Top Ten Songs of 2024: Number 1

My Number 1 song of 2024 is…

The End of the Contender – Everything Everything

There are some songs with lyrics that on the surface seem almost indecipherable and yet possess raw emotion that connects in some very personal way with something deep inside me. The End of the Contender is one of those songs. I never spent a lot of time thinking about the lyrics to this tune about a boxer who has succumbed to the lure of making big money.

“It's all about the money now
You put the hard drive in the microwave
You antelope, you are a sack of wine”

I don’t quite get it… Everything Everything band member Jonathan Higgs told The NME that “since MeToo, cancel culture, whatever you want to call it has come in, there’s a whole generation of people, particularly men, who just don’t know what the hell’s going on and a lot of them are quite angry about it.” So, maybe not quite getting the lyrics is the point or maybe it explains the people who re-elected Trump. Somebody or something must hold the answers. I don’t get that but some people do.

What does make sense is the beauty of Higgs’s wide vocal range and, in particular, his falsetto. There is something that hits me when I hear him sing lines such as, “blame it on the empire, I don’t know” and “it’s all about the Benjamins, it’s all about the wilderness for me.” His emotion and crying out touches a piece of my soul. That’s the only way I can describe it. In addition, the production, arrangement, and build all really work for something deep inside me.

Number 1 songs from other contributors:

Kevin Alexander - On Repeat Records:

“Wishy- The Great Divide: Wishy's superpower is their album openers. They have a knack for putting their most resonant tracks up to bat first. Part elegy, part love letter to band guitarist John Erhardt, who passed away in the early days of COVID, The Great Divide isn't a sad song- it's a moving one.”

Steve Goldberg - Earworms and Song Loops:

Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More: “As a huge Pixies fan since the beginning, I've eagerly followed Kim Deal through her subsequent bands - The Breeders, The Amps. I had no idea she'd been working on her debut solo album for years, so when I saw the video for "Nobody Loves You More" appear in my YouTube feed, I was nervously excited. I had no reason to be nervous. The entire album covers the gamut in terms of sound and mood, and no song better illustrates this more than the gorgeous title track.”

Thea Wood - Herizon Music Newsletter:

“My favorite picks of music released in 2024 are intense because I think they reflect our times and needed them as an outlet. Beyoncé’s “American Requiem” from Cowboy Carter tops my list in 2024. It’s a call to stand up and “face the wind,” which I feel is appropriate given what we’re heading into as a society in 2025.”

Matt Madurski - Chart Chat:

“Hozier - Too Sweet: I thought Hozier was a one-hit wonder, with his "Take Me To Church" being one of the best tracks of 2013-2014. But then, out of nowhere, he puts out this amazing "Too Sweet" track that became a huge favorite of mine throughout the middle part of the year. That it hits all of the alt-rock stylings I like and managed to hold its own in the pop music zeitgeist speaks to its greatness. The song hit #1 on both the Hot 100 and the Alternative Airplay chart, and that's a well-earned accomplishment with this song, easily my favorite of the year!”

Angela Yokoe: Dreams from Bunker Hill – Cigarettes After Sex (the name of the band says it all)

Christopher Bradley - Daydreamin' 'Bout the Way Things Sometimes Are:

Field of Vision by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: “If I paid any mind to Spotify and it’s Wrapped feature this song would probably be #1 by a long shot. Before I dumped Spotify, my kids requested this one from the Amazon Echo several times a day. It’s easy to hear why with how catchy this one is. I think my wife might be ready to ban KGLW from the house!”

Matt Fish - Best Music of All Time:

"Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan—again, perhaps an obvious-sounding answer, but let's be real: did any other artist make as significant a cultural impact as Chappell in 2024? She's a superstar of the highest order already and I think she's only scratching the surface of what she can do musically. Her first step towards greatness.”

Mark Edward Randall - Musings of a Broken Record:

Starburster- Fontaines D.C. "Liked this so much the first time I heard it that I played it three times"

What is your Number 1 song of 2024?!