EOY 2017 - Pitchfork (US)

[JohnnyBGoode]

Songs https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-an ... s-of-2017/

100. Maggie Rogers “On + Off”
99. Kamaiyah “Build You Up”
98. Charly Bliss “Percolator”
97. DJ Khaled “Wild Thoughts” [ft. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller]
96. Yo Gotti “Rake It Up” [ft. Nicki Minaj]
95. Downtown Boys “A Wall”
94. Vagabon “The Embers”
93. Big Shaq “Man’s Not Hot”
92. Jessie Ware “Midnight”
91. CCFX “The One to Wait”
90. J Balvin / Willy William “Mi Gente” [ft. Beyoncé] (Remix)
89. Dirty Projectors “Little Bubble”
88. Hurray for the Riff Raff “Pa’lante”
87. Harry Styles “Sign of the Times”
86. Baths “Dream Daddy”
85. Missy Elliott “I’m Better” [ft. Lamb]
84. Broken Social Scene “Hug of Thunder”
83. Playboi Carti “Location”
82. Zola Jesus “Siphon”
81. The National “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”
80. Moses Sumney “Quarrel”
79. The Black Madonna “He Is the Voice I Hear”
78. The xx “On Hold”
77. Stormzy “Big for Your Boots”
76. Kelly Lee Owens “Anxi.” [ft. Jenny Hval]
75. 21 Savage “Bank Account”
74. SahBabii “Pull Up Wit Ah Stick” [ft. Loso Loaded]
73. (Sandy) Alex G “Bobby”
72. Haim “Want You Back”
71. Perfume Genius “Die 4 You”
70. J Hus “Did You See”
69. Brian Eno / Kevin Shields “Only Once Away My Son”
68. Oneohtrix Point Never “The Pure and the Damned” [ft. Iggy Pop]
67. BROCKHAMPTON “GUMMY”
66. Vince Staples “BagBak”
65. Sheer Mag “Need to Feel Your Love”
64. Nilüfer Yanya “Golden Cage”
63. Julien Baker “Turn Out the Lights”
62. French Montana “Unforgettable” [ft. Swae Lee]
61. Girlpool “123”
60. Mount Kimbie “Marilyn” [ft. Micachu]
59. Julie Byrne “Natural Blue”
58. Kendrick Lamar “LOYALTY.” [ft. Rihanna]
57. Father John Misty “Total Entertainment Forever”
56. King Krule “Czech One”
55. Four Tet “Planet”
54. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith “An Intention”
53. Kehlani “Undercover”
52. Future “Incredible”
51. Paramore “Hard Times”
50. Thundercat “Show You the Way” [ft. Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins]
49. Big Thief “Mythological Beauty”
48. Selena Gomez “Bad Liar”
47. GoldLink “Crew” [ft. Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy]
46. Slowdive “Star Roving”
45. Perfume Genius “Slip Away”
44. Fever Ray “To the Moon and Back”
43. Jay Som “The Bus Song”
42. Lorde “The Louvre”
41. Priests “Nothing Feels Natural”
40. Tyler, the Creator “911/Mr. Lonely” [ft. Frank Ocean and Steve Lacy]
39. Kendrick Lamar “LOVE.” [ft. Zacari]
38. Charlotte Gainsbourg “Deadly Valentine”
37. Ibeyi “Deathless” [ft. Kamasi Washington]
36. Moses Sumney “Doomed”
35. Jorja Smith “On My Mind”
34. LCD Soundsystem “How Do You Sleep?”
33. Frank Ocean “Biking” [ft. JAY-Z and Tyler, the Creator]
32. Jlin “Nyakinyua Rise”
31. Vince Staples “Big Fish”
30. Carly Rae Jepsen “Cut to the Feeling”
29. Kamasi Washington “Truth”
28. Lana Del Rey “Love”
27. Sampha “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano”
26. Kelela “LMK”
25. Arca “Desafío”
24. St. Vincent “New York”
23. Yaeji “Drink I’m Sippin On”
22. SZA “The Weekend”
21. Migos “T-Shirt”
20. Calvin Harris “Slide” [ft. Frank Ocean and Migos]
19. Fever Ray “IDK About You”
18. Nilüfer Yanya “Baby Luv”
17. The War on Drugs “Thinking of a Place”
16. Playboi Carti “Magnolia”
15. Björk “The Gate”
14. Mount Eerie “Real Death”
13. JAY-Z “The Story of O.J.”
12. Drake “Passionfruit”
11. Kendrick Lamar “HUMBLE.”
10. Charli XCX “Boys”
9. Kelela “Frontline”
8. Future “Mask Off”
7. King Krule “Dum Surfer”
6. Frank Ocean “Chanel”
5. Lil Uzi Vert “XO TOUR Llif3”
4. SZA “Love Galore” [ft. Travis Scott]
3. Lorde “Green Light”
2. Kendrick Lamar “DNA.”
1. Cardi B “Bodak Yellow”

Think we can safely say Kendrick has #1 album though with 2 tracks in the top 50 Fever Ray (along with Lorde, Kelela & SZA) looks like it might be quite high. (Add King Krule to that, 2 in top 60, Nilüfer Yanya, Vince Staples, Moses Sumney & Perfume Genius among others to have 2).

[EGrignon]

I read the full list and I was quite surprised to see On Hold by The xx. I get that the album came out in January, but the single was released in early November 2016; the website even made a track review of it. Was their cutoff too early or did they just forget about it and tried to sneak the track this year instead?

Also Bodak Yellow seems to be getting a lot more love than what I was expecting. I knew places like Rolling Stone would be ranking it high but #1 on Pitchfork is quite a shock to me tbh.

[Bruno]

Nice list.

[Nassim]

I read the full list and I was quite surprised to see On Hold by The xx. I get that the album came out in January, but the single was released in early November 2016; the website even made a track review of it. Was their cutoff too early or did they just forget about it and tried to sneak the track this year ?.

Especially surprising since they didn't include a single Run the Jewels track !

[Sweepstakes Ron]

93. Big Shaq “Man’s Not Hot”

Ideally, this would be #1 on every list, but hey, it's a start!

[EGrignon]

I read the full list and I was quite surprised to see On Hold by The xx. I get that the album came out in January, but the single was released in early November 2016; the website even made a track review of it. Was their cutoff too early or did they just forget about it and tried to sneak the track this year ?.

Especially surprising since they didn't include a single Run the Jewels track !

And they gave 8.6/10 on that RTJ3 album! Maybe they will be on the list of the best albums of the year?

Also I realised they did not include any Mac Demarco track. Their coverage of Mac has been weird this year though: they gave not one, not two, but THREE "best new tracks" certifications to the singles he released before the album came out, then gave 7.9 (which really is just a tease at this point) and now they completely ghost him on the year-end list.

[StevieFan13]

93. Big Shaq “Man’s Not Hot”

Ideally, this would be #1 on every list, but hey, it's a start!

I know it’s on my EOY, let me tell you.

[notbrianeno]

Love this list, especially the inclusion of "Desafio", "the gate", and "Frontline"

[StevieFan13]

My problem is that I’m highly tempted to give it a listen, but I already have almost 300 songs in contention for my EOY list, so I don’t want it to be even harder to choose.

[Nick]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

[StevieFan13]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

Hey, now you know how I felt a year ago when "Formation" was on all the EOY lists (although I will say that song's grown on me a little).

[ordinaryperson]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

I don't get the appeal of a lot of the songs near the top of the EOY spreadsheet.

[Nick]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

Hey, now you know how I felt a year ago when "Formation" was on all the EOY lists (although I will say that song's grown on me a little).

I wasn't actually too big on "Formation" either. Looking back one year later, I was definitely too harsh on that song. It's an okay piece of music, just nothing I'm crazy about.

"Bodak Yellow", on the other hand, is hot garbage.

[mowino]

Albums

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-an ... s-of-2017/

Can someone transcribe, thanks

[Henrik]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

That’s refreshing to hear. I thought I was just getting old.

[charliepanayi]

I'll let someone else do the transcribing but these are the BNM albums from 2017 that didn't make the list:

GAS - 8.8
Visible Cloaks - 8.7
Mono no Aware V/A compilation - 8.6
Broken Social Scene - 8.4
Power Trip - 8.4
Brand New - 8.3 (OK, we know why with that one)
MIKE - 8.3
Ariel Pink - 8.2

I wish GAS had got on the list

[Rob]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

That’s refreshing to hear. I thought I was just getting old.

I don't know the age factor, but I feel that critics have embraced poptimism in songs to the point of being uncritical. It seems like the thing now is find songs that encapsulate the trends more than subvert them, as if the critics want to desperately be in with the crowd. Bodak Yellow is a very, very weird choice for number one, far more so than say Charlie XCX' Boys (which I kind of like, to my own surprise) or Despacito (which I don't care about). It seems like Cardi B is just making sure she made the most standard (or stereotypical) hiphop track of all time. On a personal note, this means she does everything I don't like about the genre: boasting, self-aggrandizement, dissing everyone who doesn't agree and bragging about money. (In my personal world/ opinion this is basically a celebration of shallowness; just what the world needs right now). Whereas many rappers try to at least be clever with these lyrics, Cardi B brings them back to basics, leaving only the nasty spirit (unless you are Cardbi B, than it is probably deserved empowerment). Even the minimalist beat music sounds like the most standard production choices of the year.

There are a lot of amazing songs that came out in 2017. Why a song that doesn't even try to add something new is a top pick, I don't know.

[Illiniq]

I will never, ever, ever understand the appeal of "Bodak Yellow". Ever.

Hey, now you know how I felt a year ago when "Formation" was on all the EOY lists (although I will say that song's grown on me a little).

I wasn't actually too big on "Formation" either. Looking back one year later, I was definitely too harsh on that song. It's an okay piece of music, just nothing I'm crazy about.

"Bodak Yellow", on the other hand, is hot garbage.

RIght there with you on Beyonce. There were several songs I loved on Lemonade - Freedom, Sandcastles, All Night, Don't Hurt Yourself, Daddy Lessons - Formation was not one of them, never quite got all the love last year for Ultralight Beam Either, but then I am old and am becoming increasingly out of step with contemporary tastes.

I've always liked hip-hop/R&B but in last few years both genres have taken a turn into sonic palette's I just can't run with - for me something like Valerie June's The Order Of Time sounds so much better than CTRL's or Kelela's or Moses Sumney's 2017 albums (though I do like Aromanticism), and I also have to say as long as we're talking personal wtfs that I'm just dumbfounded by all the critical love for the new Fever Ray - always like the Knife and her earlier work but Plunge is just plain bad after the opening track. Different/Unique from the norm doesn't always equate to Better/Great.

[Harold]

Albums

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-an ... s-of-2017/

Can someone transcribe, thanks

Seconding the request - thanks in advance!

[JohnnyBGoode]

Albums

50. Yaeji - Yaeji
49. Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream
48. (Sandy) Alex G - Rocket
47. Kehlani - SweetSexySavage
46. Laurel Halo - Dust
45. Girlpool - Powerplant
44. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid
43. Lil B - Black Ken
42. Vagabon - Infinite Worlds
41. Zola Jesus - Okovi
40. The xx - I See You
39. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up
38. Drake - More Life
37. Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness
36. Syd - Fin
35. Playboi Carti - Playboi Carti
34. Mount Kimbie - Love What Survives
33. Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens
32. Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life
31. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference
30. Slowdive - Slowdive
29. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3
28. Ibeyi - Ash
27. Future - HNDRXX
26. Jay Som - Everybody Works
25. Priests - Nothing Feels Natural
24. Thundercat - Drunk
23. Big Thief - Capacity
22. St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION
21. Arca - Arca
20. Björk - Utopia
19. Migos - Culture
18. Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights
17. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest
16. Perfume Genius - No Shape
15. Sampha - Process
14. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
13. Jay-Z - 4:44
12. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream
11. The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
10. Jlin - Black Origami
9. Fever Ray - Plunge
8. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy
7. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory
6. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism
5. Lorde - Melodrama
4. Kelela - Take Me Apart
3. King Krule - The OOZ
2. SZA - CTRL
1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

[BleuPanda]

Good to see their opinion on MASSEDUCTION appears to have jumped since the review; a 7.6 seemed really off for them.

[Harold]

Regarding MASSEDUCTION, it was looking for a while like that album and Melodrama (coincidentally or not, another close collaboration between a singularly gifted female artist and unexpected popmeister-of-his-generation Jack Antonoff) were going to be battling it out for the #2 spot all the way down the line. To my surprise, that is not how it is playing out. RIght now, Lorde is running away with the runner-up crown as much as K-Dot is unshakably ensconced at the top.

[Illiniq]

Hey, now you know how I felt a year ago when "Formation" was on all the EOY lists (although I will say that song's grown on me a little).

I wasn't actually too big on "Formation" either. Looking back one year later, I was definitely too harsh on that song. It's an okay piece of music, just nothing I'm crazy about.

"Bodak Yellow", on the other hand, is hot garbage.

RIght there with you on Beyonce Formation. There were several songs I loved on Lemonade - Freedom, Sandcastles, All Night, Don't Hurt Yourself, Daddy Lessons - Formation was not one of them. To be honest, while it is an interesting song instrumentally, that "I slay" catch phrase and how it's delivered is outright cheesy and annoying.

As for Bodak Yellow - Pitchfork is Pitchfork, praise worthy and maddening at the same time.

And they have shown the occassional knack for making comically best song of the year choices. Round and Round anybody.

I've always respected their desire to not become Rolling Stone, a rag that has ossified into nothing but an affirmation society for it's orginal reading generation, but I also cringed at how MTV-like mercurial Pitchfork is in the oppositie direction, so often championing emerging trends over pure quality, and how quickly they then abandon the artists/sub-genres they've lorded over us as the end all / be all in the past. And sure, every music publication is going to be guilty of this behavior to some degree, and it's natural for both listeners and critics to lose interest in artists the longer an acts career progresses, but I've always felt amongst contemporary music sources of significant influence, Pitchfork is the worst of the bunch.

Does anyone here really doubt that given this exact same pool of 2017 eligiible songs in 2009 that Pitchfork's top 100 list wouldn't have looked completely different - with songs like Arcade Fire's Everything Now, Grizzly Bear's Mourning Sound, Spoons Hot Thoughts, Jens Lekman's Evening Prayer, Idles Heel/Heal, Wolf Parades Baby Blue, Something from Relatives In Descent etc etc all scoring way high in the top third of their list. Of course not, we all know they would, Everything Now and Mourning Sound would have probably been top 10.

I guess what I'm rambling about is I prefer those criticism sites that are viewing their lists a little more from a long term perspective, that when people go back 10 years from now and look at their choices, they still say "Yeah, the pretty much got that right."

For my money, the site that came closest this year is Pop Matters on their album list. It's the one list I looked at this year where I was like - oh yeah, no one's listed that album, but I do like it way better than a lot of the ones everyone's including on their year end, and I do believe on the timelessness spectrum, it's the list that has championed the most albums that will still sound good to us fifteen years from now as opposed to just today.

[Illiniq]

Sorry accidentally quoted a revision instead of editing.

[Illiniq]

But I still don't get all the love for the new Fever Ray, that album is just straight-up bad.

[Marlon]

27. Future - Hndrxx

It seems that today's missing number is 27:-)

[Illiniq]

Also surprised not more Singer Songwriters on Pitchfork's list - they've got a few, but thought we'd see more in a Singer Songwriter dominated year. Guess that's one trend they weren't chasing.

[JohnnyBGoode]

27. Future - Hndrxx

It seems that today's missing number is 27:-)

It's one of my kids' birthdays. Really a no. I shouldn't forget. Now included in both.

[Romain]

Two songs. I only know two songs on this list.

And don't know more than half of these artists.

Is this a list for 2017, I'm not sure

2017, the year I became fucking old.

[TVFan365]

Two songs. I only know two songs on this list.

And don't know more than half of these artists.

Is this a list for 2017, I'm not sure

2017, the year I became fucking old.

Out of curiosity, what are the two songs?

[Romain]

Two songs. I only know two songs on this list.

And don't know more than half of these artists.

Is this a list for 2017, I'm not sure

2017, the year I became fucking old.

Out of curiosity, what are the two songs?

Of course:
LCD Soundsystem “How Do You Sleep?”
Lana Del Rey “Love”

and one that I had not seen previously.
Charlotte Gainsbourg “Deadly Valentine”