So this is the New Year . . .

Ta da! A playlist to start off your new year, composed mostly of songs from 2009 (or songs I listened to a lot in 2009). Enjoy.

• "Blue Skies" by Noah and the Whale (see previous post for a video). I was tempted to put their "2 Atoms in a Molecule" here, but I feel like this song is perfect for the new year. It's a song about starting over and being positive about starting over - even if you don't actually want to start over. This whole album was very much a breakup aftermath album, but I think you can apply it even if you aren't in post-breakup mode. 
• "First Train Home" by Imogen Heap. I listened to this song many times this fall. It's awesome. 
• "24-25" by Kings of Convenience. Seems appropriate for me at least - I'll be 24 this year (one month from today!)
• "Feeling the Pull" by The Swell Season. This is by far my favorite song from the new CD, and I think it's a good beginning of the year song because it's just bubbling with excitement. "I'm feeling the pull dragging me off again - and I'm feeling so small against the big sky tonight." 
• "Hey, Snow White" by The New Pornographers. "Hey, Snow White, it's gonna be alright . . . when the company goes public you've got to learn to love what you are." 
• "Teeth" by Lisa Hannigan. Yes. Start the year with your teeth bared for battle. 
• "Vagabond" by Wolfmother. I discovered this song while watching (500) Days of Summer, just like a lot of other people. I think this band sometimes sounds a little too much like Led Zeppelin for their own good (no offense to Led Zeppelin, of course) but I think this song is brilliant. 
• "Good Gone Girl" by Mika. Because it's fun. 
• "Masterswarm" by Andrew Bird. Although I listened to some of the other songs on Andrew Birds latest album more, I have a deep love for this song, largely because of this little section that goes like this: "So they took me to the hospital; they put my body through a scan. What they saw there would impress them all, 'cause inside me grows a man. He speaks with perfect diction as he orders my eviction - as he acts with more conviction than I." However, if you're not into sprawling 6-minute songs, I recommend "Oh No," "Fitz and Dizzyspells" or "The Privateers" here.
• "Shake Some Action" by the Flamin' Groovies. "Shake, some action's what I need, to make me bust out at full speed, to make it all right!"  (Okay, this song was release in 1976, not 2009. But I didn't hear it until 2009, and how can this not be a great way to enter the new year?) 
• "Be Calm" by fun. 
• "The Walls Are Coming Down" by Fanfarlo. 
• "Major Tom" covered by Shiny Toy Guns.  No explanation required. 
• "Looking Out" by Brandi Carlile. This whole album is awesome, but I identify with this one (inexplicably). 
• "Don't Forget Me" sung by Neko Case. I'd never heard this song until it popped up on Neko's new album this year, but then it showed up everywhere. I really love it, especially as my life continues to change and the circle of people I know and knew changes with it. 
• "Wilco (the song)" by Wilco (the band). 
• "Song Away" by Hockey. 
• "So Far Around the Bend" by The National. 

Happy New Year.