Founder’s 100 [RG’s top songs of 2017]

By Ryan G

I probably left a lot off this list, but here’s my attempt at landing on top 100 songs of 2017. Here’s to 2018 being even harder to narrow down! -RG

100. Laucan – “In Between”
99. Muse – “Dig Down”
98. Lo Tom – “Overboard”
97. Pot and Kettle – “Reckless”
96. Vacances – “Cool”
95. The Raquels – “1982”
94. The Turbos – “Circles”
93. Wave and Rome – “Be My Girl”
92. Z Wolf – “Die For You”
91. Oddnesse – “I Used To”
90. Neck Deep – “In Bloom”
89. mungbean – “Night Drive”
88. Arcade Fire – “Creature Comfort”
87. TheCircus – “Queen of the Town”
86. Ipps – “We No”
85. Souther – “Honest”
84. Benchmarks – “Next Year”
83. flor – “unsaid”
82. James Droll – “Bad For U”
81. The Worn Flints – “Burn”
80. Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do”
79. I Don’t Know How But They Found Me – “Modern Day Cain”
78. Ghost Atlas – “NightDrive”
77. Graceful Closure – “Until the Night’s Gone”
76. K I D S . – “Electric Truth”
75. Bonelang – “Sunflower Drips”
74. Danger Scene – “American Dream”
73. Medic – “Smoke”
72. *repeat repeat – “Ghost”
71. YOUTH – “Dead Weight”
70. Turnover – “What Got In The Way”
69. Ghost Key – “Solstice”
68. The Cordial Sins – “Control”
67. Adara – “Oasis”
66. Andreas Moss – “Stuck In My Feelings”
65. Blis. – “Old Man”
64. Ron Gallo – “Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me”
63. Rosa – “Without You”
62. The Lulls in Traffic – “Touch”
61. Mt. Wolf – “Soteria”
60. Odd Folks – “Broozer”
59. Julien Baker – “Appointments”
58. LANY – “The Breakup”
57. Toro y Moi – “Girl Like You”
56. White Reaper – “Judy French”
55. Spoon – “Hot Thoughts”
54. alt-J – “Deadcrush”
53. Coin – “Lately II”
52. Future Islands – “Aladdin”
51. Daniella Mason – “Tell Me It’s Over”
50. Hidden Hospitals – “Smile and Wave”
49. Grizzly Bear – “Mourning Sound”
48. Ledges – “Teenage Daydream”
47. Pale Waves – “There’s a Honey”
46. Vagabonds – “Teeth”
45. Medic – “Wander”
44. Keyoung – “ESC”
43. nothing,nowhere. featuring Dashboard Confessional – “Hopes Up”
42. Foo Fighters – “La Dee Da”
41. Wolf Alice – “Don’t Delete the Kisses”
40. Playing to Vapors – “Twin Flame”
39. Brideshore – “Beautiful Design”
38. Arcade Fire – “Everything Now”
37. Phangs featuring R.LUM.R – “Always Been U”
36. Biyo – “Focus”
35. R.LUM.R – “Suddenly”
34. Least of These – “Cadence”
33. Phoenix – “Fleur de Lys”
32. Little image – “Dear Orphan”
31. Colly – “You”
30. Counterfeit Madison – “Like One and One and a to Z”
29. Cigarettes After Sex – “K.”
28. August Burns Red – “Dangerous”
27. Kendrick Lamar featuring U2 – “XXX”
26. Japanese Breakfast – “Machinist”
25. The National – “Day I Die”
24. Sir Sly – “High”
23. Vesperteen – “It Will Never Be Enough”
22. Alltta – “That Good Ship”
21. Alvvays – “Plimsoll Punks
20. Playing to Vapors – “The Perfect Weapon in Human Form”
19. Bleachers – “Don’t Take the Money”
18. Royal Blood – “Lights Out”
17. The Anchor Collective – “Keepers”
16. Tigerwine – “Spit
15. Andrew Belle – “T R N T
14. Gorillaz featuring D.R.A.M. – “Andromeda”
13. White Reaper – “Little Silver Cross”
12. PVRIS – “What’s Wrong”
11. Lorde – “Green Light”

10. Phangs – “One and Lonely”: One of the best moments in live music for me came at SXSW when Phangs opened his set – his third one ever, mind you – with this song. This song defined a season of music discovery for me and helped motivate me to book Phangs twice in Columbus in 2017. With a booming fanbase, Phangs looks to have a huge 2018. I mean, he booked a whole house tour on Twitter.

9. St Vincent – “Los Ageless”: This song is 2017’s “Digital Witness.” St Vincent’s tongue in cheek social commentary over a phat beat and a huge hook has never sounded so awesome. I want to see her perform her Masseduction album live just because of this song.

8. Half Waif – “Severed Logic”: One of my favorite moments from this year’s SXSW happened during Half Wait’s set at the Barracuda, when I heard this song live for the first time. It was a real “a-ha!” moment for me. The song is so ethereal and lovely. It doesn’t embellish any elements – it just executes simply and with ease.

7. Letrainiump – “So Alive”: I think I can confidently say that no matter what, when this song comes on when my music is on shuffle my mood instantly improves, no matter my circumstance. The synth-pop meets Motown goodness is seeping out of Lafayette, LA and Letrainiump is here to make you dance.

6. Tiger Drive – “The In-Between”: The Tokyo-loving pop group from Nashville has finally released something and my goodness, it was worth the wait. Get caught in the upside down with this synth-lover’s jam. By the way, this group rose from the ashes of Tuned Up faves Oceanspeak.

 

5. Foo Fighters – “Run”: Foo Fighters are masters of the rock anthem and when I heard this over the summer I knew this would become one of my own anthems too. Plus, who doesn’t love a badass rock and roll tune where you can jam out? There’s something timeless about being able to air-drum or air-guitar while headbanging, and I think Grohl and company have this in mind when writing these songs.

4. Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”: If I ever yelled out “My left stroke just went viral!” like I get the urge to everytime I hear it I’d probably be the biggest dork on the planet. In all seriousness though, one of my favorite musical moments of the year happened in a community rec center in the Milo-Grogan neighborhood in Columbus when song came on as the house music during the Melanincholy Music Festival. People started bopping and the camaraderie was beautiful, even though no one was on stage at the time.

3. Mutemath – “War”: Wanna hear a real jam? Here ya go. I could leave my description of the song at that satisfactorily I think. But in all seriousness, this is most of my favorite parts of MUTEMATH rolled into one. It doesn’t have some of the build up that some of their longer songs have, but by golly it’s a rocker with a massive hook, a really fun breakdown in the bridge and the perfect song for a set opener (which the band employed during their Play Dead tour).

2. Acceptance – “Colliding By Design”: This is a comeback anthem in my mind. The song is a reveille for the music lover. It’s a call to action. It’s a celebration. All of these things come to mind when I hear what might be the best chorus I’ve heard all year, or possibly even the past couple of years. Now, I’m just waiting for this band to do a real tour…

1. The War On Drugs – “Up All Night”: The War On Drugs set the bar almost impossibly high with their last release Lost in the Dream, but upon hearing this song for the first time my fears were dissuaded. “Up All Night” is a journey for the late night drive, but suits almost any setting. The guitar solo feels like a sunrise, and the synth outro feels like twilight. Outright bliss and melancholy overlap perfectly in this song, and I love it.

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