2017 was a stellar year for new music.  It was so very hard to arrive to ten songs, but here is my list finally:

Lourde – The Louvre

Lourde is a such an amazing talent.  Other great songs from her Melodrama album include “Green Light,” “Homemade Dynamite,” “Liability,” “Writer in the Dark,” and “Supercut.”  It is definitely my favorite album of the year, by far.

Jason Bajada – Blondie

Jason is one of my favorite artists.  For the past few years most of his material has been in French but for this new effort he’s back at singing in English.   His voice is amazing in any language.

Japanese Breakfast – Road Head

Japanese Breakfast is Michelle Zauner’s (of Little Big League) solo effort.  Would it be wrong to say that Japanese Breakfast is by far better than Little Big League?  This song seems ideal for driving in the dark.

The xx – I Dare You

The xx keep getting better and better.  Their 2017 album, I See You, doesn’t have a single weak moment.  This song is the big highlight.

Waxahatchee – Silver

I don’t know how I had never heard of Waxahatchee until this year.  I’ve caught up, however.  Is this not The Breeders for the teens?

The War on Drugs – Thinking of a Place

The War on Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding album is close to perfection.  I love Adam’s Dylanesque voice.

Japanese Breakfast – Machinist

I’m not a fan of autotuned voices, but Michelle’s use of it here is so well done.  I love the video too!

Depeche Mode – Where’s the revolution

Beth Ditto – We could run

I’ve been a fan of Beth’s since her Gossip days.  Her 2017 album, Fake Sugar, is her best.  What a voice!

St. Vincent – Los Ageless

What could I say that hasn’t been said about St. Vincent?  She’s probably the best musician of the teens.

I hope this won’t be my only entry in this blog this year.  Life happens!

Ever since the arrival of our now 2 year old I’ve been remiss in updating this blog.  I’m sure that the small number of followers I once had will either not remember this blog, or have left.

Nevertheless, what better way to restart the blog than a “top ten list.”  The last time I did this was in 2013.  While I have a list for 2014, and 2015, it doesn’t make sense to rehash those years.

I had a hard time paring this down to just ten, but after much deliberation here are my most loved songs of 2016.

1 – Pékin (les amitiés) – Jason Bajada.  Jason is one of my favorite songwriters.  This was my favorite song of his 2016 Album, Volcano. “Comment va ton weekend?”

2- Adore – Savages.  It seems 80s inspired bands are de rigueur lately; there are several on this list.   This song is hypnotic, and just amazing!

3- Algorithm – Emmy the Great. I love Emma-Lee Moss’ voice.

4- Crying in Public – Chairlift.  Synthesizers have never been bad in my world.  I could see Everything But The Girl doing this song back in the 80s.

5 – A Beautiful Mystery – Katie Costello.  I’ve been a superfan of Katie since I saw her supporting Toad The Wet Sprocket many years ago.  All of her music is superb.

6 – Virtue – Bloc Party.  This British band seems to get better and better with each new album.

7 – Sister – Angel Olsen.  For 2017, Angel needs to comeback to the Newport Folk Festival (played there in 2015) but this time on the main stage.  That would make me very happy!

8 – Pull My Arm – Flowers.  This is one of those songs that sound familiar from the very first sound, but it’s entirely new, and you just love it.  At least that is what happened to me.

9 – Fold – Burnt Palms.  Tell me that the 80s aren’t back.  It’s The Ramones + Liz Phair.

10- Tokyo – TEEN.  The Lieberson sisters could easily have been an 80s band.  It’s the best of the “Next-Wave.”

What do you think?