Knobbly knees of 2020 contest image by Lisa Cradduck of Mutton Fist Press
In his introduction to our main albums of the year chart, my colleague Luke Turner has already explained in words better than I could manage how strange the relationship between art and audience has become in 2020. Perhaps, though, our relationship to the kinds of reissues, compilations, live records, mixes and general musical miscellany you’ll find in our chart below is just that little bit weirder.
Where in the past live albums might be considered bonus material or stopgaps, in a pandemic they’re like artefacts from a distant utopia we once knew, and hope to know again. More than one of the compilations you’ll find below was put out by the artists or labels in an attempt to provide a balm for both themselves and their listeners, or a way to process the surreal horror of the year, or simply as something to stave off the monotony.
Then again, maybe I’m overthinking it. Perhaps the records we’ve listed for you below are, as ever, simply 100 fantastic pieces of music that for one reason or another didn’t quite fit into the main albums chart, as picked by tQ’s office staff and columnists. There are dizzying mixes, transporting live records, explorative compilations, and plenty of the straight-up uncategorisable. As ever, one of the greatest joys of painstakingly compiling, coding and formatting the list is that we ourselves find plenty of incredible music we’ve missed along the way; I’m playing the completely ace Mort Garson reissue I discovered below as I write this. We hope you do too.
At this juncture, I’d be remiss not to remind you that earlier this year, we marked the site’s 12th birthday with the launch of our new subscriber system, thanks to which we’ve been able to just about weather the storm that has seen so many cultural institutions, venues and publications close for good this year. If you’ve discovered anything you like either from our end of year lists, or from the site in general, and if you’re in the financial position to do so, please consider signing up as a subscriber. Those on our top tiers get a wedge of benefits, including exclusive essays, podcasts, playlists (including our eight-and-a-half hour Albums of 2020 spectacular), and exclusive releases from some of the best musicians in the world. Sign up here and find all the content we’ve made thus far here.
Patrick Clarke
This chart was voted for by Jennifer Lucy Allan, Bobby Barry, Aaron Bishop, Patrick Clarke, John Doran, Christian Eede, Noel Gardner, Fergal Kinney, Ella Kemp, Anthea Leyland, Peter Margasak, David McKenna, JR Moores, Luke Turner, Kez Whelan and Daryl Worthington
