Best Songs of 2017
Over the last few years, this idea has always been
developing in my head. Starting with a list of 10 albums which I liked but
hadn't really delved into, haplessly posted in a Facebook status early on in
December several years ago, to a slightly more
thorough list the next year and so on and so forth.
Every year the list and my process was honed, culminating in 2017 where I have decided to launch a sort of blog where I can review stuff throughout the year and using a blog format as a vehicle to share my thoughts on music, among other things.
Every year the list and my process was honed, culminating in 2017 where I have decided to launch a sort of blog where I can review stuff throughout the year and using a blog format as a vehicle to share my thoughts on music, among other things.
I’ve decided to start with a list of songs, as opposed to albums.
Cause everyone can relate to having songs within albums that they may not have
liked as a whole. Another note is that, I will not have a strict numerical system; if I have a list of 3, 10, or 17 songs or albums which I found stood above the
rest to me, then that will be it. These lists will be varied among genres, I can’t
really describe why my musical tastes are the way they are but I wouldn’t have
them changed. So, in short here are my favourite songs of 2017.
In my opinion, the most powerful song of the year; an anecdote for
Black and White “AmeriKKKa”, this song deals with the current state of the US
from the perspective of a young Black Man. Making such a heartbreaking account
sound catchy can be difficult, but a cleverly altered sample of Juicy by Joey’s fellow NY Native,
Notorious BIG delivers the catchiness that will draw listeners. However, once
they’ve been drawn in, Joey hits them hard with Truths many sadly don’t want to
hear, and the lyrics speak for themselves:
In the land of the free, it's full of free loaders
Leave us dead in the streets to be their organ donors
They disorganized my people made us all loners
Still got the last names of our slave owners
In the land of the free, it's full of free loaders
Leave us dead in the streets to be their organ donors
They disorganized my people made us all loners
Still got the last names of our slave owners
LAND OF THE FREE is an important song that doesn’t mince words,
and its right not to.
This song stands to be my favourite track from the new Akercocke
record, 10 years after their disbanding they reform and they reform in
strength. This track from the British Extreme Metal gentlemen brings all the
classic tropes into one downward spiral of systematic chaos, where all facets
of this frantic song come together in one cohesive musical showcase. Swirling
guitars, a wonderfully creepy hammer dulcimer, the maddening precision of the best
Metal drummer alive, David Gray, and Jason Mendonca as the helmsman for this
twisted concoction effortlessly proving after all these years the shrieks, guttural
growls, and simply unhinged shouts haven’t ruined his voice in the least.
In fact this is one of his strongest vocal performances yet; Funeral marks the triumphant return of one of my favourite bands, and once again prove why they own that title.
In fact this is one of his strongest vocal performances yet; Funeral marks the triumphant return of one of my favourite bands, and once again prove why they own that title.
In the newer wave of R&B Artists with the Rapper aesthetic, Ty
Dolla $ign stands above the rest but still is shockingly underappreciated.
Despite having a legitimately fantastic voice, he really has an ear for beats,
being a producer himself and knows how to pick them, and he definitely did that
here.
I am not typically a fan of DJ Mustard, but he changed up his very interchangeable style a bit here, even to the point where I would compare this to a mid-2000’s Kanye beat, and that is quite a bit of praise. The main hook is the standout facet of the song, with Ty and Dream trading bars over a Mary J Blige sample, and it works very well. Wayne does a good job at keeping up with Ty and Dream who are both actually very proficient singers, whereas Wayne is not and masks it with autotune, but being a rapper primarily, he comes up with some clever lines which make up for his voice.
I am not typically a fan of DJ Mustard, but he changed up his very interchangeable style a bit here, even to the point where I would compare this to a mid-2000’s Kanye beat, and that is quite a bit of praise. The main hook is the standout facet of the song, with Ty and Dream trading bars over a Mary J Blige sample, and it works very well. Wayne does a good job at keeping up with Ty and Dream who are both actually very proficient singers, whereas Wayne is not and masks it with autotune, but being a rapper primarily, he comes up with some clever lines which make up for his voice.
While this track was originally released 20 years ago under the
band’s solo leader, Squarepusher, the band has rerecorded it, or should I say
performed it anew. Squarepusher, a classic British Breakbeat/Drum and Bass
Electronic artist, produced this song very obviously quite digitally and likely
without thinking 20 years later he’d be performing it live, let alone with
musicians competent enough to play it.
The real beauty of this song is the human performance, specifically the drumming. Everything from the clarity of the recording (it is from a live performance), to the synchronicity of the musicians, this song is just a joy to listen to.
The real beauty of this song is the human performance, specifically the drumming. Everything from the clarity of the recording (it is from a live performance), to the synchronicity of the musicians, this song is just a joy to listen to.
This track is here because I was so surprised that I loved it so
much. I have an interesting relationship
with Ensiferum, their first two albums are Folk Metal perfection, mostly due to
Jari Maenpaa, but after their first releases he left the band moving on to form
Wintersun. Ever since he left, they’ve sort of lost their touch in my opinion.
On their newest album, this one track in particular happened to catch me like no other did; this is in fact the only song on the album I even like. Ensiferum does best when they deliver straight up, aggressive and riff oriented fast paced Folk Metal, and that’s what they deliver here. I feel like I’m doing a disservice to frontman Petri Lindroos, as the reason I like this song is because it sounds like their first two albums, Ensiferum experiment a lot and that’s okay, but they’re always best at keeping it simple and I’m glad they did so here.
On their newest album, this one track in particular happened to catch me like no other did; this is in fact the only song on the album I even like. Ensiferum does best when they deliver straight up, aggressive and riff oriented fast paced Folk Metal, and that’s what they deliver here. I feel like I’m doing a disservice to frontman Petri Lindroos, as the reason I like this song is because it sounds like their first two albums, Ensiferum experiment a lot and that’s okay, but they’re always best at keeping it simple and I’m glad they did so here.
If you label yourself a Gothic Metal or Symphonic Metal band, you
really have to have a certain image and sound to back that claim up with, and Trinity’s sombre, antiquated sound helps
Septicflesh fit in that mold. Septicflesh have moved on this latest album from
a primarily Symphonic, Technically minded band to one more focused on
atmosphere and songwriting, and it shows especially on the closing track of Codex Omega.
Trinity starts off with a lovely acoustic intro, and then moves into the full band instrumentation with a heavy guitar tone and pounding drums, the first verse is very different from the rest of the track, very heavy and mean sounding, but then the acoustic guitar comes in and the heavy guitar takes a backseat. Hearing acoustic guitars and Spiros Antoniou’s crushing vocals playing off each other is an interesting combo that truly pays off in the second half of the song, after a flurry of double kick drums and blastbeats, paired with a very cinematic choir, the song opens up into an almost uplifting final passage ushered in by a booming drum hit, as it winds downwards in semitones it closes off in another heavy and fast paced passage ending the album on a supremely high note.
Trinity starts off with a lovely acoustic intro, and then moves into the full band instrumentation with a heavy guitar tone and pounding drums, the first verse is very different from the rest of the track, very heavy and mean sounding, but then the acoustic guitar comes in and the heavy guitar takes a backseat. Hearing acoustic guitars and Spiros Antoniou’s crushing vocals playing off each other is an interesting combo that truly pays off in the second half of the song, after a flurry of double kick drums and blastbeats, paired with a very cinematic choir, the song opens up into an almost uplifting final passage ushered in by a booming drum hit, as it winds downwards in semitones it closes off in another heavy and fast paced passage ending the album on a supremely high note.
Even as a Christian, I have never truly connected with Worship
music. I don’t know why, I’ve always loved music, but Worship has never connected
with me. I find some of it shallow or flashy and always find solace in Hymns
more, or classical music made with God in mind. But this track from the newest
Hillsong album ticked all my bases, very melancholy which I always love, and
very melodic which I really appreciate in Worship music.
Joel Houston has a great voice, and I’ve always thought that and the chorus effect put on the piano creates a different sound than most are used to when they listen to worship music, which normally takes the form of reverb and delay drenched guitars. The simplicity of this song is one that I can appreciate it, because it sounds Humble as all Worship music should sound. Hillsong can achieve a big sound if they want to, and the fact that they decided not to here makes me respect the intention the mundaneness of the track.
Joel Houston has a great voice, and I’ve always thought that and the chorus effect put on the piano creates a different sound than most are used to when they listen to worship music, which normally takes the form of reverb and delay drenched guitars. The simplicity of this song is one that I can appreciate it, because it sounds Humble as all Worship music should sound. Hillsong can achieve a big sound if they want to, and the fact that they decided not to here makes me respect the intention the mundaneness of the track.
Kendrick had a lot to prove after 2015’s perfect To Pimp a Butterfly, which is one of my favourite
albums of all time. DAMN came around
earlier this year with a vastly different sound, while TPAB curated a soulful, funky sound achieved by 70’s and 80’s Funk
and R&B, DAMN focused on a much harder, trappier and overall more
commercial sounding album, for better or worse in many people’s opinions.
After a brief intro, DNA. opens up the album with Kendrick’s hardest song since m.a.a.d City, a song with lyrics simultaneously celebrating and critiquing Black heritage and modern identity. Gone are the days of Kendrick as a peacekeeper, he’s in full instigation mode here, “My DNA not for imitation, Your DNA an abomination” After the 2 minute mark in the song, Kendrick transforms completely, turning up the aggression to 11, backed with a finely diced Rick James sample, Kendrick practically finds a way to both humble and insult his competition in a short 60 second span.
After a brief intro, DNA. opens up the album with Kendrick’s hardest song since m.a.a.d City, a song with lyrics simultaneously celebrating and critiquing Black heritage and modern identity. Gone are the days of Kendrick as a peacekeeper, he’s in full instigation mode here, “My DNA not for imitation, Your DNA an abomination” After the 2 minute mark in the song, Kendrick transforms completely, turning up the aggression to 11, backed with a finely diced Rick James sample, Kendrick practically finds a way to both humble and insult his competition in a short 60 second span.
BAN has always had 2 sides that reflect themselves on different
albums, one side is the more palatable melodic and triumphant sounding Black
Metal, and the other side is a place I rarely venture: The cold, impersonal,
grind of industrial Black Metal, with hammering drums which sound more like
factory machinery than their normal processed metal drums. The whole of Deus Salutis Meae is the second personality,
and it is more uncomfortable than ever.
Chorea Macchabeorum opens up with a slow, marching dirge of dread that might not make sense, until you hear it. The soundtrack to a nightmare, this song keeps the same pace the whole length with different variations on the same off-kilter guitar riff, Vindsval’s tortured and gargled vocals do not help in lightening the atmosphere, and it becomes increasingly claustrophobic and dense, only changing in pace to add even more layers to the drums, along with layered vocals, with some lovely distant wailing to top it all off. It’s just wonderfully macabre.
Chorea Macchabeorum opens up with a slow, marching dirge of dread that might not make sense, until you hear it. The soundtrack to a nightmare, this song keeps the same pace the whole length with different variations on the same off-kilter guitar riff, Vindsval’s tortured and gargled vocals do not help in lightening the atmosphere, and it becomes increasingly claustrophobic and dense, only changing in pace to add even more layers to the drums, along with layered vocals, with some lovely distant wailing to top it all off. It’s just wonderfully macabre.
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