Here we are: the end of another year, the end of our annual playlist of monthly songs, the end of a sound era. As far as November’s predictions went, I did spend most of December listening to Christmas music. (Soleil and I now have a five-hour holiday playlist). The radio gave me the hits of yesteryear while I searched out new songs and lesser indie bops to add some yuletide cheer to the background of a stressful month. Other than that, we had our usual mix of albums, singles, and playlists bringing an eclectic finale to what has been—overall—a musical year. I had to narrow it down from 44 songs added to my ‘Likes’ in December (with some crossover from the end of November).
Thankfully, we have the rules: no more than 20 songs per month, no more than 1 song per artist (not counting features), and no more than 3 songs per compilation album. At the end of the year, only songs from each of these monthly lists will be eligible for the Best Of list. My music, as always, is culminated from Spotify, recommendations from friends, other music platforms (such as YouTube), and devotion to some of my favorite artists and the content they put out.
With that said, let’s discover what defined December musically.
- “Démons” by Angèle and Damso ~ Comment c’est dans ma tête, ça me fait vriller
- “Christmas Caller” by Beach Bunny ~ I miss your voice, I’m tired of the distance
- “Ghost Adventure Spirit Orb” by chloe moriondo ~ And as I iron out my brain to speak to ice cream stains
- “minuit” by Clementine and Oscar Anton ~ Ce soir tu l’as deviné, ce sourire était pour toi
- “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto ~ It’s a heavy lift with a gift so humbling / Always left Abuela and the family fumbling
- “Jolene – Destructo Remix” by Dolly Parton and Destructo ~ Your voice is soft like summer rain
- “I AM WOMAN” by Emmy Meli ~ I am classy, I am modern, I live by my own design
- “Sing Along With Me” by Forest Blakk and Atlantic Holiday ~ And all the joy that it would bring / If I could hear my favorite voice in harmony
- “Silver Spoons” by Kid Pixie ~ They bought your life just to sell it back to you
- “MONEY” by LISA ~ When the store says “Sign for it, ” I’ma leave my autograph
- “christmas morning” by Luz ~ I’d rather chase after an end in disaster / Than to risk never knowing how it felt
- “Baby Tiger” by Maple Glider ~ I promise when it’s hard, I’ll be lovely
- “Tainted Love” by Milky Chance ~ And you think love is to pray
- “Madison (oral & friends version)” by Orla Gartland ~ Can I be your sister or your daughter / Or your houseplant in the corner?
- “It’s Called: Freefall” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise ~ Anyway, you say you’re too busy saving everybody else to save yourself
- “Pumpkin” by The Regrettes ~ We got a hundred lists of things we wanna do
- “Jolie” by Shay ~ Bienvenue en France, les hustles, ça dénigre, la go prend juste des dièses
- “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault)” by Taylor Swift feat. Phoebe Bridgers ~ How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?
- “Alien Blues” by Vundabar ~ I need to purge my urges, shame, shame, shame
- “Just a Little While” by The 502s ~ And it’s been oh, so long that I’ve been feeling like this
Overall, I didn’t listen to many new albums in December and mostly replayed the same favorites. The exception to this would be the Encanto soundtrack which will probably be on repeat for the next few months. In addition to lyrical music, I often had Christmas-themed jazz from YouTube on in the background which was the right amount of seasonal oomph while trying to focus on work. Overall, the music for this month was more uplifting and a nice way to end the year. I was also very surprised that this was the month where I finally dove into French music.
We have two more lists to put together but—for January and 2022—I can’t make many predictions. I’m pretty sure we’ll see a rise in love songs, indie rock, and further diversity. It won’t be too long before we’re assembling a new playlist for the year ahead but, until then, I have old favorites to enjoy.
You can find the entire What I’m Listening To in 2021 playlist here.
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