Interlude: Best Music of 2017

The day after Christmas is apparently now the annual day I release my Best Music of the Year list,

which gets me to finally stop tinkering with it. So here it is!

Best Songs of 2017

1. Portugal, The Man “Feel it Still”
2. The New Pornographers “High Ticket Attraction”
3. The Go! Team “Semicircle Song”
4. The Mavericks “Damned (If you Do)”
5. Cold War Kids “Love is Mystical”
6. Temples “Certainty”
7. N.E.R.D. & Rihanna “Lemon”
8. LCD Soundsystem “tonite”
9. Outcalls “No King”
10. Overcoast “Leave the Light On”
11. !!! “Dancing is the Best Revenge”
12. Kitty “Mass Text Booty Call (feat. Sprightly)”
13. Paramore “Hard Times”
14. Selena Gomez “Bad Liar”
15. Charli XCX “Boys”
16. Halsey “Now or Never”
17. Zedd & Alessia Cara “Stay”
18. Hurray for the Riff Raff  TIE “The Navigator”/”Hungry Ghost”
19. Sharon Von Etten “The End of the World”
20. Nicole Atkins “A Little Crazy”
21. Nikki Lane “Jackpot”
22. The Wild Reeds “Only Songs”
23. Cayetana “Mesa”
24. Son Volt “Back Against the Wall”
25. HAIM “Want You Back”
26. Waxahatchee “Never Been Wrong”
27. Alvvays “In Undertow”
28. L7 “Dispatch from Mar-a-Lago”
29. Arbouretum “Fall From an Eyrie”
30. Max Richter “Three Worlds: Music From Woolf Works / The Waves - XVI. Tuesday” + Every damn song played on new Twin Peaks, but especially Chromatics and Lissi

Honorable Mentions
Sea Battle, Larkin Poe, Krokofant, Princess Nokia, Priests, Japanese Breakfast, Kehlani, June Star

Best Show

1. RVIVR and Hemlines @ Comet Ping Pong in DC

2. Best Coast w/ Snail Mail @ The Ottobar

3. Municipal Waste, NAILS, Macabre @ 930 Club

Best New Artist

Sheer Mag

Best Album

1. Kesha Rainbow

2. Roger Waters Is This The Life We Really Want?

3. TIE: Ride Weather Diaries / Slowdive Slowdive

But also the triumphant returns of Grandaddy, Gorillaz, and The Jesus and Mary Chain  

Playing over the End Credits of 2017

“Rainbow” (From The My Little Pony Movie) by Sia

“I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground
I can see a rainbow
In your tears as the sun comes out
As the sun comes out”

It sure didn't feel like this was the year that dreampop came back, but those Ride and Slowdive albums are both on equal footing with their earlier stuff. Plus The Jesus and Mary Chain finally got around to to recording a new album; it doesn't change the world, but how many times are they expected to up-end popular music? I know that Portugal, the Man song ended up getting over-played, but that's virtually the definition of crossover success; it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of guys, and it was great to hear an actual band on pop radio again. Kesha wins for her album simply because it's one of few album this year with more than than two standout tracks: "Woman," "Praying," and "Learn to Let Go."; plus I'd long promised that I'd buy her album, or t-shirt, or I'd go see her live (no, it cost $200), and I didn't - so instead she gets this top honor for a triumphant album.That Roger Waters album leans heavily on late-middle period Floyd; it wins with salient commentary and outstanding production, possibly his best solo work since The Final Cut. New stuff by Lorde, Sleigh Bells, The War On Drugs, First Aid Kit, Arcade Fire, and The Flaming Lips fell just outside the Top 30, but I couldn't connect much with other new stuff by Saint Etienne, The Charlatans, NIN, and especially not that new Bjork or Taylor Swift, despite liking all those artists previously.

So - what do you think? As always, I'd love to hear about the artist or songs that I have egregiously neglected this year.

See ya in 2018!

Yours in Rock,

Mark