Screenshot of the music video for “Yo Visto Así” by There Stands the Glass.
The sound of doomsday filled my ears this year. Listening to anything other than harsh ambient noise during a period of societal tumult, political chaos and deadly pandemic felt like escapist folly.
My forthcoming list of the year’s top albums is loaded with foreboding instrumental works echoing the harrowing tenor of the times. Yet all is not lost. I’m quarantined with my life partner, the sun still rises every morning and the memory of January’s trip of a lifetime is fresh. The music released by Bad Bunny in 2020 reflects everything good in my life. And there’s a lot of it.
Three outstanding Bad Bunny albums- February’s YHLQMDLG, May’s Las Que No Iban a Salir and November’s El Último Tour Del Mundo- operated as essential sonic mood elevators. The Puerto Rican’s delirious stylistic range extending well beyond reggaeton averted musical monotony as I managed my mental health through his music.
Bad Bunny is a goofball and his odd vocal tics may repel less forgiving pop fans. Yet his joyous songs helped me steer clear of an emotional abyss in 2020. Toss in a slew of excellent music videos and the year’s most exciting livestream event and Bad Bunny is the obvious choice for my artist of the year.
Honorable mention: Moor Mother, Westside Gunn, Megan Thee Stallion, Blackstarkids and Meredith Monk.