Surviving 2016: Favorite Songs

It’s fair to say that in most respects 2016 will go down in history as a dumpster fire train wreck of a year. The reasons why have been well-documented, from the cultural dissonance following surreal turns of political events to far too many deaths leaving behind gaping holes in our culture, and, in many cases, our personal lives.

As I get wrapped up in my own reflections about this ridiculous year finally nearing an end, I want to try and look for the bright spots. There sure aren’t many, but maybe highlighting a few will help start the coming year with some degree of optimism. To start off, I’m listing my ten favorite new songs of 2016. These are all songs that, to the best of my knowledge, were first released this year, and for different reasons became important enough to me to leave existential marks.

Usually my top 10 lists include the preface “in no particular order,” but not this time. I think we’re going to have an actual countdown here. I’ll try to spare you from any long-winded descriptions of why these songs made it onto my list. Click on the titles below if you'd like to follow links to these songs, then judge for yourself. 

10) “Helicopters” by Sixx A.M.
This makes the list more for timing than anything else. It’s about losing someone. I came to know it in the days following the death of a longtime friend, while I was trying find my way through the emotional aftermath. Not that I've figured it all out yet, but I'm getting there.

9) “Hard Love” by Needtobreathe
A standout from a new album by one of my favorite discovered bands from the past five or so years. A good summer driving song.

8) “Empty” by Garbage
I’d been waiting for new music from this band for years, and their 2016 release did not disappoint. I’ve realized a lot of songs that I like tend to juxtapose bright pop-rock music with darker lyrics. This is an example of that.

7) “Chosen” by Dream Theater
A power ballad from one of my current favorite musical acts that would have made any band in the 80s or 90s into proud millionaires.

6) “Sleep on the Floor” by The Lumineers
Another type of favorite song I have is one with great storytelling in the lyrics, like this.

5) “Forever Now” by Green Day
Their new album, Revolution Radio, was one of the strongest of the year. This one, coming in at just under seven minutes and broken into shorter movements, was a solid way to close off both the album and this crap year.

4) “Our New World” by Dream Theater
The only unabashedly optimistic song on this list. The album it comes from was a rock opera, and this song comes in at the end of the story after the conflict has been resolved and the characters have reasons to look forward to the future. I certainly feel some of that same anticipation, but after this past year I wish I could feel more.

3) “So We Can Stay Alive” by Garbage
A hard rock song with a thick electronic pulse and easily the greatest bass guitar solo of the year.

2) “It’s Just Us Now” by Sleigh Bells
By far the most polarizing song on this list. I would expect when people hear it for the first time they’d be able to decide by the end of the first minute if they love or hate it. I think it’s one of the coolest things I’ve heard in years.

1) “Bored to Death” by Blink-182
It’s unusual for me to connect with a radio hit, but this one really did the trick. Again, bright pop-rock with darker lyrics, but engaging harmony, a heroic sing-along bridge, and great playing. This deserved to be the hit it was. It resonated with me so much that when I found the title being used as graffiti, I had to snap a photo.

If that doesn’t appropriately cap off 2016, I don’t know what can.