Mikah Young, host of About What You’d Expect, breaks down her top ten songs of 2020:
This year has been a real uphill climb for the music industry. Did you know that? It has! There's a pandemic, for starts, which has made the concept of touring seem laughable. Creativity has been difficult to come by in this new reality where there is somehow too much stimuli and not enough. To top it off, there's the pervasive question of "In the wake of the global trauma we're all living through, does what I have to say on this record actually matter?". Weird vibe across the board.
So, hats off to the artists who overcame all of that and gave us new music to listen to whilst staring out our living room windows for yet another hour on yet another weekday before signing on to yet another Zoom meeting.
1. Fontaines D.C. - "Televised Mind"
This entire record was more or less the soundtrack to my 2020. There's nothing wrong with it. I love this band. I love this song. I love every single thing about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE7vLPSfw6Q
2. Pillow Queens - "Liffey"
This was the first Pillow Queens track I had the good fortune of hearing, and I've kept it on every playlist I've made since. There's something comforting in all of their production. I don't know why, but that's how I feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxHQbL11gzM
3. SAULT - "Fearless"
This is a visionary record. I'd highly recommend giving the full LP a listen if you haven't already. This track in particular always gives me the chills. SAULT is an anonymous collective. Can you imagine making something THIS good and then NOT PUTTING YOUR NAME ON IT? I cannot, because I have less integrity than SAULT. Anyways, enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCKcgvbBDbU
4. LCG & the X - "Lil' Peaches"
LCG & the X never phones anything in, and this is no exception. I've had this particular song stuck in my head since I heard them play it at a Christmas party (remember?) two years ago. I will love it forever. I will love LCG & the X forever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23ocJeMdP3Q
5. Molina - "Paràsito"
I am bad at production. I'd like to be good at production, but that simply has not happened yet. Because of this, good songwriters who are also good producers take on a mythical quality for me. Molina is crushing it at all times and I am SO PROUD OF HER.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el9Emm0acDU
6. Smarts - "Cling Wrap"
Simply a bop.
7. Mustafa - "Air Forces"
The first time I heard this song it floored me. I immediately sent it to Chad, who had the exact same reaction. This song is so beautiful. It's intimate, it's earnest, and the lyrics feel like a prayer. A prayer with some of the best vocals I've heard in the last few years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_w1hTT37b0
8. This Is The Kit - "Coming To Get You Nowhere"
Simultaneously complex and meditative. It also has one of the most endearing music videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2hrZHKrlyg
9. Declan McKenna - "Twice Your Size"
The lyrics! 2020 has given us so much in terms of Internet Fatigue, and sometimes it's just nice to know Declan seems to feel the same way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nr2tu05MFM
10. Ela Minus - "dominique"
Perhaps the most relatable song of 2020. If you needed a quarantine anthem, this should set you up nicely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EyDeCvQ8vA
Listen to the About What You'd Expect, every Saturday night at 9 p.m. on The Spy on KOSU.
