Tracks of the Year 2016

These are my top forty tracks of 2016.  The playlist is available on Spotify and some of the videos are provided below for those of you of an audiovisual persuasion.

In reverse order...

#40 Wind In Our Sail by Weezer

A jaunty pop song full of sailing imagery. 

#39 Cool Out by Matthew E. White

A laid back tune with a whispered duet

#38 Night Owl by Metronomy

Sounds like a lost synth classic from the early '80s.

#37 Nihilist Party Anthem by Ball Park Music

Australian band from Brisbane with a dark indie-rock singalong.

#36 End Of An Era by Public Access TV

Typical NYC sound.  Could be The Strokes younger brothers. 

#35 Nothing But Love by James

Manchester's James still creating alternative love songs complete with horn sections.

#34 Signs by The Magnetic North

Simon Tong, former member of The Verve is behind this band and this beautiful song.

#33 Bulls by The Cat Empire

Infectious melody from the Aussie rock reggae band. 

#32 Let Me Get There by Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions featuring Kurt Vile

A quiet year for Kurt Vile so I expect he is recording new material.  

Hope Sandoval, on the other hand, released an album and will return later in this list.

#31 Natty Rides Again by Nattali Rize & Julian Marley

Head nodding Jamaican Reggae. 

#30 Drag by Cat's Eyes

Canadian singer Rachel Zeffira and a member from The Horrors making dreamy 60's influenced pop.

#29 On Hold by The XX

First new single from The XX for several years pushing the dance beats to the fore.

#28 Subways by Avalanches 

Melbourne Cut N Paste DJ Collective return after 15 years with a long awaited second album featuring this excellent track.

#27 What Part Of Me by Low

Minnesota slowcore band with a hypnotic duet. 

#26 Second Heartbeat by Urthboy featuring Sampa The Great

Aussie Hip Hop tune that Spotify informs me was my third most played track of 2016.

#25 Come On Mess Me Up by Club Sport

Another excellent Brisbane indie band.  

#24 You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen R.I.P.

The Canadian singer's final single released on his 82nd Birthday and three weeks before his death.

#23 Before The Wall by Kyle Craft

In the ramshackle style of a Dylan protest song this is a song that dreads an American future under President Donald Trump. 

#22 The Opposite Of Us by Big Scary

Melbourne band with an epic piano ballad. 

#21 1955 by Hilltop Hoods 

Skip hop legends with their ode to living in a small town and feeling like you are sixty years behind. 

#20 Randy by Justice

Funky French dance rock fusion.  Make sure you listen to the full version not the radio edit which cuts off the euphoric instrumental ending.

#19 Bad Habits by The Last Shadow Puppets
Taken from the second album from Miles Kane and Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner.

#18 Blast Off by The Allergies featuring Andy Cooper 

The Allergies have been making some smoking tunes lately and here the team up with Andy Cooper of my favorite US rap artists Ugly Duckling to ensure the Hip Hop Don't Stop.

#17 Dark Necessities by Red Hot Chili Peppers 

RHCP are still creating laid back funk rock which pleases me immensely.

 #16 Poem by She Drew The Gun

 Social commentary from a new band who hail from Liverpool.

Are we about to see a re-emergence of protest singers in the next few years? 

#15 Ain't No Love by Jake Bugg

This album track songs like an Odelay-era Beck song and was the highlight of Jake's third album.

#14 Gamma Knife by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard 

Sydney's High Priests of Weirdness.

#13 Big Ideas by The Boxer Rebellion

Epic production, great voice and guitars reminiscent of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" result in a tune that swerves into cheesy territory but I still love it. 

#12 California Kids by Weezer

Taken from Weezer's White Album which was one of the best albums released this year.  

No matter how bad things are there is always a beach in California.  

#11 Lauren by Men I Trust

A laidback funky bassline underpins this song about... 

well the lyrics appear to be randomly generated so I wouldn't focus on them.

#10 You Are Killing Me by The Dandy Warhols

Best tune from The Dandy Warhols this century and I've been playing regularly all year and it hasn't lost any of its appeal. 

#9 Another Day by Steve Mason

Former Beta Band frontman treading a similar path to his previous band but its a track well worth following.

#8 Robin Hood by Jamie T

This is the greatest homage to The Clash that I have ever heard - enjoy all the lyrical references and the unmistakable joyful Clash sound.  

#7 Shakedown Street by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

This is a funky cover of a Grateful Dead song from the 1970's and I have been unable to shake it from my head.

#6 One More Night by Michael Kiwanuka

London based singer with a modern classic.

#5 Beautiful Thing by The Stone Roses

22 years after The Second Coming The Roses return with two singles (one cheesy and one groovy) 

This is the one, this is the one I've waited for! 

#4  1 in 100,000 by L-Fresh The Lion 

Australian hip hop with beats, drops, attitude and Indian percussion. 

#3 Wow by Beck

Wow Indeed! Just drop your new album and stop teasing me with a new single every twelve months.

#2 The Spoils by Massive Attack featuring Hope Sandoval

Hope Sandoval's second appearance in this list is for her haunting vocals over this beautiful prime cut from the Godfathers of Trip Hop.  

#1 Burn The Witch by Radiohead

What else could it be? A claustrophobic string-laden rock gem   

The video is also my favorite of the year as Cambellwick Green meets The Wickerman.