stranger Things” by Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein

“This Girl” by Kungs vs. Cookin’ on 3 Burners

“Yeah, I’m Okay With My Shit Life” by Bethlehem Steel

What were your favorite songs of 2016?

 

2014 Year in Review: Favorite Books

Here’s my annual list of my ten favorite books read in the year.  As always, this is merely the best books I read this year not books published in 2013.  For previous years see 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. You may also want to check out My Favorite Books of All Time or see Every Book I’ve Ever Read cataloged in Library Thing.

In no particular order:

• The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins
  • Gregor the Overlander
  • Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
  • Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
  • Gregor and the Marks of Secret
  • Gregor and the Code of Claw
• Reign of error by Diane Ravitch
• Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
• The Race Underground by Doug Most
• Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston by Michael Rawson
• Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell
• A wicked war : Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. invasion of Mexico by  Amy S. Greenburg
• Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
• The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis
• An astronaut’s guide to life on earth by Chris Hadfield

And the complete list of books read in 2014 (books published in 2014 are in bold).

January

• Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham – **1/2
• Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (A) – *****
• Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins (A) – ****1/2
• Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins (A) – ****1/2
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (A) – ***
• A Tear at the Edge of Creation by Marcelo Gleiser – ***1/2
• Every Day by David Levithan (A) – ****
• Fables 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham – **
• Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (A) – ****
• Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham – ***
• Gregor and the Code of the Claw by Suzanne Collins (A) – ****

February

• The Monster in the Mist by Andrew Mayne – ***
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Greene (A) – ***
• Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston by Michael Rawson – ****
• The Walking Dead: What Comes After (v0l 18) by Robert Kirkman – **
• The Walking Dead: March To War (vol. 19) by Robert Kirkman -**

March

• Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell (A) – ****
• A wicked war : Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. invasion of Mexico by Amy S. Greenburg – ****
• Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan – ****
• “Guns” by Stephen King – ***
• Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler (A) – ***1/2
• The Walking Dead: All Out War (vol. 20) by Robert Kirkman -**
• The Information by James Gleick (A) – ***
• Doing Germany by Agnieszka Paletta – **1/2

April

• American Heretics: Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and the History of Religious Intolerance by Peter Gottschalk – **1/2
• Reign of error by Diane Ravitch – ****1/2
• Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Keating (A) – ***
• Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler (A) – ***1/2
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (A) – ***

May

• An astronaut’s guide to life on earth by Chris Hadfield – ****
• Strivers Row by Kevin Baker (A) – ***
• All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior (A) – ***
• Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh – ****

June

• Drinking Boston : a history of the city and its spirits by Stephanie Schorow – ***

July

August

• The Race Underground by Doug Most (A) – ****
• The Man of Feeling by Javier Marías – **
• Life Form by Amélie Nothomb – ***1/2
• Cousin K by Yasmina Khadra – **1/2
• Book of ages : the life and opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore – ****1/2
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (A) -***1/2

September

• One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson (A) – ****
• The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis (A) – ****
• Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić – ***1/2
• Senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya – *1/2
• Pity the Billionaire by Thomas Frank (A) – ***1/2
• Be there now : travel stories from around the world – **

October

• The Castle of Whispers by Carole Martinez – ***1/2
• The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis (A) – ***
• Jerusalem by Gonçalo Tavares – ***
• The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely (A) – ***
• The Angel’s Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery by Justin Richards (A) – *1/2
• Eight World Cups by George Vecsey – ****
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (A) – **1/2

November

• Dalek I Loved You by Nick Griffiths – **1/2
• Unruly Places by Alastair Bonnett (A) – ***1/2

December

• The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke – **
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (A) – ***
• Closed at Dark by Rob Blackwell – ***
• Marbles : mania, depression, Michelangelo, and me by Ellen Forney – ***1/2
• Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin (A) – ***

2013 Year in Review: Favorite Books

Here’s my annual list of my ten favorite books read in the year.  As always, this is merely the best books I read this year not books published in 2013.  For previous years see 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. You may also want to check out My Favorite Books of All Time or see Every Book I’ve Ever Read cataloged in Library Thing.

In no particular order:

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Cape Cod by Henry David Thoureau
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Hit By Pitch by Molly Lawless
• Laika by Nick Abadzis
• Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
• They Might Be Giants’ Flood by S. Alexander Reed and Phillip Sandifer
• Transatlantic by Colum McCann
• Walkable City by Jeff Speck

And the complete list of books read in 2013 (books published in 2013 are in bold). And yes, I do intend to catch up on my book reviews as soon as I can:

January

• Band of Demons by Rob Blackwell – ***1/2
• The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (A) – *1/2
• Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku (A) – **

February

• Walkable City by Jeff Speck – ****
• A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (A) – ***
• Take Five: Poems in 5/4 Time by Tad Richards – ***
• The Price of Inequality by Joseph E. Stiglitz (A) – ***

March

• Falling Upward by Richard Rohr (A) – **
• When spiritual but not religious is not enough : seeing god in surprising places, even the church by Lillian Daniel – ***

April

• Doctor Who: The Forgotten by Tony Lee – **
• We3 by Grant Morrison – *
• Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy (A) – ***
• Transatlantic by Colum McCann – ****
• Laika by Nick Abadzis – ****
• Back to Our Future by David Sirotta – ***1.2
• Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield (A) – ****

May

• A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (A) – **
• Through Time by Andrew Cartmel – ***
• The Discontinuity Guide by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping – **1/2

June

• Cape Cod by Henry David Thoureau – ***1/2
• Star Trek the next generation / Doctor Who. Assimilation² written by Scott & David Tipton with Tony Lee ; art by J.K. Woodward v1 – ***
• Atlantic by Simon Winchester (A) – **
• Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket – ***
• Doctor Who : the writer’s tale by Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook – **

July

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – ****1/2
• My Song by Harry Belafonte (A) – ***1/2
• Because I Said So by Ken Jennings – **1/2

August

• Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain – ***
• Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier (A) – **

September

• Rivals by Tim Green – ***
• Honus & Me by Dan Gutman – ***1/2
• Hit By Pitch by Molly Lawless – ****
• The Wet and the Dry by Lawrence Osborne – *1/2
• Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut – ***

October

•  Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks (A) – ***
• The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud (A) – **
• Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson (A) – **

November

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (A) – ****
• Fighting Traffic by Peter Norton – ***1/2
• Distant Corners by David Wangerin – ***1/2

December

• Quiet by Susan Cain (A) – ***
• Give the Devil His Due by Rob Blackwell – ***1/2
• The Technologists by Matthew Pearl (A)
• They Might Be Giants’ Flood by S. Alexander Reed and Phillip Sandifer – ****
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – ****1/2
• Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham – **

What did you read in 2013, and what did you love?  Let me know in the comments.

2013 Year in Review: Favorite Songs

With the top ten or so songs listed for every year of my existence, it’s time for the year-end review of my favorite songs of 2013.

For previous year-end lists of previous years check out my lists for 2012,  2011,  2010  and  2009.

I’ve featured many of this songs in my Song of the Week posts this year.  If you see a link from a song title it will take you back to the Song of the Week post for that song.

San Francisco – Foxygen

…That’s ok, I was bored anyway…

.

.

GMF – John Grant

…You could be laughing 65% more of the time…

.

.

.Number 9 – Moon Hooch

…Please stand away from the platform edge…

.

.

A Tattered Line of String – The Postal Service

…In the glow of the nights golden hue…

.

.

Fam Jam (Fe Sum Immigrins) – Shad

…Now when you’re Third World born, but First World formed/
Sometimes you feel pride, sometimes you feel torn…

.

.

White Foxes – Susanne Sundfør 

…For the gravy of your soul…

.

.

Indians From All Directions – A Tribe Called Red feat. Das Racist

…To the L to the L to the L to the Ella…

.

.

Delicate Cycle – The Uncluded

…And my heart started with a quarter…

.

.

Step – Vampire Weekend

…The truth is she doesn’t need me to protect her…

.

.

Slyd – !!!

…No, that’s weird…

.

.

Honorable Mentions:

Song Most Often Played at the Request of My 5 y.o. Son:

Feel this Moment – Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera

.

.

Funniest Viral Song that You Can Dance To:

The Fox – Ylvis

.

.

Best Boston History Lesson Set to Music:

The Great Boston Molasses Flood – The Dead Milkmen

[Listen on The Dead Milkmen website]

.

.

Best Drunken Barroom Sing-a-Long of a Traditional American Folk Song:

Shenandoah – Tom Waits w/ Keith Richards

.

.

Scariest Song You Can Dance To:

The Terror – Flaming Lips

.

.

Best Song That I Was A Part Of Creating With a Video That’s Not Safe For Work:

The Wolf is on the Hill – Beck (arranged by Krissy Skare, performed by a 50 voice chorus, choreography by Sugar Dish)

.

.

Let me know what you think of these songs in the comments, and of course, let me know you’re favorites for 2013

Ten Favorite Songs of 2012

The project continues with my favorite songs of 2012.  Read the first post for the detail on this project.

I originally covered 2012 with a Year in Review post.

Bright Whites – Kishi Bashi

.

.

Caliban’s Dream –  Underworld

.

.

Cartao Postal – Souljazz Orchestra

.

.

Default – Django Django

.

.

Dirty Money –  Antibalas

.

.

Goatman – Goat

.

.

Hold on When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It – Stars

.

.

Look at This – A Tribe Called Red

.

.

Oblivion – Grimes

.

.

Same Love – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert

.

.

And here are five songs from 2012 worthy of an honorable mention:

Akale Wube –  Debo Band

.

.

Dog Physics – Plaid Dragon

.

.
Gun Has No Trigger – Dirty Projectors

.

.
Here Again – Quantic and Alice Russell

.

.
Please Forgive My Heart – Bobby Womack

And there you have 40 years music and over 400 songs that helped define my life!

Stay tuned for the best songs of 2013.

.

.

Ten Favorite Songs of 2011

The project continues with my favorite songs of 2011.  Read the first post for the detail on this project.

I originally covered 2011 with a Year in Review post.

Bite of My Soul – The Fleshtones

T

Cruel – St. Vincent

.

.

Eleven –  Thao & Mirah

.

.

Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes

.

.

No Banker Left Behind –  Ry Cooder

.

.

Romance – Wild Flag

.

.

Santa Fe – Beirut 

.

.

Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine 

.

.
Up Up Up – The Givers

.

.
We Are Young – fun. feat. Janelle Monáe

.

.

And three songs from 2011 worth an honorable mention:

Bizness –  tUnE-yArDs

.

.

Midnight City–  M83

.

.
Turn It On – Waines 

.

.

Ten Favorite Songs of 2010

The project continues with my favorite songs of 2010.  Read the first post for the detail on this project.

2010 was the second time I published a year-end list of favorite songs, offering a chance to see what’s changed in the intervening years.

Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National 

.

.

The Cave – Mumford & Sons 

.

.

Down By The Water – The Decembrists

.

.

Horchata – Vampire Weekend 

.

.

Howlin’ For You – Black Keys

.

.

MC’s Can Kiss – Uffie 

.

.

Money Grabber – Fitz and the Tantrums 

.

.

Rill Rill – Sleigh Bells 

.

.

Rolling in the Deep – Adele

.

.

The Sweetest Thing – JJ Gray and Mofro 

.

.

And three songs from 2010 worth of an honorable mention:

Fuck You  – Cee Lo Green

.

.

Good Day Today – David Lynch 

.

.

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire

.

.

Ten Favorite Songs of 2009

The project continues with my favorite songs of 2009.  Read the first post for the detail on this project.

2009 is the first time I made a list of favorite songs at the end of the year, so we can look back and see what songs stood the test of time, and what songs I’ve learned of in the intervening years.

The End is Near – The Fiery Furnaces

.

Home – Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

.

..

Inspiration Information – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

.

.

People Got a Lot of Nerve – Neko Case

.

.

The Rake’s Song – The Decemberists

.

.

Sabali  – Amadou & Mariam

.

.

Stillness is the Move – The Dirty Projectors

.

.

The Strangers – St. Vincent

.

.

Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear

.

.

Wavin’ Flag  – K’naan

.

.

And here are four additional songs from 2009 that I thought worthy of an honorable mention:

Bonkers – Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden

.

.

I and Love and You – Avett Brothers

.

.

My Girls – Animal Collective

.

.

1901 – Phoenix

.

.

What were your favorite songs of the last year of the last decade?

 

 

Ten Favorite Songs of 2008

The project continues with my favorite songs of 2008.  Read the first post for the detail on this project.

Bag of Hammers – Thao Nguyen

.

.

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa – Vampire Weekend

.

.

Furr – Blitzen Trapper

.

.

Growl – Tanya Tagaq

.

.

In the Night – Basia Bulat

.

.

White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes

.

.

You Don’t Know Me – Ben Folds Five w/ Regina Spektor

.

.

Sleepyhead – Passion Pit

.

.

S.E.X.Y.R.O.B.O.T – The Pinker Tones

.

.

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here – She & Him

.

.

And my song of shame for 2008: Rime of the Hip Hop Mariners – Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew

.

.

.

What did you rock out to in 2008?  Let me know in the comments!

.

Ten Favorite Songs of 2007

The project continues with my favorite songs of 2007.  Read the first post for the detail on this project.

Challengers – The New Pornographers

.

.

LDN – Lily Allen

.

.

Missed the Boat – Modest Mouse

.

.

My Moon My Man – Feist

.

.

Paper Planes – M.I.A.

.

.

Seven Days of the Week – They Might Be Giants

.

.

Tears Dry on Their Own – Amy Winehouse

.

.

Tell Me ‘Bout It – Joss Stone

.

.

Time to Pretend – MGMT

.

.

To the Dogs or Whoever – Josh Ritter

.

.

And my song of shame for 2007: American Wedding – Gogol Bordello

.

.

 And what are YOUR favorite songs from the year of 2007?