Welcome to the Music Monday recap of the best songs from this dumpster fire of a year! Scott’s still in a corner sobbing over the loss of David Bowie and Prince (among others), so he’s handed over the reins to me to take us out of 2016. Let’s dive right in!
Panic! At the Disco - Impossible Year
Released in early 2016, Panic! At the Disco’s "Death of a Bachelor" was… surprisingly listenable! I’m not a huge fan, wasn’t actually very sure if they were still together, and yet, this song became my official outro song for each successive failure I faced in 2016. It’s got a lovely piano theme and a fabulous backing brass band that really works with the lead singer’s vocals, more so than I remember of them from their early 00’s emo days.
More music (and more uplifting!) under the fold…
My pick for sexiest song this year is this sexy sexy song from up-and-coming sexy French band, Her. Their entire EP, "Her Tape #1", is being sold as a love story, which it most definitely is. These guys have had a good year, releasing their first album and currently getting pimped around to work with other big names in music, so remember me when you keep hearing about them in 2017. Check out an interview with them here and listen to Jungle’s Platoon, one of my fav songs from 2013, to hear a bit of their inspiration.
Lawd, this song. 2016 was a resurgence of some older sounds and I’ve particularly dug these guys. Car Seat Headrest is reminiscent of the Vines, Strokes and early Foo Fighters- unpolished and hard rockin’ with a side of gloom. If you’re a fan of this song, the band’s released an amazingly large amount of music over on their bandcamp page, second only perhaps to Woot-fav, Jose Bold.
In the running for my favorite album of the year, Glass Animals are back in 2016 with this solid single off "How To Be a Human Being". Sadly, instructions are unclear so I don’t know if I can recommend this as an efficient way of actually learning to become a human, but the album is a fun listen. A lot of sweeping choruses like in this one and a lotta melodies to get stuck in your head.
Scott and I caught the end of her set at Bumbershoot this year and I just adored her energy. Months later I found this song again and fell back in love with her. It’s unusual for me to dig a song this poppy, but dang, every time I hear this one I can’t get it outta my head, and I ain’t mad. Zella’s a teeny baby born in ’95, so I expect her to be kicking ass for years to come.
I try so hard to fight my love of M83. Their first single, "Do It, Try It" off their new album was unlistenable, so I wrote off the entirety of "Junk". About a month ago I decided to give it a try and turns out I was wrong. The whole album kicks so much ass, it embodies everything I’ve loved about music this year. More guitar solos, more sax, hey why not another brass section? "Go!" is my favorite song of the year, M83’s "Junk" is my favorite album of the year, and Woot’s gonna give the vinyl away to one of you lucky peeps!
So, there you have it! Six of my favorite songs of the year. Not enough? I’ve made a Spotify playlist with my favorite HUNDRED songs of the year. Click through for 7 solid hours of the best parts of 2016.
Tell me what I missed here! What have been your favorite songs of 2016? Also head over to Facebook for a chance to win one of my favorite vinyl records of last year. And hey, let me just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. Scott's back in 2017! BYEEEEE