My first recorded Top ___ Songs of (insert year here) list that is still in my possession was written back in 2006 and then, 2007 saw that list expand from 20 to 40. That means that this is officially my tenth end-of-year Top 40 and it's safe to say that my music taste, while not dramatically altered, has expanded so far (some might say too far) that I can guarantee that this year's list might not be as top-heavy as 2007's list but, it has way more depth and overall sounds more eclectic than my Top 40 of 2007 (RIP Amy Winehouse). Thank god for Spotify, as it was the one reliable thing in a year of unreliability, with it's "Discover Weekly" playlists and access to 99% of New Releases (and no, they do not pay me to say that).
Here is a list of songs that were in close consideration for the Top 40 Songs of 2016 that just missed the cut...
Countdown Contenders
Angel Olsen - Sister
Bat For Lashes - Sunday Love
Frances - Don't Worry About Me
Kings Of Leon - Walls
Lady Gaga - Million Reasons
The Lumineers - Angela
Massive Attack ft. Hope Sandoval - The Spoils
We Are Scientists - Buckle
Whitney - No Woman
A surprisingly mellow collection of tunes in comparison to any countdown I have actually created. On that note, on to the actual list I say!
#40. Iggy Pop "Sunday"
One of my proudest moments of 2016 was the night I made my dad an Iggy Pop fan. The man, Pop that is, has been around for 40 years and somehow, my 57-year old father had never really dug into Pop's music and only really knew of his name and the song "Lust For Life". Well, that song and the feature he did on the Teddybears' 2007 track, "Punkrocker" which is still a favorite of both his and mine. I put on Iggy's Austin City Limits episode on while I was home and my dad loved all the things that have made him an icon over the years. His stage presence still kicks ass today at the age of 69 and for the first time in a while, his new music does too thanks to his teaming up with Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme. "Sunday" is a highlight off of Post Pop Depression.
Fun Fact: Post Pop Depression was the #1 album of the year on roughtrade.com
#39. Run The Jewels featuring Gangsta Boo "Love Again"
Technically a 2014 release, "Love Again" was the last music video (rules of my Top 40 imply that only the music video has to be released sometime between mid-December of last year and mid-December of this year) to be unveiled off of the epic, instant classic Run The Jewels 2. The unveiling of that video was something I witnessed live as part of this year's installment of Youtube's Coachella livestreaming. The video was preceded by an interview of Killer Mike and El-P by Francesca Fiorentino and they described the video as a woman (in this case, a venus fly trap) taking back her sexuality and it works perfectly along with Gangsta Boo's part in the song. It's a really fun track with deeper meaning than meets the eye (and not in a J. Cole way) and the beautifully shot, Planet Earth-esque video catapults my opinion of the song into a Top 40 Song of 2016.
Fun Fact: Last year at Coachella, Florence & The Machine premiered the video for "Ship To Wreck" which also made my end of year countdown at #26.
#38. Santigold "Can't Get Enough Of Myself"
In case my level of respect for Santigold wasn't documented well enough up to this point, I gave her latest album, 99 Cents, an A- and I think it's the weakest album in her catalog. "Can't Get Enough Of Myself" is an upbeat song that finds Santi White sarcastically infatuated with herself and the video took that idea to a whole other level. The music video was it's own app that allowed you to take selfies of yourself and they would pop up in the same spots that White's does in the above linked video. It was a super creative idea and helped me warm up to the lead single off of 99 Cents as I was originally unsure of what direction she was taking with her music. As the year went along and artists like Chance The Rapper and M.I.A. went more upbeat and positive with their music than ever before, this song became the first in a wave of fun music released in 2016 for me.
Fun Fact: This is Santigold's first appearance on my end-of-year Top 40 since "The Keepers" was named the #1 song of 2012.
#37. Parquet Courts "Human Performance"
There aren't many things about this band that I am fond of and that is surprising to even me since, I typically agree on most rock bands with the mass public. The lone track of Parquet Courts five albums that I actually enjoy is "Human Performance" and I think it's just because the delivery of the entire song sounds tolerably drunk in comparison to all of their other songs that are all build up with no real climactic moment that grabs the listener's attention. "Dust" is fine but, a perfect example of a Parquet Courts song that just seems to drag with no real memorable moments. "Human Performance" has an obvious chorus that is louder than the rest of the song and that's what I want from this specific band for some reason. The video has the band controlling fugly puppets that engage in debauchery. Yeah... It's a weird one.
Fun Fact: #37 on last year's Top 40? "Restless Year" by Ezra Furman.
#36. PJ Harvey "The Wheel"
"The Wheel" was a song supposedly inspired by PJ Harvey's 2011 trip to Kosovo and many events involving the country's past with immigration and somewhat recent independence but, the song points at something even deeper and darker than a trip taken by the 47-year old artist. The meaning of the song really isn't clear but, hints at 28,000 children disappearing only to be found dead. Yeah, don't expect a fun fact after this one. Now, whether the statistic about 28,000 children involves gun deaths or some unknown genocide that she's referencing, nobody but Harvey knows but, it's an interesting song both musically and lyrically that ultimately tries to promote and paint a portrait of peace at the core of a really dark picture.
Fun Fact: Pitchfork ranks "The Wheel" as their #80 song of the year.
#35. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam "A 1000 Times"
The lead single off of the first ever album from the lead singer of The Walkmen (Leithauser) and a founding member of Vampire Weekend (Rostam Batmanglij) is a song for all ages. "A 1000 Times" is a typical love song that would work as a lead single in pretty much every decade since the fifties with the right lead singer. Leithauser's imperfect vocals make the song much better than the pop ballad that it is at it's core and it's all a job well done by Batmanglij on giving his music a more traditional feel to it. It does not sound much different from the rest of their debut album, I Had A Dream That You Were Mine, and that's perfectly fine because the formula works on a 10-track compilation.
Fun Fact: Rostam Batmanglij has a solo album to be released in 2017.
#34. Alexis Taylor "I'm Ready"
In another perfect example of an artist temporarily going down his own path towards making more traditional pop music. Without recognizing the name, I originally clicked on the video to "I'm Ready" not knowing what to expect and being pleasantly surprised at how well the older gentleman in the video sang. Halfway through, I figured that something was up and maybe the man in the video wasn't the singer and alas, Alexis Taylor is the lead singer of Hot Chip and his third solo project is strictly him singing while playing the piano and nothing else. An idea like that is pretty bold in 2016, the year where everybody tried everything weird and something so simple became incredibly refreshing. Alexis Taylor's voice has always been good but, it took me until his third solo release to realize that it's perfect.
Fun Fact: This is the first Alexis Taylor/Hot Chip song to reach an end-of-year music list for me. Not even "I Feel Better" was able to accomplish said task.
#33. Sampha "Blood On Me"
Sampha is much like Kanye West in that he went from being a producer with a great track record of artists assisted. In Sampha's case, he helped produce and even featured on songs by Jessie Ware, FKA Twigs, Solange and most notably, SBTRKT. I was used to Sampha's electronic vibes but, this beat kicked in harder and funkier than most tracks featuring the English artist. His voice is quite soulful and unlike Kwabs (a fellow English artist with soulful vocals and other non-soulful plans for his music), Sampha's solo stuff might just work to make a wonderfully cohesive album.
Fun Fact: Sampha has yet to release a debut album. His Process record drops February 2nd, 2017.
#32. Beyonce' "Sorry"
For those of you who were pleased with how different my list up to this point was compared to official lists of top music websites, don't worry the list is still my own and totally unique but... c'mon, it's Beyonce and post-4 Beyonce' is a fucking incredible artist with two phenomenal albums. Lemonade is a top-ten album of the year on pretty much every website for a reason and that's because it's a really fun and unique listen that takes influences from every musical corner one could imagine (Ok, so there's no Scandinavian Folk influences but again... c'mon). "Sorry" is the most direct example of Mrs. Knowles-Carter accusing husband Jay-Z of his infidelities including something about his mistress, "Becky with the good hair". It's an expertly directed music video and it even has a cameo from the greatest American athlete of all-time, Serena Williams. With a cosign that big, "Sorry" was ironically unapologetic in it's greatness as there might not have been a more discussed song in all of 2016.
Fun Fact: The video for "Sorry" features a poem by Warsan Shire.
#31. Massive Attack featuring Young Fathers "Voodoo In My Blood"
Rosamund Pike might be one of the five best actresses in the world right now and this video pretty much sold me on this being a fact. As if the song wasn't freaky sounding enough, the video doubles down on the creepiness factor as Pike loses control of her limbs after a floating orb of what one can only assume is dance music stabs her in the eye and it just escalates further and further into "What the fuck am I watching?" territory. It really is tremendous physical acting. The second single off of Massive Attack's 2016 EP Ritual Spirit matches the trip-hop duo perfectly with freaky-in-their-own-way Scottish hip hop outfit Young Fathers and the end result is a match made in an evil underground lair where people are probably working on these mind-control devices.
Fun Fact: Young Fathers had the #11 song of 2015 in "Shame".
#30. Gwen Stefani "Make Me Like You"
Guilty pleasure of the year alert. Everything solo Gwen Stefani has done prior to 2016 was very strange, featuring both a Harajuku Girls phase and a Sound of Music now featuring Pharrell phase. This song in particular felt like the pop song we expected her to release a decade ago when she took her first hiatus with No Doubt. It was also a huge relief after I thought the singer had lost her touch on the tracks "Don't Lie" and "Spark The Fire" now part of a scrapped album that eventually turned into the nice return that was 2016's This Is What The Truth Feels Like. To plenty of people this just sounds like another ordinary pop song and trust me when I say that it is but, it might just be my favorite nonsense bubblegum pop song to come out this year and that is a valid accomplishment.
Fun Fact: The video for "Make Me Like You" was the first ever live music video to be premiered on television at the 58th Grammy Awards.
#29. James Blake featuring Bon Iver "I Need A Forest Fire"
It was only a matter of time before these two indie artists combined and made a Top 40 song together. Both of them dropped new albums this year that were both confusing and great at the same time and this song is the perfect match of Justin Vernon's falsetto and Blake's laid back production. The entire song is about beginning anew, whether that be in a relationship or in some other unspecified manner as forest fires are known in some instances to make the land burnt down healthier as it regenerates. Knowing Bon Iver's fascination with the woods and CREEKS and the outdoors, it's clear that this song was a match made in heaven if heaven were somewhere on the outskirts of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Fun Fact: Rick Rubin gets a production credit on this song.
#28. Declan McKenna "Paracetamol"
17-year old Declan McKenna is the youngest artist on my top 40 this year and his song "Paracetamol" is likely the only song to ever make any list while discussing the misrepresentation of transgender teens in the media written by someone under the age of 20. McKenna was inspired to write the song after hearing of the death of an Ohio teen named Leelah Alcorn. There are plenty of promising young artists among the musical world right now and I see McKenna as the most promising. He may have been seen as another Jake Bugg-like alt-rock artist with his catchy hit "Brazil" (a song about the contradictions of hosting the FIFA World Cup while the area struggles with poverty) but, "Paracetamol" showcases McKenna's brilliant songwriting abilities while also being able to explore other genres as this feels more indie pop than any other genre. I'm looking forward to this kid's first album because there's no telling what route he might go down with his next release.
Fun Fact: McKenna won the Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition in 2015.
#27. Phantogram "You Don't Get Me High Anymore"
Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have been on a hot streak as of late, landing a song in the top 40 in now back-to-back-to-back years. Their time spent together with Big Boi has been wonderful and now, with the quick release of their third (and best) album, Three, they seem to have finally come into their own with the help of some badass friends in Big Boi and Ricky Reed of Wallpaper. fame. "You Don't Get Me High Anymore" is the first single off of the band's third album and sounds like a typical Phantogram song with quicker lyrics (Big Boi really did rub off on them), a poppier build-up and a darker sounding chorus that is textbook Phantogram.
Fun Fact: Three was Phantogram's highest-charting album on Billboard so far, debuting at #9.
#26. James Vincent McMorrow "Rising Water"
Up until this year, I was under the impression that James Vincent McMorrow was an Irish version of Justin Vernon. While Vernon was busy puzzling listeners this year, McMorrow moved entirely away from Folkland and into R&Bville with his terrific record, We Move. The lead single off of the album was the catchiest and keyboardiest (look at me making up words again) song he has ever made and a should have made him a guarantee for other websites' end of year music lists. Alas, McMorrow remains one of the more underrated musicians currently as I have not seen "Rising Water" or We Move break through onto any lists and I'm surprised because, I can't imagine this song being disliked by anyone.
Fun Fact: Nineteen85 of Drake-related fame has a production credit on "Rising Water".
#25. DJ Shadow featuring Run The Jewels "Nobody Speak"
For a duo that has not released an album since 2014, Run The Jewels sure had a successful year in 2016 with one of the strongest showings for an audience at Coachella and two songs that made my top 40. "Nobody Speak" was a welcome surprise at the beginning of the year as not only did it build up even more hype for 2017's Run The Jewels 3 but, it also signaled the return of DJ Shadow after a five-year absence. The song is hilarious at moments and the (kind of) actual footage of this year's presidential debates was the most perfect song-to-video fit of 2016 as the dick measuring that goes on in things like debates are absolutely absurd. The funk influences in the horns and other bass instruments made this one of the cooler sounding tracks of the year.
Fun Fact: "Nobody Speak" is featured in a football-themed Bud Light commercial.
#24. The xx "On Hold"
After four years apart and one breakout Jamie xx record, The entire xx band is back and this time, they awkwardly sway with their quiet guitars on Saturday Night Live! I did not think it was possible for someone to match the charmingly uncomfortable vibes that Courtney Barnett had as her fame swelled to new heights last year but, The xx did it. Even with the more upbeat production influenced by Jamie xx's time away from the band, the monotone singing styles of Romy and Oliver work so well as the oncoming beat drop was completely unexpected when I first heard the song. Even more unexpected was the fact that said drop features a sampling of Hall & Oates and turns "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" into something much dreamier. It's a fun sonic experiment that worked out tremendously well and is the greatest official xx song to date (not including last year's "Loud Places" which did not feature Oliver).
Fun Fact: The xx's third album, I See You, comes out January 13th, 2017.
#23. Leon Bridges "River"
Leon Bridges had one of the most powerful debut albums of the decade with 2015's Coming Home and the best song off of the sourthern soul artist's first record is "River". The video for "River" was not released until February 2016 and therefor, is eligible for this list and thank god it is because it is one of the more powerfully simple songs I've heard in a while. The song has real gospel influences and that is explored in the video along with the tension in Baltimore in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray.
Fun Fact: The title-track off of Coming Home made my Top 40 of 2015 at #34.
#22. Gallant featuring Jhene Aiko "Skipping Stones"
I have been waiting for Jhene Aiko to reach her full potential and make a perfect R&B/pop song for a couple of years now and when Gallant had her sing the guest verses on this song, she finally made it (even if it wasn't all by herself). Every year there is a sexy R&B/pop duo featuring two awesome singers and it rarely gets executed perfectly (see: "My Boo" or "Primetime") but, combining the talent and charisma of soon-to-be-superstar Gallant and the promising clean vocals of Aiko made "Skipping Stones" a nearly perfect song. The video is just as entertaining as the back-and-forth singing as it is quite similar to Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" (another personal favorite) but, far less expected given the lyrical matter of the song itself.
Fun Fact: #22 on 2015's list? "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" by Jamie xx featuring Young Thug and Popcaan.
#21. David Bowie "Lazarus"
The very first album of the 300-ish albums that I listened to this year was Blackstar and at the time, I thought that it was a super dope album and a fantastic return to relevancy for an artist that nobody has paid much attention to for a couple of decades as a musician (he was more recognized recently for smaller acting parts). Two days after listening to the album, Bowie died at 69 of cancer and it was stunning to everybody as he kept his battle completely out of the public eye. It immediately became clear that Bowie was not going to let his death be the thing that brought him back as a relevant figure in music and Blackstar was a perfect way of doing that with the 10-minute epic title-track that was eerily similar to his Ziggy Stardust phase and songs like "Lazarus" and "I Can't Give Everything Away" that hinted at his eventual departure from this earth. After his death, it seemed obvious now that "oh man, he looks a lot different from the last time I remember seeing him." and it was clear that this was his last video ever to be filmed. The song is immediately chilling and according to Bowie himself, takes some influences from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly with the smattering of horns involved and as always, there's that line about "I was looking for your ass" that makes a though bubble with a lone question mark appear above the listener's head every time but, it's shrugged off immediately because that's a classic Bowie move. Blackstar really should have been nominated for Album of the fucking year (glares at the Grammy's).
#20. Radiohead "Daydreaming"
The return of Radiohead was a welcome addition to the year and their teaming up with director P.T. Anderson was a surprising revelation that makes a ton of sense as the two share similar fanbases and artistic interests. The entire song is a classical mix of pianos and strings and when you mix all of that beauty with the haunting vocals of Thom Yorke, you get the #20 song of the year out of the second single from A Moon Shaped Pool.
Fun Fact: Radiohead also had the #20 song of 2011 with "Lotus Flower"
#19. Tegan and Sara "U-Turn"
Tegan and Sara did not need to collaborate with producer Greg Kurstin in order to be a delight to listen to but, the two acts have combined forces to travel back into the 1980's and bring back the fun that is less and less present in today's pop music. "U-Turn" is the highlight of the band's eighth album, Love You To Death, and as mentioned earlier, it's a super fun listen which is why I think so highly of this song in particular. The build-up to the chorus makes one think that the song is going in a sadder direction but then, much like the song's title, it takes a U-Turn and it's just as fun as the rest of the duo's work in the 2010's.
Fun Fact: NME ranked Love You To Death as their #18 album of 2016.
#18. Santigold "Banshee"
Another song that is pure fun, Santigold's "Banshee" is probably the second most dance-able song on my list this year (the most will be obvious further down). Of all the genres that Santigold has experimented with over the last decade, I never expected her to go full-on poptimistic over an entire album but, that is what she tried on 99 Cents and songs like "Banshee" prove why it worked for the most part.
Fun Fact: The Cinemax show Banshee (which has nothing to do with this song) held it's fourth and final season in 2016.
#17. Usher "Crash"
In another edition of "Billboard doesn't make sense anymore", this song never made the Top 100 and I do not get that at all. Outside of having a much quieter instrumental track backing Usher's silky vocals, everything about this song screams top 20 song of the year. Usher is still one of the 100 most recognizable names in music thanks to his recent stints on The Voice and mega-producer David Guetta's songs but somehow, this track (his best since 2012's "Climax") went nowhere because nothing made sense this year, simultaneously making everything make sense. "Crash" is a perfect night driving song and the most valuable track on the 38-year old's eighth album, Hard II Love.
Fun Fact: #17 on 2015's Top 40? "Doing The Right Thing" by Daughter.
#16. Chance The Rapper featuring Saba "Angels"
Nobody is having more fun making music right now than Chance The Rapper. The Chicago-born rapper is dipping his feet in multiple genres, has his own Kit Kat commercial, is smiling everytime you see him and somehow got Young Thug and Lil' Wayne to appear in the "No Problem" music video. Among all the hints of gospel on his third mixtape, Coloring Book, there is an actual song about "Angels" all around Chicago as a result of the well-known gun violence that goes on in Chance's home city. The song is way more upbeat than it has any right to be but, that's just Chance being his usual charismatic self and the video cooperates with those qualities.
Fun Fact: Coloring Book received three Grammy Nominations, Chance The Rapper received seven nominations total.
#15. Radiohead "Burn The Witch"
I'm not sure what was accomplished by Radiohead deleting their entire social media presence back in the Spring but, fans caught on quickly and realized that this strange behavior meant that a new album from the 30-year old band was imminent. Alas, the internet was correct as a strange teaser of an animated blue bird whistling was a sneak peek at the video released less than a day later in "Burn The Witch". The song was a strong hint at what was to come on Radiohead's ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, with loud orchestral arrangements taking place alongside the usual synthesizers that have become prevalent in the band's work since 1997's OK Computer. The song has been in the works since 2000's masterpiece Kid A and while the meaning of the song and video aren't 100% known, there are theories about how the song is about thinking for one's self and not just following what the rest of a common group believes. It's hard to decipher and harder to explain and that's why it's a fascinating artistic creation from a band that's been doing this for longer than anybody not named Bowie on this countdown.
Fun Fact: "Burn The Witch" is nominated for Best Rock Song at the upcoming Grammy Awards.
#14. CHVRCHES "Clearest Blue"
Another carry-over from 2015, the video for "Clearest Blue" came out early this year and still holds up as the strongest song off of Chvrches' second album, Every Open Eye. The unique pitch in Lauren Mayberry's vocals have worked for me on every song they've released and this isn't a song that necessarily showcases her vocals. In my opinion, this song works so well because it's the strongest production done by Mayberry and her bandmates (Iain Cook and Martin Doherty) yet. The song just builds up for two minutes, sounding vaguely reminiscent to the theme song for ER until the beat kicks in and every crowd at every Chvrches' concert loses their minds.
Fun Fact: Chvrches only spells their name that way to avoid being a difficult internet search term as there are way more churches than there are chvrches.
#13. D.R.A.M. featuring Lil' Yachty "Broccoli"
"AIN'T NO TELLIN' WHAT I'M FINNA BE OOOON, I'M BEYOOOOND ALL THAT FUCKSHIT" is the new "YOU... YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEYEEED" from Biz Markie's "Just A Friend". This song would not have been ranked as highly if it didn't grow in fame and plays over time because this song is a grower. When I first heard it, I thought "This is fun and quirky but, it's never touching my top 40". That was fuck shit. This song is great in that it is the song most certain to get your friends singing along in any setting that allows said shenanigans. Lil' Yachty was a breakthrough artist just as much as D.R.A.M. (one year after "Cha Cha" should have made the Billboard charts) was this year and the future of hip hop looks a lot more fun with these two somewhere in the mix.
Fun Fact: The Grammy's have nominated "Broccoli" for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
#12. The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk "Starboy"
This is the title track from The Weeknd's second album in the mainstream and it doesn't sound like watered-down Abel Tesfaye, it just sounds like another darker pop hit in a catalogue of dark pop songs with some hip-hop influences. Starboy, seemed sort of rushed when it was announced to be released 14 months after Beauty Behind The Madness but, it was surprisingly just as good if only a bit long. What wasn't too long was the involvement with Daft Punk, who are only featured on two songs on the album and both songs are right up there as the best things The Weeknd has done to date. Neon glow-in-the-dark colors highlight the video and album cover and it all works well because this sounds like walk-up music for the most egotistical player on every sports team along with being perfect catwalk music.
Fun Fact: "Starboy" spent eight weeks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever breaking through to #1 (yet).
#11. Glass Animals "Life Itself"
I was not a huge fan of Glass Animals' debut album, Zaba, and I debated whether or not to listen to this year's How To Be A Human Being and then I remembered this song. Now, I had only heard "Life Itself" maybe once or twice before this internal debate but, I knew that I was fond of the track so, I started the album and when this led off the album, I was thrilled. "Life Itself" is a song from 2016 with real staying power that will likely be the highlight of this band's career (not a bad thing as I did enjoy the album as a whole, this is just their best song) no matter what they do in the same way that "Kids" will always be a highlight of every MGMT show or "Paper Planes" being the M.I.A. song that every concert-goer awaits. The mixture of so many instruments and a catchy-as-hell chorus made this song worth the listen every single time.
Fun Fact: The band performed this song on the November 1st episode of Later... With Jools Holland that also featured Sleigh Bells, Jose Feliciano and Chase & Status.
#10. Bruno Mars "24K Magic"
Bruno Mars is not just that sappy pop singer that stood in front of trains for his ladies anymore. "24K Magic" is the title track from Mars's third album and it's basically "Uptown Funk (Pt. 2)" and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It sounds just different enough from his 2014 Mark Ronson-produced hit to not seem like a sellout move and contrary to the memories you might have of "Uptown Funk", it sounded fantastic the first time everybody heard it. It was the next 1,000,000 times the song was played that left a sour note in some's ears (It happens to every great song with mainstream success). The song promotes the braggadocios lifestyle of a singer that was previously seen as too nice to truly be a celebrity (outside of one cocaine bust that nobody ever talks about). This song calls back on the eighties and on Mars's production friends, The Smeezingtons, and is the most danceable track on this list.
Fun Fact: Bruno Mars was a guest performer at the 50th Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Coldplay.
#9. Kanye West featuring Sia and Vic Mensa "Wolves"
The Life of Pablo was the strangest experiment in album releases in a while and the fact that it took until this March for us to get a CDQ version of "Wolves" was kind of infuriating for many. The song was first debuted at a fashion show in February of 2015 and was later performed at the 40th anniversary Saturday Night Live show, with all of the above artists crawling around a white stage. The hype for this track was real and then it just disappeared for a while until the first version of The Life of Pablo dropped and the song was a tad underwhelming to what was expected (should have been a top-3 song of the year but then, somebody opened Kanye's fridge and took a sandwich. Overall, the production is still haunting and perfect and the Sia/Mensa features work to perfection plus, the video is visually striking even if it is just one long Balmain/Kanye ad.
Fun Fact: The high-pitched "woo"-ing in "Wolves" was done by acappella singer Caroline Shaw.
#8. Grimes "Kill v. Maim"
Another carry-over from 2015, "Kill v. Maim" was a part of Grimes' great 2015 album, Art Angels, and highlights all of the quirks about Grimes (born Clarie Boucher) that the world has grown to love. The bridge to the chorus features very cutesy vocals ending in one high-pitched metal scream that transitions into a fast-paced chorus where very few words are translatable to the human ear. The video is classic Grimes as well with blood everywhere, exotic costumes and nothing making a lick of sense. Grimes is wonderfully bizarre and totally unique from anything else around right now and that should be cherished in a world where unique musicians are dying away.
Fun Fact: The first single off of Art Angels, "Flesh Without Blood", was the #9 song of 2015.
#7. Michael Kiwanuka "Love & Hate"
"Badum Badum Bunba badumba badum badum" when read seems it should be a part of the catchiest indie pop song of 2016 but in reality, it's a soulful folk tune that turns into an epic 7-minute journey in the studio with the British folk singer, Michael Kiwanuka. The badums carry throughout all 420+ seconds of the song and behind the strong vocal performance from Kiwanuka plus the production assistance of Danger Mouse, the song is the highlight (and title-track) from his second album. I was not crazy about his debut project, which got plenty of love everywhere but, Kiwanuka is turning into a reliable source of good music.
Fun Fact: Love & Hate is Mojo Magazine's #2 album of 2016.
#6. Car Seat Headrest "Vincent" (NOTE: The music video cuts the original 7-minute song down to 4:25, you have been warned)
Will Toledo describes his own music video as "Will plays guitar while a guy has a bad time". I wish more musicians did things like this, explaining music videos just makes life easier for somebody like me who watches 1,000 music videos every year. Granted, it's not some grand artistic statement but, at least he's honest. The build-up of just guitar playing gets the blood pumping and eventually kicks in to a full on rock song that kicks every bit of ass while Toledo tells a story that is drenched in anxiety and self-doubt. A track that is reliable by a do-it-yourself (even though this is technically a band) artist is something everybody claims to love and that's why I recommend anybody that has not listened to this song stop reading this list and listen to it right now.
Fun Fact: Rolling Stone named Teens of Denial their #4 album of 2016.
#5. Beyonce' "Formation"
Only Beyonce' can turn the entire event that is the Super Bowl into a topic of discussion that is solely focused on herself the next day without doing a damn thing. Black panther outfits? Yeah sure, have fun discussing that one with your elders. Multiple explicit lyrics including racially-charged expletives aired on the most-watched event of the American television year? You'd think we be past caring about words when they are being spoken in positive terms through a song but no, people were not ready for this song for whatever reason. I could go on-and-on about what a groundbreaking statement and anthem this song was but, it's on literally every top music of 2016 list and if you are a fan of those lists, you probably clicked this one and get the gist of why this song was so important in this year in particular by now.
Fun Fact: "Formation" is nominated for 3 Grammy Awards including Music Video of the Year.
#4. Beyonce' "Hold Up"
I promise this is the final of the 3 Beyonce' songs to make the list. Lemonade was an event that completely took over Twitter the night of April 23rd (two nights after Prince died) and felt like a release for so many from being reminded of the fragility of life. Instead of endless gossip about the nature of an icon's death, everybody was transfixed by what the nature of Jay Z and Beyonce's relationship was at this point in time and whether or not her claims of his infidelity were true or not. The fact that she turned one of the sourest of lemons in life (your significant other, who helped you make a baby cheating on you) into an entire movie with some of the most stunningly beautiful imagery placed in a music video ever is just remarkable. "Hold Up" is a Major Lazer-produced song that should have been a much bigger hit than it was as it had a fun video of Beyonce' smashing a whole bunch of shit with a baseball bat and it was the biggest name in music working with the biggest producer in music on a song that was not too reliant on production.
Fun Fact: The chorus was inspired by a tweet from Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, that was inspired by the chorus of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 2003 alt-rock classic "Maps"
#3. Alabama Shakes "Gimme All Your Love"
Some terrific bands/artists are not that into making music videos and Alabama Shakes are one of those bands. The song "Gimme All Your Love" is a carry-over from 2015 that features one of the strongest rock performances by a lead vocalist this decade. The way Brittany Howard puts all of her fierce energy into getting as loud as possible into the line "Give me all your loooooove" stops the listener in their tracks and then "GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT BABY" is just growled out from real emotions that you could tell Howard was having when she wrote this song. It's a fairly slow rock song and then crescendos into a guitar-heavy mess of awesome over the last minute and a half. The video was hand-picked by the band as part of a film-making contest and stars an elderly couple going out on a date, something not typically explored in a music video because nothing sells better than the idea of youth and it's just a sweet video to go along with a crushing song.
Fun Fact: Sound & Color (the album that "Gimme All Your Love" is on) was my #21 album of 2015.
#2. Angel Olsen "Shut Up Kiss Me"
Before Angel Olsen's 2016 album, My Woman, there was 2014's Burn Your Fire For No Witness, an album that was heavily hyped up that was wayyyyyy too lo-fi and dull for my tastes and I just plain did not like it (sorry Angel). "Shut Up Kiss Me" took me all the way by surprise because it is a super fun, ass-kicking rock song with a video that was clearly fun to shoot. The song is reminiscent of something Chrissie Hynde would have recorded thirty years ago and it wouldn't have been as good because the production would be muffled and it would rely too heavily on the drums instead of the guitar that highlights much of Olsen's work recently. The u-turn she took musically was a brilliant move by Olsen as it is her most accessible work to date and gives promise that she will have a decades-long career in many genres potentially.
Fun Fact: Angel Olsen directed her own video for this song.
#1 songs of year's past
2006. P!nk "Stupid Girlz"
2007. Amy Winehouse "Rehab"
2008. Kanye West ft. Dwele & Connie Mitchell "Flashing Lights"
2009. Santigold "L.E.S. Artistes"
2010. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Skeletons"
2011. Adele "Someone Like You"
2012. Santigold "The Keepers"
2013. Arcade Fire "Afterlife"
2014. St. Vincent "Birth In Reverse"
2015. Courtney Barnett "Depreston"
The #1 song of 2016
Dirty Projectors "Keep Your Name"
Bet you didn't see this one coming (I certainly didn't see it coming four months ago). Dirty Projectors work up to this point is irrelevant to this song because this is unlike anything they have released up to now. Sure, they are constantly shifting from one experimental genre to another but, the band lost a founding member (Amber Coffman) to a solo career and that is going to dramatically alter the band's work from here on out. The first track off of a still to-be-announced album is glitchy and strange and tugs on the heart in an unexpected manner (must have been a tumultuous breakup with Coffman) and all of those qualities made it the most 2016 song of 2016 (this reads pretty obnoxious but, it's true). Bon Iver got super weird and secretive, no albums were announced until the last possible moment, Frank Ocean went glitchy and slow when he really should not have, rap was happy and pop and indie genres were mostly sad. It was one weird fucking year and this is a weird, unlistenable to some, song that I will always think of when I think of all that happened in 2016. Many things have changed but, you'll keep your name.
Thank you for reading. The Top 20 Albums of the Year will be posted before 2017.
Spotify Playlist of my Top 40 Songs of 2016. (Minus Beyonce)
Youtube Playlist of all of my Top 40 Songs of 2016.
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