In case you are at all interested.
Last year, I embarked upon a completely personal project, wherein I tried to remember every last day of 2023 by a song. Or at least, set aside a song for each day.
Album covers for January playlist, featuring The Decemberists, Mates of State, Dave Matthews Band, and Lizzo & Cardi B
Album covers for February playlist, featuring New Order, PinkZebra, Lady Gaga, and Rodney O. & Joe Cooley
Something that became even more abundantly clear to me in 2023 is that there a lot of things that happen for absolutely no reason. I consider myself an agnostic, and I really don’t think that everything that happens in this world has a purpose. There are too many horrific & needless deaths, too many instances of violence, too many people who simply seek to undermine those willing to help (yes, I’m talking about continued curriculum changes here in Florida) to make me believe in a truly purposeful universe. That’s something for me to work out in my own head, in whatever form of theology I eventually settle on, if I ever do. I do, however, believe in making myself purposeful in the universe, no matter how small the change I make. I’m obnoxious, and I know this, in that I won’t be deterred. If people haven’t been able to convince me that what I do matters in 41 years on this planet so far, you won’t get there. Too bad.
Album covers for March playlist, featuring Janelle Monae, The Beach Boys, Weather Report, and Heart
Album covers for April playlist, featuring two Monkees albums, Pearl Jam, and INXS.
I was very lucky in this calendar year, in that I got to travel, to spend time with old friends, to support people I love, and take my kid a lot of places, even on the first plane ride that she’ll remember. While is sensitive and often anxious, she loved being on the plane (likely because she liked being wrapped in blankets with her parents on either side of her, not moving for hours). So I was very glad that I took on this Song a Day playlist project this year, because there was a lot to remember. Some of the songs I waited to put down for certain days, saving Kate Bush’s “The Big Sky” for a flight to Utah, rather than a day spent putting away laundry. Some of the songs came from things that amused me, such as going to EPCOT on Charles’s big day, and singing “It’s coronation day!” the whole way through the park.
Album covers for May playlist, featuring Britney Spears, Carly Rae Jepsen, Phantom Planet, and Elvis Costello
Several of the songs were songs I taught. I didn’t get to perform much this year, so that had little affect on my personal playlist. Many were influenced by my kid, including two appearances by Imagine Dragons. (Still not as bad as Daniel Tiger and Elmo appearing in my top artists back in my 2018 Spotify Wrapped). Some were concerts I attended, and although The Cure was my top listened to artist this year and I finally got to see them in Miami this year, Tom Petty dominates my Song Every Day list, for reasons unknkown. Was a big Tom Petty year in this house.
Sometimes in relistening to these playlists, I find myself thinking more of driving down Michigan Ave. rather than doing anything else in particular. And then I heard R.E.M.’s “Nightswimming” come on while listening to the Juen playlist, and remembered checking into our New Orleans hotel, fresh off of our first real family road trip, attending a conference with friends new & old, and my otherwise tired child insisting on going into the pool. The pool was tiny & freezing cold. But that’s a memory I’m very glad that I have. Some songs are related to TikToks I made or that I saw, and I also included a Rachmaninoff movement because I got to see Yuja Wang play Rachmaninoff at the Dr. Phillips Center, followed by watching a rocket launch while we were in traffic leaving the concert.
Album covers from June playlist, featuring music from The Princess and the Frog, Patti Smith, Miley Cyrus, and Avicii.
Album covers from July, featuring two albums by The Cure, U2, and X.
Most of the month playlists have a certain feel to them. January was relatively chill & eclectic, starting a streak of at least several songs on each month’s list influenced by my favorite radio show. May’s list is heavily kid-influenced, being that it was the last month of the school year. July’s might be my favorite, influenced by attending my first Modern Band Summit in Colorado and then our weeklong Girls Rock Camp, in which my own kid participated. There’s an overrepresentation of Vince Guaraldi in December, but what are you going to do.
Album covers from August playlist, including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Rex Orange County & Randy Newman, and music from Big City Greens
Album covers from September playlist, including Lulu, Janet Jackson, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Jimmy Buffet
Managed to make it the whole year without any repeats, although a couple of months are short by a day or two. I added 32 songs in May and December, but again, this is a loosely structured project, done because I wanted to do so. The playlist is also a way to remember the many we lost this year, whether they were musicians we admired, including Tom Verlaine, Burt Bacharach, Tina Turner, Astrud Gilberto, Harry Belafonte, Sinead O’Connor, Jimmy Buffet, and Shane MacGowan, or people we admired not because they were famous but we looked up to them nonetheless.
Album covers from October playlist, featuring New Kids on the Block, Firey Furnaces, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Utah Symphony Orchestra
Album covers from November playlist, including Dolly Parton, Echo in the Canyon (Norah Jones & Jakob Dylan), percussionist Cecelia Smith, and Kate Bush
I highly encourage this project for others. Although I love a good challenge, like most things, I encourage house rules. Don’t let it stress you out, just try to keep up the best you can. You’ll find months that you make it to the 15th without even creating a playlist. But often times you can fill in your own gaps. Sometimes you can’t. It is still a wonderful and I think a very powerful way to remember a year gone by. I am so excited to start this year’s playlist.
And a small playlist embed because the “cover image” for December is not cooperating with me.