60:

Don’t Be So Serious by Low Roar

This is such an amazing tune. You may know it as Don’t Be So Serious by Low Roar, or you may know it as “That song at the start of Death Stranding”. Either way, you probably don’t know it, sadly. It’s a very cinematic song and it’s easy to see why Hideo Kojima picked it to open his game. It fits that intro perfectly and it’s used so well.

I love the slow burn of the opening, I love how it branches from there and the vocal effects that fit so well into the overall sound. Low Roar have other songs but this so far is the standout from what I’ve been able to listen to.

59:

Addicted by Shaun Frank / Violet Days

This is such a great pop tune. I know nothing of Shaun Frank, I came here for Violet Days. First heard her when she was supporting The Midnight in Manchester when I saw them live. She was great although almost overshadowed by her very animated keyboardist. The song has a great rhythm and it’s brought to life by her great vocal hooks.

58:

Seventeen by The Midnight

I mentioned them so they showed up again. I’m honestly a little burnt out on them at the moment, so I’ll just say I really like this, it’s got a great tone and it’s classic Midnight style synth fodder.

57:

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

Rumours is one of my fave albums so it was nice to see a new generation of people discover this song in 2020, thanks to Dogface’s cool TikTok. Hopefully those people that were new to it stuck with Fleetwood Mac and discovered the rest of their work as it’s all fucking great. The Pumpkin Head video was far superior to the original TikTok by the way.

Since I mentioned it, here’s the best take on the original TikTok video.

56:

Keepin’ On by Myrone

I don’t remember at all where this came from, but I do love it. A really great modern take on 80s synth. When people get this right, it works so fucking well. I don’t imagine it’s easy to do, and I’ve heard plenty of songs that aim for an authentic feeling and come up short. Something else that I like about this is that it almost has a sense of “Crying At The Discoteque” to it, which is never a bad thing since Alcazar’s dance classic is a masterpiece.

55:

Eyes Without A Face by Billy Idol

So, I guess we’ll write about this for like the 100th year in a row. Did you know that for the video he had to wear special contact lenses and because of the heat in the room they fused to his eyeballs? I think I may have mentioned that before. If I did I apologise! If I didn’t, you learnt something!

54:

Vampires by The Midnight

CLASSIC Midnight. Another contender for their best song. Just listen to that fucking saxophone! Side note, Saxophone players should be called “Sax Workers”. Vampires was one of the first Midnight songs that I heard. Right now I can’t even remember how I found them. Like at all. This is what happens when you write these at 3am after only sleeping for a couple of hours. Oh well, on we crack. Actually, crack might not be a bad idea right about now.

53:

Dance Monkey by Tones And I

A modern song with a great video. Oh so scarce nowadays. This is a really great tune. Tones and I, or Toni Watson has yet to release an album but it’s looking fairly promising off the back of this and her only EP release. Sadly her other singles haven’t faired as well as this song, but from what I’ve heard that isn’t down to a lack of quality. I guess with the style she’s in and the way she sings she is running the risk of being a bit samey, but fingers crossed she breaks that.

52:

Got A Feeling by The K’s

Kate got me into The K’s after sending me one of their songs to listen to. Following on from Tones and I, they also don’t have an album out yet. Once again the singles and such have been top notch. I really like their pacey style that’s got a lovely kick of old Brit Pop to it. Jamie Boyle’s diction is perfectly placed for the musical style also. He’s got a truly great delivery.

51:

Hazy Shade Of Winter by Gerard Way / Ray Toro

I mean this is just a shitty version of a truly brilliant song, isn’t it! Ha, no, I do like this, or it wouldn’t be 51st on the chart. Created for advertising Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy on Netflix, they did a pretty decent job of capturing The Bangles version of the Simon and G-Funk original. I assume, and I’ll be wrong, that they didn’t just cover it outright since they’d want the long intro to play with cinematically, and also to build up anticipation of that perfect riff.