Beau Brady of Yr Welcome shares his 10 favorite songs of 2020.
10. Yung Lean - "Boylife in EU"
There was a moment this year where I was listening to “Starfall” by SALEM and this song by Yung Lean on loop for about a month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLVeCAWV9-M
9. Panopticon - “Rune’s Heart”
I will simply direct your attention to the liner notes on Panopticon’s bandcamp as to why this song is as massive as it is. Metal’s heart beats loud for a reason.
8. Grimes - “Delete Forever”
My birthday occurred mere weeks before quarantine. The one memory I held onto dearly all year long was watching my mom dance around the living room to this song.
7. Caribou - “Never Come Back”
The title is funny because Caribou should always come back if he’s sitting on absolute dance floor BANGERS like this one. Never leave us again Caribou.
6. Tame Impala - “Is It True (Four Tet Remix)”
It took a while for “Is It True” to register as one of the best songs on The Slow Rush. At first I just noticed the beat but then I noticed the vulnerable lyrics. Four Tet was a step ahead of me and made his remix focus on that vulnerability. It removed the fun beat Kevin Parker was hiding behind to reveal one of his most powerful lyrical moments in his career.
5. Jamie xx - “Idontknow”
Jamie xx doesn’t release music often, so it’s cause for celebration when he does. I walked four miles to Guestroom Records during peak quarantine boredom to secure this on vinyl as soon as it was available.
4. SALEM - “Starfall”
I stayed up until midnight to watch SALEM debut their first official single in nine years. I’ve spun it more than 100 times since and still counting.
3. Run The Jewels - “walking in the snow”
“And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV
The most you give is a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy.”
-M15L4BTqI
2. Pure X - “I Can Dream”
Their new album was filled with great singles, but the switch-up Pure X pull at the end of the album consistently removed tears from my eyes all year.
1. Yves Tumor - “Kerosene!”
Yves Tumor released “Kerosene!” as an advance single to his album Heaven to a Tortured Mind on March 9, 2020. Two days later, there would be a few positive COVID-19 tests at a basketball game in downtown Oklahoma City. By the end of the week, concerts started getting cancelled and the world would never be the same. The only thing that stayed the same was that “Kerosene!” remained the best song all year long. It was well worth the wait for the cinematic music video Yves Tumor finally delivered in mid November. Behold: the best song and video of 2020.
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