2020: The worst year of the 2020s
Amirite? But hey, even in the darkest of times, there were some bright spotsâ200 of them to be exact, as evinced by my playlist of the yearâs most enjoyable quarantunes/COVID-core/pandemica.
Here are my Top 20 albums of 2020, from A to Yves:
The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You
The Chats - High Risk Behaviour
Death Valley Girls - Under the Spell of Joy
The Flaming Lips - American Head
Fontaines D.C. - A Heroâs Death
Jade Hairpins - Harmony Avenue
Jessie Ware - Whatâs Your Pleasure
Mourning [A] BlkSTAR - The Cycle
Porridge Radio - Every Bad
Thurston Moore - By the Fire
Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
And these were the 20 best uses of screen time to take your mind off the impending apocalypse:
Better Call Saul (Season 5)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 10)
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Iâll Be Gone in the Dark
The Mandalorian (Season 2)
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In a year where all corners of the music industry experienced unfathomable upheaval and hardship, I was grateful to have the opportunity to put my byline on these pieces:
At Stereogum: my 20th-anniversary retrospective on Primal Screamâs still-radical XTRMNR.Â
At NOW Magazine: To preview of Wavelengthâs 20th-anniversary celebrations, I put together a list of 10 largely forgotten albums that defined Toronto in the year 2000.
At Spotify for Artists: I spoke to several musicians about how theyâve adjusted to the new post-COVID normal. Orville Peck and Sarah Harmer shared their pointers for performing livestream shows. By contrast, Tim Burgess of The Charlatans UK, Joe Talbot of IDLES, Murray Lightburn of The Dears, and Linnea Siggelkow, a.k.a. Ellis, discussed their novel strategies for staying connected with fans while isolatingâwithout performing. And Jehnny Beth of Savages talked about diversifying her skill set to include TV talk-show host duties.Â
At Ticketmaster: A view of the COVID crisis from the promoterâs perspectiveâI spoke to Shaun Bowring of The Garrison and Baby G in Toronto about becoming a full-time advocate for independent venues in Canada seeking government relief.
At Pitchfork: I reviewed 25 records for the site this year, but I was especially stoked to write about Waresâ Survival, The Flaming Lipsâ American Head, The Rolling Stonesâ Goats Head Soup reissue, Death Valley Girlsâ Under the Spell of Joy, and TV Freaksâ People.Â
At Q on CBC Radio One: I produced the showâs interviews with Meg Remy of U.S. Girls, David Arquette, Lucy Liu, Machine Gun Kelly, Sam Roberts, and David Cross, among others.Â
And I had a great time on the Alphabetical Fugazi podcast going deep on the Red Medicine quasi-ballad, âForensic Sceneâ (while also doing a practice run of my future TED Talk, âFugazi are The Beatles of Post-Hardcoreâ). Â
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Though it may seem pointless to put together a Best Concerts of 2020 list, I was able to catch a few stellar sets before everything went dark (and at least one after). I can only hope my 2021 list will be a lot longer.Â
Chastity @ The Casbah (1/15)
Owen Pallett @ Hamilton Winterfest (2/8)
U.S. Girls @ The Paradise Theatre (2/15)
The Sadies @ the York Parkade rooftop (9/27)