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In my ongoing efforts to quell my anxiety through my favorite coping mechanism--lists!--a thread, to be continually updated, of songs from the year I've enjoyed.
Not a 2020 release, but I have to start this with my girl Weyes Blood, whose music, more than anyone else's, has given me respite during this difficult time. https://open.spotify.com/track/1VEF5x1WU1P5FWa7iTLR7V?si=sMzAJZVBSpOvUWsDa_kiIQ
Not denying that I'm very much in the tank for Kaitlyn Dever, but her band Beulahbelle's single from this year is very up my alley. Love me some good sad-girl jams. https://open.spotify.com/track/6QtBvQVb03I6ex0fXMf9ga?si=jjh_OdskSnK-f37LpfgCCQ
Fascinated by the soundscape on Phoebe Bridgers's "Garden Song", which demands to be played loud, yet is as quiet and intimate as a song gets. Lovely. https://open.spotify.com/track/1LTWcRVy9o96Zzn29wXLsa?si=olhL9nekTBW3VqPtM7GrIw
The entire EP is fantastic, of course, but the first track off Christine and the Queens' LA VITA NUOVA is its statement of purpose. Enthralling "crying in the club" banger. https://open.spotify.com/track/5stdNNY7SUv12p5sLkaBlL?si=33C4Dpf4SNiszdL3N5cW0A
Breaking away again from 2020 songs to shout-out another artist whose music has helped give me urge for going: Bobbie Gentry. Glad I followed the record store clerk I met in Dallas on IG. Lots of great recs. https://open.spotify.com/track/1vguJvGPy7E7AL2AD5bwWM?si=HKMuXyD5Qlei37vmlsMEhg
The first non-sad-girl song on this thread. The Aces are really turning into a favorite, with this bop on top of their excellent debut record. https://open.spotify.com/track/778JDHI6qfgQ1HBEKP1FZu?si=OG_vornHRWqtSpmTxjlM8g
HAIM is a known commodity at this point, which might explain why we've begun to take them for granted, I think. Anyway, all of their new songs are great, with each highlighting a different mode for this incredibly versatile band. https://open.spotify.com/track/4JOkWaNiPjycCHgYuiJjzy?si=b7RQK8oLSS-v3_qUMSK_0w
My most-played (and sentimental favorite) song from last year was dodie's "If I'm Being Honest". This track is a lot more playful than that one, but equally lovely. https://open.spotify.com/track/6JIJ68QeZ6HduszZifkNuO?si=245OKkPiS_akLMPGXFvxZg
An early contender for my favorite song of the year, and another reminder that I need to do me a deep dive on the Dirty Projectors' discography ASAP. https://open.spotify.com/track/1mC2VSgfVnG2RxUQqIrWM8?si=0N4iq506QoaofXTVrRNuNQ
If my vocalist preferences weren't apparent by now, this is (as of 3/28) one of only two 2020 tracks in this thread with a male vocalist, and the other is by our most important living songwriter. This track is also superb. https://open.spotify.com/track/0N3SjuBMDsK2he6J5tz0Ry?si=3JpWgqvkTH2R9QPz7E9LAQ
And now, head-and-shoulders my favorite album of the year so far: Waxahatchee's SAINT CLOUD. What an extraordinary, unimpeachable record. https://open.spotify.com/track/3vLnuIPl8sYRO54CP4Rn5q?si=1xcUvAmsT4i6Zn_8Kf79FA
Molly Burch was one of my favorite discoveries from last year, and her new track is a wonderfully atmospheric and coy ode to the clingy ones among us. https://open.spotify.com/track/7sGF4Lmw4ON0NGpXi947zR?si=u2ArtICCSeyvKXGd0OCOaw
It's fitting to end this batch with the first original Bob Dylan song we've gotten in eight years: A titanic, freewheeling 17-minute ballad ostensibly about the Kennedy assassination yet really about...well, everything. A god among men. https://open.spotify.com/track/55dw4v6Uw6lmqGUxM6vdzV?si=JFxkH-OfSgWCr7PKcOspMg
Adding to this because I need a short work break.
Before I completely do away with the "from this year" constraint for this thread, S/O to Laura Marling for NBD-dropping another intricate, articulate lyrical gem with SONG FOR OUR DAUGHTER. https://open.spotify.com/track/4439aAX3jNkNKx1ygUr9WC?si=8aBrR-kbSce0MVU6kdTuUw
Before I completely do away with the "from this year" constraint for this thread, S/O to Laura Marling for NBD-dropping another intricate, articulate lyrical gem with SONG FOR OUR DAUGHTER. https://open.spotify.com/track/4439aAX3jNkNKx1ygUr9WC?si=8aBrR-kbSce0MVU6kdTuUw
Also coming around to Soccer Mommy, because I can't help but remain on brand. https://open.spotify.com/track/2C29mn0uPfTmTkmSTPWkMm?si=cvoGxj1sQO6vnRZygbLOEg
And now, we turn to the assorted older stuff that forms the lion's share of my quarantine playlist.
Before Aimee Mann did the OST for MAGNOLIA or played a nine-toed nihilist on THE BIG LEBOWSKI, she was on 'Til Tuesday. This extremely 80's rocker bangs. https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZYf6N5eBeXStMri0mf3DZ?si=kIO7t7a8QtO4SR8wigCDJg
Before Aimee Mann did the OST for MAGNOLIA or played a nine-toed nihilist on THE BIG LEBOWSKI, she was on 'Til Tuesday. This extremely 80's rocker bangs. https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZYf6N5eBeXStMri0mf3DZ?si=kIO7t7a8QtO4SR8wigCDJg
