TGF Top 50 Songs of 2017 (50-41)
Shaun Cordingley
Hallo!
You know, I have been writing the Daily Song Drop for almost a full year now (and had done the "Tuesday Tunes" feature for a year before that) and it never ceases to amaze me how much amazing music there is out there, and how much I love talking about it, and sharing it with you.
Last year, I did a Top 20 Songs of the Year in two parts (20-11 here, and then 10-1 here), and then put them together into our most downloaded/saved playlist (which you can totally get at the bottom of this article), and I even did a Top 15 back in 2015 (even though we had only been around for 4 months when I put it together...
This year, thanks to the new set up, and the fact that I have taken zero weekdays off means that I have a pile of songs that I could talk about when it comes to the best of the year. In order to put this together, I broke the process into three parts:
- A Long List (That's the Daily Song Drop. I never talk about a track that I do not like enough to at least consider for the Top 50, so that was a starting point...)
- A Short List (I listened to every playlist from the year a few times, as well as tracking through the "popular" albums of the year (boy that was largely dull) and put together a "short" list...that was still super long
- Top 50 (A Painstaking month long process of putting together this list, including inserting a few rules to keep me sane, like the song having to be released in some medium in the calendar 2017 year, and only one song per artist...and it still hurt to the very, very end)
For the songs, I will be putting out the song, title, link to the artist as always, a short little piece on the track (and why it is here on the list), and provide you with a link to the original feature (if it had one) if you're looking for more details/more of my thoughts track by track.
Now, finally, I am happy to share with you theguysfrom.com Top 50 Songs of the Year. Today, we have the first ten, so sit back and enjoy number 50-41:
50
Ice Cream feat. Tomi Thomas
Lady Donli
First featured on TGF on May 19
Starting off our list is "Ice Cream feat. Tomi Thomas" by Lady Donli, a cool neo-soul/jazz blend with a pop beat that has stuck with me all year. I love the bittersweet yet sexy vibe of this song, how each part blends back in on itself (from acapella to neo-soul to r&b and back again) to create an engaging whole that feels great to listen to.
49
The Prime
Strange Hellos
First Featured on TGF on November 20
I just cannot get over how well this modern indie pop rock, blended with 1990s Garbage like awesomeness works. "The Prime" is one of those songs that I featured, then picked up the Strange Hellos album, then just kept on listening to, because there are some days when this track (and really, the rest of Chromatic) is exactly what I need.
48
Turn It Up
Memoryy
First Featured on TGF on November 8
Sometimes you just need some snyth-y, pure-1980s pop music, and that is exactly what Memoryy delivered with his album Skeletons and his track "Turn It Up", so grab those legwarmers, dig out your John Hughes dvds, and enjoy yourself.
REAGANOMICS!
47
Golden Age
Late Night Episode
First Featured on TGF on November 9
November was apparently an excellent month on the Daily Song Drop...
Weirdly enough, while I am writing this, it is currently chilly and snowing (same as November)...and my earlier point is exactly the same: sometimes you just need an upbeat alt-rock song as a pick-me-up, and Late Night Episodes' "Take a second and enjoy life" anthem is perfect for that.
46
City Boy (feat. Supa Good D Smoke)
Sha'Leah Nikole
First Featured on TGF on December 29
The last song featured on the Daily Song Drop for 2017, "City Boy" is just one of those track that sticks with you long after you hear it-- the production is excellent (it is so cleverly layered) and there is such a cool energy to the track that it should really be no surprise that this cool, genre-blend is on the Top 50.
45
Twat
Donal Quinn
First Featured on TGF on December 4
Donal Quinn's indie rock ballad/drunken voicemail track "Twat" is a song that completely caught me off guard when I first heard it, and since I featured it, I probably have listened to it once every couple of days, just because I just love how it's constructed (and I'm quite picky when it comes to ballads, so when I find one I dig, I listen to it a lot). I hope you don't skip this one (due to it's NSFW element)--it's great.
44
Drive Slow
Doc Robinson
First Featured on TGF on August 15
I still love that Doc Robinson describes their music as "Backyard BBQ Breakup Music"; this is a sitting on the porch, blues-rock song of the sort that very very few bands are willing to make, and I absolutely love Doc Robinson for making it. When you're in the right mood, "Drive Slow" is just the best hangout track.
43
Not a Problem
Matt Reagan
First Featured on TGF on February 21
Fuzzy, retro-inspired rock is always going to have a place in my heart, especially when it is constructed as beautifully as "Not a Problem"--the guitar sticks with you, and the chill vocals hearken back to a different era, but everything just feels right, all the way through. I always feel a little bit better after listening to "Not a Problem", so of course it is going to make the Top 50 (I like feeling good afterall).
42
Too Late (Not Too Late)
Tetta
First Featured on TGF on August 22
Singer/Songwriter Tetta has an excellent voice, and it is served so well in "Too Late (Not Too Late" thanks to the fact that the track is largely just her voice, and an absolutely excellent acoustic guitar. This list features a lot of "feel-good" or uplifting songs, but there are few that are as purely warm and positive as this one.
41
Young Lady, You're Scaring Me
Ron Gallo
First Featured on TGF on May 5
Long-time readers of the DSD (and Tuesday Tunes) know that I am a sucker for anyone who takes retro elements (especially in rock) and blends them with modern indie rock, and that is 100% Ron Gallo. "Young Lady, You're Scaring Me" is fuzzy, 1960s style (almost psychedelic) rock, with a modern, dirty rock haze overtop...amazing vocals, great lyrics (seriously, focus on the lyrics, they're amazing) and just a damn great rock song.
There we have it: the first 10 songs on theguysfrom.com Top 50 Songs of 2017!
Obviously I'm not going to give you the Playlist of the Top 50 until Friday, but if you cannot wait, you can always check out the TGF Top 21 Songs of 2016 and TGF Top 15 of 2015 on Apple Music, or you can check out the December Apple Music Playlist, and the December '17 Spotify Playlist now.
See you again tomorrow with 40-31!
-S (@Shauncord)
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any "Daily Song Drop" songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music that we are enjoying, or re-expose them to artists they may have forgotten about.
Above the description of the song will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.