The Soundtrack To My 2011

Since around the beginning of December, all of the hipsters have been abuzz with their "best of" lists, especially the ones comprised of the albums and singles of 2011. I love reading through them, mostly because as a self-proclaimed music snob it reaffirms my belief that everyone who works in the music industry is secretly twelve years old (two words: Justin Beiber). Anyway, I figure if they can write a "best of" music list, so can I, but hopefully with a bit of a twist.

For me, 2011 was a year of really high highs and really low lows. Music is my safety blanket and always makes me feel better, or lets me know when it's okay to wallow a little (I strongly believe both things are of equal importance). My list is a bit of a cheater list because not everything I loved this year came out in 2011, but what's the point of having your own blog if you can't bend the rules a little?! So instead, my personal "best of" list is a top ten list of all of the songs I loved in 2011 whether they came out this year or not. Take that, Rolling Stone Magazine!

#1: The Healer: Florence and The Machine "Rabbit Heart (Raise It up)"
If you've had a conversation with me about music anytime over the last two years, it's likely I've cornered you and talked your ear off about Florence and The Machine. I absolutely love Florence's voice and writing style and feel like she figured out a way to set herself apart from all of the other female singers (good or bad) that have come out the last couple of years. But my Florence turning point came right after my dad passed away. Driving home from the funeral, I listened to this song over and over. It was so ridiculously fitting to how I felt in that (horrible) moment of my life that I truly felt like the song was written for me and she was reaching out to me personally (cheesy I know, but true). It was one of those rare "okay to wallow" moments that always wind up making you feel a little better.

#2: The Kid's Choice: Fitz And The Tantrums "Don't Gotta Work It Out". I don't know what it is about this song, but Layla and Ben could be in the worst mood ever and this song would make them laugh and dance. We were all instantly hooked and chances are good that if I made you a mix in 2011, this song was on it. (And just a side note, it takes a really good song to almost ignore the fact that the lead singer is a cheese ball in a pink suit...you know, almost...)

#3: The Popular Girl: Adelle "Rumor Has It". Okay, so I didn't go with the obvious Adele choice ("Rolling In The Deep") but nonetheless, Adele is loved by practically everyone I know from Beiber fans to heavy metal enthusiasts. I don't know how she does it, but she really did manage to get to everyone this year. "Rumor Has It" is my personal favorite off of her 2011 album and reminds me of driving to school at 6 AM for my 7 AM math final and not even feeling mad about it. In other words, Adele is a miracle worker.

#4 The Deep Thinkers: Mumford And Sons "The Cave". Josh and I have had countless conversations about how much we love these guys. It's hard to combine self-loathing and unbridled hopefulness on the same album, much less the same song, but they manage to do it and most importantly, to do it brilliantly. These guys are a ray of sunshine in an increasingly dismal music industry and if you don't already have this album, you're seriously missing out. Also, it's nice to see someone finally making the banjo cool.

#5 The One The Magazines And I Can Agree On: Wilco "Whole Love". I've liked Wilco for a long time and then we watched a documentary about them a few months ago that made me officially fall in love. In a time when it seems like everyone is pumping out generic music to make a quick dollar, the fact that there are still bands around that care about the quality of their music and the people who listen to it is amazingly refreshing. And on a completely different note, if you have a minute to waste on Youtube (you know you do!) check out Wilco's lead singer Jeff Tweedy randomly showing up on the Chicago news and doing the weather. It's priceless.

#6: Music's Finest Collaboration: She and Him "In The Sun". 2011 was, without a doubt, the year of Zooey Deschanel. She was in "New Girl" and about sixteen different movies, ads, commercials and so many other things that it felt like no matter where you looked, she was in your face. And somehow, I'm not sick of her in the slightest. In fact, if anything, the Zooey D. saturation of 2011 made her even more adorable. Also, every promotional She and Him performance I watched this year made me realize that M. Ward (aka Him in She and Him) is just too cool for words.

#7 The Cover Boys: Vampire Weekend "Everywhere" (Fleetwood Mac cover). I have a confession to make. I morph into a fire-breathing-music-snob every time someone does a cover. I feel like this is mostly justified because it's just not natural for Beyonce to cover Kings of Leon, but it happened (seriously, google it) and the fact remains that most covers are the cringe-worthy red-headed-stepchildren of the original song. Maybe it's because Vampire Weekend is one of my favorite bands, rendering me completely biased, or because I was having a Fleetwood Mac kind of year, but I love this cover. Ezra (I can practically hear Josh in my head saying "Don't say 'the lead singer' like you don't know their names!")'s voice is perfect for the song and the boys know how to rock. 

 #8 The One I liked, But Never Fully Understood Until 2011: Fleetwood Mac "Landslide". I love Fleetwood Mac and I have always thought this was a pretty fantastic song, but something in my head clicked this year and this song finally made perfect sense to me. I suspect it's because I'm getting old, but I'll try to leave it open to interpretation.

#9 The Guilty Pleasure: Cee Lo Green "Forget You". I know, I know, but this song is so unbelievably catchy that I defy you not to shake your booty when it comes on. Just finding the video (which is also awesome) guarantees this song will be stuck in my head for at least a week. I don't watch The Voice and I don't even like Cee Lo very much generally (with the exception of a few Gnarles Barkley songs) but I couldn't bring myself to change the station whenever this song came on the radio.

 
#10: The Summarizer: The Head and The Heart "Lost In My Mind". I obviously didn't write this song and therefore can't say with total certainty what it's about, but to me it feels like a lesson in trudging through the lowest lows and sailing through the highest highs all while trying your best not to lose sight of hope. Which in a nutshell, perfectly sums up my 2011.

Happy New Year Friends...The best is yet to come...

Twenty Seven Year Awkward Phase

If you've ever realized that the car parked next to you isn't empty as you originally presumed, but in fact full of people that have just spent the last three and a half minutes watching you do the robot to a John Mayer song, then you know exactly what it's like to be me.  

If you've ever watched Paul Rudd in "I Love You, Man" (or pretty much another Paul Rudd movie) and cringed at his total all-encompassing awkwardness, how he can't seem to squeak out a coherent sentence much less play it cool, then you can relate to a day in my life.

I'm so embarrassingly awkward. I have a hard time talking to people I don't know well and find myself either completely tongue-tied or talking endlessly about nothing. The awkward thing I'm the most famous for is what Josh refers to as my "fade to black".  As in, I'm talking and I realize that: a) I have no idea what I'm talking about, b) that I have been talking entirely too long or c) that the person I'm talking to has absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, so I just sort of mumble something incoherent and stop talking. Just in case you're wondering, this trick never works. People always say "What?" or "I didn't catch that last part" and it takes all of my willpower as an adult not to point over their shoulder and say "What is that?" and run away when they turn to look.

Unfortunately, I'm also physically awkward, which I've always blamed on being tall. I've spent a lifetime not really knowing what to do with my arms and legs and if there's something to trip over, I'll be the first one to do it (even if I'm just tripping over my own feet). Usually, this is where my physical awkwardness and social awkwardness decide to combine forces and I'll say something extra awkward and goofy (like "Whoa, who put my feet there?") to cover up the fact that I tripped. And no, that never works either.

It's a universal truth that everyone in the world goes through an awkward stage.  It's also a universal truth that you eventually get over it. But while everyone else seems to have grown out of their awkward stage, me (and Paul Rudd apparently, although I've watched interviews and real-life Paul Rudd is one of the coolest, non-awkward people ever. Jerk.) are stuck in limbo.. Doesn't being an adult automatically make you less awkward? I'm not a skinny thirteen year old with glasses and braces anymore, so why do I still feel like I am? When will it end?!

I wish I was cool and graceful like whatever the female equivalent of Ryan Gosling would be (Olivia Wilde? Emily Blunt?). In the meantime, I'm the person you can always count on for cringe-worthy moments that probably make you glad that you're not me. And if you're a fan of people who do the robot to John Mayer or the running man to Vampire Weekend, then I will never disappoint.