A few days ago I broke down my top 10 most played songs of 2020 and promised not to mention Spotify Wrapped for another year... sorry to break that so soon, but I swear this'll be it: for this SotW I’ve chosen four more randoms from my Top 100 playlist.
It’s been a pretty shitty-turned-kind-of-ok year and, as always, I can’t imagine having gotten through these past eight months sanely without the constant companionship of good music. So here goes.
1. Life In The City by The Lumineers
I think it'll be a long time before I have a Spotify Wrapped on which The Lumineers don’t play heavily, and 2020's compilation has continued the trend. The band was my second most played artist of the year (after LÉON) and Life In The City has been a song I’ve turned to constantly since its release as a single in May 2019, prior to their III album.
This’ll sound dramatic but I still vividly remember the first time I listened to it, right after midnight on the night it was released. Within 30 seconds I knew I loved it with all of the giddiness that you do a new good find. And then came the bridge, and I heard those familiar lyrics from Sleep On The Floor, sung with a new intensity and meaning:
And if the sun don't shine on me today
And if the subways flood and bridges break
Will you just lay down and dig your grave?
Or will you rail against your dying day?
As I was listening, I remember feeling an overflow of energy and having the biggest smile on my face (truly giddy). But I also couldn’t believe the brilliance of making this connection to their beloved preceding album (not the only reference in the song, as Schultz also sings in the second verse – “And I miss my dad and Cleopatra sitting on the phone”).
While Sleep on the Floor was the idealistic ‘what-if’ dream of running away as poor, young lovers on the open road, Life in the City might be the more realistic side of how the story would have ended up. (Or maybe I’ve just become too cynical.)
2. BROWN SKIN GIRL by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid
I wrote off Beyoncé’s bonus release record The Lion King: The Gift pretty quickly when it came out last summer, but now I can’t believe I ever passed on BROWN SKIN GIRL. The song brought to the album Nigerian singer WizKid, Guyanese singer SAINt JHN, and Beyoncé’s very own Blue Ivy (their second mother-daughter collab).
After one proper listen a few months ago, I was completely hooked on the syncopated Afro-rhythms and out-of-this-world vocals. But above all it’s the lyrics that are unforgettable: a proud love letter to Black women and an unapologetic celebration of their power, culture and beauty.
A memorable moment comes from the last two verses, which have Beyoncé singing directly to Blue Ivy (who leads the intro and outro) – “Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story / If ever you are in doubt remember what mama told you…”
The only thing that could possibly have made this better was an equally monumental video to suit – and lucky for us:
3. Yellow Eyes by Rayland Baxter
When I once wrote about Make It Better as one of the ‘extremely rare’ tracks I never get sick of, Yellow Eyes was another I had in mind. The song has the sound and feel of an Americana classic (I hope it eventually becomes one), in huge part thanks to the enchanting staple electric guitar riff.
Baxter has described how he and his band wanted the music to groove, “to go back to the dreamy quality, we were all pushing for that. A perfect song to me is when you can close your eyes and it can transport you to another place. Maybe like getting shot out of a cannon into the clouds and you just fly for a little bit and then the song ends and you’re back to earth.”
I’d say they succeeded.
4. Feel Your Weight by Rhye, Poolside
Mysterious and soulful as Rhye’s music always is, Poolside’s smooth and trippy slo-mo take on her song Feel Your Weight is a perfect blend of chill and energizing. Its pace and sway feel like shea butter.
Listen while sinking into the couch, dancing around your house, going for a stroll, journaling, working from home – whatever it is. Chances are this will hit the spot.
Listen on Spotify to all 'Songs of the Week' here.
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