20 for 2020 - post your lockdown year top tracks

Since I started it, have some more portable playlists, including mine.
I'm 1 and 2x 0.5 lists down so far. And there has been refreshingly new tunes and definitely stuff I wouldn't think to seek on my own.

Edit: I shall copypasta these links to the initial playlist post as well. Makes them easier to find later.

More edits: Since this post is ever so slightly easier to find, being at the start of the page, I'll add all lists here as well.

public https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4mQ06SVmdejXQBNdFOaEVm?si=ih3X5R7XS2uBk_e8DbHF0A

CraigB https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38ZTIYEWi9JT8GVR0O2vuC?si=1HzchhB-QJq9uH9TOdQ01A

DrGrip https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5zyGmF7iaNHRzzvDIvOYa2?si=iDgH4PjxTVqM1Tgq6-I2pQ

gaasc https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IJsCVG6Zld5PD6Y2eo8H2?si=e0Yv0dQXRU63ceh3mQOKZA

gt1750 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0hhkSbsN8XDj7lVjHLj5HM?si=nzvTsCYkRhSz9aTiEjW0OA

Edit: adding more playlists.

bone https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5pmCDnpmhCPhkqPqCwW33E?si=C8XL-n-MT5yRsUwTcCYOGg

RdKetchup https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QvFhNe1RVjbbu6MUVekyK?si=ixdP9X1LShqnJoFHZ0zWkg

DaBoom https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73oiRjIEAEkRv6LRwhtM5G?si=Ern8PhoYRs2pBrE34RdMEg

Edit2: a wild nicjasno appears:

nicjasno https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0UqNV5UoZwWCVCtgWsmSux?si=RP_Vz9jDSA2yewxRd3OqNg

Edit3: More playlists

Misrabelle https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4htowNU45KcqfSYRGMQHTq?si=H2g3sMNYSWWPBWpe_0h94g

93Flareside https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ukvZkFrd81jIRs29ohv84?si=oO917_LZSyWJ94Out_VgBg

Matt2000 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3bLZJ0R2r9FVnQLoIQXuPs?si=v5b2-CJWRpiNko8ByCvGQw
 
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Track listed in no particular order, since i don't have spotify, but i did listen to these the most in 2020, from memory/feels

Tears for fears - Everybody wants to rule the world
Always on my playlists, just gets me back to the "good old times" whenever and whatever these may be, usually behind the wheel of a car on a roadtrip with good friends.


Wolfclub - Had To Get To You
Loved it the moment i heard it. I am a sucker for good new retro wave stuff.


Ultraboss - Straight For my Heart
Same as previous track. Nice song for driving.


Earthshifter - Love Again
As before, great driving song, nrw, and all that :)


Madonna - Live to Tell
Imho Madonnas best song. I always have it on my playlists.


Simply Red - Holding Back The Years
A classic, i always love to listen to this in the fall/winter. Kinda makes the bad weather feel almost comforting.


Michael Jackson - Man in the mirror
A feel good song if there ever was one. Always gets me up if i feel down.


W.A.S.P. - Mean Man
Don't listen to this if you're driving. Or do, if on a nice curvy road :)


JJ Mist - Words of Love
JJ is such an awesome NRW artist. Love her stuff. She's also from New Zealand and completly owns the 80s vibe.


Nena - Rette mich
My favorite Nena track. Perfect for playing world of warships. Always imagine sailing on a big ship in the nordsee.

 
Rick Springfield - Souls
Rick has many good tracks, didn't want to include more than one track per artist. Check out his tracks "State of the heart" and "Affair of the heart" (yes, very similar names, but they're great, idk)


LAU - Stunning
Another great NRW track.


Survivor - High On You
Everybody knows survivor by the rocky songs. But there was so much more and even better stuff. This is a prime example. Another one would be "Is this love"


Chromatics - Into the Black
Probably my favorite version of Neil Young's song.


Parallels - Ultralight (Remastered)
Spacy and energetic. Love it.


They_Live - Circles (KORINE remix)
Not sure what to say here, it's just another great NRW tune. :)


Klaatu - Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft
A masterpiece. The better Beatles stuff. :)


Al Bowlly & The Ray Noble Orchestra - Midnight The Stars And You
A winter song if there ever was one. Made immortal by the Shining.


David Guetta & Sia - Let's Love
This song impressed me by being basically the first NRW song on the radio and basically one of only a small handfull of good tracks on radio in 2020. Another one being "The weeknd - Blinding lights"


Abba - Lay All Your Love on Me
Like the simply red track, this song is kinda perfect for this time of the year and is in frequent rotation.

 
I had more productive things to be doing this evening, but @DaBoom sidetracked me...so here we are.

My Top 20 songs for the year....
I guess as I get older, I become less adventurous with my music exploration, and anything I do find, is likely to be a few years old already.
I've stopped listening to radio, because the "personalities" irritate me, so discovering new music has dwindled. These were the most played songs in my library this year, or were up there with the song titles in italics as equals.

Using my itunes stats, and last fm profile, I've come up with the following - in no particular order:

Heaven Coming Down - The Tea Party (Special mentions to Correspondences, Psychopomp and Emerald)
There is an indie radio station in Australia run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, aimed at the "younger" demographic, called Triple J. Back in the day, they played a variety of music, and many, many bands that wouldn't get play elsewhere. The Tea Party are Canadian, but because of this station giving them airplay, Australia became their biggest territory outside Canada. (So much so, the singer lives here now). Between the 3 guys in the band they play over 500 instruments. Now, Triple J plays godawful Aussie hip hop mostly.

Black - Pearl Jam
What can I say about this song....It's one of my all time favourites - Imagine being able to write a song like this at 20 years old.
But sometimes it hurts too much.

Farewell - Apocalyptica
Another heartbreaker, this time an instrumental. I play this on violin sometimes - and it's the song I want played at my funeral.

Burn - The Cure (The Same Deep Water as You)
I still love The Crow. Maybe the effects didn't age well, maybe it only got the attention it did because Brandon Lee died making it, otherwise it would have been quietly forgotten. The soundtrack is fantastic. I've seen The Cure live twice now (at the Sydney Opera House), and both times they played this live. I heard they didn't for a very long time. I don't know if it's the bass, or the despair in Robert Smith's words.
Or maybe I'm still that gloomy goth girl I used to be.

Blackbird - Alter Bridge (Watch Over You)
The solos in this have been voted among the greatest guitar solos of all time. Mark Tremonti is a great guitarist, and Myles Kennedy is the whole package. While some consider Alter Bridge "Creed with a better singer", they're overall much better in this guise than that jab would suggest. Yet they don't get anywhere near the recognition they deserve.
It's another sad one.

One Step - Dead Letter Circus
I remember this video playing on the shitty tv, in my shitty motel in Melbourne, on my last visit in 2011. My ex had given up even trying to pretend he gave a shit about me as a person, and I'd spent hours trying to get out of the bushy mountain area he lived in due to torrential rain, fallen trees and flooding. When I finally did get back, tired, hungry, and disappointed; I took my shoes off at the door as I fumbled for the light switch, and realised that my socks were wet...the room had flooded, and the carpet was saturated.
Of course the front desk was closed for the night, and I had nowhere else to go. The strange WTFness of the video suited the situation, and it's been on my playlist ever since.
The singer, Kim Benzie, had to learn to annunciate his lyrics in reverse, so that when the video was played back it all appeared to be the right way around.

Kein Zurück - Wolfsheim
I adore Peter Heppner's voice. It's a shame that Wolfsheim parted on bitter terms. All of the utterly useless German I know (which really isn't much) is thanks to these guys.
Some things in life you only learn when it's far too late.

And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope - Ne Obliviscaris (Painters of the Tempest Part II Movement III: Curator)
Known these guys for years and years. Good to see them heading overseas and making a name for themselves. As a violinist, I love hearing it used this way. This song is actually studied in composition theory courses at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The purists must HATE it.

Synops - Karnivool (C.O.T.E.)
Ian Kenny sounds just as good live as on record. Karnivool are one of the only good things to come from Perth. We should be getting new music from them soon. They're like Australia's answer to Tool. I think it's been 7 years since the last album.

Passenger - Deftones
Hands down the sexiest song ever written IMO. Maynard and Chino together sound fantastic. I know it's been said this isn't about what it sounds like it's about. But I don't believe that for a second. BRB I need a cold shower.
 
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Death Whispered a Lullaby - Opeth (Harlequin Forest)
I'd love to hear this covered by an orchestra, or at least a string quartet. Pretty. Sinister. Dark. Some of my favourite things.
I've seen this played live at the Sydney Opera House as well.

Of Matter: Proxy/Retrospect/Resist - Tesseract (Of Mind: Nocturne, Hexes)
I miss Ashe O'Hara as the vocalist. Dan's voice is great on the stuff he wrote, but his voice doesn't stand in it's own space for me.
Lyrically - especially the end of Retrospect - this really resonates. It took me a LONG time to see what a jerk my ex was.

Descending - Tool (Sober, Jambi, You Lied...who am I kidding, I love everything Tool)
Tool are my favourite band in the history of ever. It's not even close. Went to both Sydney AND both Melbourne shows in February this year. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face the entire show. Maynard apparently had Covid at the time, but didn't know it.


Anesthetize - Porcupine Tree (Trains)
Steven Wilson has his hands in many pies (the previously mentioned Death Whispered a Lullaby is his composition as well). Another band I really wish would reunite, but it looks highly unlikely. Gavin Harrison is close to Danny Carey as my favourite drummer. This is the full 17 minute, 3 part epic. Colin Edwin - the bassist is an Aussie! I love how happy he always looks to be playing with other such talented musicians as well. I had tickets to the Sydney show on Steven Wilson's last solo tour. I only remembered them the day AFTER the show. Not happy. VERY NOT HAPPY.

Magdalena - A Perfect Circle (Judith)
The Mer De Noms album came out around the time my Grandmother died. We were building a new house, and the Olympics were on in Sydney. There was so much energy around at the time, and suddenly the air was sucked out of everything. The entire album brings me right back to that place. I love the album, Maynard's voice. But it gets me right in the feels.

Without You I'm Nothing - Placebo (Song to Say Goodbye)
Brian Molko's voice is so unmistakable. The soundtrack to my high school life. One of my closest friends kept exposing me to new music, and a lot of what I listened to then, and now is due to her. We met the band at an instore signing. I was wearing the same dress as Brian Molko, and he insisted we take a photo together. He looked better in it than I did.

Ikoneklasmia - Stam1na
There had to be something in Finnish here. Since I'm not going to admit to listening to suomipop, it had to be these guys. New album coming soon!

Beautiful Mine - The Butterfly Effect
Another Aussie band. Seen them live a few times. They're fun. They kicked their lead singer out when he wouldn't write the kind of lyrics they wanted him to. Got a new singer in, and tried to keep going. It didn't work well. Lead singer went solo, it worked much better for him. Now though, they've buried the hatchet and welcomed the singer back into the fold. Seen them live a few times since then. These guys were a discovery from Dead Letter Circus, and they led the way to Karnivool.

As One - Dzyen (Vestibule of Hell - Voices from the Fuselage)
Legitimately the most recent addition to my music library. Once Ashe was kicked out of Tesseract to bring Dan back in, he went back to his former band Voices from the Fuselage, and did some session work. This band worked with a bunch of different singers.

Don't Dream it's Over - Crowded House
Australia's favourite adopted Kiwis. The brothers Finn. Brilliant, brilliant songwriters. In 1996 they announced the band was calling it a day. The 'Farewell to the World' concert on the Steps of the Sydney Opera House was broadcast on radio, and almost 150,000 people packed into the forecourt and surrounds to see it live. It was also a charity event for the Children's Hospital. 9 years later the drummer hanged himself in a park near his home in Melbourne.
In 2016 the band announced another concert in the same location. Held over 4 nights to stop the same kind of crowding, it was a celebration of the band and Paul Hester. I went to the 3rd night, it was broadcast on tv, and watching these clips never fails to give me goosebumps. Therefore I present versions of the song from both the original show, and the anniversary.
 
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Ok, I've been avoiding this because I'm not one to constantly look for new music and have enough in my library, that said, I guess I should post tracks I listen with some regularity.

Daði Freyr - Think About Things (what is this large font bold crap)​

I actually like this song, it's really catchy

Little Big - Go Bananas
Well, it's Little Big, how can you not like this? :D

Caravan Palace - Miracle
Also catchy and funky.

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Balrog Boogie
Thanks to @Adunaphel for sharing this band with me.

Skinny Puppy - Assimilate

Smartface - Winter Walk
I listened to this mostly in the beginning of this year, still good.

Samantha Fish - Bulletproof
@DaBoom shared this with me one night, love it.

Rush - A Farewell to the Kings
I've grown up with dad playing Rush so uh, yeah I still enjoy their music.

Dr. Steel - Back and Forth
because it's 2002 and steam punk is cool again.

Voltaire - Brains

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Feeder - Day in Day Out

The Fratellis - Halloween Blues

Jazz Spastiks - Fresh Oranges

London Elekticity - Just One Second

The Mad Caddies - Backyard

Matisyahu - Sunshine

Nighwish - Ever Dream

Wintergatan - Paradis

Beautiful Collision - Panic
This is a local band who I used to knew the bass player quite well, I still enjoy this, not lyrically, but I love how it was mixed as it's more lively than most professionally produced music
 
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I don't usually do stuff like this because I'm conscious of what others make of my music choices but I decided I don't give a fuck so here we are! My music tastes are all over the place. First handful are sort of in order and the rest sort of aren't.

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Desperado Vespa
I found LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER (Sam Battle) this year just after I started my period on furlough, I listen to a lot of his stuff and started supporting him on Patreon. This was newly released at the time and is the last 'proper' studio shot video that he did. Everything since has a different sound to it so I really like going back to it. My favourite track of 2020.

Wice - Star Fighter
Showed up on a couple of playlists I found so got more play time that way. As good as this is I think that it lacks something without the video.

Men At Work - It's a Mistake
I've been familiar with Land Down Under for years but hadn't listened to much M.A.W. beyond that, when I was down with MWF in the summer he introduced me to more of their stuff. This has risen to the top as my favourite.

Röyksopp - Andromeda (Lost Tapes)
Always liked Röyksopp since Happy Up Here, this came out this year along with some other 'lost tapes'.

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Human Procrastination
First EP released by Sam, picked it up pretty soon after coming across his stuff. Mainly because it included extended and instrumental versions but this original track is great.

Scandroid/Chromatique - Neo-Tokyo - Chromatique Remix
Heard a different mix of Neo-Tokyo last year but stumbled across this version and prefer it.

Carpenter Brut - Maniac (Live)
They released the single of this in 2020 so I listened to that a lot but I actually prefer the live version from 2017. Video shown behind them on stage is great too. Not so much a fan of the original song, just their cover.

M|O|O|N - Dust
Found this one recently, great when I'm in the right moon and the end reminds me of Abe from Oddworld.

Yello - The Race
According to Spotify I've listened to this a lot this year. Instruments in this are still great after all these years, great when it surrounds you in the car.

AC/DC - Shoot to Thrill
Over the summer I got the Avengers movies in UHD, re-watched Avengers Assemble and then watched the rest for the first time. This always sticks with me from the first movie so it's my favourite AC/DC track.

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Modern Gas
Didn't want to include too many LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER tracks but I did listen to this regularly throughout the summer. This was also on the first EP that I bought.

Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric
Also MWF's fault, was at the top of my liked list and got played a lot. This video is a particularly good modern version, turn the lights down and the volume up.

Elton John - Rocket Man
With all of the SpaceX activity this year I just found myself listening to this.

Cyriak Harris - No More Memory
This background music for Cyriak's animation mix video finally made it to Spotify this year, it's a slightly tidier version of music used on the animation. Ironically I can only find the original version on Youtube.

Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
I dunno really, I just like it. Reminds me of Brainiac: Science Abuse and a friend had it as a ringtone at the start of the year so I found myself listening to it. That's the beauty of something like Spotify.

Spaceman - Babylon Zoo
A bit like Rocket Man I suppose, the space activity this year made me want to listen to it.

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Love the instruments in this particularly, really nice chillout song. I sometimes need stuff like this when I'm driving.

First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining
Not my usual style of music but I heard part of it used on a TV advert and it just hooked me.

Dream Fiend - The World Next Door
Not actually on Spotify so didn't show up in any of my playlists but one I listened to quite a lot this year with other RetroWave stuff. Was used in the demo videos for the game Power Drive 2000.

TOTO - Hold the Line
I love the guitar solo. Everyone likes Africa but I actually prefer this and reminds me of GTA: San Andreas as that's the first place I heard it (I think).
 
I don't usually do stuff like this because I'm conscious of what others make of my music choices but I decided I don't give a fuck so here we are! My music tastes are all over the place. First handful are sort of in order and the rest sort of aren't.

The correct way to go about what others think of what you listen to. And you're not the first one here with varying selection of stuff, it's most welcome. Also, finally after going through all these playlists my auto-generated Spotify lists have started to offer a bit more variety than what some of them had devolved in to. :)
 
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Had a chance to listen to some stuff, really nice to have some new playlists. So far there have been a couple that I have gone back to more than once:

The Black Keys - Shine A Little Light - this is brilliant. Only ever heard Lonely Boy before which was good itself, this has a Bond theme feel to it.
Igorrr - Very noise - Video is just mad, it's great. :D
 
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Made it through all playlists posted so far as well. Has definitely made the commute more interesting, I needed a break from constant podcast entertainment. And I've noticed I also have a new take on "my own music" as well, which is nice.
 
i listened to them all...concluded i am the only one one with some sort of decent music taste :p
Alright, smart guy, your turn! :p
 
I'm also now hooked on Go Bananas - it's just mad enough to be catchy. :LOL:
 
I'm also now hooked on Go Bananas - it's just mad enough to be catchy. :LOL:
Little big has been hit or miss for me. Either I don't care about particular piece, or it becomes an earworm instantly.
 
Check page one. Already posted.
D'oh!
I'm also now hooked on Go Bananas - it's just mad enough to be catchy. :LOL:
YES, but also the music video has to go with it, I've tried listening to it on its own and the song is less catchy somehow.
Little big has been hit or miss for me. Either I don't care about particular piece, or it becomes an earworm instantly.
Agreed, like the taco song and whatever he had lined up for the Euro-compeition thing.
 
And there are 2 more I should mention! This year I also discovered hanni el khatib, and listened a lot to him


As well as allah-las

(All credits to last.fm for recommending them)
 
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It's taken a while for youtube music to finally sort out my 2020 year in review playlist and I don't know how it's sorted, so here's all 72 songs:


The Passage - Lunatic Soul


Lost Boys (Instrumental) - Essenger


Completing the Circle (feat. Rachel Mellis) - Gareth Coker


Hold the Heathen Hammer high - Týr


Star Eater - Daniel Deluxe


Sail into the Black - Machine Head


Devin Townsend performs 'Kingdom' for EMGtv - EMGtv


POP/STARS ?? MEGALOVANIA - Dj CUTMAN


Deep Into That Darkness Peering - Pathfinder


The Dreaded Mystic Abyss - Shadow of Intent


Celestial Elixir (remastered 2017) - Haken


The Whisper of Ancient Rocks - Pathfinder


Riding the Wind (feat. Rachel Mellis) - Gareth Coker


Aftermath - Volkor X


Blinding Lights - The Weeknd


Octavarium - Dream Theater


Toxicity - System Of A Down


From Life to Spirit - Eldamar


Turbo Killer - RichaadEB


Ih-Ah! (Live at The Roundhouse, October 27th 2012) - Devin Townsend Project


The Fall - Blue Stahli


ATWA - System Of A Down


Every You, Every Me - Placebo


Darkness And Frost - Wintersun


And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope - Ne Obliviscaris


Universal Flame - Devin Townsend Project


Forget Not - Ne Obliviscaris


Before We Die - Devin Townsend Project


Stand Up and Fight - Turisas


The Mausoleum of Liars - Shadow of Intent


Solar Sailer - Daft Punk


Approach / Dream - Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson & Sigur Rös


Danny Don't You Know - Ninja Sex Party


Psycho - System Of A Down


Sons Of Winter And Stars - Wintersun


Rhun - Summoning


The Macrocosm - Rings Of Saturn


Echos Of Mine - M83


Cheval - Igorrr


Boadicea (2009 Remaster) - Enya


Alleviate - Leprous


Please Don't Go - Barcelona


Approaching the End (feat. Aeralie Brighton) - Gareth Coker


Run Boy Run (Instrumental) - Woodkid


Fallout - Devin Townsend Project


The Son of Flynn - Daft Punk


Death and the Healing - Wintersun


Restless - Within Temptation


The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel


Alone in Kyoto - Air


Sorrow - Pink Floyd


The Ancient & Arcane - Varien


The Poet and the Pendulum (Live, at Wembley, 2015) - Nightwish


Arrival - Daft Punk


Cloud Atlas End Title - Tom Tykwer


Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (From 'Batman Forever') - U2


Welcome to Lunar Industries - Clint Mansell


Finale - Daft Punk


Skulls - Röyksopp


Wait - M83


Storytime (Live @ Wacken 2013) - Nightwish


Overture - Daft Punk


Damnation - Mick Gordon


Ghost Spores (feat. Laura Brehm) - Varien


Natural Blues (Kidnap Remix) - Moby


0:59 - Danger


Soon, My Friend - M83


Röyksopp Forever - Röyksopp


Opus Brain - Igorrr


Self Control - Laura Branigan


Land Of Snow And Sorrow - Wintersun


Climbing the Ginso Tree - Gareth Coker
 
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