2016 Wasn't All Bad: Our Opinions

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December 31st, 2016 by bsradmin

The astrophysicist and anti-idiot Neil deGrasse Tyson once said "In five billion years the sun will expand and engulf our orbit as the charred ember that was once Earth vaporizes. Have a nice day." 

It may not happen tomorrow, or next year, but doom is impending. All we can do while we wait is enjoy and appreciate the art, music, literature, food, and everything else our fellow humans have crafted for us to consume and find inspiration. We're holding on to our dead culture with cold, lifeless fingers. We're a dying breed in a lot of ways... So watch these funny YouTube videos!

Thank you to Lydia Loveless, Murder By Death, Robbie Fulks, Ha Ha Tonka, Freakwater, Jon Langford Scott H. Biram, Banditos, The Yawpers, Al Scorch, The Flat Five, and the rest for their contributions.

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Lydia Loveless

Favorite show you played in 2016: Terminal West in Atlanta, Georgia 

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Petal at ace of cups 

Favorite song of 2016: "California" by Robert Ellis 

Favorite music album of 2016: I don't have a favorite but I listened to Puberty 2 by Mitski more than any other 

Favorite movie in 2016: Sing Street 

Favorite book you read in 2016: Tranny by Laura Jane Grace—a book I loved and related to as a musician struggling with success and someone who is tired of gender constraints.

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Thomas Merton 

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: My own body 

Best thing you ate in 2016: Bruno's in Little Rock Arkansas, an Italian place with a guy named Gianni who HAS A SOUTHERN ACCENT, (say it in your head) with someone I really love, the whole point of eating Italian food.

Best bad decision you made in 2016: I stopped caring what people thought of my life decisions and chose to be wholly myself, even if I made bad bad decisions along the way.

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: gratuitous 

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Humans taking responsibility for our own happiness, our own freedom, by unabashed denial of the brutal patriarchal concept of marriage, the death of homophobia and racism and a return to a more communal primitive way of life *takes big hit of weed and smears essential oil on self* 

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Feeling the full range of human emotions again 

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Success is my resolution every year, and I feel i get closer every time.
 

Robbie Fulks

Favorite show you played in 2016: I played a little dive in Bellingham, Washington. Maybe I won’t name it, but you can figure it out. There were some heavy indications in the advance emails that the promoter and sound guy were going to give us a real hard time. I won’t bore with the details. I vented to my sound tech, to my agency, to my management, and slept poorly for a few nights preceding as we wound through Oregon playing shows and discussing what to do - skip the gig? Abandon the gig when such-and-such happened? In this job you get humbled and mistreated from time to time, like on any job; but to drive 5 hours out of the way to a small-town bar and be scuffed around just because I’d signed a contract for a small amount of money seemed crazy. Turned out, though, that those guys, the promoter and in-house soundman, were okay guys, just poor emailers. I mean they were like firemen, or plumbers, or lovable, sentimental criminals. Not very polished or (maybe) progressive, but big-hearted and trustworthy. Their not acting like big-city smoothies extended to the settlement, in which they didn’t know they should remove a giant chunk of money for themselves. The payout was nice - that is, more than fair. After the show I sat at a joint a block away with two guys I hadn’t seen in over 30 years. We had worked in a law firm back then. One of them hadn’t been out to see a concert since. He just didn’t enjoy music very much. But he liked the show I did. He said it was one of the best concerts he’d been to in his life, but that was only 4 concerts total. Those two guys looked and acted just like they did in the 1980s - same haircuts more or less, and in good physical shape. The ease with which we fell in with one another created an atmosphere of stopped-time fantasy. I ate the best gnocchi I’ve ever eaten. Bellingham. Well, as Blind Blake said, that’ll never happen no more.

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Like my old friend, I didn’t see very much, but I liked everything I saw. Rosie Flores in Austin. Cat Power in Calgary. Don Knotts’s daughter Karen in Milwaukee, doing a one-woman salute to Don Knotts. Ruby Amanfu in Nashville. Sarah Jarosz in Lexington. Let’s include one boy person: Peter Wolf in Chicago. That’s all I can remember, but they were all really nice shows.

Favorite song of 2016: "Stone in My Pocket" by Buddy Mondlock affected me

Favorite music album of 2016: Probably still “Ah Um” by Charles Mingus, but I hardly ever listen to albums front to back anymore, and certainly not with anything like the focus and love I gave it some decades ago. Within the small set of Bloodshot-like music that reached my ears, music by Stray Birds, Lydia Loveless, and Shovels & Rope sounded superior to me.

Favorite 2016 movie: Missed ‘em all this year.

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Lady Dynamite, duh.

Favorite book you read in 2016:  “Ghettoside” by Jill Leovy

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: I watched some Rockford Files on YouTube and all were excellent.

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Haydee Politoff, Liz Anderson’s Husband Hunting, the writing of Penelope Fitzgerald.

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: Fish Creek, Wisconsin (The White Gull Inn to be exact)

Best thing you ate in 2016: I guess that gnocchi I mentioned.

Best thing you drank in 2016: Oh, boy.

Best bad decision you made in 2016: It was a healthful decision but with hard consequences - I decided to learn how to swim. My coach’s name is Autumn and every Tuesday morning she drives me into near-unconsciousness, making me pull my head tighter to my chest, sprint to the wall, go farther and breathe less frequently, etc. I started in February, kicking my legs and holding a board, and now I go about 3/4 of a mile in 30 to 40 minutes. But with barbells part of the way, and with plenty of breaks, hugging the wall and holding my chest and gasping for air like a fool. In 2017: the calculus.

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: rebarbative (politically at least)

What are you hopeful for in 2017? I’m working on a country-music play I’m excited about, and producing a Linda Gail Lewis record that is coming out great so far. Clearly I should say “world peace” and “the impeachment of the president” and all that. But really most of my hopes are on Linda Gail Lewis.

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? I really don’t operate in those slender shades of subtlety, between hopefulness and looking-forward-to.

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: I’d like for all my kids to get off the dope. It’s making them do crazy things. What the chances are of that I don’t know, but please pray for my family.


David Fountain (piano/percussion/mandolin/banjo/steel guitar/vocals, Murder By Death)

Favorite show you played in 2016: Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta. Playing a big show in your hometown is the best feeling in the world. Also, one of my favorite chefs (and my celebrity doppelgänger), Kevin Gillespie, was wandering around backstage and I got to talk to him about food and beer for an hour.

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Gogol Bordello at Riot Fest in Denver 

Favorite song of 2016: “Masterpiece” by Big Thief

Favorite music album of 2016: Anything is Possible and Nothing Makes Sense by Twin Limb. Spotify confirms my hunch that this is the album I listened to the most in 2016. We listened to these guys rehearse every night in the next room while we were recording Big Dark Love, so we got to know the album in its infancy and follow it to fruition. We love it like our child, but it’s our child that we can’t take any credit for.

Favorite 2016 movie: Other People. I’m still blown away by how amazing Molly Shannon is in this.

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Stranger Things, if only for reviving the Kids-On-Bikes genre

Favorite book you read in 2016: The Oryx and Crake trilogy by Margaret Atwood, which I finally got around to reading this year.

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: 

“In 1982, a woman named May Booker sent a letter to the BBC, saying that she, at 70-years-old, loved Thin Lizzy, and would love to play with them live.”

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: I introduced my nieces to Pee Wee’s Playhouse and ended up watching every episode with them. Totally holds up.

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: My family went to Alaska, and I visited a sled dog training center and played with sled dog puppies. My answer is the sled dog training center, where I played with sled dog puppies.

Best thing you ate in 2016: The collard greens at Arnold’s in Nashville. I love collards and would eat them at every meal.

Best thing you drank in 2016: Creature Comforts Tropicalia

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Started a podcast about Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, the most relatable topic you can imagine. It was a good decision, though, because it’s actually pretty excellent! 

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: “tunket” - a colloquialism for “hell”, as in, “What in tunket was wrong with 2016?”

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Everything, really. It hasn’t happened yet, so there’s always reason to hope that it will all be good. 

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Progressivism becoming counter-culture again. We fight harder when it's harder to fight.

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Chin up and don’t read the comments. 85%.

 

Dagan Thogerson (drums, Murder By Death)

Favorite show you played in 2016: Stanley Hotel weekend in Estes Park, Colorado. Always the best. 

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Mean Jeans at the Know in Portland Oregon

Favorite song of 2016: "Michael Jackson Was Tight" by Mean Jeans

Favorite music album of 2016: Deftones Gore

Favorite 2016 movie: The Revenant

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Rick and Morty

Favorite book you read in 2016: Under the Banner of Heaven

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: Anything teaching me how to do home improvement projects

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Heating our house with a fireplace

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: Cuba

Best thing you ate in 2016: Steaks at home. We're good at steaks. Also fish tacos and kale salad at the Grey Eagle in Asheville NC.

Best thing you drank in 2016: Sazerac at the Stanley Hotel bar.

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Watching Westworld. That show was bullshit, I think?

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Baloo?

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Impeachment

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Enjoying home and working on new MBD tunes.
 

Matt Armstrong (bass, Murder By Death)

Favorite show you played in 2016: Shaky Knees Festival

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Failure doing Fantastic Planet in its entirety. Dallas, TX

Favorite song of 2016: David Bowie "Lazarus"

Favorite music album of 2016:  
My Jerusalem A Little Death
Russian Circles Guidance
Twin Limb Haplo 
American Football LP2
Mogwai Atomic
Swans The Glowing Man
Deftones Gore
Explosions In The Sky The Wilderness
Savages Adore Life
True Widow Avvolgere

Favorite 2016 movie: Hell Or High Water

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Westworld

Favorite book you read in 2016: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (I was late to the party.)

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: This Is Not Happening series by Comedy Central

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Listening to "Yank Crime" by Drive Like Jehu all the time. (Also late to this party.)

Best thing you ate in 2016: Comfy Chicken Biscuit at Homegrown (ATL, GA)

Best thing you drank in 2016: Shitloads of water

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Eating fried shrimp at practically every meal during a trip to New Orleans

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Defenestration

What are you hopeful for in 2017? A better year than 2016
 

Jon Langford 

Favorite show you played in 2016: Jon Langford and Robbie Fulks at the Hideout in August  (I like a gig that dissolves into free jazz and pirate mime.)

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives at City Winery, or perhaps Bonnie Prince Billy singing fortune cookies at Calgary Folk Festival, or maybe Horizon of Darkness at the Hideout, or even !Moxie Tung! at Township

Favorite music album of 2016: Freakwater Scheherazade

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: River (weird British spooky police/crime series)

Favorite book you read in 2016: Peter Gulralnick's Sam Phillips biography 

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Marty Robbins

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: Isla Mujeres, the Island of Women!

Best thing you ate in 2016: Dates

Best thing you drank in 2016: Orchard Pig The Reveller Cider

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Revolution

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Being old and revolutionary with nothing to lose.

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: To create a decentralized economy working for the benefit of all rather than the few - 78%
 

Catherine Irwin (vocals, guitar, banjo, Freakwater)

Favorite show you played in 2016: I really loved the Freakwater show in Amsterdam this September. I was jibbering a bunch of vile in-between song nonsense when I turned and saw Janet just all curled up on the floor. She was laughing—but I'm pretty sure she was also crying. I remember thinking, "I would definitely go to this show. There is entertainment value here like you just can't see every day." 

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Horizon Of Darkness, Matt Rizzo's jaw-dropping surrealist performance-art band. You must see this. Submit to the power. Join the H.O.D. Squad. 

Favorite song of 2016: Drunken Prayer "Cordelia, Elsewhere." Best song ever written about urban gentrification. Morgan Geer (Drunken Prayer) is Freakwater's guitar player. He was the opening band for a ton of our shows in 2016. I loved hearing this song every night. 

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Bikini Kill

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: I really liked Leipzig. We had never played there before this year. Some of the former East Germany is still dirty and fucked up enough to seem like a place I  could imagine living—kind of like Detroit—except with an awesome public health system and free universities. 

Best thing you drank in 2016: We had some crazy super-bitter Alpine moss/lichen liquor in Austria. It was amazing. Tasted just like licking a green rock. 

Best bad decision you made in 2016: I spent €120 I didn't really have on a pair of extremely fancy Spanish boots of Spanish leather. Perhaps this was part of a series of best bad decisions. We were in Amsterdam for the last days of Freakwater's "American Apology Tour," and had just left the Cheech & Chong coffeeshop. 

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: cupidity

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Wow. That's tough. I'm gonna have to get back to you on that. I know it's important to be hopeful about something. Hope seems almost like a sign of privilege right now. 

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Fuck a buncha fuckin' 2016! 

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Less cussing. Zero fucking % chance. 
 

Scott H. Biram

Let it be known! I'm answering this shit at 6:11am cause I can't fuckin' sleep!!

Favorite show you played in 2016: That one's hard to say! All the shows with Johnny Two Bags from Social D were a lot of fun! All the shows that I took Jesse Dayton along with were a f'n blast! Supersuckers opening for me in Denver was a hoot! Always a good time playing in Clarksdale, MS at The Shack Up Inn/The Juke Joint Chapel! I guess if I had to pick one it was getting on stage with Willie Nelson and Ryan Bingham to sing "I Saw The Light" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" while the sky dumped rain on a sold out crowd. Never thought that would happen! 

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Once again, I have to throw a few down for this answer... The Dicks (last show ever I think) in ATX at Grizzly Hall, Rev. Horton Heat backing Jello Biafra at The Continental ATX, Willie Nelson and Ryan Bingham at Whitewater Theater in New Braunfels TX, Jesse Dayton every night on tour, my buddy Lightnin' Malcolm at Red's in Clarksdale MS callin' out my name between every song and pointing at me! Ha ha! Yeah good times. Love that dude! I also had fun at the Ameripolitan Awards.

Favorite song of 2016: My soul brother, Jesse Dayton's "Beautiful Thing (Miss Victoria)" is a really good song. 

Gary Clark Jr.'s "Take Me Down" from the Deep Water Horizon soundtrack has stuck with me pretty good in the last few weeks.

Favorite music album of 2016: Jesse Dayton's The Revealer is rockin'...

Sturgill's new record got some play at my house on the turntable. Did that come out in '16? (Editor: yes, it did.) I'm always a couple years behind on new music. There's so much good OLD music. Guess I'm still busy learning to love that. Takes awhile to catch up! 

Favorite 2016 movie: Hell or Highwater! I thought the movie was really good...and the soundtrack paid my property taxes this year! Woot woot!

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Maybe Stranger Things or WestWorld but I'm a Game Of Thrones and Walking Dead junkie. Those are probably top for me. I spent days watching reruns of Law & Order SVU this year. I couldn't stop. I think I watched 300 episodes in about 3 weeks. It was "especially heinous!" I can't stop watching Jeopardy! 

Favorite book you read in 2016:  Let's Go To Hell: Scattered Memories of The Butthole Surfers

I read a lot of shit like The Mixing Engineer's Handbook and The Drum Recording Handbook...stuff I forget half of and read again while recording the next album. Not exciting to most people I'm sure. 

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: Don't remember...If I watched it, I was probably stoned.

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: I finally saw the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Geez...it eluded me for 42 years! Good crack! I've seen all the others. My old band The Thangs were supposed to be in IV or V but our scene got cut. 

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: The back corner of my guest room! Finally moved some of that shit outta there! 

Best thing you ate in 2016: #1 for sure is the Chili Pequin Vinegar Hot Sauce I made from from peppers I picked off my grandpa's fence line. The there's Boudin at Best Stop in Scott Louisiana, Gumbo at Gumbo Shop in New Orleans, Oysters in Boston, brisket at my house! Drowning Flautas at Jesse Vain's house! My first place chili! 

Best thing you drank in 2016: I finally tried some of that water stuff everybody's talking about. It's no michelada though. 

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Took 6 months off the road for the first time in 20 years. 

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Cantankerous 

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Hope my new record goes over well. Hope to get into a good groove with my new road crew. 

Hope Billy Gibbons decides he wants me to be his new best friend. 

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? At this point, playing and hanging on the SiriusXM Outlaw Country Cruise...but the year's plans are just shaping up. I'm looking forward to hitting some new horizons. Hoping to get to Australia on this record. This year will be my 20th tour of Europe! 

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Keep my shit together. 50%
 

Brett Anderson (mandolin, guitar, vocals, Ha Ha Tonka)

Favorite show you played in 2016: Dawt Mill in Tecumseh, MO. Overlooking the Norfolk river at night, always one of our favorite shows of the year. Camp out, float, and catch us there May 26th, 2017.  

Favorite music album of 2016: I attached to and still haven't let go of (Chicago band) Whitney's debut effort, Light Upon The Lake. 

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Oh, I suppose Stranger Things was a nice addiction.  

Favorite book you read in 2016: Nothing new but, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. I read it once a year though, sometimes twice, but rarely more than five.  

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: The White House. First time visitor this year, for the Easter Egg Roll. It was pretty dope. Not sure I'd be able to say that if I visited next year, or the next four.  

Best thing you ate in 2016: Best thing you drank in 2016: I made my own boozy eggnog for the first time, it was easily the best thang I drank in 2016, and also, easily the reason I gained 7 pounds in one month.  

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Making my own eggnog

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Got a new record coming out, we hope you all come see us.  We've missed you. 

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Starting the year off touring with the Old 97's.  Looking forward to that, and just touring in general.  

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: 0% chance of a resolution. 100% chance of success.  
 

Mary Beth Richardson (vocals, percussion, kazoo, Banditos)

Favorite show you played in 2016: Newport Folk Festival. What a dream come true!

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Kris Kristofferson's private performance at Newport had the entire room in smiley tears. It was such a moving performance. I haven't been that teary eyed since we saw Stevie Wonder sing "Isn't She Lovely" with his daughter (who sings backup with him) after she was engaged the day of that show. 

Favorite song of 2016: That's tough. According to my music player, I've played more Link Wray than anything else, but as for current songs' standings, I'd say the one that's in my head the most belongs to Luke Bell. Not only were we roomies for a couple years, but I was in this video filmed at Santa's, one of my favorite places in Nashville, and it was directed by my long time best friend Joshua Shoemaker. It's called "Sometimes." You'll be singing it to yourself in no time. 

Favorite music album of 2016: Clear Plastic Masks Nazi Hologram. It's a pretty jarring title, but when you dive in, you'll be sucked in. I like to think it's taking you to space and then floats you down safely in the end. Smart and needed. Open your ears wide for this one. 

Favorite 2016 movie: The Coen brother's Hail, Ceasar! Especially this clip: 

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Westworld enveloped my life for awhile. Haha! I was in the dark corners of the internet researching fan theories. So much so I ruined a lot of the surprises. Even so, I was still pleased. 

Favorite book you read in 2016: Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley by Sybil Rosen. A beautiful look into Blaze's life from his first love.

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: I cried from laughing, y'all

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: sleeping 

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: Christiania in Copenhagen. So tight. 

Best thing you ate in 2016: Bear 

Best thing you drank in 2016: Whatever that sauce they give you to put on the oysters at Newport Folk Festival is.

What are you hopeful for in 2017? A miracle

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? An album

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Backboard shattering slam dunks, 100%


Cory Parsons (vocals, guitar, Banditos)

Favorite show you played in 2016: Newport Folk Festival, Bergenfest, or Hotel Vegas in Austin with some of my favorite bands: Bad Lovers, Ramsay Midwood, and Leo Rondeau

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Any of Ramsay Midwood's

Favorite song of 2016: "Imagine a Jump" (John Lennon Vs. Van Halen)

Favorite music album of 2016: Nazi Hologram by Clear Plastic Masks

Also, just listened to Hey Come Back by Croy and the Boys and thought it was awesome.

Favorite 2016 movie: 13th

Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Horace and Pete 

Favorite book you read in 2016: Only read about seven or eight and none were worth mentioning. Open to suggestions.

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: This one forever: 

But this one is also pretty good: 

Best thing you ate in 2016: Milo's Fries and Sauce Bar

Best thing you drank in 2016: Milo's Sauce Bar

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Ugh

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Fuckity

What are you hopeful for in 2017? Initiative

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Album #2

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: More nihilism. Chance of success? Who cares?
 

Nate Cook (vocals, guitar, The Yawpers)

Favorite show you played in 2016: The Bloodshot SXSW day party at Yard Dog. No question. 

Favorite show you saw in 2016: Any number of the Legendary Shack Shakers shows we were witness too. 

Favorite song of 2016: Well, according to Spotify, I listened to "Spanish Flea" more than anything. Another tragic occurrence this year. 

Favorite music album of 2016: I loved the shit out of the new Bon Iver record. 

Favorite book you read in 2016: American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Favorite YouTube video of 2016: 

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Boss Hog

Favorite new place you visited in 2016: Toronto is really the shit. 

Best thing you ate in 2016: Prince's Hot Chicken in Nashville. 

Best thing you drank in 2016: My life away. 

Best bad decision you made in 2016: Divorce

Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Pernicious 

What are you hopeful for in 2017? A fire in the White House. 

What are you most looking forward to in 2017? 2020

2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Quit smoking. 8 percent. Lose 15 pounds. 6 percent. Be kinder to my fellow man. Fuck you. 
 

Al Scorch

Favorite show you played in 2016: King Mike's House in Elizabeth, NJ
 
Favorite show you saw in 2016: The Tillers at the Hideout in Chicago 
 
Favorite song of 2016: "Furniture" by Homme 
 



Favorite music album of 2016: NoName Telefone

 
Favorite 2016 movie: Moonlight, hands down
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Stranger Things obviously
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: Will to Change by Bell Hooks
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: “Angels” by Chance the Rapper feat. Saba
 


 

 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Constantly listening to The Jam 
 
Favorite new place you visited in 2016: Leeds, UK 
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: The bahn mi at Nu Lan bakery on Montrose Ave, this year, all year, every year.
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Espresso from Catalina Coffee in Houston
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Eating mushrooms in Utah 
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: arduous
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? Everyday people taking up the fight against fascism and oppression.
 
What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Playing with Steve Earle on January 24th in Chicago
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Smoke less weed so I can have dreams when I sleep and actualize my dreams my waking life. Already started, chance of success, 100%.
 

Casey McDonough (bass, vocals, The Flat Five)

Favorite show you played in 2016: NRBQ at the Hideout, October 24
 
Favorite show you saw in 2016: William Bell at SPACE in Evanston, IL, June 5. 
Mr. Bell's voice remains exquisite, elegant, and shows no sign of age.
I also enjoyed Bad Luck Jonathan at Township in Chicago, December 4.
 
Favorite music album of 2016: Good Times by The Monkees. A great collection of songs, winningly performed by Micky, Mike, Davey, and LP MVP Peter.
 
Favorite movie of 2016: Eight Days a Week: The Beatles' Touring Years
I owe everything to The Beatles. 
 
Favorite book I read in 2016: Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock and Roll by Peter Guralnick. The latest tome from one of my very favorite authors. If you've haven't read this or any of his other books, do!
 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016:
Kung Fu. I've been watching this on METV with my brother, and it's great. I especially like the early seasons.
 
Favorite new place you visited this year: Kate's Pie Shop in Rockford. (Not sure when they opened, but it was new to me!) Tasty pie, good coffee, and a record shop all in one. What's not to love?
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: I'm having Aurelio's pizza tonight...
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? I'm hopeful that in 2017 people all around the world will realize that we're all we've got, and start treating all the inhabitants of this planet with more kindness, empathy, and love.
 
What are you looking forward to in 2017? I'm looking forward to seeing as many people in as many places as we can, bringing cheer and light to everyone through song. It's a world of love and hope!
 

Bloodshot Staff Picks 

Co-Chief Rob Miller

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016:
 
The Flat Five album release show at Old Town School of Folk Music — Scheduled months in advance, it sold out in a matter of days. Who knew it would end up going against the NLCS game that put the Cubs in the World Series? (Not something we have had to historically worry about.)  Nevertheless, a vigorous online community arose and made sure baseball fans could get their tickets into the hands of those left out originally and it was a packed room full of love. These folks can SING. A perfect show for the perfect crowd at the perfect venue.  They announced the win that night from the stage (and threw Cubs t-shirts out into the crowd) and, for another week or so, all was right with the world.
 
Robbie Fulks album release show at Old Town School of Folk Music — A master class in showmanship, songwriting, and pure entertaining. One minute you are laughing, the next you are drawn deep into a heartbreaking song, the next you are marveling at Robbie’s musicianship (not to mention his players). To sit in that room and simply marvel at the exquisite craftsmanship of what he does makes me feel very lucky to live near him in Chicago. It also angers me that he is not a household name.
 
The middle section of the Dex Romweber set at the Hideout — Another show during the World Series saga. Dex fans don’t care about no stinking World Series! The deeply committed lunatic fringe that revere Dex were there (I count myself among them). Solo, and to about 20 people, Dex stalked the stage playing in a style and a tone that is absolutely and undeniably his and his alone. It took a bit to zero it in, but he hit his Dex-level groove for about 45 minutes. In that span was about a 20 minute instrumental that was thrilling. Soft, loud, the push, the pull. Just when you thought it was done, he would take it somewhere else, because HE was somewhere else. It was the rock and roll equivalent of speaking in tongues or snake-handling. After that, the show wandered, stumbled some, and then petered out. But for that 25-30 minutes, I felt like  I had been staring at the sun and I could still see.
           
Favorite song of 2016: According to my iTunes play count, it’s a tie between the Dead Kennedys' “Police Truck” and Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” I think I may need help.


 

 



Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: Same as last year’s: other people put out music?

 
Favorite 2016 movie: The first half of The Hateful 8 in 70mm. The second half kind of lost me in its cartoonish-ness (despite Jennifer Jason-Leigh’s perfectly over the top blood-bathed performance). Lawrence of Arabia—also in 70mm at the Music Box in Chicago. Oh, Peter O’Toole, thine eyes are divine on the big, BIG screen…

Too bad Western powers meddling in the Middle East is such arcane premise with little or no lessons to take away in today’s zany space age era of Batman V Superman or whatever shit now passes as “epic.”
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Westworld  (I’m not to the end yet, don’t fucking tell me how it ends!!!), Master of None, and my renewed effort at tackling Breaking Bad. (Don’t fucking tell me how it ends!!!)
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: Fiction: Hawaii by James Minchener.  Something I’d totally dismissed as pulpy and mainstream, but turns out I was being a literary snob. A totally enthralling, immersive not-even-a-whit-of-guilty pleasure. Exhaustively researched, expansively presented, with themes of colonialism, class, and the ravages of capitalism that one might, MIGHT, find relevant in today’s world. Even at 1000 pages, I was hoping I would never come to the end of it.
Non-fiction: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. The more time passes, the more history that happens, the more prescient he becomes.“One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.” Tell it, George.
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: A rose apple, bought at a farmer’s market in Hanalei, Kauai. What is a rose apple you ask? I didn’t know either, but I ate a bag of them. Of course, reading about them later, they also serve as a powerful laxative, which explained a lot of the next day, but STILL, holy cow! Sublime! Enchanting! Oh, and spam musubi (spam sushi). Mock me not, Judgey Judgersons. Salty, rice-y, spammy, a little sugar, a bite or two of heaven.
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Not to sound like some sort of homer, but I am going with Few Spirits Bloodshot Insurgint Gin with Fever Tree tonic water, a lime wedge, a splash of soda, served by the pitcher upon a tray whilst I am playing bocce ball. Savage times call for chin up displays of classiness…
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Betting against the Cubs (historically, a pretty safe bet)
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Teaching my dog not to eat my shoes.  Well, at least not while I’m wearing them.
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Vexatious
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? The continued box office absence of Jim Carrey.
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? 5 o’clock Devo. Everyday at 5, listen to some Devo. We’ve been trying to catch up to what they were doing over 30 years ago, and now in our frightening post-factual world, De-Evolution proves to be a concept still way ahead of its time. “The ape regards his tail, he’s stuck on it.” Indeed, Devo, indeed. Help us, for we know not what we do.
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: To not feel like I’m falling down an elevator shaft most of my waking hours, 42.5%

To not rant on street corners that Journey (Journey!!! WTF?) was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame instead of the MC5 and Kraftwerk, 0%
 
Welp, the wheel keeps on turning into 2017….
 

Co-Chief Nan Warshaw

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: Tie: Mekons at the Hideout in Chicago on Monday September 19th where the Handsome Family joined them for a couple songs. And Cory Branan's solo performance at SPACE in Evanston on July 28th
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: The Rise & Fall of Great Powers, a novel by Tom Rachman
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: Daily Mail(!?) video of my friend’s blind puppy running through autumn leaves – exactly what we need now:
 
 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Discovering Free Geek Chicago as the place to donated used tech http://freegeekchicago.org/donate, and going on a Chicago Architecture Foundation boat tour
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: Pho Chay from LD Pho in Chicago
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Few Spirits Bloodshot Insurgint gin neat. Who knew gin could taste great neat?
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Taking my 14-year-old son to EDM concerts (Pegboard Nerds, Seven Lions, Sound Remedy, Xilent) and festivals like North Coast.
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Donated more to charities and to people in need than ever before.
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Unconscionable.
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? Microworld: Robbie Fulks winning Grammys for Best American Roots Song “Alabama By Night”, and Best Folk Album Upland Stories.
 
Macroworld: Hell’s ice thawing. Our fascist overlords being merciful – yes, call me an optimist.
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? 2016 being over.
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: None. 100%.
 
BONUS: Favorite simultaneous events occurring in 2016: DJing the Few Bloodshot Insurgint gin release party at Delilah’s while watching the Cubs WIN the World Series!
 

Publicity Pirate Josh Zanger

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016:
 
Newport Folk Fest – Elvis Costello
Riot Fest – Misfits
Pitchfork Fest – Brian Wilson
 
I normally don't gravitate towards seeing performances on big stages while I'm standing a football field away, but each of these were special, once-in-a-lifetime events. Costello brought out Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Glen Hansard during his set, Brian Wilson played Pet Sounds in its entirety, and Misfits... well, who thought that was gonna happen again?
 
Favorite song of 2016: “The Beast Keeps Cool” – Jaye Jayle. Dark, eerie post-rock from Evan Patterson of Young Widows, Todd Cook (Shannon Wright, Shipping News) and Neal Argabright (Freakwater).


 

Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album:
The Frightnrs - Nothing More to Say
Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate
Common - Black America Again
Daniel Romano - Mosey
 
Favorite 2016 movie: Kubo and the Two Strings... great animation, and a great story to get lost in.
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Stranger Things - I could've watched this series twice in a row. One of those power-through-it, start-to-finish shows that has you clicking to watch the next episode without a bathroom break.
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: I'm a terrible person. I read 100 pages of a lot of books, but didn't finish most of them. The dense Cosmos has my attention at the moment, with 20-page-increment reads of Country Music, U.S.A. here and there.
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: It's an oldie but goodie. My eyes were just opened to the majesty of this: 
 
 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Miracle Legion — Suprise Surprise Surprise. This 1987 album is epically underrated and I think has indirectly influenced more modern indie rock bands than anyone is aware of.
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: Our mail lady and best bud Garcia made an amazing chili/corn bread casserole. Too bad she's not your mail lady, suckers!
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Drove to Louisville to see Freakwater's album release show at Zanzabar, stayed up til 6AM, got slapped by Lydia Loveless. 
 
 

The slap heard round the world. (Turn your sound on for this one.) @lydialovelesss @joshzang

A video posted by Michael David Smith (@realmikesmith) on

 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Discombobulated 
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? Burying our heads, Bloodshot putting out some amazing records, and the world not being destroyed.
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? Gettin' hitched in June. Party!
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Driving Rob crazy, 83%
 

Radio Wrangler Elise Shell

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: Peaches at Thalia Hall in Chicago. That gal knows how to put on a show!
 
Favorite song of 2016: Bon Iver's "715 - Creeks"


 

Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: Big Shoals Hard Lessons
 
Favorite 2016 movie: Zootopia
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Stranger Things
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: Roadkill on the Three-Chord Highway by Colin Escott
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: Malort Commercial


 

 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Rick and Morty
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: Chenoa Family Restaurant Fried Chicken. Heading south from Chicago? Just trust me.
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Bourbon. Ample amounts
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Brunch Cocktails
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Acquiring my first college degree
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: I never took the SATs (Post Secondary, It’s an Ohio thing)
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? That the planet doesn’t implode
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? Whiskey. Adventure. Always
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Have less hangovers than 2016. 5% chance of success
 

Retail Ranger Pete Klockau

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: Seeing Brian Wilson play Pet Sounds live in Minneapolis was a big one on the “gotta see them someday” list. Al Jardine from the original Beach Boys was there, and his band was absolutely top notch. A great, worth-waiting-for experience, all the way around
 
Favorite song of 2016: Anything from Joe Tex’s I Gotcha LP
 


Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album(s): It was released in 2015, but Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats' self-titled record on Stax from the last part of 2015 is fantastic. Of course I’m not saying anything a whole lot of people hadn’t already figured out here. Another record I listened to INCESSENTLY is Link Wray’s Three Track Shack. The 2-CD set released this year from the (always wonderful) Ace Records in the UK compiles the three impossible-to-find records Link recorded on his brother’s farm in the early 1970’s (on…a three track…) and HOLY SHIT this stuff is good… if you’re expecting the surfy strains of “Rumble” and “Chicken Run” that are synonymous with Link Wray, this couldn’t be further away… This is funky-as-all-hell 70’s country at its finest, with some pretty terrific songwriting, raw vocals, and some bordering-on-psychedelic guitar work. And this record is SOUTHERN… Hot damn. Listen to “Jukebox Mama” or  “Fire and Brimstone” and try to get it out of your head. 
 
Another recent discovery that's by no means new, I’ve listened to Clutchy Hopkins’ Walking Backwards in my car rather incessantly… killer down-tempo instrumental breaks and soundscapes. Really cool stuff… kinda like what DJ Shadow was doing in the early 2000ss (and this record is from 2008, so that makes sense) but weirder and somehow darker. Not the usual type of stuff I’m drawn to, but for whatever reason this record has felt like the perfect “driving home from my bar job at 4 AM” soundtrack.
 
Also great and in steady rotation this year: Both volumes of the Hillbillies in Hell series… there’s some REAL gems in there.
 
I was also turned on to Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin more fully, and picked up both his Guitars in Ernest and Jazz in Jamaica LPs from the 1960s… a perfect meshing of Verve-era Wes Montgomery and traditional Jamaican rhythms. Really really great stuff.
 
Favorite 2016 movie: The Star Warses are good again!
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: We, like millions of other people, watched Stranger Things and thoroughly enjoyed it… 
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: Our pal Tim Glazner wrote an excellent, eye-candy laden and thoroughly researched tome on the majestic Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale that is utterly enjoyable to paw through. If you have ever been to the Mai Kai, care at all about old weird restaurants and bars, America’s 1960s Polynesian obsession, or tiki culture, like interesting old ephemera, or want to read some great stories about the absolutely Herculean drinking abilities of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, do yerself a favor and go pick up Mai Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant by Tim Glazner.
 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: We finally got a Roku box, along with Netflix and all that other stuff this year… I know, how 2005 of us. Having many thousands of hours of Mystery Science Theater 3000 at the push of a button is a helluva good thing.
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: So… many… supper... clubs…
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Hamilton’s St Lucia Pot Still rum is new(ish) to the US market and wonderful… just funky enough without full-blown agricole funkiness, but you can taste all the bananas and fruit and miscellany that went into the mash to make it. Also delicious and new to the market this year, Plantation Rum’s traditional dark blend - it’s kind of a “perfect” rum; smooth, sweet without being too sweet, lots of nice burnt sugar cane and wood on the backend… and super affordable at $20 a fifth. Makes a helluva nice daiquiri!
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Living in our house during 4 (+?) months of renovations (including replacing the entire kitchen and all of the floors) was horrible, but the decision to do it was not only necessary, but turned out wonderfully and is something I’m thankful for daily. I love how everything turned out, and I love our little finicky, weird house on the lake more and more every day, and it feels mighty damn good watching the pieces of the puzzle come together.
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Getting through the aforementioned renovation while holding down day-and-night jobs, working ’til 4AM and sleeping in my car for a few hours when the workmen showed up at 8... FUN!!
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Disconcerting
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? That we aren’t immediately thrust into World War 3 on January 21st.
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? After a year of renovations and spending money and chaos, looking forward to settling down and getting back on a regular schedule and enjoying the fruits of our labors...
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Do not become a political prisoner… 75%.
 

New Media Maven Mike Smith

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: So hard to choose...
Kris Kristofferson solo acoustic in a barn at Newport Folk Festival. We made eye contact. His piercing blue eyes will haunt me forever.
Elvis Costello with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Newport Folk Festival. One of the most impressive musical performances I've ever seen. And we were fortunate to watch from the side of the stage. Dream come true.
Dwight Yoakam at Mercy Lounge in Nashville, TN. Dwight with a bluegrass band at a bar in Nashville. Sweet Jesus. 
Marlon Williams at Martyrs in Chicago. The best new male vocalist and most dynamic young band in music right now. And Marlon's a swell guy to boot!
The Flat Five at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Harmonies for days.
 
Favorite song of 2016: Pinegrove "Old Friends"
 
 
Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album:
Fruit Bats Absolute Loser
Joey Purp iiiDrops
School of Seven Bells SVIIB
Marlon Williams Marlon Williams
Anderson .Paak Malibu
 
Favorite 2016 movie: Star Wars: Rogue One. I saw it for the second time today. It's everything you want in a blockbuster.
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Stranger Things and Hip Hop Evolution (Netflix FTW)
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon. Even if you're not a huge Sonic Youth fan (I'm not), you will laugh, cry, and learn.
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: The Borrowed Time animated short film was taken down, so it will have to be this unfortunately.

 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Breaking Bad. I know, I know. It lives up to the hype. I finally learned to love Tom T. Hall too. And started drinking (good) coffee, in small amounts.
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: An ungodly amount of freshly shucked oysters at Newport Folk Festival.
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: I'm not being conceited...but the Bloodshot Records Insurgint Gin by Few Spirits. It's the only gin I drink neat. Also, homemade mezcal from a farm in Oaxaca, Mexico. (Thank you to the Dark Matter Coffee crew for generously sharing with us.)
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Going back to my college town in Virginia with my old DJ partner to spin for our old drunk friends and a bunch of college kids.
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Ate Tombstone Pizza while watching the film Tombstone. And becoming an official ACLU member.
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Dystopic
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? That we won't let fascists trick us into falling in line. I know I won't.
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? New albums from some of Bloodshot's best and brightest; Robbie Fulks taking home a Grammy award; going to Iceland for the first time.
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Start a punk rock protest song cover band, 60%.
 

Warehouse Warrior Justin Hertner

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: 
Rob Zombie at Riot Fest in Chicago. He rocks out like there isn’t twelve pounds of dreadlocks attached to his skull.
 
 Favorite song of 2016: "Superjam Maximus" by Geezer. It’s called Superjam Maximus. That’s all you need to know.
 
 
 Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: Norma Jean Polar Similar
 
 Favorite 2016 movie: La La Land. So magical.
 
 Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Baskets
 
 Favorite YouTube video of 2016: Revisited Axl Rose wanting some reggae. Made me laugh just like the very first time.
 
 
 Best thing you ate in 2016: Leftover Christmas ham
 
 Best thing you drank in 2016: Milk... I used to drink a gallon a week. Stopped for awhile. Picked it up again over the holidays. Can’t stop now.
 
 Best bad decision you made in 2016: Ate tamago-gani.
 
 Top personal victory of 2016: Went to the gym twice. Killed it both times.
 
 What are you hopeful for in 2017? I’m hopeful that balance will be brought to The Force.
 
 What you are most looking forward to in 2017? A new Star Wars movie.
 
 2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Stop using “they say” when citing scientific information.
 

Promotions Purveyor Nina Stiener

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: Blink-182 without alien-loving Tom Delonge at Firefly Music Fest in Delaware with my brother
 
Favorite song of 2016: "Daddy Lessons" by Beyoncé
 


Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: The Weight of These Wings by Miranda Lambert only came out a few weeks ago and I can’t stop listening to it. OR Anti by Rihanna, also great
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: I’m a sucker for Keifer Sutherland in 24, so his new show Designated Survivor. Stick to acting, Kiefer, and soon we will all forget about that weird country album you tried to sneak on us.
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. Or Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo, awesome interviews with all the musical greats.
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: The Grinch Tries Yoga. Gets me every time.

 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Chianti in Florence
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: I may or may not have participated in the traditional spring break in South Padre Island. I plead the fifth if there are any follow up questions about that particular week. 
 
Top personal victory of 2016: I taught a dog to play dead in twenty minutes the other day; that was pretty sweet. Maybe graduating college... but honestly I think the dog thing was better.
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: obstreperous: noisily and stubbornly defiant
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? That people will stop blaming millennials for everything.
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Stop wearing my crocs in public, .000001%
 

Tour Date Diva Leigh Ann Getchis

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: I went to a lot of good shows this year. But here’s a few that I had a ton of fun at:
Jeff Rosenstock, Hard Girls, and Katie Ellen at Beak Kitchen in Chicago
Less Than Jake playing Hello Rockview at Double Door in Chicago
Sleater-Kinney at Riot Fest in Chicago
 
Favorite song of 2016: Lydia Loveless "Same to You"
 
 
Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: PUP The Dream Is Over
 
Favorite 2016 movie: The Conjuring 2
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: Stranger Things, Bloodline, and RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars Season 2
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: I read one book in 2016 and didn’t like it much. However, I am looking forward to reading the book I just got for Christmas: Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout by Laura Jane Grace
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: The Ted Cruz bad lip reading video still cracks me up.


 

Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: I’ll admit that I hadn’t seen all of the old Star Wars movies before this year. 
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: The 8.5 lbs of applewood smoked pork loin and apple chutney my roommates and I made on the grill this summer.
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Those fancy Bloodshot Insurgint Gin and Tonics from the cocktail party at Few Spirits
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Spending all of my disposable income on live music and merch. Sorry, not sorry.
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Learning how to smoke meats this year was a total win.
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Xenophobic
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? Reeeaaallly hoping Trump doesn’t fuck up big league. 
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? I have a lot of weddings to attend and babies to meet in 2017!
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: To eat healthier, 25% 
 

Incredible Intern Alex De Pompei

Favorite concert/show you attended in 2016: Bill Callahan at Constellation in Chicago on 9/25 (he played “Dress Sexy At My Funeral.” How could I not love it?)
 
Favorite song of 2016: “Dorothy” by Kevin Morby
 
 
Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: Karl Blau Introducing Karl Blau
 
Favorite 2016 movie: The Edge of Seventeen
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: KPU
 
Favorite book you read in 2016: Babbit by Sinclair Lewis and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: Easy. Guy Fieri eating to Hurt by Johnny Cash
 

 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Finally listening to Tom T. Hall and Dwight Yoakam
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: 3 steak tacos— no lettuce—at The Famous Taco Burrito (four blocks away from Bloodshot HQ)
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: Kentucky Common (Local Option bourbon beer)
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: Driving up to Milwaukee to buy a bike off Craigslist to ride to a show at the Empty Bottle that night instead of just driving to the Empty Bottle.
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Getting a 100% on an essay connecting the Old Testament to Slayer lyrics.
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Egregious (had to look up SAT words for this. Non-SAT: bad)
 
What are you hopeful for in 2017? Being less scared of riding my bike in Chicago
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? Graduating college, paying real adult bills
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Be meaner. 100%
 

Incredible Intern Riley Vance

Favorite song of 2016: "It’s Strange” by Louis the Child (Okay, technically it’s a 2015 release, but I only heard it this year. The 2016 Ramzoid remix is really good too)

 
Favorite non-Bloodshot 2016 music album: Bon Iver’s 22, A Million
 
Favorite 2016 TV or web show: West. World. West. World. West. World. 
 
Favorite YouTube video of 2016: YouTubers Brianna and Jaelin describe their terrifying first 24 hours in Chicago. (it’s hysterical). 
 
 
 
Favorite thing from yesteryear that you just got around to in 2016: Weeping bitter tears while eating ice cream and watching Inside Out for the first time. It’s been a long time coming. 
 
Best thing you ate in 2016: Florentine pizza quickly followed by cinnamon gelato
 
Best thing you drank in 2016: True Murphy’s Irish Stout during my semester abroad
 
Best bad decision you made in 2016: I can’t say for sure, but it almost definitely involved tequila in some way or another. We are no longer on speaking terms, tequila and I. 
 
Top personal victory of 2016: Surviving my study abroad experience…or starting and completing the entirety of 30 Rock in a month. Equally important milestones in my life. 
 
Use an SAT word to describe 2016: Herculean, arduous, exhausting, hard…just really really hard. 
 
What you are most looking forward to in 2017? The sweet, sweet relief granted once I receive my undergrad diploma in May. 
 
2017 New Year resolution and % chance of success: Procrastinating less! Chance of success: ………Huh? Oh, yeah. Uh, I’ll get back to you on that later. 

 

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