21.12.2020
Beat’s Writer’s Wrap-up 2020: Our inquisitive music critics tell us their favourite releases of the year From left to right - Phoebe Bridgers, Perfume Genius and Tame Impala
We spotlight the best releases of the year through the eyes of our writers.
2020… what a disaster. Thank fuck we can say goodbye to the absolute slime ball that’s been the last 12 months and look towards 2021 through a positive lens. Fingers crossed ol’ mate COVID decides to take a backseat and then we’re off to the races with gigs, festivals and events allowed to operate freely enough.
Before we get to 2021, we thought we’d take a look back at the year that was but through the eyes of our wisest investigators – our writers. Spotlighting their top ten albums, top five songs and a few other interesting miscellanea, this is the traditional Beat’s Writer’s Wrap-up but in digital form.
Other Music’s staff tell us their Top 10s of 2020 (listen to the playlist)
We ve been asking artists and other industry figures for their Top 10 albums of the 2020, and here we have year-end lists from a bunch of staff members of much-missed NYC record store
Other Music, which closed in June of 2016. One of the first things a lot of customers did on walking into Other Music was look up at the giant white board above the counter to see the current staff Top 10 lists, so it s a treat to have a virtual version of that here. We got lists from 20 staff members, including co-owner
This Week’s Livestreams (Bruce Springsteen, St. Vincent, Dua Lipa, Bob Weir, more)
LAST UPDATED: 12/23 at 3:53 PM ET
HERE ARE THIS WEEK S LIVESTREAMS (Sunday, 12/20 - Saturday, 12/26):
Wednesday, December 23
9 PM ET on Momenthouse. Tickets are on sale now.
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans is presenting daily Twitter listening parties for classic (and sometimes new) indie and alternative albums, with commentary from the artists who made them. Today they ll discuss
Shed Seven s
1 PM ET,
7 PM ET with An Eve Eve Event featuring
Queen of Jeans, Squirrel Flower, Clever Girls, and Long Neck. RSVP to watch.
Saint Vitus Bar s interview series continues tonight at
Fred Pessaro’s favorite albums of 2020
Fred Pessaro a lifer was a long time BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges editor and show organizer before moving on to Noisey, CLRVYNT, Revolver, and other places. His taste in heavy music has helped shape not just our own coverage for over 10 years, but the music landscape as a whole. In addition to still occasionally contributing to BrooklynVegan and writing other places, Fred helped organize shows at places across the US including Saint Vitus, Brooklyn Bazaar, Union Pool, TV Eye and many many more. As the year is coming to a close, we’ve been publishing year-end lists from various music industry figures. Here’s Fred’s, who we re always happy to have back:
The 100 best songs of 2020 From Phoebe Bridgersâs apocalyptic visions to Bad Bunnyâs masterful chaos to Koffeeâs uplifting riddims, these were the songs that defined 2020. Hannah Lo Bello / The FADER Thereâs a 42-minute difference between the longest and shortest songs on our year-end list. Even setting aside the anomaly of Phil Elverumâs album-length âMicrophones in 2020,â youâre still left with a 14-minute difference between 15-year-old pop songwriter glaiveâs âAstridâ and 79-year-old Bob Dylanâs âMurder Most Foul.â The tissue connecting our favorite songs this year was about as thin as that which held together our favorite albums. No mood, structure, or sound took precedence. Some days called for the summery escape of Popcaanâs âChill,â some for the anthemic pop of Tinasheâs âSave Room For Us,â some for the bliss of Mary Lattimoreâ