Meaningful and ridiculous, 2017 introduced music of all sorts. Cultural commentary flashed in some of the year’s best albums. Love, loss, and personal histories were highlighted elsewhere.
Across the board, albums seemed to matter less. More often, artists released single songs – or unleashed top tracks months before the albums that contained them. Where artists did focus on the classic album format, 2017 really introduced some gems (especially the work highlighted below from The War on Drugs, Waxahatchee, and Kevin Morby).
The songs I’ve selected are ordered as a playlist below. They aren’t ranked. But in this order, I think you’ll enjoy listening to the whole batch from start to finish. For convenience, I’ve created “Favorite Music 2017” playlists on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube. Enjoy! And please let me know what I missed via Twitter or in the comments below.
1. Kevin Morby – “City Music” from the album ‘City Music’
Really a fantastic song from one of the year’s standout albums. This title track does so much with a theme that waxes and wanes – building from the perfect simplicity of rimshots, a guitar, and bass. Time passes before lyrics and energy build. And then there are handclaps. It’s impossible for me not to think of Television’s “Marquee Moon”, 11-minutes and similarly structured. Each song on Morby’s record works nicely within the “city music” theme. Transit, people-watching, everyday hustle and bustle. “Aboard My Train,” Night Time,” and “Crybaby” are great songs. The production on “Dry Your Eyes” is sheer joy if you’re wearing a good pair of headphones. Give the full album a listen and then check out NPR’s track-by-track interview with its creator. A song for Baltimore didn’t make the final version of this album – but it was made available in two uniquely beautiful versions, also among my favorites this year. Morby was a member of the band Woods – and you should seek out their music if you enjoy this.
2. Ty Segall – “My Lady’s On Fire” released as a single
Holding a steady spot among my fluid list of favorite artists, Segall released a typically enormous amount of music in 2017. His second self-titled album included a mix of searing guitar squealers and some sweeter, more accessible takes. I’ll point to “Take Care (To Comb Your Hair)” as a total gem from that record. “Talkin'” is a pleasure too. Segall released an EP and a stack of singles as well. (The singles will eventually appear on 2018’s ‘Freedom’s Goblin’ album). It’s from that second batch of material that this near-perfect track, “My Lady’s On Fire,” arrived. This song melds together so much of what I enjoy about Segall’s work: beautiful production, a range of instruments (including that organ and that deep sax), memorable hooks, and helpful liner notes.
3. Weaves – “Walkaway” from the album ‘Wide Open’
This is very well-written song about leaving – or the important act of urging someone to leave. The Toronto band Weaves was new to me until the robots of Spotify and Apple Music surfaced this track during a summer road trip in Colorado.
4. Lorde – “Green Light” from the album ‘Melodrama’
I’m not immune to perfect pop. Lorde released this song in March – months before the rest of her terrific second full-length record. “Green Light” is the album’s first track – and best. The handclaps are irresistible. (I also returned consistently to “Homemade Dynamite” this summer and fall.) There’s a story in “Green Light” and in so many of Lorde’s songs. Still early in her career, Lorde’s work remains at a level that feels more personal and relatable than most pop hits. And, yes, I know that hit-maker Jack Antonoff co-wrote “Green Light.” “Liability” and “Hard Feelings/Loveless” are also solid tracks on ‘Melodrama.’
5. Beck – “Up All Night” from the album ‘Colors’
I have no shame in thoroughly enjoying Beck’s 2017 output. “Up All Night” is one song with classic Beck lyrics and sounds updated for our current time. Another album track, “Wow,” shares that description. But there’s something about this song that’s relatable and infectious. The floor toms and the strings and the cowbell and the handclaps. It’s a great song. After about 38 seconds, one lyric really jumps out at me: “I see the colors and all the kids going home”. That could describe the scene on a busy strip of late-night spots as closing time arrives. But part of me hopes it’s a reference to the impeccably sad song by Cat Power, “Colors and the Kids” from 1998.
6. Rostam – “Wood” from the album ‘Half-Light’
Oh boy. This is a beautiful song. Rostam Batmanglij is a former member of Vampire Weekend and the producer behind several unconventional tracks that have landed on bigger-name records. In fact, this song landed previously. It was released via Tumblr in 2011. I had heard it before – and revisited it last year when Rostam collaborated on a fantastic album with Hamilton Leithauser (among my 2016 favorites). “Wood” is a great introduction to a sound that defies easy labeling and an album that layers old and new. If this track hooks you in, explore the rest of Rostam’s record, especially songs like “Gwan,” “Bike Dream,” and “EOS”.
7. Hamilton Leithauser – “Heartstruck (Wild Hunger) [feat. Angel Olsen]” released as a single
Beautiful countrypolitan strings and soaring vocals. This song has a marginally Western feel and a dramatic rise that leaves you wanting more. But there isn’t more. Sadly, this perfect pairing of Leithauser and Olsen exists on only one track.
8. The War on Drugs – “Holding On” from the album ‘A Deeper Understanding’
One of 2017’s most enjoyable albums on each return visit. “Holding On” is a gem of Springsteen-esque sounds, speed, and subtle fury. Everything seems complex and well-thought. The Strokes-like synths just beyond the 3-minute mark are a perfect touch for just that moment. Bells. Guitars. Just joy throughout.
9. Lizzo – “Truth Hurts” released as a single
Full credit to the Apple Music indie playlist programmers. Lizzo was a fantastic discovery for me in 2017. Her other material is just as fun.
10. Chicano Batman – “Freedom Is Free” from the album ‘Freedom Is Free’
It was January. I was watching the Super Bowl – for the commercials, obviously. And days after the start of an anti-immigrant presidency, Johnnie Walker’s gametime TV ad featured “This Land Is Your Land” performed by Chicano Batman. Their ‘Freedom Is Free’ album arrived in March and this title track is particularly enjoyable. You can hear more of their throwback production and well-derived bass-plus-organ equations on another favorite track, “Friendship (Is a Small Boat In a Storm)”.
11. HAIM – “Little of Your Love” from the album ‘Something To Tell You’
This song is just so damn catchy.
12. Spoon – “Can I Sit Next to You” from the album ‘Hot Thoughts’
This year didn’t bring us Spoon’s greatest work. But it did bring several enjoyable tracks on an album that otherwise registers a shrug. The handclaps and lazy rhythm section on this song are pure perfection though.
13. Young Fathers – “Only God Knows (feat. Leith Congregational Choir)” released as a single
Buckle your seat belt. This song moves very quickly from slow religious dirge to a fast heartbeat of hazy rhyme. The result is pure joy – layered with whispers and shouts. Apparently this track made an appearance in the sequel to Trainspotting. I found it via the awesomely curated Apple Music playlist Songs You Need to Hear this Week by OkayAfrica.
14. JAY-Z – “The Story of O.J.” from the album ‘4:44’
When Nina Simone makes a modern-day appearance, I’m there. This track works so well. And the video is my favorite of 2017.
15. Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2 – “Sonmoi” from the album ‘Star Stuff’
Sure, it’s like atmospheric jazz colliding with droning psychedelic guitar rock. But it’s really quite enjoyable.
16. Chad VanGaalen – “Mystery Elementals” from the album ‘Light Information’
A name I hadn’t seen in quite some time! VanGaalen returned to my radar with his reliable weirdness – displayed well on this track.
17. Big Thief – “Mythological Beauty” from the album ‘Capacity’
A colleague relayed word of a fantastic Big Thief performance. And I was curious. The band, fronted by Adrianne Lenker, released a top-notch album this year. But this particular song stands out. “Mythological Beauty” holds the most edge-of-your-seat, emotional lyrics of the year.
18. Diet Cig – “Bath Bomb” from the album ‘Swear I’m Good At This’
This record is filled well-told stories wrapped inside delightful-enough rock songs. “Bath Bomb” really isn’t even the best (check out the album’s first track, “Sixteen”) but it’s a helpful entryway.
19. Charly Bliss – “Ruby” from the album ‘Guppy’
I’ve come to really enjoy this band’s live performances. We watched them open for Tokyo Police Club in January. And in June, I persuaded a group of friends to see their set at the back room of the Black Cat on my birthday. This first album collects songs they’ve toured with for several years.
20. Waxahatchee – “Recite Remorse” from the album ‘Out in the Storm (Deluxe Version)’
This is a stellar album. Great vocals. Great writing. After years of rave reviews from my brother, I may be late to this party. Waxahatchee’s newest record includes several tracks that are more energetic than this one. Seek out the “Deluxe” flavor of the album and you’ll also find a full set of demos – differently enjoyable.
21. Ryan Adams – “To Be Without You” from the album ‘Prisoner’
Ooof. What a delicious downer of an album. Low times led to crushing, hopeless, sadness for this year’s crop of Ryan Adams songs. Even the mediocre tracks on this record are quite solid. But standouts beyond this song are “Doomsday,” “Tightrope,” and “Do You Still Love Me?”.
22. JR JR – “Same Dark Places (Acoustic Version)” released as a single
Social media creates a uniquely modern window for missing out. What we all share and see publicly can easily gloss over the low points that we all have. And I can’t imagine a better band to craft a song about those feelings. JR JR’s “Same Dark Places” was created for the Netflix series ’13 Reasons Why’. You’ll find two versions of the song – both excellent – but I thought the acoustic treatment worked well on this playlist.
23. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – “Over Everything” from the album ‘Lotta Sea Lice’
This feels like an album that was fun to make. Two performers with unique sounds combine to create songs about songmaking, touring, and life. It’s pretty good. “Over Everything” sums it all up nicely. And I feel a connection to the struggle described in the lyrics: “When I was young I liked to hear music blarin’ / And I wasn’t carin’ to neuter my jams with earplugs /… So these days I plug em up.” Why wouldn’t you?
24. Rhiannon Giddens – “Freedom Highway” from the album ‘Freedom Highway’
An album filled with history and talent. “Freedom Highway” is the final track in the package – and not the most significant. But I like this recording, performed with collaborator Bhi Bhiman. The song was written and recorded by the Staple Singers in 1965 (and it was well-performed by the North Mississippi Allstars). Giddens was awarded a MacArthur “Genius Grant” this year.
25. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – “Matter of Time” from the album ‘Soul of a Woman’
Jones, a fantastic performer and soul/funk revivalist, died in November 2016. This final studio album was released a year later.
26. Vagabon – “Fear & Force” from the album ‘Infinite Worlds’
Lætitia Tamko fronts Vagabond. And she has an incredible voice. On this tight album, the band shows off songs that range from beautifully sparse (“Alive and a Well”) to elegantly produced (“Fear & Force”). Elsewhere, (as on “Minneapolis”) they kick things up to a respectable burn, never shedding the ability to follow lyrics or ideas. Certainly promising for future material.
27. Brad Paisley – “Selfie#Theinternetisforever” from the album ‘Love and War’
The year’s funniest song – and a lovely snapshot of our time.
