Tag: Best songs of 2020

Top 15 singles of 2020: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top of the list!

#5: Too Free – “Elastic”

Yes, another song by Too Free. This thing is a sexy floor-filler EDM track that has an underlying hint of goth menace to it that immediately catches your ears.

#4: Jon Hopkins – “Singing Bowl (Ascension)”

If 2020 did anything right, it forced all of us to sit and be here. There was often nothing else to do. It was a year of zazen if you let it be so. Along comes Jon Hopkins with this lovely, stunning track suitable for meditation and making out – again two things that we were given a lot of time to do in 2020. Everyone needed to hear this last year, and any other year before or since.

#3: Matt Karmil – “PB”

I don’t know what “PB” means. Peanut butter? Pittsburgh? Pulsating beats? Yeah, that’s probably it, because this dance track is full of them.

#2: Kelly Lee Owens – “Melt!”

Yes, Ms. Owens has two tracks in my top 15 singles of 2020. I think she is the only person alive who can pull off an absolute club banger about global warming. She does nothing but amaze me and make me want to smash my digital turntables with a twelve-pound sledge hammer.

#1: Flat Worms – “Market Forces”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzCX1Sf46us&pbjreload=101

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that my favorite single of 2020 comes from my favorite album of 2020. Everything about this song works on a high level – beat, riffs, lyrics, and vocals. It moves and slugs like a professional boxer as it throws out lyrics about getting off your ass and shaking illusions out of your head so you can embrace the present and reality.

There you have it. Keep your mind open.

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Top 15 singles of 2020: #’s 10 – 6

We’re already at my top 10 singles of 2020. Time’s already flying by!

#10: Liam Kazar – “Shoes Too Tight”

This came out of nowhere and turned out to be one of the catchiest, sharpest singles I heard all year. Mr. Kazar can’t come out with a full-length album soon enough for my liking. This song shows a level of playful artistry sorely lacking in a lot of music right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqAWtd-nBpA

#9: Matt Karmil – “210”

This house track drops like an empty Red Bull can onto a dance floor full of sweaty, sexy people. I’m not sure I can sum it up better than that.

#8: Protomartyr – “Processed By the Boys”

This track from Ultimate Success Today is a great example of what Protomartyr do so well – blending mysterious lyrics and vocals with rock chops that border on psychedelia.

#7: Heartless Bastards – “Revolution”

This surprise single came out of Erika Wennerstrom being frustrated with damn well everything in 2020. She summed up how we all felt and gave us a rallying cry for 2021.

#6: Teenager – “Good Time”

Listening to this is some of the best music fun I had all year. It was stuck in my head for days after first hearing it. It’s a song about how love is fleeting to a sweet groove that is nothing short of smile-inducing.

Only five left to go! Who makes it to the top? Come back tomorrow to learn!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 15 singles of 2020 – #’s 15 – 11

Yes, the beginning of the year means the avalanche of “Best of…” lists from me. This year’s will include singles, albums, and albums of the last five years. Unfortunately, the only concert I got to this year was seeing BODEGA and The Wants in Chicago. It was a good gig, so at least the one show I attended was a blast (even though I might’ve caught a mild strain of COVID-19 there).

Let’s get on with the singles, shall we?

#15: October and the Eyes – “All My Love”

Good heavens, what a sexy track. This cut from October and the Eyes‘ excellent debut album, Dogs and Gods, instantly brought to mind Dum Dum Girls, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees – but somehow with more sweaty lovemaking.

#14: Khruangbin – “Time (You and I)”

This track off Mordechai is so funky you can hardly believe it. Listening to this while walking will instantly put a strut into your step.

#13: The Chats – “Pub Feed”

Coming from High Risk Behaviour, his is one of the most fun punk tracks I’ve heard all year. It’s brash, brazen, and a salute to eating and boozing in pubs. What’s not to like?

#12: Kelly Lee Owens – “Night”

This is one of two Kelly Lee Owens’ songs from Inner Song that made my top 15 singles of 2020. This one, like pretty much anything else she puts out there, almost makes me want to throw my digital turntables in the trash because, good grief, why should I even bother?

#11: Too Free – “No Fun”

This Washington D.C. band came out of nowhere for me and, like Ms. Owens, dropped two of my top 15 tracks of 2020. This one, despite its title, is a lot of fun.

Who makes the top 10? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Keep your mind open.

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