These are the top 25 songs of 2017, as determined by me (Erick) and Jennifer! How we compiled it was coming up with our own lists of favorite 25 songs from 2017. It was a ranked vote, with the first choice getting awarded 25 points and the second vote getting 24 and so on. After we came up with our list of top 25 songs, we went into a second round of voting with all of the songs, including those tied, being the pool of songs to select from. Since the ties weren’t going to eventually get settled, we settled on only two rounds of voting, with the tiebreaker being the highest vote received. There were a couple of songs that received the same highest vote, and therefore, with no further tiebreaker method being decided upon, we decided to just leave them at a tie.
So without further ado, here’s our favorite 25 songs of 2017:
RANK | “SONG” | ALBUM | ARTIST | POINTS | HIGHEST VOTE
25 | “Melting Grid” | Not Even Happiness | Julie Byrne | 11 | 15
It’s February and that means love is in the air. Whether you’re spending Valentines Day with a loved one, or single AF, love songs provide that cheesy sentimental touch that are sometimes just good for the soul.
16. “Archie, Marry Me” by Alvvays
Alvvays is a jangly indie pop quartet based out of Toronto. There is no album that will give you a more fuzzy feeling than their 2014 self titled release Alvvays. A highlight on the record is “Archie, Marry Me” in which singer Molly Rankin breaks gender norms in her sincere proposal to her paramour Archie.
15. “I Wanna Be Yours” by The Arctic Monkeys
There is no proclamation more clear than stating “I wanna be yours” a straight to the point sentiment that leaves no room for doubt. The lyrics comes from a poem of the same name by John Cooper Clarke. Alex Turner and company really nailed this song as the closing track on their flawless album A.M. This one will give you the feels.
14. “Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings” by Sunset Rubdown
Love is weird, even chaotic sometimes. A lot of the time it doesn’t make any damn sense. And that’s what is portrayed in “Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings”. Topping out at 8 minutes, this song delicately illustrates what it’s like to feel as if you and your significant other are the only two people in the world.
13. “Popular Mechanics For Lovers” by Beulah
Listening to this song will make you feel like you’re floating on a cloud. The narrator is bitter because the love of his life is running in the arms of a man who will never love her as much as he does. The glistening pianos effortlessly glide as the synchronized harmonies will have you singing along to the morbidly sweet words of “Just because he loves you too/ He will never ever take a bullet for you.” Swoons.
12. “Baby’s Arms” by Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile is known for his ambient yet sometimes folky music, he also is known for his ability to yank your heart out.
“Baby’s Arms,” a track off of Vile’s acclaimed record Smoke Ring For My Halo, features everything which makes him great. The celestial fingerpicking, his signature drugged drawl, and reverb-y drenched plucking show his brand of melancholia that is communicated both plainly and unassumingly enough to be missed. Lyrically, it’s about finding comfort with your one, and being content in just that moment.
11. “Islands” by The XX
“Islands” is about discovering that the one you love has been in front of you the entire time and the search is over. Known for their atmospheric music, their signature moody and soulful sound compliments this duet perfectly.
10. “Blue Jeans” by Lana Del Rey
Although not your most conventional love song, “Blue Jeans” is well deserving of a spot on this list. This song features all of Lana’s signature stylistic elements we have grown to love: retro swagger, top notch production, and an overall sad girl aesthetic. Gay or straight, I think it’s everyones dream to have Lana Del Rey plead to them “I will love you until the end of time.”
9. “Happy” by Best Coast
Sometimes love is simple and “Happy” is just that. Despite the differences and fights, you can reflect and admit “you make me happy,” because you’re young and in love and it’s just that easy.
8. “Eyes” by Rogue Wave
There is nothing sweeter than “Eyes” by Rogue Wave. Its formula makes for the perfect love song. The acoustic guitar serenades us as Zach Rogue proclaims that the only thing he is missing is in her eyes. BRB, my ovaries are exploding.
7. “Say Yes” by Elliott Smith
I apologize in advance if this song rings similar to the latter. There’s something about the way an acoustic guitar pairs with sentimental lyrics.
It was tough to catch the late Elliott Smith on a good day, but it’s captured on “Say Yes”, the closing track on Either/Or. As the vocals are gently layered, we see happiness and optimism from the infamously sad singer. In “Say Yes” we can picture Smith smiling and watching the morning sunlight fall on the hair of the girl lying next to him.
6. “I Won’t Share You” by The Smiths
Known mainly for their tales of heartbreak, angst, and remorse, The Smiths do have a few love songs in their repertoire. More famously they are known for “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and “Hand in Glove” but their more obscure “I Won’t Share You” resonates with me the most. The best part about Morrissey’s lyrics is his use of ambiguity that gives the listener freedom to interpret his music as they please.
For me, “I Won’t Share You” is about finding your one, and admitting it to yourself and acknowledging that you want them all to yourself.
5. “I Found a Reason” by The Velvet Underground
Sterling Morrison of the Velvet Underground once said of their final 1970 album Loaded, “It showed that we could have, all along, made truly commercial sounding records. We usually opted not to…but people would wonder, ‘Could they do it if they had to?’ The answer was, ‘Yes, we could.’ And we did.” Loaded rarely got more accessible than on this song
Reminiscent of any classic 1950’s slow song with a Velvet’s twist as Lou Reed devotes “When you ain’t got nothing,” they sing in letter-perfect four part harmony, “You ain’t got nuthin’ at all” … It’s a moving and tuneful moment from a band not often regarded as being terribly melodic (though they were more often than they were thought to be)
4. “Heroes” by David Bowie
Composed by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977, “Heroes” is the history of the secret love affair between Tony Visconti (co-producer of the album) and backing vocalist Antonia Maaß in Berlin.
How lovers can be heroes just for one day, whether they stay together or not. No matter what happens, if their love is true, it will be alive forever, even if they are separated by the Berlin Wall and bullets are flying over their heads.
3. “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” by Talking Heads
David Byrne just gets it. Anyone who has ever felt genuine love have been here before, and that’s why “This Must Be The Place” resonates with anyone who has ever listened to it. This songs vulnerability paired with the breeziness of the keyboard brings a sense of sweet and unadulterated comfort. It’s about happiness and the blissful confusion that love creates.
David Byrne once said “I don’t think I’ve ever done a real love song before. Mine always had a sort of reservation, or a twist. I tried to write one that wasn’t corny, that didn’t sound stupid or lame the way many do. I think I succeeded; I was pretty happy with that.” And yes, so are we.
2. “Brand New Colony” by The Postal Service
The Postal Service is the combination of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and DNTEL’s Jimmy Tamborello, although they have only released one album 14 years ago, The Postal Service will always be one of my favorite bands.
Gibbards lyrics are written with a sense of self reflection and delicacy that truly makes him a master of his craft. He approaches this love song in a nonconventional form of metaphors, he wants to become all of these metaphysical objects (a bottle of wine, a record player, a fleece jacket) because of the important purpose they serve to her.
He talks about all of these complicated things, but in the end he reveals what he really wants: to kiss her on the mouth, run away from the cynics of their town, and start a brand new colony.
1. “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys
“God Only Knows” is one of those shimmeringly perfect love songs. This song makes you feel sad, in love, grateful, and hopeless all at the same time.
Appearing on The Beach Boys’ 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds, the song opens in a haze of french horns and harpsichord. It marries baroque and West Coast pop, combines multi-tracked layered vocals, a cellist, flautist, and an accordionist. Brian wilson once described the song as “a vision … It’s like being blind, but in being blind, you can see more. You close your eyes; you’re able to see a place or something that’s happening.”
Considering the fact that it’s a song about devotion, it’s opening line “I may not always love you,” is the cloud of uncertainty that makes “God Only Knows” truly extraordinary. Because it isn’t just a love song, it recognizes the fact that falling in love is terrifying and that you have to go into it blindly, but in that blindness you can see who you are because of someone else.
2017 has already been a whirlwind, which is what makes Cherry Glazerr’s appropriately titled Apocalipstick more relevant than ever. In this day and age what we need is simple: good rock music.
Four years ago Los Angeles rock outfit Cherry Glazerr began with then 15-year-old singer/guitarist Clementine Creevy, Hannah Uribe, and Sean Redman. But in their short duration they have faced personnel changes and the trio is now backed by Tabor Allen and Sasami Ashwort. Despite the new transition, Cherry Glazerr effortlessly shines in their sophomore album.
Their debut record Haxel Princess was a lighthearted and unhindered view of juvenile dispatches. While promising, it never managed to hit the surface, lacking the confidence that Creevy possesses today. Creevy, who is now 19, is a grown up reflection of fierceness and fearlessness in her music.
In Apocalipstick the trio have presented us with their most glistening recordings yet. Full of furious howls, jangling distortions, sick riffs, and swaggerous girl power all packed into 34 glorious minutes. It may not be their first album, but feels like their first proper album.
Opener “Told You I’d Be With the Guys” features all of the staple Cherry Glazzer sounds we’ve known to love. Creevy’s fluent howling behind a groovy guitar riff that builds into a solidified rock n’ roll anthem. Let’s not get it twisted though, they are not one trick ponies.
In the mellowest track off Apocalipstick “Nuclear Bomb” Creevy delicately repeats “All the souls are swimming in the bathtub,” in a cry for validation, with the sounds of an acoustic guitar and a bubbly synth beaming in the background. “Trash People” expresses unbridling millennial self awareness where Creevy admits her room smells like an ashtray and she wears her underpants three days in a row.
Other highlights include “Instagratification” surf guitar nostalgia and the re-recordings of fan favorites “Nurse Ratched” and “Sip O’ Poison”.
Apocalipstick is fun, unpretentious, and refreshing rock n’ roll.
It’s been four long years since we’ve seen new music from the beloved Arcade Fire. This week the band returns with “I Give You Power,” a collaboration with gospel legend Mavis Staples.
The track itself implements a menacing disco beat with a slightly dark edge. They explore cloudy territory as the synths cast a shadow over the ominous undertones the song presents. Mavis Staples empowering vocals add an extra layer that entices the tune.
Released on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, there’s no doubt that the song has political implications. When the band shared the track, they attached a brief statement: “It’s never been more important that we stick together & take care of each other.”
Father John Misty surprised us all by announcing that he will have a new album coming out in March. The single is the title track to the upcoming Father John album, Pure Comedy. Listen below to the great tune reminiscent of 70’s era Elton John.
If The Beatles classic concept album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Meatloaf’s pinnacle rock opera Bat Out of Hell made a love child, you’d have Foxygen’s fourth studio release Hang.
The groovy L.A. based duo comprising of Jonathan Rado and Sam France have once again reinvented their sound, but their style remains the same. Their 2013 release We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic propelled them into the limelight. It was fresh, spirited, frenetic and unlike anything else. Their follow-up …And Star Power (2014) was less impressive as a forgettable 24-song chronicle of a band at war with itself.
In Hang, Foxygen takes a different direction. Having assembled a 40 piece orchestra, Foxygen considers Hang to be their “first proper studio album.” Album opener “Follow the Leader” thrusts the record into full swing with bombastic horns, groovy keyboards, 1960’s bubblegum female backup vocals, and France’s gyrating shrieks.
France’s vocal diversity in Hang is prevalent as he effortlessly switches his inflections from Mick Jagger (“Rise Up”), David Bowie (“Mrs. Adams”), and Lou Reed (“Upon a Hill”).
Hang reaches it’s peak with album highlight “On Lankershim.” It is reminiscent of the 1970’s folky sounds of a.m. radio. The ballad “Trauma” is as smooth as it is carefully arranged symphonic pop. “Avalon” and “Upon a Hill” evoke imagery of the vaudeville camp you’d see on the Broadway stage.
Hang is grandiose, flamboyant, and ostentatious. But underneath the high concept, little substance is present. It’s all body and no soul. It’s an album I would pay good money to see in all of it’s cosmic glory live, but it’s not an album that I would come back to for regular listens.
I never really got into the prior two Run the Jewels albums. They just weren’t my sort of hip-hop to listen to. I have never been a big fan of hardcore anything; hardcore rock, hardcore hip-hop, none of it ever connected with me much.
In 2015 I went to the FYF Music Festival in Los Angeles. Frank Ocean was scheduled to play, but he ended up canceling and Kanye West took his spot. Billed before Kanye was Run the Jewels. A good friend and I wanted to be at the very front for Kanye, so we had been preparing to move up and camp out for Kanye.
We got to see the Run the Jewels show fairly close, their red, flashing LED screens permanently seared on my mind. The show was energetic. The crowd was buzzing. People vibing to the deep bass sound waves, hands thrown up in the air, knees bending up and down. The show didn’t change my mind on Run the Jewels, but it did open my mind up to give them a spin if the time was pertinent.
Run the Jewels performing at the FYF Music Festival in Los Angeles in 2015
Run the Jewels 3 is equally frenetic as their live performances. The hardcore sound that is thematic to any Run the Jewels album is still there. Expect big bass, boom-bap drums and chopped up samples on Run the Jewels 3.
Killer Mike remains political, particularly in a year he was much more visible in the public eye. Backing Killer Mike’s strong political verses is hype man and producer, El-P. The chemistry between the two remains strong. El-P interjects and phrases at the right times, never awkwardly cutting into Killer Mike or forcibly pushing his presence onto a song El-P remains the modern hype man archetype.
The music and the lyrics come together to create a captivating, political album. Run the Jewels 3 is Killer Mike and El-P continuing their yearly streak of dropping one of hip-hop’s most captivating albums.
33s, 45s, and MP3s 