It’s been over 12 years since starting Silence and I’ve done quite a few playlists summing up each year’s “best music”, but I’ve taken this year a bit more seriously. I haven’t been able to keep up posting every song that’s been stuck up in my head this past year, but I’ll start making a habit to at least get it in a yearly round up like the one below.
I’ve been pretty on & off on this “blog” over the years with having a definitive Music of the Year playlist (I plan to go back), but I’ve kept track of my #1 musician more intentionally since 2014. That year it was Doja Cat with her Purrr! EP and this year it’s Doja again for so much more. Which I’ll need another seven years to unpack. But even more than Doja, seeing an afrobeats festival live was my most defining moment of 2021.
It’s crazy how most of my music discovery has been online over the past 25 years (since Napster), but the one thing I’ve learned writing for Silence Nogood is how much more influential it is seeing a musician live. I didn’t get to more than a few festivals in 2021, mostly because of the pandemic, but one festival influenced this best of 2021 playlist the greatest, Lost in Riddim. It introduced me to afrobeats on a level like I’ve never been introduced to any music culture in one weekend. It was a 20 act crash-course into the world’s hotspot in music right now.
The playlist is just over 10% afrobeats and nothing but dance and soul music. I’ve played this list of 50 songs over 50 times all the way through to trim it down as much possible – it started with over 100. That’s days of listening straight to only a few handfuls of music and I never got sick of any one of these 50.
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A special thanks to Liz for being my third and fourth ear on this list. And everyone else listening with me over 12 years++ Sincerely, thank you. Many more to come o_0
As this bitch of a year comes to a close, there isn’t anything better than soulful singers to give it some grace. I haven’t put together a soul singers playlist for about a year, so there’s a lot of musicians to cover (72!)
In our last Lip Service playlist, it had soul, but no women. I think it’s as important as ever to show appreciation to the women you love, and I love these musician. Or I’m sure I would if I knew them.
This one’s for the woman I do, Lizzzz.
First it was Doja Cat from LA. Then A-1 from The Bay. Now we’re back down in Los Angeles for Anderson .Paak.
The LA based rapper has a slyer sound than Kendrick and gets together with producers that are just as good. They’re both very good. But I just can’t put to words how much feeling his music gives me when listening to it.
I was actually just listening to a Renman Live episode, I forget who the guest was, but he talks about how being able to describe why you love an artist & song is essential to A&R. Well, I suck at that, but my voice, not my words, express it better. Unfortunately this is a blog, so you wouldn’t know that.
Our favorite female vocalists of 2014 had a part two and this was going to be it. But so many of them were downtempo electronic, so we decided to make something more specific out of it, and brought in some older tracks.
Our electro relaxations has been our most popular playlist to date, other than the beats to blaze to, and we always wanted to include female vocals over the relaxations. And here it finally is…
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I’ve listened to way too much music this year, probably around 12,000 new tracks (I tried calculating it). Most of the music was.. unfinished, to say the least, but we found a lot more songs worth keeping than any year before it.
A lot of new music emerged or reemerged over the year. Deep house was the big thing, but many discredit it because of the hype. It had its bad with its good. Our favorite new style goes to what doesn’t seem to have an official name yet. I’ve heard many call it kawaii, but I prefer vapor – this naming shit is more important than you’d think.
We’ve got 30 songs to show off, 11 artists and 20 playlists for you, but if that’s not enough… wait ’til next year.
We still get a lot of hip hop submissions, despite our lack of featuring hip hop these days. We did manage to gather a good bunch to show our appreciation for the style that inspired this blog in the first place, including one of our biggest inspirations, Raw Poetic.
Now this list has as many hip hop influences as influences elsewhere, however, the emcee is our focus. The syntax & phonetics rap has brought to music is why we loved it the most in the past and why we love it the most right now.
Doja Cat wasn’t on our best of last year for the very same reason she will be this year. She’s always had a flow and a way with words, but now she’s teamed up with some legitimate producers to have it all.
[Musically]
I feel like Peter Rosenberg talking about Nicki Minaj, before their whole shit show, but Doja’s got the personality & style I haven’t seen in hip hop since I started this thing. I loved her original Nunchucks this time last year, but this new album has one that might top even that.
[Beautiful]
Last time we tried to highlight some of the best female singers of 2013, the top one just so happened to be a man. We wanted to carry on the tradition on this list with Zhu, but decided an honorable mention would probably be more appropriate.
The rest are a fine mix of 17 female singers that have such damn beautiful voices. Every single one of ’em. How all of these ladies haven’t gotten more mainstream airplay this year is beyond me, minus Lykke Li & Little Dragon, but I guess that’s what we’re here for and so are they.
‘So High’ was originally released bout a year back but needed the mastering this latest release brings. Still does nothin for me compared to her ‘Nunchucks,’ now I’d love to see some fuckin around with that. But with this accompanying music video, ‘So High’ will do much more for her mass appeal. It’s Doja’s first fully produced track and it’s a polished prize to showoff that cunning lip of hers.
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I’ve wanted to make a mix of lady vocals ever since I first heard Birdy’s, and finally 2013 has given us more than enough. So for our first best music list of 2013, we get a mix of beautiful singers with producers who deserve half the credit. From pop to garage and disco to rap, you may not love them all, but you better find at least one.
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