The 10 best songs of 2021 – The Michigan Daily

Found on this list are boisterous anthems played the world over; beautiful, intimate ballads and boundary-pushing, underground hits. Although the songs featured in this article are of great diversity, they all share a common thread excellence. Theres no doubt each of the songs on this list will end up in the music history books. In no particular order, here are the 10 songs the writers in The Michigan Daily Music Beat believe to be the best of 2021.

Kai Bartol, Music Beat Editor and Rosa Sofia Kaminski, Senior Arts Editor

family ties, Baby Keem ft. Kendrick Lamar

family ties will undoubtedly go down as one of the defining songs of our current musical era. Featuring Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem, two of the most in-vogue rappers, this track represents Keems mainstream breakout and new beginnings for Kendrick.

Unapologetic in all aspects of its production, family ties exudes the confidence of two artists who fully understand their significance. Cocky lines such as Kendricks Smokin on your top five tonight and Keems The girl of your dreams to me is a fan are substantiated by the tracks downright fantastic production. The songs blistering instrumentals include boisterous horns and manic 808s that swerve through multiple tonal shifts, combining with Keems marathon-level delivery to elevate the track from song to spectacle.

family ties will amp you up and leave you exhilarated. It reminds you that Keem and Kendrick are running the show and proves theyll have much more to offer in the future.

Kai Bartol, Music Beat Editor

INDUSTRY BABY Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow

Lil Nas X really has a knack for controversy and writing memorable tunes. INDUSTRY BABY is undoubtedly one of the catchiest earworms of 2021.

Its loud, boisterous brass and snare drums call back to marching bands and give it a triumphant sound, with an absolutely addictive hook. Its rebellious and still has that outsider underdog feel to it, despite its production value. Jack Harlows verse fits well with the song, though his role in the music video seems a little misplaced. Lil Nas X injects humor, sexiness and attitude into an absolutely captivating performance.

Put best by one commenter on YouTube, Salvador Rodona: Never thought Id see a male version of WAP.

Jason Zhang, Daily Arts Writer

SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE, Tyler, The Creator

The longest song from Tyler, The Creators latest album, SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE features rare emotional vulnerability on an album that is otherwise defined by Tylers extravagance and tasteful arrogance.

Musically, the track is upbeat with dynamic and diverse instrumentals influenced by R&B, West Coast hip hop, jazz and reggae, but lyrically, the song has a completely different tone. In the first half, Tyler sings about a romantic relationship, stating his love is so strong a diamond couldnt put a dent in it. However, in the second half, Tyler slowly expresses mixed emotions about his love, culminating in one of the best rap verses on CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST where Tyler boldly reveals he wishes he never even met the person he fell in love with.

Despite being nearly 10 minutes long, every second of SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE is memorable thanks to its captivating blend of musical styles and emotional themes. Once again, Tyler, The Creator has leveled up as a musician and raised the bar for modern hip-hop.

Jack Moeser, Daily Arts Writer

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylors Version) (From the Vault), Taylor Swift

Taylor Swifts Red (Taylors Version) broke the internet and made one of Swifts most beloved albums into one of the top albums of the year.

The most highly anticipated track off the rerecording was certainly the frequently teased 10-minute version of fan-favorite, All Too Well. While the 10-minute version stayed true in many ways to the original release, the additions and overall feeling of the song absolutely shocked fans, completely taking the world by storm. The track became the longest song to ever chart at number one and the longest song to ever be performed on Saturday Night Live.

Despite the sheer mass of the track, it truly is as marvelous as everyone says. Its a full story, a full relationship, in the span of one track. The heartbreak and the memories are palpable in the lyrics, and Swifts tender and intimate emotional revisitation of a 10-year-old track is baffling in its cutting realness. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylors Version) (From the Vault) is a beautiful trip down memory lane that will stick in our minds for a long time to come.

Gigi Ciulla, Daily Arts Writer

BIG PERSONA, Maxo Kream ft. Tyler, The Creator

The lead single off of Weight of the World, Maxo Kreams third studio album, this boisterous southern rap tune, definitely fits into the sonic trend of this portion of Tyler, The Creators career.

He has expressed that his most recent studio album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, is intended to emulate the legendary King of Philly: Gangsta Grillz tapes of yore. BIG PERSONA doesnt deviate from this trend. The thunderous horns that comprise the beats main melody have become staples of Tylers recent production work as a result of their heavy use by Gangsta Grillz mastermind DJ Drama. However, Tyler also throws in a subtle homage to Maxos hometown of Houston with the songs drums, which have a slower, lilting pattern that has become a trademark of the citys hip-hop sound.

Its nice to hear both artists, who have reputations for conveying phenomenal pain and heartsickness in their music, celebrate their success together and have a little bit of rambunctious fun.

Ryan Brace, Daily Arts Writer

Hotel Breakfast, Bladee

Bladees Hotel Breakfast off of The Fool was by far his most popular release of 2021 and is slowly becoming his most listened to track of all time on streaming services.

Despite the songs controversy among more devoted fans, as well as the Swedish rappers unstable reputation within internet music circles, its undeniable how immediately fun and strikingly memorable Hotel Breakfast can be. It doesnt take itself too seriously, but still manages to cultivate a sense of sincerity through Bladees ethereal yet catchy vocals. Its melodic and unforgettable; itll make you laugh, itll make you think, itll make you sing, itll tell you a story its simply Bladee at his best.

And if youre a fan of hip-hop, rap or lyricism, you will not fail to see the genius, the beauty and the emotion behind one of the most incredible bars in recent memory: Im Bladee, she call me Bladee-y.

Conor Durkin, Daily Arts Writer

Heart Storm, Serpentwithfeet ft. NAO

Heart Storm sounds just how its titled. Serpentwithfeets voice pulls you in like a tornado, forcing surrender, while the interval bass enters and leaves like thunder getting closer and closer. The track washes over at first, with Serpentwithfeets quiet vocals and repetition of bass, but as it progresses, it builds into a downpour. NAO enters the track unapologetically, calling for boundless love. It is the perfect track to play when the feelings of an overwhelming crush take over.

Katy Trame, Daily Arts Writer

Hard Drive, Cassandra Jenkins

This gem of a song was released in January of 2021 but has been stuck in my brain the entire year. Jenkinss voice is so warm and intimate that even her patchwork of barely relatable interactions with museum security guards and consoling psychics feel familiar. As she transitions seamlessly from spoken word to meditative chorus, Jenkins collects these disparate moments with strangers into one cohesive tapestry of human nature. She isnt trying to make sense of all her experiences; instead shes letting twists of grief and healing mingle and wash over her.

A voice clip of the aforementioned museum security guard opens the track and reminds Jenkins that, When we lose our connection to nature, we lose our spirit, our humanity, our sense of self. Over hazy guitar and airy swells of saxophone, Jenkins invites us to scour our own hard drive of memories and dwell on our humanity for just a moment. She counts to three in steady intonations, reassuring the listener that, All those little pieces / One, two, three / Were gonna put em back together now / Are you ready? At its core, Hard Drive is a glimmeringly gorgeous delineation of feeling whole again despite the fractured struggles of the past year.

Nora Lewis, Daily Arts Writer

Tears in Abyss, deaths dynamic shroud

It doesnt feel all that forced to say that plunderphonics (otherwise known as sampling) is one of the most important innovations to be introduced to pop music and perhaps just music in general. However, what might in fact be forced to say is that the next great innovation was realizing that other modern pop songs were perfectly suitable phonics-to-be-plundered.

Not only is Tears in Abyss by deaths dynamic shroud one of the best songs of the year, it also serves as a perfect case study of this phenomenon of pop recycling. Built up from Demi Lovatos Skyscraper and Kelsea Ballerinis the way i used to, this song achieves a level of glitch pop maximalism that feels frankly unheard of in the genre. Even so, it seems just as fair to call it vaporwave given deaths dynamic shrouds well-defined status within that genre. Every conceivable open space is filled with a unique set of moving textures and rhythms in a way that feels both repetitive and ever-changing.

This sense of morphing is most notably recognized in the way Lovatos and Ballerinis vocals are shifted and manipulated in an off-putting yet organic way. It sounds strange to call something constructed in such a macabre manner emotional, but there isnt really any other way to put it. Jumping, laughing, crying, screaming its all there to be unraveled.

Drew Gadbois, Daily Arts Writer

Spud Infinity, Big Thief

So often, infinity is interpreted with terror or at least trepidation. But on Spud Infinity by alternative folk outfit, Big Thief, there is a determined joy to infinity you can hear the resolve in each bow of the fiddle.

The jaw harp bounces as a happy backbone to the song, with the drums and sunny guitar filling out the piece. The band finds the perfect line between profundity and just plain silliness in their lyrics, inspecting our size on this earth through talk of ants, elbows and knishes. My listening experience is best when I let my imagination roam free: Sometimes I picture them playing this in the back of a pickup truck under sunny skies, sometimes around a campfire late at night. Wherever they wind up, you can feel the bands intense connection to each other, both musical and emotional, in the full-heartedness with which this piece is performed. Adrianne Lenkers sweet whup! at the end draws the listener into the kind and frenzied dance of this song.

Rosa Sofia Kaminski, Senior Music Editor

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The 10 best songs of 2021 - The Michigan Daily