ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2020

also wild that at this stage there’s still songs placing on just four votes

In one sense, I'm relived that only four people voted for this, but also disappointed that in the past this song would probably have been 78'ed.

there was one song on the first Charli XCX song I fucking loved ("You - Ha Ha Ha") and nothing else she's done has been remotely as enjoyable

― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Tuesday, January 26, 2021 12:58 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I've liked other things she's done, but a big part of why I like that song is the Gold Panda sample.

Conversely this is the first year I’ve fully bought into charli

I'll save my full rapturous appraisal for the albums poll, but this is one of the most fun things I heard last year. What forks said about desperation is exactly right. 'Anthems' is the epitome of quarantined liminal hysteria - the fighting of dark madness with bubblegum mania and dancing!

"my rajneesh" v boring

"anthems" certainly a 'concept' but not very good or listenable

My favorite Charli XCX song is "Superlove". I had no interest in 2020 Charli XCX at all.

count me also into the '2020 is when Charli went god-tier' bracket

truly the music of lockdown

Kind of surprised by the Charli hate, but then I'm also a gecs fan, so what do i know?

And yes, she did an amazing job of capturing the quarantine vibe

but then I'm also a gecs fan, so what do i know?

Tattoo idea.

Voted for Forever but happy to see Anthems make it.

Superlove is still the song to beat, but this could well be my favourite Charli album/era.

i like charli through the ages

gonna post fgti’s appreciation of “my rajneesh” from the sufjan thread to counteract the haters

Both these songs are a triumph of production/mixing... somehow Sufjan/his mixing engineer managed to find the sweet spot where super-saturated arrangements become pastel instead of intrusive/annoying. All his finicky tendencies are rendered gorgeous, these are already my favourite songs of his. The build at 7:00 on "My Rajneesh" with the backwards drums, trombone solo, dive-bomb synths, goddammit, the intensely beautiful ending, I am shaken

― wet pockets (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, July 10, 2020 10:12 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Decided to just vote for the album for Charli XCX, but this is one of the better tracks

I also didn't really care much for her earlier stuff except for parts of Pop 2

i like charli through the ages

Strong agree.

Tiwa Savage’s excellent album Celia proved surprisingly consistent and resilient listening from the summer all the way through to the winter. Though I might’ve picked “Koroba” or “Attention” as my single of choice, there’s not many weak links to choose from and I’m certainly not mad at seeing “Dangerous Love” crack our top 50.

https://i.imgur.com/AMQxS2p.png
#47: Tiwa Savage - “Dangerous Love” - 162 points - 6 votes
video

next level at 40: 🌸TIWA SAVAGE’s CELIA🌸 album
🇳🇬 NAIJA SPECIAL: which of these *seven* current high-profile Nigerian hit songs is the best one? please help me decide

oh man, love to see tiwa here. great track

I like, don't love, this, but thank you for rescuing the rollout from one of the leanest stretches in poll history.

is the riff on that charli song a deliberate steal from 'where's your head at'?

I agree with our esteemed runner: I think "Koroba" is the standout Tiwa track this year, but quite happy to see this one place.

charli's "pop music of the future ;P" has sounded like the same nonsense for years now

Okay, this isn't my usual sort of thing at all but I'm definitely into it! Backing vocals especially cool. I've seen her name all over but never investigated further.

When they are on a playlist together, I often mix up Dawn Richard, K Michelle and Tiwa Savage. That should be taken as a compliment for all three!

Vocals are very cool and trippy in “dangerous love”, there’s a part where the heavily autotuned backing chorus sounds almost menacing which I love.

dangerous love is great, voted for the album but super happy to see this here.

tiny desk version adds some nice color too

kind of a dry stretch for me. i liked Jerusalema and $4 USD. My Rajneesh is indistinguishable from his 2010 record (which i don't think got much positive attention here but that was a decade ago). anthems is disappointing; i hear a hook and even some relatable lyrical content. i like some gecs but this is too many gecs.

my #3! — a song to fall deeply in love with (and to)

fabulous production by Cracker Mello, one of the best producers currently active in Afropop (and beyond) - those warped voices are his trademark - and proces to be quite controversial (sorry, rob!) on the year’s funnest thread for me - the Naija Special poll linked above

but ultimately for me the song is all about the way she suddenly pulls that I’m deep, I’m deep, I’m deep in love with you out of the bag in the middle of the second verse.

dig this wonderful (and visually striking) performance for Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show

otm that is a great moment (another moment that is a total stunner in her live sets)

*proved*, not proces, you damn autocorrect!

xp

glad Tiwa isn't the 78. Love the album

Fallon is basically unwatchable but the Tonight Show music director/booker does important work

Hurry up with #46 forks so I can take my nap!

I love teen goth / True Romance C.XCX better than anything since, but I also love that she does whatever abrasive nonsense she's into at any given year

Okay, last one for the day here so that Johnny Fever can finally rest. 15 more tomorrow!

After a dominating 2018 and an off 2019, you could argue that this year was make or break for Dua Lipa. She responded with an album that racked up multi-billion spins by foreseeing and deftly riding 2020’s disco revival. "Levitating" is Future Nostalgia’s fifth single, with a remix that features the world’s most popular rapper almost as an afterthought. Whatever the rules were for this fucked up year, I think she won.

https://i.imgur.com/E0FF3oY.png
#46: Dua Lipa - “Levitating” - 164 points - 6 votes
video (DaBaby remix version)

Dua Lipa

cool into physical into levitating is a wonderful three piece

My 10-year-old likes this song and she is right to do so

Until we’re back on Wednesday, here’s your daily reminder that you can catch up listening on anything you might’ve missed on the 77 Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/09YV3JA0jtWYT8rick6b14

And another daily note that no one has guessed the single artist / two track combo for the tied #78 yet…

Here’s our current list:

#46: Dua Lipa - “Levitating” - 164 points - 6 votes
#47: Tiwa Savage - “Dangerous Love” - 162 points - 6 votes
#48: Charli XCX - “anthems” - 162 points - 4 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote
#49 (tie): Sufjan Stevens - “My Rajneesh”- 158 points - 5 votes
#49 (tie): Taylor Swift and Bon Iver - “exile” - 158 points - 5 votes
#51: US Girls - “4 American Dollars” - 156 points - 6 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote
#52: The 1975 - “Birthday Party” - 156 points - 4 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote
#53: Wande Coal - “Again” - 155 points - 5 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote
#54: Romy - “Lifetime” - 154 points - 6 votes
#55 (tie): Jessy Lanza - “Lick in Heaven” - 154 points - 5 votes
#55 (tie): Kelly Lee Owens - “Melt!” - 154 points - 5 votes
#55 (tie): Owen Pallett - “A Bloody Morning” - 154 points - 5 votes
#58: Waxahatchee - “Fire” - 154 points - 4 votes
#59: Master KG and Nomcebo Zikode - “Jerusalema” - 152 points - 7 votes
#60: J Hus and Koffee - “Repeat” - 152 points - 6 votes
#61: Jorja Smith - “Rose Rouge” - 152 points - 5 votes
#62: Dagny - “Somebody” - 152 points - 4 votes
#63: YOU’LL MELT MORE - “Surpriser!” - 151 points - 6 votes
#64: Victoria Monét - “Jaguar” - 150 points - 6 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote
#65: Reece Madlisa and Zuma with Mr JazziQ and Busta 929 - “Jazzidisciples (Zlele)” - 150 points - 5 votes
#66: Thundercat - “Dragonball Durag” - 148 points - 5 votes
#67: Khruangbin - “Time (You and I)” - 148 points - 4 votes
#68: Avalon Emerson - “Rotting Hills” - 147 points - 5 votes
#69 (tie): Cleo Sol - “When I’m in Your Arms” - 146 points - 4 votes
#69 (tie): Disclosure with Fatoumata Diawara - “Douha (Mali Mali)” - 146 points - 4 votes
#71: Taylor Swift - “Cardigan” - 145 points - 5 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote
#72: Susanne Sundfør - “When the Lord” - 144 points - 6 votes
#73: Headie One with AJ Tracey and Stormzy - “Ain’t It Different” - 144 points - 5 votes
#74: Westerman - “Blue Comanche” - 138 points - 5 votes
#75 (tie): BENEE with “Gus Dapperton” - “Supalonely” - 136 points - 4 votes
#75 (tie): Destroyer - “Cue Synthesizer” - 136 points - 4 votes
#77: Jessie Ware - “What’s Your Pleasure?” - 134 points - 4 votes - 1 #1 Track Vote

I like the phrasing in the bridge of this song so much, but it gets too much credit for being disco/funk revivalism. It's more "Uptown Funk" revivalism than anything else.

thanks forks!

still at 0 myself lol

I'm a sucker for that certain kind of very metallic (not metal) guitar sound that appears in dance tracks of this kind (but then again a lot of the pre-rollout was devoted to "Get Lucky"-bashing so maybe I'm alone in this)

Today featured three songs that were on the Song Exploder podcast last year: Waxahatchee, The 1975, and Dua Lipa.

2 of my votes made it, and of course they're the two indie-est songs on my damn ballot!

Don't think I voted for this but could have. Loved Dua's whole vibe last year. Good times!

I thought "Love Again" was the Dua song on Song Exploder, but that's the netflix version. I almost never hear the podcast anymore.

lmao breastcrawl I can't tell if you're trolling me or if you really still think I dislike the backing vocals on Dangerous Love -- for the record: they are my favourite element of the song!

that said I thought I'd voted for "Koroba" but it turns out I didn't vote for any Tiwa tracks :(