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The CHIRP Blog
Tony Breed writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Tony Breed
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from DJ and Board Member Emeritus Tony Breed.
2020 was a year like nothing I’ve ever experienced—a total upending of our way of life. Fortunately there has been some amazing music to keep me company while I stay home every day.
It’s also been the year of the single—more and more artists are releasing singles that are not tied to any albums, in a return to the early days of rock n roll. So for the first time, my Top Track of 2020 is a single, by Chicago’s own SuperKnova: SuperKnova / “LSD Heartbreak” / single / self-released
Some runner-up tracks of the year that I also loved:
Serengeti / “Field of Fire” / Discoken / Fake Hour Inc.
U.S. Girls / “$ American Dollars” / Heavy Light / 4AD
Emily Edrosa / “Drinking During the Day” / Another Wave Is Coming / Park the Van
Ninja writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Ninja
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from DJ and Production Director Ninja.
DJ Confession: Ever since Discmen were outmoded by MP3 players, I rarely have the attention span for full albums (hence the lengthy Top Songs list at the bottom of this post). So for an LP to make my annual list is a feat of audio engineering and creative brilliance. These are the albums that kept me riveted in 2020. [Playlist]
Mauricio Reyes- Radio Maoheem writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Mauricio Reyes
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from DJ Mauricio Reyes.
Eric Wiersema writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Eric Wiersema
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from Sub DJ Eric Wiersema.
2020 was, without a doubt, a complete dumpster fire of a year. For the past 9 months a global pandemic has run rampant taking far too many innocent lives and destroying far too many livelihoods in the process.
It is definitely a challenging time to be a music lover as well. The days of summer music festivals and taking in shows at small, intimate, independent venues feel like a distant memory. An alarming percentage of these venues are also in danger of closing, further dampening independent musicians’ career prospects.
Despite these insurmountable odds, the artists that we hold near and dear to our hearts came through. 2020 offered a plethora of great music from all genres and made getting through this shitshow of a year just a little bit easier. I listened to well over 100 new releases this year and here are the albums that I thought were a cut above the rest.
Peter Zimmerman writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Pete Zimmerman
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from DJ (Saturdays 3pm - 6pm) Pete Zimmerman.
On Wednesday, March 11th I was with my wife at SPACE in Evanston to take in a show by singer-songwriter Tyler Ramsey. While we were waiting for the show to start, I received a notification on my phone that said the NBA would be canceling the remainder of the season. Little did I know that that Tyler Ramsey show would be the last concert I would attend in 2020.
As the months progressed and we spent most of our time at home, I found myself listening to the music that was made closest to our home. Support local music and support your local record store.