{"id":3470,"date":"2021-03-07T17:02:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-07T23:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/?p=3470"},"modified":"2021-03-07T17:09:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T23:09:52","slug":"favorite-tunes-of-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/archives\/2021\/03\/favorite-tunes-of-2020.html","title":{"rendered":"Favorite Tunes of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Finally! The post you&#8217;ve all been waiting for. Obvi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>My Favorite Albums: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Perfume Genius &#8220;Set My Heart on Fire Immediately&#8221;<\/strong> (May) Oh my, this album. Falsetto swoony dramatics can be hit or miss for me, but I absolutely loved this. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs:<\/span> &#8220;Jason,&#8221; &#8220;Nothing at All,&#8221; and &#8220;Some Dream.&#8221; <\/li><li><strong>William Prince &#8220;Reliever&#8221;<\/strong> (February) This deep voice of calmness was so soothing. I guess this is labeled as country. If you like Eddie Vedder&#8217;s solo stuff, you might like this. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs:<\/span> &#8220;Always Have What We Had&#8221; (with the best line &#8220;I can miss you from anywhere&#8221; SWOON) and &#8220;That&#8217;s All I&#8217;ll Ever Become.&#8221; <\/li><li><strong>Ethan Gruska &#8220;En Garde&#8221; <\/strong>(February)  don&#8217;t know what made me pick this one up (maybe the collab with Phoebe Bridgers?), but it stuck in my head. It&#8217;s certainly got a bit of an Elliott Smith vibe which turns out to be the kind of sound I was seeking all year long. Perfect for a melancholy &#8220;OMG it&#8217;s the end of the world&#8221; year like 2020, am I right?  <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs:<\/span> &#8220;On the Outside,&#8221; &#8220;Enough for Now&#8221; (w\/ PB), <strong>&#8220;Teenage Drug&#8221; one of my favorite songs of the year for sure<\/strong>.<\/li><li><strong>Phoebe Bridgers &#8220;Punisher&#8221; <\/strong>(July) Speaking of Elliott Smith vibes&#8230; I wrote &#8216;Yup, yup, yup&#8221; next to pretty much every song on this album. I know this was Taylor Swift&#8217;s year to many people (and I do like both those albums enough to have them on my top 10) but I will maintain that this album and the HAIM release (below) are JUST AS GOOD, if not&#8230; better? Heh. Don&#8217;t come at me, Swiftees, I&#8217;m allowed to have a different opinion than you! <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs: <\/span>&#8220;Moon Song&#8221;, &#8220;Graceland Too&#8221;, &#8220;Kyoto&#8221;&#8230; And all the rest of them. Ha.<\/li><li><strong>HAIM &#8220;Women In Music Pt III&#8221; <\/strong>(July) Do I own or know anything about parts 1 and 2, if those indeed exist? Nope, I don&#8217;t, but this album just really dug its way in to my eardrums. There&#8217;s all kinds of musical nods happening in the backgrounds, it&#8217;s so upbeat and fun in a LOT of ways. There are several songs with just a great! beat! on this album. What fun. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs:<\/span> &#8220;Los Angeles,&#8221; &#8220;The Steps&#8221;, &#8220;I Know Alone&#8221;, &#8220;Up from a Dream&#8221; &#8220;Don&#8217;t Wanna&#8221;, &#8220;All That Ever Mattered&#8221;, &#8220;Now I&#8217;m In It.&#8221; <\/li><li><strong>The Weeknd &#8220;After Hours&#8221; <\/strong>(April) Cringe. Some of his lyrics are so misogynistic, I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;d love my teenage daughter getting obsessed with his music. Those are probably all the songs I like the best HAHAHAHA OMG life is frustrating. I just&#8230; always love every album he puts out and then one day I find myself analyzing the lyrics I&#8217;m singing along to and get annoyed. Oh well. Such is life. Sometimes great songs have shitty messages. Music is complicated like that. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs: <\/span>&#8220;Hardest to Love&#8221;, &#8220;Heartless&#8221;, &#8220;In Your Eyes&#8221;. <\/li><li><strong>Kesha &#8220;High Road&#8221; <\/strong>(February) I had never bought a Kesha \/ Ke$ha album before but this one was totally worth it. TOTALLY. A wild mix of upbeat rock and pop, melancholy country, it&#8217;s up, it&#8217;s down, it&#8217;s all over the place. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs: <\/span>&#8220;Cowboy Blues&#8221; (&#8220;Did I fuck my whole life up?&#8221;), &#8220;High Road,&#8221; &#8220;Birthday Suit&#8221; (so ridic), and &#8220;Resentment&#8221; (w\/ Brian Wilson and Sturgill Simpson, of all people).<\/li><li><strong>Waxahatchee &#8220;Saint Cloud&#8221; <\/strong>(April) Pretty sure Busy Phillips&#8217; instagram stories put this on my radar as I&#8217;ve never really been a Waxahatchee fan in the past. <strong>This album has what is definitely a contender for song of the year: &#8220;Fire&#8221;. <\/strong><em>I take it for granted \/ If I could love you unconditionally \/ I could iron out the edges of the darkest sky \/ For some of us it ain&#8217;t enough \/ It ain&#8217;t enough.<\/em> Cannot stop listening to it, singing it, humming it, getting lost in its chorus. <strong>It&#8217;s 2020&#8217;s Maggie Roger&#8217;s &#8220;Alaska.&#8221;  <\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Other favorites:<\/span> &#8220;Lilacs&#8221; (so Dylanesque) and &#8220;Hell.&#8221; <\/li><li><strong>Taylor Swift &#8220;Folklore&#8221; <\/strong>(July) OK are the &#8220;Cardigan&#8221; commercials not cracking everyone else up at this point? I mean, it seems insane months (and another album) later to suddenly see them a million times every Hulu show I watch. Heh. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs:<\/span> &#8220;Exile&#8221; (feat Bon Iver) duh, &#8220;Seven,&#8221; &#8220;This Is Me Trying,&#8221; &#8220;Invisible String&#8221;, and &#8220;Mad Woman.&#8221;<\/li><li><strong>Taylor Swift &#8220;Evermore&#8221; <\/strong>(December) Seriously, <strong>if this album was just the song &#8220;Ivy&#8221; in every single position, I would love it just as much. SONG OF THE YEAR, people, song of the whole damn year.<\/strong> <em>Oh, goddamn,<\/em> <em>my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand<\/em>. But, sure, there are others I liked. I guess. Favorite songs: &#8220;Willow,&#8221; &#8220;Champagne Problems,&#8221; &#8220;No Body, No Crime&#8221; (feat HAIM), &#8220;Dorothea,&#8221; and &#8220;Coney Island (feat The National). <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Honorable Mentions<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Little Big Town &#8220;Nightfall&#8221;<\/strong> (February) In keeping the favorite list to 10, Waxahatchee knocked this one off. But there are a ton of songs on this album that really *really* stuck with me. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite songs:<\/span>  &#8220;Questions&#8221; and &#8220;The Daughters&#8221; might be the best back to back on an album all year. <\/li><li><strong>BLACKSTARKIDS &#8220;Whatever, Man&#8221;<\/strong> (November) Oh wow, I dig this one. But.. I got it in November and then didn&#8217;t really start listening to it until 2021. Heh. I am always up for trying albums recommended by Hanif Abdurraqibb because his writing about music just sucks me in! But a lot of times it turns out I don&#8217;t hear what he heard in it. This one, however, is aces. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Favorite song:<\/span> &#8220;Camp Whatever&#8221; <em>Haven&#8217;t felt alive in a while, but I&#8217;m not dead.<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Best 1-2 Punch of the Year:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;WAP&#8221; Cardi B. &amp; Megan Thee Stallion <\/strong>to be followed immediately by <strong>&#8220;Watermelon Sugar&#8221; Harry Styles<\/strong>. I know, what are we-teenagers? Just take my word for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Favorite Songs Not From Aforementioned Albums:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>&#8220;Conversations in the Dark&#8221; John Legend<\/strong> &#8211; just all kinds of big swoony love for this tribute to CT.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;No Time for Love Like Now&#8221; Michael Stipe<\/strong> &#8211; definitely my favorite song of those early Pandemic days. Ah, those early Pandemic days.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Hard to Forget&#8221; Sam Hunt <\/strong>&#8211; yes, I love his cheesy sappy fratboy albums. But never all the way through. This song though&#8230;<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Another Beginning&#8221; Joshua Radin<\/strong> &#8211; can he even write a bad song?<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Kings &amp; Queens&#8221; Ava Max<\/strong> &#8211; just put this baby on repeat.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;One More Second&#8221;<\/strong> and <strong>&#8220;Take Me Out of Town&#8221; Matt Berninger<\/strong> &#8211; I was bummed to not really enjoy this album overall but loved these two.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Ridiin&#8217; Solo&#8221; Jason DeRulo<\/strong> &#8211; I think this may have come out some other year but 2020 is the year I could not stop singing it, like, basically, ever. It&#8217;s all about the beat, baby.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Wasted Youth&#8221; Diana Gordon<\/strong> &#8211; oooooo love this draggy slow swirl. <\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Almost Home&#8221; Moby <\/strong>(feat Damien Jurado &#8211; OMG so Bon Iver.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;m the One&#8221; DJ Khaled<\/strong> (feat. Justin Bieber et al) &#8211; Good grief, I like a song with Justin Beiber on it? Just bury me in shame.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Spiral&#8221; Pinegrove<\/strong> &#8211; Another Busy Phillips insta earworm. &#8220;Drink water, good morning&#8230;&#8221;<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Video Games&#8221;<\/strong> and <strong>&#8220;Goodbye to All That&#8221;<\/strong> <strong>Sufjan Stevens<\/strong> &#8211; another album I found myself disappointedly uninterested in. Sigh. I love so much of Sufjan&#8217;s stuff, but somehow I never found a way in with this one.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Cavalry&#8221; Mashrou&#8217; Leila <\/strong>&#8211; an album recommended by YA author Abdi Nazemian, thoroughly enjoyed it and this song was the real standout for me.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Beige&#8221;<\/strong> and <strong>&#8220;Goodpain&#8221; Yoke Lore<\/strong> &#8211; their Goodpain EP was a highlight.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Gone Gone\/Thank You&#8221; Tyler, the Creator <\/strong>&#8211; probably came out in 2019 but I bought the album in January, one of my &#8220;everyone had this on last year&#8217;s list&#8221; purchases, I think.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Pictures&#8221; Asgeir <\/strong>&#8211; I buy a lot of singles when I hear them in a movie, on a TV show, or on a commercial. Presumably that&#8217;s how I found this one. <\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Lost Here&#8221; Fauntella Crow<\/strong> &#8211; probably same.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Favorite Covers: (in that rare year where I bought very few!): <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>&#8220;Explain It to Me&#8221; Squirrel Flower<\/strong> &#8211; Liz Phair cover, that frankly sounds very close to the original. Heh.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;m on Fire&#8221; Staves<\/strong> &#8211; all slowed down and glorious.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;Put Your Records On&#8221; Ritt Momney<\/strong> &#8211; omg the name of this band. Smacks forehead.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>What&#8217;d I miss? What song or album could YOU not stop listening to in 2020? I&#8217;d love to know&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finally! The post you&#8217;ve all been waiting for. Obvi. My Favorite Albums: Perfume Genius &#8220;Set My Heart on Fire Immediately&#8221; (May) Oh my, this album. Falsetto swoony dramatics can be hit or miss for me, but I absolutely loved this. &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/archives\/2021\/03\/favorite-tunes-of-2020.html\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,62,6,14,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-89","category-favetunes","category-listenin","category-lists","category-tunes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3470"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3483,"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470\/revisions\/3483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}