Favorite Songs Of 2016

Anyone who knows me knows that it's pretty rare that I take a liking to any modern releases. 2016 yielded a few songs that I was actually impressed with, much to my surprise. Far and away my #1 song of 2016 was "Body Talk" by Foxes. It first caught my attention playing at an Off Fifth store. I thought it was a long lost 80s song that had somehow escaped me. "Body Talk" definitely has that vintage 80s sound to it, with a smidgen of modern production to it(fortunately the loudness war volume here isn't as destructive as in the past). It's got some awesome reverb and delay fx, used in very specific ways that enhance the song. The distorted vocals are wonderful too. There's even a lack of hissing on the vocal tracks, which has been a real problem on releases by artists such as Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. You would think with these huge budgets that someone could figure out how to make sure the singers aren't hissing like snakes.

"Body Talk" has such an atmosphere about it that you're instantly transported into some other dimension. It's not like so many other modern releases where it sounds so plain and bare bones that the only place it takes the listener is the engineer's computer screen. "Body Talk" successfully recreates the energetic desperation found on albums by the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Fiona. Another "body" song headed in the right direction is "Body Say" by Demi Lovato. I first heard this at a live show and wondered how I missed it. Her live sound is more in line with the more 80sish production of "Body Say" and listening to her album after the show was a real letdown because it was so bare bones compared to the live mix.

There were a lot of other good tracks on compilations such as Bravo Hits 93 and 94. "I'll Never Forget You" by Zara Larsson and MNEK is a particular standout. Like a new take on 90s Eurodance. "Don't let me Down" by Chainsmokers and Daya is another sort of modern Eurodance song. 2015 had yielded some really great stuff too, like the criminally overlooked "Cheyenne" by Jason DeRulo and the underrated "Writing's On The Wall" by Sam Smith as heard in Spectre. It's a bit ironic that it's the Pop songs taking all the creative risks and trying different things.

It's tough for me to come up with anything Hard Rock or Metal that I really like from the last few years. Everyone is using the same fake drums and same-sounding downtuned guitars. The songs lack creativity and melody and everything sounds too neat and squeaky clean. Many members of the leading bands of these genres are seemingly more interested in singing the praises of Hillary and/or trashing Trump than they are in producing the best music possible. That's if creating new music is even on the agenda at all. Too often it seems that if they do put out something new, it's a rush job which sounds like a pale imitation of their past works. Nostalgia and playing the same setlist over and over for years seems to be the order of the day. The newest videos from labels like Frontiers, Metal Blade, Century Media, and Nuclear Blast all kind of blend into each other like some generic cocktail of trendy, sterile albums. Sad that in 2016 these supposed rebellious genres of music are now the most insecure, formulaic, and corporatized of everything.