[Bonus] Best Of B-Sides III: 2017 Edition

Rather than make another Best Of B-Sides installment and having to refer to the list of ineligible artists, I figured I could use this one to highlight some B-sides that were some of my favorites of the year. It'll keep things recent while still providing some quality tracks that will segue nicely into next week's post about the best overall songs of the year. Treat this almost like a prologue to the Best Of 2017, if you will.

Primary - Drama (feat. Sunggyu)

Primary always drops amazing music. Even though they always trigger me because the featured artist is the only singer, I can forgive them for the quality songs. What's up with releasing half of a music video though? They did it with Solji, too. Anyway Sunggyu rocks "Drama," his voice stretches all across his range in this song and works very well on either end. Sunggyu has historically been great at conveying emotion when he sings, and that's evident throughout Infinite's discography and any collaborations like this one. With a group comeback in the work (sans Hoya) it'll be good to hear his voice some more.

Taeyeon - Fire

This is the best song with the title of "Fire." Get at me 2NE1 and BTS. Anyway "My Voice" is one of the best albums of the year (surprise) so it's not surprising to find the tracklist extraordinary. Much like Sunggyu in "Drama," Taeyeon runs her voice everywhere and sounds wonderful doing so. What's special about "Fire" is that the chorus comes in super fast: 35 seconds in but the song as a whole never feels rushed. That bridge is therapeutic, too. I'd love to hear like a heavy rock variation on this piece, or even with just a heavier drums influence.

[Bonus] Best Of 2012 Revisited

Here's a fun twist. I'm going to look at and revise my list of best songs from each of the past 4 years. Well, maybe. I'm going to start with the 2012 set for obvious reasons, and we'll see how I feel as it goes. Should be an interesting take and parallel to the Power Ranking pieces. Each entry will include a link to the MV, the original song in that position in parentheses (to make the list look prettier), and then some short comments about the song's rise, fall, or if it's a new addition to the list, why it deserves to be here and etc.

#12. B.A.P - Warrior (--)
Original: B.A.P - Warrior

Starting off the revisions with a lack of revision, B.A.P's "Warrior" remains one of the strongest and impressive debuts to date. The choreography was excellent and the rapping on another level (in terms of debuts anyway). While the team blonde look didn't help us get acquainted with the members, it's an iconic image if only for Zelo's ramen hairstyle. This introductory piece did a great job laying the foundation for B.A.P tracks to come.

#11. Juniel - Bad Man (-7)
Original: EXO-K - Angel

So I vastly overestimated Juniel back in 2012. She has had a good string of releases up until her departure from FNC, but "Bad Man" remains her best work. To put it in top 4 though was very very ambitious and as I found out over the years, Juniel's music is very niche and as a result doesn't have as much staying power as I'd want. Regardless, it's still good enough to not get outright dropped like other songs. And there's more to do with reevaluated songs being better than "Bad Man" being overhyped back then.