2014 Year in Review by The Original Bunker Punks

What song was stuck in your head this year?

Gretchen: Do you want to build a Snowman? Well do you? I know, after singing that song countless times since January, I do! Every time I hear that there is a chance for snow, that song suddenly pops into my head and all I want to do is get dressed in layers and build a freaking snowman. I also have "I Want to Break Free" by Queen stuck on repeat in my musical brain, and perhaps the Frozen soundtrack is the reason! Who knows! All I know is, if singing Do You Want to Build a Snowman in various voices for my Boss is the only way to get him to calm down, I will just go on singing it. However, if I do not get a chance to build that frickin snowman this winter, there may be a lack of Olaf items at every store in Union county.

Stephen: That stupid ‘Take me to Church’ song was stuck in my head for days at a time. That song doesn’t even have memorable verses but its chorus was everywhere. There were so many better songs that came out this year. The Foo Fighters came out with an entire glorious album but the one song stuck in my head is some Pseudo-Folk song from a Lebron James Beats Commercial. I don’t even like Pseudo-Folk Music or Lebron James or Beats for that matter.

Briton: Man, I was ALL about that bass. Meghan Trainor came in and stole my heart. Whether it was cleaning, kitchen dance parties or drinking I would sneak that song on! It's so catchy and fun you can really groove to it.

I love that song, call me Meghan!

Jenny: I don't know how I survived the year of Elsa. I walk around singing "Let It Go" like it's the best song around. Too bad it's not because I hate that damn song. The cold bothers me; it's not all about you, Elsa!

Tracy: Oh man this is embarrassing – so when my youngest brother was really little we watched The Wizard of Oz and he thought they were saying, “Ping- pong, the witch is dead!” and for some reason, ALL YEAR LONG I’ve been humming to myself “Ping- pong the witch is dead.” I can’t get it out of my head. In the shower, at work, when I’m typing this right now. Ping Pong! I don’t know why- I haven’t watched the Wizard of Oz in years….

What artist could you not stop listening to?

Gretchen: If it's not on my ipod or played incessantly on the radio, I probably haven't listened to it. I know I spent an awful lot of my time with Halestorm this year, as well as old favorites like Queen and Michael Jackson! When it comes to music I just listen to what I listen too. No artist holds dominion over another.

I tend to listen to only what are tried and true favorites unless somebody introduces me to somebody new! Put that ipod on shuffle and let it create the soundtrack for my task of the day!

Stephen: I could not stop listening to The Foo Fighters. They came out with a new album Sonic Highways and a docu-series by the same name. The album was a solid effort that fit well with the rest of their discography but the docu-series added another layer to the album. The series explored Eight Cities and their music series at the end of each episode the Foo Fighters performed a new song inspired by the city featured in that episode. For the next week I wouldn’t be able to get the song out of my head. This happened for all 8 of the episodes of the series and added an extra layer to the new album.

Briton: I went through a phase where I had given up on rap. Then came Chance the Rapper. His Cd "Acid Rap" was so unique and different. It was refreshing and inspiring to me. He truly changes the landscape of rap and actually makes me excited for the genre again.

Chance the Rapper is an oddity. He came in with this different sound to his melodies and how he flows. It pushed me to try to write in my own voice and set myself apart from the "dad blogger" genre.

Jenny: Jenny says she doesn’t have a favorite artist so she left this blank. Her favorite artist is whichever album Stephen makes us listen to because sometimes Stephen will stop website production until we listen to a song he loves. (Editorial comments by Tracy)

Tracy: I listen to Billy Joel station on Pandora non-stop. I have been horrible about keeping up with new music but Billy is always my boy. I was really into Sam Smith too this year. I was going to lie and try to pretend I listen to edgier and cooler music because I’m usually content with pop or Classic Rock and it’s so uncool but whatever. I’ll let someone else be cool for this one.

What book could you not put down?

Gretchen: Honestly, as much of a reader as I am, nothing held my attention for long this year. I found myself visiting old friends, who's pages were worn and creased from multiple readings.

I did however get quite lost in, " The King's Curse" by Phillipa Gregory. I did put it down though, a lot. Mainly because I have had attention span and time issues this year! I had to check it out twice from the library to finish it because I lost the will to get lost in a book this year. Maybe next year I will find myself lost in the pages again, but I doubt it.

Stephen: I got really into Graphic-Novels this year. My favorite by far was Django/Zorro by Quentin Tarantino. The Incredible crossover comic manages to follow up on Django Freeman’s story after Django Unchained but also weaves an interesting narrative on its own. Plus, it’s just super badass to have Zorro and Django in the same comic book and it gives me hope for a cross-over movie between the Two (Please God, not Anthony Banderas ).

Briton: I'll tell you what book I wish I did put down. The third book in the Divergent series. Talk about ruining a trilogy! Yes, I have a taste for teen dystopian books i acquired after Hunger Games. That third Divergent book was awful, I should have known too, there were so many red flags in that series. Who names a character Four that isn't a robot or something?

Jenny: "Spots Halloween Party" has been happening all year. It's apparently the best party around. Which sucks because it's actually lame. All they do is say hi to eachother, play a not so spooky game of hide-and-go-seek and then according to my 3 year old, they eat grilled cheese sandwiches with a side of poop. What kind of party is that? Spot really needs to step up his game.

Tracy: I am usually an avid reader but this year was slow for me in the reading department because I was so busy with trying to keep up with writing. I have a bookshelf full of books that I haven’t read yet but want to- I trade books with friends and with my sister so I’ve acquired a lot and I LOVE going to the bookstore and picking out books. I have this dream of one day locking myself in a log cabin out in the woods and not coming back into society until they’re all finished. It’s really cozy in my head with the fire burning and everything except then I remember that I don’t really know how to start a fire and I hate the woods so….err time for a new reading plan. ANYWHO- this year I read a lot of anthologies by other bloggers. I really wanted to try to support their writing and also get a feel for what people are looking for in a great anthology piece. Also, you know scope out the competition. I LOVED reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and the other book I couldn’t put down this year was one from my bookshelf I had picked up from a used bookstore a long time ago and finally got around to reading: My Friend Leonard by James Fray. My Friend Leonard is the sequel to Fray’s book, “A Million Little Pieces,” the one he called a memoir about his drug abuse and rehab then got all that heat from Oprah who accused him of being a fraud and stuff because some of it was fabricated or exaggerated. I didn’t see Oprah do it because I was never into Oprah but I don’t live under a rock and from what I understand she really blasted him. Some people were outraged by this big “scandal.” Personally I don’t give a crap if it really happened or not because they were both GREAT books. I liked My Friend Leonard even more than the first one because in that one he had laid the groundwork and this one explored relationships more. ANYWAY, Sorry Oprah but I really liked his books. There, I said it. I defied Oprah. (Hiding under my covers with my laptop waiting for lightening to strike me or something)

What movie was worth more than one watch?

Gretchen: The Hobbit. No honestly, anything I have watched multiple times this year, have only been movies I have seen a million times before. I put them on as background music when I know I have to attempt sleep. I tend to fall asleep within the first 20 minutes of said movie.

I can tell you what movie I need to go away! The Lego Movie! Everything is not Awesome!! If I never see that movie again I will not cry about it. The fact that we own it and yet my kids still watch it on demand, on every TV in the house, drives me insane!!

Stephen: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I don’t really have to such much more than these three words:Apes on Horses. Planet of the Apes is that rare Action-Packed blockbuster that also has an intriguing plot. A close second was the underrated X-Men:Days of Future Past. Time traveling, giant robots and Wolverine make X-Men:DOFP worth the second watch.

Briton: Easy! Guardians of the Galaxy. That movie made everyone want to be a kick ass tree that could only say " I am Groot" after that movie I think it's safe to say everyone tried to catch a raccoon for a sidekick as they imagined they were Star-Lord

Jenny: I wish I knew. My 1 year old broke the DVD player downstairs. All movies are watched in the kids room, which actually means we rent children's movies and make the kids watch them upstairs. (Maybe that's how I survived the year of Elsa)

While the kids are upstairs watching movies my husband and I are downstairs watching "The Walking Dead." I have to watch each episode a minimum of 3 times because I don't want to miss anything. It takes up most of my TV time and during the off season, I rewatch the older seasons. I never realized I had a problem until I wrote this paragraph. Throw me an intervention because I am not walking away from this one on my own.

Tracy: Well if you can’t tell by now, I listen to OLD music and I read OLD books and I don’t really get into following what’s new or trendy- I read or watch things when I get around to them, not when they’re hot. I probably go to the movies once a year- at best. I don’t think I went to the movies at all this year! BUT I did really get into Orange is the New Black, does that count? Gawd, I can’t wait for Season 3!! Oh wait! I watched Silver Linings Playbook and I watched Dallas Players club. Neither one in the theater and neither one I watched twice. But both of those I WOULD watch again…..that’s DEFINITELY gotta count for something. Right??

What blog did you read incessantly?

Gretchen: What blog do I have to go to and read every single time there is a new posting? Big Top Family for one and Ignore the Mess is the other. I hop around and have some favorite bloggers, but I don't commit to just one. If I see there is something new from a favorite, I have to read it. Although I did spend an entire evening back reading Tracy on the Rocks and that was before we became close Facebook friends!

Stephen: At the risk of sounding like I’m pimping one of my fellow Co-Founders of OBP I’m going to say Punk RocK Papa. When I started Sobrunk it wasn’t out of a desire to blog like a lot of admins- it was to make people laugh. As I started reading Briton’s posts, I got a desire to write. I remember one particularly long stretch of silence from his blog before he started popping out blog posts faster than a Catholic couple with Viagra and some alone time pops out babies... I finally messaged him and asked when I would get to read a new PRP blog because I was going through withdrawals. It’s been awesome to watch his writing transform and improve over the short time I’ve been reading his blog.

Briton: I'll be honest, I didn't get into blogs until about a few months ago. They were painful for me to read at first. Then I stumbled upon Buick in a Land of Lexus. Samara Speaks has you hanging on every sentence whether she is telling past memories of spoken word, days as a phone girl or punching you in the gut with her words on heartbreak. One of the best writers I have ever read, I haven't found a blog that matches what she does.

Jenny: I have a confession that may shock some of you. I'm a blog hopper. I generally don't stick to just one because I read what peaks my interest. I read a lot of blogs, most of which appear in my news feed on Facebook. I never check my bloglovin account. I'm a horrible blogger friend.

I can honestly say there is only one blogger I have read everything they have ever written. I like and/ or comment on every piece written by him. I mean who doesn't love Punk Rock Papa? If you don't it's only because you don't know him.

Tracy: Um. Looks around sheepishly like I used to do in 7th grade math class for someone to give me the answer or save me… My own? I TRIED to keep up with blogs but it’s HARD, man. If I’m going to be honest here, I didn’t read anyone’s “incessantly.” I try to read everyone’s blogs who are in my blogging groups and blogs that I love but I am a very erratic blog follower. There’s a website called “BlogLovin” that’s helped me keep all my blogs in one place so that’s been helpful. I think the three blogs I visit most are: Beyond Your Blog, Abby Has Issues, and The Bloggess. (Waits for rotten fruit to get thrown at my by all my blogger friends.)

#entertainment