2017 Playlist

I know it’s the middle of April and that’s a silly time to be posting a retrospective of last year. I just realized I’d forgotten to post this back in January!

Anyway...

At the beginning of each year since 2010, I’ve put together a playlist of songs that remind me a lot of the year that just ended. They’re not necessarily songs from that year, just ones that I listened to regularly (or favorites/standouts from entire albums that I listened to a lot), or ones that I associate with particular events from that year. My previous rule for myself was to not repeat artists and to fit it all on one 80-minute CD. However, this is, you know, a retrospective of 2017, a year in which a CD is an old format. The only thing I own that still plays CDs is my car, so I figured it might be time for a new rule, especially since I’ve been consuming more and more new music lately. So, my rule from here on out is: year-in-review playlists end at either 90 minutes or 25 songs, whichever comes first.

Even with the new rule, 2017 is as eclectic as always - though there’s definitely a theme of songs about driving. I guess that’s a side effect of living in Los Angeles?

An asterisk * indicates a band (or show) that I saw live in 2017. Other symbols indicate footnotes.

# - This is entirely @lancelotmylove‘s fault. & - I heard them play this live on the Sunday morning of a bluegrass festival. It had been over 100 all weekend, and I’d not slept much because I’d been up late playing music, so I was tired and punchy. When the double jaw harps started on this, it honestly felt like some sort of weird alternate dimension. There is something eldritch about this song. I love it. ^ - I can only find a live version of this online, not the album version. % - For the first time in my Year In Review Playlist history, I can’t find one of the songs online anywhere. Proof that CD is not 100% obsolete! The whole album this is from is great, and it’s a shame that it’s not more available. In a nutshell, this is a bluegrass song about driving for miles and miles at night, thinking about the one that you love. $ - This is entirely because of this video. I will never not associate this song with fire season now...

2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | I still haven’t posted the older ones...