Craig’s Friday Countdown - Top 16 Rock / Alts

The favorite rock / alternative additions to the iPod for 2016.  The standard rules apply: not necessarily recorded in 2016, not saying they’re the best songs (just favorites), probably not on the list if the band is super big - cause they don’t need my help.  Next week, jazz / singer-songwriters. 

17.  Alive: Warbly Jets – Not yet available on iTunes.  Stop back next year to see if it makes the Top 17 in 2017.    

16.  A Little Uncanny: Connor Oberst – “Got me to read those Russian authors through and through”.  Not for everyone (and this may belong on the singer-songwriter list) but that one lyric gets it in the top 16 for me.

15.  Waste A Moment: Kings of Leon – The best NEEDTOBREATH song of 2016 is from Kings of Leon. 

14.  Overnight: The Wild Feathers

13.  Modern Act: Cloud Nothings – The Cloud Nothings faithful are aghast. So, factor that in.

12. (tie)  Rita May Young, Off The Ground: The Record Company

11.  Fake I.D.: Joyce Manor

10.  Sun: The Hoteliers

9.  I Know: Shovels and Rope

8.  (tie) Where the Night Goes, Getting Ready to Get Down: Josh Ritter – More pop than rock or alt, but so fun & joyful, they had to make the list.  Here's one (here).  You can find the other.  Fun and joyful.  Take that, 2016.

7.  Shallow End: Superchunk – Didn’t make the jump to mp3, way back when.    

6.  7: Catfish and the Bottlemen – While Sturgill Simpson is busy saving county, four guys from Wales are doing what they can for guitar rock.    

5.  (tie) Call To Arms: Sturgill Simpson / What It Means: Drive By Truckers – Aforementioned country (alt country?) savior and DBT with some straight ahead alt-country protestations.

4. (tie) Nobody Wins, Steve McQueen, Painkillers, Wonderful Life: Brian Fallon – Gaslight Anthem’s former frontman on his own, and doing well.  The Wonderful Life vid (here).

3.  Box Full of Letters: Wilco – Had a Napster download of it.  Wracked with guilt, I ponied up the $1.29 to make it legit. 

2.  Spin The Dial: Beach Slang – The best Replacements tune of 2016 is by Beach Slang.  (here) 

1.  Soundcheck: Catfish and the Bottlemen – Checkout what is purported to be the first live performance of the song (here).  Unless you're subject to seizures from strobe lights and / or riotous euphoria.