Yep, alright, yes, I'm back to just 25 songs this past year. I'm not sure if the music selection wasn't up to my tastes, or Mama Rona snuffed out a lot of creative potential, but probably both.
Nevertheless, some great tunes came out last year, and here are 25 of them.
25. Gorillaz ft. Peter Hook & Georgia - "Aries"
I heard this track before knowing who the featured artist was, and immediately thought "wow, that is some New-Order-ass bass." Welp.
With very few execptions, Gorillaz have only ever been about as interesting to me as Daft Punk, which is not to detract from their talents, just that I don't always find their grooves super compelling. This one, however, is a delightful little trip down a peaceful, new-wavey lazy river. It also features the same Georgia who did the fabulous "About Work The Dancefloor," which slaps!
24. Bright Light Bright Light ft. Initial Talk, Niki Haris & Donna De Lory - "This Was My House"
It's become increasingly important to me in my 30s to be more in touch not just with my queer identity, but also the history of queer people and the people who had to throw bricks so that I can safely exist. This song is both a celebration of queerness and a reminder to respect those who fought for us. It's also an acknowlegement that a lot of us have not had access to our usual public safe spaces in the last year.
It's also a really nice house tune, produced by the absolutely magnificent Initial Talk, whose specialty is taking modern songs and reimagining them as '80s pop tunes, some of them even turning out much better than the originals!
And how awesome is it to see NIKI HARIS on a track in 2020?! You've heard her voice on countless club tunes from the late '80s and early '90s, perhaps most notably on Natural Selection's "Do Anything."
23. LeBrock - "Interstellar"
It's absolutely no secret that I love synthwave music. I especially love the occasional synthwave track with a guitar track (it happens less than you'd think!), and this guy's awesome power vocals just bring it home for me!
22. Jessie Ware - "Save A Kiss"
Jessie Ware has been giving us solid bops for almost a decade now, yet I still feel like almost nobody knows about her, which is dreadful. This is a beautiful dancepop track that draws influence from both house and disco music, delivered with an attitude that lets you know she's British. At her fourth album, she's still as vibrant as ever, and I will continue to stan.
21. Doja Cat - "Say So"
I'm just now noticing as I write about each of these songs that there is kind of a recurring theme of late 1970s disco influences in a bunch of songs last year. Interesting.
Anyway, this song is pretty great. I don't know much about Doja Cat, but if tweets I've seen are any indication, it sounds like that's for the best. This is just a very fun and insanely danceable tune.
20. Oceans Ahead ft. Kali Rea - "Traffic Lights"
I was drawn to this song by how weird it is. It feels like it has no bottom end, no backbone -- but it also doesn't really need one. Despite its decently powerful vocals at times, it's a real wafer. I would love to hear a produced-up version of this with loud sawtooth synths and a buzzy bass track, but I really do love how this one just sits like meringue.
19. Coheed & Cambria ft. Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl 2"
Covers are extremely rare on my year-end top songs lists, but this year I had to make more than one exception, and this is the first. And I'm using the term "cover" very loosely here -- it's a reinterpretation, nay, a sequel! to the track we all know and love about being jealous of your friend's squeeze. I would never have pegged this for a Coheed passion project, but it does (sort of) make sense considering the undeniable influence of '80s hair metal on their music. I'm glad Rick is along for the party, too, even if he deserved a bigger part!
If classic movies can get new sequels and reboots, why not classic songs too, right?
18. Greyson Chance - "Dancing Next To Me"
It's been really cool following Greyson's career for these last few years while he really comes into his own as an artist. His music conjures up a lot of feelings and thoughts that I also had in my early 20s, so it's kinda nice to look back on them and smile while I listen to this stuff. This is just a cute song about seeing a hot dude on a dancefloor, but there's some genuinely cute lyrical play.
17. Miley Cyrus - "Midnight Sky"
I have never been able to fully hop aboard the Miley train, but this is a really cute song. She is certainly a person who seems forever in search of an identity, but artists like that can be fun for a while when they stop on an identity with a neat aesthetic that makes good music (see also: Tegan & Sara, Goldfrapp). I am absolutely not buying whatever "I'm a rebel, I was born to run" nonsense she's selling, but this is a very well-produced song and it makes me dance.
16. OFK - "Follow/Unfollow"
This may be the most mysterious entry I've ever included on one of my year-end lists. This song premiered in the middle of The Game Awards and simultaneously popped up on Spotify and YouTube. It appears to be the group's only release. I cannot tell if the lyrics are mocking this "cancel culture" that I am told exists or if they are making a tongue-in-cheek argument for its existence. I love the synths and drum samples, though, so I just wanna dance with you.