THE TOP 100 SONGS OF 2016: PART FOUR (#21--40)...

getting closer to the ultimate reveal...








21. JJ (Priests): ladies and gentlemen, I present that voice, Katy Alice Greer...






22. Nuh Skylarking (Keznamdi): every Jamaican knows what this is about.






23. Boy Problems (Carly Rae Jepsen): the hidden hand here is Sia but Jepsen coos the shyt out of this track!






24. Collected Views From Dinner (Kilo Kish): quite the feat of presenting real thoughts from your dinner guests.






25. Don’t Make Me Wait (Emma Pollock): impatient pop/rock.





26. No Care (Daughter): last call recollections.






27. Untitled 02(Kendrick Lamar): if this is what a demo, un-selected track from Kendrick sounds like then damn!






28. A Hundred Ropes (Minor Victories): bringing back 1980s synths and cold vocal work.






29. Tis A Pity She Was A Whore (David Bowie): some times the second takes in life are better. Originally recorded in 2014 for another album, Bowie re-recorded it and this new jazzy syntax running through its DNA courtesy of Donny McCaslin is LIFE!






30. Hello (Erykah Badu feat Andre 3000): a better, blacker spin on what Adele sought to achieve on her song.








31. Dopamine (DIIV): this is the poppy flower shoegaze that Beach House has been failing to produce a for a while now!






32. Giving Bad People Good Ideas (Death Grips): the contrast of the soft chorus and hard, metal quash of everything else works splendidly.






33. Filaments (Shearwater): Meiburg will never shake the Bowie tag but this year that's more poignant than ever and "Filaments" is his best homage yet.






34. Liquid Gate (Cavern Of Anti-Matter feat. Bradford Cox): aptly-titled, the prodigious talent of Cox gets the full treatment.






35. Beggin’ And Pleadin’ (Brandy): blast from the past, Brandy samples John Lee Hooker's song "Boom Boom" and creates a soul masterpiece in the process.






36. Ultralight Beam (Kanye West feat. Kirk Frankin, Kelly Price, Chance the Rapper & The Dream): despite all the controversy this year, its not for nothing that Kanye starts off his latest album with contrition--removing himself for large parts of "Ultralight Beam", allowing his guest stars to shine and its a brilliant effect.






37. Freedom(Beyonce feat. Kendrick Lamar): contains a plethora of samples but once the organ trips in and Knowles gets into the chorus, all that strips away into something totally original.






38. Your Prime (Anderson .Paak): the new theme song for all those sugar daddies out there trying to put their young girlfriends through college.






39. Ain’t It Funny (Danny Brown): that maddening production contains elements from "Wervin'" performed by Nick Mason but it fits in snugly into this new alien-esque Danny.






40. Close To You (Frank Ocean): it's too short but Ocean channels his inner D'angelo but still manages to make it his own, in that pensive sad aesthetic that he's perfected.

THE TOP 100 SONGS OF 2016: PART THREE (#41--60)...

More great groves from the year...













41. Enough!! (A Tribe Called Quest): old school jam, proving that delivery--not production--is paramount in hip/hop. Samples Rotary Connection's "Memory Band" to great effect.






42. Into You (Ariana Grande): she may never outgrow the Mariah comparison but Ariana steps into grown woman heels with this dark underground jam that grooves for days.






43. Borderline (An Ode To Self Care) (Solange feat. Q-tip): Beyonce's sister has always been seen as a type of oddity but here flawlessly pushing her grooves on this track, Solange has finally made a breakthrough statement.






44. When It Rain (Danny Brown): Brown continues to morph into an Outkast-type alien and though some critics have received it with distance cool, I'm totally on board.






45. Eye Of A Hurricane (Kyle Craft): Craft states he's influenced by Dylan but he sounds like a Stones man to me, with that snarl.






46. 33 GOD (Bon Iver): sporting new, edgier sound but its still the same sweet refrain we've all come to love/






47. Le Bon Gripper (Divino Nino): this very outstanding band now tackling trippy, psychedelia.






48. Pink + White (Frank Ocean): Ocean works cleanly within his lines, his craftsmanship remains understated and impeccable.






49. Glory Hallelujah (Teleman): it's also tricky trying to juxtapose praise music into pop but Teleman has cooked this one just right.






50. Jang A Lang (Lizzo): I can't be the only one who hears the influence of Missy Elliott jingling through all this fabulousness.







51. Ali R U OK? (M.I.A.): Maya almost going folk-pop on us and it works!






52. Better Than Me (Blood Orange): such a subtle, stunning expose of insecurities.






53. Long Goodbye (Charlie Hilton): who say women can't challenge yet groove in rock?






54. Korea (St. Lenox):learning should be fun and if you can get me head-bopping through a geographical illustration then cool.






55. Strange Torpedo (Lucy Dacus): this is exactly the type of earnest pop Laura Marling should be doing.






56. Powerball (Topaz Jones): who hasn't thought about recording a winning lottery ticket eh!






57. Lie To Me (Future): while his messy beef with ex Ciara looks behind him now, kudos to Future for culling some good stuff, music-wise, from it.






58. Real Thing (Jonathan Johansson): if you listen real closely you realise that Johansson slips in and out of English but its such a groovy track that it doesn't alter the pleasure of listening to it.






59. Swords (M.I.A.): the sounds of her in between Arular and Kala, or in other words, her heyday.






60. Promise Me (Aish): the type of guitar-bleeding pop tune that will make Jaime Stewart mad that he didn't come up with the idea first.

THE TOP 100 SONGS OF 2016: PART TWO...#61--80

some of the biggest name in pop music represented today...










61. Groovy Tony/Eddie Kane (Schoolboy Q): still on his thuggery but compacting two ideas into one proves masterful.






62. Appeals (Bayonne):wouldn't sound out of place on Animal Collective 2009's masterpiece, Merriweather Post Pavillion.






63. 96 (Turin Brakes): when the guitars bleed into the sad chorus, the track swings upwardly.






64. If Ya Want Me (The Jezabels): rotates blissfully in spectral production.






65. All Night (Chance The Rapper feat. Knox Fortune): skipping to the tune he alone is hearing.





66. I Have Been To The Mountain (Kevin Morby): the grand pop theatrics juxtaposed to beats equals a win.






67. Come To Mama (Lady Gaga): this new, stripped-down Gaga may very well be here most interesting yet.






68. Vertical (Animal Collective): the real standout from a disappointing album but here the boys shine and offer a glimmer of hope that harmonies may be strengthening again.






69. Kirby (Aesop Rock): yes its catchy but check out the groovy chunks of his vocal delivery too.






70. Shut Up Kiss Me (Angel Olsen): Olsen's consistent prodding of her intuitive feminine side continues to pay rick dividends.







71. Hungry (White Lung): a blueprint for all these starter rock groups as to how build an amazing some around a catchy chorus.






72. Rising Water (James Vincent McMorrow): add McMorrow to the increasing list of white soul brothers doing amazing stuff.






73. Burn The Witch (Radiohead): no one executes high art in rock like Radiohead, as this simple tune demonstrates.






74. Mellow Blue Polka Dot (Damien Jurado): almost has a sacred religious ethos to it.






75. Inside The Mattress (Future): like he says in the track, "i'm getting better/ I been in practice".






76. Try/Effortless (DVSN): while The Weeknd continues to fall to the lure of commercialism, younger horn dogs are moving in.






77. Laughter Is The Best Medicine (Cass McCombs):soul world-weariness finds its home.






78. Mouth Mantra (Bjork): no one else can fuse this type of spastic electronica like Bjork and sound so engrossing.





79. The New Romantics (Taylor Swift): perfectly captures the Gen Y recklessness and defiance.





80. Eliot St. (Quilt): sad, introspective ballad.