TL;DR
The Spotify playlist can be found here.
2017 was a blur. From the first week of January on, it has felt like an endless cycle of change and adjustment in my life. This year I left a job, wrote the GMAT, went travelling through France and Switzerland, started a great new job, and spent time with a lot of amazing people. Things were moving at what seemed like breakneck speeds all year and I’m just starting to catch my breath now. This year has definitely not been a normal year but I’m starting to realize that normal shouldn’t be expected anymore. This becomes more true the older I get.
Through all the change, the one thing that hasn’t changed has been my music consumption. The most important and mundane moments of my life are still soundtracked by songs. Whenever I listen to the the XX’s Say Something Loving, I think about the days I spent wandering through the streets of Paris and seeing the XX play a concert in Strasbourg. King Krule’s Biscuit Town makes me think of the countless nights I spent wandering through East Van. My memories are very much tied to different sounds and each of the following 50 songs evoke something different for me.
The Top 50 Best Songs of 2017
50. Chilly Gonzalez & Jervis Cocker- The Tearjerker Returns
49. Manast LL – Link Up
48. Bruno Major – Second Time
47. HAIM – Want You Back
46. Nilufer Yanya – Baby Luv
45. Rina Sawayama – Cyber Stockholm Syndrome
44. MØ – Nights with You
43. The New Pornographers – High Ticket Attractions
42. Baths – Yeoman
41. Destroyer – Cover From the Sun
40. Wild Ones – No Money
39. Jessie Ware – Alone
38. Tei Shi – How Far
37. Teen Daze – First Rain
36. Sampha – (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano
35. Kacy Hill – Hard to Love
34. Pains of Being Pure at Heart – When I Dance with You
33. LCD Soundsystem – Oh Baby
32. Snakehips – Don’t Leave (featuring MØ)
31. Yung Lean – Red Bottom Sky
30. Frank Ocean – Chanel
29. Jacques Greene – To Say
28. Parcels – Overnight (featuring Daft Punk)
27. Mount Kimbie – Blue Train Lines (featuring King Krule)
26. Spoon – Hot Thoughts
25. Dirty Projectors – Up in Hudson
24. Yumi Zouma – Persephone
23. Men I Trust – Tailwhip
22. Odesza – Across the Room (featuring Leon Bridges)
21. Giraffage – Maybes (featuring Japanese Breakfast)
20. Passion Pit – Hey K
“A beautiful design, ridding all of your pain in a landslide”
If you liked Passion Pit’s electro-R&B jam Constant Conversations, you will probably like Hey K. Their newest album, Tremendous Sea of Love, was released for free in exchange for tweets supporting science and was written and recorded entirely by Micheal Angellekos. On Hey K, he is addressing his former spouse, who he divorced after coming out as gay. You can really hear how the song aches as he explains that he still loves her even though it is not romantic. It’s a beautiful, yet heartbreaking, song
19. Stars – Alone
“Well I’ve got the keys and I got the car
Don’t make me need you when I come this far
Alone”
Stars are one of my all time favourite bands. However, they haven’t released an album I’ve truly loved since 2007’s In Our Bedroom After the War. This changed with the release of There is No Love in Florescent Light. Alone is the standout track here with lead singer Torquil Campbell sounding the most passionate he has in the last decade. The best Stars’ songs make even the most normal scenarios feel important. Alone does just that.
18. Jay Som – The Bus Song
“Are secrets still a thing?”
Listening to Jay Som makes me long for late 90s/early 2000s indie guitar rock. In The Bus Song, she showcases her ability to take a scene and make it sound full, playful and pretty. I love the way the song starts quiet and then swells until it becomes a full fledged jam, adding more feeling and clarity with each step.
17. Rex Orange County – Television/So Far So Good
“Then why should I continue in this life
When there’s no one around to be the one who makes me smile?”
Television/So Far So Good splits into two very distinct parts that shouldn’t work but it does. Television, the first part, is a happy and energetic mess. His naivety and youth (he was born in 1998) show throughout and it’s honestly what makes this amazing. Meanwhile in part two, So Far So Good, the mood shifts to introspection and he is pondering all the things that could go wrong but hoping for the best. This song sounds completely unique and unlike anything else I’ve heard this year.
16. Father John Misty – Pure Comedy
“And how’s this for irony:
Their idea of being free
Is a prison of beliefs
That they never ever have to leave”
Father John Misty has been one of my favourite artists in the last five years. Each of his albums have been very different and you never really know what to expect going into it. Pure Comedy, the title track on his newest album, is a good representation of his newest style of writing. Gone are the loving sentiments on I Love You Honeybear and the wildness of Fear Fun. In it’s place is a bleak look on society and what that means for a person like Father John Misty. The subject matter and writing can feel dense, but it is also confronting and, at times, even funny.
15. The xx – Say Something Loving
“When I gave up, I found love”
The xx came back with a new album this year and it feels like thfe first time they’ve taken a big step forward. Fusing their use of negative space with the sample heavy style of Jamie XX’s solo album, their new sound feels fuller without losing their identity. Say Something Loving is a great example of this. Jamie XX puts in an amazing Alessi Brothers sample for the hook while guitarist/vocalist Romy Madley Croft and bassist/vocalist Oliver Sim build the song around it. The result is a touching, addicting and complete song.
14. Goldlink – Herside Story (featuring Hare Squead)
“I will be right by your shoulder, babe
And when the weather gets colder
Know that I’m right there”
This song just feels good. The hook is a bit off kilter, Goldlink’s flow is smooth, and the beat just sort of pushes the song along. There were a good few months where we were all listening to this on repeat in the office and every time we hopped into a car. It’s one of those songs that I know I can just put on during a hangout and it is going to be a crowd pleaser.
13. King Krule – Biscuit Town
“I got more moons wrapped around my head and Jupiter knows”
Biscuit Town is the type of King Krule song that I like the most. It’s a bit jazzy and dark. He’s singing but he could just as easily be slowly rapping the words. He paints a vivid scene. I’ve spent many nights putting my headphones on roamed the streets while listening to this on repeat and I foresee myself doing this a lot more in the future.
12. Japanese Breakfast – Boyish
“I want you and you want something more beautiful”
Boyish has been released multiple times, including once with Japanese Breakfast’s former band Little Big League, but this is the definitive version. One of the greatest gifts Japanese Breakfast has as a writer is the ability to take complex emotions and make them relatable. In this song, she does an incredible job of describing an instance of unrequited love in very simple terms. The words hit you from the first time you hear it and it continues to do so with each subsequent listen.
11. Mozart’s Sister – Moment 2 Moment
“I won’t abuse love if you treat me like you do”
I discovered Mozart’s Sister when she opened for Teen Daze at the Cobalt and I’m so glad I did. Moment 2 Moment is off her newest album and it’s really pop music at it’s best. The song is well produced, has very catchy distinctive parts, and builds and pushes perfectly. Every time I hear this song I get a crazy urge to get up and dance. It’s that great!
10. Rhye – Please
“I wanna see your smile”
Rhye has always made lovers music. It’s tender and soft. WHAT’s being said doesn’t seem to matter as much as HOW it’s being said. Please is no exception. The song plays out as one long plea for understanding and it comes out beautifully.
9. Syd – Body
“Your body’s takin over you”
Breaking off from The Internet for a solo album, Syd continues to make sensual R&B jams. Body is the standout track from the album and it’s not hard to see why. The song’s production is metallic and at time sparse but it all melts together under her vocals. This creates a dynamic atmosphere that recalls Aaliyah in her prime. You can almost feel the lust when Syd is singing on this track.
8. Calvin Harris – Slide (featuring Frank Ocean & Migos)
“Whatever comes, comes through clear”
This song came out in February but it was the clear song of the summer. Not that there was ever any doubt. Combining one of the world’s most commercially successful producers with one of the hottest hip hop groups and probably the most sought after musician in the world is always going to be a formula for success. Calvin Harris keeps the beats light and fun to let his collaborators breathe while Migos comes in and delivers a few quality verses. However, Frank Ocean steals the show here with some of the most pop leaning singing he’s done since Channel Orange. For those who were wishing for last years’ Blonde to be more mainstream, here was what they were waiting for.
7. yaeji – drink i’m sippin on
“Bringing out the colors in me
I feel so fine
Making up for what you can’t see
I feel so fine”
Yaeji bursted onto the scene this year with a distinctive sound. The New York via Seoul producer/singer is one of “one of House Music’s most exciting new voices” and has been creating songs that sound simultaneously intimate and exciting. On drink i’m sippin on, yaeji sings mostly in Korean, only to drop a chorus (above) in English. While at its core the song is about being misunderstood, the way she sings over the bass heavy beats makes her sound more confident than ever.
Also I highly recommend that you listen to her cover of Drake’s Passionfruit, which improves on the original.
6. Phoenix – Fior Di Latte
“A little bit of disrespect could be
Another way to break the ordinary”
Phoenix came back with a new album this year and it did not disappoint. The standout track is the lovely Fior Di Latte, a song the band claims is about desire because “fior di latte (is) the most erotic ice cream the Italian could imagine.” The song starts out dreamy and it slowly builds on that without ever leaving a dream like state. Even considering the subject matter of the song, Phoenix was able to make it sound sentimental, one thing they have been experts of doing throughout their career. Listening to Fior Di Latte definitely evokes memories of spring and new love.
5. Alvvays – Lollipop (Ode to Jim)
“Cause I don’t have the patience to wait in line for you”
These East-Coasters have been one of the most exciting groups in pop music for the last few years. On Lollipop (Ode to Jim) they take pop to a whole new level. The song sounds like it exploded out of a cannon and it never really lets up on the energy. Like the best Alvvays songs, it is both catchy and melancholy. Even when I’m in public, I can’t help but tap my feet and nod my head every time this song comes on.
4. The National – The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
“We said we’d only die of lonely secrets”
Outspoken Liberals, it’s not surprising that the first single from the National’s new album is a dark song full of heavy political overtones. Like other songs of theirs that fall under this category (Fake Empire comes to mind), the narrator isn’t coming into this as a bystander but someone deep in the belly of the beast. The song doesn’t take too much time to build up and it gets you right into the action. Lead Singer Matt Berninger paints a picture of frustration and confusion while the rest of the band builds action around his words. For the first time (maybe ever) they have a guitar solo in their song. For a year full of anxiety for many people, this feels like the most appropriate song.
3. Banks – Crowded Places
“When I gave you to the world, gave you to the world
I can be your heart to let go”
Co-written and produced by super producer Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) the song was written for an episode of the TV show Girls. The song really showcases Banks raw vocal prowess and personal songwriting. When I saw Banks play back in April, she called this song “a meditation.” With subject matter that deals with the end of an relationship and social anxiety, it’s pretty clear why she would call it that. The way the song starts slowly and builds up strong, it feels like Banks is discovering that vulnerability, when owned, is really strength.
2. Julien Baker – Appointments
“Nothing turns out like I pictured it
Maybe the emptiness is just a lesson in canvases”
Thus far, Julien Baker has released two albums and made a name for herself as one of the honest and raw songwriters around. Her music deals heavily with her depression, faith, addiction, relationships and place as part of the LGBTQ community. On Appointments, all these things meet. One of Julien Baker’s greatest gifts as a writer is the ability to put things together that will give you a visceral reaction. So when she’s talking about losing hope (“maybe it’s all gonna turn out all right and I know that it’s not, but I have to believe that it is”) or the end of a relationship (“you don’t have to remind me so much how I disappoint you”), you as the listener will feel like you’re getting kicked in the gut as well. I’ve been a fan of Julien Baker’s for three years now and listening to her music has always been, and will continue to be, a very cathartic experience.
1 . St. Vincent – New York
“You’re the only motherfucker in the city
Who can stand me”
My two favourite St. Vincent albums are her debut album Marry Me and her third album Strange Mercy. On the former, she is the jazz and folk influenced art-rocker who walks the line between serene and chaotic. On the latter, she is the alt-guitar god who is exploring what pop music can be if you let your mind run free. On New York, the first single off her fifth album MASSEDUCTION, these two sides meet. Also produced by Jack Antonoff, this song somehow name checks a lot of New York City specific locations while still being universal and relatable. Gone are the guitars that have made St.Vincent famous and in it’s place are the beautiful piano sounds that filled some of the best moments of Marry Me. New York is probably the most traditionally pop leaning that she has ever sounded. It’s simultaneously sentimental, intimate, expansive, and crass. I don’t know anyone else that can make the word “motherfucker” sound so pretty.
“It’s the first song I’ve written that I thought, ‘This might be someone’s favorite song.’ I’ve never had that experience before,” St. Vincent said when she was discussing New York. For me, this song is exactly what we needed in 2017. The song is frank and “doesn’t try to be something it’s not”. St. Vincent herself said that she was “bored with cleverness” when writing New York and she just wanted to make a “nice song from the heart”. What we got was just that, a beautiful song of appreciation, reflection, and authentic care. In a year that, for many of us, has felt like the earth was shifting beneath us, sometimes we just need a line like “New York isn’t New York without you love” to ground us.
Want to continue listening to these songs? The Spotify playlist can be found here.
