Hello? Is this thing on?
Well, well, welcome! We had a record-setting year in 2016 and I'm hoping 2017 is no different! I feel as though I should probably throw down some ground rules for the Countdown, for the newcomers who might have questions...
First things first - song voting criteria. My countdown is not based solely on plays, as it would be nearly impossible for me to tabulate how many times I've listened to every song between Spotify, Pandora, radio, muzak, etc. I keep a loose tabulation on how many times I hear/play a song during the year, but the essential quality is how much I enjoyed or how much a song impacted my year. I don't feel like there's a right or wrong of it, but I am very much aware of how much music I listen to throughout the year and how it affects me. I keep close tabs on everything from week to week and it's a pretty easy list to finalize once I get there.
Secondly, you will see some songs from the end of 2016 on the 2017 Countdown. Generally I will push over songs from albums released from September of the previous year forward. Obviously it would be unfair to disqualify albums from December or November, and it almost seems unfair to pass on stuff released in October, as I've barely spent any time with them in the previous year. September is a safe spot for things like that, however if a particular single was released in the summer of 2016, you probably won't see it on this countdown. Likewise, it is rare to see a song from late in the year to climb the charts, but not impossible as shown by the 2010 edition which featured Cameras by Matt and Kim at #5.
Lastly, it's one song per band. In 2012 I was faced with the conundrum of not being able to choose my favorite Florence and the Machine song from her album "Ceremonials", and so Shake It Out and What The Water Gave Me "tied" for 12th. I've had a few "ties" since then, most recently in 2015 when Slipknot featured Skeptic and The Devil In I at #3. When each song has equal effect and play in a year, I feel it's fair to allow it to share the same space with another from that band. However, it is rare for me to find more than one phenomenal song on any given album these days, so ties are uncommon.
The Countdown unofficially started in 2009 and I made it an official yearly event in 2010. I believe 2011 was the first year that I gave each song their own blurb (on Xanga, of course) and over time the paragraphs have evolved into stories about the bands, albums and the tracks themselves. These days, the Countdown starts on December 1st at Noon and a new song is posted every day until we reach our conclusion on the 20th. I try to do a recap before the end of the year and usually conclude with my favorite albums of the year and songs that I played the most that weren't from 2017.
But we cannot begin without mentioning the songs who missed the cut!
Fashion Week - Scars
I had the pleasure of doing an interview and show review with the guys from Fashion Week last month. The fellas put out a sure-fire dynamite hit in Scars and should be primed for a huge album drop in 2018.
Wage War - Don't Let Me Fade Away
How can you not be immediately hooked in by that opening riff? Sadly, I don't listen to as much metal as I used to, which leads to a lot of songs just missing out at the end of the year. Great track, and I look forward to seeing if this band can keep it up.
Japandroids - I'm Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner)
Japandroids once again put out of my favorite records in 2017 with "Near To The Wild Heart Of Life". The band doesn't put filler in their albums; each of their full-length releases have had 8 pounding solid tracks. I'm Sorry ended up being the one I enjoyed the most from this release, but it just didn't have enough steam to crack the Top 20. In 2012 they also just missed out with "The House That Heaven Built".
Phoenix - J-Boy
I'm really not sure what Phoenix is trying for these days. In 2009 they put out one of my all-time favorite albums "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" and followed it with a good (not great) disc in "Bankrupt!" in 2013. Somewhere in between the 3 records they abandoned trying for an alternative rock sound in favor of... well, whatever "Ti Amo" is. It's a bunch of sparkly bubblegum synthetic trash, if you ask me. I have a hard time listening to any song other than J-Boy, and even that wasn't enough to jump into the countdown.
Green Day - Revolution Radio
It's been a long time since I've liked a Green Day song, much less album. I'm sure their next album will be some politically jacked up garbage masquerading as tolerable music, but Revolution Radio is actually a solid song off of a solid record. Good for you, guys. Not bad for a group of 45 year olds.
Honorable mention - All That Remains - Madness; Fire From The Gods - The Voiceless - Mary Lynn - Space; Starset - Satellite; Grouplove - Good Morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment