It is the most wonderful time of the year. Well not really cause I hate the cold, but there are holidays to celebrate and more importantly big lists to make.

It is difficult to compare with 2017, but I think we are at least stronger at the top this year. Last year was vulnerable enough to have a last minute new artist come in and dominate both album and song wise. And one year later I still think that is the right decision. That Sheer Mag album is hot. Would not have been the case this year as my #1 artist is pretty much locked in, as is #2 and #3 and #4. So lets say we are stronger at the top, but 2017 beat me in the middle.

So let us soon kick off the official fourth version of the Flava'd Fifty.

Let's start with some history.

Here is the Flava'd Fifty 2 for 2017 songs.

http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=83724


And of course a history of number ones going back to 2003. A solid list of its own though I might change a few in retrospect.

2003: “Faint”- Linkin Park
2004: “Ch-Check It Out”- Beastie Boys
2005: “Helena”- My Chemical Romance
2006: “When You Were Young” -The Killers
2007: “Through The Fire And Flames” - Dragonforce
2008: “All Nightmare Long” - Metallica
2009: “Panic Switch” - Silversun Pickups
2010: “Dance Yourself Clean”- LCD Soundsystem
2011: “Get Away”- Yuck
2012: “Little Talks”- Of Monsters Of Men
2013: “Unbelievers”- Vampire Weekend
2014: “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry”- Run The Jewels
2015: “Dead Inside”- Muse
2016: “Forget Me Now” - Against The Current

And we can now add:




2017: "Need To Feel Your Love" - Sheer Mag

Will begin the actual fifty in a little bit. The issue right now is that I have 51 and cannot decide what to cut. So whenever I figure that out you all will be the first to know.

A tough song to leave off but I kinda forgot about it until doing my yearly review. So as great as it is, I gave priority to songs I was consistently listening to over the year.

"You make a fool of death with your beauty"





50. Hunger by Florence + The Machine

"20K that ain't shit to me, Get you knocked off for some groceries"





49. Plug Walk by Rich The Kid

"I think therefore I die, Anxiety and I rolling down a mountain"



48. Over and Over and Over by Jack White

"You can hide or You can be your own museum and shine"





47. Go Out Fighting by Dr. Dog

"That Arizona sky burning in your eyes, You look at me and babe I wanna catch on fire"





46. Always Remember Us This Way by Lady Gaga

Hunger was a nice comeback single for Florence. Much better than "What Kind Of Man" and maybe even more than "Ship To Wreck". The whole album is good quality really and takes you back to the Ceremonial days. It's odd to think of yourself as more clear headed as a teenager who is horny for the first time, but she makes a good point about us trying to replace that feeling with copious amounts of other things throughout life.

Plug Walk was one of my biggest jams for most of the year as I was slowly coming around to some mumblerappers. But then Eminem totally buried the subgenre on Kamikaze and suddenly Rich's nonsense lyrics seemed a lot worse. Still, it is a fantastic beat and a killer hook. Definitely worthy of an inclusion, even if lower than I would have expected months ago.

Over and Over and Over is just a killer rock song. One that isn't just looking to the past for better times like the genre has become known for. In fact, Jack sees the endless repetition in this line of thinking, thus the title of the song.

As a psychadelic pop-rock band, Dr. Dog are on and off. But when they're on, they are one of my favorite artists on the planet. Go Out Fighting is a pretty simple message but not one that will ever get old. And even The Doors would be proud of how they infuse keyboard solos into this song.

Gaga has never actually made one of my lists before, though I've come to appreciate her older stuff more as the years go on. The last album didn't even have a single I liked. But with an assist from Bradley Cooper, Gaga is back and better than ever. She has finally figured out how to sing a serious song without being really annoying and somewhat elitist. Of course her bridge on Shallow (OHH OHHHH OHHH OHHH WOAH WOAH OHHHH) almost killed my point, but even that song is good enough surive her nonsense. Always 'Member is just a well written and well sung and doesn't have to compromised by her usual nonsense.

Nice thread, good way to catch up on some music.

"A shadow breathing through a straw, clinging to the myth that you were cheated"



45. What A Time To Be Alive by Superchunk

"If you're looking for a fright and you wanna do it right"



44. Turn Off The Light by Kim Petras

"Found you when your heart was broke, I filled your cup until it overflowed"




43. Without Me by Halsey

"You think one plus seven, seven, seven makes two"




42. Major System Error by Marmozets

"Stack my money fast and go"



41. APESHIT by The Carters and Migos

What A Time … always uplifts me despite its somewhat sarcastic title. Hey I'd rather see the rot with no disguise then walk around blindfolded. And maybe taking advantage of that rot is wrong, as the man with power in this song so easily does (hmmm who could they be talking about?) But if you've conquered the world maybe you deserve to take a satisfied breath, Thanos did.

Kim Petras is the first transgender artist to ever feature on a music list, unless you count Against Me but he was still a dude when they made "Don't Lose Touch". I wouldn't have even known if a friend hadn't mocked me for complementing her instagram. And while I may not be curious enough to take a bite, I stand by my comment. She is erotic and it comes off in her Halloween themed EP. She also has a song called Boo! Bitch on there which makes me laugh.

I didn't care for Without Me the first time I heard it, probably cause of the Cry Me A River part, and that she is singing about the guy who says "If I hit it one time I'ma pipe her". I preferred Carly's Party For One which was released on the same day. Yet here stands Halsey while Jeps is on the bench for the first time since 2014. Halsey just pours it out on here, recording right after the break up. A smart move, but it must have been tough to compose herself to write something this good on the fly.

I didn't know Marmozets released a video for MSE, thinking only Play and Habits had been released as singles. That is a helluva great music video though. Pretty simple concept but I don't think I've seen it done before. And the song still rocks as much as always. So double job for these Aussies.

Beyonce and Jay-Z doing mumble rap about how rich they are could have been a disaster. And commercially it kind of was, but artiscally it wound up being some of the best music either of them has made. I think there are two keys to this result. One is that they are throwing a party and inviting us to enjoy it with them rather than just being dicks about the whole thing. And second is that Beyonce just kills it as a rapper on these albums. It makes me think she just drop the whole R&B thing and be more of a Drake-like artist.

"Russell Simmons wanna pray for me too, well I'ma pray for him too cause he got #MeToo'd"





40. Yikes by Kanye West

"For all that we know, the heart is pumping rhythms that are not our own"




39. Short Court Style by Natalie Prass

"Don't give me that look, that let me down easy smile"




38. Shoot Me Straight by Brothers Osborne

"Bitch, you a wannabe Cardi"



37. "Bartier Cardi" by Cardi B and 21 Savage

"I tell you what, let's make a deal, if I take the gas then you take the wheel"



36. Bathed In Light by The Dirty Nil

Kanye had a weird year that was most known for his work outside the studio. Not only did he come out as Trump's #1 black supporter, but suggested that the 13th amendment to the constitution (which prohibits slavery) was holding black people down since slavery was a choice. Normally Kanye can get away with this kind of crazy because he makes up for it with terrific music, but not so much this time. His Ye album was his weakest to date until the very next week's awful Kids See Ghosts. But at least we got Yikes (and All Mine) out of the endeavor. His production of Pusha T and Nas' albums was also very good. Still waitin on Yahndi though...

Natalie Prass' jazzy alt-pop debut album made an impression on me (Birds Of Prey is dope), but something wasn't quite right. Suffice to say, she has taken a leap beyond that with the superior production of The Future and The Past. I almost went with the bombastic Oh My here, but I'm just really into this adorable love song. Round and round...

Brothers Osborne are country so most of you can just walk right on by. However, it is more country-rock, ala Eric Church's Outsiders album. The title track for that album is obviously the biggest influence on Shoot Me Straight musically, though its possible the heart ache is what causes you to burn the rubber off your tires. The music video for this song is also good, but they cut the Really Long Solo off the end of it so it's basically useless since thats the best part of the song.

I wanna party with Cardi! I don't need diamonds all my body but she seems like she'd be a good hang. What a great year for her. Bodak Yellow was a massive hit in 2017, but nobody was really sure if she was the real deal. Every female rapper gets treated as the greatest thing since the genre is so penis heavy and in desperate need of diversity. Yet we've seen time and time again how girls like Nicki Minaj and Iggy Izaela just don't deserve the initial acclaim they get. Cardi deserves cause she fuckin delivered with her debut album. Not even 21 Savage can ruin the best song on the album, and not one artist in history has been able to say that.

I listed The Dirty Nil as a top 5 new artist, even though I only gave the album a B. The album has some lows, but I figure if you can hit peaks like Bathed In Light or That's What Heaven Feels Like it signals a more promising future than a B+ album full of solid but not spectacular songs. Their sky is undoubtably generating thunder and I expect lightning to strike sooner rather than later.

Beyoncé needs to make more music likes Crazy in Love, Irreplaceable and Single Ladies, not more rap crap you crazy person!