The Life of a Little Hippie

Ezra’s 8th Birthday Party

The party part of the party was held at a bowling alley this year…our first year doing a pay-for-someone-else-to-clean event…and it was pretty easy. But, not quite as easy as advertised. Still to do were the party favors, the cake, the organization, etc. Just the activities and the bulk of the cleaning was left to someone else – which we didn’t really complain too much about. It was nice to just walk away…

That evening, we had his family dinner/party at the house; so we still managed to have to figure out food, cleaning, etc even though we paid to not have to do any of that earlier in the day. Bad planning, I suppose.

Oh, the cake. Ahna continued her streak (started when Ezra turned three) of making a super awesome cake at home in the theme of the party.

Easter Egg Painting

A bit of snow outside, a Nana and Papa inside, and some hard-boiled eggs the Friday before Easter.

Best of 2015 Playlist

If you needed a representation of 2015 in notes, melody, and taste…here it is! All year long, I think about this list and if a song may or may not make the cut for consideration. As I sat down to put together the list, I had some preconceived notions as to the direction of the music; but setting those aside and choosing the songs lead the list in a rather different direction. Of course, each kid has the opportunity to pick a song to go onto the list – their favorite for the year. In the rest of the list, I found a few reoccurring themes: notably, the heaviest Colorado band influence to date, songs that finish a lot better than they start (which is the exact opposite of my very first qualifier to a good song – a first 30 seconds that sinks it’s teeth into you), and a lot of input from television shows and movies. That brings me to my next confession: this is one of the smallest raw pools of music that I have had in years. I really didn’t visit a lot of the music blogs that I normally would have (and one of the best, I am Fuel you are Friends, is shutting/slowing down), so my exposure this year was mostly through friends, entertainment, and podcast. The result is a few gems that I probably wouldn’t have come across in other years, and a few songs that may have had a tougher time making passing grade in other lists. Either way, these are my favorite songs from 2015…

Like always, there are three rules that go into qualifying for the list: Rule #0 (because it applies every year): fit on a traditional CD and come to my library in the calendar year (even though the songs may be older than that). Rule #1: Don’t suck. Rule #2 (and most important): Be interesting.

1 – Worthless by The Yawpers

2 – Who I Wanna Be by Pandas & People

3 – We’re Going To Be Friends by The White Stripes

4 – Grew Up At Midnight by The Maccabees

5 – Bend To Colors by Chemistry Club

6 – Clearest Blue by CHVRCHES

7 – The Skylab Plan by Daniel Pemberton

8 – Occupied by The Radio Dept.

9 – Oceancrest by My Body Sings Electric

10 – Fresh Blood by The Eels

11 – When Summer Comes by Pan Astral

12 – Squeeze by Monroe Monroe

13 – Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

14 – Girlfriend by In The Whale

15 – The Feast And The Famine by Foo Fighters

16 – Go’head by Rocstrong

17 – Can’t Keep Checking My Phone by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Elia’s Song Choice: Red Right Hand (right? my 3 y/o digging post-punk? awesome)
Ezra’s Song Choice: Who I Wanna Be (he has picked Pandas & People two years in a row)
My Favorite: Worthless
The One Despite All Efforts I Couldn’t Keep Off: The Skylab Plan
Biggest Surprise: We’re Going To Be Friends (mostly because it sounds nothing like The White Stripes)
Really Crank This One…No, Louder Than That: Girlfriend or The Feast And The Famine
Band Not Making The List For The First Time In A Few Years: RAC
Bands Continuing Their Run: CHVRCHES, Pandas & People
Dammit If They Didn’t Show Up Again: Pan Astral
Last Song Dropped From The Playlist: Sea Of Love by The National

Previous Year’s Best Of Lists: