On “Lilacs,” she sings against a simple yet soulful instrumental bed of keyboards, jangly guitar, and a relentlessly ticking drum that simulates the passage of time. Those are three words to describe Megan Thee Stallion’s explosive “Savage” 2020 takeover thanks to the power of TikTok and dance creators Keara Wilson and the Nae Nae Twins. List of Movies, TV Shows, Videogames, and Albums Postponed by the Coronavirus. All we could ask for in a pandemic year, and whatever lies beyond.–Caitlin White, Critics Votes: Ilana Kaplan, Roz Farrell, Caitlin Wolper, Chloe Gilke, Joshua Kirk, Mark Wesley, Shannon Carlin, Justin Curto, Joseph Kain, Trace William Cowen, Konstantinos Pappis, Lexi Lane. Added Dec. 22: Columbus Alive, Contactmusic, Yahoo! (Rise is tied at #1 in a few lists. STAR - Incredible technical proficiency marked by performance consistency and intonation accuracy as well as great musicality. The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". Enjoy digging in and hopefully finding some new tunes to throw in the rotation. Katie Crutchfield has ranked among the finest singer-songwriters working in indie rock for years. 2. Jay Z (Eddy “Precise” Lamarre), Jeff Rosenstock — “Scram!” (Michael Tedder, Ethan Gordon), John Prine — “I Remember Everything” (Holly Gleason), Kareem Ali — “Changed My Life” (Elias Leight), Kes and Iwer George — “Stage Gone Bad” (Erin MacLeod), Kevin Morby — “Don’t Underestimate Midwest American Sun” (Carolyn Droke), Khruangbin and Leon Bridges — “Texas Sun” (Eric Swedlund), Khurangbin — “So We Won’t Forget” (David Ma), King Von — “Took Her To The O” (Justin Hunte), Kylie Minogue — “Say Something” (Mark J. Marraccini), Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande — “Rain On Me” (Evan Sawdey, Marcus Jones), Laura Marling — “Song For Our Daughter” (Sarah MacDonald), Laura Stevenson — “Time Bandits” (Sean Craig), Lil Baby — “Emotionally Scarred” (Cherise Johnson), Lil Baby — “The Bigger Picture” (Eric Diep), Lil Baby — “We Paid” Feat. @ NormanAlee: I guess you've made my point, @tacticalcraptic: Dylan is 7th on the overall list, so no the problem is not the reviews (and minority is not just about a ratio), Finally a year without rap dominating in top 10. Cardi B wins again either way. Those with a talent for song critique may even find work for a newspaper or media journal offering music criticisms. The project saw a shift to synthwave for the Canadian singer, which is highlighted on “Blinding Lights.” The track topped the singles chart and became the singer’s fifth song to do so. You know what it means, you know how it fits into the grand scheme of the raunchy sex anthems before it and you can speculate about the dozens more it will inevitably enable. Added Dec. 1: Consequence of Sound, Gorilla vs. Bear, OOR, Stereogum "TLOU2 won? (We do include unranked lists of 11-20 items, though each album gets just one-half of a point.) Enya — "A Day Without Rain" (2000) Critic score: 41/100. by The Soft Pink Truth, What Kinda Music by Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes, HOA 10, 11 and 12 compilations by Various artists, Child Soldier: Creator of God by Greg Puciato, Post Human: Survival Horror by Bring Me the Horizon, Un Canto por México, Vol. Trading belligerent, battle-ready bars over a beat that sounds like a piano falling off a cliff during the apocalypse, Run The Jewels ups their RTJ4 lead single’s cool factor by bringing in Gang Starr’s own DJ Premier to scratch the hell out of the song’s eminently danceable 30 second outro.–Aaron Williams, Critics Votes: Ryan O’Connell, Kyle McGovern, Ben Kaye, Tim Grierson, Classy, bougie, ratchet. Added Dec. 4: Crack, Entertainment Weekly, NBHAP, Punktastic, Resident, Rolling Stone, Sister Ray Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping. This page will be updated at least once a day throughout December and January as new lists are published; be sure to check back frequently. 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The Last of Us II rated the best? Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow (Stefanie Fernández, Andrew Casillas), Bartees Strange — “Mustang” (Tony Inglis), Beauty Pill — “Instant Night” (Glenn Francis Griffith), Benny The Butcher and Freddie Gibbs — “One Way Flight” (Andre Gee), Bill Callahan — “Pigeons” (Justin Barney), Blinker The Star — “Juvenile Universe” (Saby Reyes-Kulkarni), Bob Dylan — “I Contain Multitudes” (Jeremy Shatan), Bob Mould — “American Crisis” (Michaelangelo Matos), Bobby Bare — “Great American Saturday Night” (Kaleb Horton), Bonnie Light Horseman — “Deep In Love” (Tiffany Wong), Brent Cobb — “Shut Up And Sing” (Bobby Moore), Brent Faiyaz — “Been Away” (Mikala Horne), Brett Eldredge — “Sunday Drive” (Craig Manning, Mark Grondin), Bullion — “We Had A Good Time” (Nathan Mattise), Busta Rhymes — “Look Over Your Shoulder” Feat. Club, Clash, DIY, Dork, The Economist, The Fader, Mic, Our Culture, People, PopSugar, USA Today, Variety You know about the over-the-top reactions, the runaway popularity, the memes, the impact. Added Jan. 11: Chorus.fm, Echoes, Nialler9 Music Critics are employed by newspapers and blogs to interview musicians, review performances and albums, and sometimes cover music news. “Blinding Lights” also took a number of awards this year and grew to be the most successful single of The Weeknd’s career.–Wongo Okon, Critics Votes: Spencer Patterson, Candace McDuffie, Vanessa Franko, Alex Frank, Neil Z. Yeung, Jarred Howard, Kent Wolgamott, What is there left to say about this song? Below are the results of NPR Music's 8th Annual Jazz Critics Poll (my 15th, going back to the poll's beginnings in the Village Voice). “Circle The Drain” is a perfect example of this goal, a warm and breezy track on the surface, but with lyrics that are not subtle in their message: “I’ve been falling apart these days,” Allison sings. Added Dec. 8: Billboard, Noisey, Pitchfork, Riff Magazine, Sonic Magazine, Treble, Uproxx/Indie Mixtape, The Wire 1 by Sturgill Simpson, Manger On McNichols by Boldy James & Sterling Toles, Various projects by Terrace Martin/Dinner Party, All the Things You Do by Rebecca Hennessy, Guitar Improvisations I-VI by orchestramaxfieldparrish, Alive in the Wildnerness by Endless Field, Dream Songs: The Essential Joe Hisaishi by Joe Hisaishi, Songs of Loss and Healing by Douglas MacGregor, We're New Again – A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven. 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