Hi. Gosh, this compilation of faves is atrociously late (although there are homes on my block with Christmas lights still dangling from their eaves, so...)
DNA was the best song of 2017 (even has a fine tennis line: "I just win again, then win again like Wimbledon, I serve."). And it's justifiably everywhere — halftime football championship games, adverts for Apple contraptions, hundreds of millions of views online. Highlighting something so ubiquitous seems superfluous.
Some others from the damn year I found agreeable:
David Nance - Give It Some Time. Finding the right sound to start these things is often the hardest part. This year was easy.
Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now. I had something to say about her, but then I read this compliment from Tom Waits: "Like a four-sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or a red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night."
Stooges - 1970 (Take 3). The Funhouse Sessions needed a little curating. This year's re-release helped identify the highlights. Listening makes me appreciate all the many ways contemporary indie/alt. rock went astray.
Patsy - Nazis Are So Plain. Anti-fascist punk doesn't have to be morose
Idles - Well Done. Anti-capitalist punk doesn't have to be unfunny.
Oumou Sangare - Mali Naile. Last year I retreated to Emmylou Harris, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Patti Smith... None released new music in 2017, but the Songbird of Wassoulou did.
Son Volt - Sinking Down. A blues Son Volt record made me a little nervous. But adding a bit of honky-tonk to Uncle Tupelo ain't bad at all.
Tift Merritt - Proclamation Bones. Emulating Emmylou is not objectionable.
Stones - 2120 South Michigan Avenue. An instrumental from the band with the greatest voice in rock and roll history. I prefer to think of this year's release of ancient BBC recordings as a tribute to Brian Jones. He gave 'em the name and worshiped the blues.
Career Suicide - Blank Expression. Formulaic, folkloric punk from Canada. Like their Fucked Up friends, I'm perfectly okay with this sort of regurgitation.
Downtown Boys - Lips That Bite. "I cut the hand that shakes the hand that wastes my time."
Mekons - Orpheus. This one doesn't qualify as a 2017 release & Mekons ain't due for a new record 'til later this year, but... "Where I land will be the fortress / Of this fight against the tides / Tides of rotten patriarchy / Tides of greed and tricks and lies"