My Three Favorite Music Albums of 2016

When the year 2016 began, I wasn't thinking all that much about the current scene in recorded music...my tastes put me more in the alternative/indie rock zone and not in the more publicized hip-hop/diva type of music that seems to enjoy such mainstream popularity.  I also like the great old bands and solo artists...although in their old age they have tended to severely decline in the quality of their music.  I was sadly jolted to reconsider this conclusion, though, after hearing in mid-January of the death of British icon David Bowie, two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album Blackstar.  A few weeks later I saw the video to the title track on TV and immediately began to wonder just what this guy had been up to for the three decades following his mass popularity in the mid-1980s.  So I listened to all of David Bowie's albums and discovered that, unlike the case with many of his contemporaries in the business, he continued to grow and innovate with his advancing years.  I consider Blackstar, along with 1997's Earthling and 1971's Hunky Dory, to be his top three albums with some pretty awesome tracks.  The song Blackstar, lasting a full ten minutes, is currently my favorite song of 2016 and will likely stay in that position when I make my "list" at year's end.  It's sad that David passed on, but had he not I wonder whether I wouldn't still be unaware of his great musical output over the years.  The Blackstar album contains only seven tracks, but they are all pretty lengthy.  The opening track, Blackstar, is a hauntlingly beautfiful piece that presents a mystery as to its intended meaning.  There are also two songs, 'Tis a Pity... and I Can't Give Everything Away, that have a spirited jazzy interplay between Bowie's singing and the saxophone...and the other diverse-sounding tracks stand up to scrutiny as well.  But the song Blackstar overwhelmingly dominates the album...

In mid-2016 Radiohead, one of my favorite current bands, came out with another great album, A Moon Shaped Pool.  I had been a bit disappointed in their previous one, The King of Limbs, from 2011.  But this new release, with its eleven tracks, contains some music that is destined to stand right up there on my personal list of favorites from this group...specifically the songs Burn the Witch,  Daydreaming, Decks Dark, Identikit, and (get ready) Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief.  This are just my favorites...I actually like all of the songs on this album, which is a worthy successor to some of Radiohead's best...

And then there is Regina Spektor, who up to now is probably my favorite recording artist of this century.  I have already written on this blog that my favorite songs of 2010 and 2012 were songs of hers (Us and Firewood, respectively).  Regina, as is the case with both David Bowie and Radiohead, is an artist who had been around a while before I discovered her...I think it was that great song Us that I first heard while listening to an Internet indie music station back in 2010. I consequently collected all of her albums and listen to them often.  I'd been waiting since 2013 for her next album, and finally, at the end of September, it was released: Remember Us to Life.  Her first singles release Bleeding Heart is also the album's opening track and one of my favorites.  Among the other ten tracks, I also like Small Bill$, The Light, The Trapper and the Furrier, Tornadoland, Obsolete, and The Visit a lot...

The year 2016 has been marked by me focusing my attention on certain musical acts and their bodies of work, in particular that of the great David Bowie.  As a result I haven't been listening very much to the radio and what's been coming out from other artists, many of whom I'm sure are worthy of mention...if I had only heard them.  Instead, it's looking as if my top list of favorite songs of 2016 will be heavily dominated by Bowie, Radiohead, and Regina Spektor...