For Pete’s Sake — my 10 favorite songs of 2017
Full Playlist here
“The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” by The National
Why I love this track: It is refreshing to see The National release something different from their typical slow burning and brooding tracks. This song livens things up a bit with horn flourishes and an uplifting chorus. It was also included in Obama’s top tracks of 2017 which has me pondering lyrics like “I can’t explain it… any other, any other way..”
“Rescue Blues” by Craig Finn
Why I love this track: It is a modern love song about looking for simple companionship and stumbling into much more. Craig sets the story over a standard blues riff that opens up in the chorus, just as he begins to.
“Creature Comfort” by Arcade Fire
Why I love this track: Arcade Fire march into the apocalypse with a pulsating beat, swaying melody and biting lyrics that tell the story of mankind’s impending destruction. Insecurity, vanity, hopeless indecision and the mis-directed “cure” of creature comforts hasten the downfall.
“Paper Crown” by Liam Gallagher
This album came as a pleasant surprise a few weeks before our visit to London. I listened to it on repeat as we cruised around town on the top level of the city’s double decker buses. When Liam hums “Cuz you’ve never been alone before..” he taps into something universal that only an elder statesmen of rock n’ roll can.
“Cold Nights” by QTY
A perfect rock ditty for a winter’s day. For fans of the New York 2000s sound. My favorite new band of 2017.
“Thinking of a Place” by War on Drugs
This was my go-to song for our long train rides through the European countryside in the summer. The lyrics are timeless and atmospheric.
“It was back in Little Bend that I saw you
Light was changing on the water
Where birds above had flown
There was pain in your eyes
So you vanished in the night”
The song drifts along for 11 minutes, not wanting to end, like a warm, moonlit summer evening.
“What I Want” by Cende
This is a catchy break-up track with a back and forth male/female vocal and a descending Beach Boys-esque melody. As is the case when men and women go back and forth, the girl gets the last word when she sings (plainly) —
“I’m invisible
As if you care at all
I can’t help to find you misleading
You say be here with me now
As if I would know how”
And they both leave the song resigned and wondering if things could’ve gone differently.
“Hot Thoughts” by Spoon
Who predicated these middle-aged rockers from Texas would release one of the best dance tracks of the year? As is the case with The National, it is fun to sit on the sidelines and watch Spoon experiment with new sounds so far along in their career.
“american dream” by LCD Soundsystem
There is no redemption in this moody, stumbling track as James Murphy is lost in the woods and may never find his way back. It feels familiar, like the state of the U.S. in the hands of a man who does not represent, nor understand, American values. “american dream” is the soundtrack to a lost year where the country took five steps backwards in the eyes of the world. The song drones on with echoes of “Disintegration” by The Cure and even a California shoo-woop to celebrate us all going down in this ship together.
“I Got Cut” by Superchunk
The best Punk Rock song of the year.
Bonus Track: “Gotta Get a Grip — Kevin Parker remix” by Mick Jagger
This single by Mick gets a groovy beat in the hands of Kevin Parker (from Tame Impala). The angular guitar riff and Mick’s vocal stay front and center as he defines and defies a post-Brexit world.