Choose Your Own 2019 Year In Lipshultz Adventure
Deep thoughts: If I made this year's music/family wrap up interactive, would you be impressed? Ok, it's not Bandersnatch and I did have my son Pete help me with the html anchors but please act impressed after you experience..
Start
You are reading on your phone while sitting in a small room that is adorned with strange markings on the wall. Your seat is made of white porcelain and there is an opening in the center of the chair. Inside it looks like brackish water. You try not to think about the water and focus on your phone where you open a browser to what you were hoping was going to be a short blog year recap and music playlists from a friend. You try to read but your mind starts to wander.
"Does that word
‘friend’ have air quotes," you ask yourself?
This year’s blog looks
like too much effort. You just wanted to hear the music.
Did anyone hear that sound you may or may not have just made? Em-bar-assing
Did anyone hear that sound you may or may not have just made? Em-bar-assing
A muffled voice on the other side of the door says something
inaudible but not necessarily too friendly. Your business deal in the room has concluded anyway. What do you do next?
OPTION 1
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"Hold your horses I’ll be out in a minute. Damn,” you mutter
to yourself as you skim the rest of the letter. What you can make out about your buddy Andy is this....
- Now has TWO after hours side gigs to go with his real job at Centene....
- Number 1: Voiceovers at Andysaysit.com
- Number 2: Volunteer programming/marketing at Washington West Film Festival
• He went overboard and made 3 playlists for his
favorite music of the 2019, albums of the decade and singles from albums that
weren’t on his decade list. They are here
• He made a ‘thump, thuMP, thUMP, tHUMP, THUMP’ –
oh that wasn’t him, that was the person knocking to get you out of there –
hurry up
• Kids: Zack is having a great time at JMU, Becca
is the midst of auditions to study musical theater at college and Pete is
enjoying HS and debate team
• Wendy is having a blast but super busy with teaching and getting
her PHD
That was easy. You open the door and an 8-year-old waiting outside the door
barrels past you. He wrinkles his nose and looks at you sideways. “Enjoy the
gifts of 2020” you say as you head out into the afternoon light.
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"Sorry, man. Stomach bug," you tell your impatient stalker.
“No worries, take your time,” they reply. You feel guilty for a split second
but then get lost in the the Lipshultz blog vortex. You stop zoning out as you
read on…
….There have been some amazing advancements in
Lipshultz-es-es this year
- After the bittersweet event of dropping Zack off at JMU this year, we are relishing the time we have left with Pete and Becca before they leave too....
- ….as well as preparing for life when they're gone. Wendy’s busy getting her doctorate while teaching at Georgetown and I now have not one but TWO non-work-hour side gigs in addition to my ‘real’ job at Centene.
- Side Hustle Uno - Voiceovers. In 2019 I got going for real and took on clients. Check out andysaysit.com
- Side Hustle Dos - Volunteer marketing/programming at the Washington West Film Festival. 2020 will be the 10th annual. 100% of box office to charity every year
- Side Hustle Crédito Adicional - We are gearing up for musical theater program college auditions for almost all of the 26 colleges Becca applied to
- In March this year I had jury duty on a $1 million federal case replete with a drug bust, undercover informants, air surveillance, a botched interrogation, a full courthouse. PLUS, I pulled a “12-Angry-Men” holdout. Don't ask me about it unless you want 20 minutes of play by play
This is not related to anything, I just want a shirt with this on it |
- 50 states by 50 is getting closer! Family trip to 5 states this past summer and now only 4 left! Will knock off 2 more of them with Becca this year through her college audition
- Pete’s debate team experience continues. He already qualified for Metro Finals. I love hearing him practice speeches in his room and when he tests out his contentions on us.
Now What?
OPTION 1
OPTION 2
“Where’s the politics? I don’t get enough of them” you think to yourself and click here
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Hey are you ever getting out of
there?,” you hear accompanied with what sounds like hopping outside of the
door. You get up, put on your headphones and start listening to some tunes so
you don’t have to confront the person you just tormented as you leave the
stall.
Click here to read about the best music of 2019
Click here to read about the best music of the decade
Click here to read about the best music of the decade
To stop reading and just start listening, click on the playlists below
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Here are the 19 best musical things I found in 2019 (and here is the playlist in case you missed it)
19) I Doubt It (song) - Aquakulture
18) Please Don't Ruin This For Me (Audiotree version) (song) - Tennis
17) No Hope Generation (song) - Mura Masa
16) Sociopath (song) - Pusha T
15) Lamplight (album) - Paris Monster
14) Breakup Season (album) Future Teens
13) i,i (album) - Bon Iver
12) (If) the Book Doesn't Sell (song) - Ritt Momeny
11) Basking in the Glow (album) - Oso Oso
10) SANTA MONICA (song) – ARIES Unique blend of Guitars.
Vocals. Beats.
9) Routine Maintenance (album) and Divorce in the American
South (song) - Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties Reminds me how much I miss
old Counting Crows
8) How I'm Feeling (album) – Lauv The singles are amazing.
Rest of album…. Well…
7) Cuz I Love You (album) – Lizzo Deserves every bit of the
hype
6) Boots N Cats (song) - Micheal Cera Palin They just
announced they are getting back together so even though this isn’t from 2019,
they are. Can’t wait for new music!
5) Tiny Changes - A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's 'The Midnight Organ Fight'
This album of covers made me appreciate them even more than I had before and saddens me that the world was too much for their lead singer.
This album of covers made me appreciate them even more than I had before and saddens me that the world was too much for their lead singer.
4) Lemonade (album) – Beyoncé The downside of only really
listening to what’s on Spotify is that I basically missed this album when it
came out so it’s new to me!
3) A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (album) - The
1975 This band continues to take chances. From synth dance, to alt pop, to
robotic soliloquies I am super sold.
2) (tie) ARIZONA BABY and GINGER (album) - Kevin Abstract / Brockhampton Groundbreaking music which will hopefully continue to gain acceptance and exposure for the LGBTQ community
2) (tie) Firefly Music Festival Went with the fam (minus
Pete but plus cousin Mike and his daughter Eve. Is that my 2nd cousin or first cousin once removed? Can never remember) Some highlights included Snail
Mail, Little Simz, Vampire Weekend, Ripe, Hop Along, Teskey Brothers, Lawrence,
Kid Quill and Panic at the Disco
1) Pinegrove – Skylight (album) and (show) Seeing them live
was like a religious experience and my musical highlight of the year
MMMbop guilty pleasure of 2019 - I Don't Care (song) and Beautiful People (song) - Ed Sheeran
Really tops them all but my kids produced a song together. Becca sang, wrote the music and Zack created/produced it. Check it out here
You finish reading the blog and watch the end credits of the Choose Your Own Lipshultz Adventure and see one last easter egg…
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I am feeling nostalgic-ish," you think to youself. Let me ponder the
best music of the decade. ......welll.....ok that's too much work you decide and just read about Andy’s favorite albums of the decade instead
and play his Spotify playlist while you do it.
1) Skylight (2019) - Pinegrove
2) My Big Dark Beautiful Fantasy (2010) - Kanye West
3) Best Buds (2016) - Mom Jeans
4) A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (2019) and I
like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (2016) -
The 1975
5) Pure Herine (2013) - Lorde
6) OK Go's Videos from Hungry Ghosts (2014) and Of the Blue
Color of the Sky (2010)
7) and my “MmBop” guilty pleasure of the Decade Purpose –
Justin Bieber
8) This Unruly Mess I've Made (2016) - Macklemore & Ryan
Lewis
9) Weathervanes (2010) - Freelance Whales
10) Somewhat Literate (2018) and Strictly Speaking (2017) -
Retirement Party
11) DAYTONA (2018) - Pusha T
12) Mechanical Bull (2013) - Kings of Leon
13) Scott Pilgrim v The World (2010) - Original Soundtrack
14) "I Don't Know How to Explain It" (2018) and
"Growing Pains" (2016) - Micheal Cera Palin
15) My Best Friend is You (2010) - Kate Nash
16) The 20/20 Experience (2013) - Justin Timberlake
17) Lemonade- Beyonce
18)….and the Anonymous Nobody – De La Soul
19) Sometimes I sit and think, sometimes I just sit –
Courtney Barnett
20) Sorry to Bother You – The Coup
Andy also made a playlist “Favorite songs of the decade that weren’t on my best of the decade albums” and made a recap of 2019 that you may
go back to later.
For now, you put away your phone and prepare to not make eye
contact with the person outside the door as you open the stall and head out to
face what’s next in 2020.
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- Pristine (song) and Heat Wave (song) - Snail Mail
- Berenstein (song) - The Band CAMINO
- Puff Daddy (song) - JPEGMAFIA
- Flashing pictures (song) - The Ghost is Dancing
- FLUSH (song) - Abhi the Nomad
- Help Us Stranger (album) - The Raconteurs (about 3 songs of it)
- Rose of Shannon (song) - Mumford and Sons
- Pretty (song) - Terror Jr.
- Demons Enjoy (song) - Wyclef Jean
- Jessica WJ (song) - Cayucas
- Elm (song) - Clever Girl
- Traffic (song) and Silent Fighting (demo - song) - Nada Surf
- Wounds (song) and Pressure (song) - Little Simz
- Alrighty Aphrodite (song) - Peach Pit
- Me and My Friends (song) - James Vincent McMorrow
- Welcome to the Family (song) - Watsky
- Post Script East Forrest Remix (song) - Typhoon
- NY Money (song) and Performance (song) - White Denim
- Two weeks (song) - FKA Twigs
- Kick Jump Twist (song) and Funeral Singers (song) - Sylvan Esso
- This Life (song) - Vampire Weekend
- Love and Mathematics (song) - Broken Social Scene
- Dylan Thomas (song) and Sleepwalkin (song) - Better Oblivion Community Center
- No New Friends (song) and Angel in Your Eyes (song) - LSD
- Adult Swim (Spotify Singles - song) - Jon Bellion
- Remember (song) - Jodi
- Relatable (song) and Microfiche (song) - Open Mike Eagle
- the year I became a mutherfuckin G (song) - Busdriver
- Gossamer (song) - Fashion Jackson
- Rendevous (song) - Saves the Day
- At the Turf Filed Behind My Parents' House - Giraffes? Giraffes!
- Bark Your Head Off, Dog (album) - Hop Along
- Homicide (song) - Logic
- Gold and Green (song) and 104 degrees (song) - Slaughter Beach, Dog
- Many Moods (song) - Delicate Steve
- Love is Everywhere (song) - Wilco
- Your New Apartment (song) - Signals Midwest
- Trash Stains (song) - Microwave
- Talk to the Moon (song) - Ripe
- Screw Up (song) - Sincere Engineer
- 28 J's L8r (song) - Great Granpa
- The Teskey Brothers
- Lawrence
- Kid Quill
- Typical Story (song) and Subaru Crosstrek XV (song) - Hobo Johnson
- Just How it Is (song) - Young Thug
- Upperdrugs (song) - Highly Suspect
- Never Meant (song) - American Football
- Buy Me Flowers (song) - That Dog
- Ecstatic Baby (song) - Yeasayer
- July 4, 2004 (song) - Jason Anderson
- Nobody (song) - Hozier
- Memphis (song) - Kitten
- Take Me to the Light (song) - Francis and the Lights
- Instead of My Room (song) - Charlie Burg
- Makin' a Move (song) - Lady Bri
- Middle Earth (song) - Ceschi
- Fly Like an Eagle (alt version - song) - Steve Miller Band
- Make Art Not Friends (song) - Sturgill Simpson
- Aaron (song) - Palehound
- Ego Check (song) - Wynne
- Exiles Among You (song) and Left and Leaning (song) - Weakerthans
- no word for wack (song) - Ruby Yacht
- drip bounce_7_24_18 (song) - Toro y Moi
- She Plays Bass (song) - beabadoobee
- Door (song) - Caroline Poachek
- Alewife (song) - Clairo
- Death and the Maiden - Surfer Blood
- ANIMA - Thom Yorke. Video was like old Radiohead
- Slow Burn (song) - Kacey Muscgraves. A late discovery for me