The Lineup:
12/18: 2015’s Best Musical Moments (Podcast) and 2016 Predictions (Podcast)
12/21: Top Vinyl Variants/Top Vinyl Packaging
12/22: Top Reissues/2016 Most Anticipated (Text)/Best Tape Releases
12/23: Top 50 Songs/Top Albums
12/24: Label of The Year
We’ve got 3+ hours of music for your holiday trek home, your overly hip holiday party (perhaps where you’ll rock an MV sweater?) or just to drown out family brawls, ranging from a certain Broadway hit to the year’s best hip-hop (we had a realllly strong year in rap/hip-hop).
This feature is always my favorite of the year-end material, simply because I get to see my own staff’s taste. Managing editor James Cassar showed off some evolution, submitting a Bieber song, a shocking move given his penchant for “defending.” Artist Zach Behm and review writer David Fisch brought Grimes and Kendrick into the mix, while interviewer Meghin Moore and writer Alan Miller brought indie mainstays Sufjan Stevens and Modest Mouse in. Some more overlap came with artists like Sorority Noise, Father John Misty and Foxing.
In terms of my own contributions, Hellogoodbye contributed one of the more charming tracks of the year with “I Wanna See The States,” Kevin Devine had one of the more heartbreaking with “Gieben” and Leon Bridges had the biggest star-making turn with “The River.” I couldn’t resist the nostalgic urge of Money Pit’s “Killing Time In Hawaii” and just about everyone should have Julien Baker’s “Sprained Ankle” somewhere on their list. And god, Jeff Rosenstock released a killer record (more on that in our top 10), Sleater-Kinney executed an amazing comeback and CHVRCHES avoided the sophomore slump. I could write about 2015 all day, but I’ll leave it at this: it was a damn good year.
Tags: Best of 2015
