‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2017: The Top Ten!!!!
I’ve received a warning from the Punctuation Police about excessive use of exclamation points. This, however, is as far as it goes as we’ve reached the Top Ten. And a distinguished Top Ten it is. But first, let’s recap the rest of the countdown. Check ’em out. Oh, and share ’em with your friends. Lotsa great songs:
Annnnd, off we go:
10.
9.
8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUuHf8808lc
7.
6.
5.
4.
3. The Anthem That We Need. No human is illegal:
2. Phoebe Bridgers:
1. Some songs just hit you where you live. More than any other this year, this one did that for me. And it will stay with me for the rest of my life:
Hi, El Somnambulo,
Thanks for re-introducing me to Jason Isbell. I had forgotten how good his music is. Also for having Hurray for the Riff Raff in your top ten. Alynda Segarra is one of the great voices of the last five years. Check her out sitting in with Tuba Skinny in 2010 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoVPp08R6_s
But, no Secret Sisters’ “He’s Fine” in the top 50? Maybe at 51?
Happy New Year, and thanks for the music!
It’s funny about Alynda and Jason. Just a couple of years back, Hurray For the Riff Raff’s ‘The Body Electric’ was my fave song of the year, with Jason’s ‘Relatively Easy’ right behind it at #2.
More or less reversed this year, with that incredibly-haunting ‘Smoke Signals’ right in between them. Some artists are keepers.
Thanks for doing these lists. They’ve encouraged me to add my 2 cents. It might even be worth less than that
So naturally I’ll start off with a disagreement. Too many mopey young women in the Top 10 for my taste. The exception is the Weather Station, who actually turn out to be pretty energetic. Lead singer Chris Lindeman is a treat. I’ve been slow to catch up with them. Thanks for leading me there.
20 percent of your Top 10 is rap. Again, not to my taste (I know, I know). I realize Kendrick Lamar is very good at what he does. I’m just not that crazy about what he does. Extra credit, though, for using the great Don Cheadle in the video.
Jason Isbell is a good choice for No. 1. But I don’t get King Krule, or maybe I just don’t like it. And the Phoebe Bridgers and Sampha songs put me to sleep.
Nice to see you left out critics’ darling St. Vincent — not bad but overrated. And thanks for passing over the young female pop singers we’re supposed to like these days. If I had to pick one, though, it would be Lorde.
Sticking just with your Top 30, I like a lot of what you have there — including Allison Krauss, Deep Dark Woods (I share your appreciation for Americana, or whatever we’re calling it now), Father John Misty, Slowdive, The Districts and Pokey LaFarge. You also turned me on to some artists I didn’t know about. The Don Bryant song is amazing. And where did that Palm song come from?
You’ve inspired me to do my own Top 10 list, or at least albums I liked enough to buy. (Albums not songs because they’re easier for me to keep track of; artists not titles because I didn’t want to look up the ones I can’t remember).The list reflects my personal taste, of course..
Alvvays
Chicano Batman
James Xerxes Fussell
Allison Krauss
Chris Hillman
Chris Robinson
Slowdive
Thundercat
War on Drugs
Paul Weller
Again, thanks for these lists. And it’s good to see them on this blog.
Thanks for the feedback. These are my favorite songs, and, of course, it’s impossible to determine a ‘best’ since everybody’s taste is different. Disagree about the ‘mopey’ women, though. I think the Aimee Mann song is one of the most perfect of her career, and that Phoebe Bridgers song gives me chills. I seriously considered it for #1.
But, as you pointed out, it’s all personal taste. BTW, I actually considered a James Xerxes Fussell song for the list, and both War On Drugs and Thundercat have been on previous lists. BTWBTW, we were working on booking Chris Hillman for the Arden Gild Hall, but his house burned down in the recent Cali fires, so that’s on hold for now.
BTW, Nathan, send me a note on the tip line if you’d like to maybe helm the ‘Song Of The Day’ for a week.
Mike Dinsmore’s gonna do a week at some point soon, and I’d love for you and other music-obsessives to join him. Trust me, we’ll make it easy for you…