The Top 30 Worst Songs of 2017:

Each year it gets harder limiting this list to a mere 30 songs: so many repeat offenders never tire of producing bad musov.

A few superlatives: four former year-end "champions" are back. The overall tally now has clear daylight between the top two artists...both prominent this year again.

Here is the list:







1. Playdough Cooked In Tea (Me & Me): literally a mini-EP full of the same sentence and drawn out horribly that not even IceJJFish could top. Very disturbing too.







2. Mans Not Hot (Big Shaq): every half-assed rapper wants to be Jamaican relevant.







3. Ice On Me (IceJJFish): last year’s worst find back with a vengeance.







4. Ohio Fried Chicken (Jake Paul): at first I thought this was satire but the dangerous thing about Paul is that he’s dead serious with this shit.







5. Rake It Up (Yo Gotti feat. Nicki Minaj): why is Nicki still on these failed thirst-trap projects.







6. Its Everyday Bro (Jake Paul): the Donald Trump of pop music this year.







7. Bingo (Jacob Sartorious): get ready to laugh—but not the good type of laugh.







8. Her Knight (IceJJFish): more retarded foolishness.







9. I Love You Bro (Jake Paul): the sentiment is noted but trashiness undeniable.







10. The Bone (IceJJFish): deliberate crap.







11. Creature (KSI): would be higher but, mercifully, it’s a short song.







12. Saturday Night (Jake Paul): this type of culture appropriation should be illegal.







13. I’m A Lady (Meghan Trainor): her wretchedness is unending.







14. Sheet (Spice): this from a so-called feminist?







15. DN Freestyle (Lil Yachty): a song that mentions turning someone’s mom into a pedophile…immediate pass.







16. Karate (Soulja Boy): he’s not even trying here.







17. Just Like That (IceJJFish): pointless.







18. Hit Em With The Draco (Soulja Boy): a diss track that, alas, will in turn get dissed by critics…like what I’m doing right now.







19. Juice (Lady Leshurr): well, at least the beat is good.







20. Hands Hurt (Soulja Boy): his thin-rap formula refuses to let up.







21. Peek A Boo (Lil Yachty): prime example why thirst rap is failing.







22. Break Up Every Night (The Chainsmokers): how they can follow up a line like, “she wants to break up every night” with, “then tries to fuck me back to life” is beyond reason.







23. Blame It On You (Charli XCX): still shamelessly trying—and failing—to be Billboard pop relevant.







24. Boys (Charli XCX): pointless repetition.







25. Middle Fingers (MISSIO): painful to listen right through.







26. Body Like A Back Road (Sam Hunt): the ludicrous result when country meets, gulp, bro-rap.







27. Bud Like You (AJR): this type of bro-rap should only be heard at football matches.






28. Bloodstream (The Chainsmokers): they say self-diagnosing oneself is the first step.







29. The Last Text (Jacob Sartorious): tries to be mature but a song about text messaging…oy.







30. Weak (AJR): the brothers feel harmonizing choruses can cover up…no they can’t.

IT'S BACK: THE YEAR-END LIST EXTRAGAVANZA!!!

Whoa, have I been absent but fear not....December is around the corner and that means lots of lists.


STAY TUNED AS OF TOMORROW!

THE TOP 10 BEST FILMS OF 2016...

Not a particularly great year in film but its been a hectic one. Here are the best films:









1. THE WITCH: the new wave of horror films continues its impressive streak with Eggers' debut, a daring risk of old Purtanical value system versus humanity in its starkest denial: yes its a battle between sin and good but trapped between is youth not sure which side it belongs on. And that iconic ending will haunt you long after the credits roll.





2. LA LA LAND: forget the weird backlash its faced in recent times, Chazelle has constructed the most positive musical since Moulin Rogue--a work of art that joyously celebrates life and love. it gives hope to so many trapped in the dreary routine that is constantly surrounding us.





3. MOONLIGHT:to be young, black, gifted and queer...the new cinematic look of gay African-American life is emerging not only in music but film too and Jenkins' astonishing film lets us know with the highs (acceptance from others) comes lows (teenage bullying) and, even more importantly, the resilence of survival.





4. CEMETARY OF SPLENDOUR: no other director takes the everyday mundane stuff and shapes it into fantastical simple things like Apichatpong Weerasethakul.





5. DON’T BREATHE: you will never look at a blind person again and doubt their capabilities. it's not technically a horror film but this is downright scary and nightmarish. bravo!





6. FENCES: a labour of love and it shows as Denzel and Viola trade fire and ice in an absorbing pas de deux.





7. ZOOTOPIA: sublime animation but its the reality of the diversity issue that really raises the stakes.





8. SING STREET: the oldest story in the world: boy meets girl, boy falls in love but girl is older and not really looking at him. That is until he makes her believe he's headlining in a rock band. From there, 'Sing Street' flows seamlessly into a sequence of uniform goodness--with great music taste along the way.





9. DON’T THINK TWICE: when friends move from congratulating you on the new promotion to outright jealously, 'Don't Think Twice' treads on the grey space carefully but its done with so much wit and honesty. It even had the incoming Trump presidency and SNL battle spot on.





10. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR: the natural critically-approved successor to 'The Avengers', this one even surpasses it.

The Top 30 ALBUMS of 2016: Part Three (#1--10)...

A strong year for albums ends with a new year-end champ:









1.Frank Ocean Blonde: ever since Channel Orange and his sexuality became public knowledge four years ago, the music world have eagerly awaited Ocean’s next move. Blonde is a natural progression but Ben Beaumont-Thomas sums it up best for The Guardian online when he states that Blonde represents the psychic reality of 251st century youth culture. I’d go a step further and add queer fluidity to that. Blonde, with its ambivalent cover and alternative spelling, is unabashedly gay or, more correctly, not totally straight. Ocean gets his listeners so well because he reflects the same nervousness and insecurities and that transcends race and sexuality. All that frustration to compress individuality into the grand social acceptance boils over into the remarkable closing track, Futura Free, where he breaks down, strips his façade away and steps into full sublime mode.

Frank Ocean - 'Nikes' from DoBeDo Productions on Vimeo.

2. Esperanza Spalding Emily’s D + Evolution: in a year dominated by the Knowles sisters, leave it to Spalding to release an album that combines the attitude and personal politics of both to present a superior album. Heavy, fink grooves run wild juxtaposed to her empowering lyrics. Emily’s D + Evolution is the result of a two year hiatus from music but given how perfect the first 7 tracks are, you’d never know. If the album catches its break after that magical opening breath it is just to catch a quick sip to press on.










3. Danny Brown Atrocity Exhibition: after two very different types of albums, one wondered which Danny Brown would be trotted out this year and I’m pleased to see that alien-Danny is just as intriguing. Atrocity Exhibition populates its spaces with a lot of proto-funk and braggadocio, two things he’s never been short of but he’s cutting it so much harder this time. Strains of Outkast and rock can be heard but clown Danny is in there too.










4. Kendrick Lamar Untitled Unmastered: fresh from repositions black culture last year with To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar now tosses out that album’s discarded tracks and it’s like a treasure trove of gems. In fact, I’m not sure how other artists can listen to these “rejects” and not have a sinking feeling that they’ll never put anything out half as good ( here’s looking at you J. Cole).









5. A Tribe Called Quest We Got It From Here…Thanks 4 Your Service: you know an album is elite when it draws out Busts Rhymes’ best work in decades (Mobius) and. Like D’angelo, there was a long gap between this and the last album and yet again it was well worth the wait. While waiting, Q-tip and company have updated their references and tackled new fights—even if the enemies remain the same. The Black Lives Matter struggle, xenophobia and identity crises all get thrown in. We Got It From Here…never tries to assimilate into the culture however but merely adds its piece, respectfully but forcefully.









6. David Bowie Blackstar: In avoiding making another rock album—by producer Tony Visconti’s own admission—David Bowie has surreptitiously turned into a new type of star at 69, the type that eludes the folly of his peers because he’s not trying to sound cool, he just fucking is cool. And that’s by not committing the often-made mistake of ripping his former self off or fronting with whichever flavor of the month musician is around. No, Bowie has simply reinvented himself and trusted that we’re open to his ongoing evolution.











7. Mitski Puberty 2: let’s get the St. Vincent comparisons out of the way first: both women approach pop similarly but Mitski drags her nails in mud doing so---which works out rather deliciously on nerdy hits like Happy and Dan The Dancer. She never loses focus though, which makes this album a grower.











8. Radiohead A Pool Shaped Moon: with their ninth album, Radiohead reminds us that no one does ghost rock quite like them and perhaps no other band ever will. It’s common knowledge that a lot of these songs have been around in some shape or form for at least 15 years now—a long gestation period—but that’s the charm of them, of a band that’s never wavered from an aesthetic we’ve come to love and appreciate as totally peerless sand high end.











9. Pusha T Darkest Before Dawn: nearly a year after its release, Darkest Before Dawn has not lost any of its potency, especially now in this Trump America. The gritty lyrics compliment the reality in the world’s super power…an unflinching personal view on greed and power.











10. Anderson .Paak Malibu: Anderson .Paak not only looks like an old soul but he sounds it too on the phenomenal Malibu, the album that has proven to be his breakthrough. A track-list that runs 16 songs could prove daunting but enough cornbread funk is here along with his sense of timing: listen to the precision that marks Come Down and see that this kat ain’t leaving anything to chance.