For many, January is a month of renewal. We’re told by every blogging site in the country that now is the time to get our act together. Hit the gym. Do that juice cleanse. Become your better self.

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to all that stuff I’m both extremely lazy and completely noncommittal. In one area of my life, however, there has been some turnover, and that is on my iPod. After the autumn of Americana, EL VY rekindled my love of indie music and 80s sounds and I’ve followed them completely down the rabbit hole from Matt Sheehy’s Lost Lander and (back to) Andy Stack’s Wye Oak, to a revisit of The Smith’s entire catalogue. Then there was the death of David Bowie (it still hurts to type it) and the simultaneous release of his stunningly beautiful Blackstar. And that’s not even mentioning the plethora of concerts I’ve been going to and some new friends in the Americana scene. So…my ears have been stretched a bit. All throughout, however, I have noticed a preferential trend towards the melancholic—loss and movement are the predominant themes on this playlist. Maybe it’s maudlin of me, but I find an odd comfort in the longing of these songs. It feels appropriate somehow, and motivational at the same time. After all, the new year is about reflection as well.

Cheers, 2016. Let’s do this.

For those of you of the iTunes music persuasion: https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/january-2016-wildest-dreams/idpl.db2506323083418c8ab7a36c2a130c8d