Secondhand Setlists

I first need to thank every outlet and writer who posted their Best of lists already, even those who did it too early (which was pretty much every outlet).

I waited a while to do my own. For one thing, I am lazy. Secondly, because I needed time to let the last year sink in – that’s still ongoing. As In Review Online puts it, lists such as these are “ongoing interrogations,” where the line of questioning shifts with every new release or development. Mando Pop, a substack covering the vast world of Mandarin pop music, touches on how numerous releases in that industry completely miss the chance to land on any lists because they come out in late-November and December. Pitchfork’s Year End lists started the first week of December; were this 2013, they’d have just missed Beyoncé (which they actually did miss).

What we saw perhaps more starkly than any year prior is just how rapidly things can shift. Think how fast virtually everything changed from March 9th to 16th, from May 26th to June 2nd. The pandemic transformed everyday life itself, while George Floyd’s death reignited not the discussion of state violence against Black people but also the injustices they faced elsewhere: in music, in healthcare, in virtually every facet of American life.

The first month of 2021 is over. Think about how different life looks from January 1st to now – the American capitol besieged not a week in, the stock market at the mercy of Reddit, and multiple new COVID19 strains. Imagine if J*hn M**s or *rl P*nk landed on any year end lists – space that would have ended up wasted. That luckily was not the case. Even after this weekend, the world feels very different with the loss of one of it’s finest auteurs and visionaries, SOPHIE, in a shocking tragedy. She was someone I had the joy to cover many, many times. Her passing leaves a huge gap not just for me but for all of pop culture, one that I am extremely lucky to be able to fill in with some beloved memories. It reminded me as well to be thoughtful, fearless, and persevering with my pursuits, because there’s never a guarantee on time to finish them tomorrow.

My work involves sifting through endless troughs of year-end lists, and I continue to be fascinated by others’ choices and the ways in which they describe them. Focusing on their lists for so long allowed me to consider what I wanted to highlight and why. This also presented me with the challenge to sit patiently, to really ruminate over what impacted me this year and what it was I’d like to share with people.

I know I can only offer so much in the way of new insight and material to cover.

To clarify, I loved a few more albums and songs than I named here (obviously What’s Your Pleasure was designed with me in mind), but I wanted to try and highlight acts I didn’t see get much, if any, support elsewhere. Some certainly did, and I hope to those artists I bring a fresh angle. Here, I highlighted not just songs and albums I enjoyed, but also a few musically-adjacent things from the past year.

Freegal and Your Local Library

Being stuck inside all year, people started turning to an institution most take for granted: the library. The Boston Public Library reported a 50% increase on Hoopla usage, but digital books are hardly the only thing your local library likely offers. Some have film collections, some offer language-learning courses like Mango Languages, and many are a part of Freegal, an online music database. With Freegal, not only do you have access to a massive cache of songs to stream, you get five free downloads each week.

Part of the fun involves determining what they actually have available. They unfortunately don’t have much Missy Elliott, but they do have Flo Milli’s home run Hoe, What is You Doing Here? Other fantastic 2020 cuts I found include: 645AR X FKA twigs’ “Sum Bout U,” Isabella Lovestory’s Mariposa EP, Simmy’s Tugela Fairy (Made of Stars), and CIFIKA’s HANA. Since lockdown isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, I suggest looking through your wallet for that library card that you and I both know doesn’t get enough usage.

Twins the Trend

You know how we all want to recapture the rush of hearing a song like “September,” “Crazy in Love,” or “American Boy” for the first time? Well, these siblings, Fred and Tim Williams, aka Twinsthetrend, are here to share that experience with you. Reaction videos are nothing new, but there’s something heartwarming about seeing two young people hearing “Jolene” for the first time, realizing at last why she’s a name on everybody’s lips. Joy was hard to come by in 2020, I’m glad these twins were not only able to preserve their own happiness for themselves, but share it with the rest of the world. More importantly, they remind us of how lucky we are to be able to explore and experience, together even, through the internet. At a time where the current world needs a lot of fixes, may we all be as curious as these two, and just as willing to share our interests with the world around us. It’s what will help us get to building a better one.

“Fuck Up The Rain” (and the continued blessing of mashups)

Grimes X Charli, Nicki X Homogenic, RiRi X Luther Vandross – I adore a mashup, and as peoples’ taste grow more eclectic I see them imagining deeper matches between songs. It’s how we get to Azealia Banks X Loona, two different tidal waves colliding into a vortex of egos. It worked well enough that the rapper posted the track and began following the time-looped group, which is evidence enough for me that mashups really can change the world. And the best part is mashups typically come from humble internet fans like myself, uninterested in cold fusion but bold fusion instead.

Songs I Loved

Cakes Da Killa – “Don Dada”

Robbed of the chance to be enjoyed in a club setting, “Don Dada” is relatively simple in it’s construction: a spitfire MC atop a house beat that checks all the required elements. But now imagine both the lyrics and production done to their absolute finest. Cakes da Killa boasts enough confidence to power an entire college football team, their cheer squad, and marching band. At Cakes’ side is Proper Villains, sounding the sirens for his arrival. “You did it for the clout/ I did it for the culture”: Move the fuck out of the way for the ruler we deserve.

CupcakKe – How To Rob” / “The Gag Is”

As discussed, the media loves to release their Best of . . . lists crack-of-dawn early, like before the souls of Thanksgiving turkeys have entirely left the earth’s atmosphere. For years, we’ve known that a Beyoncé, D’Angelo, or Little Simz release could come through and shake everything up.

This year, Cupcakke came in with not one but two late-game beat-downs. First, she sends a meteor shower down on the entire rap game with “How To Rob,” attracting the ire of one target, Sukihana. So CupcakKe decided to channel her maelstrom into one, Eclipse Cannon blast aimed straight at Sukihana. These are fighting words trained in Muy Thai, statements that absolutely can hurt you, and in the case of “The Gag Is,” CupcakKe recorded only a day after the dust from the initial blast had cleared. Like Empress Of, CupcakKe really deserves more than we give her, and these tracks are a warning that we better start soon or she’ll make sure we get ours, too.

La Zowi, Albany, Pipo Beatz – “Sugar Mami”

A cruel reminder of the summer that never came. La Zowi and Albany (who looks pretty Winehouse-esque in this video) saunter down the street, armored in Autotune that’s as glitzy as the tackiest, chunkiest jewelry. The sparse beat runs on a rotating arpeggio, raising the stakes every 8 counts only to bring you back into the roller coaster for another round.

Naeem ft. Amanda Blank & Micah James – “Woo Woo Woo”

The sound of friends reuniting after some time apart, over Zoom no less. Sound familiar? And what a reunion it was. Over a Zoom call, Naeem trades verses with Micah James and Amanda Blank. It’s all very confident and sensual at the same time (James’s voice could seduce me reading a Dr. Bronner’s label), and a wonderful return from a few stars who sat out much of the previous decade.

Magenta ft. Vendredi Sur Mer – “Chance”

Trance music that we never got to dance in a club to with a star I was hoping I’d have gotten to see live at some point this past year. Vendredi Sur Mer boasts a beguiling voice that needs no tricks or belting; most of her debut album was just her breathy whispers over her productions. On “Chance,” she gets a chance to flex her vocals a little more, which are chopped and looped over a propulsive beat.

Kylie Minogue – “Dance Floor Darling”

Retrosynth will always get me going, and this cut from Kylie’s delicious Disco looped me in immediately. “Dance Floor Darling” circles you in its warmth in a way that replaces the danger of so many dance floor anthems with camaraderie instead. Once she gets you onboard, she kicks up the tempo to double time for a wonderful surprise near the song’s end. There’s not much I can say that this song doesn’t say much better on its own.

Amber Mark – “Thong Song” (Cover)

Sisqo’s had quite the past few years, from the 20th anniversary of Unleash the Dragon to being featured in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to being impersonated by a grifter. “Thong Song” possesses a staying power most other songs only dream of achieving. Enter Amber Mark, who flips the mischievous, upbeat dance floor-filler into a sultry, wavy ode to a woman’s sexuality. Similar to Empress Of, whom she’s dueted with, Amber Mark is never quite given the dues she deserves, whether it’s for her brilliant 3:33 project or the mutual bootycall of “Put You On.” Her interpretation of Sisqo’s undergarment anthem is much less manic and much more tender, but still just as capable of making a body move.

Lous and the Yakuza – “Solo”

Originally, I included Lous and the Yakuza’s “Amigo,” a sparse, haunting ode to friendship, or lack thereof. With people robbed of close contact from most friends in 2020, the wounded frustration mirrored our own agitated states, alone and resentful. Alone, though, is ultimately how we all are, whether we like it or not, and “Solo” cushions the edges around that harsh truth. Lous appears as if through a fog, surrounded by empty air and the lightest of instruments. She presents disconnectedness as both an individual experience and a communal struggle, a paradox which solidifies her arguments more than it detracts from them; we all experience this alone-ness, yet its impact weighs differently on each individual.

Others I enjoyed:

• Gaika “Maria”
• Yelle “Noir”
• Patricia Taxxon “You”
• R.A.P. Ferreira “Laundry”
• Batuk “Hypatia’s Theory”
• Mike “Weight of the World”
• Jayda G “Both of Us” (Jayda G Sunset Bliss Mix)
• Night Stone “Chance” (ft. Sophia Eris)
• Ty Dolla $ign “Ego Death” (ft. Kanye West & FKA Twigs)
• Gupi & Fraxiom “Thos Moser”
• Jessie Ware “Mirage (Don’t Stop)”
• Shamir “Diet”
• Ariana Grande “Shut Up”
• Flo Milli “May I”
• Isabella Lovestory “Kitten Heel”

Albums I loved

Shygirl – ALIAS

Few other artists handled 2020 as effortlessly as Shygirl. In the lead up to her new EP Alias, she took over songs by Arca and Zebra Katz (who also had a great year). “FREAK” arrived at the end of summer to herald the arrival of ALIAS, an EP dedicated to the different sides of the Shygirl persona. Featuring contributions from SOPHIE, Kai Whiston, and longtime partner in crime Sega Bodega, this is a star-studded event where “no album out” Blaine Muise is never overshadowed. It might be an EP, but it’s more cohesive than what many, many people are putting out these days.

From my review for Spectrum Culture:

“In its more ridiculous moments, it elicits snickers the same way it does gasps. Listen to those exaggerated, unromantic moans in ‘SLIME,’ and the truly atonal bridge in ‘BAWDY’ to see Muise trying her hand at camp. The clubbier, upbeat songs ‘TASTY’ and ‘SIREN’ bring Shygirl’s Eurodance club fantasy to life in the gaudiest ways, her voice dripping in effects and doing the minimum to hit those notes. During these instances, the listener lowers their guard, mistakenly thinking the threats, too, might just be an act. It’s when she’s underestimated that ALIAS pulls off its greatest tricks, and Shygirl gives it away in the first song: ‘Did you use me? Get in my head?’/ That’s what they’ll say.’ Compared to the rest, ‘TWELVE’ is sonically the least distinctive but lyrically the most telling. Its final verse informs you in no uncertain terms who’s running the show “Who wake you up when I’m asleep?” By the time you catch on six tracks later, you’re trapped in a siren’s song, too late to break free. But why would you when it sounds this good?“

Rodney Chrome – Queer Pressure

I love a varied record, where everything from the mood to the genre, comes as a surprise. Rodney Chrome’s Queer Pressure brings as many laughs as it does moments of seriousness, croons a la Abhi/Dijon mashed up against heavy, menacing raps. In a world where his queerness elicits confusion and fear in others, Chrome throws the same back in its face. A statement like “You need to put some bass on your voice” is met with rumbling, dissonant bass sounds; oh you wanted a deeper voice, well here’s Satan’s drenched in vocal effects. The music, too, offers a wealth of genres to partake in; 8-bit, freaky trap (“Premium Goods), warm synth funk (“5 Starz), and sweeping, rumbling power ballads (“Chin to My Chest”). A thin layer of unease runs beneath much of his material, only adding to the fun at hand. Watch “5 Starz” to get an idea of just how expansive his worldview is.

Empress Of – I’m Your Empress Of

Lately, when I think of “underrated,” I think of artists like Empress Of and Amber Mark (who coincidentally put out a very good song together this year). Lorely Rodriguez’s third album, I’m Your Empress Of, follows her previous models: the production is typically understated and rarely rushed, much like her voice which glides with little urgency or much flourish. In that is where the magic lies. Also impressive the way she flips the saddest emotions into captivating melodies; the supremely underrated “When I’m With Him” somehow uses apathy to create something highly emotional. This time around, she finds herself on the receiving end, yet still able to spin strife into strength. She sings of emptiness on “Void” as if it’s made her weightless, finding the beauty in a shit situation; swept up in riptide on “What’s the Point,” she lets the rush add gravity to her precarious situation. I can only hope people start giving her a little more, because how much more does she need to prove at this point?

Zebra Katz – LESS IS MOOR

Never, ever feel rushed to finish your craft – the energy I am using to write this blog post. Zebra Katz spent the last decade riding the highs of some brilliant singles (“Ima Read,” “Tear the House Up”) while steadily headed towards a debut. What would be a career-killer to most proved a victory for Zebra Katz. The menacing MC has found success in not only bucking his limitations but adapting to them to suit his art. The result of 10 years of hard work, LESS IS MOOR arrived in 2020 as a triumph.

From my review for Spectrum Culture:

“The blunt title refers to a formative moment in Morgan’s past. Mentors and others from his drama studies said Black actors only play moors in Shakespeare. Turning stereotypes on their heads with his one-man show Moor Contradictions, Morgan created Zebra Katz, a character born from limitations and now thriving in spite of them. LESS IS MOOR’s sparsest moments, like the looming dread of ‘LOUSY’ or the guitar-only ‘NECKLACE,’ tend to leave the strongest impressions. . .

“LESS IS MOOR ultimately culminates in these many different juxtapositions and contradictions. It does so thanks to Morgan’s ability to puzzle together these disparate pieces into songs about rough sex, frightening benders, and moments of tenderness. Though Zebra Katz earned his stripes many years ago, it’s a thrill to watch them flaunted so confidently.”

Rubio – Mango Negro

On Mango Negro, percussionist Francisca Straube of Rubio sings like she’s in the middle of the wilderness, her cries, howls, and whispers imbued with a potent reverb, as if she’s speaking from the world itself. Tricks and shifts lie in every song; the sparse production of “Nudo” slowly envelops the track in a drone, while guest vocalist Frannie Holder performs her portion in French. Though it begins melodically, “Volver” drops its melodies by the end, losing with it the semblance of a happy ending.

Similar to what I appreciated in Kylie’s “Dance Floor Darling,” Mango Negro gives the listener two sides of the same song, all within one. Both art forms with endless interpretations, music and movement are so joyous because there’s endless entry points for one to start a composition or choreography, and there’s more than one way to come to the same conclusions. It’s about disconnect, on a micro level (companionship) and the macro (ruling vs working class).

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ – Charmed

Shimmering dance music, Sabrina Spellman, and nostalgic humor – three of my favorite things woven into three hours of exhilaration. DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ submerging the listener in the warmest coat of synthesizers, humor, and general goodwill disco, as suitable for a work session as it would be a party. In a strange way because of its expansiveness, Charmed inexplicably feels intimate; there’s so much to absorb, so much to catch, that there’s something for everyone to latch onto. The more you come across during your listening, the more it starts to feel like an inside joke with a close friend.

Other albums I enjoyed:

• CIFIKA HANA
• GAIKA Seguridad
• Theo Parrish Wuddaji
• Róisín Murphy – Róisín Machine (read my Spectrum Culture review here)
• Clap! Clap! Liquid Portraits
• Ase Manual Black Liquid Electronics
• Buscabulla Regresa
• MoMa Ready Gallery S
• Zora Jones 10 Billion Angels
• Batuk Again She Reigns
• 4s4ki Hyper Angry Cat
• Moistbreezy Breezy
• Oklou Galore
• Space Ghost Free 2 B (read my Spectrum Culture review here)
• Ghoulja Boy El Rascal
• Mealtime Aperitif (EP)
• Danielle Grub D (EP)