What your favourite album of 2020 says about you
Sure, 2020 might be the year in which linear time ceased to exist in any meaningful way, but that only serves to make the notion of the year-end list more comforting. By delving into release dates, we’re able to compartmentalise the last 12 months and — if we so choose — banish it forever once we tick over into 2021.
Despite the lack of anything meaningful happening in many of our day-to-day lives, 2020 has been a big year for album releases: some long-planned, and others coming as more of a surprise. And reflecting on your preferences with very specific self-owns is something which doesn’t take a year off (except for last year, when this round-up literally took a year off).
In both 2017 and 2018, I let you know what your favourite album of the year says about you. Were they mostly thinly veiled attacks on my own personality, disguised as attacks on faceless strangers? Inevitably. Anyway, you can read the 2017 one here and the 2018 one here.
If your favourite album of the year isn’t on this list, it’s probably because you didn’t tell me about it directly, and also I more than likely forgot it came out this year.
Anyway, we’re left with… something. ‘Enjoy’.
P.S. two of these entries were written by guest contributors. Try to guess which and who (you don’t need to do this).
The 1975 — Notes on a Conditional Form
You once won a pair of trainers at a pop-up arcade bar.
Adrianne Lenker — songs
You regularly wear two sweaters at the same time.
Alex Chilltown — Eulogies
You correct people when they spell footballers’ names without the proper accents.
All Time Low — Wake Up, Sunshine
You knew All Time Low had an album out this year, which is more damning than anything I could write here.
Ariana Grande — Positions
You broke up with your boyfriend because he wouldn’t wear matching christmas jumpers
Banoffee — Look at Us Now Dad
You choose holiday destinations based on which places sync up best with your Spotify playlists.
Beabadoobee — Fake it Flowers
You are on first name terms with 3 (three) baristas on your street.
The Beths — Jump Rope Gazers
You have started a book group despite only reading New Yorker articles about politicians whose names you have forgotten.
Bright Eyes — Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was
You have a New York Times subscription specifically for the crossword.
Bruce Springsteen — Letter to You
You own a reporter’s notebook which exclusively contains timestamps and shorthand notes from Parts Unknown episodes.
Car Seat Headrest — Making a Door Less Open
You have ordered Korean junk food on the dark web.
Creeper — Sex, Death and the Infinite Void
You bought a car to listen to music in, despite being unable to drive.
Dua Lipa — Future Nostalgia
You have posted and immediately deleted thirty tweets about your sexlife this year
Emmy the Great — April / 月音
You pivoted to sitting down at gigs when you turned 25 and regret nothing.
Fenne Lily — BREACH
You call your local Starbucks ‘The Office’ and you don’t know how many levels of irony you’re on.
Fiona Apple — Fetch the Bolt Cutters
You’re in the clear with this one.
Fontaines D.C. — A Hero’s Death
Your big lockdown purchase was a set of expensive kitchen knives, but you still order three takeaways every week.
Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist — Alfredo
You once considered starting a podcast about podcasts.
Georgia — Seeking Thrills
You once dreamt about a gender-swapped version of the movie Cocktail.
Glass Animals — Dreamland
You decided to ‘become a sashimi person’ for exactly four hours and 12 minutes.
HAIM — Women in Music Pt. III
You have failed your driving test in two separate decades.
Hayley Williams — Petals for Armor
You have considered getting a kitten because you came up with a great pun for its theoretical name.
Headie One x Fred Again — Gang
You have ragequit a game of FIFA after 11 minutes.
Idles — Ultra Mono
You have tweeted ‘Why doesn’t the UK have its own AOC?’ But can only name three female MPs.
Jeff Rosenstock — NO DREAM
Your regular breakfast is expensive black coffee with Haribo fried eggs.
Katie Malco — Failures
You regularly get nostalgic for a specific bar which you’re not certain ever existed.
Kelly Lee Owens — Inner Song
You began microdosing this year because you thought it would help your writing.
The Killers — Imploding the Mirage
Your favourite coffee is ‘Venti’.
Machine Gun Kelly — Tickets to My Downfall
You have two Dropkick Murphys songs on your sex playlist
Matt Berninger — Serpentine Prison
You don’t smoke any more, except when you’re in Paris
The Menzingers — From Exile
You’re ‘desperate for everything to get back to normal’ so you can return to developing unrealistic crushes on bartenders.
Muzz — Muzz
Your Twitter bio says ‘#NowReading Meet Me in the Bathroom’ and has done since 2014
Orchards — Lovecore
You drink bright purple cocktails while watching football and claim it’s out of ‘superstition’ rather than ‘just liking the taste’.
The Orielles — Disco Volador
You haven’t watched a new TV show since Spaced ended, because “that’s where the medium peaked”.
Perfume Genius — Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
You have a list of songs you want to cover, but cannot sing or play any instruments.
Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher
You have only read two books this year, Normal People and Tender is the Night.
Rina Sawayama — Sawayama
You research the soundtrack before buying any video game.
Run the Jewels — RTJ4
You own a Nike x Jeremy Corbyn hoodie
Soccer Mommy — Color Theory
You stick your bluetooth headphones to the fridge with a magnet so you don’t lose them again.
Spanish Love Songs — Brave Faces, Everyone
You rewatch Up every few months just to feel something.
Spillage Village — Spilligion
You have wondered aloud whether smoking weed is permitted on Yom Kippur.
The Strokes — The New Abnormal
You have googled ‘Yoga with Adriene boyfriend’.
Svalbard — When I Die, Will I Get Better?
You wish BoJack Horseman had gone bigger with the rock opera sub-plot.
Taylor Swift — Folklore
Your biggest complaint with The Social Network was its ‘over-simplistic’ portrayal of LiveJournal.
Vistas — Everything Changes in the End
You bought used festival wristbands from eBay when you were 16.
Waxahatchee — Saint Cloud
You like the idea of living on a houseboat… in principle.
