I am the color of boom

This time around I thought I’d share my top 5 favorite albums from this past year with you.

Because I mention several songs I am only going to include the video for my favorite song of 2015.  I reserve the right to save a few albums (Sara Groves! Adele!) for my 2016 favorites list because I have not had time to listen to them. 

Enjoy!

#5:

Furious 7 soundtrack

·         I know this is a soundtrack, and not only that, it’s from a movie I’ve never even seen.  But it’s the triple chocolate molten cake of albums this year.  It’s incredibly indulgent hip hop with a great variety of exciting people like Iggy Azalea, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Jon. 

·         I listen to this when I hit on the backboard, sure.  But I also listen to it when I write.  When I’m working at the library.  I even listen to it when I’m in the tub reading my literary journals.  I have taken the music from this album and permanently absorbed it into my body.  You hear that?  That’s Turn Down for What coming out of my sweat. 

·         Of course See You Again is my favorite song on here, and I recognize that it was on a few albums this year, but this album kicks all those other album’s asses, and See You Again is just the lava on the cake.

·         Also, Iggy Azalea didn’t have an album this year so we Iggy fans had to take what we could get.  She kills it on the song, Go Hard or Go Home.  That juicy beat is irresistible to begin with and then Iggy comes in and makes that beat her bitch. 

·         Whip is another great song on this album.  Even though it’s ripe with filthy language, it has a great beat and really strange noises including a fast car zinging around.  This makes sense because Whip is code for a pimped-out car, like my Matrix when I decorated it with fortune cookie slips and bedecked the driver’s seat with the faux-llama seat cover I found at Wal-Mart.

#4

Meghan Trainor: Title

·         If I need a little fun I listen to Meghan Trainor.  While picking my favorite albums of 2015 I discovered that I must have had a lot of fun last year because I listened to A LOT of Meghan Trainor.  Like if my Itunes was a teeter totter with my 5,000 + songs on one side and Meghan Trainor's songs on the other, her songs would be sitting squarely on the ground. 

·         I like how she’s brought that 90s fun, sugary, bubblegum vibe back and added a little bit of kick ass to it.  I’m talking about that Aqua, Real Mccoy, Ace of Base, B*Witched, Cleopatra vibe.  AND SHE’S DOING IT ALL ON HER OWN. 

·         Plus she raps. 

·         And she’s gorgeous and gregarious.  Any time she’s on television I am always mesmerized by her.

·         All About that Bass is of course my favorite.  It’s a great girl power anthem that even dweeby girls like myself can belt out and sound great doing it.

#3

Ibeyi

·         These two ladies have that silly sexy factor that creates the feeling of flowers blossoming in my soul. 

·         They are also extremely connected and in sync with each other, which makes sense because they’re twins. 

·         Tribal drums, piano and a stellar voice all support some very thought-provoking and powerful lyrics sung in both English and Yoruba (I had to Google this). 

·         Ghosts is my favorite song.  It has incredible lyrics: ‘My ghosts are not gone.  They dance in the shade and kiss the black core of my heart making words, making sounds, making songs,’ lots of peppy rhythm and a voice that juts out very softly and with great command, especially with the ‘should we just let it be’ piece. 

·         Whether I’m reading, sewing, writing or sitting in peace, this album builds a little world for me that I can disappear into. 

#2

Imagine Dragons: Smoke + Mirrors

·         This is #2 because of one song, Polaroid.  Sure, the other songs are great.  But Polaroid is extremely special to me.  It reminds me of my brother Scott, especially the lines, ‘I am the color of boom,’ and ‘I’m a rollin’ freight train.’

·         I have always looked up to Scott.  One of the things I most admire about him is his free spirit and the whatever attitude he has about anyone who doesn’t understand this. 

·         The “Oh, how did it come to this’ part almost always makes me cry, and when I’m not crying I’m singing to it. 

·         This is also a song I listen to when I write.

·         It’s a rollercoaster of a song, and it makes me incredibly happy.

#1

Derek Minor: Empire

·         Smooth, joyous rapping.

·         Super positive.

·         The beats are easy to match with my footwork when I play tennis on the backboard.

·         A little bit robotic, with a nice balance of techno and digitalized spiritual shouting.

·         Very motivating.

And my favorite song from 2015 is…

Polaroid!