Best Songs of 2017

Another year, another best-of list. 2017 was a solid year, musically speaking. So here we go...

"Star Roving" - Slowdive
2017 marked the creative return of the ill-titled and oft-mocked genre of shoegaze, with Slowdive and Ride leading the way. Both bands released new material after decades out of the spotlight, but it was Slowdive's self-titled album -- 22 years after their last one -- that tops my list this year. The lead-off single "Star Roving" is everything a shoegaze fan lives for: dreamy soundscapes and swirling guitars over a driving Krautrock beat. It's my song of the year.

"High Ticket Attractions" - New Pornographers
I've always been a fan of the Vancouver supergroup, but Carl Newman won me over with his great Song Exploder two years ago for "Brill Bruisers". Now the power pop and perfect hooks continue with this year's album -- the band's seventh -- Whiteout Conditions. It's the first one without Destroyer's Dan Bejar, and this track speeds along with purpose and some great synth riffs.

"Everything Now" - Arcade Fire
We'll stay north of the border for this one, and where Vancouver's New Pornographers scaled back a bit on this year's release, Montreal's Arcade Fire went all out. There is A LOT going on in this song -- including some sort of disco pan flutes -- but somehow Win Butler and his mates make it work. It's catchy, anthemic, and right out of the 80s.

"No CD" (featuring Rebel Kleff) - Loyle Carner
How many hip hop artists in their early 20s would rhyme about collecting records? Or hanging out with their kid sister? London's Loyle Carner does both on his debut album Yesterday's Gone. This track features an irresistible old school bass riff and some sublime rhyming -- he manages to rhyme No P's (as in pounds), old CDs, Old Jay Z's, ODB (as in the late Ol' Dirty Bastard), and --in a coup de grace -- OCD -- which clearly an artist this good must have more than a touch of.

"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" - The National
Cincinnati's The National gets a much-needed jolt of energy on this track, with an aggressive guitar solo in the middle and that intoxicating guitar riff that repeats throughout. Lean and mean.

"Darling" - Real Estate
Jangle pop lives on in the Telecaster of Martin Courtney, Real Estate's frontman. This lovely tune kicks off the band's fourth album. But it hides the turmoil they went through over the past year --  firing their founding lead guitarist Matt Mondanile over allegations of mistreatment of women.

"Call the Police" - LCD Soundsystem
On his first album in seven years, James Murphy sings "We all know this is nothing". But this is definitely something; many music critics put American Dream at the top of their best of the year lists for 2017. As Murphy sings about Berlin there are unmistakable references -- I imagine both intentional and unintentional -- to David Bowie and even U2, both of whom famously had rich creative phases in the German capital. In fact, listening to this track you can almost hear Bono's earnest yearning in Murphy's voice.

"Pain" - The War on Drugs
Each year, there are albums with multiple songs that could make this list. A Deeper Understanding, the fourth studio album from Philadelphia's The War on Drugs, is that kind of record. I chose this track over "Up All Night" and "Holding On" because a couple of days ago, I decided it was my favorite of the bunch. I hear so many influences in the vastness of Adam Granduciel's music -- American roots rock, brooding Springsteen-esque lyrics, even British synthpop. Plus they were great to see on a late-summer night in Central Park.

"I Can Only Stare" - Sleigh Bells
Now for something completely different. The bombast of Derek Miller's music and Alexis Krauss's voice takes a pop turn on this song, which is about loneliness, isolation and longing for someone from afar. If that sounds like Morrissey, it's worth noting that Miller says he was trying to rip off Johnny Marr with the guitar parts on this song.

"Feels Like Summer" - Weezer
Every year needs a great summer song, and this was admittedly the most obvious choice. It may be 4 degrees in New York right now but that chorus still makes me want to roll all the car windows down and sing.

"Over Everything" - Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
Pure slacker brilliance that builds to a crescendo of multilayered guitars. Don't let the casual delivery from both Barnett and Vile fool you -- these are two major individual talents who find a way to be better together. And why is there always a Kurt whenever there's a Courtney? Just asking.

"Money for Breakfast" - Spinning Coin
The Glasgow five piece has toured with Real Estate and Teenage Fanclub and with the debut release Permo, their influences are loud and clear: Big Star, Game Theory and the aforementioned pair are all here. As are fellow Glaswegians Orange Juice, and no surprise: Edwyn Collins produced this track.

"Bike Dream" - Rostam
The multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij left Vampire Weekend in early 2016 and his debut studio album Half-Light was released this past September. This song -- about the complications from dual love affairs (and perhaps a bad hangover) starts with a cello, drums and fuzzed-out synths -- all to serve in contrast to the sweetly-sung and deeply personal lyrics..

"Andrew in Drag" - The Magnetic Fields
Stephin Merritt marked his 50th year by releasing 50 Song Memoir, an autobiographical concept album featuring one song for every year of his life thus far. And if that's not monumental enough, he wrote each song in the style of the music that was popular at the time -- an incredibly rich endeavor. This bittersweet but very funny song is about a straight guy who falls in love with his best friend dressed up as a woman. And every line rhymes with drag.

"Airborne" - Cut Copy
Australia's Cut Copy released this track this summer ahead of their fifth album Haiku From Zero, which wasn't one of their best. Still, as a fan of the iconic Chic guitar riff that fueled countless pop songs (not the least of which is "Rip it Up" by the previously mentioned Orange Juice), I'm happy to add this one to the list.

"Charm Assault" - Ride
We'll end where we began -- the return of shoegaze. Oxford's Ride -- along with Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine -- are the genre's progenitors and 2017 saw them reach creative heights they hadn't seen in over two decades. Led by Mark Gardener and former Oasis bassist Andy Bell, Ride released Weather Diaries, their first album in 21 years. This song, the first single off the album, may lacks the swirling guitars shoegaze is best known for, but more than makes up for it with a machine gun-like assault that is anything but charming.

Farewell 2017 and hello 2018. I hope everyone is off to a Happy New Year, and let the music keep flowing.

Best of 2016

[Exhale]. It's hard to believe we endured a year like 2016. An immense mountain of work promised to give way to something calm and content, and yet... And the fact that it's taken me into the second month of the new year to come to terms with the last one tells you everything you need to know.

I'm allowing myself time to get lost in the trivial -- and not so trivial -- matters of music. Because now more than ever, music (and art) matters. So here's the best of 2016, as I heard it.

Preoccupations - "Memory"
They traded a name that offended some and put out a record that should be admired by many. I liked Vietcong -- the band, if not the name -- but the new album as Preoccupations is an improvement from start to finish. And by the time you reach this track -- the fourth of the album -- you realize just how strong a record Preoccupations have made.

DIIV - "Under the Sun"
Brooklyn's DIIV (say "dive") have created the perfect offspring of chillwave and shoegaze. Shimmery guitars, swirling vocals and all over a Krautrock motorik beat.

The Early Years - "Do It (Again)"
This London band combines the hazy sound of Spacemen 3 and the synth flourishes of The Advisory Circle with the motorik beats of Krautrock, and I occasionally hear the triumphant melodies of Julian Cope in the smoke-filled mix. 2016 saw the release of their second album, ten years (to the week) since their 2006 debut.

Wombats - "Give Me A Try"
Pure pop -- and very much a radio staple this year. Still, I challenge you not to sing along. I've liked these guys ever since they wrote a song called "Let's Dance to Joy Division".

Avalanches - "Frankie Sinatra"
The Australian sample masters are back with this rollicking send-up of Ol' Blue Eyes, powered by MF DOOM and Danny Brown.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Go Robot"
This is a bit of a throw-in for me -- it's far from the Chili Peppers at their best. But I thought it was worth noting that Anthony Kiedis clearly takes technology a bit too seriously and has now crossed over into the sexualization of machines. "Robots don't care where I've been" -- certainly good news for Kiedis. Oh, and enjoy the straight-out-of-"Saturday Night Fever" video.

Car Seat Headrest - "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales"
Will Toledo's project may not have the greatest band name in history, but he's hit the low-fi sweet spot with this track.

Ghosts of Social Networks - "Love Potion"
One of the podcasts I discovered this past year is Mr Peeps Presents, showcasing the best of Manchester's unsigned and indie bands. Mr Peeps featured these guys in one of his recent episodes and I liked it.

Dinosaur Jr., "Tiny"
Nice to hear the drawl of J Mascis (do folks in Massachusetts really sound like this?") as well as his aggro guitar work (that's a Squier he's playing!). There were several standout tracks from their latest effort Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not.

White Room - "Think Too Much"
Shoe-gaze psychedelica from Brighton's White Room, another offering on Mr Peeps Presents.

Strumbellas - "Spirits"
Another radio hit and a catchy one nonetheless. This Canadian six-piece serves up a country-tinged sing along that's been described as gothic-folk, whatever that means.

Four Lions - "We Are England"
One good thing about 2016 was the European Championship. And while England crashed out in the second round against Iceland (!), Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder gave us incredibly catchy number that was no doubt sung by the nobs and hoodlums drinking lagers through France as they watched the Three Lions come up short in international competition once again.

Super Furry Animals - "Bing Bong"
Another Euro 2016 song, this time for the upstart Wales. Nevermind that the song makes absolutely no sense in a football context (or any other context, for that matter). And nevermind it appears to be named for the clown from the movie "Inside Out". This trippy anthem is the Furry's first single in seven years.

PJ Harvey - "Community of Hope"
Polly Jean turns her acerbic eye to the paradox of Washington DC -- at once a seat of enormous power and abject poverty. I like how she drove around with a reporter from the Washington Post who had no idea who she was and a lot of the things he told her during that drive ended up as lyrics in her Hope Six Demolition Project album. Also worth a listen is "Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln", which picks up where 2011's Let England Shake let off.

Best of 2015

It has been a long and busy year, and The Discordants has sat dormant for much of that time. That doesn't mean we weren't listening to -- and judging -- the new music that's out there. And this year saw a return to form for some classic artists as well as a few notable newcomers. Let's get started with my favorites of the year, followed by some honorable mentions.

Beck - "Dreams"
Sing-along vocals and irresistible guitar and keyboard riffs put Beck on the top of this list -- right where he was 20 years ago (with the virtually any track from the great Odelay). Beck says he wanted a song that would be "good to play live" -- and it's hard not to be moved by the groove of this one.

Belle and Sebastian - "The Party Line"
2015 saw the indie darlings bust out the synths and sequencers and make dance music. It's a long way from The Boy With the Arab Strap but it works.

Viet Cong - "Newspaper Spoons"
Equal parts post-punk and shoegaze with some industrial thrown in for good measure, Viet Cong remind me of a deconstructed, more menacing version of Interpol. Jagged guitars cut through the brooding despair. Hard to believe music like this could come from a place like Calgary -- those prairies can't be as desolate and cold as the music here.

Sleater Kinney - "A New Wave"
Another band in top form after a long hiatus -- ten years for the trio from Olympia. What could they have been up to this past decade? I wonder. There's Carrie Brownstein's star turn on Portlandia, of course. The better question is how can they still rock this hard - and this well - after such a long break?

Tanlines - "Slipping Away"
Sounding a little too close to The Cure's "Close to Me", this sunny gem from the Brooklyn duo nicely mixes synthpop with indie and comes up with a winner.

Good Old War - "Never Gonna See Me Cry"
Close your eyes and this sounds like the 1970s AM radio, only better. This Philadelphia trio obviously has an ear for infectious pop hooks, and they caught my ear at a record shop in Fords, NJ this summer. You'll be singing along by the end of this song.

Blur - "Lonesome Street"
2015 saw the fathers of Britpop return to top form as well, Twelve years after Think Tank - the original lineup released The Magic Whip, a collection of songs that draws inspiration from the Far East. As you might expect, Damon Albarn's dramatic vocal flourishes are here, but like most great Blur songs, this one is rooted in a tough Graham Coxon guitar riff. And they played a hell of a live show at Madison Square Garden this fall.

EL VY - "Return to the Moon"
I haven't liked much by The National lately, but lead singer Matt Berninger makes this year's list on the strength of this bright yet understated compilation with Menomena's Brent Knopf.

The Fall - "Fibre Book Troll/Facebook Troll"
Mark E. Smith releases a new album pretty much every year, but lately they've been of dubious quality. Not so with this year's Sub-lingual Tablet, and this laugh-out-loud funny indictment of the modern digital age. (Another standout on the album is called "Quit iPhone" so you get where MES is coming from.) And the ending might be the funniest part of the song.

Robert Plant - "Little Maggie"
I must be getting old if the average age of the artists on this list is topping 50. Robert Plant, at a ripe old 67, continues his love of traditional and folk music with this utterly incredible, modern rendition of the popular bluegrass standard. He still puts the same heart into his music as he did 45 years ago.

Declan McKenna - "Brazil"
Let's get the average age of the artists on this list down a bit. 16-year-old McKenna takes on world football with this indictment of FIFA, the sport's corrupt governing body. And yet it's not the message but the music that earns him a spot on this list

Death Cab for Cutie - "Good Help (Is So Hard To Find)"
The critics didn't like the new album, but it was nominated for a Grammy. Go figure. I appreciate the addition of dance and electronic elements in what otherwise sounds like a typical Death Cab for Cutie song.

New Order - "Tutti Frutti"
Another triumphant return after a long hiatus. New Order's latest album Music Complete could be their best since Republic. And while Peter Hook is no longer part of the band, Gillian Gilbert has returned, and what we get here is a much better balance between keyboards and guitars. Bernard Sumner's lyrics may be suspect in places, but the warmth of his vocals is like hearing an old friend after not talking to him for years. And that's always a good thing.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Beach Slang - "Bad Art and Weirdo Ideas"
Philadelphia's Beach Slang has heard its share of Replacements comparisons, but there's more going on here than that comparison suggests.

Miami Horror - "All It Ever Was"
Lush electronic soundscapes from Melbourne trio.

Oscar - "Beautiful Words"
London's Oscar walks a fine line between channeling the one and only Steven Patrick Morrissey without coming off like a sound-alike. The title track of his 2015 EP is a well-crafted piece of dreamy pop goodness.

Boxed In - "Run Quickly"
Manchester's Oli Bayston creates a hypnotic, driving track that borrows the best of Krautrock and -- as The Guardian puts it -- sounds like "Neu! chasing New Order across the beach in Ibiza at 4am."

The Decemberists - "Make You Better"
Portland's Decemberists round out the list, and continue the theme of bands taking a break only to come back strong. Perhaps that's the lesson of the year -- a hiatus can make you better.

Friday Night YouTube Deep Dive

What do you do when you're stuck with nowhere to go and a few hours to kill? For me, if I've got my phone or am near a compute, it's a good ol' Deep Dive on YouTube.

Tonight, I started listening to St. Vincent's awesome video "Bad Girl" from Bob's Buskers from Bob's Burgers:

That led me to Sleater-Kinney's "A New Wave" -- in Bob's Burger style.

I moved on to Sleater-Kinney's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman:

I kept listening to the rest of Sleater-Kinney's excellent new album No Cities to Love, which as my brother points out sounds like Pink Flag era Wire if it was sung by Geddy Lee. That's a pretty spot on description, if you ask me. From there, it was The War on Drugs' "Red Eyes" from Letterman:

Then I played some Wishbone Ash, a rather crap-tastic prog rock band from the early 70s.

Then I fell down a New Order rabbit hole. Well, it starting with two Joy Division songs, actually. "The Eternal" and "Decades" were among the first to use a big ARP 2600 modular synth and planted the seed for what was to come later with New Order:

I found a neat 1981 live performance of "Temptation", which New Order did in NYC on a tour of the States. It's ten minutes of synth greatness:

Then flash forward to 1987, when New Order cut the theme song to the English soccer show "Best and Marsh":

Their work on that theme song earned them the opportunity to write the best World Cup theme song of all time, 1990's "World in Motion". I was after the B-Side:

Then I watched nearly an hour of that same 1981 live performance, in a specially made video called Taras Shevchenko:

After that, I came crashing into the current era for 2013's New Order song "Californian Grass", which Bernard Sumner wrote with Iggy Pop in mind:

Then I watched Iggy join Barney at Carnegie Hall for a live performance of "Californian Grass":

And also "Transmission":

And of course "Love Will Tear Us Apart", which -- if I had to pick -- is probably my all-time favorite song.

Live Blogging the Grammys

So I'm getting a late jump on this -- and my fellow Discordant recovers from a bizarre mishap. I missed AC/DC but was amused that they needed a Teleprompter for their own song. Also, happy to see Pharrell win, even if "Happy" is - what - three years old by now? Seeing Beck win was nice. Also, Tom Jones can still sing -- unlike his duet-mate Jessie J (she missed a few notes in "You've Lost That Loving Feeling.") And I'm surprisingly impressed with Madonna -- she didn't pull the drunk Colonel Sanders act of last year.

Let's get to the blogging.

9:10
So what's the big deal about Ed Sheeran? Was he really the best unsigned act in Britain four years ago (he was introduced that way). Please explain what makes him so great -- I'm hearing very little from his performance tonight that sounds innovative in any way. Is it that he actually sings and plays in a world where most people can't play an instrument and are Auto-Tuned? (I'm talking to you, Kanye)

9:14
ELO -- I can't help but think of a kid named Jeff Eberting every time I hear these guys.

9:15
Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani are introduced as "two of our finest." Finest what?

9:21
Wow - Johnny Cash in a Whirlpool commercial singing "You Are My Sunshine"

 9:30
Why is Annie Lennox doing some sort of hand thing with her nose? Would that be permitted in church? Oh, and I'm buying the idea that Hozier is the new Gotye.

9:32
I have to say that if I never heard "All About that Bass" again I'd be a happy man.

9:33
Big surprise that Miranda Lambert wins in the best country album category. She was pretty much made for awards shows, with her just slightly on the edge lyrics that got her bleeped earlier in the night. Personally, I was rooting for Lee Ann Womack on the strength of her theme song for the Berenstain Bears.

9:36
How much mileage can one singer get out of one song? Surely not more than Pharrell Williams has gotten from "Happy". I mean, it's a fine song and all, but it was released in 2013.

9:45
President Obama makes a plea to stop violence against women. Oh, and Chris Brown is up for three Grammys.

9:50
I respect Katy Perry for what she's doing here. She's the biggest pop star in the world right now and she's using that platform for good. That said, it's just a week since she sang at the Super Bowl -- and it's not like the NFL has such a good track record with violence against women.

9:53
Wait! We want to play the Grammys too! We're Imagine Dragons, and Target is paying us huge money to make it look like we're at the Grammys. I'm not sure how I feel about this. This is going on for - what - two minutes? Three? They're getting paid to play in a giant Target logo. Folks, I don't think selling out gets better than this.

9:59
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga may be in heaven but the rest of us are in hell.

10:07
Lifetime achievement award to the Louvin Brothers. For this song alone.

10:31

Sam Smith takes the stage for "I Won't Back Down" -- err, "Stay with Me". How long until the cutaway shot of Tom Petty?

10:34

Mary J Blige just destroyed Sam Smith. I realize she has years of experience and he's the new kid on the block but it really showed in this performance.

10:36

This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dbthpgqksA

10:40

Good for Beck taking home Album of the Year. And Prince for introducing the category.

10:55

Looks like it's a Sam Smith kind of night. At least he seems like a nice guy.

Ripoff City: Strokes Edition

One thing I love about music is stumbling upon the obvious influences of bands and artists. Take, for example, The Strokes. Before they burst onto the scene in 2001 I'm quite sure they were listening to The Buzzcocks' 1979 track "Everybody's Happy Nowadays." I hadn't played it in years but I picked up the fabulous collection Singles Going Steady on vinyl the other day and I couldn't believe the similarity. I mean, it's less an influence and more a straight steal. Listen for yourself:

Sam Smith, Tom Petty Settle Over "Musical Accident"

Take a listen to Sam Smith's Grammy-nominated hit song "Stay With Me" and you'll hear what could legitimately sound -- to some ears -- like a slowed-down replication of Tom Petty's 1989 hit "I Won't Back Down." But Petty downplayed the similarity, saying it was "a musical accident no more no less." Still, Petty and Jeff Lynne are credited as co-writers on Smith's track. And The Sun reported over the weekend that Smith settled a copyright dispute with Petty over the song. But Petty says the agreement was easy to come to, and that Smith's people "were very understanding of [Petty's] predicament." Petty adds that the word lawsuit was never used.

Smith is up for six Grammy Awards, including song of the year.