In which I compile an eclectic playlist for an eclectic year
As we commence our closing tricks in the death-defying circus act of 2020, let me gift you with a soundtrack to help us carry them off. These picks more or less sum up each thirty-day cluster; some are snapshots of the state of my soul, others are themselves the songs I kept on repeat at the time. Never in my memory has my situation—physical, psychological, financial, etc.—seen such dramatic change on an almost monthly basis, and so I figured I would retrospectively try to make sense of it in the way I know best.
A few of the following reinforce my hunch by appearing on my Spotify Wrapped. All of the following have my endorsement.
January: “Stuck in the Middle With You,” Stealers Wheel
February: “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince,” Taylor Swift
March: “Everybody Loves Me, Baby,” Don McLean
April: “Adore You,” Harry Styles
May: “Boy Problems,” Carly Rae Jepsen
June: “Mean Girls,” Tiger Goods
July: “Rosa Parks,” OutKast
August: “Quando você chegar,” Novos Baianos
September: “I Concentrate On You,” Frank Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim
October: “Newspaper,” Fiona Apple
November: “All You Wanna Do is Dance,” Billy Joel
December: “200 Du,” Sally Yeh (from the soundtrack to Crazy Rich Asians, the best rom-com I’ve seen in a LONG time)
And oh what the heck—
Album of My Year: Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple
What music has defined your year?
Image: Waidmannslust, Berlin, mid-December. We are still here.
Also, longtime readers will notice we got a sprucing-up! Just another way to leave 2020 in the past.
One thought on “My Year in Song”