2020 Year-End Music Round-Up Wrap-Up Extravaganza

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No one could have predicted a year like 2020. The live music industry is on life support. Bandcamp came through just about better than anyone else to support music. And there was a ton of great music released this year.

Per the norm, I do not rank albums. Music is not a competition and my taste is not your taste. So, after lots of thought and list-shuffling and winnowing, these are the 75 albums that really stood out for me. My original list was quite a bit longer (and you can always keep up in real-time by following the Yearly Bookkeeping page), so I can tell you that this list provides a great overview of my music listening for this crazy year.

Here are my favorite 75 albums of 2020.

The Visual List:

The Alphabet List:

  1. Live at Tubby's by 75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band

  2. Shaman! by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids

  3. Time is A Gift Which We Share All The Time by Afriquoi

  4. Rejoice by Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela

  5. Live by Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood

  6. Fu Chronicles by Antibalas 

  7. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

  8. Roy Ayers JID002 by Roy Ayers, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad

  9. Ex-Voto by Jamie Barnes

  10. Please Advise by Beauty Pill

  11. Crash Test Kid by Sammy Brue

  12. Long In The Tooth by the Budos Band

  13. Regresa by Buscabulla

  14. Shadow Talk by Café Racer

  15. Echo Mine by Califone

  16. Gold Record by Bill Callahan

  17. Have We Met by Destroyer

  18. I Just Wasn't Made For These Set Times by Dire Wolves (Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band)

  19. Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan

  20. Afternoon Tea at Six by Eishan Ensemble

  21. Acoustic Storm Sessions by Elkhorn

  22.  Kahil El’Zabar’s Spirit Groove by Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray

  23. Wake Up! by Hazel English

  24. Shore by Fleet Foxes

  25. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.

  26. Peoples Motel Band by Chris Forsyth and Garcia Peoples

  27. SOURCE by Nubya Garcia

  28. Nightcap at Wits' End by Garcia Peoples

  29. Big Dark Bright Futures by Growing Concerns Poetry Collective

  30. Women In Music Pt. III by Haim

  31. Infinity Of Now by the Heliocentrics

  32. National Freedom by Lonnie Holley

  33. Muerto, Carcel o Rocanroll by Huntingtons

  34. Beginners by Christian Lee Hutson

  35. Reuinions by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

  36. Babani Koné by Babani Koné

  37. Mutation by Les Freres Smith

  38. 2020 by Magik Markers

  39. Eno Axis by H.C. McEntire

  40. Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock

  41. Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones

  42. Circles by Mac Miller

  43. Dimensional Stardust by Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra

  44. Annual by Modern Nature

  45. Getting Into Knives by the Mountain Goats

  46. Staunch Honey by David Nance

  47. Three by the Necks

  48. Rob Noyes & Sam Moss by Rob Noyes & Sam Moss

  49. We No Be Machine by Onipa

  50. Jams From The Sun by Oregon Space Trail of Jazz

  51. High Upon The Mountain by Pacific Range

  52. Suite For Max Brown by Jeff Parker

  53. Summerlong by Rose City Band

  54. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels

  55. Landwerk demos by Nathan Salsburg

  56. Acoustic by Oumou Sangaré

  57. Untitled (Black Is) by Sault

  58. We Are Sent Here By History by Shabaka and the Ancestors

  59. The Don of Diamond Dreams by Shabazz Palaces

  60. Ocean Bridges by Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk

  61. Companion Rises by Six Organs of Admittance

  62. Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? by The Soft Pink Truth

  63. Optimisme by Songhoy Blues

  64. Swirling by Sun Ra Arkestra

  65. Oh Yeah? by Sunwatchers

  66. Wooden Flower by Tambourinen

  67. Folklore by Taylor Swift

  68. Nomad by Tengger

  69. Sun Racket by Throwing Muses

  70. Siftorde by Tidiane Thiam

  71. New Vanitas by William Tyler

  72. The Great Mountain by Waterless Hills

  73. Eau’d To A Fake Bookie Volume 3 by Wet Tuna

  74. Strange to Explain by Woods

  75. Homegrown by Neil Young

  • Browse Volume 01 of my 2020 favorites playlist

  • Browse Volume 02 of my 2020 favorites playlist

  • Browse Volume 03 of my 2020 favorites playlist

  • Browse Volume 04 of my 2020 favorites playlist

  • Browse Volume 05 of my 2020 favorites playlist



Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 02)

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Volume 02 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

  1. “Single For The Summer” by Christian Lee Huston

  2. “Off My Mind” by Hazel English

  3. “Crimson Tide” by Destroyer

  4. “NTE” by Buscabulla

  5. “We Don't Smoke It No More” by Neil Young

  6. “If The Truth Ever Shows Up” by David Nance

  7. “Die Before You Live” by Sammy Brue

  8. “Not Penny’s Boat” by Huntingtons

  9. “Empty Bottle” by Rose City Band

  10. “Out The Window” by Café Racer

  11. “Nektar” by Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray

  12. “Jams From The Sun (Part III)” by Oregon Space Trail of Jazz

  13. “F&N” by 75 Dollar Bill

  • asfd

Huntingtons: "Muerto, Carcel, O Rocanrol"

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During the summer between 6th and 7th grade, a friend gave me an unmarked cassette. He had an older brother who listened to a lot of different music. Anyway, not only was the cassette unlabeled, it was so worn that it was no longer even clear which side was A or B. Nor did my friend care to tell me what was on the cassette. He just said: “Listen to this, it’s my brother’s current favorite band.”

That night when I went to bed, I put it in my little boombox and pressed play while I got right up next to the speakers because I didn’t have earphones and I didn’t want to get in trouble for listening to music when I was supposed to be going to sleep. This was my introduction to punk rock.

I now know that my entry was Side B of Social Distortion’s classic Mommy’s Little Monster. But I didn’t know that at the time. I just knew that this was music whose immediacy I related with. The angst and what seemed to me to be a quagmire of suburban-consumerist-apathy.

That entry led me to bands like T.S.O.L., The Damned, The Vandals, J.F.A., Decsendents, Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, The Exploited, and too many others to mention, though, in one way or another, many of them all seemed to pay homage in some way to The Ramones. That’s not to say that there were a lot of bands intentionally trying to sound like the Ramones, it was just that the Ramones had put something into the DNA of punk rock in a way that it was difficult for many bands not to owe something to the Ramones. But, then again, of course, there were bands that were intentionally trying to sound like the Ramones.

Is it possible to write about Baltimore punk band Huntingtons without referencing The Ramones? Probably, but this is not that piece. The band has worn their affections on their sleeves and they’ve never been shy of their love for The Ramones. The Hungtingtons not only released an album of Ramones covers called (tongue-in-cheek?) File Under Ramones that was so convincing that Joey Ramone picked them as his backing band for two shows at the legendary CBGBs.

Muerto, Carcel, o Rocanrol is the band’s first new music in 17 years and their 23rd release in all. Though the band has gone through a series of lineup changes over the years, the sound has remained consistent and this time around the band is made up of: Mike Holt (vocals/bass) Jonathan “Cliffy” Walker (guitars/vocals) Josh Blackway (guitars/vocals) and Chris Eller (drums).

The album charges out of the gate with the title track, letting you know exactly what themes we’re going to explore.

On the couch at 9:30,
Can’t keep my eyes open any more
Got no interest in the TV
Might be new, but I’ve seen it all before

Took a listen, to your playlist,
Tried my best, but man, it’s not my thing
The Modern Royals might get your worship
but if you ask me J is still the king

It’s fine by me to not agree
and I’m aware
but I’m too old to care

How do punks grow up? Maybe punk rock was never meant to grow up? The Huntington’s new album clings to the angst and energy of youth but sees through weary eyes. Time takes its toll and weighs us down. Alcohol reliance comes up several times, leading one to wonder just how autobiographical the lyrics might be. These is still fast-paced pop-punk but it’s seen too much to pretend to be carefree. But neither does it take itself too seriously. The band’s press release reflects on the title’s significance:

“Muerto” (Dead) is where the band could have been, had they given up on their career completely in 2005, when they played a “final show”. “Carcel” (Jail) is where they would be had they continued using the same 3 chords, playing the same small clubs, covering endless amounts of Ramones songs and never branching out or taking risks. “O Rocanrol” (Or Rock-N-Roll) is where they are: doing what they want, when they want, and doing it louder, faster, with more attitude and a deeper meaning behind the songs.”

My favorite track “Not Penny’s Boat” looks soberly at growing old, admitting that sometimes life is hard and doesn’t seem to make sense.

“Can’t focus on what I can’t change
Got too much on my mind
Been wasting too much time
Today, I put hope in the wrong place”

“Remember when we said
that we’d never do it any other way?
But now, looking through the looking glass,
it seems too late.”

The band recently released “Thank God For The Bomb” as the second single along with a short documentary about the song and the album. Again we hear the angst of aging punks trying to reconcile growing up in a genre that doesn’t want to.

“Met so many people
Been so many places
But the end is always near
So we press on
’Till it’s all gone
Thankful for the ones who’ve carried on

There’s no worry about tomorrow
Tomorrow’s just another day
It’s ours; we take it where we want to
There’s never been a price to pay
We’ll be OK”

We press on, thankful for the ones who’ve carried on.

Catch the band out on tour:

  • 2/7 - Baltimore, MD @ Zen West

  • 2/8 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club

  • 2/29 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Bourre

  • 3/28 - Washington DC @ the Velvet Lounge

  • 4/1 - Baltimore, MD @ the Ottobar

  • 4/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ Connie’s Ric Rac

  • 5/23 - Wilmington, DE @ 1984

  • 7/16-19 - Bergamo Italy @ Punk Rock Raduno

  • 8/7-8 - Frostburg, MD @ Savage Mountain Fest

  • Follow The Huntingtons at Facebook.

  • Purchase Huntingtons merchandise at Store Frontier.

  • Follow the Huntingtons at Instagram.

  • Purchase Huntingtons music at Amazon.