Lauren Spencer – Best of 2015

Lauren has list! You can check out all our Best of 2015 lists here.

1. M Train by Patti Smith tops my list for most amazing trip I’ve taken all year without actually leaving my apartment. Her ability to transport through words is unmatched.

2. And while we’re on the topic, the 40th anniversary of Horses. Yes, really.

3. Royal Blood opening for the Foo Fighters was a great opportunity to understand how two guys can make as much sound (and good sound at that) in one corner of a giant stage as a whole entire band, even including the band that was about to go on after them.

4. Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein is a fascinating read by one of the members of Sleater-Kinney. So much more than a rock memoir. More like the musings and observations of a really cool and funny lady.

5. Lazarus written by David Bowie and Enda Walsh and directed by Ivo van Hove is opening off-Broadway in December 2015. Based on the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth it’s been sold out for, well, since it was announced to be happening. (See #8 for similar music-making NYC theater sell-outs.)

6. Ziggy and Stephen Marley John Varvatos campaign, shot by Danny Clinch proves why the Varvatos ads are always worth watching. You can listen to this one, too.

7. Kim Gordon Girl in a Band is insightful in a quiet and almost detached way, and although it sometimes reads as a cathartic exercise, the backstory of Gordon’s life explains a lot.

8.  Hamilton Anytime you can make history something to groove to—for young’uns and oldsters alike—it’s all good. Sadly, it’s pretty much impossible to get a ticket to witness it in person. But the soundtrack rocks.

9. Chrissie Hynde being interviewed by David Greene on NPR was either the most punk rock back-and-forth ever or it was a brutal mismatch of interviewer and interviewee. Either way, Chrissie’s still got chops.

10. Rihanna interviewed by Miranda July was one of the most entertaining pieces I’ve read in a long long time.