Top 20 Songs of 2021
These should honestly all be Tik Tok because of the cultural relevance. That’s all I got
20. Lil Nas X, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”
Honestly a common theme throughout this may be the music videos elevating the individual song. In this case the music video to “MONTERO” by Lil Nas X was absolutely batshit. I loved it as Will Ferrell would say, “It gets the people going.” Lil Nas X is insane and had a PR plan ready for the inevitable backlash to the sacrilege that is this music video. It also happens to be an incredibly catchy song and just goes to show the power that Lil Nas X has over social media. It was hard to chose between “MONTERO” and “INDUSTRY BABY” as both had long Tik Tok lifespans but I kinda think “INDUSTRY BABY” is a little annoying at times.
19. Silk Sonic, “Smokin’ Out the Window”
While I do absolutely love the glitz, glam, and dirty implications of “Leave The Door Open,” there is something about the utter buffoonery that is going on during the video for “Smokin’ Out the Window” that I can’t resist. The ensuing onslaught of Tik Tok videos (can you tell I am addicted yet?) with “THIS B*TCH GOT ME” was a sight for sore eyes. Above all I think that the ultimate parody that this song brings to the table (and album) makes it more than a cut above “Leave The Door Open.”
18. Doja Cat, “Kiss Me More (feat. SZA)”
Alright so far this list IS all from Tik Tok which goes to show where I’m at mentally. I honestly don’t know what to say about “Kiss Me More” besides it being and infectious pop masterpiece. Since I learned of this song from Tik Tok, I truly have probably listened to it only a couple of times individually. It became almost innocuous in my brain over the course of the year. “All along my tongue, I want it” is just such a batshit line and I love it. SZA also made an overall great comeback this year and her performance on “Kiss Me More” was a highlight imo. Long live the cow mooo.
17. Clairo, “Joanie”
Honestly I loved Clairo’s debut, Immunity (we could use some of that amiright?) so I was really looking forward to her sophomore release. The cover really just strikes me as furry bait so I don’t think this album had a ghost of a chance in my mind. Regardless of this I did absolutely love the track “Joanie.” The piano is absolutely gorgeous at the beginning of this track leading into a nice upbeat swing. It honestly is giving me like “You May Be Right” era Billie Joel in pop composition. I mean that as a huge compliment as there is something very classic about the song structure there that I love. The rest of the album is way less interesting than this track and it just makes me wish Clairo kinda constructed around this song.
16. Kacey Musgraves, “Good Wife”
I think that a lot of people had an easier time connecting with Golden Hour (or any of Musgrave’s previous works) than with star-crossed. I guess not a lot of her fans were getting divorced but that is neither here nor there. “Good Wife” does the best out of any track off star-crossed in conveying Musgrave’s intense emotions. It is very heartbreaking that our queen even in a failing marriage has such an intense yearning to be a good companion. And maybe there is some deeper message here (as the video would suggest) about societies expectations for women in a marriage and such. The almost industrial nature of it in the music video is quite perverse and creepy. It makes “Good Wife” that much more assertive and impactful.
15. Low, “White Horses”
Honestly almost any song off Hey What could occupy this fifteenth spot. I almost think “White Horses” and “I Can Wait” can really be heard as one whole song and that would go here but whatever. “White Horses” is an odyssey and an absolute banger. I feel like it is a great intro to this album as it holds within it a lot of the major ideas that make this album great. A lot of switchups, beautiful vocals, and a background absolutely drenched in dankness. Combined together this creates sort of a well balanced meal that continues throughout the entirety of Hey What.
14. Charli XCX, “Good Ones”
One thing I learned over the past two years is that Charli XCX is an absolute genius. Even though Iggy Azalea is kinda cringe or whatever, I will still go balls to the wall listening to “Fancy.” And while I am more a Vroom Vroom kind of Charli fan, I still love and respect the more pop-focused projects she has done over the years. “Good Ones” is similar to Charli pop of ole but shows her going into a more 80’s synth-pop flare. I honestly think she is a little late to the party on this one as everyone and their grandma seems to be obsessed with bringing the synth-pop back but I still absolutely love this song. It is a very “jam out in your car while you’re driving to bingo” song with probably the best music videos of the entire year. I am excited to see where she goes with this sound and style on Crash coming 2022 :).
13. Tyler, The Creator, “Lumberjack”
If you haven’t please watch Tyler perform “Lumberjack” live he does this incredible lead in to the “Rolls Royce pull up…” which is a story about some old lady questioning how he got the car he’s driving. It exemplifies the campy “f-you” that is trademark to all of Tyler’s extended universe of content. I’m usually a bigger fan of the more overtly produced, Flower Boy type tracks (“wusyaname” and “rise” come to mind) in Tyler’s catalogue but CMIYGL seemed to lean more heavily on the ad-libbed hard rap style. For that I think “Lumberjack” has the best version of this on the album while still containing the tongue and cheek lightness that makes Tyler so entertaining.
12. Lana Del Rey, “Dealer”
“Beautiful” definitely is the thematic core to Blue Banisters. It contains what I can gather as the overall message of the record and is musically amazing. But I just think that Lana absolutely belts her Lanussy off on “Dealer.” To give it credit this song does respectfully fit into the sad, leave me alone to sulk, deeper themes of the record. I don’t really hear that though when I listen. It is just Lana somehow giving me early punk shrieks over a very mellow and bland drumbeat. I feel some deep emotion whatever it may be. Its giving “Dope” by Lady Gaga. Also what does “all circuits are busy” even mean in this context. It may be as shallow as “Dope” but I love it all the same.
11. Lingua Ignota, “Man Is Like a Spring Flower”
The bald man strikes again! While I feel like Sinner Get Ready is more an Ari Aster film than anything else, there are still moments I cherish. Keeping that analogy going, “Man Is Like a Spring Flower” is similar to the two tracks that come at the climax in Hereditary and Midsommar. Like there should definitely be some whack shit happening on screen during this song. The choral part of this song is the closest thing this album gets to something my small mind can understand as it is combining a very folky/southern tune with harrowing, howling vocals. It is very magical and I wish that musically there was more tracks like this on the album. Maybe one day my eardrums will understand Sinner Get Ready, but until then I’m just gonna “jam” out to this in the same way I jam out to “Fire Temple” from the soundtrack of Midsommar .
10. Kanye West, “Jail”
This might be the song I listened to the most in 2021. Am I ashamed of that? A little bit. As we know Kanye West has just been the epitome of cringe the past few years. I think all my doubts about Donda where quelled after I heard “Jail” for the first time. It is a stadium rock anthem on the scale of which only Kanye could pull off. Is this song about being canceled? Like is the stuff he is talking about autobiographical or is it about someone else in his life. The “pt. 2” of this track with DaBaby (cringe) kinda hints that is the former. At first I thought Jay-Z was smoking crack with his verse. Like what the actual fuck does “God in my cells, that’s my celly” mean? He rings it in towards the end asking Kanye to take off the red cap and such and overall I think the verse has grown on me. No matter what you think of Kanye it is hard to deny how great this and many tracks off Donda are.
9. Courtney Barnett, “Before You Gotta Go”
Is this almost a worn out concept in the rock cannon? “Wake me up before you go-go” and such. Yes but Barnett creates such a somber yet comforting atmosphere that it feels fresher than ever. A true love song Barnett sings “If something were to happen my dear / I wouldn’t want the last words you hear / To be unkind.” That is some “write that shit down” kinda romance that is indicative of Barnett’s incredible lyricism. I’d like to think that it is an emotional throughput to 2015’s “Depreston” (that was my number one song of that year btw). She don’t miss I’m telling y’all.
8. Illuminati Hotties, “Pool Hopping”
There is something to be said about the power of a song to transport you. As cliché as that sounds I think that most pop artists today (through their own volition or not) try really hard to do this. Nostalgia is so powerful because it gives a sense of familiarity that can be very difficult to achieve. We saw this happen successfully this year with Silk Sonic and the continual 80-fication of pop artists. For Illuminati Hotties’ “Pool Hopping” I felt like I was transported to the 90’s or early 2000’s. More specifically a bad informercial for moon-shoes or an episode of Malcolm In The Middle. And while I was barely conscious in this specific timeframe, there is still something buried deep in my subconscious from that era that this song was successfully able to latch onto. A lot of the upbeat tracks off of Let Me Do One More give me this same vibe, “Mmmoooaaaayaya” for example. But I think “Pool Hopping” is able to capture the “eating a sandwich with a bag of Doritos after getting out of the neighborhood pool on a hot summers day” aesthetic better than anything else. And for that it deserves this coveted spot.
7. Billie Eilish, “Happier Than Ever”
Fames pitfalls and exploring those pitfalls are a pretty overused concept at times. The way that Billie Eilish frames this exploration into stardom (as an overall criticism of how women in the music industry are treated) brings such a fresh view and perspective. There is the “oh I wish I could just escape to an island alone with nobody to bother me” vibe at times but there is definitely the heavier themes of the perverse male gaze and sexual coercion in the industry. This all comes to a head on the title track, “Happier Than Ever.” Which on the surface seems like “just” a breakup song. Albeit a breakup song with an incredible acoustic to electronic transition that just floored me the first time I heard it. If you put this song in the context of all the trauma and misgivings from being a woman in the music industry that Eilish talks about on the record, it gives the monumental nature of it all even more teeth.
6. Jazmine Sullivan, “Lost One”
I don’t know if this is rude or sacrilegious even to say but “Lost One” by Jazmine Sullivan gives me such a Blonde by Frank Ocean vibe. It is probably the disparaging background melody that persist throughout the song coupled with the emotional lyricism. There is even the mousy and airy echoing of Jazmine’s vocals that mirrors a lot of the vocals off of Blonde. Regardless of the comparison, “Lost Ones” serves as the emotional core to Heaux Tales as it seems to chronicle the last stage of grief (acceptance I believe) in the context of relationships. “Just Don’t have too much fun without me… Try not to love no one” Sullivan crushingly sings to her soon to be ex lover. It is very introspective and mature in this acceptance but it makes it all the more solemn for the listener.
5. St. Vincent, “Pay Your Way In Pain”
“Pay Your Way In Pain” is another amazing example (like “Pool Shopping”) of how a song can incredibly transport you. There is something so purely 70’s, sleazy New York about this song. Maybe it is the funky synths that permeate through the track or maybe it’s the story about a “woman of the night” being rejected by some PTA moms in the park. St. Vincent does an incredible job of combining these stylistic elements while also creating something that sounds fresh. It is in stark contrast in my mind to Silk Sonic’s vibe. Like that is more of a parody which shows appreciation and is great and all. “Pay Your Way In Pain” and Daddy’s Home in general use the inspiration as building blocks to still create something that feels very St. Vincent in nature. I love everything about this song from the happy-go lucky intro to the backing vocalist walloping “PAIIIN” every few beat. It put St. Vincent’s full talent on display and I think is very sick :).
4. Little Simz, “Introvert”
This is an absolute mammoth of a song and quite a crazy introduction to Little Simz latest album. The drums and instrumentation in the beginning of the song set the scene for the entire album being some sort of stage performance or even a football halftime show? At any rate it creates this grandstanding mood that rises to a quick sound change that gives me “Optimistic” by Radiohead vibes. Very groovy but atmospheric. The songs lyricism puts on display the themes of the album. There are a lot of dense political statements in this but it all comes back to “the war inside.” It comes down to a lot of self-talk for Simz about her being “introvert.” The verbiage is interesting here (might be a regional thing) but instead of calling her self introverted as an adjective, she says “sometimes I might be introvert” as a noun. This could be to separate the self into a maybe doubtful introvert self and a more confident extrovert self. It is some deep stuff and goes into a lot of inner dialogues that I’m sure people can easily relate to. In whole “Introvert” combines a stellar use of instrumentation with some interesting ruminations on Little Simz’s psyche.
3. Japanese Breakfast, “Paprika”
I wish I could see my brain activity on this song. You know those memes where it’s like “this is your brain on meth?” I want that but listening to this incredibly euphoric song. From my limited knowledge of the English language, I can surmise that Jubilee is in reference to some joyous celebration. I think that the album, and by extension “Paprika” really convey this sense of joy. That also seems like the answer to all the questions that this song poses. “How’s it feel to be at the center of magic / To linger in tones and words?” These question are about being able to sing and offer your art to the word and immediately answered overtly “Oh, it’s a rush” but I feel there is a deeper joy that is truly the answer.
2. Olivia Rodrigo, “Brutal”
“I’m so insecure I think / That I’ll die before I drink.” Like holy shit how do you have the huevos and rancheros to write something like that. The amount of angst in this track is incredible and I love it. It is a laundry list of grievances that miss Rodrigo has with being a teen, love, expectations, comparisons, etc. It is insane how succinctly she describes a plethora of emotions that a lot of gen z-ers (zoomers for short) are feeling with the current state of the world. It is even more insane the absolute pop-punk banger of instrumentation that surrounds these lyrics. I honestly was blown away the first few times I heard “drivers license” and that song also really deserves a spot on this list. But I really explain how I felt the first time listening to “brutal.” It was giving me Paramore realness all while complaining about parallel parking and the fear of never being cool enough. Any critique of this Rodrigo being an industry plant or manufacturing this kind of “relatable” angst to the zoomers are not necessarily wrong. But honestly who cares if that is true. The fact that Rodrigo, or whoever wrote this was able to tap into what I was feeling so effectively deserves all the praise in the world.
Spellling, “Little Deer”
Aye I bet you didn’t expect this bad boy at the top. The Turning Wheel by Spellling (three l’s) is part theatre kid core part national geographic and part crazy synths. “Little Deer” is by far the track where this all comes together the best. The horns gives such a Music Man vibe but the synths in the background assure you it is not the 50’s. The way Spellling is able to weave the literal theater “production” quality with new and exciting sounds is baffling. Almost Alice in Wonderland-like. This also has the best storyline I think of the many animal/nature escapades from the album.
Just skimming over the lyrics once again gives weird furry vibes but don’t worry it’s just a metaphor or something. The “deer” an as object gives me the similar sense of the “alas poor yorik” skull scene from Hamlet (or the “to be or not to be” scene I really can’t remember which has the skull) with ruminations about death and the ultimate cycle of life. It starts “Little deer, little deer / The arrow hurts to fly to you” which shows the narrator having a very “Lion King circle of life” understanding that requires death but abhors it. The narrator goes on to continue this circle of life theme saying “I see myself inside of you” giving a deeper respect for the deer.
Spellling has said that this Frida Kahlo painting inspired the lyrics and overall themes of this track. While striking, I think this Kahlo painting has a more overt, “I’m the deer and you are killing ME by killing the deer” (with the arrows and such). Spellling’s approach to this idea I think is seeing yourself in all living things enough to gain that critical respect necessary for compassion. She still understands that the deer will die by our hand or another and she accepts that and weeps. Didn’t think you’d get an English lesson today deer listener, did ya?
Happy Jamming :)
