What your 2020 playlist says about you
Books, TV, podcasts & music
So 2020 is in the can and, we can probably all agree, it was a B-side at best. The chorus lacked punch, the mid-section dragged, and the crescendo was predictable and left you feeling deflated.
Like your peak emo power-pop punk phase, it’s best we put it behind us.
Our most listened to end-of-year lists sometimes reveal too much about ourselves.
Now summed up in one easy to share report from your favourite streaming service, your true habits are seen. Sometimes you’re surprised before you remember you were depressed through April and May, which is why there’s an embarrassing amount of Nick Cave and Talk Talk so high up the list.
Cut Em In by Anderson Paak featuring Rick Ross was my most listened to song by a long shot. It gives me the same sense of utter abandonment and joy I got from songs such as Outkast’s Hey Ya or Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. I’ve played it dozens of times. The accompanying video is equally liberating and features a phenomenal drum solo from Paak at the close. It gets a smile every time.
Yeah Nah there was no surprise second place went to Church & AP, but I was impressed Lupe Fiasco’s Dinosaurs got third. I suppose it’s lyrics such as: ‘‘Tyrannosaurus Rex wasn’t the smartest of the smartest, but you wouldn’t wanna box with the short-armed carnivorous martial artist’’, which are so delicious I keep coming back for more.
Against All Logic and 070 Shake placed high, and so did Remi Wolf with Woo!, which just keeps getting better every time I hear it.
Perfume Genius was right up there, with Whole Life, which still breaks me. There’s Benee and Reb Fountain and Nadia Reid and the rest is mostly filled up with obscene amounts of D J Python and Four Tet, both of whose albums I listened to repetitively for months.
That’s what we do with our favourite things right? Thrash them until you wear them out?
Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan and Phoebe Bridgers feature highly in many critics’ end-ofyear lists which, of course, I totally objectively agree with. Lots of love for the Adrianne Lenker’s album and Waxahatchee’s Saint Cloud too. All great records.
Critic or casual listener, I love reading people’s
lists as a way of discovering music and, while releases are quiet over the new year, it’s a great time to try something new. Clicking your friends’ most-listened to songs of the year will no doubt lead to interesting musical discoveries and might even open up important conversations.
‘‘Hey, I saw more Whitney Houston than seems healthy in your top 10 and I just wanted to reach out and ask, ‘are you OK’?’’
Happy New Year and happy listening!