2015: My Year in Music

My favorite way to start a Saturday morning is to hunker down on the couch and watch VH1’s The 20. Two hours of the week’s top 20 music videos. Don’t judge. Of course, I’ve been a little pissy about the weekly countdown since they ousted Jim Shearer as host a year ago, but I can suffer Shannon Coffey to get my weekly dose. This morning, to my dismay, an SNL documentary is in the place where The 20 should be. I’m more than a little thrown off. But the house is quiet and the electric fireplace* is on, so I’ll do my own best-of lists this morning. It’s a good time to reflect on the past year. I love music and I love documentation, so here we go. Best of 2015.

*My birthday gift! It’s bringing me so much joy.

My favorite songs of 2015:
“Can’t Feel My Face” – The Weeknd. No secret, best song of the year. It just burrows in your brain.
“Shut Up and Dance” – Walk the Moon. Best feel-good song of the year. If this song was your introduction to WTM, go back and listen to their self-titled album from a few years ago. Anna Sun. Tightrope. They are so young and yet so 80s.
“Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars. Honestly, I was kinda ‘over’ Bruno Mars. And this song brought me back.
“The Next Storm” – Frank Turner. I’m obsessed. When it gets to the “rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed” line, my whole body soars a little.
“Love Me Like You Do” – Ellie Goulding. Her voice is so sweet and haunting. I like everything she does.
“Drag Me Down” – One Direction. Heaven help me, I don’t want to like One Direction. I don’t. But their songs are so damn catchy every time. I only know Harry’s name. If you find out that I’ve learned the others’ names, please stage an intervention.
“Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots. Trevor says it’s good I like Twenty One Pilots, says it keeps me in touch with the youth.

Albums, wonderful albums. My favorite and most-listened-to this year:
Nate Ruess – Grand Romantic
Hozier – Hozier
The Decemberists – What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Frank Turner – Positive Songs for Negative People
James Biehn – James Biehn

I can listen to any of these on solid repeat. All day long.

Let’s talk about concerts. Live music done right is so heady and addictive. I was looking back at the concerts we attended this year. We saw 30 or so bands/artists, more than half of them for the first time. One of my very favorite things in life is when a band I’m not familiar with makes me fall in love with them instantly. This is what happened when I first saw Carbon Leaf open for the Goo Goo Dolls about ten years ago. So it’s fitting that I would fall in love with a band that opened at a Carbon Leaf show in Minneapolis this fall. The Accidentals from Traverse City, Michigan, are an indie-folk trio with beautiful voices and an arsenal of stringed instruments. Talented, clever and quirky. Irresistible.

Another concert that caught me by surprise was Cage the Elephant. High energy, super fun, great live band. I’d also never been to the Westfair Amphitheater outside of Council Bluffs, which turned out to be an excellent venue. Trevor and I were just gonna hang back and sit on the grassy hillside “bowl” of the amphitheater, but midway through “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” we were all, “ain’t no way we’re staying back here.” If you go to one of their shows, plan to move in closer.

I can’t decide what my favorite concert of the year was, but Nate Ruess is among the contenders. Frontman of the band Fun, he’s in his element as a solo artist as well. I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone else command the stage like he does, and nobody has a better sense of the downbeat. His whole body drives the beat, and I love that. Dude burns some calories.

Even though I said I can’t decide on my favorite, there was one show in which I might have proclaimed, “This is my favorite concert EVER!” about a hundred times. I can’t believe I finally, FINALLY, got to see Duran Duran. My junior-high crush band. At RED ROCKS. Maybe it was the altitude that contributed to my absolute delirium that night. Transcendant.

Other concerts that bubble up to the top as I think over 2015 include The Decemberists, who always bring perfection in sound and artistry and wit. There are perennial favorites Carbon Leaf and Matt Nathanson, who I have to see at least once a year just to stay alive. I missed seeing Ingrid Michaelson this year, who ranks right up there as well, and I think I might have actually died a little from that omission.

One thing I specifically wanted to do this year was catch more local bands. I’m especially glad I finally got to see Christopher the Conquered at the 80/35 Music Festival. What a great show he put on. Also at 80/35, I wouldn’t have missed seeing Boh Doran. OK, so she no longer lives in Central Iowa, but we still count her as one of our own. Her set still brought the local touch with Will Locker and Ben Mars joining on stage. We also caught James Biehn a couple times – he is an amazing musician and person, and does so much to develop our next generation of musicians. His album was one of my favorites of the year.

I feel a little sad in wrapping this up, because of what is left out. There were other great evenings spent with incredible music, terrific friends, venues both spectacular and seedy. But it’s all good. When we share a glass of Christmas cheer, we’ll talk more about it. And start outlining our concert calendar for 2016.

Can memory foam fill an empty room?

It's been one year since Trevor graduated from high school, and I'm shocked at how quickly he's "flown the coop." He hardly comes home from college -- and yes, I know this is a good thing. In his break between the end of semester and his summer camp job, he scheduled a 10-day trekking trip in Peru. Cool. This is a good thing too.

He told me a couple days ago that he probably won't come home from camp each Saturday night like he did last summer. "But, you have to wash your clothes sometime," I objected. But apparently they also have laundry facilities in Boone, Iowa. Or maybe the clothes won't get washed. Worse things could happen.

In August, he's planning to head back to college right after his camp job ends, because of a fall internship and campus job that could use him back a little earlier. This is... you know, good and all. 

sigh.

But today, I went to the Mattress Firm and bought him a new bed. For his room here. Because I want to make sure he has a more comfortable bed to sleep on when he's home. I did this against Dennis's skepticism, who was like, "But he's hardly here." 

I know.

I don't care. I'm buying him a more comfortable bed. Maybe it's a desperation purchase. And it'll be delivered in two days, so there ya go. So if you want to stay over, I'll have a new bed for you. It'll likely be available. 

Laughter is an instant vacation. -Milton Berle

I was on a city bus today and overheard a conversation between two apparent drifters who hadn't seen each other in a while. They were all, "Hey!" to each other, and then Guy One said he's staying at the shelter now.
Guy Two: Oh, is that right? So, how's life going for you?
Guy One: Well. Not so good.
<pause>
Guy Two: I guess that was a stupid question.

And then they both laughed.

I love shared laughs, even under sad circumstances.

Or, especially under sad circumstances.

Word hoarding

It turns out I'm a hoarder of journals, and now blogs. I collect my own thoughts and words. There, that sounds better. 

I've always loved journals. I currently keep journals for myself, for both of the kids, and a travel journal. I have inactive past journals focused on what books I was reading, what prayers I was saying, dreams, health, wish lists, free writing, random scribbles, whatever. And then there's the blog you're reading now... and the past vacation blogs... and the phone app for daily gratitude lists. Oh, the lists. I keep lists of what bands I've seen, what bands I still need to see, my favorite books/movies/concerts, places I still need to visit. There's also the list of things I've misplaced, so I don't forget to keep looking for them. With that, I've probably shared enough.

SO. I just started a new blog, and I'd love to have readers! I'm calling it On My List - Des Moines. I'm just planning to write about things I enjoy doing in Des Moines, and the restaurants, pubs, places and events I'm finally checking off my list. (Again with the lists. Have mercy.) I decided to try Tumblr for this new blog. I haven't yet figured out how one "subscribes" to it, but I started pages on Facebook and Twitter that will show updates. Follow along if you like!

Harmonize this.

Here's the thing about saying your goals out loud, as I did in the early hours of Jan 1. (See post here.) Sometimes the universe takes you to task.

I started my harmonious year by putting on sneakers and heading to our brand-new downtown YMCA with the family to play racquetball. 10am on New Years Day and we were starting it off right! Getting it done! Yeeehaaa!

About 15 minutes into a match with Nate, I was startled by a hot rip on the bottom of my foot. Torn plantar fascia. I knew immediately. I've worked through some plantar fasciitis over the past few years, nothing that couldn't be overcome with some stretching and occasional rest, but I knew I had just stepped it up a notch. There's no walking when this ligament is torn. It's not a big deal, and the body is fully capable of doing the miraculous work of healing the tear on its own. But it needs full rest to do so.

And so now I find myself in a boot and crutches. No weight on this foot. Because it needs time to do its thing.

So, I have my first challenge in living harmoniously. I'm super frustrated because I was ready to join some classes at the Y and start finding my rhythm there. Guess what. That's not the prescription for this month. Instead, it looks like I'll have time for more writing, reading, thinking, praying, meditating... and maybe making some progress on the graduation blanket I started knitting for Trevor more than a year ago.

January isn't shaping up to be what I hoped, but I'm going with it and it's okay. Of all the months this could happen, January might be the best. Farmers market, outdoor concerts and festivals are all on winter hiatus. Our bikes are hoisted up on the garage ceiling. It's okay.

AND, I should be healed up and back to normal still with some winter left, so I can wear my OTHER new boot, which is far cuter. (I thought it was the most expensive pair of boots I ever bought, until my visit to the urgent-care clinic, where I got just ONE boot for TWICE the cost.) Serenity now.

Manifesto '15. A River Runs Through It.

I'm super looking forward to 2015. I have a few goals/resolutions, some related to the ole' writing hobby and to a possible business venture. These are specific and measurable, as all good goals should be. But the real excitement is saved for my Big Goal, which is neither specific nor measurable. It's more of an "umbrella" thing:

To live more harmoniously.

Side note: I recently took one of those online quizzes that supposedly told what my real birth name should have been. I got "River." So, yeah.

What do I mean by "living harmoniously"? I mean finding a natural cadence, living organically -- not forcing things, but allowing everything to unfold as it's supposed to, in its own time and manner.

Consuming less, wasting little.

Pausing. Breathing. Listening.

Paying attention to where my food comes from. Not mindlessly accepting the artificial and processed. Eating real food.

Valuing health -- my own health, my family's health, my community's health.

Walking places. Riding my bike. (April might be a better month to start that one. Back to the "in-its-own-time" thing.)

Supporting local stores, businesses, events, artists.

Connecting in relationships.

Living with my eyes open -- observing, reflecting, bringing wonder into my days. I'm hoping this can be an antidote to the jadedness and cynicism that I fall into so easily.

Earnestly seeking answers to some of my plaguing spiritual questions. 

 

This whole thing invites charges of hypocrisy along the way. I'll have to give myself an ounce of grace on that, because perfectionism just brings stress. Which is not harmonious either. 

Idealistic? Absolutely. 

Attainable? Never.

Worth attempting? 

I think so.