My 16 Favorite Songs for 2016

The number of songs  -- 16 -- this year only happened this way accidentally. But here are my 16 favorite songs for 2016. Long time readers of this blog and former athletes know the story behind the creation of this annual list. I work on this project throughout the year with irregular bursts of activity. What songs am I listening to a lot and which ones do I enjoy the most.

A couple notes on this years list. It seems this years list -- at least to me -- is a bit more in the Minor Key than usual. I try to intentionally pick songs that are inspiring (and major key tend to be more up beat than the minor key) but this year a few of these seem kind of sadder than usual. I blame that on the minor key and maybe a year when there was a lot more noticeable loss than others.

Here are some things I noticed about the songs on this list that you might find interesting.

Song #1 Up&Up was the last song on the Coldplay album. I bought the full album as soon as it came out but did not come to like this song until late in the year.

Song #2 "00000 Million" is a cover of a Bon Iver song. Lots of critics love Bon Iver. Maybe you do. I never like to listen to Bon Iver sing his own songs. His voice just doesn't resonate with me. But when other people sing his songs, I always like them a lot more. This is a great rendition by Gordi.

Song #4 "Renegades" is my favorite video of the year. I find it very inspiring.

Song #16 "What It Means" is the most political song of the bunch -- a very powerful song from The Drive By Truckers.

Here is the list:
Up&Up by Coldplay
00000 Million by Gordi
We Don't Know by The Strumbellas
Renegades by X Ambassadors
Vincent by Car Seat Headrest
Heartbeat Smile by Alejandro Escovedo
Life Can't Get Much Better by Good Charlotte
HandClap by Fitz & The Tantrums
Sweet Disaster by DREAMERS
A Change of Heart by The 1975
On Hold by The xx
All We Ever Knew by The Head and the Heart
Cranes in the Sky by Solange
Someone That Loves You by HONNE & Izzy Bizu
Your Best American Girl by Mitski
What It Means by Drive-By-Truckers

And here are the videos of all the songs from Youtube