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| Ann Powers, critic and correspondent: I'm not going to pretend that I'd never spent time with her music before, but the voice of Abbey Lincoln always teaches me something new. The great jazz interpreter and composer would have been 90 this year, which marks ten years since her body left the planet. Early in the pandemic I started revisiting her recordings as a way of making space to think within the chaotic present. Her interpretive exactitude helped me breathe more deeply; the drama she brought absorbed and distracted me. In summer, as protest redefined the year, I spent a lot of time with We Insist!, the "Freedom Now" suite she recorded with her then-husband Max Roach, a lodestar of liberation music. Now, in this grey and frightening season, I'm turning to the music of her later-in-life comeback, the sound of a survivor with no f**** to give. In "The World is Falling Down," a blues for lost friends she wrote at 60 and returned to at 77, she shows how grief can be made into a friend, if not overcome, by leavening her pain and awareness of mortality with real warmth and humor. "The world is falling down, hold my hand," Abbey sings. I'm thankful, and in my mind, I do.
Daoud Tyler-Ameen, assistant editor: This summer while the streets of American cities were thick with tear gas, I set out to expand my knowledge of contemporary Black artists making ambient music, which for a few years has been my most trusted refuge from psychic terror. Tieraney Carter is closer to a singer-songwriter, but the music the artist creates as Wizard Apprentice vibrates with the generative pulse of a modular synthesist. “Betrayal Internalized,” part of a concept album about an abusive relationship, is a feat of dissociative understatement, its detached vocal performance triple-underlining the trauma buried in the words.
Elle Mannion, NPR Events, Tiny Desk Contest: Joan Armatrading’s self-titled album, released in 1976 (exactly 20 years before I was born), is a masterclass, exploring themes of solitude, intimacy, indecision and affection. I had somehow fully forgotten about the album often credited with launching Armatrading’s mainstream success since hearing the tape hundreds of times while in the womb and then from the backseat of my childhood minivan. In a trying year, rediscovering Armatrading’s soulful alto voice and exquisite guitar riffs felt like a satisfying comfort — the way only an earworm from your childhood can.
Lars Gotrich, Viking: Bandcamp sent me down several rabbit holes this year, and while exploring Spain's punk scene, I immediately fell hard for 2005's Juego Entrópico by the Barcelona trio Nueva Vulcano. Imagine the gruff melodicism of Jawbreaker, but en español, with a sparkling energy and intricately dense arrangements. The band's still going, and just released the equally earnest and catchy Ensayo.
Lauren Onkey, senior director: I spent time this year discovering the nooks and crannies of Paul McCartney’s solo career — I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, but I missed a lot of albums and side projects along the way. In the ’90s, he collaborated with Youth in a duo known as The Fireman, which I somehow ignored when it happened. It was the right year to find Rushes, a haunting, melancholic sound collage that feels like grief.
Lyndsey McKenna, assistant editor: I grew up listening to '90s country radio in the backseat of my mom’s car, so there’s something deeply comforting about the format, despite its many flaws. Unlike pop or hip-hop stations, on country radio, it takes a slow burn for singles to climb the charts, meaning some of 2020’s most-played songs were released in 2019. I spent much of this year living with family, which meant marathon listening sessions of country radio. One year after release, I’m embarrassed to admit I completely slept on Jon Pardi’s Heartache Medication and Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get.
Marissa Lorusso, NPR Music & Events: Before this year, I was certainly aware of OutKast’s biggest hits, which are many, but I had never really spent time with the duo's classic albums like Aquemini and Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. This summer, as I started working on The South Got Something To Say, NPR Music’s Southern hip-hop canon, I committed to catching up — and by November, I tuned into our Stankonia listening party grateful for my (belated) crash course in the canonical group’s output and legacy.
Nikki Birch, Jazz Night In America: I start collecting songs for my family’s Christmas playlist pretty early each year — like, August early. I love to have a mix of classic favorites and new, fresh tunes so the playlist doesn’t get stale. This year’s search was especially rewarding. When I discovered Marvin Gaye’s “Purple Snowflakes,” I couldn’t believe I’d never heard it before. How did this gem escape my radar? It’s so incredibly soulful, and to hear one of my favorite crooners singing velvety holiday newness (to my ears, anyway) — that’s one of the best gifts I’ve received this year.
Otis Hart, senior manager: I had never heard of deceased country songwriter Eddie Rabbitt prior to 2020. It wasn't until I decided to make Top 50 Songs lists for each year between 1980 and 2019 (my quarantine therapy) that I stumbled upon his 1981 hit "Step By Step," and wow, did I fall hard for this perfect blend of country, AOR and slo-mo disco. (For the record, I ranked it No. 14 that year, between The Clean's "Tally Ho" and ABBA's "When All Is Said And Done.") |
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