Brant's Year in Photos Video for 2015

The annual Year in Pics video is posted!  Not as compelling as "Making of a Murderer", but on the bright side - nobody dies either!

Brant's December 2015 Playlist

Usually for December, I put together an entire playlist of holiday music.  For some reason, I just wasn't feeling that this time around.  Maybe it's the dreary weather, maybe I'm still in a turkey-induced coma from Thanksgiving.  For whatever reason, I present to you instead a list of new secular tunes peppered with one or two seasonal treats.  Enjoy!  To listen on Spotify, click HERE.

1.  I Feel It (Avid Dancer) - Groovy rock tune to get us going!  Sounds like late 70s/early 80s new wave.

2.  California (Grimes) - I caught her when she toured with Lana Del Rey earlier this year, and was psyched to see she had a new album out.  Never has a song about being treated badly sounded so exuberant!

3.  Lay It All On Me (Rudimental with Ed Sheeran) - Ed Sheeran seems to be everywhere these days.  Here he teams up with British band Rudimental for some easy going electronica.

4.  Caught Up In the Rapture (Natalie Prass) - Anita Baker is kind of like Sade, in that I NEVER hear anyone cover their stuff.  What a pleasant surprise to hear this indie cover of one of Baker's signature songs!  Prass also does a cover of Grimes' "REALiTi".

5.  I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Cecile McLorin Salvant with the Jean-Francois Bonnel Paris Quintet) - One of my new favorite jazz vocalists (thanks, Eric!) singing one of my favorite winter tunes.

6.  Cautionary Tale (Dylan LeBlanc) - Haunting but gorgeous folk from young Louisiana songwriter.

7.  Knives of New Orleans (Eric Church) - Speaking of Louisiana, here's a song about one of its most famous cities!

8.  Brickyard Blues (Allen Toussaint) - I'm feeling very stream-of-consciousness right now, so we'll stick with the New Orleans theme.  We lost a great performer and songwriter last month who called New Orleans his home.  This particular song was a hit for Three Dog Night, but here is Toussaint's version!  RIP

9.  Cell U Lar Device (Erykah Badu) - Badu's take on Drake's "Hotline Bling", from her telephone themed mixtape 'But You Cain't Use My Phone".

10.  Breaking Up (Bobby Caldwell and Jack Splash featuring Deniece Williams and Eric Biddines) - Jazzy soul from R&B legends.  I stumbled across this randomly, but they had me at Deniece Williams.

11.  One Night Lover /Nora en Pure remix/ (Paul Harris featuring Dragonette) - Funky dance beats to go with your holiday cocktail party.

12.  Beat It, I'm Madonna (Madonna vs. Michael Jackson) - Brilliant mashup by Robin Skouteris, off his vs7: The New Age album.  My friend Sean turned me on to this.  Too bad Madge and MJ never collaborated in real life!

13.  One Call Away (Charlie Puth) - Bubble-gummy ballad, but impossible to resist (for me!).

14.  Patience (Shovels and Rope with the Milk Carton Kids) - Great G&R tribute by Charleston, SC folk duo and friends.

15.  Return to the Moon (EL VY) - Quirky tune from a quirky duo!

16.  Open Your Eyes (School of Seven Bells) - Angelic vocals over a synthetic beat.  This album was completed by band member Alejandra Deheza after her bandmate Benjamin Curtis passed away in 2013.  You can read the full story at Stereogum.

17.  I'll Be Home for Christmas (Pat Boone) - We'll close out 2015 with a Christmas song.  I've kind of been on a Pat Boone kick lately, for some reason.  "I Almost Lost My Mind" and "Love Letters in the Sand" are two of my personal faves, but he did a decent job on this holiday standard as well.

So that's our final playlist for 2015!  Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, and I'll see you in the New Year!