Another year gone by…
2014 was certainly a year of transition. Whether it was work, family, residence, you name it, every aspect of life for the Narrator was in a state of flux, and it showed. Now, at year’s end, there are still some dark clouds on the horizon, but I can also see the gorgeous sunrise of promise that 2015 will be bigger than anything I’ve ever done before. I’ve spent years searching for the right pieces to come into play, and 2014 saw those pieces finally come together; I finally found home, and I finally found what I’m supposed to do in the world. It’s going to be amazing.
But before we can move on to 2015, let’s recap the past year as I always do this time of December by presenting the Playlist for 2014. For those of you new to the game, the Playlists evolved from a simple question 16 years ago – if your life for the past year were to be made into a movie, what would be the soundtrack, and why? Each year since I’ve compiled the music I feel fits best for me; this year’s headline song goes to Seether for “Tonight” because it encompasses the energy and vibrancy that’s been building for me over the past 12 months. I even went so far as to find and link the Youtube videos (save for Angel’s Music Box, see below) this year so you can hear the songs, too.
And now without further ado, may I present the Narrator’s Soundtrack for 2014:
1. Safe and Sound (Capital Cities) – This is the song that started off the year – literally. We were watching New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and Capitol Cities was the first band to play after the ball dropped. It was stuck in my head for weeks…
2. In My Life (cover by Allison Crowe) – The first time I heard this song, the original Beatles version, I hated it. Absolutely hated it. And as a fan of the Beatles, I wasn’t aware it was even possible for me to hate one of their songs with the fervor with which I did this one. But the reason for my hatred was that the music didn’t fit the lyrics – the words are a heartfelt love poem, the music that accompanied it was harsh, fast, and twangy. It was two minutes and twenty-six seconds of jarring noise, and I remember telling the person who played it for me that it was terrible. “But the lyrics…” he said, obviously crushed. The lyrics were admittedly very fitting to me, but the music was all wrong. Allison Crowe’s version is the closest I’ve found to date that sounds the way I think the song should.
3. Our House (Crosby, Sills & Nash) – we found our new home!
4. Somewhere Out There (instrumental cover by Angel’s Music Box) – Sadly there’s no Youtube link for this one, but you can find a lot of their work on iTunes and the Amazon Music Store. Listening to modern melodies as played on a music box is just hauntingly beautiful, and this one is one of my favorites.
5. All About That Bass (cover by Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox) – This because I love the jazzy twist on this rendition of the song. It’s a good one, and one I recommend to girls in particular because it has a good message.
6. Best Day of My Life (American Authors) – And so things seemed to be progressing well as 2014 went on, but I started to feel like something bigger was coming. I didn’t know what, or when, or how, but change was in the air. I was happy.
7. Pompeii (Bastille) – We live in a world that more often than not tends to not make a lot of sense – lots of things change every day, but at the same time it seems nothing ever does. So, how am I gonna be an optimist about this?
8. Transatlanticism (Instrumental cover by Vitamin String Quartet) – one of the casualties of summer was when we found out that my boss, who is also a good friend, was being let go. This was someone who had mentored me for a significant portion of my corporate career, and the way she was let go left a bitter taste for those left behind.
But this wasn’t the Big Thing. I could feel it – that was still growing.
9. River Flows in You (Yiruma) – A big theme from 2014 is the duality of our natures, what we are vs. what we want to share with the world. In addition to being an incredibly beautiful piece, this song brings about a duality of emotions – sadness and joy, hope and restraint, strength and vulnerability- as it floats through the summer breeze.
10. In The Air Tonight (cover by Recoil) – Summer 2014 had a particular nervous energy about it; it seemed like all through those hot months, the swell of anticipation that something huge was on the horizon grew more palpable every single day. Like the electricity in the air just before a huge storm, your skin prickling as you wait for the clouds to unleash their torrent.
11. Heaven Nor Hell (Volbeat) – This is my song for kicking ass and taking names. Which is what started happening in a number of different areas of my life. We were almost there…
12. Don’t Look Back in Anger (instrumental cover by Vitamin String Quartet) – It was time to start the revolution to be everything I was meant to be. Just like I knew when we found home, I knew I found something special with RCM, and it was time to start making big things happen. The past was rough, but everything that happened to that point – every misstep, every heartbreak, every clunky pause was setting us up for something bigger. I believe in destiny – that even when things hurt us or make no sense to us at the time, the experience and the lessons learned from them stick with us to prepare us for what happens next. I am who I am because of everything that’s happened to this point, and when you finally take a step back to look at the bigger picture, it’s not hard to see how these seemingly random events conspire together to put you exactly where you need to be at the time you need to be there.
13. We Can’t Stop (cover by Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox) – This is such a fantastic cover, a very classed-up version of a Miley Cyrus atrocity. This is the song that plays in my daydream of dancing at some huge soiree when we make it big 🙂
14. Tonight (Seether)* – Bring on 2015…
*Song for the Year
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