ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2020

2020 was violent, isolating, frustrating, uplifting, monotonous, confrontational, angry, redemptive, life-changing, life-ending. Many of us became ill or ostracized, lost jobs and homes, hobbies and well-being, friends and family. We lost voices on ILX.

Amid that tumult, the pandemic era provided the dubious blessings of more time to listen and greater opportunity to connect through art. More than ever, music was my lifeline. Every chance that this site gave me to hear something new was a genuine gift.

End-of-year list-making frenzy is too often an exercise in arbitrarily enumerating the innumerable. What I love about the ILM 77 is that it is intended not as canon building but as a symposium to learn and offer insight into who we are and what matters to us in this moment, a meditation on individual passions as open benediction.

Thanks for sharing what mattered to you. I hope you find something meaningful here to take on your way.

Here’s the Top 77 Tracks of 2020 Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/09YV3JA0jtWYT8rick6b14

If anyone wants to build a matching YouTube / Tidal / Apple Music / Amazon Music / Future Times Neural Net Music Service We Don't Know About Yet Playlist, it would be more than welcome. Please post those here.

In case you’d like to listen to the total talent pool, here’s the nominee playlist, which includes some 1250+ of the 1400+ nominated songs:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3pvB14oQVKaNUwNViZAv00

Your poll runners are myself (posting, playlisting), Moka (posting, graphics) and Seandalai (organization and vote tabulation).

With each winning song, wherever possible, I will be posting a link to the song’s video on YouTube, appropriate ILX artist/song/album/genre threads for further reading and - as there’s brisk crossover between the ILX and TSJ population - a link to The Singles Jukebox review of the song in question.

There was a two-way tie for #78 and, in what I assume is a first, both songs happen to be by the same artist. Bragging rights if you can name the artist and tracks before we get to the end of the poll.

Okay, that’s enough intro! 77 tracks ahead. We’ll get into it starting around 9am EST tomorrow.

wooooo

thanks runners

unexpected early start, but I happen to be here for it.

let me get my guess in for the tied 78: Tiwa Savage (hope it’s wrong, but I fear the afropop track results will be/have been severly impacted by vote splitting)

(in which case it would be “Dangerous Love” and “Koroba”)

https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/B3-AT458_Oman_8SR_20180611152444.jpg

Looking forward to this. Lovely introduction to it, off to a good start before anything has been revealed..

It's going to be all Taylor anyway, so I'm guessing #78 is a split between "Peace" and "The Lakes".

I'd guess Dua Lipa with Hallucinate and Break My Heart

...with Physical and Levitating making the 77

I love your opening post, forks! Looking forward to this rollout because I have no idea what will make it and what won't and tbh I won't be mad about anything that places or misses. Unless 100 gecs wins.

Post 77-61 now then fifteen on each ensuing day imo ;)

Yes!!!!!

Oh god, I thought it had actually started for a moment there.

I would've guessed Taylor for the tied 78 but with so many songs nominated I'm not sure it'd be noteworthy enough to mention? I didn't pay any attention to her stuff this year so no idea about track titles or anything anyway.

Tied 78 probably Charli knowing our luck

My prediction for 78 is the two PSB tracks. Long standing affection for them but not enough to get them into the 77.

What I love about the ILM 77 is that it is intended not as canon building but as a symposium to learn and offer insight into who we are and what matters to us in this moment, a meditation on individual passions as open benediction.

this was very nice, thanks forks

gah forks you tease!

j/k much love <3

Best poll on the internet. I always feel super giddy and privileged. Thanks for the amazing work and dedication. Looking forward to this year's celebrating, trashing and analyzing.

Booming intro forks, stoked for the madness!

woot

Only 32 Taylor Swift tracks were nominated, so that leaves 45 spots for everyone to guess!

History lesson: A Decade of EOY Poll Winners

2010 Girl Unit - Wut
2011 Azealia Banks ft. Lazy Jay - 212
2012 Todd Terje - Inspector Norse
2013 Daft Punk - Get Lucky
2014 Tinashe ft. Schoolboy Q - 2 On
2015 Grimes - Realiti (Demo)
2016 Rae Sremmurd - Black Beatles
2017 Charli XCX - Boys
2018 Peggy Gou - It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)
2019 Busy Signal - 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

excited for this to get underway, my pick for the 78’d individual is bob dylan

bookmarked

2013 Daft Punk - Get Lucky

sigh

Yeah, that seems a bit normie for ILM EOY polls, but didn't we crown "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley a few years before?

somewhat concerned this is going to be quite a normie year. prove me wrong, ILM

or in other words, by the fourth jessie ware song I will be my usual cartoon villain self

ooh actually she's not a bad shout for the double 78. we can all live in hope

that Peggy Gou song is aptly named -- I have zero recollection of what that sounds like

78 tie has to be taylor or jessie

2013 Daft Punk - Get Lucky
sigh

― stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Sunday, 24 January 2021 19:24 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Check it out if you get the chance, sound of the summer

Gonna be honest, of the megahits of the 2010s, "Get Lucky" is the one I still have time for (OK, this, "Royals," and "Call Me Maybe," and it's too early to tell about "Old Town Road.")

"Royals" relegated to #28 in 2013 poll in ILX non-normie shocker

Aaah so exciting - such a massive undertaking for all involved. Thank you as always for a high point of January. I'm going to be away until tomorrow evening, but can't wait to catch up.

I think the double #78 will be...Selena Gomez? Simmy?

A decade of #78s in the EOY Poll:

2010 Glasser - Mirrorage
2011 Adele - Rolling in the Deep / Lil B - Motivation (tie)
2012 Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Mladic / Mykki Blanco - Wavvy (tie)
2013 Kidnap Kid - So Close
2014 St. Vincent - Digital Witness
2015 OMI - Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
2016 Underworld - If Rah
2017 Big Thief - Mythological Beauty
2018 Black Dresses - Thoughts and Prayers
2019 Jenny Hval - High Alice

87-78 last year was an incredible bunch of tracks IIRC

i loved that s/t st. vincent album at the time and i could not be less interested in listening to it again

lol at rolling in the deep tying with Lil B at 78, very ilm moment

xp found it and it's not quite as good s I remembered but still would go to bat for half of these at least

78 Jenny Hval - High Alice
79 Wang & Neo Image - Just Off Wave
80 Charli XCX ft. Sky Ferreira - Cross You Out
81 Rapsody ft. GZA & D'Angelo - Ibtihaj
81The Mountain Goats - Younger
83 Denzel Curry - RICKY
84 SAULT - Let Me Go
85 Algiers - Can the Sub Bass Speak?
85 Raphael Saadiq - This World is Drunk
87 SAULT - Why Why Why Why Why
88 J Balvin & Bad Bunny - La Canción
89 Ocean Wisdom ft. Dizzee Rascal - Blessed
89 ShooterGang Kony - Charlie
91 Clipping - Blood of the Fang

"High Alice" is spectacular

still can't believe Denzel didn't crack it

Thoughts And Prayers getting 78d was stunningly frustrating, reliving that now thaaanks lol

While y'all are talking history, is there an interesting tale about how 77 become the magic number?

secrete and rare

more and more, people are saying 77 is too low a number

what i'm saying is that Moka outdid herself with the graphics this year and y'all are going to be very happy with them.

I won't, just to be contrarian.

I voted in the EOY poll for the first time since I can't remember, but regardless of whether or not I participate, the EOY countdown is something I always look forward to every year ^_^

lol, i STARTED murder most foul at least ten times. i never got through it!

Christine & the Queens - "People I've Been Sad": J'apprécie le bilinguisme comme un bon Ottavien and this is much less off-putting than what I heard before from these people. I appreciate that it's well-crafted but in the end probably just not ma tasse de thé.

Sault - "Wildfires": definitely got a replay and will probably get several more. Reminds me both of classic soul and funk from the late 60s/early 70s and, weirdly, of Radiohead in the 00s. Great bassline, memorable melody. Is that just a guitar at the 1:55 mark? The attack and bends seem characteristic of a guitar but the timbre sounds like something else - is it a guitar triggering a synth or samples or some kind of effect?

ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

Wildfires also has that "stormy", protective feeling of eighties songs like "Don't Look Any Further", "Wonderful Life", "Crockett's Theme", "I Wanna Know What Love Is" and "Running Up That Road". something about those synths and the bassline

"if you're too shy" was one of the weakest the 1975 singles this year, it's fine but they've done that sound better so many times before. much prefer "me & you together song" and "the birthday party"

sund4r if you like "forever" and are into the pretty/harsh thing you should definitely give the rest of the charli album a listen. there's only one other track as harsh as "anthems" but it's the first one, so be warned.

i think the sound at 1:55 in "wildfires" is a processed vocal

it sounds like there's just some distortion and a delay and some reverb on the vocal, nothing too elaborate

don't really get The 1975 but somehow love Jesus Christ 2005 and it made my ballot

I really liked “Jerusalema”, that’s my find from here. Should pay more attention to African music generally, it was easier when I was able to go out because this is the sound of the streets where I live.

i'm finding the whole hyper-pop craze interesting, if hard to love wholesale. that might have something to do with things like this having existed for quite a long time. as with the You'll Melt More track, people are thinking "Yes, it's dizzy, hyperactive, and thrilling but... we feel desensitised to this now. We've heard it now". PC Music, Babymetal, Kero Kero Bonita, Melt Banana, the more maximalist ends of IDM and electroclash, J-pop, K-pop, even happy hardcore in the 90s - I guess it's cool that people like Charli XCX and Poppy are making this into a consolidated style and commercially viable artform now though?

I'm a longtime 1975 sceptic who has felt encouraged to give them more of a chance after enjoying the songs from this poll.

The bass at the beginning of Wildfires reminds me of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley lol

I really liked “Jerusalema”, that’s my find from here. Should pay more attention to African music generally, it was easier when I was able to go out because this is the sound of the streets where I live.

Yeah I live in the most African part of Paris but I went outside so rarely this summer that I never heard it!

I worked out what "Wildfires" reminds me of: none other than ILM's top track of 2006, "Crazy".

check three posts up!

Has anyone noticed that “Wildfires” seems to interpolate some elements of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”?

oof

insane

Not sure about 'Crazy' but definitely 'Insane'.

As in Insane Clown Posse that is!!!!!!!!!

I see forks actually made that joke and a lot more subtly, so I Insane Clowned myself just there. Many many levels of Insane Clowning

Woop woop

I love Killer Mike but I wish El-P would just stick to producing like he did on R.A.P. Music, since that's his real strength. His voice and flow are still almost as stiff and bland as they were back in the Company Flow days.

Killer Mike: you know I’m smoking that sour / you know we taking what’s ours / you know the people got power / we taking ivory towers / Make bread and give me my flowers / before we bury these cowards

El-P: ayo! My dick look like Yoda playing basketball

— Certified El-P Respecter (@ObeseChess) February 2, 2021

Hah!

SAULT - wildfires

chill song. prob the most unremarkable #1 ever but it's not bad or anything

christine and the clams

i really dislike that this song is titled "people, i've been sad" (what's next, a song called "sure sex is great, but have you ever tried writing a song about being sad?"). i like when she sings in french. i find the indie r&b sound extremely played out, although i guess french people getting around to it 10 years later makes sense

1975 - if you're too shy let me know

wasn't my fav song on the album, some of the 80s vamps are just on the wrong side of pastiche. can't remember if it was itt or in the albums poll but j0rdan's huge post on the critical 180 rake-step on this album was otm

roisin murphy - murphy's law

it wasn't my fav song on the album and not the one i voted for ('we come together' was in my top 5--that song drives me absolutely off the walls) but indisputably one of the best songs of this whole poll. who knew making a full-length album of classic disco at this level of quality songwriting was still possible?

charli xcx - forever

i liked the noisier fucked up sounding stuff on this album, the beat that comes in at 2:50 on this one is too little too late. 'sucker' is in my top 10 albums of the last decade but her career has not rly captivated me since then

chloe x halle - do it

this album has been on my to-listen to list since late last year but i haven't made my way around to it yet. this song is excellent. best discovery of the poll so far fer sure

jayda g - both of us

nice sunny piano house tune. 'heaven could be lately' still my fav track she's ever done

jessie ware - remember where you are

didn't connect with this album as much as w/ R Murph. i prefer the dubby sex dungeon disco of roisin machine to this. kinda sounds like 'les fleurs' minnie riperton

victoria monet khalid sg lewis - experience

so much disco bass in this top 10 lol. this is alright

azana - your love

p nice

WAP

megan thee stallion best rapper of 2020. this wasn't my favourite song but she killed almost every verse she did all year and this isn't an exception. i really wanted to vote for 'girls in the hood' but no one nommed it. although i still think 'pop a perc' by boone is a better boyz n the hood flip

jazmine sullivan

not feeling it

poppy - concrete

'turn me into a street' is the lyric of the year. i don't often want to listen to it but this album is wild and makes me laugh with the constant genre twists

jessie ware - spotlight

like this one way more than 'remember where you are'

savage remix

fun song

HAIM - the steps

one of the best songs off one of my albums of the summer, during which i listened to it almost every day with my girlfriend and roommates on lil roadtrips and in the house we all shared. v nice memories, beautiful great song. this should've won AOTY imo

070 shake - guilty conscience

not my thing

eMcbini

this is sick. best afro pop song on the poll yet

fiona apple

more like fetch the

horse lords - fanfare for electric freedom

one of the songs i've listened to the most times this year, because i listen to this album on loop while working. to me this shreds so hard and i love it

dua lipa - physical

not crazy about it

theo parrish

amazing song off a great album

kate NV - telefon

it's hard for me to enjoy music sung in a foreign language so i'll likely never listen to this again but this is pretty good, fun instrumentation

soccer mommy - circling the drain

perfect sad indie rock song. i do hope for her sake that soccer mommy the artist cheers up. she seemed really sad about the isolation of touring life and realities of success in the interviews and promo for this album. she's so great

hen ogled

really like her accent especially when she says "a puff of black smoke"

selena gomez - rare

while i do like this song, it feels a bit cynical after 'bad liar'

clipping. - pain everyday

voted for 'say the name', not that crazy about this one. i don't really like 'desconstructed club' beats that sound like a cutlery drawer being turned upside down

anderson paak - lockdown

best coronavirus topical rap song of 2020 was corona clap by dee-1

roddy rich - the box

not a bad song i guess but i don't like roddy rich, dababy, lil baby and am kinda confounded by how streaming turns what to me are MOR rappers into mega stars

chloe x halle - ungodly hour

k i obviously have to get this album. this is like the best r&b i've heard in years

SAULT - fearless

liked the song that got #1 better

doja cat - say so

lol @ me for getting shamed for voting for this song during the rollout

rema - woman

♫ i do like wo-oman ♫ lol i like this

rtj - walking in the snow

i was listening to 'funcrusher plus every day for a few weeks during peak pandemic first lockdown. that's such a great album. i like that the chorus of this song is about how walking around in the snow sucks

algiers - chaka

need Tim F to confirm that this guy sounds like black keys

bob dylan - murder most foul

it's pretty incredible how great bob dylan still is. voice sounds great, too

black kaveera - nihiloxica

sounds like dj marfox but not quite as raw or careening

fiano apple - shaneika

just full boddy shudder-cringe at every second of this.. my finger is trembling above the skip button, sweat pouring down my face

yves tumor - kerosene

this genuinely sounds like lenny kravitz lol. philosophically i agree with hipsters liking any music if it's by someone who used to be a noize dude but sometimes it can massively backfire

boss trick - real lies

love this! rave bruvs

dua lipa - levitating

i love this song so much. couple other pop songs i liked this year that didn't place but feel similar 'these days' by mackenzie porter and 'stunnin' by curtis water

charli xcx - anthems

banger

sufjan stevens - my rajneesh

never got into sufjan but i recently saw some clips of him live and it looked great--he is so beautiful!

taylor swift ft bon iver - xile

just awful

us girls - 4 american dollars

a band i was playing drums for opened for her like 6-7 years ago back when she was a solo act w loop pedals, she was v nice

the 1975 - birthday party

masterpiece

jessy lanza - lickin heaven

really cute

kelly lee owens - melt

trippy

couldn't make it all the way thru... getting tired, hitting submit post

yves tumor - kerosene

this genuinely sounds like lenny kravitz lol. philosophically i agree with hipsters liking any music if it's by someone who used to be a noize dude but sometimes it can massively backfire

The Lenny Kravitz comparison occurred to me as well but the guitar solo elevates it imo. I'd probably like Lenny Kravitz if he had a better lead guitarist.

I totally dug that first Kravitz longplayer as a child. The key to the appeal of recent Yves Tumor finally revealed, lol.

jazmine sullivan

not feeling it

you're 100% sleeping

i really wanted to vote for 'girls in the hood' but no one nommed it

this was my fault

“lost one” weirdly one of my least favorites on the jazmine

Nah I love that song. It’s kind of sza informed I guess. Production is awes

it’s hard for me to enjoy music sung in a foreign language

SZA could never do anything as good as "Lost One"

jazmine sullivan

not feeling it

you're 100% sleeping

― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Sunday, February 7, 2021 12:19 AM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

correct

selena gomez - rare

while i do like this song, it feels a bit cynical after 'bad liar'

can you unpack this? are you referring to, like, the lyrics(?)

nah just that they're both minimal midtempo arrangements based around a 3-note bassline with vaguely retro production

Huh... I love both songs, but don’t hear them as similar

i don't find them similar either, but it's kind of a weird comment even if they were. are popstars not allowed to repeat sounds they like?

correct

― flopson, Wednesday, February 10, 2021 12:11 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

As in, wrong

Jazmine is decent

No

correct as in ur correct that i was sleeping.. the whole album smangs but 'lost one' in partic *_*

i don't find them similar either, but it's kind of a weird comment even if they were. are popstars not allowed to repeat sounds they like?

― Roz, Wednesday, February 10, 2021 2:41 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

to me the basslines are exactly the same (i know the bad liar one is just 'psycho killer' but the 'rare' one is p much the same) but dont get me wrong i wish she made a whole album that sounded exactly like it. calling it "cynical" is just like me imagining her crew having "one for the hipsters?? (bad liar)" circled on a whiteboard when they were mapping out the album

Not on my ballot but shout out to those of you who nominated these tracks:

Exo - Henge
Think About Things - Daði Freyr
Ohio - King Princess
It's Coming - Slift
Shook - Tkay Maidza
Ma Bae Be Luv - Coco Bryce
Disco Man - Remi Wolf
Put You On - DaniLeigh
Runnin - Brian Brown ft. Reaux Margeaux

I voted for Think About Things. Everyone I know IRL loved that one. Did it get much ILM props?

didn't vote it for either, but I love it too. would have been a great Eurovision winner (and it would have been the winner), but it holds up outside of that context as well.

as for ILM props, a tiny amount on the Eurovision 2020 thread - it would have gotten huit points from me at the time.

Didn't realise it was a Eurovision entry. Apparently he'll be representing Iceland again this year but with a different song, to be revealed next month.

HENGE are great too but I voted for Get Outta My House which works as an ersatz lockdown anthem

correct as in ur correct that i was sleeping.. the whole album smangs but 'lost one' in partic *_*

― flopson, Thursday, February 11, 2021 1:02 AM (nine hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh lol my bad

this is the official Spanish remix, but there are many covers, in various languages:

Master KG ft. Micro TDH & Greeicy & Nomcebo Zikode • Jerusalema (Remix)🕸