We’re more than halfway through 2021–what have you been listening to this year?
Every year, since 2017, I’ve made a playlist on Spotify of my favorite songs I heard put out that year. Then, in January, I listen to all those songs and pick out the 20 I like best. Those go into a second playlist, the best of that year. That playlist gets added to a bigger playlist called Party On Over The Decades.
This year, I’ve been hearing fewer new songs mostly because I’ve been far fewer places. (I normally find lots of new music using Shazam while traveling or being out and about.) Nevertheless, I’ve thus far added 23 songs to my 2021: Songs That Didn’t Let Me Down playlist. Of those 23, five are definitely going to make it to my Best of 2021 playlist. They are:
Leave the Door Open–could Bruno Mars been any slicker? This reminds me of Earth, Wind, and Fire in heyday.
Montero–my love for Little Nas X is pretty boundless and here, possibly the queerest video to ever hit #1 on the pop charts, he is reigning supreme.
23–I love a good country song and this is one.
Chasing After You–I’m sure I like this song so much in part because Maren and Ryan are a couple in real life. I’m a sap for a true love story!
Lovely Day–I am always a sucker for a good cover and this one is divine.
How about you? What have you been listening to this year?
I used to keep up with music and listened to a lot of alt rock, goth, and college/bar bands back in the day (main preferences are 80s, 90s, early 2000s). In pre-internet days I discovered a lot of bands through our college radio station. These days, I don’t even recognize the names of a lot of pop singers, let alone their music. I’ve also not kept up with the vocabulary for current genres and styles of music.
I’ve been wearing hearing aids for around 10 years now, and music doesn’t always sound like it should to me (or I have to turn it up too loud or only listen via headphones to fully appreciate it). So, I lost interest and was really caught up in exploring other interests. I started listening to audiobooks around six or seven years ago, and that replaced the times in which I would listen to music (e.g., during work commute or while cleaning the house). My daughter listens to a lot of K-pop, and that just sounds like noise to me (I know, I’m officially old!).
I think the last album that really reached out and grabbed me and that I would listen to over and over again was Swoon by Silverspun Pickups.
As for sharing a link to an old favorite, I think Annabel as covered by the Duhks is one of the most haunting and beautiful ballads I’ve ever heard:
https://youtu.be/bkviU7EKtG8
My most recent additions to my spotify playlist are the songs I liked the most from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. I’m a fan of the event and the fun part is precisely to listen to the songs and decide which ones to like, some because they are truly great, others because they are weird or silly.
My favourites this year were:
Switerzerland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jznH_fltcYA
Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqvzDkgok_g
Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Di9A28e5E
Italy (the winner) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVH5dn1cxAQ
Have you watched the Eurovision Song Contest movie with Will Ferrell, Rachel MacAdams, and Dan Stevens? Normally, I don’t care for Will Ferrell, but he was tolerable here. The movie was a lot of fun, and Dan Stevens steals every scene he’s in.
I have it recorded but haven’t got to it yet. I saw mixed reviews and I’m procrastinating lol :)
One of the presenters made a reference to it though, on the live event when they were giving the votes, so I assume the movie was mostly well received.
The band Delta Rae is a favorite of mine, and this year they released their latest album,The Dark. It has some great tracks,including All Good People, Last Words, and Come Back Alive.
My oldest makes me mixed artists CDs for the car (this was the 18th), which is where I get exposed to new and indy music. My favorite tracks so far are Do You Love by Machineheart, The Horror and the Wild by The Amazing Devil, Immortalized by Night Argent, Background Sad by Icon for Hire, and Miss Me More by Kelsea Ballerini.
I’ve been listening to a lot of P!NK lately, too. I love her latest Hurt 2 B Human CD. 90 Days is beautiful,and Hustle is so much fun. And, as usual, I listen to LP. :-)
L.P.?
This is the song that got me hooked. I love just about everything she does, and she covers a lot of styles. Switchblade is great and so is her new one, The One that You Love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDjeBNv6ip0
Here’s Switchblade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaiqlO863l8
The above are live, this is an official video of her song,One that You Love and feels more polished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0rTljyiq9w
Oh–you’ve mentioned her before. I was thinking it was some famous artist with those initials I couldn’t place!
I am also a huge BTS fan–they’re just the happiest thing ever–and think there’s a good chance Butter will hit my top 20 list… unless they come out with a song I like better!
When you’re as old as I am (almost 64), “new music” can refer to anything released after 1999! However, most of the new music I listen to is EDM because to me it’s the perfect synthesis and evolution of my two favorite musical eras: 1970s Disco and 1980s New Wave. Some of these might have been released last year, but these are some of my favorite “new” songs:
“No Rest” by Vicetone
“Paradise” by MEDUZA
“Secrets” by Regard & RAYE
“San FranDisco” by Dom Dolla
“Adore You” & “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles
Plus, there’s a “older new song” I’ve been playing on repeat: “Black Madonna” by Cage the Elephant.
When my daughter, now 25, was young, she was a devoted One Direction fan. I’ve followed Styles ever since. He, along with Little Nax X, has so redefined what it means to be a huge male pop music star. I love Watermelon Sugar. It’s just so much fun!
My oldest son went through a serious EDM stage but it’s not lyric driven which is a huge thing for me–I like plot in all my art!!