Music seemed more important than ever in the year 2020. As we sat working from our makeshift home offices, the music that pumped from our speakers and earbuds was the soundtrack to our new normal (ugh…sorry).
The staff of Pop Break got together, for one last Best of 2020 post, to curate a playlist of their favorite tunes from the year that was. Happy listening and possibly discovering your new favorite tunes.
The Song: “Ode to the Mets”
The Artist: The Strokes
The Album: The New Abormal
The Curator: Kat Manos (Music Editor)
“Ode To the Mets” closes out the Strokes’ 2020 record so fittingly titled The New Abnormal and accidentally became a strange pandemic anthem for me this year. “Mets” is moody, broody, and sonically super understated compared to the rest of the band’s hypercharged discography, yet still remains emotionally vulnerable and heavy thanks in part to Julian Casablancas’ poignant lyrics and powerful voice.
Much like the New York Mets’ penchant for chronically losing over the last three decades, this song is about disappointment, growing old, loss, and acknowledging the darkness as it sweeps over you.
When Casablancas sings, “The ocean now has swallowed / The only thing that’s left is us,” I can’t help but feel like he’s thematically represented the chaos that was this year. And yet, the song still makes me feel hopeful – just as hopeful as any die-hard Mets fan feels at the end of every losing season. There’s always next year. We’ll always have next year.
The Song: “Yankee and the Brave (ep 4)”
The Artist: Run the Jewels
The Album: RTJ4
The Curator: Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief)
Killer Mike and El-P told us that a new record was coming in 2020 and “Yankee and the Brave (ep 4)” was the appetizer, the amuse bouche of what RTJ4 would deliver. And my oh my what a sumptuous first taste it was.
The song sports the trademark unrelenting cadence of Killer Mike and the undeniably infectious stylings of El-P. Combined with one of the biggest “hype up” beats ever, “Yankee and the Brave (ep 4)” easily became one of the best songs/anthems/ear worms of the year.
The Song: “Rain on Me”
The Artist: Lady Gaga (with Ariana Grande)
The Album: Chromatica
The Curator: Al Mannarino (Managing Editor, Co-Host Socially Distanced Podcast)
When I stopped commuting into the city during quarantine, I didn’t listen to a lot of new music. It wasn’t until we could venture outside and drive down to the beach where I finally had the chance to catch up on albums that had dropped including Lady Gaga’s Chromatica.
I was blown away by how upbeat and energetic this album is from start to finish. It was honestly a depression antidote whenever we listened to “Rain On Me” in the car. With its catchy lyrics, addictive beat, and Ariana Grande’s incredible feature, “Rain On Me” was not only the song of the summer…it was my anthem of 2020. It will also be my first request at the bar if we can ever go to one again.
The Song: “Jerry Sprunger”
The Artist: Tory Lanez & T-Pain
The Album: Chixtape 5
The Curator: Angelo Gingerelli (Staff Writer, Columnist of NJ Next)
Tory Lanez took a break from questionable decisions at summer BBQ’s and brought T-Pain out of semi-retirement to update the song that made the King of Auto-Tune a household name in mid 2000’s.
The song dropped in early spring right as the nightclubs, house parties and live shows that were the perfect environment for this song were forced to shut down due to COVID-19, but under normal circumstances this banger would have taken parties to the next level all summer.
Sure, it’s basically a remake of a song from 15 years ago, but during a year where nothing felt “normal”, this soothing throwback was a perfect dose of familiarity.
The Song: “Fuck You COVID”
The Artist: Amy Gabba and The Almost Famous
The Curator: Allison Lips (Digital Trends Editor)
Amy Gabba and the Almost Famous turned their single “F.U. Cupid” into a COVID anthem. While the original is catchy tune about the struggles of finding love, “Fuck You COVID” is a brilliant change in the lyrics about how we have cancelled all our plans in 2020.
Bottom line: Fuck COVID, so we can go back to being mad at Cupid.
The Song: “Figure Eight”
The Artist: Trophy Eyes
The Curator: Nick Porcaro (Staff Writer)
“Figure Eight”, the latest single from Australian pop punkers Trophy Eyes, is a perfect song. This tune floored me from the very first listen; it’s jam-packed with fat drumming, guitar strumming, bold melodies, euphoric gang vocals, and an absolutely soaring sax solo—all in under four minutes! Stop what you’re doing and give it a spin right now.
The Song: “Ani”
The Artist: Ando San
The Album: Schemin’ Season
The Curator: Anthony Toto (Staff Writer)
Hope, virtuosity, fluidity, and euphoria. By combining his cutting-edge songwriting and production techniques, Ando San’s “Ani” perfectly encapsulates the next-level innovation of his guitar style, which he describes as “prog-hop.”
Highlighted by the awe-inspiring chord patterns of his eight-string guitar, “Ani” effortlessly merges instrumental melodic phrasing with the rhythmic dynamics of funk, neo-soul, and modern hip-hop.
In both the “Ani” music video and through his social media pages, listeners will immediately feel the warmth of Ando San’s personality. Few artists could simultaneously translate the kindness of their heart into such genre-bending soundscapes of inspirational compositions.
Without question, Ando San will influence the future of instrumental guitar for generations-to-come. Support independent artistry by checking out Ando San’s debut LP, Schemin’ Season, on bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.
