First night shift

With the new duty hour restrictions that limit us interns to a 16 hour day, the overnight 24-30 hour call is not as much of a ritual, especially here at Emory Pediatrics where even as senior residents we never take 24 hour calls (all residents work shift work).  However, this has been replaced by a new ritual... Night team. 

Starting on hem/onc, I got a solid 2 weeks of days before I joined the ranks of the Night Crew for this weekend. 

There are many important differences to know about nights vs days. In fact there are few similarities. On days you cover a smaller number of patients on your own service and you know them in great depth. On nights you cover your own service and 1-2 others and you're there mainly to keep things running smoothly, but you only really get to know the kids who have things going wrong. 

As a result, nights has the distinction of sorting out those residents who have "white clouds" from those residents who have "black clouds". For my non-medical friends, let me explain... Your cloud is sort of your medical luck that follows you around... Black cloud people have to take care of lots of really sick kids and get lots of new admissions to their teams, and white cloud people get lucky with kids who don't get very sick and don't have as many kids to take care of. 

They say that your cloud can become apparently very quickly, and I hope so because here is a summary of night #1: 

Ok, it wasnt all napping and relaxing, there were some interesting complications and issues to deal with, but overall not bad!  You have a small crew of doctors on, so you get to know people well, and during the downtime you get to relax and hang out and get to know people. We also get to know the nurses & staff better. Plus more downtime to hang out with my patients, which is why I'm doing this whole shindig in the first place.  Now I just gotta make it through one more night shift tomorrow and then I actually get a day off! 

((The downside to this year is I'm missing a lot of fun times with people who are important to me... Including Adam Cohen's birthday celebrations today & his real bday on Monday, so I made this picture below))

A Sad Story of The Universe's Plot to Keep Me Away From AUDIOSTROBELIGHT shows

1.  October 27, 2012

Since graduating from the College of William and Mary, stuffing my life into a U-haul, and returning to Ohio for medical school, I had only seen audiostrobelight play one show, a small but amazingly fun bar show in Cleveland, Ohio.  That show was a 2.5 hour drive which I gladly made, but it hardly served to give me the audiostrobelight fix that I needed.  I hadn't seen a large-scale ASL show since College, and I had never gotten to see them rock out at the Norva, which was reputedly one of the best venues in the country, certainly the best in the VA Beach area.

Plans were made in secret, plane tickets purchased, and I was ready to fly to DC, meet up with Alex & Kelly, and drive the 3.5 hours down the coast for the show.  I was absolutely pumped that I had pulled this off in secret and that one of my best friends, Adam Cohen (the violinist / mandolinist for ASL) would be shocked to see me there.  Equally exciting for me was the chance to finally see one of their epic Norva shows.

Just days before my flight would have left, the "superstorm" Hurricane Sandy began picking up power and making its way directly toward VA Beach, predicted to strike when?  On the day of the concert, of course.  My airline offered to fully refund my flight a couple of days before it would have left, and my family and I felt that I had to take the offer.  Flights were all cancelled anyways within the next couple of days.  By the time the show was rescheduled, I was buried in medical school and had no chance whatsoever to go to the show.  When the show finally occurred, I worked long hours all weekend, sad that I was missing out.

At the time I felt upset and ripped off by mother nature, but I didn't think too much of it.  Every once in a while an act of nature is bound to ruin your plans.  I just didn't realize the pattern that was about to emerge as the universe conspired to keep me away from one of my favorite bands and one of my favorite people.

2.  February 22, 2013

February 21, the day of my 26th birthday, arrived full of promise and excitement.  SladBert 2013, the epic combined birthday party, had been delayed until the following weekend, and my schedule was clear for me to drive the following day to Washington, DC, meet up with Alex and Kelly, and see an audiostrobelight show with them.

Once again, I kept this a total secret.  Having failed in my last attempt to totally surprise Adam Cohen at one of his shows, I figured that I could make up for it by totally surprising him at this show.  I carefully planned with Alex and Kelly, and whenever Adam and I talked it was only to discussed how crazy busy I was with medical school (only a slight exaggeration on the truth, as medical had eased up slightly towards the end of my fourth year, but not all that significantly).

Then, as I was packing up clothes and generally making preparations, I received several concerned messages from my parents, telling me to look at the weather and rethink this long drive.  I spent much time on my birthday and the following day watching the weather and debating with myself whether I could make this drive.

Unfortunately, the drive includes a stretch through the mountains of WV / PA, and this is an annoying / stressful stretch even in good conditions.  Once they started talking about slick roads, ice, accidents in the mountains, I knew that as much as I wanted to see audiostrobelight, I didn't want to slide off a mountain in the process.

It turned out that the storms hit the mountains areas pretty hard, and there were plenty of cars sliding off the road / having accidents, so I felt justified in my decision to stay put in Ohio.  But once again mother nature had blatantly foiled my plans to see audiostrobelight in concert, and in the worst way possible.  Both times I had gotten my hopes up only to have them smashed at the last minute.  That's just cruel, mother nature.

3.  May 4th, 2013

For months, Adam and I have been talking about his epic CD release show that will take place at the Norva.  Finally, a true chance at redemption for their several earlier Norva shows, none of which I had made it to.  Much of May was wide open for me, with only the very first and very last weekends booked.  This left three weekends in the middle of May in which I could have easily made it to an audiostrobelight show.  Then came the terrible news that I didn't want to hear... the date had been set on May 4th, the first Saturday of the month.

I guess in this case you can't blame mother nature, but I think there's clearly still evidence of a conspiracy here.  On May 2nd, I had my Commencement / Hooding Ceremony as a graduate of The Ohio State College of Medicine, and on May 5th I officially received my title of "Dr. Jonathan Sladky, M.D."

Two of our other friends, Will and Julia, made it to see me over that weekend, but needless to say graduating from medical school was not something I could skip to see a concert, not even for audiostrobelight.

4.  The Immediate Future

For the next three years, I will work 70-80 hour weeks most months,with only 4 days off per month, 3 weeks off per year.  The likelihood of me making it to any concerts is low, but I'm holding out hope.  I feel like the universe owes me one here, so even if I have to travel to Europe or somewhere to make it happen, I'm gonna have to find a way to get my audiostrobelight fix.  Maybe I can convince them to come play a concert at one of the Children's Hospital of Atlanta complexes where I'm working.

"Matched" Day - aka I'M GOING TO BE A DOCTOR

Sorry for the all caps. If it seems excessive, it's only because as of today, it is official that I will be hired as a pediatric resident next year.  We got the emails today stating that we have matched somewhere,  although this now begins the long wait til Friday to find out exactly where I matched.  But just knowing that I'm actually going to be a doctor is a huge milestone after 4 years of working harder than ever before, studying harder, putting everything into making in here to this day (and more specifically to this coming Friday).  To commemorate this milestone, I treated myself to a delicious Chick-fil-a lunch... it was fate, it was meant to be, because the Chick-fil-a was directly next to the repair shop for my car's tire (ran over a screw).

The email says it all / determined my future in one quick line of text.   Although it seems like just yesterday, I can't even really remember finding out that I'd been accepted to medical school, except to remember the relief / excitement that came with my first acceptance.  It certainly does not seem like four years have passed since I walked across the Crim Dell bridge, walked across the stage @ W&M Hall, had a farewell dinner with our closest friends, and put W&M in the rearview mirror.   I used to wonder at the notion that time speeds up as we get further into life, but I understand it now.

A fellow classmate posted today on Facebook a status effectively saying "well that was anticlimactic" after receiving the email below.  Since I've given up Facebook for Lent (and haven't missed it at all), I didn't see this, but I have to concur with several close friends who disagree entirely with that sentiment. Yes, it is a single, otherwise unremarkable line of text, but I think my friends nailed it when they said that this single decision should cause us all to stop everything and feel humble, to feel honored, that we have been selected to be doctors, that we will soon be entrusted with the lives of complete strangers, that somehow despite everything we have yet to learn, after all that we've already put in, we are to be entrusted to carry the title "M.D."  To me, there's nothing anticlimactic about this moment.

It's crazy in that this ends a four year stage in my life, but yet really just opens the door to a life-long continuation of these four years, of further learning, studying, training, and then re-learning and re-evaluating everything.  It's hard to describe the feeling of the culmination of a four year project, which is really an eight year project with undergrad science courses (really all courses) included, which is really a 21 year project if you consider my entire educational career.  It's even harder to describe the feeling because nothing has really culminated... my life churns full speed ahead down a continuum of academic curiosity and pursuit.  The biggest change is that I get to further specialize my study, from focusing solely on human medicine in medical school to focusing solely on Pediatrics for the next three years, to possibly a sub-specialty for 3 more years after that.  Following my passion, following my heartlines.

Of course, one of the most important days of my life is still yet to come this Friday, when I will finally find out where I will train for the next 3 years of my life.  As always, moments like this serve to remind me to trust in God; He has never failed in his guidance of my life thus far.  I owe everything in my life to God's blessing, to my family who has unconditionally loved me and supported me every second of my life, to the support and love of my beautiful girlfriend, and to the truest and most loyal friends a man could ask for.  I'll end with these Florence and the Machine lyrics which have become a sort of life motto for me:

Just keep following the heartlines on your hands....

Reflections and Creeds (John Wooden style)

Only two more months left until I'm officially done with medical school and on my way to truly becoming a doctor.  Thanks to a favorable schedule for the end of the year, I have this weekend off of work, and thanks to the beginnings of a small cold, I've specifically not made any plans and as a result I've had some amazing time for rest, reading, and reflection.  I curled up in some rare Ohio winter sunlight with some tea and two books today, the Bible, and Bob Goff's "Love Does," both of which never cease to inspire me and get my life focused on the right things.  

However, it was something that I read later on today, as I was cleaning up, that most inspired me and stuck with me.  John Wooden has been something of a personal hero of mine ever since I attended a leadership conference inspired by his principles.  During my reading and cleaning today, this is what I came across: 

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed:

"Seven Things To Do"

- Be true to yourself

- Help others

- Make each day your masterpiece

- Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible

- Make friendship a fine art

- Build shelter against a rainy day

- Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings each day

Although this may be slightly paraphrased, I think that part of the appeal of this for me is that it is succinct but it packs a punch.  It's simple, yet living out a creed like this actively on a day to day basis is far from simple.  Anyways I think there are three of these that particularly stand out to me:  

• making friendship a fine art, as I am always striving to nuture friendships in my life,  but I like the phrasing, making friendship an art, implying that more goes into it than meets the eye, that it requires work and honing of skill
• drinking deeply from good books, as I am trying to get myself out of my digital / technological rut by reading things that are more meaningful than my twitter and facebook feeds
• praying for guidance / giving thanks for blessings... growing up, I used to pray much more often, and it's something that almost unfailingly keeps my life on track, yet something that I've failed to practice much lately, but that I'm working on making a routine once again

Anyways, for this week maybe I'll focus on "being true to myself."  That's a broad ideal that could be interpreted in such a variety of ways.  I think I'll take it as first and foremost finding those truths about myself by continuing to spend time in silent reading and reflection, like today afforded.  I really think that especially in medical school, and especially with my growing addiction to the online world, simple times of peace and quiet are at a premium, but are becoming more and more a priority. 

Oh my God (Jars of Clay)

This might honestly be the most beautiful song I have ever heard...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqeyisb688

Sometimes I cannot forgive,
And these days mercy cuts so deep,
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces lighter,
When we wake we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent, falls away below my heavy breathing
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have the chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded, that the pain is worth the thunder

Sometimes when I lose my grip I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat
All the wounds that money causes
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance 
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense

Oh my God,
Oh my God, 
Oh my God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqeyisb688

In which Lem & I hang out with Youngblood Hawke

It's Saturday night (1/26) and most of my classmates are on a ski trip, so I'm planning on a lazy night at home until +Lem Smith texts me about a Youngblood Hawke concert. I've never heard of them before, but Lem tells me he's friends with the girl who is one of their lead singers. Apparently they're playing in Columbus tonight, so I do some quick iTunes / YouTube stalking and decide that these guys really rock. I am expecting something decent, but instead find myself dancing to awesome music alone in my house, so I immediately get ahold of Lem and agree that we need to be at this concert.

As an added bonus, this is my first concert at the Newport, and I have to say it's an awesome venue, it was exactly the small venue atmosphere that I love. Sure enough, Youngblood Hawke is a blast to hear live, and their opening performance blows away the main act (Keane). Their hit single "We Come Running" is insanely addictive.  As our energy melts away during Keane's much slower set, I decide that this had been a great night and an excellent concert, but little do I know the fun is just beginning. Lem and I get some merchandise (I couldn't resist the red-on-black shirt, so sick), and soon the band comes out.

Turns out Lem wasn't lying, he and Alice (their female vocalist) are good friends, and she introduces us to her husband Simon (guitar) and the rest of the band. After pictures and small talk while Keane finishes, the venue begins shutting down and kicks us out, but the band invites us to hang out and celebrate with them in Columbus (it's Alice's birthday).  We go out back and wait until they come out; I'm expecting to fight a mob, but the cold has driven most people away, and those braving the cold are either waiting for Keane, or don't recognize the Youngblood Hawke band members.  Lem and I walk with them back to their awesome tour bus...

Seriously, this makes me wish I had any type of musical talent, cause they're traveling the country in style.   Here's Lem dancing inside the tour bus... they have this large hangout area in the front, a smaller lounge in the back, and sleep in bunks in the middle, sweet setup.

As an added bonus, we got to meet Alice and Simon's dog, who had to wear a coat and boots to venture into the Ohio winter (I guess they don't get weather like this out in Los Angeles...).  All of the band members are incredibly laid back, chill people, and they offer us beer while we relax for bit on the bus.

After the band recovers for a bit from their performance, they decide it's time to go out and celebrate Alice's birthday.  Lem and I are given the job of picking a place nearby... it's not really where we usually hang out, so we pick an area that's close (since it's cold and snowy) and that we know will have a good crowd even on a snowy night.  We all venture just down the street to the Gateway district and ended up at Kildare's, where everyone hits the dance floor.

We hang out until Kildare's starts closing, and then drop the band off back at their tour bus before retiring for the night.  Lem later tells me that Youngblood Hawke loved it despite some hangovers the next day; I'm hoping it was enough fun to bring them back to Columbus before I leave here.  If not I'll just have to persuade them to make it to wherever I end up for residency.

Keystone Habits

A few days ago, I read an interesting post by John Sowers, who was guest-posting on the blog of Donald Miller, a favorite author / storyteller of mine.  In his post, John Sowers discusses "Finding your Keystone Habit."  This was particularly interesting to me, as I've been using what time I have lately in a mad attempt to discern who I have become at this point in my life, who I am interested in becoming in the next few years, and how to bridge the gap between that vision and my current reality.

At any rate, the article discusses, as you might guess, "Keystone habits", which basically are those specific changes which can trigger a chain of other changes in your life.  As he says, "Keystone habits set off a chain of internal events, giving us willpower and momentum to do other things. Over time, these keystone habits form other habits, and we become completely different people."

So I've been reflecting over my keystone habits, and already a few have emerged this year.  The most prominent for me thus far in 2013 seems to be maintaining a set sleep schedule, and sticking to a set bedtime without procrastinating and staying up later than I need to.  I perform better on my rotations, I can see medical problems and solutions more clearly, and I feel energized enough to exercise, which is another keystone habit that I always seem to come back to.  Whenever my time gets crunched, exercise has historically been something that I am quick to give up to fit other things into my schedule, but really it should have a much higher priority in my life.




See the original blog post by John Sowers here

My Top Albums of 2012

Although not a true blog post to speak of, I figured what better way to start out than to finally get around to listing my Top Albums of 2012.  As per tradition among my friends, this is the music that most moved me and spoke to me over the past year.  As always I would like to make the very important disclaimer that these are simply MY favorite albums... I do not claim to have any musical expertise (unlike Cohen / Mayer / Bleser / etc), or really any formal musical training or knowledge.  I make no pretense at an ability to critique music.  I simply list what I love and why I love it, in the hopes that maybe it will convince some friends to listen to some new jams and fall in love as well.  In the most basic sense, this is the music that was the soundtrack to my year in 2012.  With that said:

1)  "Walk The Moon" - Walk The Moon (self-titled)
It took the recommendations of several friends, including my medical school friend John Reid who knows a current/former band member (?), before I listened to the album, but I was immediately completely hooked.  The band hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, and they play a truly delightful blend of music that I guess you would call Indie Rock?  The guitar riffs are addictive, the choruses become embedded in your head, and you start singing these songs randomly.  This was a go-to pick me up album throughout my year, as well as mood music, study music, hanging out with friends music.  The single "Anna Sun" is an instant addiction, embodying everything I've loved about being young, staying up late, hanging out with friends, living life to the fullest.  "Lisa Baby" is probably my current favorite song on the album, with the catchy chorus of My baby is a mess / my baby is a dancing queen / when my baby wears a dress, it's like she's not even a human being // nobody else, nobody else, nobody else has you down, but me.  The song "Jenny" was one of my top two pump up songs of the year, and  "Iscariot" is beautifully written slow song that I'm currently listening to on this rainy, rainy day, and it is perfect.  The album finishes with "I Can Lift A Car" which is inexplicably amazing.  I don't understand why, but this song gets stuck in my head more than any other and something about it just draws you in.  It deals with the end of a relationship and the beginning of a new one, but something about it just draws you into the song. This is such a good album through and through, full of upbeat, positive energy (except for "Iscariot" which slows it down beautifully).  If I could only recommend that people listen to one album this year, this would be it.

2.  "The Heist"  - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
This album was destined to be high on this list from the first time that I read it, but it made a late rise all the way to the #2 spot as I was driving home from Atlanta recently and really listening to the songs on this album.  First of all, it's an independently produced and released album, and Macklemore has a whole song on the album explaining how he turned down a recording contract with a record company because of the way they screw over bands.  Baller status.  Anyways, the true reason that I love this album and believe it deserves to be listened to be everyone out there is that it deals with real issues, in a down to earth and accessible, yet honest and thought-provoking manners.  On this album the duo tackles gay marriage / homosexuality on the extremely well done track "Same Love", the struggles of giving up everything and working as hard as you can for your dreams ("Ten Thousand Hours") which gives us the memorable lyrics "I watched Keith Haring, you see I study art / The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint, The greats were great because they paint a lot".  Several tracks deal with alcohol and drug abuse and addiction, an ongoing theme throughout the album which is especially relevant to me in light of the month I'm about to spend working with patients in an alcohol and drug addiction rehab program (an elective rotation in my medical training).  He even writes poetically about the absurdity of fighting over Air Jordans and other basketball shoes, stating that friend was killed for his shoes, and concluding "they're just another pair of shoes", a track that should really be taken as a warning of consumerism taken to extremes, and a message to moderate our actions/consumptions, and refocus on what's truly important.
Anyone out there who is listening to the garbage that represents 99% of rap and hip-hop that promotes ignorance, promotes drug abuse, promotes the exploitation and degradation of women, needs to give that crap a permanent rest and give this album a long, hard listen.

3.  "The Peace Of Wild Things" - Paper Route
This is sort of a surprise to end up this high on my list, as this was definitely a wild-card album that Mayer and Kelsey turned me on to late in the year, but this album fills a musical void for me that has been missing something for a while.  The music is relaxing and smooth, sometimes dreamy and otherworldly, but the lyrics are utterly amazing and I found that whatever was going on in my life, I would throw on this album and some of the songs would speak to me.  It has some of the best love songs that I've heard in years and years ("Two Hearts", "Sugar"), some of the best heart-breaking songs I've heard in years ("Letting you let go"), and the highlight of the album "Glass Heart Hymn" is a slowly-building ethereal epic which is dark and deep and a perfect anthem for those down days / rainy days / days of doubt.  No matter what mood I'm in, or what I'm struggling with, something on this album speaks to me on a base emotional level and I love it.

4. "Some Nights" - fun.
Fun. lives up to its name as a band.  The album starts sounding like musical theater, evolves into a full scale chorus belting out the title track, and then kicks into one of the top singles of the year, "We Are Young," an anthem for every night out on the town.  They are musically inventive and complex, but a true joy to simply listen to.  "Stars," "One Foot," and "Carry On" are some of my other favorite tracks.  This album captures the struggles and joys and triumphs and failures of twenty-something life in America today.  This album is a great album for when you're feeling lonely, because much of the nuance of the album revolves around that.  The title track also happens to be an apt description of my life, as I feel like I'm still constantly trying to figure out who exactly I am ("What do I stand for, what do I stand for?  Most nights, I don't know, anymore") but tracks like "Carry On" always carry me through my existential crises.

5.  The Lumineers (self-titled)
Yes, it's a little hipster-ish (although too mainstream to really be hipster), but I love this folksy album.  It's kinda quirky but it's perfect music for just relaxing and hanging out, or for driving, or for hanging out.  Everyone has heard "Ho Hey" on the radio by now, but the rest of the album is very solid.  The instrumentation is very well done, and the lyrics are awesome.  "Classy Girls" is a hilarious song... I made her laugh, I made a pass, I showed her my half dollar ring / She said 'That's pretty cool,' but classy girls don't kiss in bars you fool.  My favorite track is "Submarines," because it's musically full of whimsy with an awesome lighthearted piano piece and great lyrics about seeing submarines and not being believed.  It's just a very easy-going, folksy album.

6. "A Thousand Miles Left Behind" - Gloriana
This is one of the best true country albums I've heard in a while.  I love TSwift, but her music is almost entirely "pop" music, with less and less country influence as time goes on.  Even my go-to favorite Jason Aldean has been experimenting with a lot of different sounds (with incredible results, don't get me wrong, I love his music), but to me this Gloriana album sounds like good old, light-hearted, country music.  As soon as summer time rolls around in Ohio, and the weather warms up, this compulsion to listen to country music wells up from deep within me.  When I'm driving in beautiful weather, or grilling out in the backyard on a perfect evening, I need me some good country music, and that's what this album is.  Upbeat, rocking out, delightful country.  Some of the albums above have had some moody tracks... this album is perfect music for sunshine and kicking back in the summer. Most people will know the single "(Kissed You) Good Night," but I have difficulty picking favorite tracks.  Honestly the whole album is about equal in my mind, they are all great tracks.

7.  "Tornado" - Little Big Town
I've long enjoyed Little Big Town because of how their style revolves around their creative four-part harmonies, with all four members heavily involved in singing their songs.  It gives them a really cool sound, but that sound didn't really come fully together for me until this album.  Once again, I know that some of my friends who aren't big country fans might not appreciate this album the way I do, but the are one of the most vocally talented groups on my list this year.  In addition to their cool musical style, this album just rocks.  From the very first track, "Pavement Ends," which is a rocking summertime anthem to relaxing in the country, to "Pontoon" which is slightly quirky and one of my favorite country songs of the summer, all about having fun out on the water on a pontoon (sounds like a perfect weekend to me).  "Sober" gives me some of my favorite lyrics of the album ...I wanna walk that line a little crooked, And live my life a little on the rocks, Laughing every time I fail, not afraid to make a fool of myself, and keep on dancing when the music stops // Cause I love being in love, it's the best kind of drug, Drunk on the high leanin on your shoulder, Sweet like wine as it gets older, When I die I don't wanna go sober // You're like drinking from a never-ending bottle, when I think it's gone there's always a little more left, Lay back with you and close my eyes, let the big old world just spin on by...
And the title track, Tornado, is a rocking radio single of a lover spurned (which country music does so well).

8. "My Head Is An Animal" - Of Monsters and Men
To be honest, it was the very first track of this album that drew me in.  "Dirty Paws" was and is still by far my favorite track on this album.  It has a beautiful sound to it, and it just relaxes me.  There are several albums on my list this year that I really relied on to relax me this year, to help me through stressful months, to calm my mind while I was studying or after a long day at the hospital.  This folksy/indie album was perfect for this purpose.  The whole album is full of calming guitars, soothing vocals, and often interesting lyrics.  "Little Talks" is the radio single and is very upbeat, but I love "King And Lionheart" and "Mountain Sound" personally.  "Love love love" is also an excellent but heartbreaking song about a failed love.

9. "Coexist" - the Xx
This album is sexy.  That is the best way that I can describe this music.  It is seductive, it is sexy.  It is ethereal and airy and dreamy.  It's easy to get lost in this album.  I honestly can't pick out a favorite song because I can't particularly pick out a distinct song from it... I put on this music and my mind drifts, my soul relaxes.  I do love the first track "Angles", whose lyrics proclaim Light reflects from your shadow, It is more than I thought could exist, You move through the room, Like breathing was easy // If someone believed me / They would be as in love with you as I am, They would be as in love with you as I am..."  Seriously this is the kind of music that you put on and then an hour later you don't know what happened for the past hour, but you're at peace with the world.

10.  "Red" - Taylor Swift
Yes, yes, yes.  I agree with all your critiques and insults.  This album brings nothing really new to the game.  This isn't a departure at all from her last album.  I didn't even like it as well as her last album.  It's not nearly as complete of an album, it has multiple forgettable tracks.  Yet, the half of this album that I love will be replayed again. and again. and again.  Her music is unmistakably addicting.  And those people who get angry that her music is all about relationships and breaking up and repeating the cycle are missing the point... that's a major, major theme in the life of the twenty-something year old in America today.  I think TSwift nails all of our emotions and angst that we thought we left in high school, but really it all simmers just beneath the surface in all of us "calm, collected" 20-30 year olds.  I love it.  Standout tracks include "State of Grace", "Red", "I Knew You Were Trouble", "22", "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Stay stay stay", "Holy Ground", "Begin Again".
Maybe my favorite lyrics come from "Stay stay stay", which I listen to if Jane and I have a fight or disagreement...  I'm pretty sure we almost broke up last night, I threw my phone across the room at you, I was expecting some dramatic turn-away, but you stayed  //  This morning I said we should talk about it, 'cause I read you should never leave a fight unresolved, That's when you came in wearing a football helmet and said "ok, let's talk"  //  And I said stay stay stay, I've been loving you for quite some time time time, You think that it's funny when I'm mad mad mad, but I think that it's best if we both stay

11.  "What We Saw from the Cheap Seats"  - Regina Spektor
I almost capped my list at 10 this year, and then I listened to this album in its entirety again, and guess what?  I love it.  It's fun, it's playful, it's quirky, it's everything that any fan of Regina's would love.  The song "All The Rowboats" is easily one of my favorite songs of the year, probably in my top 3 songs of the year.  It's musically masterful and the lyrics are probably some of my favorite of the year... I find them to be very unique, as they tell the tale of how artwork is imprisoned in museums.  The rest of the album holds its own, with "Don't Leave Me" as one of the most simply happy and cheerful and fun songs of the year (seriously, listen to "Don't Leave Me" and try not to be utterly happy... you can't be anything but happy while listening to this song).  The album is front-loaded, with "Small Town Moon" and "Oh Marcello" among the best on the album.  Some of the middle of the album is good, happy songs that aren't as memorable, but I love the next to last track "The Party" and it's imaginative lyrics... I hope that someone might describe me this way...  "You're like a party somebody threw me, You taste like birthday, You look like New Years, You're like a big parade through town, You leave such a mess but you're so fun  //  Tell all the neighbors to start knocking down walls, To grab their guitars and run out to the hall, And we're coming out right along to sing them my new song


Honorable Mention
"Beacon"  - Two Door Cinema Club
"Night Train"  - Jason Aldean
"Babel"  - Mumford and Sons
"Cold Hard Want"  - House of Heroes
"Neck of the Woods"  - Silversun Pickups
"Night Visions"  - Imagine Dragons
"Carpenter"  - Avett Brothers


New for this year, I'm going to give a couple quick shout outs...

 "Bambooyah" by The White Panda is my favorite mashup of the year... these guys do such a good job of making perfect party music / pump up music / work out music, and their song "Midnight Life" which is a mashup of Midnight City (M83) and Good Life (Kanye West) is my number one pump up song of the year, and a song that almost single-handedly kept me pumped during step 2 of my medical licensing exam.


Albums that I wish I'd listened to more of before the end of the year

"Vital" - Anberlin

"Beacon" - Two Door Cinema Club