2015 Recap

There it is, the first year of my personal hall of fame. I must say, I love how it's turning out.

When I first had the idea to do this back in the summer of 2014, I had a lot of questions for myself.

Foremost, isn't it a bit pretentious to think that you're special/cool/respected enough that anyone's going to care about this?
A: I ruled out that concern when I decided that, ultimately, I would be completely satisfied with doing this for myself alone. Any others who came to care would be a bonus.

Second, what will something being in the list actually mean?
A: Putting something in the list is pointing out in some more-or-less official way that it has had a profound effect on my life, much more than the thousands of other movies, music, games, etc. that are out there. It means that they have shaped me in some way. It means they mean more to me than anything else.

Third, how long will you keep this up?
A: As long as I can.

Let's write out the list (with links!) and then chat about it.

Artist
Enigma (Feb)

Songs
Don't Panic - Coldplay (Jan)
Run - Snow Patrol (Apr)
Brothers on a Hotel Bed - Death Cab for Cutie (Jul)
Love is the End - Keane (Sep)
18 - Moby (Dec)

Albums
Carnavas - Silversun Pickups (May)
Demon Days - Gorillaz (Oct)

Movies
Spirited Away (Mar)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Aug)

Video Games
Diablo II (Jun)
Dungeon Siege (Nov)

First, my all-time favorite artist, Michael Cretu, the man behind Enigma. When I wrote about him and his music back in February, I was swept away by nostalgia. The last album he released was in 2008 when I was 15. He blew my mind by announcing a few months ago that he is working on a new album to be released in 2016, 8 years later. The story of Enigma continues! There's nothing I'm looking forward to more right now.

Then my five songs. No future group will even mean quite the same to me as this one. Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Death Cab for Cutie, and Keane, what I call the 'four core bands' of my youth, are all represented here. It was with them that my love for music really began to blossom. I then took that love to other genres and artists, Moby included (you'll see others here soon). We closed with "18", the only song I've ever called my absolute favorite.

Then albums! The grand stories of the music world and my favorite way to listen to music. First, there was Carnavas, from my newly-decided favorite band Silversun Pickups, with its adrenaline-infused sincerity. Demon Days, from the rap/hip hop/alternative project Gorillaz, seemed really out of place among my other musical picks, but I enjoy it just as much.

Film - a medium I'm much less experienced in, but still thoroughly enjoy. Spirited Away stirred my imagination more than most things I'd seen at that age. Then The Fellowship of the Ring provided the best example to date of the sort of dream-team story I prefer above all others.

The video games aren't just important to me because I spent a lot of time with them and because they were a blast. They are also incredibly influential in my love for storytelling and writing in general. Diablo II impressed me with one of the strongest plots and some of the best fictional atmospheres I knew at the time. Then Dungeon Siege allowed me to construct my own story as I explored its amazing team-based combat and diverse biomes.

There are other categories I'd like to include one day (books, TV series, music videos, etc.), but because I don't know them so well and don't have so many of them I see being here, I'll hold off until I know exactly what I want to do with them.

Twelve down, hundreds to go!
Onward to 2016!

December 2015 - 18 by Moby

18 - Moby

Why?

Even if I really set my mind to it, I don't think I'd be able to pick a favorite song considered the wealth of music I've collected over the years and the large number of songs that have come to mean a lot to me for many different reasons. There is, however, one song that used to hold that #1 position, the only one I've ever confidently called my very favorite song. I thought it fitting to end my first year of hall of famers with that song, "18".

As I've put more and more time into discovering new music and picking favorites over the years, I'm continually stunned to find that the most beautiful songs are often also the most simple, with "18" as one of the most simple and beautiful of them all. First, there are no words, which is rare among my favorites. The song is pure music. Second, the same melody (on piano/synthesizer) is repeated over and over, and that melody contains the same pattern again and again, starting high and then descending down the scale until it starts at the top again. No distinction between chorus, verse, and bridge.

The power comes in the progression, the addition of a new element every time the melody starts at the top once again. A pristine keyboard plays the melody high, alone at first. Then a real piano sound joins in to play the same exact thing at a lower octave. Next, artificial string tones offer simple, but lovely harmonies. Then the overriding blur of a synthesizer furthers the harmonization. Some subtle complexities begin to trickle in as the strings then take on a moving pattern in the song's peak. At this point, you've probably forgotten about the melody we started with, but then it'd center stage once again for the soft ending.

I think most would label it 'boring'. I remember one time telling a friend it was my favorite before having her listen. At the end, her expression read as "that's it?". But something about it elicits such a powerful emotional response for me. I find it serene.

If you've ever seen a Bourne movie, you know Moby's "Extreme Ways", which plays in one form or another in every credits roll in the series. "18" comes three tracks after that song on the same record, which is also called 18 because of its 18 songs. The song "18", strangely enough, comes 12th on the album, which is arguably Moby's finest.

Since there aren't any lyrics to take a look at, I'll leave it at that. One full year of hall of famers now in place. Many more to come. If you've read this far, thanks for caring. I truly appreciate it.