25 Music Moments That Defined My 2020

I don’t plan on revisiting very many of the memories I’ll have of 2020, for obvious reasons, but I know that when I think back on a year of global pandemic, political upheaval, and the advent of Tik Tok, I’ll definitely remember the music. These are the 25 moments that stuck with me the most.

January 21st: the first four seconds of WHATS POPPIN by Jack Harlow

Jack Harlow exploded onto the hiphop scene with the earworm of the year — the piano riff that leads his breakout single WHATS POPPIN — and paired it with an unforgettable first couplet. Almost a year later, if you ask anyone under the age of 30 “What’s poppin?”, their subconscious will still fill in “brand new whip, just hopped in” on a Pavlovian level. On the remix, Harlow’s self-assured style floats perfectly above the ridiculousness of Lil Wayne, below the boisterous bravado of DaBaby, and right alongside the machine-gun staccato flow of Tory Lanez. None of that happens without those first two bars of the catchiest song of 2020.

February 28th: Nights Like This by Loud Luxury, CID

I can’t imagine that Loud Luxury knew that the spiritual successor to 2017’s smash single Body would serve as a de-facto time capsule for the pre-covid era, but that’s how the dominoes fell. Nights Like This is the perfect opening song for a headline show — clean, distinct vocals building to an articulated drop that explicitly reminds you that you are having a capital-G capital-T Good Time right now. Little did we all know, that nostalgia-in-the-moment (now-stalgia?) feeling is much more poignant when there’s no more moment, only nostalgia, for nights like those.

March 7th-8th: CRSSD Fest

San Diego’s biannual tribute to house and techno music (and possible holder of the auspicious Last American Rave Ever title) is the All-Pro fullback of music festivals. It does one very narrowly-defined set of things, and it does those things exceedingly well. Do you like house and/or techno music? Do you like good booze and good food? Great! Because that’s all CRSSD has to offer. Three yards, a first down, and a cloud of dust. No surprise pop stars or rappers showing up trying to [heavy air quotes] “break the internet” (Coachella). No oversized art installations to stare at while metabolizing your second gallon of overpriced beer (Life is Beautiful). No underground bartering economy for turning psychedelic drugs into toiletries, or vice versa (Burning Man). Just the constant thrum of 125–135bpm cuts, in a sunny venue, with a laidback group of attendees. It was and is perfect in every way, and I will put whatever covid vaccine cocktail I can in my body to ensure I get to experience again as soon as possible.

March 25th: LIQUID:LAB Vol 1 by KREAM

KREAM’s LIQUID:LAB mix series promises to “consist of 100% unreleased remixes, upcoming singles and a bunch of secret edits from our sets” — and it delivers in spades. The track list lists 19 “main tracks” among 50+ acapellas, melodies, drops, flips, edits, and samples, a testament to the truly astonishing technical prowess of KREAM’s mixing. I’m definitely biased, because their track selection nails the exact musical taste Venn diagram middle I reside in between more mainstream EDM, hiphop, and grimy, gritty, nasty tech and bass house, but I still consider this the best multi-genre mix of the year.

April 3rd-5th: the Digital Mirage livestream festival, by Proximity

Right around the time live music goers started to realize that they’d have to figure out another outlet during the pandemic (oh no, am I going to have to learn how to make my own bread?), the team at Proximity stepped up with the most successful digital music festival of the year. The intimacy of the medium — livestreamed sets from top-tier DJs, often out of a living room or in a backyard — fit the moment perfectly while audiences were stuck at home during quarantine. Tuning in to Digital Mirage was like watching Michael Jordan shoot free throws at a YMCA: relatable, almost attainable, but always serving as a reminder of how talented these artists really are. And oh by the way, they raised over $300k for Sweet Relief Musicians fund, further proof that you can do plenty of good from the comfort of your couch.

April 3rd: Skin by OMNOM, VNSSA

For a certain audience (i.e., me), this was a highly-anticipated collaboration between two of the tech house genre’s most innovative artists. It features OMNOM, coming off his 2018 launch onto the scene with the Goin Dumb EP, and VNSSA, mastermind of two of the catchiest tech tracks in recent memory, WORD and Rave Grave. This whirlpool of bouncy bass and ghoulish vocals would have flooded clubs everywhere sans-covid, but it still holds up as a livestream and living room smash.

April 4th: the bassline in Feel It by Kaskade

I have to include this track as a testament to how even the simplest of house music can move you. Feel It has the minimum number of required elements, and electronic music’s elder statesman Kaskade uses those elements to maximum effect. Take one piece away, and it’s not the refined masterpiece that it turned out to be; add anything else, and it would be trying too hard. Listen carefully to the two-note bassline that glues this track together — down, down up down, down up down. The whole time! All five minutes and 36 seconds! Tell me, are you still vibing and bobbing along to it at the end? Of course you are.

April 13th: in the end i just want you to be happy by San Holo

A track like this — one that’s bereft of any vocals, drop, or urgency — has to be unique in its execution to catch my attention. San Holo exceeds this expectation as this song layers and builds on the core guitar riff to draw out so much pure emotion and meaning. It’s a lyricless poem, a chapterless novel, that tiptoes past your brain on its way to your soul. It brings to mind Aphex Twin’s Avril 14th in the annals of out-of-genre creations by electronic artists.

May 8th: On My Mind (MK Remix) by Diplo, SIDEPIECE

After sustained success in the EDM scene, Diplo dipped his toes in the waters of house music in late 2019 with On My Mind, taking fellow mainstream pros Nitti Gritti and Party Favor along with him in the form of their house duo SIDEPIECE. The original was compelling, but didn’t have the edge that I look for — until house veteran Marc Kinchen flipped it into a club-ready crusher in May. He chopped up the vocals, dragged in a syncopated set of snares and hi-hats, and added a triplet stab pattern that bleeds anxiety and tension over the whole track.

May 15th: I Remember by Chris Lake

Chris Lake’s record label Black Book has served as a clearing house of sorts for the guideposts of the tech house genre over the course of the last few years. Lake’s I Remember exemplified tech’s sound in 2020, simultaneously reflecting and iterating on the touchstone elements that draw audiences to this particular style — driving bass, aggressive percussion, and vocals that are “shout in the face of your friends at the rave” catchy.

May 15th: how i’m feeling now by Charlie XCX

Beyond the impeccable quality of its industrial, futuristic production, the true accomplishment of this album is how it neatly encapsulates the quarantine experience. Relying on a DIY-heavy patchwork of online collaborations, Charlie XCX channels the frustration and stress of her isolation into a cohesive, ambitious run of tracks that are still extremely relistenable. The iconic moment of the album is anthems, a sonic kick in the chest that serves as a telling tribute to the indulgent world covid forced on hold: “I just wanna go to parties / up high, feel the heat from all the bodies.” Don’t we all, Charlie, don’t we all.

May 29th: the drop in Free (Party Favor Remix) by Louis The Child

From the first vinyl static to the final strings, this is as close to a perfect song as was released in 2020. The plinking, arpeggiating keys and shimmering chimes of the intro, paired with Drew Love’s melancholy lyrics, set up the drop of the year. Party Favor’s trap production background brings a visceral synth edge that draws out the pain and anger nestled in an otherwise laidback, almost resigned original. This version adds so much emotional depth that it allows the same set of lyrics to tell an entirely different story — the true mark of a transformative remix.

May 29th: The Bender (Party Pupils Remix) by Matoma, Brando

I had a hard time choosing between the song above and this one, so I didn’t. Same release date, same floor-out-from-underneath-you style drop, even a Party-themed remixer name. This song combines everything I love most about this particular genre of pop/EDM remixing — recognizable, singalong lyrics; clear, formulaic builds and breakdowns; and most importantly, it just makes you want to jump around for 32 bars at a time.

July 17th: the piano stabs in Now Ya Know by J. Worra

I wasn’t formally introduced to J. Worra’s music until her catchy-as-hell Realm Records release Bounce Back in February, but she really hit her stride when she flipped over to Techne and dropped Now Ya Know. This tech house banger draws on an incredibly creative bassline, exciting vocal samples, and most memorably, a set of piano stabs over the chorus that pierce straight through the mix, propelling it like booster rockets on a space shuttle. If you didn’t know about the focused energy J. Worra is bringing to the tech house scene, well…now ya know.

July 17th: Rain On Me (Purple Disco Machine Remix) by Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande

If you had shaken me awake from a deep slumber in the middle of summer 2020, shone a bright flashlight in my eyes, and threatened me to name the most marketable pop and house collaboration I could think of on pain of death, I would have first asked how you got into my bedroom, then I would have said “Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and Purple Disco Machine”. And I would have been right! An already anthemic Rain On Me gets the PDM treatment with his signature funky basslines and splashy synths.

July 18th: Pluko’s Diplo & Friends Mix

I was late to the party on this one, but Pluko’s entry into the world’s premiere electronic mix show is eclectic, experimental, and pulls no creative punches. Among a searing string of trap crushers and rap acapellas, my favorite two moments are the Core into Send It Up into Hellifornia trifecta of three of my favorite songs, and the way he drops almost the entirety of his flip of the upbeat, poppy Hello by Martin Solveig between a rework of Denzel Curry’s Ricky and his own rainbow.

July 25th-26th: Tomorrowland Digital

How do you translate the world’s biggest gathering of electronic music fans onto a two dimensional platform? You don’t. You make it into an immersive, 3D rendering that borrows from the dreamlike stages at the actual Tomorrowland venue, and sprinkles in a dash of just-outside-reality effects. Navigating around the digital world that the Tomorrowland team created to showcase an impressively deep lineup of world-class DJs gives just a taste of the real thing — which as high of a compliment as they could hope for.

August 5th: AUATC by Bon Iver

PSA: Bon Iver is still doing Bon Iver things. Recent forays by frontman Justin Vernor into all sorts of other projects (most notably, on Exile and Peace from Taylor Swift’s Folklore) might have distracted you from the fact that he’s still more than capable of making deep, meaningful indie music. AUATC is a concise, two-minutes-and-change reminder that Vernor hasn’t lost his fastball.

August 14th: the Laugh Now, Cry Later music video by Drake, Lil Durk

I’m sure there have been plenty of fun creative sessions involving Drake, but I can’t think of a more inspired one than this: “Nike World Headquarters is closed — what if we shot a music video there?” Is there a more iconic image in rap this year than Drake in that white suit and Raptors hat, channelling his inner Fred Van Vleet? Is there anything more quintessentially Drake than releasing a song about enjoying the moment and dealing with stress later, while we’re all still in quarantine? Is there anything Marshawn Lynch can’t do? No, no, and no…baby.

August 20th: this scene in the Dynamite music video by BTS

I can’t get this damn image out of my head. Seeing this for the first time made me the saddest I’ve ever been about being colorblind. Sure, the song’s catchy enough, but the fact that I’ll never come within a thousand nautical miles of being able to pull off a pastel Kangol is truly devastating. This music video absolutely slaps.

October 9th: Paralysis by Mat Zo

Mat Zo’s triumphant return to Anjunabeats in the form of the genreless Illusion of Depth peaks on this dynamic rock track. Dripping with Radiohead influence, Paralysis whips the listener from deft vocals over a waterfall of echoing keys and onto a jagged bed of guitars and snares, and all the way back again. It also features my favorite solo of the year, a wailing riff that snaps shut at the outro to give way to nothing but those keys and a steady heartbeat, giving the listener just enough time to find the repeat button before the track fades.

October 23rd: the soundtrack to The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix

The soundtrack to Netflix’s zeitgeist-capturing limited series is a celebration of various 60s styles, featuring Kim Weston and Marvin Gaye, The Monkees, and The Association’s hilariously on-the-nose Along Comes Mary. Paired with an immersive piano score, the music choices serve as a worthy auditory foundation to a truly spectacular visual achievement. (I really just put this in here as an excuse to gas up The Queen’s Gambit. You should definitely watch The Queen’s Gambit.)

October 26th: the first 2:20 of Big Bootie Mix 18 by Two Friends

Two Friends’ Big Bootie Mix series revels in its ridiculousness, indulges in its ambition, and leans fully in to its IDGAF approach. This edition, however, opens with a run of several of the most creative mashups and transitions I’ve heard in the entire oeuvre, warping The Who’s Baba O’Reilly down into the opening riff of The Killer’s Mr. Brightside, and icing the cake with the acapella versa from RL Grime’s UCLA. Once you get to Jay Z and Kanye’s lyrics soaring over the UCLA drop, you know you’re well on your way to another frenetic hour of Two Friends tearing apart every hit song you’ve heard in the last 30 years and piecing them back together into a totally new quilt of party anthems.

October 29th: the visuals to Halloween IX by RL Grime

Godfather of trap RL Grime propels 2020’s edition of the mix I look forward to most every year to an entirely different level with an hour-long, horror-inspired visual accompaniment. For my money, there isn’t a more artful combination of face-melting tunes and mind-bending images on the internet right now. As always, the track selection is impeccable (featuring plenty of acolytes from RL’s label Sable Valley), and the mixing is precise and creative, but engaging a second sense elevates this year’s Halloween to a transcendent experience.

November 20th: While The World Was Burning by SAINt JHN

There are only a few artists that I can confidently say I was on early. Brooklyn rapper SAINt JHN is one of those, and if you want the receipts, I can show you my Spotify Top Songs 2018 playlist where I Heard You Got Too Litt Last Night took the most-played slot by approximately four hundred thousand plays. His third album wraps nine new songs (highlight: Sucks To Be You) and four remixes/reworks (highlight: Monica Lewisky: Election Year, which includes the silliest DaBaby verse of all time) together into a triumphant, vibrant, how-did-you-not-see-this-coming geometric proof that SAINt JHN isn’t up next any more, he’s been here the whole time. His sound is unique and heartfelt, but most importantly — it’s eminently authentic. You believe his lyrics, even at their most embellished. As 2020 limps to the finish line, this album offers a set of musical crutches to get you to the new year.