Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Anything music related. Latest songs, good new bands, and blasts from the past.

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

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SONG #33


JOHNERLE

Jason Isbell, St. Peter's Autograph

“So you lost another friend, he couldn't stay to see the end, he had somewhere else to be, cut him down and burn the tree”





LEESTU

Iceage, Lockdown Blues

The first song I heard this year that specifically dealt with the 2020 lockdown. Here Iceage bring a Rolling Stones swagger with them.





SCREEN

Tove Lo feat. Jax Jones, Jacques





SHRYKE

Dayglow, Can I Call You Tonight?

There's so much time
For me to speak up, but I keep quiet
I'll complicate the most of the mantra
The power is out and I can't turn the fan on
So can I call you tonight?

Dayglow (aka Sloan Struble) released his debut EP Fuzzybrain in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2020 that “Can I Call You Tonight?” hit the charts. The lighter-than-air, ethereal vocals combine with with an early-90s guitar sound that makes my brain go to a happy place, when I remember artists like The Ocean Blue, The Lightning Seeds, and Julian Cope.

Album: Fuzzybrain
Other great tracks: Hot Rod, Run the World!!, Junior Varsity





SURFER

Bambara, Serafina

Awash with darkness and nods to Nick Cave, Bambara returned last year with this lead single to their new album, a song which drives and churns as it spits and crackles out its tale of doomed lovers. Heading like hell down the highway, barely slowing down to catch its breath in the choruses, its as exhilarating as the narrative itself. Reid Bateh's claustrophobic sneer wraps around the ice cold instrumentation, like a 1980s noir movie bathed in blood, and it makes for a song which is as terrifying as it is absorbing, as the burning fire of love for pyromaniacs never dies.





TRANSFORMERS

Kvelertak, Uglas Hegemoni

Vocalist changes are always cause for concern for bands-particularly when you're dealing with an act like Kvelertak that had a frontman who was so integral to their identity as an act since their debut in 2010. To my surprise, not only did their new vocalist seamlessly fit the group's 80s rocker from hell mold, his arrival provided a spark to the songwriting that subsequently led to the creation of an entire record full of electric tunes like this one.





UNDEADMONKEY

Galantis & Dolly Parton, Faith

I've always been a Galantis fan and this was my favorite song of their last album.

Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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silversurfer19
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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

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undeadmonkey
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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by undeadmonkey »

#35. Everything i wanted is on my list later. The others just werent my thing.

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by undeadmonkey »

#34

Jason Isbell, Be Afraid
wasnt my thing, sorry.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Honey
While still not my thing, i can enjoy it in a weird artistical way. liked the previous song better though.


Meg Myers, Monster
Didn't love this song, but i'm curios enough to see if she has any other songs i might like. I really enjoyed her voice.


Semisonic, You’re Not Alone
Enjoyed this song and as you can tell from my list, there are a lot of songs that speak to the current situation we are all facing, so i'm on board.

Destroyer, Crimson Tide
interesting song. Not 100% positive, but I think Adventures in Solitutde was in my top100, if not it probably would be now. So with that said i like the song, would have loved it with someone else singing, It was a bit too much like spoken word for me.


Rina Sawayama, Who's Gonna Save U Now?:

didn't love the song, but i did enjoy her voice, reminded me of Gaga, but in a good way.


overall a pretty solid round

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by undeadmonkey »

Jason Isbell, St. Peter's Autograph
Loved this song, added it to my library, and yet it was so different than the previous song you had on here. super weird. loved it enough that i will go listen to the rest of the album and maybe even more.
(hah, whatever dude, countrys country)



Dayglow, Can I Call You Tonight?
why he look so much like Eric Forman, did they make this video when they were doing their 'roundtable'?
Song wise, didn't love it but was ok.


The other songs werent my thing


(LOL, i always read comments after listening to the songs, just to go in without preconceived notions , found it funny i wasnt the only one who heard Gaga in tranny's previous song)

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by Leestu »

#33

Transformers: good rocking energy to this...I like the punky vocals

Surfer: there seems to be a huge early dark Nick Cave influence here, musically, vocally, and lyrically...I liked it, listened to it a couple of times

Shryke: nice lightweight positive vibe song

John: it's okay but a bit dull

UDM: hah! a dancey cover of a song I only know from Benny & Joon

Screen: meh

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by transformers2 »

#33
John: Rare instance of me not digging an Isbell track you've posted. This was a little too sleepy for my tastes.

Leestu: Pretty good tune. Can definitely see the Stones comparison.

Screen: Tove Lo doesn't screw around when she wants to make a house-inspired track. This has the griminess, huge hook and subwoofer-destroying bass that every proper house song should strive to have. If I wasn't adhering to the strictly 2020 rule for my list (or we had done a countdown for 2019), this would've been included.

Shryke: Can understand the appeal of its warm, relaxed atmosphere, it's just that this type of indie pop doesn't really connect with me.

Surfer: Not really sure how I feel about this one. There were times where the whole deadpan nocturnal vibe was kind of cool and others where I found to be stiff. Going to have to go it another listen later in the week to clarify my take on it.

UDM: How the hell did Dolly get roped into this god damn abomination?
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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by Shrykespeare »

#33.

UDM - Faith - This worked about as well for me as KLM teaming up with Tammy Wynette for "Justified and Ancient". Which is to say, not at all.

Tranny - Uglas Hegemoni - Funny... I have two songs on my FB Top 100 by a Norwegian metal band. Though Kvertlak and Wig Wam are quite different stylistically, I can definitely see the appeal. Whereas Kvertlak is 80s rocker from hell, Wig Wam is 80s rockers with hair. Check them out for a chortle.

Surfer - Serafina - Even if I hate the song, I LOVE your descriptions! Seriously, dude, you should do a blog for album reviews! (I'm not even kidding... they're that good.) Maybe you'll go viral! (PS Didn't like the song.)

Screen - Jacques - I can't top Tranny's description, so I won't try.

Leestu - Lockdown Blues - How ironic that you invoke the Stones, when in fact, the Stones' "Living in a Ghost Town" (my #94) was the first song I heard about the lockdown.

JohnErle - St. Peter's Autograph - This was nice.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by Shrykespeare »

SONG #32


JOHNERLE

Jason Isbell, Only Children

“Cold coffee on a fire escape, we bet it all on a demo tape”





LEESTU

Run The Jewels feat. Pharell Williams & Zack de la Rocha, JU$T

Worthwhile lyrics, passionate delivery, insanely catchy beat, an anthem like chorus that’s fun to chant along with, and the return of Zack from RATM to a RTJ song. Worked for me.





SCREEN

Meg Myers, Grizzly





SHRYKE

The Birthday Massacre, Run

We can't start over
It's a small world
Till it's on your shoulders

I discovered a lot of great bands in 2020. The introduction that has generated the most listens on my part has been, without question, The Birthday Massacre. This Canadian dark-wave band enraptured me from the get-go to such an extent that I immediately devoured a large percentage of their back catalogue. Their latest album, Diamonds, dropped in early 2020, and it’s fucking AMAZING. Honestly, if I did an albums chart, this would be #1. Honestly, there isn’t a bad track on it. Sara “Chibi” Taylor’s amazing vocals blend with powerful, soaring synths throughout. If shoegaze or its various branches are your thing, check it out. This is the first of FOUR songs off this album that will be on my list.





SURFER

Alien Nosejob, Weight Of The World

Jake Robertson of Aussie upstarts Ausmuteants and School Damage branched out on his own again last year for his second record, taking the jangle pop of his first solo record and making it, as the album title explained 'Everything Is Twice As Loud'. It made for a fun record filled with lots of ideas, but it was this lighter song which is just wonderfully breezy, capturing a sense of The Clean with its lo-fi pop sound that feels effortless despite the skill involved. The soft vocals and intricate melody rings in your head for days afterwards, just like all good earworms should, and will keep me going while he is at work on the dozen or so other bands he has until the next Alien Nosejob album.





TRANSFORMERS

Victoria Monet, Moment

Monet, a veteran songwriter best known for her frequent collaborations with Ariana Grande and co-writing Chloe x Halle's recent hit "Do It"-has started to step in front of the mic more often recently and while she's still trying to work out her own artistic identity as a singer, powerhouse tracks like "Moment" show off the abundance of raw talent and potential she possesses that makes her future prospects bright.





UNDEADMONKEY

Dua Lipa, Physical

Another cheesy song but I'm a fan of the current 80s inspired pop hits.

Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by undeadmonkey »

Jason Isbell, Only Children
didn't like this one as much as the previous one, but still decent.


Run The Jewels feat. Pharell Williams & Zack de la Rocha, JU$T
super catchy beat


Meg Myers, Grizzly
i had the same problem with this song as the last, i really like her voice, don't like the music.

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

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just got back to the other 3 but they werent as good as the first 3.

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by transformers2 »

#32
John: Felt similarly about this as yesterday's pick. Just not enough juice there compositionally to move the needle for me.

Leestu: One of the better cuts from RTJ4. Every reason you outlined is exactly why I love it too. Would've been in my top 75-100.

Screen: Still not crazy about her vocals, but the rockier vibe of this made me enjoy it more than Monster. Also surprised to learn that she's signed to Sumerian Records. That label is typically reserved for the type of clown metal bands that I listen to!!!!

Shryke: Not bad at all. Their 20+ years as a band shows in the tight songwriting on display here and the main synthline was pretty cool.

Surfer: The guitarwork from 1:39-2:10 that's repeated again near the end was pretty catchy. The rest of it made me feel like I was watching a Zack Braff movie and it's never pleasant when I'm reminded of Garden State's existence.

UDM: Dua Lipa really came into her own on Future Nostalgia. Her ability to churn out bouncy, extremely catchy tracks like this consistently is exactly why she's cemented herself as one of the best pop artists on the planet right now after only 2 LP's.
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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by Leestu »

Surfer: I am surprised anyone else has even heard of Ausmuteants, this is very different from their synth punk, and new to me - I had no idea he had some solo material...quite a charming song

John: the best one so far from this album, probably because of the nostalgic lyrics and the background vocal harmonies

Shryke: I like the atmosphere created here, it's a bit like a darker Chvrches...I'm not too keen on the vocals but that's just a personal taste thing not a criticism of them

Screen: pretty decent...I like her vocals

Tranny: not bad but a bit too R&B smooth for my tastes

UDM: I sort of get why she's so popular but dance-pop is not a genre for me

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by JohnErle »

everything i wanted – It's a decent tune, but far too much bass for me. It probably sounds fine for kids raised on hip-hop and Beats headphones.

Meg Myers – This is from 2013? Time for more Hawkwind!

Lockdown Blues – That felt pretty uninspired. It's the musical equivalent of a bad SNL sketch that's so concerned with being topical it forgets to be funny.

Jacques – After three seconds I knew it wasn't for me. The next three minutes didn't change my opinion.

Dayglow – There was a controversial Canadian punk band called the Dayglow Abortions. I'm pretty sure these guys wouldn't want to be mistaken for them. This was nice and sunny, but didn't stick with me.

Serafina – He's a much better singer than Nick Cave, but it still bored me in a Nick Cave kinda way.

Uggs Hodgepodge – The production is so crowded I wasn't sure if he was singing in a foreign language or not. Nor did I care.

Galantis – Autotuned Dolly Parton? Now I've heard everything. Her voice is about as recognizable as her face after all the plastic surgery.

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Re: Top 50 Songs of 2020 (40-31)

Post by Shrykespeare »

#32

JohnErle - Only Children - I definitely like your picks far more than you like mine. Maybe your genres of choice are rubbing off on me. (MAYBE.)

Leestu - Ju$t - Not for me.

Screen - Grizzly - This was ok. Other than Running Up That Hill, though, I haven't found a MM song I'd return to.

Surfer - Weight of the World - First off, that band's name is right up there with The The and Ned's Atomic Dustbin as the greatest band name of all time. As for the music... I'm a fan of the playful, twangy guitars, but not the guy's voice.

Tranny - Moment - Not for me.

UDM - Physical - Huh. I actually liked this. Taking my temperature...
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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