Today's Quiz: The 2015 TQ Music Awards

Music related tweet of the year

Welcome to my annual year end music review post. If you have the patience to read all of it, you will see:

My ten awards with winners and runners up
Embedded Spotify playlist of my favorite tracks
Photos of note I posted to Instagram from the shows I attended

[Previous Year End Reviews: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011]

1. The “Perpetual Repeat” Song of the Year:
"Let It Happen” by Tame Impala
[Runner up: “Loud Places” by Jamie xx]
I almost cheated and went with a tie here (as I almost did in 2011 when “Pumped Up Kicks” narrowly bested “Midnight City”). Tame Impala wins simply because I still remember how I felt when I first heard it, because it’s the way I still feel today. But, it was very close. Normally my "song of the summer" finishes just below the top spot, but not this year (although it’s somewhat close “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” is on the same album as “Loud Places”). Maybe the other great songs pulled attention away from “Loud Places.” It’s also the first time in 5 years I haven’t seen the song I chose performed live.

2. The “Share with All Friends” Album of the Year:
In Colour by Jamie xx
[Runner up: What Went Down by Foals]
Jamie xx's debut album had my second favorite song of the year ("Loud Places" - which could have been number one if he toured with a live backing band), my song of the summer (“I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)”), and my favorite instrumental track of the year ("The Rest Is Noise"). It won dancing away.

3. The “If Every One Could Be Like This” Concert of the Year:
U2 at United Center
[Runner up: Jamie xx at Concord Music Hall]
The setlist, quality of sound, and production value alone would have easily earned its award. However the amount of extra curricular activities that surrounded it launched it into legendary status. Primarily, I went with three other friends who not only liked U2 unironically, but also love "U Talkin U2 To Me" with as much fervor as I. Secondarily, if I were to make a List of the top Podcast episodes of 2015, the #UTU2TM episode when Scott and Scott reviewed the same concert would top it. Tertiary, my friend and I met Adam Scott and were able to talk U2 To Him Too! Finally, you might have heard my blurt laugh when I saw the tweet embedded at the top of this post.

4. The “Phoenix” Becoming Too Big To Not Easily See Again:
Beach House
[Runner up: Foo Fighters/U2]
I don't know about this award this year. Let's give it to Beach House because they completely skipped Chicago in a year when they released two albums. Note that I am seeing them in early 2016. And let's throw Foo' and U' on the second line because you either have to shell out way above ticket price, get incredibly lucky, or both to see'em.

5. The “Franz Ferdinand” Must Now See Every Time They’re In Town:
My Morning Jacket
[Runner up: Varsity]
My Morning Jacket reached a new level of status in my heart in 2015. They are now a band I will see multiple nights on the same tour. 2016 may be even larger, with a plan that may take me to Red Rocks to see the band I've seen live the most in the venue I've always wanted to experience.

6. The “Bon Iver” Regret of the Year:
not seeing Tame Impala
[Runner up: not seeing Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field]
Damnit. Should've ignored my pride and paid whatever a degenerate was charging. Tame Impala was missed in two cities as I gladly would've gone up to Milwaukee to see that Aussie and his pals. It's the first time in many years that I failed in seeing my Song of the Year in person.

7. The “Medulla” Most Disappointing Album:
+ - by Mew
[Runner up: Ghost Modern by Geographer]
I'm considering assigning Mew and Geographer the same status as Diarrhea Planet: Amazing bands I will always catch live but won't spend too much time listening to their recordings.

8. The “Should I Quit You” Most Disappointing Concert:
Anything at Metro
[Runner up: My conversation with a drunken Ben Folds in a hip Nashville bar]
It's getting to the point when I'm disappointed when I see a favorite band announce a Metro show. I don't know if the sound quality of the venue has decreased, or my aural maturity has become spoiled by the newer and sound-superior venues such as Lincoln Hall and Thalia Hall.

9. The “Shadenfradue” Guilty Pleasure Track of the Year:
"I Didn’t Just Come here To Dance" by Carly Rae Jepsen
[Runner up: "Hotline Bling" by Drake]
No maybe about it, CarRaeJep released an amazing album in 2015. Drake's mention is 100% because I sing along to it with the words "Hotmail Bing" because that may have been the best joke of 2015 I wish I had written.

10. The "Buy an iPod stereo for the car" Best Decision I made in 2015:
Going to the Tomorrow Never Knows festival for the first time
[Runner up: Making the push of GA or bust for U2, and not settling for seated ticket]
A funny tweet of mine won me VIP passes to TNK Fest, which I had never previously attended. It got my butt out to concerts during the dead of winter.

Thank you very much for reading. To close, here is the concert collages/log from 2015: