2015 Top Ten List Spotlight: DJ El Toro

2015 Countdown
12/23/2015
KEXP
LoneLady // photo by Matthew B. Thompson (view set)

For the rest of the year, we'll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2015. Click here to check out other lists from our DJs, staff, volunteers, and interns, and click here to see the Top 90.3 Albums of 2015, as voted on by KEXP listeners!

The older I get, the less interested I am in listening to music made by heterosexual, cisgender, white men who play guitars and sing about their feelings in English. I’m not saying they should be banned from the airwaves, but my own tastes lean more and more towards a playlist that reflect the truly diverse world I want to live in. Surveying the records I enjoyed most in 2015, time and again I noticed my favorites were made by women, queers, and people of color. I’m very grateful that the KEXP Community supports and encourages this kind of programming.

DJ El Toro's 2015 Top Ten Albums

artistalbumlabel
Courtney BarnettSometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit Mom + Pop
DungenAllas SakMexican Summer
Rachel GrimesThe ClearingTemporary Residence
Holly HerndonPlatform4AD
Julia HolterHave You in My WildernessDomino
LoneLadyHinterlandWarp
PWR BTTMUgly CherriesFather/Daughter
Saun and StarrLook CloserDaptone
Dexter StoryWondemSoundway
TelekinesisAd InfinitumMerge

The One That Got Away: After turning in my Favorite Albums list, I notice a glaring omission. Colleen’s delicate, dub-inflected Captain of None (Thrill Jockey) rarely left my turntable in 2015, and her KEXP in-studio captivated me. I can’t recommend this record highly enough.

DJ El Toro hosts the variety mix show on Wednesday nights from 9 PM to 1 AM on KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle and kexp.org. His occasional rant, “Weird At My School,” appears infrequently on the KEXP Blog.

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