Grimes last appeared on my countdown in 2012, when she earned the #6 spot with Genesis. She reappears on the countdown this year at #1. If 2020 was the year of the quarantine, then Grimes’s Miss Anthropocene was its soundtrack. My ladyfriend put this on just about every day for some three weeks during the spring and/or summer. We got through it together. There’s nobody else I’d rather be shut in with. 😍
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 2: “Hurt”, by Nine Inch Nails
Hurt, by Nine Inch Nails, is the second of two Rick and Morty soundtrack items on the countdown this year. I never really got into Nine Inch Nails. I had a burned copy, but don’t recall listening. I bought The Downward Spiral until some 25 years after its release, mostly out of a sense of obligation, for having the burned copy for so long. For all of my indifference toward NIN over the years, I’ve always been moved by Hurt.
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 3: “Lose Control”, by Pumarosa
Pumarosa’s debut album The Witch pretty much carried me through my first year of teaching in 2018-2019. I was relieved to learn this year that the band has returned with a sophomore effort to carry me though my third year of teaching, 2020-2021. It was another work of art made possible by my subscription YouTube Music. Now I have a choice to make: whether to continue listening through my subscription or to buy a copy of the CD. 🤔
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 4: “Disparate Youth”, by Santigold
I’m a little late to the party on this one. I believe I heard parts of it back in the day, under the moniker of some DJ who put some kind of spin on it. When girlfriend put this on in the apartment, I was like, “Oh yeah! I’ve heard this. What is this?” Why, it’s Disparate Youth, by Santigold.
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 5: “Do You Feel It?”, by Chaos Chaos
I don’t do a “Top Ten TV Shows of 2020”, but if I did, the animated series Rick and Morty would have won, hands down. It can get a little heavy sometimes, for a cartoon, and “Do You Feel It?” by Chaos Choas provided the audio backdrop from one of the heaviest scenes in the series.
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 6: “Witchi Tai To”, by Jim Pepper
I beleive I heard WXPN play the Harper’s Bizarre version of this, which is a little more tame. It was an earworm. I wanted to sing along, but didn’t know the words or the language. For a few weeks I was like, “What is this song that’s in, like, some other language?” Why it’s Witchi Tai To, originally by Jim Pepper.
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 7: “Devil’s Doll Baby”, by Sonny Sharrock
This year, 2020, has been a year unlike any other. Among other things, this was the first year that I subscribed to a music service. When Google announced that it was folding Google Play Music into Youtube Music, I knew there would have to be some changes. As YouTube had already emerged as one of the dominant methods of listening to music in my new apartment, I figured we could ditch the ads by subscribing.
Read more#SongsOfMy2020, No. 8: “Here’s Where the Story Ends”, by the Sundays
Here is another example of the YouTube “Up Next” algorithm at work. The tune is bright enough, although I’m not so sure I can say the same for the lyrics:
It’s that little souvenir
Of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
I think we can all sympathize with that as we move on from 2020.
#SongsOfMy2020, No. 9: “Kiss Them For Me”, By Siouxsie and the Banshees
#SongsOfMy2020, No. 10: “Vibe (If I Back It Up)”, by Cookiee Kawaii
In a first for my annual music countdown, this was a student recommendation. Teachers can improve their standing with students if they can get into some of the things that students are into—but I usually have difficulty getting into their music. Here is a delightful exception. 
