Contenders Report: February 5, 2015

Welcome to 2015, blog.  Hope everyone has had their fill of 100 Songs for 2014, because 2015 is shaping up to be an unbelievably great year for new music.  We are thirty-six days into the new year, and I had no trouble putting together a list of FIFTY awesome new songs.

And, because I want to make sure that every one of you listens to every one of these killer tunes, I even put together an MP3 mix.  So really, you have no excuse.

2015's Concert Calendar looks equally promising.  In the next few months, I think you should check out:

Beach Slang - February 17 @ Great American Music Hall (opening for Cursive)
Trails and Ways - February 20 @ Cafe Stritch (San Jose)
New Pornographers - February 28 @ Fox
Restorations - March 5 @ Milk Bar
Andrew Jackson Jihad - April 7 @ Slim's
Belle & Sebastian - April 12 @ Greek
Kacey Musgraves - April 25 @ Fox
Waxahatchee - April 29 @ Great American Music Hall
Decemberists - May 1 @ Greek
San Fermin - May 21 @ The Independent
Mountain Goats - June 1 @ Fillmore
Purity Ring - June 19 @ Fox

I have tickets to the bolded shows, and would absolutely go to all the rest if I can find people to go with me. You could be those people!

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TRACK LIST

(1) The Mountain Goats – “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero”
(2) San Fermin – “Jackrabbit”
(3) Belle & Sebastian – “Play for Today”
(4) Petite Meller – “Baby Love”
(5) The Very Best – “Let Go”
(6) Bjork – “Stonemilker”
(7) Waxahatchee – “Air”
(8) The Decemberists – “Mistral”
(9) Mark Ronson – “Leaving Los Feliz”
(10) The Sidekicks – “Summer Brings You Closer to Satan”
(11) Mikal Cronin – “Made My Mind Up”
(12) The Sidekicks – “The Kid Who Broke His Wrist”
(13) Years & Years – “King”
(14) Lapsley – “Brownlow”
(15) Beach Slang – “Too Late to Die Young”
(16) Sleater-Kinney – “A New Wave”
(17) Courtney Barnett – “Pedestrian at Best”
(18) Purity Ring – “Begin Again”
(19) Twerps – “I Don’t Mind”
(20) Justin Townes Earle – “Farther from Me”
(21) Kanye West – “Only One”
(22) Modest Mouse – “Lampshades on Fire”
(23) MisterWives – “Our Own House”
(24) The Go! Team – “The Scene Between”
(25) Torres – “Strange Hellos”
(26) Sleater-Kinney – “No Cities to Love”
(27) Death Cab for Cutie – “Black Sun”
(28) Geographer – “I’m Ready”
(29) San Fermin – “Parasites”
(30) Belle & Sebastian – “Nobody’s Empire”
(31) Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
(32) The Wombats – “Greek Tragedy”
(33) Idlewild – “Come On Ghost”
(34) The Sidekicks – “Deer”
(35) The Decemberists – “The Wrong Year”
(36) Matt and Kim – “Get It”
(37) Django Django – “First Light”
(38) Twerps – “Back to You”
(39) Common and John Legend – “Glory”
(40) Mark Ronson – “Heavy and Rolling”
(41) Bipolar Sunshine – “Daydreamer”
(42) Jose Gonzalez – “Leaf Off / The Cave”
(43) Mikky Ekko – “Riot”
(44) Toro Y Moi – “Empty Nesters”
(45) Modest Mouse – “The Best Room”
(46) Viet Cong – “Continental Shelf”
(47) Twin Shadow – “Turn Me Up”
(48) Tove Styrke – “Ego”
(49) The Very Best – “Hear Me”
(50) Say Lou Lou – “Nothing But a Heartbeat”