Today's my 34th birthday, so it seems like a good day to flatter myself with a look back at my favorite things that I wrote in 2015 (which I also did for 2014). It was my 10th year of getting paid to write, I probably planned or drafted or started more pieces that didn't get finished in 2015 than any other year of my professional life. Sometimes I just had too much work on my plate to pursue certain ideas, and my wife and I welcoming a new son into the family meant that I was happy to put writing on hold for a minute and let that be my focus. I started work on three different pieces related to the Baltimore Uprising, two of them fairly large ambitious things, and ended up not completing any of them. But I still managed to interview the people behind some of my favorite records of 2015, review some really memorable concerts, dig deep into some really interesting stories and topics in thinkpieces, and look back fondly on Scott Weiland, David Letterman, and my kick drum. I also included some examples of the various recurring columns I write here on Narrowcast and elsewhere, including the 3 columns I wrote for the Baltimore City Paper that came to an end in 2015. Thank you, as usual, to all the editors and publications and artists that make it possible for me to make money writing about music. I never cease to be amazed that I get to do that, it's like pennies from heaven.

Fat Larry's Bass Drum Turns 20 (Narrowcast, January 6)
BPM: What's Up With Dance Music (Baltimore City Paper, January 13)
Jukebox The Ghost: The BSide Session (Mobtown Studios, January 22)
Sisqo The Last Dragon review (Baltimore City Paper, February 11)
TV Diary (Narrowcast, February 16)
Philly band DRGN King pays tribute to its Baltimore roots (Baltimore City Paper, February 18)
The Best Erykah Badu Songs (Complex, February 26)
Blurred Laws: In Defense Of Pastiche And Robin Thicke (Noisey, March 11)
Kane Mayfield puts all he's got into a long-gestating debut album (Baltimore City Paper, March 11)
Deep Album Cuts: The B-52's (Narrowcast, March 14)
Rap Sheet: What's Up With Hip-Hop (Baltimore City Paper, March 24)
The Remix Report Card: First Quarter (Noisey, April 5)
Reading Diary: 33 1/3 Edition (Narrowcast, April 19)
How Beauty Pill Made An Album As Unpredictable As Life Itself (Noisey, April 20)
Late Nights With Dave (Narrowcast, May 19)
Towson's All Time Low Climbs The Charts (Baltimore City Paper, May 20)
#RIHJECTS: 14 Songs Written For Rihanna That Other People Recorded (Fader, June 24)
Meek Mill is hip hop's prom king (Noisey, June 29)
Saying Goodbye To New Music Tuesdays (Noisey, June 30)
Foo Fighters Celebrate 20th Anniversary at All-Star Washington D.C. Gig (Rolling Stone, July 5)
Monthly Report: June 2015 Albums (Narrowcast, July 8)
Rap/R&B Collaborations Suck Now, And Rappers To Blame (Complex, July 8)
Don't Compare Me To Nobody: When Comparisons Get Under A Musician's Skin (Narrowcast, July 31)
The Short List (Baltimore City Paper, August 13)
Meet Tate Kobang, The East Baltimore Guy Who Flipped A Hometown Classic Into A Label Deal (Fader, August 17)
A Eulogy For The Short List (Narrowcast, September 16)
How Future Became The Hottest Rapper In The Game (Complex, September 20)
D.K. The Punisher Keeps Looking For The Perfect Beat (Baltimore City Paper, September 23)
Movie Diary (Narrowcast, September 25)
How "Hit The Quan" Became Bigger Than Rich Homie Quan (Noisey, October 14)
The 10 Best Guitar Solos of the Past 5 Years (Complex, October 20)
Kendrick Lamar, National Symphony Orchestra Unveil 'Butterfly' Anthems (Rolling Stone, October 21)
Monthly Report: October 2015 Singles (Narrowcast, October 26)
Belieber-Directioner Deathmatch with Craig Jenkins (Noisey, November 13)
Deep Album Cuts: Stone Temple Pilots (Narrowcast, December 4)
How Fetty Wap Keeps Us Hooked (Noisey, December 7)
After Empire: What's The Future of Hip-Hop On Scripted Television? (Stereogum, December 14)

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