Best of 2016 Pt. 2

Thanks for introducing me to Kids and Peter Pan from the Worst list mention. I had never heard either song before and love both of them. (Actually surprising to me as I tend to not like either OneRepublic nor country.)

Thanks for putting all of your blood, sweat, and tears into these reviews. I don't listen to much pop radio, so I actually discovered Uptown Funk because of your spotlight on it. :)

WireMouse

Thanks for the list todd!! i'll... accept, your #1 pic. its def not number 1 worthy, compared to a lot of the previous number ones. But the rest was cool. glad to see ari and coldplay make an appearance :)

Aisha

Poor Todd, your quest is done, rest now warrior critic. Thanks for another great list, since I don't listen to pop stations much, I always find some songs I like from your lists. :)

aw whaaaaaaat.. oh well it's your opinion after all. idk i guess i just find #1 too obnoxious to like

Overall though, I liked this list a lot. Even number one even though that song makes me want to get a higher dose of Zoloft. Your number three this year was better than your number three last year. Personally, I like Side to Side a lot. I feel like Grande has improved for the better.

Yvette

Is it bad that I think number 7 was essentially like Shut Up and Dance but had more energy and charisma to back it up?

Yvette

That was my thought too. Same with last year's list. I was like 'Soooo is Style by Taylor Swift going to be on here? He tweeted about how much he liked it' and then BAM number one.

Yvette

It didn't make the year end hundred. Plus, if you check out Todd's Twitter he said he really only like the first ten seconds.

Yvette

*Devilish laugh followed by a raised middle finger*

Hate #1. Haaaaaaaate #1. But I do like most of the other stuff.

Jacob Alys Rudolph

#Blessed

RecursiveFault

Nevermind. Turns out that in PC is fine, on my devices it doesn't register.

E-Joy

Wow, thanks for the recommendation of Kungs vs Cookin’ on 3 Burners, "This Girl". Had not heard before, am enjoying!

I've been waiting and hoping for this all week! I know the accepted wisdom is that people enjoy critics bashing stuff they dislike, but I love the top ten list so much. Thanks for exhausting yourself for us!

JojoScotia

I can't see part 2 :(

E-Joy

#5 (The Weeknd): I guess this is here due to that killer groove? Take note, Fallout Boy: this is how you do a ridiculous ego trip song and pull it off. #4 (Mike Posner): I still can't believe Mike Posner (with the help of SeeB) managed to create a legit good song. This song is depressing, but in a good way. Some people have tried to frame it as "white man petulance", but you can only do that if you're lazy, because depression really is that much of a bitch (not from personal experience). #3 (Ariana Grande): Before I talk about the song, one little note: 'Dangerous Woman' isn't about how Ari is dangerous, it's about how she FEELS LIKE A dangerous woman. FFS. 'Into You', OTOH? SO GOOD. Honestly, it might be better than 'Love Me Harder' (and I love that song), if only because there aren't any uncomfortable sex references on 'Into You'. This is this year's 'Style': a song with a killer groove that is the best in their respective artists' discographies. #2 (Bruno Mars): Oh you bet this is a big old rip-off of 'Uptown Funk', both musically and lyrically. At least Bruno is mining a different area of the '80s: it's more Cameo / Zapp (peep that vocoder at the start) than Morris Day and the Time. That hashtag blessed bit at the end of the second verse could have been unbearably obnoxious, but putting it in the context of Jesus makes it make sense, and Bruno Mars is charismatic enough to pull it off (at least IMHO). #1 (... those fratwads): OK, Todd. I get why you like this song, but honestly, I hate the Chainsmokers so much they could release a song that was 10 times as good as 'Style' and I'd probably still hate them. You have to be stupidly talented to pull off dissing Lady Gaga in my opinion, and these guys aren't stupidly talented. Joanna Newsom only just managed to pull it off (remember when she called Gaga 'Arty Spice' back in 2010?) and even then? Huge emphasis on 'just'. I guess it comes down to: the emphasis you put on musical quality; whether or not you interpret the lyrics as the guy being a selfish asshole playing on age-related fears to get into the girl's pants; and how much research you put into the Chainsmokers' discography, because there are a lot of their songs where the woman is in the submissive position. In summary: I think I can accept this, but I can now understand people who got upset at Todd putting 'California Gurls' at #2 on the 2010 Best list, because Jesus fuck. And that was a much better song.

Grace

I guess he didn't like Perfect Illusion enough? It only got onto the top 20 for a week anyway. Personally, I think the radio stations are stupid and deliberately snubbing good music because of their own hangups (i.e. WRT 'Million Reasons').

Grace

My #1 is Formation, which managed to get into the top 10. That song makes me so damn happy.

Grace

I guess it's this one but I don't get it: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLweMmzS_Go" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLweMmzS_Go</a>

Robert

How is "The Hills" ironic? Even if it is, it's still a shitty song.

LifeIsStrange

Starboy is OK, but I facepalmed when he said WRAITH instead of WRATH. I personally would've put Selena Gomez-Hands to Myself and Meghan Trainor-No on this list instead of Cake by the Ocean and Starboy I would've put Closer on the worst list, that song sucks ass, I think your excuse for putting it as #1 was really flimsy, I think that subject matter does been done better in songs like this one:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTCnno-3EGE" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTCnno-3EGE</a> The drop sounds like a Xylophone being dropped down a flight of stairs.

LifeIsStrange

What do you think of Final Song by MØ?

I dunno bout that #1 man...... no Gaga or 21 pilots? Also props to the 1 coldplay song. That is as well the only coldplay song I like

If anyone knows where that interview with Posner is I would love to watch it

As soon as I heard #2 a while back, I thought "Woh, Shadow Todd bait".

Brett

Woh, Dark Horse candidate for #1. I really like that song, but I'm surprised it made it to the top (although I'm not surprised that your #2 song was #2, because it really is just a retread). That said, it just works for me - I've got a soft spot for her over-singing both on this song and her other major singles.

Brett

I still can't get over the red rover sample in Rover. Though, that's the entire reason why I hate that song. I suppose if I didn't know the kids playground game I wouldn't hate the song and might even like it.

sugarfrosted

Thank you for mentioning The Sound. I've taken to writing Top 10 Near Misses lists for myself in recent years and that one is definitely high on my 2016 list. If you want to know who the insufferable hipsters in your circle of friends really are, play that song for them. They'll probably scoff at it and dismiss it using the same words that flash on screen in the video, but completely ignore the very dark subject matter of the lyrics and completely miss the irony of the song.

Brad Riegner

At 4:04, there's a brief moment of a black screen with no image.

Owen W

My #1 is "Hold Up," which I know, barely made it on to the top 20 for like a week, but I don't care.

Martha Boatright

Figures my phone won't download the video. I can't wait to find out what you picked!!!

Toryana Frazier

I don't care much about Closer one way or another but oh my god, I almost screeched when I saw Into You. I've loved that song for months and seen very few other people mention it, so I'm so happy it was so high on your list.

I'm honestly surprised Gaga's Perfect Illusion wasn't mentioned. I figured it would at least get an honorable mention for sounding so unlike the rest of the year. It's not my favorite track by her, but it was such a welcome change of pace.

Sammy

So my least favorite hit song of the year was your #1. It's fitting for 2016, I suppose. But even though we disagree on the song, I completely understand your reasoning for why you like it so much, and that's exactly why I come to these videos: to hear you talk about why you like what you like.

Owen W

I was very surprised your number 2 was not your number 1. and I was VERY surprised that your number 1 was number one. I also enjoy the song but I didn't think it was gonna be that high for you. Great list/video though Todd, cheers!

Around 7:08 Christina Aguilera is superimposed over a (still?) shot of you at the piano. Otherwise I didn't notice any errors. Amy is an extremely good dog, so obviously she deserves to win.

Mara

I may have audibly screamed when I saw your number 1 ^_^

Oh also, 'Feel it Coming'

Woa I was NOT expecting number 1 to be number 1! I did find the lyrics for that song jarring at first, but the tune won me over after a few listens. Bruno Mars "retreading" Uptown Funk honestly did feel like something we needed in 2016.

Annette Huang

Almost exactly the same was my list, except I had 'Hold Up' in there and 'Roses' at number 1. 'Closer' is lyrically okay but the production is lame, 'Roses' is one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard.

Got to say I am not suprise by these songs but I have to say none of these will end up on my playlists

Kirk Mackintosh

Good list, Todd. I didn't find any errors with it. :)

Going through the honorable mentions, I kept saying to myself "Wow, he's really not gonna mention Closer, is he?" To my surprise and happiness, there it was at #1. I don't even like the entirety of the song, but those verses are to die for. Perfect #1, and Bruno at 2 was perfect as well.

i have no idea where i heard the sound but i love it and i'm glad it got a mention here

sweesbees

5 through 2 were basically what I expected would be on the list, but boy I did not see #1 coming

Andrew Lenahan

The four leading up to number one were all the ones I expected. I was hoping for either Broccoli by D.R.A.M., Ride by Twenty One Pilots, or Emperor's New Clothes to show up somewhere, but alas, that'll just have to be my list. Also, I completely agree with Todd's number one...

10: Yeah this is just a pretty fun song. Like one of the three upbeat songs released this year too. I like some Coldplay. Never been a huge fan. This is pretty fine. 9: Ehh, this one's just not really my thing. I don't like the staccato vocal thing, I've never liked it. And the lyrics may be great and all but I mostly judge songs by sound, unless the lyrics blow and ruin it. 8: Yeah I just don't think Drake songs sound... even passable, especially in 2016. This doesn't sound good. Lyrics might be okay, don't care. 7: Honestly I like the "AY YA YA YA YA" bit more than I should. And the bassline itself is fine... but the song's kind of repetitive as heck and very one note. Really wears on you quickly. 6: Feel she oversings the chorus a bit but otherwise, yeah, this is a nice song. Probably should check out this album in full sometime, but ehh. 5: Oh god, Todd still hasn't figured out that The Hills was ironic. Yeah, Daft Punk really steal the show here and this is probably my favorite song of the year, but as I don't care about the lyrics at all, I'll happily ignore them and just groove to how good this one sounds. 4: This one's really good too, honestly surprised you didn't have it higher given your review of it. But won't complain that it's here, either. 3: The production on this one doesn't really do it for me, just sounds too cluttered and noisy. Song's still okay enough though. 2: Okay I really should've seen this one coming though. Yeah. Keep on chuggin', Bruno. HM1: Same song except Taylor is a better singer, but, yeah. HM2: Eehhh. No thanks. HM3: Always nice to have Sia around, though she'll probably never have another Chandelier. HM4: Ahh yes, the song that existed. HM5: Dunno these guys at all but I've seen a lot of hype. HM6: OneRepublic continues to be pretty solid, I guess. Dunno this either but I'm always in favor of more OneRepublic. HM7: Don't know this one either. Seems okay... I guess? 1: Didn't see that one coming. Don't agree with it at all, this song's just... mediocre really. But. Okay. Your list and all.

Crow

Hell of a curveball, but never feel bad for the music you love dude! Also, i should probably go check out The 1975 right about now.

Adam Nelson

<a href="https://vimeo.com/201246374/851d801531" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/201246374/851d801531</a>

Todd in the Shadows

I was told this isn't working; If it isn't, here's a link

Todd in the Shadows