New Music W’s Top 10 Songs of the Year!!!!

Hey there music lover! You like new stuff? Great! You’ve stumbled into the perfect corner of the internet.  Each week all sorts of audiolicious goodies are unleashed onto the masses and this is where they come to be judged. I’ll tell ya what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s a waste of your precious time. So strap on your headphones and let’s take a ride!

The Big News

It’s that time of year music lovers, time for the end of the year lists! First up, my top 10 or so songs of the year. Not strictly singles, mind you. Any song released on an album this year (yes, that’s the one rule, it has to be on an album that has been released in 2016) is eligible for a spot on this list. This is the fourth year of this list. The first two editions (2013-14) were published when this site was called 8^th Circuit (8CN) and dissolved into internet ether during the change over from 8CN to Overmental… so I can’t link to them. How ‘bout we start by reviewing the last three winners of song of the year.

2013

Moby, “The Perfect Life”, Innocents, Mute Records

2014

The Hold Steady, “Oaks”, Teeth Dreams, Razor & Tie

2015

Glen Hansard, “Her Mercy”, Didn’t He Ramble, Anti-

 There ya go. Pretty diverse if ya ask me! Now, on to the list!

Special Consideration

New rule: if a you die, you cannot be on this list or the best albums list. Just call it the 2016 rule since this year was such a bitch. It’s just not fair. Honestly, if I gave in to my feelings this whole list would be comprised of Leonard Cohen and David Bowie songs. The only exception is the overall best album of the year and only if it was released prior to the artist’s death. No posthumous releases. So yeah, it might look like I’m creating an escape clause to name Bowie’s Blackstar album of the year (which it very well could be)… I dunno, we’ll see. For now, we’ll just file these fine songs under special consideration.

Leonard Cohen, “If I Didn’t Have Your Love”, You Want it Darker

David Bowie, “Blackstar”, Blackstar, RCA

Honorable Mention

The Pop Group, “Zipperface”, Honeymoon on Mars, Freaks R’ Us

Lotsa creepy, creepy fun!

Iggy Pop, “Gardenias”, Post Pop Depression, Caroline

The old guy’s still got it.

The List

10. Lush, “Out of Control”,  Blind Spot, Endamame

The most welcome reunion in a year full reunions, it was just for one glorious EP but, man, it was good to hear from these shoegazers again.

9. Wussy, “Donny’s Death Scene”, Forever Sounds, Damnably

The most stunning song from one of the strongest records or the year from one of the best bands in the country. Can’t praise these guys enough.

8. The Lumineers, “Gale Song”, Cleopatra, Dualtone

The misfit Denver neo-Mumford folkers return with an underrated album that was ten times stronger, though much less popular than their ubiquitous last record. Couldn’t deny this song.

7. Drive-By Truckers, “Surrender Under Protest”, American Band, ATO

The prospect of a Trump presidency is a little less frightening knowing that we have the Drive-By Truckers on our side.

6.Drive-By Truckers, “What It Means?”, American Band, ATO

Like I said, we’re gonna need all the help we can get.

5. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, “Into the Trees”, Until the Hunter, Tendril Tales

Four minutes of Hope pleading “I miss you” enmeshed in some ethereal miasma? Sounds like every indie kid’s wet dream. A nearly perfect song.

4. The Lemon Twigs, “These Words”, Do Hollywood, 4AD

Lotsa hype for this Sparks mimic, lotsa good reason for it. So tasty.

3. Bon Iver, “#29 Strafford Apts”, 22, A Million, Jagjaguwar
Like most of y’all, I didn’t know what to think of the new Bon Iver record when it dropped a few months ago. I stopped trusting Justin Vernon the second his name was mentioned in the same sentence as Kanye. But this album proved irresistible and quickly grew on me. I’m sure I’m not alone.

2. Lucinda Williams, “Ghosts of Highway 20”, Ghosts of Highway 20, Highway 20 Records

A giant double record from the queen herself, this is the song from which the whole masterpiece shuddered and shivered. A song that stiffens your spine as you ride through Lucinda’s smoldering landscape.

1. Maxwell, “Lost”, blackSUMMERS’night, Columbia

As usual with me, it almost always ends in a love story. I’m a sucker and this is a song that just would not go away.

Tune in next week for the best albums!!!