Best Music of 2016

It's that most wonderful time of year again, and frankly, after the shitshow that was 2016 generally, I'm grateful to have something to look back on that doesn't totally suck: music! In fact, a whole bunch of really excellent music came out this year--everything from iconic rappers A Tribe Called Quest riding in to the rescue, to the continued evolution of electro-pop into some really fucking lovely and dark-tinged jams from Tove Lo, to the warmly funky but deeply personal grooves of Solange and Frank Ocean.

There was so much good music, in fact, that I ended up having to do a lot of cutting in order to get a mix that fit onto an 80 minute CD. If you want the full list (which I'll likely be adding to a bit over the coming months, as I inevitably get introduced to other great music that came out in 2016) you can head over to Spotify for a listen.

The following is the pared down final mix. Obviously this doesn't include everything worthy of a year-end best-of list, but it's what I've been listening to and loving, and I hope you enjoy at least a few tracks. And please, as always, do what you can to buy these songs/albums and support the artists as much as you can.

Em's Best of 2016 Which Was Otherwise a Garbage Fire

1. "True Disaster" - Tove Lo, Lady Wood
2. "Same Old Blues" - Phantogram, Three
3. "Don't Hurt Yourself ft. Jack White" - Beyonce, Lemonade
4. "Smile More" - Deap Vally, Femejism
5. "Born Again Teen" - Lucius, Good Grief
6. "Worship" - Lizzo, Coconut Oil EP
7. "Rendezvous Girl" - Santigold, 99cents
8. "We the People..." - A Tribe Called Quest, We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service
9. "Long Live the Chief" - Jidenna, single
10. "U-Turn" - Tegan and Sara, Love You to Death
11. "Like an Animal" - Rufus Du Sol, Bloom
12. "Algo Esta Cambiando" - Bomba Estereo, Amanecer
13. "Garden (ft. Jay Electronica & Aine Zion)" - Ameli Sande, Long Live the Angels
14. "Make You Feel" - Alina Baraz, Urban Flora
15. "Mad (ft. Lil Wayne)" - Solange, A Seat at the Table
16. "Pink + White" - Frank Ocean, Blonde
17. "I Can't Go On Without You" - Kaleo, A/B
18. "Nobody" - Rachel Yamagata, Tightrope Walker
19. "Lazarus" - David Bowie, Blackstar
    

Emily's Handy Guide to How I Generally Respond When People React Badly to My Presence in Women's Public Restrooms

1. Them: "Oh my God it's A MAN!" Me: "Oh my God a MAN where?! WHERE?!" *jumps, squeals as though running from a spider, makes a scene until they leave/leave me alone*

2. Them: *does a double take at the sign on the door after seeing me at the sink* Me: *dramatically stares at own body, then back at them, then around the room, then gets stone cold calm and leaves while making unbroken eye contact*

3. Them: "What the fuck?! Get OUT you're not supposed to be in here!" Me: "Oh my God I'm so sorry is this the restroom for assholes? I'll show myself out."

4. Them: *sees me at sink, runs back outside and tells/yells at someone about there being a man in the restroom* Me: *calmly finishes washing hands, checks self out in mirror, strolls out of there and makes meaningful eye contact with them, possibly also winks*

5. Them: *actually does something threatening/violent* Me: "Hi hello yes you don't get to police who you think belongs in this restroom, may I please introduce you to my friend the ACLU."

6. Them: *is startled for a moment, then realizes their mistake and smiles bashfully* Me: "It's cool, have a good day." *bows and/or curtsies and disappears into a puff of glitter and smoke*

(take care of yourselves/do what you need to do to stay safe and healthy, babes) xoxoxo