Top 117 Songs of 2017 - #100 to #91

#117 to #101

#100. ARTY BOY

by Flight Facilities ft. Emma Louise

And there you were drinking Coca-Cola

Shaking your Polaroid picture.

 

If the concept of Flight Facilities returning after three years isn't enough and if the effortless delightful voice of Emma Louise's isn't enough and if the stop start beats and electro mastery isn't enough for you to listen, then you simply, you simply MUST press play on the clip, because all of that imagery, all of those clothes; now that is exactly how a music video should be made. (Jo Michelmore) 

#99. THE LOUVRE

by Lorde

A rush at the beginning

I get caught up, just for a minute.

It's incredibly easy to understand why Lorde is considered the voice of a generation. She defies expectations of an artist her age, carefully lays out considered lyrics over the very best in genre bending music and makes no apologies for the way she looks at the world. That she does this while still maintaining "basic" pop sensibilities like a catchy as hell chorus with hooks and lines that make you shake your head and applaud at the same time ("broadcast the boom boom boom boom and make them all dance to it") places Lorde in a league of her own. 'The Louvre' is just one perfect track on an album comprised of perfect tracks. One that will have you singing along and, yes, dancing along as that megaphone broadcasts the beating of a heart that speaks to all of us. I might fall outside of young Ella's generation, but really she can be the spokesperson for all of them with stories that prove to be timeless, classic and sure to be loved for a lifetime. (Matt Bond)   

#98. SMALL HANDS, SMALL HEART

by Amanda Palmer

And I stopped counting when they buried my beloved in the ground...

You can think what you will about Amanda Palmer; you can agree or you can disagree about how she makes her music, lives her life, talks her politics, does her dishes, but there's just this one thing that has never faltered. There's this thing that keeps her making the songs, talking the talks and traveling her music as far as she can take it. It's a sense of life and a heart as big as one can imagine, which she always manages to somehow piece together and turn into what she calls 'things' via her Patreon, what others call 'art'. It's the piano she always manages to turn into goosebumps and the lyrics that always take my breath away which are what I so often seem to call my favourites. You can think what you will about Amanda Palmer, but there will always be a place for her in this small heart of mine. (Jo Michelmore)  

#97. BENEATHER

by Jack Colwell

I don't know where you go

But you find me.

The spirit of rock is strong in this one, yes, yes it is. Jack Colwell taking a walk down the metal path was something I never knew I wanted or needed and now I want and need it so very, very much. Because the attitude and presence Colwell exudes from every pore in his being throughout 'Beneather' fits him like a glove. Granted, this is an artist that has shown he can where many musical hats, but there's something about that voice we've come to know and love against wailing guitars and beating drums that just seems right. May he never stop surprising us with the wonderful things he can do. (Matt Bond)  

Jack Colwell can pretty much do no wrong in my musical eyes, which means these words are going to be biased, but you want fairness, you can write you own. K? 'Beneather' is just another piece of Jack's musical mastery; dark, deep, deathly delicious, it's not just a song of our years but a story and a journey, which all of J Colwell's tracks seem to be. They take you wild places and the drop you back home gently in your headphones again. Divine Jack Colwell, absolutely divine. (Jo Michelmore)

#96. WE GOT THE POWER

by Gorillaz ft. Jehnny Beth

And we dream of home, I dream of life out here

Their dreams are small, my dreams don't know fear.

I thought it was going to be a 70s disco anthem when I first started listening, but then it turned into a Gorillaz song, which is to say Damon Albarn's Damon Albarn voice kicked in, but what really amazed me was not either of those things but the fact that Noel Gallagher also appears on this track, which is downright hilarious to anyone who knows anything about music in the 90s, because in the 90s that would have only happened once hell froze over. Actually, has anyone checked? I've been busy writing weird words about songs I like, which includes this one. Hell hath frozen. Over. (Jo Michelmore)  

A little bit of manic, dance around electronica courtesy of the Gorillaz is exactly what we all need more of in our lives. It's also a small reminder that, uh, as the title suggest we have the power and I keep going on about how people need to riot more and make change blah blah blah because people power and so on and so forth. Okay, I'm not totally committed to the cause. But I want to live through as least one rebellion or mass 'rise up' of the people. I'll probably hear about it after the fact, possibly after waking up from an undeserved nap, but I still want to live through it, you know? Let's just call this music to gloriously rebel to. Or dance to. Whatever you prefer. (Matt Bond)

#95. YOUNG MELODY

by PNAU ft. Vera Blue

I won the other side of life,

For the most part.

We started these ten songs with some of the finest songwriters in all of the music landscape and we find ourselves now in the middle of a collection of some of the finest electronic dance music makers. We cater to all tastes here, you know? But we also like to dance and 'Young Melody', which sees PNAU team with rising star Vera Blue, is something you can get on down to. I imagine in a classy place, like an exclusive club on some remote island off the coast of Croatia overlooking the water and everyone is beautiful and obviously I'll never get in so I'll just stick to dancing to 'Young Melody' in my tiny, inner-city apartment. It's nice when music can take you places though, isn't it? (Matt Bond)

Am I allowed to write words about a song called 'Young Melody'? I'm not as young as some, and anyone who's heard me singing in the car knows sometimes I can be melody challenged, so I'm not sure I'm fit for the job. Regardless, I've hit play three times over on this one, because the familiarity of these beats is more than welcome and Vera Blue's vocal is, as always, something I can't stop wanting. And, even though I still stand by my original thoughts that PNAU are one of the worst named acts in this country, I also think they're one of the best. (Jo Michelmore) 

#94. CELLOPHANE RAINBOW

by SAFIA

Life is best served bland

Within a plastic wonder.

I can remember finding SAFIA a few years back and thinking that they were definitely destined for big things. About three people would have read the review I wrote about them, so clearly I was responsible for launching their career. (I wasn't.) People with this much talent don't need much more than themselves to find the success they deserve. 'Cellophane Rainbow' is just one in a list of many songs that prove those big things I predicted they were destined for became a reality. (Jo Michelmore) 

#93. SCIENCE FICTION

by The Belligerents

I've been losing sleep

I keep having dreams about science fiction.

Yeaaaah Brisbane! The Belligerents showed no signs of slowing down in 2017, releasing their debut album Science Fiction to a hugely positive response. Alternative radio was all over it and so it should have been, because it's got banging tunes like the title track (this one, for those not paying attention) which is 100% bouncing off the walls rock and roll excellence. The Belligerents just keep on getting better and better, growing into one of Australia's most promising future exports. And Lewis Stephenson is pulling out all the stops vocally these days. They've become a seamless unit that you can't help but get behind. Here's to even bigger things in the years to come. (Matt Bond)  

#92. SMOKE TOO MUCH

by JOY.

Now you're gone, feel like I'm choking

Here these words walk in circles.

I like how all the publicity images for this song show JOY smoking, just because it's something one doesn't see in marketing much these days. Has it been two years since I last spoke of JOY? And has she spent the last two years smoking? You know, all forms of it are supposedly bad for you and things, but if a little bit of smoking inspires a sweet little piano line and those breathy vocals like this, it can't be all bad can it? *Do not smoke kids. It's not good for you. (Jo Michelmore) 

Oh yeah definitely don't smoke any of the things, children. However, you should definitely listen to the music of JOY. because if there's one artist that lives up to her name, it's this one right here. Along with contemporaries like E^ST, mallrat and Airling - JOY. found a maturity in her music this year that took her to another level. There's something so reflective and powerful in 'Smoke Too Much', that despite the obvious interpretation has you looking a little deeper into what troubles such a young mind. PSA moment numero three; don't smoke the things. Do listen to JOY. (Matt Bond)

#91. DANCIN' AND ROMANCIN'

by Jeremy Neale

When the night is clear there will be dancin' and romancin'...

The coolest dude in music and a true gentleman and scholar, Jeremy Neale wowed the crowd in 2017 with songs from his debut album, Getting The Team Back Together. He's someone that seems like he could definitely get you through a night full of dancing and romancing, or at the very least through three and a half minutes of your day with some might fine rock and or roll music. The best thing is, you can repeat 'Dancin' and Romancin' over and over again to fill your entire day with little three and  a half minute segments of glory. You do you, boo. (Matt Bond)