With Paula Carolina, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and The Last Dinner Party: The year 2024 in song review.
Here are the 50 best songs of 2024. Enjoy!
1. Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
Released relatively unnoticed in April, the 80s-inspired mix of baroque and synth pop developed into a “sleeper hit” and shot the American singer to the top of the charts after appearances at Jimmy Fallon and Coachella. The non-album single’s lyrics describe a lesbian woman who feels forced by a heteronormative society to deny her romantic feelings.
The queer anthem of the year!
2. Fontaines DC – “Starburster”
You can hear that this claustrophobic song has its origins in frontman Grian Chatten’s panic attack: driven by powerful drums, whipped up by synth loops and with the rhythmically used breaths with which Chatten tries to keep his head above water in all the chaos of the world to hold, almost overwhelming.
3. Charli XCX feat. Lorde – “Girl, So Confusing”
That this glitch-influenced, pulsating bassline-galloping indie dance banger wasn’t even a single yet! In it, the pop star of the moment negotiates a tense relationship with another musician who is not named. It’s not Lorde! Their guest verse in the remix completed the track into a contemporary masterpiece.
4. Billie Eilish – “Birds Of A Feather”
First of all, you might turn your nose up at the title: Huh? Birds of a feather? Shouldn’t it be the other way around… The title of the biggest hit from Eilish’s third album refers to the English phrase “Birds of a feather flock together”, which can be roughly translated as “Birds of a feather flock together”. An ode to love – not necessarily homosexual – with the beautiful lines: “Might not be forever / But if it’s forever, it’s even better”.
5. Idles – “Dancer”
What always belonged together grew together here: post-punk from Bristol and dance-punk from New York. James Murphy and Nancy Whang from LCD Soundsystem support Joe Talbot’s guttural vocals in the background, with which he gives commands to the dance floor from the depths of his gut. The guitar riffs sound so dirty that they alone make you want to take a shower after a night of dancing.