As 2019 drew to a close, I decided to write about a favorite song from the preceding decade every day in December. I’ve always enjoyed writing about music, though I hadn’t done it too much in recent years. This was a way to force myself back into the habit for a bit, and see if I still got out of the process what I used to. It ended up being a lot of fun, and it helped me to process this particular stretch of my life through a musical lens.
I published each entry as a Facebook post, both to keep myself accountable and because I didn’t have anywhere else to put them. I’d had a blog going on my personal domain years ago, but it was pretty decrepit and I didn’t feel like putting in the time to resuscitate it.
The self-assignment brought the writing itch back, though. I’d like to be able to write about a song when I feel like it, and have a more appropriate place to do it. So, here we are.
To kick things off, I’ve migrated all my December 2019 posts in here. They comprise each entry prior to this one, and are listed in their original order below.
“Let England Shake” – PJ Harvey | “King Kunta” – Kendrick Lamar | “Surgeon” – St. Vincent | “Brill Bruisers” – The New Pornographers | “A Little God in My Hands” – Swans | “Whatever” – The Beths | “Video Games” – Lana Del Rey | “Ain’t It Funny” – Danny Brown | “Ohm” – Yo La Tengo | “Crescent” – The Wrens | “Pienso en tu mirá” – Rosalía | “Fixture Picture” – Aldous Harding | “‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” – David Bowie | “The Ballad of the Costa Concordia” – Car Seat Headrest | “Two Weeks” – FKA twigs | “Only Tomorrow” – My Bloody Valentine | “Bestial Burden” – Pharmakon | “Danny Nedelko” – Idles | “Daydreaming” – Radiohead | “Snow Is Falling in Manhattan” – Purple Mountains | “All Day” – Kanye West | “Silhouette” – Julia Holter | “Tightrope” – Janelle Monáe | “Monomania” – Deerhunter | “SDSS1416+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)” – Scott Walker | “Seventeen” – Sharon Van Etten | “Oh, Death” – Game Theory | “Jubilee Street” – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | “Archie, Marry Me” – Alvvays | “Ivy” – Frank Ocean | “Take Care” – Beach House