My 14 Favourite Singles of 2021

This year I felt like I missed out on a lot of new music, and didn't hear nearly as much of it as I did in 2020.  Even so, looking back I've found that there was a lot of great music from this year I did get around to.  Particularly, when I went back to see what I had heard from 2021, I discovered there were many truly amazing singles that had made a mark on me over the year.  Here is my list of the fourteen songs that have stuck with me the most from 2021.  Enjoy!

14. KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - O.N.E.

In 2017, when King Gizzard first introduced microtonal tunings to their sound, it was treated like mostly a one-off experiment, albeit a very successful one. With their recent albums K.G. and L.W., however, the band seem more comfortable working microtones into the mix without making it as much of a novelty. While I still prefer the Flying Microtonal Banana album personally, I can’t deny a song like “O.N.E.”, which has maybe their most organic use of the microtonal scale ever. It’s creative, it’s undeniably original, but more than anything it’s built around a rock-solid groove. “O.N.E.” is the kind of song that exemplifies why I think King Gizzard are the most exciting rock band of the past decade.

13. ZOVI - I LOVE MY PLUSH CATERPILLARS

This was a rather prolific year for Zovi, yielding two full-length albums. The first was her most over-the-top ambitious project yet, The True Triangle, but personally I liked the second, I LOVE MY PLUSHIES A LOT, even more. “I LOVE MY PLUSH CATERPILLARS” is a perfect summation of the album, a work of aggressive positivity. Wholesome whimsy is an approach I wish more musicians took to their lyrics, and hearing it combined here with one of the most caustic instrumentals of the year is incredibly satisfying.

12. THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES - THE FINAL PARADE

I have no idea if the album this is from is intended to be the band’s last, but this sure feels like a perfect cap to the BossToneS’ long career. Featuring members of Rancid, Fishbone, The Suicide Machines, Murphy’s Law, The Aquabats, Less than Jake and many, many more, “The Final Parade” is an eight-minute celebration of ska punk. It’s a triumphant look at the history of ska and particularly third-wave ska, pulling out all the stops and just having a great time, which to me is what this genre is all about.

11. 100 GECS - MEMEME

Earlier this year, when 100 gecs announced their next album 10000 gecs, they were adamant to let the press know they were taking things in a slightly different direction from their debut. So I was somewhat surprised when “mememe” ended up really just capturing what I already considered the essence of 100 gecs as a band. It pretty much perfectly synthesizes all of the influences present on 1000 gecs into a single song. There are some slight developments in their sound, such as the moderately more pop-friendly approach and Laura’s vocals sounding much less processed, but this song still really is exactly what I was hoping for from this group. Very excited for the album.

10. NUSAGI & DIANA STARSHINE - BLACK HOLE

I’ve been somewhat aware of both performers on this song for a little while, due to them being in circles only one or two degrees from my own, but this may be the only song I’ve really heard from either of them. Still, I fell in love with this song instantly and I’ve kept it on frequent rotation throughout the year. I’m not especially picky when it comes to hyperpop but I can still tell this is pretty high grade stuff. Between the absolutely golden chorus, beautiful vocal chops and relentlessly fun production, “Black Hole” never fails to pull me in. (get it?)

9. PATRICIA TAXXON - BAD APPLE

A cover of a song from a Touhou game that I had previously never heard. Frankly, I like P.Tax’s version about 100 times more. The production on this version is immaculate, managing to incorporate a lot of hallmarks of Patricia Taxxon’s style without losing sight of the original composition. Otomachi Una is the “singer” on this recording, and sounds truly amazing. The incorporations of extra little key changes and such are also a nice touch. The attention to detail is immediately apparent. This song is the exact kind of thing that keeps me coming back to Patricia Taxxon’s music.

8. CHVRCHES & ROBERT SMITH - HOW NOT TO DROWN

CHVRCHES’ latest album shows the synthpop group veering the furthest into rock territory they’ve ever gone, and the best song on it is the gorgeous “How Not to Drown”, on which frontwoman Lauren Mayberry duets with The Cure’s Robert Smith. This song has one of the greatest choruses CHVRCHES has ever put out (no small feat) and proves that Smith is as great a singer now as he’s ever been. CHVRCHES’ moody pop sensibilities translate unsurprisingly well to a more goth-influenced format. “How Not to Drown” is the greatest type of collaborative single: one that perfectly displays everything I love about both artists involved.

7. MDOU MOCTAR - AFRIQUE VICTIME

Mdou Moctar’s brilliant Afrique Victime album stands as probably my favorite of 2021, and the undisputable centerpiece of the album is the seven-minute title track. “Afrique Victime” begins extremely stark and vulnerable, with a solo vocal and guitar, before gradually accelerating into the most fiery groove of the year, and the greatest guitar work of the year as well. Moctar spends a great deal of the song shredding with a ferocity all his own, as the rhythm section keeps slowly building up steam. Gloriously climactic, beautifully cathartic.

6. VYLET PONY - ANTONYMPH

I generally don’t like songs about the internet. I like a lot of internet-influenced music, and songs that are maybe vaguely based off of things related to the internet, but once you start writing lyrics about Twitter or whatever is the moment I immediately start to tune out. “Antonymph” spends nearly its entire runtime alluding to internet phenomena in a way that’s nearly impossible to avoid. The entire premise of the song is entrenched in the concept of the fandom and letting your proverbial freak flag fly when it comes to embracing the media you love, and frequently mentions phenomena of the internet’s past and occasionally present. So when I say that I think that this song is unbelievably good, that should say something. There are occasional moments where I still have trouble with the lyrics to a minor degree (I know this is against the entire point of the song to nitpick, but come on, a Ray William Johnson reference? Woof.) but even so, the song succeeds with flying colors. This can be largely traced to the fact that this song just sounds fucking awesome. The production and arrangement are so meticulous and full of moments that I end up not even picking up on until eight or nine listens in, and Trixie’s vocals are fantastic. (The vocal chops rule too.) Any complaints I might have about this song are always immediately washed away by a flood of things this song has in its favor, and it’s been one of the most addicting songs of the year (to the point that it got me to purchase a 19-song concept album inspired by a TV show I haven’t even seen).

5. KYARY PAMYU PAMYU - DODONPA

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s Candy Racer was one of the albums I was most excited for this year. Ultimately I think it’s probably her most inconsistent and underwhelming project to date, but bear in mind that’s  by KPP standards, so it’s still pretty good. One of the main reasons why it's worth hearing is this song, which immediately stood out as one of the most uniquely forceful songs Kyary’s ever put out. Almost entirely composed of explosive tech-house beats and repetitive onomatopoeias from Kyary, “Dodonpa” is without question my favorite song Yasutaka Nakata produced this year. I remember a few years ago KPP was reported to be collaborating with SOPHIE, and while tragically we may never hear what came of that, this is what I like to imagine a collaboration between them would sound like. Pure, uninhibited energy and excitement.

4. ANGEL OLSEN - GLORIA

Angel Olsen’s brooding collection of ‘80s pop covers from this year, Aisles, was rather excellent, but the song that really took me by surprise was her rendition of Laura Branigan’s “Gloria”. Her performance here is really moving, backed by tense synths and an aching string arrangement. The production is excellent, but really the most impressive element is Olsen’s vocal, which sounds at once lethargic, tortured and determined. This is one of the most stunning cover songs I may have ever heard, and it’s one of my favorite Angel Olsen songs without a doubt.

3. PHOEBE BRIDGERS - THAT FUNNY FEELING

Bo Burnham’s homemade comedy special Inside is inseparable from the COVID-era hellscape that fueled it. While it contains a lot of Burnham’s funniest material, it grows increasingly sombre and heavy in tone as it continues, with several songs in the second half serving as naked displays of emotion rather than simple comedy pieces. “That Funny Feeling” is arguably the emotional center of the entire special, weaving together fragments of the modern era in a darkly funny-yet-depressing manner. So it’s really no wonder why professional miserablist Phoebe Bridgers would latch onto a song like this. Burnham’s original version of the song is very good, but honestly it doesn’t hold a candle to the apocalyptic beauty of Bridgers’ cover. I’m already in love with her voice in general but the palpable fear behind her performance here really adds a lot. The song is still deeply comical if hopelessly emotionally crushing, but it also feels more gravely serious coming from Phoebe, if that makes any sense. I also think the more detailed arrangement manages to add some weight of its own without losing the stripped-back feel of the original. As with “Gloria”, “That Funny Feeling” is a cover that I find to be extremely moving and even better than the already-great original recording.

2. KERO KERO BONITO - THE PRINCESS AND THE CLOCK

This was a good year for vocal chops. KKB are not a band that usually use their lyrics to convey a narrative, but “The Princess and the Clock” makes me wish they did more often. One of the prettiest songs of their career so far, “The Princess and the Clock” puts Sarah Bonito’s soothing, whimsical voice to good use, with a wonderfully fantastical set of lyrics. The instrumentation manages to tastefully combine a lot of the greatest aspects of Kero Kero Bonito’s previous output and tell a story of its own. KKB have been one of the most imaginative bands of the past several years and this song certainly reinforces that.

1. SHARON VAN ETTEN & ANGEL OLSEN - LIKE I USED TO

If you know me, you know that I’d consider the phrase “Springsteen-esque” to be extremely high praise. And this year’s collaboration between indie darlings Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen is Springsteen-esque in the best way. I don’t mean that it merely has the sonic palette of Bruce Springsteen (although it does sound to me like somewhere between “Born to Run”, “Badlands” and “The Price You Pay”) but that it also communicates the same pure, life-affirming joy that the best Springsteen songs do. “Like I Used To” is the kind of song where, after hearing it, I can’t believe I ever lived without it. The song is simply drop-dead gorgeous. Olsen and Van Etten’s chemistry is unbelievable and the chorus is the best of the year, period. This song makes me want to cry, but like “Born to Run”, the reason I’m crying is because I can’t believe a song can be this powerfully beautiful. Thank you, Sharon & Angel, for these four minutes of pure unbridled euphoria.

Thanks for reading!

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

(songs that were not to my knowledge released as singles but which are some other favorites of the year.)

• Donatachi - pisces rising ft. Chymes
• Goreshit - I Don't Give You New Shoes
• Fax Gang - Implosion
• Weezer - Numbers
• Beach Bunny - Nice Guys
• Left at London - The Ballad of Marion Zioncheck
• The Mountain Goats - Arguing With the Ghost of Peter Laughner About His Coney Island Baby Review
• Sadjoy - Don't Give Up Just Yet
• Ghoul Friends - Ghoul Friends

Skeleton Bones Ghoulie

Every year since 2018, I've released an album on Halloween. Return to the Jazz Gulag (2018) was not explicitly related to the holiday, but heavy and autumnal enough that I felt like it fit. King Under the Mountain (2019) was a bit darker and more October-sounding. And then Glowy Album aka Zenith 5 Megasplicer (The Forest) (2020) was a massive concept album about death. But I've never done any music before that was a straight-up, blatant, campy tribute to my favorite holiday before, which is really a shame. So, I decided to set things right by releasing a Halloween-themed album every single day this month, under the name "Skeleton Bones Ghoulie". They won't all be the same, there will probably be a lot of range between them in structure and in sound but they will all be spooky, I can promise you that. There will be theremin. There will be creepy organ. There will be the sound of a ghost that I figured out how to make on an analog synthesizer. It will be fun! And hopefully, by the time November rolls around, I will have hammered this aesthetic so far into the ground that I will never have to revisit it again. Enjoy!!

https://skeletonbonesghoulie.bandcamp.com/

Shatterday Night Live, 1978

Recently Papa J and I have been going through the earliest seasons of Saturday Night Live, mostly just to watch the musical guests.  There have been some great moments and some not-so-great moments, which I'll probably write more on later, but for this particular episode (Season 4, Episode 1) we decided to sit through the entire thing.  This particular episode featured the Rolling Stones as both host and musical guest, and after the 67 minutes of chaos that it was, I fear I may never watch early SNL ever again.  I'm afraid my fragile brain won't be able to handle it.  Let me explain:

The episode opens with a monologue from at-the-time NYC mayor Ed Koch giving John Belushi a certificate of merit.  John Belushi does a bit.  It goes on for a while, but at least there's a clear joke, which probably makes this the peak of the episode, along with the commercial parody that follows it.  Immediately after this, things get more and more off the rails and never recover.  There's a parody of The Tomorrow Show where Mick Jagger is interviewed as himself, which isn't especially funny, but then again I've never seen The Tomorrow Show.  There's also this really bizarre sketch about a refrigerator where Bill Murray and Gilda Radner spend about half the runtime making cracks (ahem) about an electrician's butt.  The other two main sketches are even harder to follow; one is a sequel to the Olympia Café sketch (I didn't even know there were more than one of these) that goes nowhere and one is something called "Danger Probe" which is the final sketch of the night and was apparently written in a fever dream where nothing makes sense.  There was also a "Schiller's reel" that was equally incomprehensible.  This whole episode felt like it was being beamed in from another planet.

"Weekend Update" wasn't any better.  I already like Colin Jost and Michael Che a lot, but seeing Jane Curtin and Bill Murray's complete non-chemistry behind the desk really makes me appreciate the modern "Update" so much more.  Yikes.

The real pièce de résistance of the episode was, of course, the Stones' performance, which was just as bizarre and fun to watch as I had hoped.  Mick is in front the whole time doing his thing, with Keith Richards and Ron Wood behind him.  Ron plays with a cigarette in his mouth.  Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts are barely visible, and often barely audible.  (The mixing isn't great.)  What I love about this set so much is that within the span of three songs the band descends into complete nonsense.  They start with "Beast of Burden", which is a great song, but the mellowness juxtaposes against Mick's stage theatrics in a funny way.  After that they play "Respectable" which I had never heard before and which sounds like bad bar karaoke, and then they end with "Shattered" which is one of those songs that's just so hilariously bad that watching them play it is a joy.  Mick's giving like 200 percent onstage while the rest of the band seems content to be running at 20 percent.  He tears his shirt up slowly; he licks Ron's face and drunkenly hits him with his jacket, and Ron doesn't seem prepared for it at all.  It's such a strangely amateurish performance to come from a band that's been one of the world's most famous for 12 or 13 years at this point.

Hot.

My new albums

I just released a couple new albums! They're very cool and good and you should listen to them right now!! (Click the titles to go to my bandcamp)

Frantic Lore From the Puddle of Conscience

This one is an eclectic, experimental, often lo-fi loose concept album about gender and identity and the subconscious, but don't look too hard for a narrative thread or anything, it's really more of a jumping off point for the music and only slightly more obvious in the lyrics.  This album's pretty all over the place with elements of hypnagogic pop, HexD, psych rock, sound collage and more.  There are some vocal features and noises from friends at various points, too. There can be lots of layers of lofi-ness and lobit-ness to these songs, particularly the first six, for example the vocals I recorded to cassette on track 4 before bitcrushing, exporting as a low quality mp3, bitcrushing and mp3ing again so it's basically incomprehensible. 

Also the last track on here probably took me longer to complete than any other track I've ever recorded. I started in April and only finished it yesterday, so it took me probably 5 months in total on & off (for comparison, Neo-Geocitys Nitrogen Tank took me 5 weeks and that song is more than 24 times as long as this one.) 

I'm very happy with the way this album turned out and although it's certainly self indulgent and strange I think there's at least a little something for everyone on this album. 

"fuck dance, let's art"

Superball

Here's the sister album.  I made this one over the course of 5 days back in March for probably like 10 hours a day.  Structurally it's kind of like a DJ mix, it's a giant 50-minute series of dance mashups and stuff increasing in speed as it goes, until the end which is a lot more chaotic and which I made on a cassette.  Everything is bitcrushed, which I found is a useful way to make everything feel cohesive given there's samples from over 100 songs on here.  But like Frantic Lore, this is a very eclectic album, it's got everything from Strong Bad to Perfume to an entire krautrock section.  It's really fun and honestly I'm really really proud of the way it turned out.  I hope you enjoy it too!

"fuck art, let's dance"

Ten Songs That Make Me Happy to Be Alive

1. Yumi Arai, "Rouge no Dengon" (1975)

Memorably included as the opening theme to my favorite movie of all time, Kiki's Delivery Service, "Rouge no Dengon" fits perfectly as a song that overtakes me with joy whenever it's on.  The retro (even for the time) girl-group instrumentation is a fantastic foundation for Yumi's voice, which sounds as sweet as ever.  I'm only just starting to really explore her discography but I could just have easily included five other songs of hers on this list; the reason I chose this one in particular was the amazing video. 

2. Car Seat Headrest, "Something Soon" (2015)

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Will Toledo knows how to make a song climax like nobody else.  CSH are great at easing you into the first few minutes of a song before making sure your heart is exploding by the time it's over, as happens on songs such as "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales", "Drugs With Friends" and especially "Something Soon", which gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.  Toledo may be a fantastic lyricist but no lyrics have ever carried quite as much emotion as his gorgeous, nearly incomprehensible wailing that closes the track.  Stunning.

3. Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run" (1975)

My second favorite Springsteen song, "Born to Run" rivals "Something Soon" in the power of its outro.  Unlike "Something Soon", though, it doesn't slowly build; rather, "Born to Run" starts with the pedal to the metal and stays that way for the duration of the track.  There are few pieces of music in the world that will ever feel half as triumphant as this song, and few performers that could ever sell it with as much conviction, emotion and power as the Boss.

4. Talking Heads, "What a Day That Was" (1984)

Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense is often regarded as the best concert film of all time, and rightly so - the energy is infectious and the musicians seem to be having an absolute blast.  Perhaps the centerpiece of the concert is their performance of "What a Day That Was", originally written for David Byrne's The Catherine Wheel soundtrack but most definitively performed by the Talking Heads here.  It's rare that I'll proclaim a live-only song to be a band's best, but this may very well be the highest point in the Talking Heads catalog, and this is the band that did "The Great Curve"! There are a million things I could point out as highlights of this performance, but I'll keep it to two words: Steve Scales.

5. Pizzicato Five, "Twiggy Twiggy" (1991)

Pizzicato Five's unique amalgamation of lounge, surf, alternative dance and vocal jazz is so quintessentially '90s and yet timeless.  "Twiggy Twiggy" stands out as both impossibly catchy and impossibly cool, with lead singer Maki Nomiya delivering one of the most flawless vocals I've ever heard.  I was in love with this song the moment I first heard it as a kid and I'm even more in love with it today.  I promise I'm not merely picking these songs for their music videos, but this one happens to come with an amazing one as well.  Check it out:

6. Joan Jett, "Bad Reputation" (1980)

They say nobody's perfect, but clearly Joan Jett is the exception to the rule.  What I wouldn't give to spend one day in her shoes!  (Or, studded leather boots.)  What always struck me about Ms. Jett is how she was able to keep her punk rock edge through her entire career, long after she had moved on to hard rock and power pop from her roots in the Runaways.  "Bad Reputation" is definitely her most punk-rock solo hit, though, and I never cease to be floored by its fierce energy and singalong-ability.  If any song deserves to be the Freaks and Geeks opening theme, it's definitely this.

7. CSLSX, "Futuretapes" (2010)

Every time I hear this song I find myself asking if this may well be the best song ever made.  I've listened to this forgotten electropop gem about a million times and I still don't know what almost any of the words are, but who needs quotables when you've got the sweetest robot vocals this side of a Zapp album?  Every melody in this song is golden and every beat is pristine.  The perfect space-age groove to shake your cybernetic hips to.

8. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, "Furisodeshon" (2013)

The language barrier seems to be the only logical reason that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu was never as big a sensation in the Western hemisphere as she was in Japan, but I can't think of any excuse that would justify "Furisodeshon" not hitting the top 40.  This song is gorgeous beyond words.  I could make a list of 50 KPP songs that make me happy to be alive, but this is without question my favorite song of hers; it evokes a bliss in me that can only be equaled by a Tillie Walden graphic novel.

9. Kirin J Callinan & Alex Cameron, "Big Enough" (2017)

One of those songs that feel just like one big celebration, lists like this are what "Big Enough" is tailor-made for.  I played the music video for my dad the other day and it was great watching him fall in love with this song in real time.  It's got plenty of humor (see Jimmy Barnes' disco-diva screaming) but it's got even more heart.  By the time Callinan & Cameron pose the question "This town! This world! Are you big enough?" it truly comes off like an invitation for the entire world to come and party.  This song could melt the bitterness off of even the most cynical bastard, and I bet if you played it for all world leaders we could achieve world peace.

10. Andrew W.K., "The Moving Room" (2006)

Would this list really be complete without Andrew W.K.?  It's no surprise that AWK is a motivational speaker on the side, because so much of his discography makes me want to give the world a bear hug.  "The Moving Room" is pretty simple: a 3-minute wave of euphoria that doesn't let up.  Seemingly a nod to Springsteen sonically, AWK takes things to the extreme (as usual) with a huge, jubilant wall of guitars and piano that closes his Close Calls With Brick Walls album in a most rocktagious way.