The 2024 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #1

 #1. LØLØ - wish i was a robot

Track: wish i was a robot
Artist: LØLØ
Album: falling for robots and wishing i was one

 

A newly discovered artist at #1! How fantastic! Not only did LØLØ land at #1 for the best song, but also the most played (and favorite) album of the year, with songs like "faceplant", "*snow in berlin*", and "2 of us" getting heavy streams the last 6 months of the year. It was a riotous ascension for an artist that I wouldn't normally expect to be someone who I found to be a new favorite. 

Yeah, it's weird writing that. The Classic Crime was an old favorite band, Forever Unknown and VNV Nation were all-time faves, and Teenage Wrist was an up-and-coming new shoegaze powerhouse. LØLØ? Alt-pop? A mid-20s TikTok sensation signed to Fearless, whose songs are all written in lowercase letters? Come on, man. There's no way I loved this album as much as I did.................. but here we are! The most listened to song of the year, no less. 

Sandwiched in-between the two biggest singles from falling for robots and wishing i was one, "wish i was a robot" is a simple story about how the protagonist hates their emotional and wants to be cold and cybernetic. But in more poetic terms. The singer sounds tongue-in-cheek with a lot of her more serious songs, which I definitely appreciate because she can do it (for the most part) without losing the power of what she is saying. 

Year end review coming up after Christmas! Happy Music to you!

Favorite line: "cuz I wouldn't have feelings, or be emotional - I wouldn't need healing or be so insecure".

Previous five #1s:

2023: The Classic Crime - Alone in the City
2022: Forever Unknown - sad people, blue eyes
2021: Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline
2020: Lilieae - Level
2019: VNV Nation - Only Satellites

The 2024 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #2

 #2. Metric - Days Of Oblivion

Title: Days of Oblivion
Artist: Metric
Album: Formentera II

Two things that are simultaneously true - Metric is making its third appearance on the Countdown, and I never thought I'd see Metric here again, especially after the humdrum of Formentera, and honestly each of their last 3 albums that I couldn't listen all the way through. Hard to believe that it's the same band that released one of my favorite albums of the decade with 2009's Fantasies. 

Formentera II actually has several solid hits, including "Descendents" and "Who Wuld You Be For Me", but it was "Days Of Oblivion" that immediately rocketed to the top and held steady. In fact, for the first half of the year I was convinced that "Days..." would end up on top. The airy guitars, bumpy bass, and tremendous breakdown on the chorus made for fantastic listening all throughout 2023. But there was one song that rewrote the book when it was released.

What will it be? Stay tuned!

Favorite line: "It turns out these were the days - the ashes of disaster drift to you, all your dreams of change are coming true"

Previous five #2s:

2023: The Broken Relics - Rodeo
2022: Rammstein - Lügen
2021: The Struts - Another Hit of Showmanship (ft Albert Hammond Jr)
2020: Purity Ring - stardew
2019: The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam

The 2024 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #3

 #3. Watershed - Hey Lydia

Title: Hey Lydia
Artist: Watershed
Album: Blow It Up Before It Breaks

 

Speaking of Columbus legends, the unstoppable Watershed finally grace the Countdown with "Hey Lydia", a release that the band has kicked around live for a while and finally made its way on to a full-length LP release. The album has a ton of fantastic songs, from the title track, to "Hey Lydia", "Best Worst Night", "Another Night In The Ruts", and everything in between. I've always loved the dual vocal work between guitarist Colin Gawel and bassist Joe Oestreich, and the band just keeps pumping out solid rock'n'roll and proving why they're one of the most revered acts in this state.

Favorite line: "I know the party started early but soon it’s getting late, and I’m not leaving here all alone"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous five #3s:

2023: White Lies - Trouble In America

2022: Ronnie Martin - From the Womb of the Morning, The Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours
2021: Acceptance - At the Edge of the Earth
2020: White Reaper - Real Long Time
2019: Smith & Thell - Forgive Me Friend