#i swear i also listen to GGs 😭; i kept the title of that section in mind

[ueberdemnebelmeer]

here’s my own wrapped because the amount of times i listen to something isn’t necessarily related to how much i like it or treasure it (+ fav albums / tracks of the year used to be a popular tag game on 2016 tumblr and i miss that), so here we go:

2021 RELEASES

💿 “magic still exists”, agnes — don’t you love it when an album’s tracklist is arranged into a seamless flow but its songs don’t blur together in your head? a package of 4 impeccable interludes and 7 delicious pop tracks

💿 “my mamma”, la rappresentante di lista — who does electropop like them, who? no skips album 😘👌

🎵 “coraline”, måneskin — while zitti e buoni was special in its own way (those sanremo stages, the delirium of the esc grand final, this post & many other highs) and i like teatro d’ira vol.1, coraline is the best their discography has to offer (so far). i play it sparingly; there’s something about its palpable rawness as your car’s speakers blast it while you’re the only vehicle for a long stretch of the motorway at twilight...

🎵 “t’amo”, mahmood — his 2nd album wasn’t exactly *bad* but it was a disappointment compared to his debut imo. this song though ❗❗ when the chorus where the choir sings no potho reposare hits...

🎵 “year to year / 29”, yaeji & ohhyuk — a textured double single, a conversation between two artists.

🎵 “飞天 (flying apsaras)”, lay

DISCOVERED IN 2021

💿 “shabrang”, sevdaliza.

💿 “the beirut school”, mashrou’ leila.

💿 “gore”, lous and the yakuza.

💿 “the moon and the melodies” — cocteau twins.

🎵 “all is full of love”, björk — i gave another chance to further tracks of hers i had previously discarded, too (& i have a feeling i’d love homogenic once i put in the effort), but “You'll be given love / You'll be taken care of [...] / You have to trust it / Maybe not from the sources / You have poured yours / Maybe not from the directions / You are staring at / Twist your head around / It's all around you" absolutely stands out (maybe because it personally doesn’t feel like a platitude)

🎵 “我愛你”, cody lee (李) — a bop with a great video, too (thanks @elipsi​​ for the rec)

🎵 “mesecina / moonlight”, goran bregović — makes me belt out gibberish that should resemble serbian & go absolutely apeshit, i love it so much!

🎬 “bless your heart”, serpentwithfeet — its absolutely gorgeous mv was directed by andrew thomas huang, the same guy behind fka twigs’ cellophane & the “kiss of the rabbit god” short film

@cybermaenad​​​ thank you so much for your led zeppelin primer 💜💜 (“achilles last stand” is def among my 2021 highlights)

chaoyang trap’s episode on taiwan’s influence on chinese music yielded many names i’d never heard of before (thanks @elipsi​​ for that playlist, you know the one)

arca — pots! and! pans! reggaeton in the year 3000! the maximalism of it all!

K-POP TRACKS FROM 2021 WORTH LISTENING TO EVEN THOUGH YOU BLACKLISTED THE TAG

“vanilla”, kai (the whole EP actually but i’m restraining myself)

“lullaby”, woodz (+ his “only lovers left” EP but i’m restraining myself)

“bad love”, key (the whole EP actually but i’m restraining myself)

“advice”, taemin — *obviously* 

“don’t call me”, shinee

“moonshot”, n.flying

“lazy”, woosung feat. reddy

“spider”, hoshi

“bittersweet”, wonwoo & mingyu feat. leehi

“crush”, seventeen

“metamorphosis”, mrshll it’s actually k-indie but shh

“bad sad and mad”, bibi

“red lipstick”, leehi

“nakka”, akmu feat. iu