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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 106,245
Favourites (more):
BB2023: Yinrun RPDR UK 2: Tayce
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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 106,245
Favourites (more):
BB2023: Yinrun RPDR UK 2: Tayce
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I am forgetful ok
#30 - "XS" by Rina Sawayama
The spanish guitar riffs lend it a very "1998-2002" sound that tunnels its way right into the nostalgia portion of my brain. We stan an anti-consumerism anthem!
#29 - "Gaslighter" by The Chicks
It's a difficult feat making the lyrical theme of being emotionally manipulated by an ex-husband sound suitable with a catchy pop song, but the Chicks somehow succeeded this year. They broke a 15~ year hiatus with this, and considering how many feminist milestones have passed in that time, their comeback could never have been more timely.
#28 - "Malibu" by Kim Petras
A pretty star-studded video of queer icons and Jessie J, but the song itself makes its way into my list for being a slice of pop confection taken from a timeline where the world wasn't dead and miserable in the summer just past. Super catchy, and a lot of fun.
#27 - "American Cars" by Annie
On the flipside of the above's summery glory was this ice-cold, ominous electropop banger. Another electronic-pop legend who's taken the time to return after more than a decade; this track could wriggle its way into the soundtracks of many a Nordic psychological thriller and still be appropriate.
#26 - "JU$T" by Run the Jewels, Pharrell & Zack de la Rocha
The frontman of Rage Against the Machine features here and it's a perfect match; both bands channel punk energy to make political statements that go hard. Here the history of America and how slavery permeates every element of modern American identity is taken to task.
#25 - "I Don't Belong" by Fontaines DC
Honestly the instrumental is menacing and dark enough to make a lasting impression, so the Dublin accent thrown on top is just the cherry on the cake. Shades of Pixies and Joy Division here, and the lyric is a very 2020 energy.
#24 - "Babylon" by Lady Gaga
Almost ten years ago the pop stans were sent into battle after comparisons between 'Born This Way' and Madonna's 'Express Yourself' were drawn. A decade later, and she's given us an unintentional sequel to 'Vogue'. A house banger that came out in the same year I discovered the TV show 'Pose' meant a perfect match.
#23 - "Somebody" by Dagny
Every time I hear this song I grow to love it more; indeed when compiling this list I did originally think "yeah this was cute I guess it can slot in at around 95". Another Norwegian popstar, Dagny is someone I'll have to keep on my radar.
#22 - "Save a Kiss" by Jessie Ware
Just... gorgeous. Slow, lingering and enrapturing.
#21 - "Be Kind" by Marshmello & Halsey
It still upsets me that the charts didn't embrace this song. I get that Halsey can be irritating at times, but this is just... pop majesty.
#20 - "Lifetime" by Romy
As a diehard fan of the XX, I was apprehensive about the solo material Romy might release. In hindsight, I don't ****ing know why, because Jamie xx is obviously thriving and so, now, is Romy: 'Lifetime' is a dancefloor filler and so euphoric.
#19 - "Murphy's Law" by Róisín Murphy
I've already explained my worship of Murphy, so it seemed only appropriate that I adhere to her Law. There's something incredibly Grace Jones about this track; dripping with sophistication and cool, and assured vocal delivery. Love her and love this.
#18 - "forever" by Charli XCX
I'd already cemented my adoration for this song prior to the poignant new twist on it; Charli's working relationship with the late SOPHIE has been evident in so much of her work since 2013, and that signature jarring, overwhelming productive sound is present here.
#17 - "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)" by The 1975
When I said their album was disappointing but full of incredible highs, I wasn't lying; this is the first of two tracks I've put in my list but I could feasibly have chosen 3 more. This is them at their poppiest: a generous slice of 1980s new wave (comparisons were drawn to Tears For Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World) and a sax solo to boot.
#16 - "Teenage Headache Dreams" by Mura Masa, Ellie Rowsell
Still mildly confused as to why Rowsell and Wolf Alice are given separate billing on the features spot when she's... literally a member of the band, but hey ho. This track wowed me at the start of the year and has endured; it's emotive, it vibrates at different intensities and is a fitting testament to the conflicted, confusing nature of teenage years.
#15 - "people, i've been sad" by Christine and the Queens
I've given a lot of love and time to CatQ over the past 5 years and this was really no disappointment. She utters this same refrain (translated from French) and I couldn't really encapsulate the uncertainty and melancholy of the past year better: Adolescence thwarted by a thousand dead thistles/ Walk barefoot on glass and now everything is stronger".
#14 - "Jason" by Perfume Genius
Oh the baroqueness of it all... only PG could make a disappointing one-night-stand with a repressed straight guy sound aspirational and beautiful.
#13 - "Kyoto" by Phoebe Bridgers
I'm finding it difficult to write about these songs now because when I put them on for inspiration I'm just drawn into a catatonic bliss and don't really wish to be interrupted. There's a multi-instrumentalism about it that channels Sufjan Stevens at his prime, and I just... ugh... shut up I love it.
#12 - "Yellow is the Colour of Her Eyes" by Soccer Mommy
Whenever I compile these lists I always try and narrow down multiple songs by the same artist to try and keep it diverse and interesting (because otherwise the 100 would just be... 10 by Phoebe Bridgers, 6 by the 1975, 6 by Perfume Genius... etc). So whilst there were other highlights from Color Theory that I loved dearly, it was this - this achingly beautiful and personal story of the artist's mother's terminal illness - that caught my ear. Desperately sad, and yet impossible to turn off.
#11 - "Damn Daniel" by Bree Runway & Yung Baby Tate
I've yet to really hear anything else from Bree that sounds similar to this, and in a way that's mildly disappointing (her other stuff is still excellent!) because this is a perfect pop song. It channels classics like Ghost Town DJs' My Boo and Chaka Khan's I Feel For You: a raucous, delectable bit of 80s hip hop and dance.
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