Best of the Year 2016: Song

Hi. I am behind on my "best of" lists. Here's what I thought was the best from pop/rock in 2016:


"Watch Me"
by ANOHNI

"Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold"
by Sleigh Bells

"If I Lost You"
by Garbage

"Waves"
by Kanye West

"Violent Men"
by ANOHNI

"Zodiac"
by Preoccupations

...I will try to describe them later on if I can. For now, just check them out on Spotify or elsewhere.

2016 Retrospective: Loss

Memento mori

As early as summer, I saw signs that people wanted to erase 2016 from history. Just skip it. The passive aggressive memes were strong. It had to do with politics, with socioeconomic outrage, with dying.

Here are some crazy deaths:

• Harambe (1*)
• Texas Hot Air Balloon Crash (16)
• Orlando Night Club shooting (50)

[*Yes, I realize Harambe was an ape. Maybe it's not so crazy.] And then there were celebrity and culturally-significant deaths.

I wasn't a fan of Leonard Cohen, but he passed this year. So did two majorly influential idols of mine in the music arena: David Bowie and Prince. I've already written mostly about the latter, but the first one I am still in astonished about. I mean, it was sudden and it was right near Bowie's birthday anniversary and schedule album release. Still shocked.

And then there were more personal passings. A suicide, and another sudden happening of my grandmother. My maternal grandmother, aged 88, had many scares in the past few years, but she always fully recovered. She was an example of an active, educated octogenarian that broke the stereotype. She still drove herself around, and she was incredibly active in volunteering and card playing social circles. She even exercised. All of this with multiple sclerosis diagnosed some 40+ years ago. What an inspiring person.

Next year (2017) can't have this amount of death, can it? When I think about all the aging rock stars, the icons of the 20th century... does death become the norm? Is it part of growing older? If it is, I must endeavor to create (rather than destroy).