Back in the blog era, I used to love compiling year end lists. I’d even upload mp3s of my 100 favourite songs of the year to Mediafire. I also enjoyed contributing to the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop list every year (RIP). Now that I have this newsletter, I’ve decided to bring back the tradition. Not really interested in ranking things against each other so it’s just a couple lists of songs and albums that piqued my interest and kept my spirits up this year. Check out the accompanying 100 song playlist. Have a good rest of 2020 and take care of each other.
10 Albums From 2020
Actress - Karma & Desire
Adrianne Lenker - songs
Caribou - Suddenly
Duval Timothy - Help
Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
Good Sad Happy Bad - Shades
Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony
Kate NV - Room For The Moon
Pa Salieu - Send Them To Coventry
Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
100 Songs From 2020
Actress “Leaves Against The Sky”
Adrianne Lenker “forwards beckon rebound”
Amaarae “HELLZ ANGEL”
Aminé ft. Young Thug “Compensating”
Arca ft. Shygirl “Watch”
Austra ft. Cecile Believe “Mountain Baby”
Axel Boman “Eyes Of My Mind”
Backxwash “God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It”
Bartees Strange “Flagey God”
Boldy James “Brick Van Exel”
Brent Faiyaz “Been Away”
Caribou “Magpie”
Caribou “Ravi”
Casey MQ “Candyboy”
Charli XCX “forever”
Childish Gambino ft. InK, Kadhja Bonet & 21 Savage “12.38”
Chunky ft. Dors “Baah”
Conway The Machine & The Alchemist “Calvin”
Cookiee Kawaii ft. Tyga “Vibe (If I Back It Up)”
D Double E & Skepta “Don”
DigDat “8 Style II”
Don Toliver “After Party”
Dorian Electra “Gentleman”
Duval Timothy “C”
Eden Burns “Big Beat Manifesto”
Exile Di Brave & Gavsborg “Run”
Fat Tony “Feeling Groovy”
Flo Milli “Beef FloMix”
For Those I Love “I Have a Love (Overmono Remix)”
Four Tet “Baby”
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist “1985”
Future ft. Young Thug “Harlem Shake”
Ghetts ft. Skepta “IC3”
Good Sad Happy Bad “Star”
Gunna “SKYBOX”
Headie One & Fred again.. “Charades”
Headie One ft. AJ Tracey & Stormzy “Ain’t It Different”
Hooverian Blur “Eyes Closed”
India Jordan “I’m Waiting (Just 4 U)”
IZCO ft. Novelist “Revitalisation”
J Hus ft. Koffee “Repeat”
Jam City “Cruel Joke”
Jimmy Edgar ft. Danny Brown “GET UP”
Kelly Lee Owens “Melt!”
Klein Zage “Tip Me Baby One More Time”
Lil Baby ft. 42 Dugg “Grace”
Lil Uzi Vert “Silly Watch”
M Huncho & Nafe Smallz “5AM”
M1llionz “Y PREE”
M24 ft. Tion Wayne “London”
Mac Miller “Good News”
Machinedrum ft. Freddie Gibbs “Kane Train”
MadeinTYO ft. Toro y Moi “Money Up”
Masarima “Freak Like U (Club Mix)”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé “Savage (Remix)”
Mez “Silas”
Moses Sumney “Lucky Me”
Mulatto ft. 21 Savage “Pull Up”
Nice Girl “Take A Step”
Noname “Song 33”
Off The Meds “Karlaplan”
Oklou “rosebud”
Omar S ft. John Cloud TM & L'renee “Ambiance”
Omar S ft. John FM “Second Life”
Oneohtrix Point Never “I Don’t Love Me Anymore”
Overmono “Everything U Need”
Owen Pallett “Paragon Of Order”
Pa Salieu “Frontline”
Pa Salieu “Over There”
Real Lies “Boss Trick”
Rico Nasty “IPHONE”
Roddy Ricch “The Box”
Róisín Murphy “Kingdom Of Ends”
Sada Baby “Slide”
Sada Baby “Whole Lotta Choppas”
SahBabii “Poppin Shit”
SAULT “Stop Dem”
Shanique Marie “Ring The Alarm!”
Shinichi Atobe “Yes”
Shygirl “TASTY”
Smino “Tempo”
Stefan Ringer ft. Javonntte “Reach”
Stemlines “Hide From Me (Ruff Demo)”
Steve Spacek “Rawl Aredo”
Suzi Analogue “LIKE LIKE”
Thundercat ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Lil B “Fair Chance (Floating Points Remix)”
Tierra Whack “Dora”
Time Cow & RTKal “Elephant Man”
Time Cow & SO$A “Ben UFO”
TisaKorean “Did You Know (WiFi Password)”
TOPS “Colder & Closer”
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A. “FRANCHISE”
The Weather Station “Robber”
Westside Gunn ft. Benny The Butcher & Conway “The Butcher And The Blade”
Yaeji “WHEN I GROW UP”
Youngboy Never Broke Again “Kacey Talk”
Yung Lean “Violence”
Yves Tumor “Gospel For A New Century”
070 Shake “Guilty Conscience”
42 Dugg “Palm Angels In The Sky”
645AR & FKA Twigs “Sum Bout U”
I remember those lists well! Related, I had a great moment recently when I learned that Dev Hynes was in Test Icicles. A list had introduced me to a song of theirs that I know I played heavily on repeat.