As all of you know, no matter how good the one hundred best songs released in a single year are, at least a hundred more are just as good. But here it is, the final say. The songs from 2021 you really should have heard at least once – a day.
Don’t forget to read all the interesting song stories, shared exclusively for this list by more than 30 out of the 100 artists featured.
A huge thanks to all of you who contributed for giving us this unique insight to your magnificent art.
Spotify playlist at the bottom of each page.
Class of 2021 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1
100. Genesis Owusu “Waitin’ On Ya”
(from Smiling With No teeth)
99. Home Is Where “Assisted Harakiri”
(from I Became Birds)
98. Bonobo “Tides (feat. Jamila Woods)”
(Single)
97. Lana Del Rey “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”
(from Chemtrails Over The Country Club)
96. Joy Crookes “19th Floor”
(from Skin)
95. Cloud Nothings “Open Rain”
(from The Shadow I Remember)
94. John Grant “Country Fair”
(from Boy From Michigan)
93. The Weather Station “Separated”
(from Ignorance)
92. Remember Sports “Out Loud”
(from Like A Stone)
91. Holly Humberstone “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet”
(from The Walls Are Way Too Thin EP)
90. PinkPantheress “Just For Me”
(from to hell with it)
89. Matt Berry “Summer Sun”
(from The Blue Elephant)
88. Little Simz “Introvert”
(from Sometimes I Might Be Introvert)
“…we really tried to capture different sounds to keep it interesting and exciting. I’m not sure the chorus could be bigger than this one…”
87. Pip Blom “I Know I’m Not Easy To Like”
(from Welcome Break)
“I really like the contrast between ‘Different Tune’ and this one. This song feels angry, even aggressive maybe. We had so much fun recording this one. We really had to give our everything to make it as energetic as possible. We used different set-ups for the drums to be able to make it go from really small to really big in one track.
It’s all about the dynamics in this one, what we’re playing is not changing that much, but we really tried to capture different sounds to keep it interesting and exciting. I’m not sure the chorus could be bigger than this one haha. The switch at about 3/4 of the song might feel a bit weird at first, but I love how it feels when the final chorus comes in after that bit. Like a massive release.”
– Pip Blom
“I recorded myself singing it on the kitchen floor at night with my laptop cam. I found the video about a year later, and could barely recognize the person singing…”
86. Indigo De Souza ”Kill Me”
(from Any Shape You Take)
”I wrote ‘Kill Me’ sometime in 2018 when I was really tired and fucked up in a lot of ways. I was deeply consumed in a big crazy love and coming to terms with the reality of living with mental illness. I recorded myself stream-of-conscious singing it on the kitchen floor at night with my laptop cam. I found the video about a year later, and could barely recognize the person singing.
It was such a strange feeling watching the video because I couldn’t remember writing the song, but little bits and pieces of it felt familiar to me. It felt like it had been a lot longer than a year. The song didn’t have a chorus when I found it. For a while it was just run on verses. I later added a chorus and started playing it live.”
– Indigo De Souza
“…the production is meant to make you feel motivated regardless if you are stuck at that job working towards a bigger dream…”
85. Dijah SB “Overtime”
(from Head Above The Waters)
“The song is about the trials and tribulations of working overtime at a job you don’t want to be at, being liberated and being able to work on your own terms and not somebody else’s, the production is meant to make you feel motivated regardless if you are stuck at that job working towards a bigger dream.”
– Dijah SB
84. Brandi Carlile “This Time Tomorrow”
(from In These Silent Days)
83. serpentwithfeet “Hyacinth”
(from DEACON)
82. Maya Jane Coles “Show Me Love (feat. Claudia Kane)
(from Night Creature)
“…growing up for girls means coming to understand that there are no safe spaces; not our elevators, sidewalks and parking garages…”
81. Grace Pettis “Any Kind Of Woman (feat. Dar Williams)”
(from Working Woman)
“Especially before ‘#MeToo’, growing up for girls means coming to understand that there are no safe spaces; not our elevators, sidewalks and parking garages, our churches, or even our own homes. To be female is to be afraid. But we are not alone, because this is happening to all of us. Women share common struggles, across our socioeconomic and racial divides. And though these struggles are astronomically harder for women of color, for queer women, for differently-abled women, and for poor women, they are also, undeniably, a common thread. That’s the statement ‘Any Kind of Girl’ is making. We have been up against this stuff for a long time. It’s time to change things, for our mothers, our daughters, and for ourselves. Making the world better for ‘any kind of girl’ is a fight for all of us: female, male, and non-binary.
Dar Williams was one of the first artists to cut one of my dad’s songs, ‘Family’. So I grew up hearing her voice and understanding what an honor that was and how it helped propel him forward in his career. I was so thrilled to hear that Dar was willing to add her voice to one of my songs too. Her gorgeous, warm vocals add so much to this track. She gives ‘Any Kind of Girl’ a beautiful multi-generational dimension and artistic depth. I’m so grateful to her for that gift.”
– Grace Pettis
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1
Well, what a year this was.
Thankfully, we had the music. Not in the way that we usually have it, but we had it. So the Class of 2020 list is here again, and almost 40 of the artists included share the full story behind their song exclusively for Songs for Whoever. The past couple of months have been a lot about calculating timezones and using modern technology.
We managed to meet a few artists in Stockholm before things went haywire, but when the artists had to stop coming here, we instead went to the artists. To Los Angeles, London, Toronto, Christchurch, San Francisco, Cornwall and wherever. Through Facetime, Zoom, Whatsapp, Skype, telephone and e-mail.
And here we are. With a list chock full of so many fantastic stories to read, and even more brilliant songs to hear.
I wish for 2021 to be as great as 2020. In terms of released music, that is.
The rest of it can fuck right off and never come back.
Now dig in!
Spotify playlist at the bottom of each page.
Class of 2020 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1
100. Shermanology “Sunshine”
(Single)
99. The Secret Sisters “Nowhere, Baby”
(from Saturn Return)
98. Wet “Come To You”
(Single)
97. White Denim “I Don’t Understand Rock And Roll”
(from World As A Waiting Room)
96. Fontaines D.C. “A Lucid Dream”
(from A Hero’s Death)
95. Rina Sawayama “Bad Friend”
(from SAWAYAMA)
94. Laura Marling “Only The Strong”
(from Song For Our Daughter)
93. Yves Tumor “Strawberry Privilege”
(from Heaven To A Tortured Mind)
92. Stevan “Rock N Roll”
(from Just Kids)
“…we talked about how we could write something together that felt like French electro but would still fit into my style…”
91. Nicole Atkins “Domino”
(from Italian Ice)
“One summer while touring, my band and I got really into listening to French electro music. It’s the perfect kind of music to drive to for long hours at night. Back at home in Nashville, I turned my friend Dex Green onto some of it while we were recording for my other project with Jim Sclavunos of the Bad Seeds. Dex caught the bug and got into it too and we talked about how we could write something together that felt like French electro but would still fit into my style. A few days later he sent over a drum and keys track and we finished the song from there fairly quickly.”
– Nicole Atkins
“…it satisfies the rhyme of job and kebob and advocates for ‘the secret’. I named it after myself to be cheeky but it is an accurate expression…”
90. Clem Snide “Ballad Of Eef Barzelay”
(from Forever Just Beyond)
“I think we always feel like we’re falling through life? Desperately grabbing at whatever little snappy branch we can but if there is no ground then there is no fear and then we’re flying or least floating… And in the end, a leap of faith is inevitable. Like the song says ‘to live is to fly’.
Also, it satisfies the rhyme of job and kebob and advocates for ‘the secret’. I named it after myself to be cheeky but it is an accurate expression of what I believe.”
– Eef Barzelay
89. Jessy Lanza “Lick In Heaven”
(from All The Time)
88. Matt Berninger “Serpentine Prison”
(from Serpentine Prison)
87. Moses Boyd “Shades Of You (feat. Poppy Ajudha)”
(from Dark Matter)
86. Local Natives “Lemon (feat. Sharon Van Etten)”
(from Sour Lemon EP)
85. beabadoobee “Care”
(from Fake It Flowers)
84. International Teachers Of Pop “Don’t Diss The Disco”
(from Pop Gossip)
83. Perfume Genius “Describe”
(from Set My Heart On Fire Immediately)
82. Empress Of “Bit Of Rain”
(from I’m Your Empress Of)
“…oddly our two closest neighbours were pro spoon-bender Uri Geller and coffee pod whore George Clooney, who looks really old in real life…”
81. Vienna Ditto “Dose Of The Salts”
(from Flat Earth)
“‘Dose of the Salts’ was written when I was still living in a very clapped-out narrowboat on the river Thames, about 40 miles West of London. I’d left town and been lured out to the countryside – which I hate – by my own lustfulness, haha! It was the middle of nowhere (oddly our two closest neighbours were pro spoon-bender Uri Geller and coffee pod whore George Clooney, who looks really old in real life), it was freezing cold that winter, the boats were only accessible via a very muddy track, and I was miserable.
I had insomnia and – I later realised – was suffering from low-level carbon monoxide poisoning, so I was very tired all the time. I also became obsessed with ghosts and the various meanings of the word ghost. I felt like a fucking ghost. I made it back to town and wrote pretty much the whole thing in the pub, just in the time it took for my mate to go to the toilet. Funnily enough, with my feet by the fire, I fell asleep straight after.”
– Nigel Firth
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1
My friend Daniel, the editor-in-chief at GAFFA Magazine, often repeats one word as some kind of recurring mantra: context. And he’s right. Music is very much about context. Maybe not in all cases, because there should also be some room for the listener to do their own math, give a song a little afterthought or leave it open for interpretation. Maybe there’s simply not much to tell.
Either way, certain songs admittedly come out in a different light when given some background. Hence the theme of this year-end list, where almost 40 artists once again have been kind enough to share their personal stories behind their songs, both musically and lyrically. All of them exclusively for the Songs for Whoever Class of 2019 list.
A tradition held since 2013. Let’s keep it going into the new decade, shall we?
Spotify playlist at the bottom of each page.
Class of 2019 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#2 | #1
100. Priests “The Seduction Of Kansas”
(from The Seduction Of Kansas)
99. Mikal Cronin “Fire”
(from Seeker)
98. Hand Habits “can’t calm down”
(from placeholder)
97. Boogie “Silent Ride”
(from Everythings For Sale)
96. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib feat. Yasiin Bey & Black Thought “Education”
(from Bandana)
95. Tempers “Peace Of Mind”
(from Private Life)
94. Miguel “Funeral”
(Single)
93. Drab Majesty “The Other Side”
(from Modern Mirror)
92. Kindness feat. Robyn “Cry Everything”
(from Something Like A War)
“The song is written about a run in with an old friend who I had a falling out with, and my frustration with the fact that they acted like nothing was wrong…”
91. Briston Maroney “Small Talk”
(from Indiana)
“The song is written about a run in with an old friend who I had a falling out with, and my frustration with the fact that they acted like nothing was wrong. They listed off their achievements, newfound health routines, and peace found in sobriety like it was a competition, and that growth was something that was easy, clean, and fun. It made me pretty mad. Like dumb mad. I went to my friend Lexi’s house and wrote it all down and out came this song.”
– Briston Maroney
“People are constantly tied down to money, materialistic things, jobs and more. It was a song that helped me release and realize that it’s okay to not have a job…”
90. GRMLN “Skeleton”
(Single)
“I wrote and recorded ‘Skeleton’ in my garage by myself. It was a song about being free in this life. People are constantly tied down to money, materialistic things, jobs and more. It was a song that helped me release and realize that it’s okay to not have a job, to not make a lot of money. Just as long as you’re happy with yourself.”
– Yoodoo Park
89. Stats “Lose It”
(from Other People’s Lives)
88. Ex Hex “Tough Enough”
(from It’s Real)
87. Judah & The Lion feat. Kacey Musgraves “Pictures”
(from Pep Talk)
86. SOAK “Knocks Me Off My Feet”
(from Grim Town)
85. Heather Woods Broderick “White Tail”
(from Invitation)
“…it wasn’t really an idea for us to release that first, it wasn’t like we felt this was the best song or anything like that. Lee had an idea to do the video in Algiers because he thought it was best suited…”
84. Algiers “Dispossession”
(Single)
Franklin: ”Music wise it’s more akin to The Underside Of Power, it’s about a year and a half old. Sometimes you get in the zone and want to write a song and this was the result of that. Sonically and how it was recorded, that’s a whole other story.”
Ryan: “It was recorded basically by Franklin and Randall, it wasn’t really the rest of the band. This record is really the first record we’ve done that’s actually been produced in traditional terms where they set the schedule. We brought the songs but they said what they wanted to work on and set the entire sonic framework. Normally we do that. Of course we fed into it, there wasn’t ‘get out of our way’, but it was definitely their plan and that song is most indicative of our limited interaction with it. So it wasn’t really an idea for us to release that first, it wasn’t like we felt this was the best song or anything like that. Lee had an idea to do the video in Algiers because he thought that song was best suited to have a video shot there, and then we ended up switching and doing it in Paris. He was much more interested in the visual accompaniment than anything else about the importance of the song.”
– Franklin James Fisher and Ryan Mahan
83. Pedro The Lion “Clean Up”
(from Phoenix)
82. Calexico and Iron & Wine “What Heaven’s Left”
(from Years To Burn)
81. Sheer Mag “Hardly To Blame”
(from A Distant Call)
Frankie Lee “Downtown Lights”:
Den som i refrängen upprepade gånger sjunger en enda textrad, den litar helt och fullt på sin egen förmåga att förmedla dess exakta innebörd.
Och det finns inga som helst skäl att tvivla när Frankie Lee med sammetslen stämma förklarar “I can feel your heart, baby, breaking in my arms tonight”. Låten handlar om en dröm han hade där han vandrade tillsammans med skådespelerskan Jessica Lange nedför huvudgatan i hemstaden Stillwater där Lange bodde en period när han var barn.
I maj turnerar han runt i Europa med Strand Of Oaks och nya albumet “Stillwater” släpps samma månad.
Jag har alltid varit för bekväm för att spontanövernatta på folks soffor. Trassla med kontaktlinser utan att ha med sig glasögonen, sova oroligt i fosterställning bara för att vakna till femtielva gånger av att ett ben eller en arm eller hela kroppshyddan är på väg över kanten ner i golvet. Nej, då var det alltid bättre att rumla hem utan att passera Gå.
Varför jag valde att ändå göra det den här natten är lika oklart som minnesbilderna från kvällen som föregick den. Kanske var det för att jag var i färd med att flytta till Stockholm för gott och ville minnas Uffes legendariska fylleslags-etta ovanför dåvarande Hemköp. Få med mig the full experience en sista gång.
Ledbruten under en filt på en kall och gnekande skinnsoffa, dessutom bakfull som en örn, kvicknade jag icke desto mindre till av att MTV flimrade på tjockteven och det enda namn som ideligen nämndes var Kurt Cobains. Min första syn var fotot av två livlösa ben och inte ens en bakfull örn behövde lång tid att räkna ut vad som hänt.
När jag för en enda gångs skull vaknade upp i någon annans soffa var det då ett jävla sätt att göra det på.
Mariee Sioux “She Knows White”: Hennes fullständiga namn är Mariee Sioux Soboyna och hon härstammar från såväl amerikansk ursprungsbefolkning som Östeuropa och hon sjunger sånger som om hon hade klättrat nedför stammarna på Buffy Sainte-Maries eller Joni Mitchells släktträd.
Show Me The Body “Madonna Rocket”: Hemma i NYC ligger de här sludgepunkarna ständigt i luven på polisen som stoppar deras underradarn-spelningar när de protesterar mot att rockklubbar stängs för att ge plats åt lyxlägenheter. För att ge kidsen som inte fyllt 21 en möjlighet att uppleva levande musik på riktigt flyttar de ofta ut sina spelningar på gatorna. Inte sällan är skillnaden mellan moshpit och krigszon hårfin.
Första gången de spelade i London var ljudet så satans högt att en uppsättning av Hamlet i en intilliggande teater nästan fick avbrytas. Samma kväll brände de Union Jack under en bro och en bild som förevigade denna happening på NME’s Instagramkonto sköljdes över så av hatkommentarer att bilden togs bort för husfridens skull.
Helvete vad jag skulle vilja uppleva dem och den här låten. Helst från ett hörn av lokalen, då.
Alla dessa fantastiska “lost albums” som plockas upp ur byrålådan, dammet blåses av och allt är bara ren fröjd. Let’s Get It On var definitivt en helt annan uppföljare till What’s Going on, av olika skäl, men det hade inte gjort ont med You’re The Man heller. Skönt att få höra den i ett stycke, så här 47 år senare.
Precis när jag trodde att Adrianne Lenker skrev låtar på den absoluta toppen av sin förmåga.
Sedan kom nya Big Thief-singeln “UFOF” och plötsligt fanns det en nivå ytterligare.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”, people have been asking me, year in, year out.
Frankly, no, I don’t. Can you dig it?
What could be better than going through all your playlists from 2018 revisiting your own favourites, or digging through this year’s releases mining for lost gems? What’s better than narrowing thousands down to the top 100, feeling anxious about whether you left ones out that you in a month or so will regret were omitted? What’s better than talking to songwriters, trying to get their perspective on a certain track of theirs that you have grown to love?
Well, there you go. Very few things come even close to being better than that.
For the sixth consecutive year, here is the most unique year-end “best of” list you may come across. The 100 greatest songs of 2018. Out of those, more than 40 of the songwriters tell the story behind their song, a personal insight shared exclusively for this very list.
Please honour them by reading their contributions while listening. Perhaps there’s a new artist waiting to be discovered? Or a track you like that you didn’t know much about? Suffice to say, whatever the approach; if you’re really, really interested in music, this is your goldmine.
Can you dig it?
Playlist on Spotify at the bottom of each page.
Class of 2018 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#2 | #1
100. IDLES “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”
(from Joy As An Act Of Resistance)
99. TT “Love Leaks”
(from LoveLaws)
98. Beach House “Lose Your Smile”
(from 7)
97. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats “Still Out There Running”
(from Tearing At The Seams)
96. The Vaccines “Your Love Is My Favourite Band”
(from Combat Sports)
95. Holy Esque “I Am The Truth”
(from Television / Sweet)
94. NAO “Drive And Disconnect”
(from Saturn)
93. Courtney Barnett “Charity”
(from Tell Me How You Really Feel)
92. Parquet Courts “Total Football”
(from Wide Awake!)
“The first time I heard Jimi Hendrix was in some movie about Vietnam which made me think of the sixties and the music I loved from that era…”
91. Unknown Mortal Orchestra “American Guilt”
(from Sex & Food)
“That song started in Hanoi. The reason I went to Hanoi was because I wanted to bring guitar back into it a bit more. The first two albums were written on guitar and featured mostly that instrument. On the third album, however, I leaned more on keyboards and piano since I was interested in taking apart old analogue synths and stuff. Because I was obsessed with the insides of the synth I ended up playing them a lot on the record.
On this one I wanted to go back to guitar. I think people who like Unknown Mortal Orchestra missed the guitar a little bit, I felt that was the case. So I was thinking of the most obvious influences, trying to get back to almost what I liked about guitar when I was a teenager. I didn’t play the guitar then but I was a big music fan as a kid. The first time I heard Jimi Hendrix was in some movie about Vietnam which made me think of the sixties and the music I loved from that era and how I probably heard it all on these TV shows and movies about the Vietnam war.
Maybe if I went to Vietnam that would prompt some kind of inspiration for something heavy and guitar based. That worked better than I thought it would. The moment we arrived in Hanoi I thought it would be more modernized but it actually reminded me of a movie about Vietnam! It was really inspiring, it was the monsoon season, so we didn’t do anything touristy or fun. We rented a place through Airbnb from where we had to walk through a really messy neighbourhood to get to the studio. Each time we arrived there we were drenched in sweat, bedraggled from going through this crazy third world situation, but always inspired from things that we’d seen on the way; fishermen, farmers, stray dogs, people selling food and everything.
Walking home from the studio was a similar thing, but always night, people having picnics everywhere, strange tropical smells, burning incense and stuff. We were constantly talking about how stimulating everything was just to look at, so in the studio we felt that we had a lot to say. American Guilt was one of the things to come out of that. It was just fun to make music with the two other guys who were with me, my brother Cody who plays drums and Jake, the bass player. Often we threw these ridiculous references into the mix. For instance, at one point we were talking about Metallica and Jake was probably thinking that I was crazy, Metallica is normally not relevant when making an Unknown Mortal Orchestra record! But talking about the wrong references is sometimes very useful to me.
To me, the phrase ‘American guilt’ wasn’t me pointing a finger at the Americans, I’ve lived there for nearly ten years myself. If people in Mexico, Canada or wherever are angry at America they can use the song however they want, but the way I thought about it was that the longer I’ve lived there the more I understand it and get implicated myself as I get American. There’s a guilt that comes with it though, for instance all the tax dollars that go into the war machine. The more money I make, the more money I indirectly put into the war machine. At the same time I also feel in debt for all the great music that has come out of that country.”
– Ruban Nielson
“I wrote it after watching a clip of Judge Jeanine Pirro telling everyone they should ‘get a gun and learn how to use it’…”
90. The Tambourine Girls “Jeanine”
(from Waiting For Pleasure)
“I guess it’s about love and doubt. I wrote it after watching a clip of Judge Jeanine Pirro telling everyone they should ‘get a gun and learn how to use it’. I’m always amazed by people who can say things like that with such certainty. I don’t share her opinions, so I wrote her a love song. Our guitarist Nick[Weaver} came up with that guitar line the first time I took the song to rehearsal.”
– Simon Relf
89. Charles Bradley “I Feel A Change”
(from Black Velvet)
88. Jonathan Wilson “Living With Myself”
(from Rare Birds)
87. Thievery Corporation “Voyage Libre (feat. LouLou Ghelichkhani)”
(from Treasures From The Temple)
86. Thee Oh Sees “Enrique El Cobrador”
(from Smote Reverser)
85. Courtney Marie Andrews “May Your Kindness Remain”
(from May Your Kindness Remain)
“After seeing the documentary it seemed like it would be a good metaphor for a couple that’s taking a small vacation to the Salton Sea…”
84. Josh Rouse “Salton Sea”
(from Love In The Modern Age)
“The idea came to me when we were on tour and we were driving from Phoenix and Los Angeles. We crossed by a sign that gave directions to Salton Sea and I said ‘ooh, that would be a great name for a song!’. I had heard about the place but I didn’t know too much about it so on that drive I watched an hour-long documentary about the Salton Sea on Youtube, narrated by John Waters, the filmmaker. That’s how the title and the song idea came about.
The story is all fiction. After seeing the documentary it seemed like it would be a good metaphor for a couple that’s taking a small vacation to the Salton Sea, but when they arrive they realize that it’s not what it used to be. Colouring geographical locations sometimes inspire a song. When you’re listening to a song you want to take people to a place sometimes, you set the scene like a movie.
I think I did the music a few years back, I kind of had the melodic idea but no lyrics for it. That’s how songs work sometimes, it just came together that way. With the keyboard it sort of went in a Cure direction. They have a song called ‘A Forest’ that we used to do a cover for and rhythmically it takes its cues from that song.”
– Josh Rouse
“I met Dylan years ago, when he was opening for me on a tour. He was late for his set. But he was so good, I remember thinking, ‘he won’t be opening for me very long’…”
83. Lera Lynn “What Is Love (feat. Dylan LeBlanc)”
(from Plays Well With Others)
“I met Dylan years ago, when he was opening for me on a tour. He was late for his set. But he was so good, I remember thinking, ‘he won’t be opening for me very long’. I’ve been a huge fan ever since. He’s an excellent guitarist and singer and writer and I’m so glad we finally got the chance to write. When we sing together, something really cool happens where you can’t distinguish who’s who. This song is dear to me, as it explores how one cannot love another without first loving themselves, which we all know is a life-long pursuit.”
– Lera Lynn
82. King Tuff “Psycho Star”
(from The Other)
81. Ought “Disgraced In America”
(from Room Inside The World)
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