The Chart Show: Best of 2015
by Mark Wheat
December 30, 2015
Happy Holidays, especially to all of you who've voted for The Chart Show this year! It's been a good one for music, don't you think? For the last two weeks of 2015, we play the most popular tunes heard on our chart this year. There were 24 No.1 songs inducted to the Hall of Fame and they do a great job of representing The Current's playlist in 2015 (as does our All-Time Hall of Fame chart!).
The songs are ranked according to how many weeks they spent at the top. Alabama Shakes and Father John Misty held the record of six weeks; the other positions they held are used as tie-breakers: Father John Misty's "Chateau Lobby #4" only spent one week at No.1 but the majority of the other weeks in the top five. He is the only artist to get on the Best of 2015 chart twice, emphasizing what a great year he had, according to you! His "I Love You, Honeybear" wasn't ranked so highly by other publications in end of year lists — No.13 at Spin and No.16 at NME — yet the most highly rated album of the year, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly didn't manage No.1 at The Current.
It's been a satisfying year for fans welcoming new releases from old faves: Sleater-Kinney, Noel Gallagher, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse. There's also a strong contingent of new artists: Jamie xx, CHVRCHES and Courtney Barnett, the latter being the most celebrated across year-end lists (No.9 at Pitchfork, No.32 at Spin and No.1 with Bob Boilen of NPR.) Courtney Barnett and Tame Impala also represented another strong year for Australian artists, joining seven Brits, a Swedish duo and thirteen Americans on our Best of 2015 chart. Low, a now legendary 20-year-old band from Duluth — the closest to a Canadian band this year! — and the fresh-faced brand new Twin Cities outfit Hippo Campus adequately represent the local music spectrum which has been so fruitful for us this year.
The chart also reflects what a strong year it has been for acts fronted by women — or, in Low's case, sharing vocal and songwriting credits — with 10 out of 24 tracks representing women. Depending on how you categorize genres, it's been a good year for old fashioned rock 'n' roll: only six or seven of the tracks here could be termed "electronic." And several of the artists have obviously been elevated by their strong live performances here in town: Alabama Shakes and Father John Misty at Hall's Island, Courtney Barnett and Modest Mouse at Rock the Garden and Sleater-Kinney at First Avenue. The comeback trio has gotten several mentions in year-end lists for being the best rock band to tour this year!
Thanks for listening and voting! Hope you enjoy hearing all these No.1 chart songs to wrap up our year, and don't forget: Get ya votes in for The Current's Top 89!