Thank you for everyone who visited this little blog during 2017 and thank you for all the amazing artists for creating the music that carried me through this year of horrible politics and a couple hundred hours of overtime work at the factory. The far bigger issue, politics both in Finland and USA is still an absolute shit show, but thankfully the lesser issue, my personal workload got back to acceptable levels during the last months of the year. Therefore there’s hope that this blog might survive 2018 as long as the world can too. The thought of finding a new job is still lurking in the back of my mind though, because it still feels like it went over some limit during the summer and I’m struggling to put it completely behind me. Even though it’s quite alright at the moment, I sort of lost the belief that I can be fully happy by staying there.
I was on the verge of quitting the blog several times during the year and in the darkest hour did post that great I Just Can’t Fucking Do It Anymore song by Christian Lee Hutson and stopped posting for a while. That would have been a good dramatic way to quit, but unfortunately I’ve been doing this for sixteen years and find it extremely difficult to let it go. Somehow this has become too dear and it has a hold on me. The only thing that makes any kind of sense is to quit, because I just don’t have the time or energy to do it properly and it’s not like this has any kind of significance the way I do it these days. For a long time I’ve mostly let things slide, because I can’t let them completely go. Therefore there’s a constant cloud of guilt hanging over me, because there’s always that amazing song that I haven’t posted and that kind email I haven’t answered. As for 2018, half of me wants to quit completely and the other half wants to fully commit to this and do this as well as I possibly can and see how that goes. I think I’ll start with what the other half is saying, but it’s probably only a matter of days or weeks before the reality kicks in and I will let it slide again even though it has never done me any good. But until reality bites, let’s spread some love for songs.
There’s one more end of the year list coming up within a week or so before it’s time to fully move on to 2018. It’s the Finnish songs of the year. The last entry to that list will be my current favourite song Kasevaa by Lokit (unless I go with Blades of Steel, love them both). It’s an outtake from their new seven inch single/ep. You can get it at least from Teen Wolf Records. Don’t buy them all, because I haven’t placed my order yet but plan to do so. A brilliant band and I love most of their songs that I’ve heard. At least Työttömyys, Tosi hyvä tyyppi, Blades of Steel and Kasevaa are all utterly wonderful. I can’t wait to hear their debut full-length that is hopefully out sometime in 2018. To have the possibility to feature the forthcoming Lokit album in a full excessive praising mode is a one damn good reason to continue another year. Here’s the excellent (but somewhat disturbing) music video for the new Lokit song Kasevaa.
One more ridiculously long year-end list before Christmas. I don’t think I have the time to do Finnish songs before early January. Sorry about that if someone was actually waiting for it. This one really got out of hand and I don’t expect anyone to actually listen to that six hours long Spotify playlist all way through. Just wanted to spread the love a bit wider this year, because there’s so much great music available that’s worth our time and money. Heck, I could easily pick another 100 songs from 100 different artist and there would not be a significant drop in quality. And I’m just one dude with a very limited knowledge about music.
The order is pretty insignificant, so don’t pay too much attention to the numbers. Music is life, not a contest. I did spend a little time choosing the top 20 or so, but after that just went through my vinyl collection, iTunes folder and the blog and wrote them pretty much in order they caught my eye. So it’s partly due to luck if something is 37 or 87. It’s just 100 songs from 100 different artists that matter to me and that are dear to me. I’m sure I forgot something important. Sorry in advance. There’s a Spotify link in the bottom, if you want an easy way to listen to all the songs. A few weren’t available. At least here in Finland. I embedded those from Bandcamp or Youtube as well as the top 10. Anyway, here it goes.
Top 100 Songs of the Year 2017 – The International Edition
100. Gifts or Creatures – Two Hearts (Two Peninsulas)
99. Mark Eitzel – Just Because
98. Allen Thompson Band – River City Blues
97. Last Leaves – The Nights You Drove Me Home
96. The Luxembourg Signal – Blue Field
95. The Sweetback Sisters – I Got Lucky With You
94. Gold Star – Blue Sky To Blue Sky
93. Jeremy Squires – Water Signs
92. John Statz – Bad Man
91. Digger Barnes – Travelin’ Man
90. Aimee Mann – Lies of Summer
89. Porter & The Bluebonnet Rattlesnakes – Your Hometown
88. Ryan Koenig – Am I Still In Your Heart (Or Am I Just in Your Way)
87. El Goodo – It Makes Me Wonder
86. Grant Earl Lavalley – The In-Betweens
85. Mo Troper – Dictator Out Of Work
84. Jonas Lundvall – Borders
83. Alvvays – Dreams Tonite
82. Drew Beskin – Hold Me Down
81. Henry Black – Looked Like Eve
80. Simon Joyner – Atlanta Bypass
79. MAITA – Waterbearer
78. The Wild Reeds – Capable
77. Paper Beat Scissors – Didn’t Know
76. Turnpike Troubadours – Pay No Rent
75. John Andrews & The Yawns – Drivers
74. Haley Heynderickx – Oom Sha La La
73. Michael Rault – Sleep With Me
72. Cale Tyson – Traveling Man
71. Enderby’s Room – Lakeside
70. Dawson Rutledge – Yours, Truly
69. Michael Nau – I Root
68. Ags Connolly – Do You Realise That Now?
67. Strand of Oaks – Radio Kids
66. Hinindar – Dime in the Dirt
65. Little Bandit – Pitiful Heart
64. Scott H. Biram – Righteous Ways
63. Nicole Atkins – Goodnight Rhonda Lee
62. Otis Gibbs – Sputnik Monroe
61. Fiver – Pile Your Silver
60. Caroline Spence – Southern Accident
59. Matt Paxton – Hunter Street Station Blues
58. Hurray For The Riff Raff – Pa’lante
57. Bedouine – One Of These Days
56. Caleb Caudle – Empty Arms
55. LUKA – Near Collision
54. Lincoln Barr – Desperate Tormentors
53. Margo Price – All American Made
52. Andrew Combs – Dirty Rain
51. Kashena Sampson – Wild Heart
50. Anna Burch – 2 Cool 2 Care
49. Ryan Oxford – Fa Fa Fa Fired
48. Matthew Ryan – (I Just Died) Like an Aviator
47. Danny & The Champions Of The World – Gotta Get Things Right In My Life
46. The Deep Dark Woods – Fallen Leaves
45. Zephaniah OHora with the 18 Wheelers – Way Down in My Soul
44. Chris Bathgate – Dizzy Seas
43. Sera Cahoone – Ladybug
42. The Country Side of Harmonica Sam – Cry Me A River
41. Julie Arsenault – Chain
40. Jon McKiel – Unknown Source
39. Dori Freeman – If I Could Make You My Own
38. Wharfer – Blue Lewis
37. Taylor Knox – Running Into Love
36. William Matheny – Blood Moon Singer
35. Justin Townes Earle – Kids in The Street
34. Lilly Hiatt – Records
33. Clay Parker – Queen City Blues
32. Kacy & Clayton – Just Like A Summer Cloud
31. Colter Wall – Codeine Dream
30. Taylor Kingman – My Lover’s Bed
29. Jeffrey Martin – October Dark
28. H.C. McEntire – A Lamb, A Dove
27. John Thumb – Nowhere Bound
26. Daniel Romano – When I Learned Your Name
25. Hand Habits – Book On How To Change
24. Joseph Huber – Diminished Things
23. Hiss Golden Messenger – Gulfport You’ve Been On My Mind
22. Ryan Driver – It Must Be Dark Tonight
21. Andrew Bryant – Robert Downey Jr’s Scars
20. The Burning Hell – The River (Never Freezes Anymore)
19. Tyler Childers – Whitehouse Road
18. Phoebe Bridgers – Smoke Signals
17. J.E. Sunde – Capsize and Sink
16. Frontier Ruckus – Gauche
15. BMX Bandits – Love Me Til My Heart Stops
14. Vikesh Kapoor – Down By The River
13. Erin Rae – Wild Blue Wind
12. Craig Finn – God In Chicago
11. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – If We Were Vampires
10. Jon Latham – Yearbook Signatures
I first had a different Jon Latham song here, because I’ve known this one since the Ourvinyl video back in 2016. So in that sense it’s a bit of old news, but damn if the news aren’t fantastic. I was doing the Christmas shopping in the city the other day and had the headphones on and when this came along it absolutely floored me and I had to stop everything for the duration of the song. Then I decided that Yearbook Signatures has to be the one from the excellent Jon Latham album Lifers.
9. Anna Tivel – Alleyway
Anna Tivel’s latest album Small Believer is full of magnificent songwriting and therefore it was hard to choose just one for this list. I think Dark Chandelier, Illinois and Saturday Night would be just as good picks. The characters of her songs don’t usually have luck on their side, but Anna tells their stories with heart and warmth.
8. Hip Hatchet – Burden of an Empath
Hip Hatchet’s protest EP Hellhound in the House probably went a little under the radar, but I think it’s great and important. This song in particular is incredible. It breaks my heart each time, but also reminds how important it is to stand up for what is right and spread love as much as you can.
7. Leah Senior – Pretty Faces
Australian folk songwriter Leah Senior was quite a big favourite this year. The album Pretty Faces was on my top 10 and All My Friends is my favourite music video of the year. This amazingly beautiful title track started it all and I’ve listened to it more times than I can count.
6. Twain – Dear Mexico (Song For Joyce)
There are a few far more soul wrenching and moving songs on the album, but somehow this one is still the dearest song on the wonderful new Twain album Rare Feeling. The last two verses are just pure gold. “There’s a hole inside my heart shaped just like the day we spent in portal park”. Irresistible.
5. Quivers – Pigeons
The pop song of the year comes from Tasmania. Well I think nowadays Quivers live in Melbourne. Anyway, I’m completely addicted to this song (and the music video). This is supposed to be a pop blog and I was a pop kid when I started this sixteen years ago. Now I’m an old dude who mostly listens sad country music, but thankfully every now and again something comes along that removes the wear and tear of those 16 years from my heart and I feel like that pop kid once again. A wonderful song and that “All my best friends are a little broken / all the best people are” line is just perfect and so true. The album comes out in early 2018 and I can’t wait.
4. Joan Shelley – Where I’ll Find You
Joan Shelley and Dwight Lightning ruled my 2017. This song Where I’ll Find You started it all and while there are several equally amazing songs on the album this one remains the dearest to me.
3. John Moreland – Latchkey Kid
John Moreland is one of the best songwriters at the moment. If it was just the songwriting, I think Big Bad Luv would have been #2 behind The Weather Station on the album list, but my own minor arrangement nitpicking dropped it a couple of places. That’s nonsense though. It’s one hell of a record full of incredible songwriting. This is another where it’s so hard to pick one favourite. At least No Glory in Regret, Old Wounds, Lies I Chose To Believe are equally perfect, but I’ll go with Latchkey Kid this time around.
2. Charlie Whitten – Balance
Charlie Whitten’s Playwright was the EP of the year and I love all four songs on it. I’ll go with the opener Balance on this little list. It’s such a beautiful song about falling in love. I really should finally buy the vinyl while he still has copies. I feel awful for only having the promo download and that I haven’t paid anything for a release that matter so much to me. The overseas shipping is just so expensive these days and it’s been difficult to justify paying $30 dollars for 4 songs no matter how dear they are. These songs are worth it though so maybe it’s time to do the right thing.
1. The Weather Station – Thirty
The song of the year 2017 is Thirty by The Weather Station. The self-titled The Weather Station is by far my favourite release of the year. I’m madly in love with it and the biggest struggle I had with this list was to choose just one song from it to this list. There’s at least five equally good choices and if I didn’t have this one song per artist policy, every song of the record would be on this list. Thirty is the most logical choice, because the song and the video started my addiction towards her new album and therefore it’s my favourite song of the year.
Temporarily moving on to the best of 2018 list. Marie/Lepanto is a new duo formed by Will Johnson (Centro-Matic and lots of other great things) and Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster (Water Liars, solo). Their album Tenkiller is due out 26th of January on Big Legal Mess. The first single Inverness surfaced last week and sounds magnificent. This one is going to be a great album.
Tyler Childers released a stunning album that was co-produced by Sturgill Simpson. Hopefully Sturgill’s name there gave him a little bit more exposure and a sale boost, but it’s still just an interesting sidenote. Tyler’s stunning song material and passionate delivery should take all the spotlight. I was hooked the moment I heard Lady May and my affection towards the album is still continuously rising. An incredible run of songs.
9. Leah Senior – Pretty Faces
I was somewhat familiar with Australian folk singer-songwriter Leah Senior even before Pretty Faces, but I sure didn’t expect to fall so badly in love with her music. However, I was completely addicted to the moment I heard the title track Pretty Faces. She also released my favourite music video of the year. I’ve watched the video of All My Friends dozens of times, because both the song and the video are a work of art. Pretty Faces is such a beautiful album. Perhaps in some purely objective list it shouldn’t be quite as high, but that’s all nonsense. I love this dearly.
8. Frontier Ruckus – Enter The Kingdom
Frontier Ruckus has taken the first place a couple of times, but this time they have to settle for a place in the top 10. Nothing really to complain about though and I still love them as much as you can love a band. There just were a song or two that didn’t felt that special at least on the Frontier Ruckus standards. However, most of it is utterly wonderful. Especially Gauche, Gerunds, Enter The Kingdom and Our Flowers Are Still Burning are all perfect songs. Bonus points for the Sick of Myself reference in Gerunds, because it’s one of my favourite songs ever and using a Big Star T-shirt on this video below, because it’s one of the best bands ever.
7. J.E. Sunde – Now I Feel Adored
J.E. Sunde is a huge personal favourite and he didn’t disappoint with his new album Now I Feel Adored. Maybe there wasn’t a song that would match the brilliance of A Blinding Flash Of Light, but overall this is probably even better than the first solo album. J.E. Sunde isn’t just another singer-songwriter. He is a special talent whose music always sound unique and enchanting.
6. Joan Shelley – Joan Shelley
This was the year of the Shelley family. Joan Shelley released an incredible self-titled album full of beautiful and quietly mesmerizing folk songs and Dwight Lightning won the instagram. I’m not even sure which one of them brought more joy to my life. A huge thank you to both for being awesome and brightening up my life. We’d Be Home and Where I’ll Find You are so brilliant. Maybe not as brilliant as that photo of Dwight running on the beach, but hey nothing is.
5. John Moreland – Big Bad Luv
John Moreland is a magnificent songwriter and big favourite of mine. I can pretty much guarantee his record will be one of the finest of the year even before actually hearing it. There’s a giant cloud of guilt hanging over me, because I haven’t really praised Big Bad Luv here at all. Thankfully my few readers are probably already well aware how much I love the music he writes. Old Wounds, Lies I Chose To Believe and No Glory in Regret. Oh dear how great.
4. Craig Finn – We All Want The Same Things
Craig Finn released a remarkable solo album album We All Want The Same Things and it contains some of the finest storytelling I heard this year. God In Chicago, Be Honest and Rescue Blues are absolute magnificent. “Ain’t it funny how we all get by? / But not the way that makes us laugh” is one of my favorite lines. Maybe I’m a bit of sad case, but damn how I love that line and the way it hurts and heals at the same time.
3. Twain – Rare Feeling
Twain’s new album Rare Feeling is a little masterpiece full of heart and human warmth. I think his songs are just magical and there are some heartfelt purity in them that I just can’t properly describe with words. But I suppose music is meant to be felt and not described anyway and I sure feel every moment. Mt Davidson is an exceptional songwriter and Rare Feeling is an exceptional album.
2. Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me
I’m not really sure is this an album that should be even reviewed or especially ranked on some worthless year-end list. I never even wrote about it during the year, because I didn’t find the words to make justice to the fragile, devastating honesty of this Mount Eerie album. It might be barely music as Phil said himself, but it’s definitely a powerful work of art and despite all the painfully real grief and hurt, the unconditional love he has for his late wife Geneviève shines through the dark leaving a lasting impression.
1. The Weather Station – The Weather Station
The album of the year 2017 is the self-produced and self-titled The Weather Station album. I think there was never any doubt after I listened to this album with headphones for the first time. I was immediately hooked and amazed how incredibly powerful it was all way through. There’s not a weak song on it and it’s as close to perfect as humanly possible. It’s a beautiful, courageous, mesmerizing and captivating work that demands to be heard. I’ve been fan of The Weather Station aka Toronto-based songwriter Tamara Lindeman for a long time and first wrote about her music back in 2011. I still admit that I wasn’t expecting to fall so completely in love with her album. I really like all the earlier work as well, but this new one is still on a whole another level. It’s an outstanding and phenomenal album and easily the best release I heard this year. The Weather Station by The Weather Station is available on Paradise of Bachelors (USA/Europe) and Outside Music (Canada)
