Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

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

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JohnErle
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by JohnErle »

Leestu,

You had me worried for a second because I thought you said your son was in this band, so I was going to have to choose my words carefully if I hated it. Eventually I figured out you meant your son was friends with these guys, and luckily the song was very nice!

2020 was a game changing year for me too, and I'm not far away from 50 myself, so I get what you're saying about the mileage on your body and the desire to make major life changes. I wish you the best of luck with this next chapter of your life.

Unlike that spring chicken Six, I preferred the quieter sections of your #1, because my tired old ears don't enjoy being pummelled by a wall of sound the way they used to, but it's okay in small doses, like the climax of Cherub. Day And Age was also excellent, so I'll try to check out the whole album soon.

A lot of your picks were heavily compressed, so your ears must be in better shape than your back, but the compression was often a bit much for me. Rat!Hammock was nice, and I've already downloaded the Fontaines DC and RTJ albums, so there was some stuff there that appealed to me. And you still support your local scene, which I totally respect. As for Idles, I'm not ready to say they've jumped the shark, but it does seem like they're treading water, and you Aussies know better than most that treading water is a good way to attract sharks.

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Leestu
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by Leestu »

Thanks John and Six. Things are good now and the future is bright.

Just to clarify we have no connection to, or know anyone from Ball Park Music. I may not have worded it well but I was just trying to describe the origin story of the band as something that happens in the music college system here a lot but the rarity of actually becoming a succesful band as a result of it. Again I've probably worded that bad too, but I hope you get what I mean now.

And Six...I'm not sure what that Idles FB group is about. I had a quick look but it's a private group?

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numbersix
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by numbersix »

It's called ALL IS LOVE: AF GANG (IDLES Community) and yeah I think you have to ask to join it. Worth it

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by Shrykespeare »

UNDEADMONKEY'S LIST

50. Leann Rimes, When the Party is Over
49. Riley Baron, Myself
48. Robin Schulz, In Your Eyes
47. Shakira, Perro Fiel
46. Duke Dumont, Ocean Drive
45. The Chicks, Sleep at Night
44. Hauser, Once Upon a Time in the West
43. Avril Lavigne, We Are Warriors
42. Alexander 23, IDK You Yet
41. Black Eyed Peas & Shakira, Girl Like Me
40. Westlife, Hello My Love
39. Rocio Jurado, Como una Ola
38. Lady Antebellum, Ocean
37. Billie Eilish, Ocean Eyes
36. blackbear, hot girl bummer
35. High Valley, Rivers Still Running
34. Sia, Together
33. Galantis & Dolly Parton, Faith
32. Dua Lipa, Physical
31. Pedro Capo with Alicia Keys & Farruko, Calma
30. Kacey Musgrave, Rainbow
29. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, I'll Never Love Again
28. Avril Lavigne, Head Above Water
27. Ed Sheeran feat. Khalid, Beautiful People
26. OneRepublic, Rescue Me
25. Selena Gomez, Dance Again
24. Hauser, River Flows in You
23. Sam Wick, Сон
22. Jonas Blue/Tracy Chapman, Fast Car
21. Andrea Bocelli, Return to Love
20. Uktarsh Ambudkar, Self Respect
19. Skrillex & Poo Bear, Would You Ever
18. Rosalia, A Pale
17. Camilo, Shakira & Pedro Capo, Tutu
16. Chris Renzema, Springtime
15. DVBBS feat. blackbear & 24KGoldn, Tinted Eyes
14. Shakira, Antologia
13. Master KG feat. Nomcebo, Jerusalema
12. Missy Elliott, Cool Off
11. Andrea Bocelli, Fall On Me
10. Blue October, I Hope You're Happy
9. Sam Smith, To Die For
8. Selena Gomez, Lose You to Love Me
7. Rufus Du Sol, Treat You Better
6. Riley Baron, Breathe
5. Billie Eilish, everything i wanted
4. Seeed, Ticket
3. Hauser, Adagio for Strings
2. Ed Sheeran & Andrea Bocelli, Perfect Symphony


And now:

UNDEADMONKEY'S #1

Shakira, Tu

I realize I've probably had the most songs on my list of anyone that didn't release in 2020, but I don't generally keep up with music. i like what i like and if i hear something new somewhere and i love it i might check it out. and this countdown has added several new songs that i enjoy to my library. So thank you all for that.

This was my most listened to song in 2020. yes it's an old song, but it was off of the tour album that was released at the end of 2019, so kinda new.

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

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numbersix
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by numbersix »

Well, UDM, it's no shock that I didn't quite care for your songs, as that's always been the case for our music lists. I was hoping that since so many of your tracks were not from 2020, including the Shakira song which is from 98, that the list would be a bit better, but sadly not ;)

So yeah, not for me, although I did like the Billie Eilish songs and the Dua Lipa one wasn't bad either.

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by transformers2 »

Ron:
That Avalanches song hasn't grown on me at all since Leestu picked it. The intensity of the rap verses completely clash with the mellow instrumentation and muted, electronic vocal hook.

Fortunately, this was just a rare instance of me not liking one of your picks. From the rousing rap tunes (Drake, "Momentary Bliss") to the flashy pop ("Save Your Tears", "Only Makes It Human") to Flume's completely insane remix of "Blue", you brought a lot of fun, catchy tracks to this countdown-which really helped to break up the gloom that often occupied each day's playlist. The picks where you veered away from the upbeat end of spectrum weren't quite as successful, but "Leader of the Delinquents" is a great change of pace for Kid Cudi and the G Flip, Haim and Julia Jacklin tunes were quite good as well. It's also worth noting that we had a pair of crossovers in "Righteous" and "Lost in Yesterday"-which puts you in rarified air in these parts ;)
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by transformers2 »

Leestu:
Thanks for sharing your struggles and confirming a fear I had about getting old. While the song didn't really do much for me, the sincerity of its sentiments came through and I'm glad that it helped you navigate through a difficult situation.

Coming into this I expected to enjoy your list to be among my favorites and that proved to be accurate. Even with the pretty wide variety of stuff that was featured, there was a pretty consistent floor with your stuff that made me eager to dive into all of the tracks every day. It was cool to get introduced to bunch of small Australian acts that I likely wouldn't have heard otherwise (including most notably Stand Atlantic-whose cover of "Righteous is incredible), hear some more killer psych rock tunes from Ty Segall and see multiple picks from the new RTJ and Idles records. Most of all though thank you for convincing me to revisit K.G.. Honey and Intrasport in particular are fucking excellent songs and the reevaluation you caused me to do by featuring a few tracks from that record led to their new record clicking for me on first listen. If my current opinion of it holds up throughout the year, maybe you won't be the only one that has a countdown that features King Gizz in 2021.
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by JohnErle »

UDM

Considering all the jaded, cynical, elitist music snobs in this forum, myself included, you were brave to throw out so many unapologetically feel-good songs. Most of them didn't work for me, but Jerusalama and Seeed were both fine examples of sunny World Music, perfect for the tropical beaches I hope to return to some day.

As for your #1, which is a moldy oldie from a pop diva I don't like, I only have one thing to say to that:


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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by transformers2 »

UDM:
Well pal, it's not exactly a secret that I wasn't crazy about the bulk of your selections. We largely operate in different areas of the musical spectrum and the stuff that you found to be upbeat fun-I mostly found to be cheesy or downright dull. Highlights for me were the Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Kacey Musgraves and Rosalia tracks-the latter of which was new to me and now ranks in the top tier of tracks I've heard from her.
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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by numbersix »

My Top 30

30: The Microphones, Microphones in 2020
29: Yard Act, Fixer Upper
28: Working Men’s Club, John Cooper Clarke
27: Nadine Shah, Club Cougar
26: Molchat Doma, Удалил Твой Номер / Udalil Tvoy Nomer
25: Sneaks, Sanity
24: Bob Dylan, I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You
23: Protomartyr, Bridge & Crown
22: The Cool Greenhouse, Alexa!
21: Keeley Forsyth, Start Again

20: HEALTH, CYBERPUNK 2.0.2.0
19: Thurston Moore, They Believe in Love (When They Look At Me)
18: Adrianne Lenker, My Angel
17: Porridge Radio, Born Confused
16: Caribou, Never Come Back
15: IDLES, Mr. Motivator
14: Fiona Apple, Newspaper
13: Perfume Genius, Jason
12: Bob Vylan, We Live Here
11: Sufjan Stevens, Run Away With Me

10: Run the Jewels, Walking in the Snow
9: Special Interest, Street Pulse Beat
8: US Girls, 4 American Dollars
7: IDLES, Reigns
6: Crack Cloud, The Next Fix
5: Fontaines DC, I Don’t Belong
4: Public Practice, My Head
3: Porridge Radio, Homecoming Song
2: Yves Tumor, Gospel for a New Century

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by numbersix »

1
Protomartyr, Processed by the Boys



Firstly, thanks to Shryke to setting this up. It’s never easy to motivate a group of casual forum dwellers to cough up tracks, links, and write-ups in time, but once again it’s been totally worth sharing and discovering new music.

None of you should be surprised by Protomartyr being responsible for my song of the year. I’ve been a rabid fan since 2014, with “Scum, Rise” being my #2 song of the millennium. “Processed by the Boys” has almost surpassed that, and was certainly my most listened song of 2020.

Musically it’s stunning from the very first beat. Greg Ahee’s guitar strikes like a sonic punch, smacked in time with Alex Leonard’s staggering drumbeat, reminding me of Gang of Four, not just at the start but also in the slightly psychedelic guitar licks. Protomartyr have already been great at building intensity, and here they deliver in the climax as those sharp strums meld together into a powerful yet melancholic cacophony. Never ones to repeat themselves, here they invite new instrumentation, a subtle blast of woodwind to tease out a sense of irony that’s present in the lyrics.

These lyrics feel prophetic as Joe Casey starts with the end of the world: “when the ending comes, is it gonna run at us like a wide-eyed animal” before chilling us with a line about “a foreign disease washed up on a beach”. This was written well before COVID, I should add. It’s a song about overbearing governments (inspired partly by the US’s immigration methods at the Mexican border), dehumanised, enforced by brutal young men who “process” us and promise us “this time will be gentle enough”, sung over and over to lull us. Casey’s deliver is so raw it almost sounds amateurish at first, but by the end he slides into a more silky croon, its smoothness deliberately distracting us from the alarming lyrics.

There’s an added bonus with the excellent video, an amusing recreation of a true event that happened on a Brazilian family TV show, but with added government brutality.

“Processed by the Boys” not just a great song from 2020, but a great song about 2020 too. Despite its themes of overbearing control, it was of immense comfort to me during the tough times, 5 minutes of musical joy yet rooted in the here and now. Here’s hoping Protomartyr can live through lockdown to sing about what else is in store for us.





Thanks to everyone for listening. And since nobody asked here’s my 10 favourite albums of last year

10: Public Practice – Gentle Grip
9: IDLES – Ultra Mono
8: Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension
7: Run the Jewels – RtJ4
6: The Microphones - Microphones in 2020
5: Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt-Cutters
4: Crack Cloud – PAIN OLYMPICS
3: Protomartyr – Ultimate Success Today
2: Yves Tumor – Heaven to a Tortured Mind
1: Porridge Radio – Every Bad

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by Shrykespeare »

Catching up.


Ron B - I think your choices (possibly Screen's) were my favorite as a whole. Though I despise the more hip-hoppy of your choices (Yungblud bleargh), I loved that you threw in some Tame Impala, Gorillaz, and DMAs. That Pendulum song is going on my permanent playlist, and good for you that you chose Grouplove's "Deleter" (my #18).

As to your #1 song, I'm not a fan of The Avalanches. I did like the emo piano, but the rap elements kind of ruined it for me.


Leestu - Your list (indeed, your entire Top 100 that you started posting on FB on 1/1) is very interesting, but I anticipated that. There were a lot that I found nice for a listen or three, but sadly, there wasn't much, looking at your list now, that I remember loving like I wish I had put it on my own list.

I really liked your story, and there are a lot of elements to it that will be repeated when it's time for my #1. As to your #1 - I liked it. It kind of reminded me of a more folky version of Blind Melon's "No Rain" but with a much more pleasant vocal to listen to. The live version was even better. As for the Radiohead cover - well, it's a bizarre song to begin with.

You and I may be oceans and continents apart, but I will never feel shy about sharing music with you, my brother. Though the train tracks of our musical tastes rarely intersect fully, they often do run parallel to each other. That in itself makes the miles between us disappear, and it's one of the things that helped make 2020 a lot more bearable.


UDM - While I won't say there was nothing on your list that I enjoyed, there's really nothing I'm going to return to. I'll just leave it at that. Your #1 was fine - Shakira has a great voice, but I'll never be a fan of it.


Six - When you started with that 45-minute Microphones song, I was considering excommunicating you. Thankfully, you didn't populate the rest of your list with hour-long funeral dirges. There were a few songs on your list that raised my eyebrows, even got my toes tapping.

Your #1 song was ... ... ... a song. Again, the guy sounded like he was channeling Jim Morrison for a QT soundtrack. Not for me.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by JohnErle »

Six,

I've often said that you and Surfer share the same brain, so it must feel strange for you to see him digging up all these obscure indie bands you'd never heard of, all while hating on our beloved Sparks! If it makes you feel any better, I liked more of your picks than his. I'm too lazy to check, but I think I added more of your picks to my personal playlist than anyone else. My favourite song of the countdown is probably a toss up between I Don't Belong and John Cooper Clarke, depending on my mood. Fixer Upper, Dylan (not Vylan), Fiona Samsung, Perfumed Apple Genius, Special Interest, Yves Tumor, and Porridge Radio are all things I've re-visited and am still digging.

Your #1 didn't quite register, though. It was all very Nick Cave, and a bit too dark, angry, and compressed for me. The mix on the video was a lot better, but that doesn't do me any good in the long run. The basic groove was nice, but right now it feels like a mid-album filler track, so I'll throw it on my playlist to see if it grows on me someday sandwiched between other things.

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by Shrykespeare »

Banks' list:

30. Childish Gambino, Algorhythm
29. Christine & The Queens, I disappear in your arms
28. H.E.R., Damage
27. KOPPS, Virtual Reality
26. Run the Jewels with Pharrell & Zack De La Rocha, Ju$t
25. Mothica, Blackout
24. Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby, Levitating
23. Snow Tha Product, Nowhere to Go (Quarantine Love)
22. Travis Scott & Kid Cudi, The Scotts
21. Alicia Keys feat, Jill Scott, Jill Scott
20. DaBaby, Gucci Peacoat
19. BROCKHAMPTON feat. Dua Lipa, Sugar Remix
18. Selena Gomez, Boyfriend
17. Joyner Lucas feat. Will Smith, WILL Remix
16. Demi Lovato, Anyone
15. Run the Jewels, a few words for the firing squad
14. Mothica, Vices
13. Jack Harlow, Tyler Herro
12. Joji & Diplo, Daylight
11. Machine Gun Kelly feat. blackbear, My Ex's Best Friend
10. Ellie Goulding feat. Juice WRLD, Hate Me
9. Lin-Manuel Miranda & Leslie Odom, Dear Theodosia
8. Future & Drake, Life is Good
7. Selena Gomez, Rare
6. Craig David & Artful Dodger, Re-Rewind (Radio Edit)
5. Dua Lipa, Don't Start Now
4. Alicia Keys feat. Sampha, Three Hour Drive
3. The Weeknd, In Your Eyes
2. Mothica, Crash


BANKSISDAFUTURE'S #1:

Taylor Swift, False God

Thought that releasing two albums would be enough to choose from her in 2020? You thought wrong because Lover is better than Folklore and Evermore combined. Yes, this was released in Summer 2019 but tell that to my Spotify Most Played yearly wrap-up of 2020.

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

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Re: Top 50 of 2020 - The #1's

Post by transformers2 »

Six:
Promartyr never fails to put my brain in a blender. I'm basically seesawing between being intrigued and not really caring every single time I listen to one of their songs Considering the volume of their stuff that I've been exposed to over the course of the past two music countdowns, I'm pretty confident this phenomenon will never change and am now willing to put it alongside whether or not I'm attracted to Cara Delevingne and whether or not I like Westworld as my most crippling cases of take confusion.

What's unique about our tastes in both movies and music is that they pretty much exclusively deal in extremes. We're seemingly either super divergent or on exactly the same page on everything. On this countdown, we had our shared enjoyment of Run the Jewels, IDLES and Bob Vylan in addition to our 2 crossovers and on the other end of the spectrum, there's my pop/metal shit that drove you nuts and your indie shit (Porridge Radio, Sufjan Stevens, the 9 hour Microphones song that I didn't have the stomach to listen to) that drove me nuts. It's a fascinating dynamic that I don't have anyone with else on here and that's pretty fucking special.
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