2020 summed up in 5 songs

Final exams are over, winter break is among us, and it’s time to close out this strange year. As I think back over these twelve months, it’s difficult to piece together all the phases that we have all collectively experienced. For me, my memories consist of a New Year party back home in January, pink spring flowers blooming on campus in February, seeing Thunder Cat at the Fox Theater in Oakland in early March, and soon after packing a small bag and getting on a plane back home the next morning. The rest of the year’s memories consist of family walks around the neighborhood, waking up to an orange sky in September, election night in November, and a whole bunch of blurriness in-between. I have fleeting memories of binging T.V. shows in April and  biking with family in August, but for the most part, this year is summed up by asking, “what the hell just happened?” So, in The B-side fashion, I’ll try to sum up what this year felt like in 5 songs, in hopes that we can collectively gain some closure as we wrap up this mess of a year. 

The Zombies, “This Will Be Our Year” 

With the start of a new decade, the year started off with sweet optimism. We celebrated with copious amounts of champagne and gold confetti and counted down to the promising new year. The Zombies said it best: “Now we’re there/ And we’ve only just begun/ And this will be our year/ Took a long time to come.” 

Worn Tin, “Somethings Coming”

It’s truly comical how far removed we were from reality in February. I remember strolling through campus on the phone with my friend in Italy, listening to her describe being quarantined in her apartment in Florence, and thinking, wow, how glad am I not to be in Italy! While some already felt the panic, others thoughtlessly scrolled by coronavirus memes and went through the daily motions unbothered. Just as Worn Tin sang in “Something Coming,” we’re all hoping to go back to those disillusioned days when we had no concept of how badly things would turn: “Hopin’ for the day you realize that somethings coming.” 

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, “Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays” 

When the year made its stark turn from hopeful to utter darkness, everything felt like a confusing thunderstorm of chaos. Empty grocery shelves, abandoned streets, and new information every waking moment. We distracted ourselves with freshly baked bread and watched a world where – like Unknown Mortal Orchestra described in this song – “Everyone acts crazy now / But have taken all kinds of shit.”

Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come”

In many ways, this year was a breaking point for deeply rooted issues of inequality in America. No recap of 2020 can be completed without mention of the fight to confront systematic racism against Black people in our criminal justice system. It’s not a new fight, just as much as it is an unfinished fight. Despite the global virus, our streets filled with enraged and passionate people, chanting and demanding justice until their voices were raspy. I feel that Sam Cooke expresses this sentiment justly: “It’s been a long,/ A long time coming/ But I know a change is gonna come.” 

Solange, “Weary” 

I originally thought I’d end this list with a bit of optimism with “The Only Way is Up” by Yazz, highlighting the vaccine being rolled out and the switch in our government. But, in all honesty, I’m still feeling pretty cynical about 2020 and 2021. It’s impossible to fully grasp how others around the globe are being affected and it feels as though we won’t fully understand the devastation of this year for a while. So I went with Solange’s ode to weariness, as we celebrate the holidays at home and try to make sense of where we go from here. In this beautiful song, Solange cautions us: “Be weary of the ways of the world/ Be leery of your place in the world”. 

 So in the meantime, while we wait for things to improve, we’ll continue taking up new hobbies, finding ways to help the community and listen to lots of good music. 

Article by Daniella Ivanir