Best of the Year, so far (2017)
(10 by 52 is a 52-week experiment of a blog. The goal is to create a 10-track playlist for the specific topic. These will obviously be highly subjective to my personal taste and or memory. I look forward to hearing your suggestions and your playlists. My playlist follows at the bottom.)
This is the first installment of 10 by 52. Since I am starting this blog midway-ish through the year I figured the logical place to begin was with the obligatory best songs of the year thus far. Now, I know I’ve already said this will be subjective, but I just want to reiterate that. If you are checking this out, I feel like my tastes have a good range across genres, but there are just certain things that I do not listen to a lot of. That said, there has been some good music out there this year, as there is every year. I’ve listened to my fair share and the list that follows will be what has been on repeat since January.
Also, I’m numbering them for sequencing purposes, but these are in no real particular order.
10. No Big Bang — Priests
I fell in love with this song the moment I heard it. As with many of the songs on this list, I threw it into a long list of songs I like for the year. Many of which I listen to depending on my mood. No Big Bang is the type of song that would normally fall into this category. The spoken word-esque rambling through the words gives a feel of something that would need to be listened to in the moments of clarity to really get the lyrics and these are good lyrics. They’re relatable and sung with a slow energy that makes you feel the moment. I know the thoughts, the creativeness, and the rocket ship. I know those nights, as I am sure most people do. What makes this song the most effective to me is the beat; the steady urgency in it. They keep it rolling and energized, until you reach the crescendo and chorus “No big bang”. Its tempo keeps this from being a song I need to listen to when I’m in the mood, to a song that I can’t turn off.
9. Ill Ray (The King) — Kasabian
The first thing about this song is that it just rocks. It is just pure adrenaline and gets me going every time. Now, Kasabian are nothing new and this song, to me, doesn’t break any real ground, but the guitars, mood and energy are just on point. Serge Pizzorno spoke to NME calling it a “call out tune” and comparing it to how rappers call each other out. Perhaps it does that, perhaps it doesn’t but with lyrics like, “what’s your band called mate” and “you smell of hotel soap” it does seem like they want to have fun, even if it includes a fight. This is a catchy rock tune that hasn’t gotten old yet and I hope it doesn’t for a while.
8. Living In The City — Hurray For The Riff Raff
A smooth, easy song to listen to and chill. The tone does not change, but that’s ok. It flows, but never spills over. The lyrics are easy to follow, but hide possibly some deeper meanings. There’s talk of “Big Danny” and hitting on the singer, and love and meeting in the stairwell. This has a feeling of missing something during the first couple of listens. I can’t claim to know what the song means, but the chorus lends a hint, “it’s hard”. Living in the city, growing up, love, it’s all hard. The tempo, the voice, make it seem like it’s worth it though, in the end.
7. Doom City — King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
If you haven’t heard of these guys, they are worth checking out. They have a lofty goal that they are aiming for this year, with 5 album releases planned. This particular song follows along with the rest of the album concept, with a pounding rhythm that digs into your soul and lives there. The album is great, and it’s worth giving the whole thing a listen, but if not, check out this song.
6. Walk Like a Panther — Algiers
This song is an anthem. It is the battle cry beginning to an album charged with a call to action. It opens with a speech by Black Panther, Fred Hampton. The band talks to NPR about what it means to them. Needless to say this is a band trying to make a statement. They accomplish that right from this first song. The light melody, ominously plays while static crackles and the words “But when I leave you remember I said, with the last words on my lips, I am a revolutionary.” They take punk notes with almost gospel singing and belt out an attack to those that have left and forgotten who they were; “You took the names of the masters/You burned your children for Baal.” There is so much that I, or anyone could try to unpack. Give it a listen. Even if the message doesn’t speak directly to you, the urgency might.
5. Hate That You Know Me — Bleachers
I am not a music critic. I’m sure I made that clear by now in my simplistic breakdowns of these songs. I did look a few things up so that I was not a complete noob, but when I looked up the lyrics to this song, to make sure I wasn’t screwing things up I ran across an article by Pitchfork. Feel free to check it out here. You can also read what they feel about the whole album. Overall they give it a 6.5. Does that matter? To some it does and I can see some of their points. What does matter, to me anyway, is the fact that once I put this album on, I couldn’t stop listening to it. This song and “Don’t take the money” stood out to me, but I picked the one that I had to search out to listen to. It’s catchy, it’s got something to say, even if it could go deeper. But that’s what this is about. This is about what I’m digging and finding out what you are. So if you disagree, good. It’d be lame if we were all digging the same thing.
4. Chase Me — Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels, Big Boi
There are good songs and good videos and when they mesh up it makes the whole experience that much better. I listen to this song and can just see it in a high speed chase, then you watch the video and think, yup I was right. The energy that comes through in the song it in full effect in the video. Everything is fast paced and just keeps going. I haven’t watched “Baby Driver” yet, but this song and video have this on my top lists to see before summer ends. Life gets in the way, but besides that, I just need to make sure I’m watching the speed limit when this pops up in my playlist.
3. Anxiety — Jason Isbell
Ok, so a six-minute song can be a stretch for most people, even if it really doesn’t feel that long. There are more than a few songs that tap into the feelings of anxiety. Most of them don’t call it out by it’s name. This works though. It’s relaxing and light. It seems to go in contrast to the feelings of anxiety, but words are perfect. “I don’t move, I come undone” is such a true statement. There are plenty of people that can also probably also attest to that. It strums along with an easy beat letting the words flow over you and know, in a calm setting, that someone else knows what you’ve been through. Jason Isbell does this with a lot of his songs and I’ve never been disappointed.
2. The Way I Do — Bishop Briggs
Moody, throaty, with a light vocals behind her like a gospel choir, Bishop Briggs brings a sense of longing to this song. “You will never know my love/You will never feel the way I do” brings you into a world where emotions come with a beat. It slow, rhythmic pumping fuels the song throughout and gives the subject matter an almost upbeat flow, while the background singers give it depth. The doubt cast to the listener, that you can’t know what the artist is going through, while at the same time feeling their own loss is heavy. Thankfully the beat and beautiful voice make it easy to listen to often.
1. Apocalypse — Cigarettes After Sex
“Your lips, my lips, apocalypse” are some of my favorite lyrics. They may be simple, almost childlike, but I really do like them. The song, as many on this album do, floats. They are not forgettable though. The lead singer finds a way to be monotone while reaching slight crescendos within a song. partly because of the melody changing in the background. The whole thing brings a gentle, rolling music that soothes, but is no way boring. This is music that can be played to go to sleep, a long drive, a Sunday morning, but I’ve even used it for running as a steady beat and sweet lyrics.
So, these are my favorites of the first half of the year-ish. I hope you enjoy them. Either way, stick around, check out next week’s blog. I’m going to list my current top ten road trip songs. Let me know what you’re listening to and I look forward to checking them out. Happy listening and happy rest of the year.
