Top 10 Songs of 2017
For now I'm trying to keep up, to snake through the chaos with a smooth noodle map, and I even feel ready to divulge a couple of guilty pleasures. Spotify does a scarily accurate job of tracking my actual listening habits so I'm not gonna lie about it.
Honorable Mentions
"Fool's Gold" - Aaron Carter
As I said, I'm not gonna lie! I did enjoy Aaron Carter's comeback EP, if that's what it was. It had great, cool songs on it and it made me interested in him, which I'd never been before. Although, admittedly, I had watched most of House of Carters.
"Praying" - Kesha
This is more for Dylan, who is just in love with her entire new album, Rainbow, and keeps playing his vinyl proudly so I'm getting into it too. I think it's a great statement piece and is a huge evolutionary leap for Kesha.
10. "Loose Wrists" - CazwellGotta love (or hate) Cazwell, especially if you're a gay living in WeHo where everyone seems to have an opinion about him. It was great marketing to cash in on the whole "male romper" hooplah with the lace numbers in the music video and a good F U to the MAGAs. We about to make America femme again! The song does have a pretty infectious beat, with that sexy breathing and some kinda dirty lyrics!
Should I be nervous about including this on the list? Considering it did make a lot of other 'best of' lists this year (not that I follow those, you understand) it certainly seems to be one of the hot songs of the year and I do admit that I enjoyed it! Dylan had noticed right off that the bass line was sampled from "Pyscho Killer", and he was getting pretty frustrated with me that I wasn't getting it. I reminded him that until fairly recently, I sang "pyscho killer, buxom thriller, ah ha ha ha ha" because I didn't know the real words so wasn't particularly observant of the Talking Heads. Anyway Selena takes that bass line and does a sexy little number over it that's just pretty great.
This one may come as more of a surprise, and this track wasn't even a single, it just happens to be one of the many fun, surprisingly addictive songs on Animotion's first album in many, many years. Every song is a winner, and they range from pop to rock, to electronic dance, to ballads, and more! They did a great job with this album and "You Love It" could have easily been a single, although I really did love the actual single "Last Time," which I included in last year's countdown. "You Love It" has a thumping beat, some great electronic sounds, and cheeky lyrics.
I would not have ever guessed that Niall would become so popular as a solo artist, as he was kind of the quiet but goofy one as a member of One Direction. But he took his time and did it right, and always acknowledged his beginnings, having said that no matter what happens with his solo career, he would always be up for reforming 1D at a moment's notice. Wonder if he still feels that way now? Capitol Records has really put the full force of their marketing team behind him - one day walking down Hollywood Boulevard, I must have heard three of his songs blaring from ten different businesses. "Slow Hands" is hands down the catchiest track on his album and it just makes you want to sing along. Even though, I'm not sure what exactly he is doing to get "sweat dripping down our dirty laundry." Is he wearing dirty laundry? Or getting busy on top of a pile?
I loved this song the first time I saw the video and noticed how much Lana was smiling - it was sort of a new shtick for her, but in these troubled times, sometimes a smile can do wonders. It seemed to for her, as she scored another #1 album with Lust for Life. "Love" is just a sweet little ballad, with Lana's trademark deadpan delivery and strange pronunciations ("nowhere in pah-ticular") and able to evoke classic American imagery from the 50's and 60's while twisting it with contemporary culture. The video is amazing of course! And, this is the song that won my mom over, she now says she's a Lana fan.
There's just something about a good comeback that I love, even if I wasn't aware of the artist before their comeback! I actually did vaguely know of Bucks Fizz, who won Eurovision in 1981 and was big in many part of the world other than the US. I had at some point purchased their Greatest Hits CD, but didn't listen to it more than once. Until recently, when the always-amazing Classic Pop magazine did a feature on them and their new album (the first with their new name The Fizz, due to legal reasons). I was intrigued by the band's back story and re-listened to their greatest hits, which include many fantastic songs. "Amen" is the second single off their new album and includes a great horror movie-inspired music video. The soaring chorus is brilliant and emotional and makes you want to sing along and do the dance routine as shown in the video.
Joywave make great, weird, glitchy indie-electro rock and they make awesome music videos. I'm hoping there will be one for this song, but there hasn't been yet. It starts out with some weird electronic ambient noises, setting the stage for this powerful number about taking a breath and hitting the "reset" button - something we all need to do from time to time. Especially in this year's turbulent political atmosphere, it's easy to get wound up, anxious and panicked. And the more time you spend worrying about it, the worse it gets. "The smartest folks are the saddest I know."
Continuing on with the theme of 2017 as a particularly troublesome time in the world, Harry Styles made his solo debut by mining the rich history of glam rock and 70s prog with this soaring anthem, setting himself a part as a solo artist. It took me quite a few listens to really take it all in, and he gives one of the best vocal deliveries ever on this already-iconic track. My Spotify playlist for this year was called "2017: The Year The World Ends" and this is perhaps the best choice for the theme song for the whole year. "Remember everything will be alright, we can meet again somewhere... somewhere far away from here."
2017 was really the year of Twin Peaks for me, as the show which had been such a huge part of my life back in the early 90s returned for it's delayed third season, over 25 years after the original series aired. Julee Cruise was the Roadhouse Singer in the original show, but for the new series, almost every episode featured a different band or artist performing in the roadhouse. "Shadow" closed out the amazing 2-part premiere and set the tone for all future roadhouse performances throughout the 18 episodes. I will never forget watching this song as the credits rolled, and the feeling of excitement of having a new episode of Twin Peaks every Sunday night throughout the long, strange summer of 2017!
Ever since Blondie reformed in 1999, marked by the release of "No Exit" (click here for my ranking of Blondie's studio albums), their albums have been a little hit-or-miss, but usually containing at least a few gems each. Their latest, Pollinator, fortunately steers way clear of any misses! The entire set is stellar, finding the band reinvigorated and working with multiple collaborators to give them that contemporary touch. One wonderful night last summer under the stars, I got to watch Blondie perform many of their new songs, along with classics, at the Hollywood Bowl - the stage having been warmed up by Sky Ferreira and Garbage. It was a magical night, and this song - my favorite from their new album, was the highlight. It manages to sound just like Blondie should be sounding in 2017: vital and powerful.
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