Yes, I am more than well aware that I haven't really been keeping my ear on the pulse of newer music as regularly as I used to. I make few excuses for this, other than a) the joys of getting older and more disconnected, and b) seeking comfort in more familiar stuff in a most unsettling year when every one of our usual entertainments was cancelled. However, dear chums, there are one or several choons I could tick off as "quite jolly discoveries of 2020", such as these...
Let's start as we mean to go on, with a faboo uplifting track [featuring on vocals the lady cavorting with all those lovely mirroball items in the photo above] that might have filled the floor at many a club and festival, had there been any:
Next, the biggest hit of the year, both in sales and in streaming [unless there are any sudden surprises]. Mr Abel Makkonen Tesfaye [yes, that is his real name!] has a penchant for gory videos [as I mentioned when I posted my own personal fave song of his back in April], but some clever bugger out there has merged this song with footage of that dance scene from The Breakfast Club instead - and it works perfectly!
Speaking of all things retro, Erasure received a great reception for their new album The Neon in the summer, and from it, this drag-queen-heavy video:
Speaking of drag - an unexpected [for me] joy next, from a hitherto unknown reggaeton artist from Puerto Rico, who plays all the female roles here...
I was overjoyed when one of my favourite eccentrics made a bit of a comeback, with a typically odd-yet-very-catchy number:
This year, I observed an ongoing trend in new songs that leaned heavily towards the sounds of the 1970s and 80s, including other favourite tunes of the year not actually included in this list by Dua Lipa and Doja Cat [as well as the above-mentioned The Weeknd] - and here's another in a similar vein that was a bit of an "earworm" in Spring:
And, rounding off this "first half" - another sure-fire dancefloor hit that unfortunately wasn't...
Part Two of this self-indulgence will be winging its way in a couple of days.
As always, dear reader, let me know your thoughts!
Oh, the Shapeshifters! I used to really like them. Well, I still do, I suppose - definitely this new one with Kimberley Davis!
ReplyDeleteJesse Ware's "Spotlight" is rather lovely, too. But my favourite is still "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd (and that "Breakfast Club" video is much more palatable than the official one).
Thank you for helping to keeping my ear on the pulse, too (about a quarter of my Songs of the Year have been brought to my attention by you, Jon)!
I always said I was "down with the kids", dear. Glad you enjoyed some of the music, and I'm especially pleased that there is someone out there in the blogosphere who is even less attentive to "new music" than I... Jx
DeleteI a huge fan the Shapeshifters....and Jax Jones can do no bad. Love his music.
ReplyDeleteSomething to get your hips shaking after all the food and indulgence of the Season! Jx
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ReplyDeleteActually I think no one out there in the blogosphere is less attentive to "new music" more than me
I rely on you to keep me up-to-date in the modern world of music.
Hee hee! Jx
DeleteThere is me! I am appalling for sticking to what I know and love. I also rely on Jon.
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Bless. Jx
DeleteYes, I thought Blinding Lights was from the eighties when I first heard it.
ReplyDeleteI like the Jesse Ware one. Love the Breakfast Club mash up.
Sx
Blinding Lights owes a huge debt to A-Ha, in my opinion. And with a bit more chugging bass, Miss Ware's Spotlight wouldn't sound out of place on a Chic album... Jx
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