We made it! The end of a horrible year, the end of what I hope you found was an entertaining and (even more than usual, I believe) eclectic list. Here's to hoping we all get to congregate at some point in the not too distant future, whether it be in the office, at church, at sporting events, or, more pertinent to this topic, at concerts. It can't come too soon!
1. ICU (or I See You) by Phoebe Bridgers.
"I'll climb through the window again
But right now it feels good not to stand
Then I'll leave it wide open
Let the dystopian morning light pour in."
The most difficult part of this part of the list was choosing which lyrics to include for ICU. The entire song is chock full of insightful, and biting, commentary about love gone wrong. While admittedly Ms. Bridgers and her work have appeared on a lot of "best of" lists in 2020, fortunately for my contrarian nature most have been in acknowledgement of her songs "I Know the End" and "Kyoto" or for her outstanding album Punisher. ICU, however, has been enduringly my favorite since I first heard it early in 2020.
2. Armageddon's Back In Town by Drive-by-Truckers.
"The die has been cast
Symbolism's so pronounced
That there's nothing left to wonder or explain
There'll be no healing
From the art of double-dealing
Armageddon's back in town again."
If you think its sounds like the boys from Athens (although apparently at least some of them live in Portland now) don't sound optimistic, it's because they're not. Also check out "Thoughts and Prayers" from their excellent album The Unraveling and "The New OK" from their follow-up effort of the same name later in the year. DBT may be bowed, but they are not broken.
3. Bad Decisions by The Strokes.
"Oh, baby, I hang on everything you say
I wanna write down every word
But do me a favor, when you come close
When I look around, don't wanna see you
I don't take advice from fools
Never listening to you."
The list has often featured songs that I bill as that year's offering of "sounds like The Strokes." This year we have ... The Strokes sounding like a mashup of Billy Idol and Modern English. While Julian Casablancas doesn't sound like he's completely pleased with how he's aged, I still wanna be him when I grow up.
4. Fastest Man Alive by Steve Earle.
"I'm the rumble with the thunder
I'm the bolt out of the blue
I'm the master of the stratosphere
A pilot tried and true
My name's Charles Elwood Yeager
And I've been everywhere
Paris, London, Timbuktu
And Dover, Delaware
Ended up in California
That's where I'm gonna die
I come from West Virginia
I'm the fastest man alive."
Sadly, West Virginia's favorite son died this year (and even more sadly, Steve Earle's son, Justin Townes Earle, did as well). But Steve got it right, Chuck died in California. And he also got it right that Chuck was the "master of the stratosphere, a pilot tried and true" along with being, in Tom Wolfe's words the "most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff."
5. AUATC by Bon Iver.
"Ate up all their cake
And they drank their own wine
They were always on the take (will you shed a little light on it?)
Well, you know the burden ain't of dust
The only path to love is touch
I know that all that ain't proper mounts to much."
AUATC = Ate Up All Their Cake. Yes, that's The Boss you hear helping out in the chorus. A protest song for our post-COVID, post-George Floyd, post-destruction of the middle class times.
6. Fire by Waxahatchee.
"I take it for granted
If I could love you unconditionally
I could iron out the edges of the darkest sky
For some of us it ain't enough
It ain't enough."
My favorite song from Katie Crutchfield's (aka Waxahatchee) excellent album St. Cloud. I also recommend "Can't Do Much" and "Arkadelphia" from that stellar work, which is much quieter than Waxahatchee's earlier offerings.
7. Shangri-La by EOB.
"Going back
I'm not going back
In the old house
We'll burn it to the ground."
EOB is Ed O'Brien of Radiohead fame. One song that's here more for the music than the lyrics.
8. Surrender by Will Butler.
"I'm so tired now
I'm so tired of
Thinking of you
No, no, no, child
I wish you were outta my head."
As convincing as he can be, I don't think Will's winning this argument -- whether it's with the subject or (more likely) himself. Will's better known as a multi-instrumentalist and frenetic stage presence in Arcade Fire.
9. Persona Non Grata by Bright Eyes.
"Getting dressed for a date
Put on Blue aftershave
Wore a kilt like a Celt
Hid the way that I felt."
The first album in nine years by Bright Eyes is full of angst and Connor Oberst's quivering vocals (and stellar lyrics like the ones above). List regulars will remember Mr. Oberst teaming with Ms. Bridgers last year in Better Oblivion Community Center, whose offerings included "Little Trouble" (which also made my Favorite Songs of the 2010's list). A bright, smart downer in a dismal year, and another song about love lost, a genre for which I have an unexplainable affinity.
10. Different Light by Best Coast.
"Askin' myself all the time, what if this just goes away?
'Cause I have gotten used to lookin' forward to another day
Probably why I live my life in black and white and never grey
Who am I to judge if you still see things in a different light?"
Another song from the past year that has a strong late '90's-early aughts feel to it. I guess this is a plea for finding common ground? If so, I'm fine with that.
11. Good Times by The Lone Bellow.
"Boy he's wrestled down his demons
Broke the fall of all his friends
Quotes the Bible and the Koran
Has the heart of fifteen men.
Never wonders what you're doing
Never needs the words to say
There's some good ones still trying
Let's no good time slip away."
Spotify tells me I listened to this song more than any other in 2020. Perhaps that's because it was released early in the year; just as likely it's because I love its optimism (I want to meet whomever it is it was written about, if he exists) that helped with the isolation of most of this year. Which, hopefully, will not be the norm for all of 2021.
