Music in 2017 was filled with my favorite bands and ALOT of Kpop. Go figure?
Like 2016, I didn’t listen as much albums. I listened to a lot of one-shots—a song from different albums. Lots of good music from my favorites, who I’ve seen in concert before and want to again, and Korean pop music that make me want to dance.
Here are the albums I listened to. (It is in order of when I listened to them, and the links go to Spotify.)
THE XX | I See You |
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The xx are an English indie pop band formed in 2005 in Wandsworth, London. I See You is their third album.
I…love this album. Like a lot. It’s certainly one of my all-time favorites (right up there with Arctic Monkey’s AM) that I can play over and again. I See You is a bit of departure in sound from their previous two albums, but it’s still distinctively The xx with Romy Croft and Oliver Sim’s gorgeous dual singing. It’s an emotional album that speaks about the relationship between the members, and you can feel the affection. It’s simply lovely.
My Fave Songs: I Dare You, Say Something Loving, A Violent Noise, On Hold, Seasons Run
LORDE | Melodrama |
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Lorde (aka Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Melodrama is her sophomore album.
Lorde continues to stun me with her music. I love how her songs are so easy to sing and how relatable it is. Melodrama is a perfect name for the songs that Lorde presents to us. Melodrama is very much about the loneliness one feels after a break-up, and it is weirdly therapeutic listening to it. I love how her songs change throughout the album.
My Fave Songs: Hard Feelings/Loveless, The Louvre, Writer in the Dark, Sober II (Melodrama), Supercut,
BRAND NEW | Science Fiction |
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Brand New is a rock band from Long Island, New York. Science Fiction is their fifth and final album.
Who could’ve predicted that Brand New released their final album? Nobody. Everybody thought it was a possibility, but with eight years since the last album. Science Fiction blew me away because it’s quintessentially Brand New, and this is it, no more Brand New. This is emotional (the end is nigh!), and it’s spectacular.
My Fave Songs: Same Logic/Teeth, 451, No Control, Lit Me Up, Batter Up
G.SOUL | Circles |
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Kim Ji Hyun, better known by his stage name G.Soul, is a Korean singer.
I didn’t expect to fall in love with G.Soul’s music (I tend to gravitate toward girl groups), but oh man, Circles is fantastic. You get that R&B with Electronica. It’s a deadly mixture that hits me right where I love. Even though I don’t know what he’s singing about, I’m singing along.
KARD | Hola Hola |
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KARD is a South Korean co-ed group formed by DSP Media, consisting of B.M. Somin, Jiwoo, and J.seph.
KARD has their hold on me. I’m a big fan of electronic music, and when you pair that with a catchy dance (which you should all see), hook line sinker. It got me. I can’t help but dance along—well, bop my head around while I wave my arms wildly as I try to imitate it. Also, what’s not fun about singing both the girls and guys parts?
My Fave Songs: Don’t Recall, Rumor, I Can’t Stop
THE NATIONAL | Sleep Well Beast |
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The National is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 1999. Sleep Well Beast is their seventh studio album.
Matt Berninger sure knows how to croon. The National knows what works for them, and it’s that soft and quietness of Matt’s voice that always goes into a quick paced epicness. I am always impressed by the scale of the music that the National creates, and Sleep Well Beast is no different. They are a band that makes you close your eyes and sway.
My Fave Songs: The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness, Day I Die, Guilty Party, Empire Line
BLACK CANARY | EP 2 |
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From Gotham to Apokolips, songs for broken gods and superwomen, Black Canary are: D.D. – screams/kicks, Paloma Terrific – electronics, Lord Byron – rhythm & shoes, and Ditto – axe.
My beloved Black Canary returns with EP 2!! And guess what! It is just as BADASS as EP 1! We said goodbye to Black Canary’s solo comic, but she’s not completely gone. She’s still kickin’, and EP 2 gets that Canary love going on.
My fave songs: Get In The Car, Lost Art, Last Days
GRACIE AND RACHEL | Gracie and Rachel |
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Gracie and Rachel is an orchestral pop piano-violin duo. This is their debut album.
Fun fact: I went to high school with Gracie and Rachel.
Gracie and Rachel are…magical together. Their songs are so haunting—in the sense that it has this darkness to it that give you this mysterious atmosphere. Their music can easily seduce their listeners to do their bidding, which I’m very okay with. (At least, it sounds like it.)
My Fave Songs: (Un)comfortable, It’s Time, Go, Upside Down, Only A Child, Tiptoe
BTS | Love Yourself ‘Her’ |
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BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment
BTS is blowing up! And I’m so happy they’re getting the attention they deserve. I fell deep in love with BTS because of this album (even though I’ve listened to their previous ones) because it’s just so much fun and ridiculous. This album reinforced my love for them, and everybody needs BTS in their life.
My Fave Songs: Go Go, DNA, MIC Drop, Pied Piper,
JESSIE WARE | Glasshouse |
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Jessie Ware is an English singer and songwriter. Glasshouse is her third album.
MY QUEEN IS BACK! It’s been three years since the last one, and oh my god, how did I survive without Jessie Ware belting out her songs? You can feel the love and affection radiating off Glasshouse for her family. My heart feels it and yearns for that. Like Tough Love, her voice is so goddamn soulful. I love her.
My Fave Songs: Hearts, Thinking About You, Last of the True Believers, Alone, Midnight,
TAEMIN | Move |
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Taemin is a South Korean singer and is a member of SHINee. Move is the second full-length studio length album.
I was never a fan of Taemin, but this album, goddamn, it’s a goddamn awakening—sexual and everything. His titular song, Move, is…I don’t know how to describe it. It’s very sensual and seductive. It all started with this fancam of his performance at Seoul Fashion Week, and you guys, you’re in for a fucking treat. (I love that he wanted to break gender stereotypes with this dance.) It’s life-changing. Really.
My Fave Songs: Move, Love, Rise, Stone Heart, Thirsty
RED VELVET | Perfect Red |
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Red Velvet (Hangul: 레드벨벳) is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment. Perfect Velvet is their second studio album.
My Kpop queens! The songs and aesthetics of this album is fucking on point. I am absolutely stunned. Their titular song, Peek-A-Boo, isn’t the upbeat pop-ness of their previous singles—Red Flavor and Rookie—but that’s okay because it is haunting, and I love that! Red Velvet continues to be my sunshine girl group in Kpop!
My Fave Songs: Peek-A-Boo, Kingdom Come, My Second Date
EPIK HIGH | We’ve Done Something Wonderful |
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Epik High (Hangul: 에픽하이) is a South Korean alternative hip hop group from Seoul, composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz. We’ve Done Something Wonderful is their tenth full length studio album.
Want to get into Korean hip hop? Epik High is where it’s at, always. They continue to serve all the musical talents—both in lyrics and sound—in Korean music. It’s so well-crafted that every song is like an addition to each other. You can’t help but be mesmerized by the rhymes and the beats.
My Fave Songs: The Benefits of Heartbreak, Lost One, Home Is Far Away, No Thanks, People Scare Me, Munbae-dong
THOR: RAGNAROK | OST |
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Thor: Ragnarok (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the Marvel Studios film Thor: Ragnarok composed by Mark Mothersbaugh
Thor: Ragnarok is certainly one of my favorite Marvel movies (right up there with Captain America: The Winter Soldier). It’s just…fun, so of course I had to start listening to the soundtrack to relive the moments from the movies.
My Fave Songs: Thor: Ragnarok, Flashback, What Heroes Do, Grandmaster Jam Session,
SPECIAL MENTION |
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SONGS (I listened to these over and over again for months):
- Black Pink – “As If It’s Your Last”
- Jay Park – “Mommae,” “Yacht,” “All I Wanna Do,” & “Me Like Yuh”
- Mino – “Body”;
- Zico – “Bermuda Triangle” + “Eureka”
- Sunmi – “Gashina”
- Sik-K
- EXID – “DDD”
- Block B – “Shall We Dance”
Tasya says
I love The XX and As If It’s Your Last is definitely my end of year anthem! :D
Dianne @ Oops! I Read A Book Again says
According to Spotify, my top song for the year was MINO’s Body. I was just so obsessed with that song and still am! It’s just so good. I also loved BLACKPINK’s songs (every song rotated as an earworm) and Jay Park’s All I Wanna Do (I wish I can learn the dance but I’m too stiff for that). And then Sunmi’s Gashina too! 2017 was the year I got back into kpop and I’m glad I’m back!