The sixth annual listing of my top music for the year. A wonderful end for the Cubs, concert heavy and two OK Go videos in a year!

YouTube Playlist:

Or Spotify if that’s your preference (not complete).

Top 50 Songs of 2016

Picture of the Chicago Cubs logo with the phrase "2016 World Series Champions" and "#FlyTheW".

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Time Markers

  1. All the Way by Eddie Vedder
    The Chicago Cubs have won the World Series. Wow.
    The Cubs updated their video for superfan Eddie Vedder’s song after the 2016 World Series win.
  1. Jesus of Suburbia:
    1. Jesus of Suburbia
    2. City of the Damned
    3. I Don’t Care
    4. Dearly Beloved
    5. Tales of Another Broken Home

by Green Day
I listened to a lot of American Idiot while packing and moving.

  1. Wasting Time by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
    First time I heard this song I thought I had been listening to it all my life.

Concerts

They Might Be Giants

TMBG Instant Fan Club members receive two tickets to a concert. I did not know when I saw them in March in Milwaukee that I would be living there come the fall.

  1. Bills, Bills, Bills
  2. I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar

The Who (opener Slydogs)

The band can still rock.

  1. Who Are You
    The Who could just play a whole concert of this song again and again and the audience would be happy.
  1. Squeeze Box
    Roger Daltrey had a long story about how The Kids Are Alright was a psychological song. Pete Townsend before Squeeze Box said, “This is also a psychological song…it’s about big breasts.”

James Taylor

            No Apologies Advocate only cried for half the concert.

  1. Montana
    As Taylor said, “We’re going to play some new music, but don’t worry, it sounds like the old music.”
  1. Mexico
  2. Steamroller Blues
    Taylor played it as if the guitar possessed him to play some rock and roll.

A Prince Tribute (1958-2016)

  1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps cover by Prince, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, and Dhani Harrison
    Played at the induction of George Harrison in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Watch Danni Harrison’s reaction to Prince’s solo; Prince stole the show.
  1. The Super Bowl Setlist
    Symbol of the singer Prince.

    By Micahmedia at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Best Super Bowl halftime show ever.

    1. We Will Rock You (Queen cover)
    2. Let’s Go Crazy
    3. 1999 (Interlude)
    4. Baby I’m a Star
    5. Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
    6. All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan cover)
    7. Best of You (Foo Fighters cover)
    8. Purple Rain (it was actually raining)
  1. Manic Monday by The Bangles
    (Yeah, Prince wrote that.)
  1. 7 by Prince & The New Power Generation

A Hootenanny Setlist

  1. Ain’t No Man by The Avett Brothers
  2. And Mom and Kid by They Might Be Giants
  3. Blood In The Cut by K.Flay
  4. Booty City by Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears
  5. Brand New by Ben Rector
  6. Cheap Thrills by Sia
  7. Christmas Carols Redux
    I was in a production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at Sunset Playhouse this December.  In our production a barbershop quartet sang a collection of Christmas Carols with their words modified to reflect the play’s plot.  They were quite fun.
  8. Default by Django Django
  9. Dixie The Tiny Dog by Peter Himmelman
  10. Digging for Windows by Zach de la Rocha
    New Zach de la Rocha album in 2017?
  1. Don’t Speak by No Doubt
    Theatre poster advertising The Sweet New by Raymond Rea performed by Theatre B

    A world premiere

    During tech weekend for Theatre B’s world premiere stage production of The Sweet New the entrance/exit music was not complete. So we heard Don’t Speak like 50 times.

  1. Elvis is Everywhere by Mojo Nixon
  2. First Light by Django Django
  3. Greg’s Love (feat. Botsy Collins) by Seramic
  4. I’m Still Here by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
    If you have the setlist for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings at Rock the Garden 2010 please send it to me.
  1. Kiss the Sky by Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra feat. Nino Mochella
  2. Meet James Ensor by They Might Be Giants
    KMSU, Minnesota State University, Mankato’s radio station did an all-request marathon of TMBG songs on the anniversary of the Belgian painter and printmaker James Ensor’s death (November 18th). The station received requests from all 50 states and 11 countries.
  1. Moonshadow by Cat Stevens
  2. Never Had a Gun by Matt the Electrician with Ida Wenoe
  3. No Sunlight by Death Cab for Cutie
  4. The One Moment by OK Go
    Watch the video:
  1. Ophelia by The Lumineers
    That piano trill is awesome.
  1. Perfect Vision by Cheerleader
  2. Plunder by The Felice Brothers
    The Weather from Welcome to Night Vale ep. 89, Who’s a Good Boy?
  1. Shot At the Night by The Killers
  2. Submarines by The Lumineers
  3. Tilted by Christine and the Queens
    Found courtesy of Carly Rae Jepsen’s song recommendations on The Dinner Party Download

Uncle John’s Band by…

No Apologies Advocate and I had an afternoon listening to covers of Uncle John’s Band.

  1. The Grateful Dead
  2. Jimmy Buffett
  3. Indigo Girls

Back from the Dead…

  1. Upside Down & Inside Out by OK Go
    Watch the video:
  1. Wavin’ Flag by K’NAAN
    There are quite a few versions out there due to the international popularity of the song.
  2. Way Down We Go by Kaleo
  3. What I Got by Blues Traveler
  4. Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? by The Arctic Monkeys

Fade to Black

  1. The Walk of Life by Dire Straits
    Some crazy brilliant person has taken the final scene of various movies and replaced them with a fade out to Walk of Life. The effect gives any movie a Hollywood optimistic ending. It’s called the Walk of Life Project.