You picked a bad time
You picked a bad time to listen to me
That part kills me. Every time I hear it. All great songs have one. That moment you know is coming up but it still surprises you, makes you smile or belt out a lyric at the top of your lungs.
Maybe it’s just a key change or a sweeping horn or a distant yelp. It can last for a second or a minute but the result is always the same: man, I love that part.
Every song on this list has a moment like that for me. Whether it’s the aforementioned lyrics from “Hey Mama” or the chorus on “Middle America” or the way the strings float just out of focus in “Black Moon Rising,” each song gets me every time.
Composing a list of the year’s best music is self-indulgent by nature. So dear friends, please, indulge me.
Top five albums of the year in order:
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats • Tearing at the Seams
U.S Girls • In A Poem Untitled
Twin Peaks • Sweet ’17 Singles
Parquet Courts • Wide Awake!
Durand Jones & The Indications • s/t
Song of the year: “Black Moon Rising” • Black Pumas
Biggest disappointments:
Jack White • Boarding House Reach
Jim James • Uniform Distortion
A Perfect Circle • Eat the Elephant
Father John Misty • God’s Favourite Customer
Best side A: Wilder Maker • Zion
Best side B: Parquet Courts • Wide Awake!
Album whose hype I can’t understand: Soccer Mommy • Clean
Concert of the year: Iron & Wine at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
And just for fun I’ve added a second playlist for the songs that didn’t make the cut.
Thanks for reading and happy listening.
