Guest Lists: The Best of 2015

Plus Sign, Danny Brawlins

We will soon reveal Change the Rotation's best of 2015 bracket selections. First, we have some guest best of the year lists from people involved in the local music scene. Today, feast your eyes on picks from Plus Sign and Danny Brawlins.

Plus Sign

+ has released 17 albums and puts on fun, unique live performances. Check out + at tenderdiscovery.com. Catch + live with Calvin Johnson and the films of Molly Hewitt on January 23 at Pinky Swear in Humboldt Park. Here is Plus Sign's best of 2015 list:

Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

Drake & Future - What A Time To Be Alive

Grimes - Art Angels

Travi$ Scott - Rodeo

FKA Twigs - M3LL155X

Carly Rae Jepsen - EMOTION

Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - Surf

Daymaker. - Wilderness

Miley Cyrus - Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell

Vagabond Maurice - The Dragon Who Devoured the Moon

Björk - Vulnicura

Danny Brawlins

Danny Brawlins is the vocalist/guitarist for The Cheap Dates, guitarist for Nude Model and founder of Don't Panic, It's a Distro. Catch The Cheap Dates live at Quenchers with The Pastaways, The Braver Days and Private Instigators on January 17. Check out Nude Model on February 20 at the House Cafe in DeKalb with White Mystery. Here are Danny's picks for the best of 2015:

10. Magnus Honey. I’ve had ‘Work with What You Got’ stuck in my head since their first show. (Record that shit already!)

9. Bombflower – Organic Mood Elevators. If this came out when I was in high school, they’d be my favorite band.

8. The Kreutzer Sonata – Austere. Probably the best record put out by a Chicago band this year. If you can find a better one, send it to me (for real: itsadistro@gmail.com)

7. Trying not to embarrass myself in front of Jeff Pezzati. Jeff Pezzati was at our show when we opened for the Bollweevils at the House Café. After the show, we talked to him for a solid 20 minutes. It was hard to not dork out.

6. Against Me! for 5 bucks. Yeah, I missed G.L.O.S.S. but this was fucking rad.

5. Suicide Machines playing Destruction by Definition in full w/ their original lineup. Derek Grant, keys, horns and all. They also played ‘Fix Me’ by Black Flag and I got to crowd surf and scream the chorus into the mic.

4. When Ultrahazard was a full-fledged Ska band. I’ll love this band no matter what they do but those couple months when they had a trumpet player were particularly awesome.

3. Days N Daze. Seriously, how many times did they play Chicago in 2015?

2. That Evil Empire EP that came and went. That shit ruled. If anyone downloaded it while they had the chance, hook a brother up. (itsadistro@gmail.com)

1. Opening for Mischief Brew. An especially dorky moment… Cheap Dates playing with Mischief Brew was one of those “I can die now” things for me.