Well into 2021, your hosts finally put a capper on their rundown of the best music of 2020 and share their respective top 10 albums of the year. Unpacking the lists with enthusiasm, Charles and Courtney link their choices back to their #11-20 picks, defend a certain British electronic duo that could be seen as unfashionable, praise an up and coming Atlanta rapper who's barely in her twenties, and balk at the Grammys's lack of recognition of most of their favs. As they did last year, the duo eventually wind up with overlapping selections for numbers 4 through 1.  Don't sleep on these records!

7. The Albums of 2020: The Top Ten

8. Grammys-cast 2021 w/ Lunch $pecial

The dichotomous duo is back with their second review episode of 2021, on another major new rap release: Young Stoner Life Records's compilation album 'Slime Language 2.' Young Thug's crew is at it again with flute- and guitar-ridden beats, outer space imagery including both  some clever wordplay and some of the lazier variety. Charles and Courtney talk about what works and what doesn't among the deluxe edition's whopping 31 tracks, pick their favorite one-liners, and link the release back to hip-hop moments of the past.

9. Young Stoner Life's 'Slime Language 2'

In their debut episode, Charles and Courtney celebrate two of their favorite working artists: Atlanta hip-hop stars Future and Young Thug. C & C break down what makes each of their styles so special and game-changing for rap aesthetics and form, highlighting some choice deep cuts from both flame-spitters, recounting live experiences (both hosts have seen both artists perform multiple times), as well as leaving room in their fandom for critical stances, spending time on suspect attitudes toward women and other tired regurgitations of rap's tropes in their work.

Ultimately, Charles somehow compares Thugga to both Joni Mitchell and Avey Tare, and as for the hosts' loyalties, it's YSL for life and Freebandz till the end.

1. Influencers of the 2010s: Future and Young Thug

We love lists! Or, at least one of the hosts does. Herein, Charles and Courtney dive headlong into their favorite 20 albums of 2019, rotating back and forth with their own individual choices. The duo touch on all manner of styles and backgrounds, debate dubstep vs. future funk, and consider the rise of the collab album. They also list their  disappointments, discoveries, and underrated/overrated albums.

Kinda random time stamps:
4:11: Trends of the year

12:00: The age-old question: was it a good year for music?

13:21: Discoveries of the year

1:37:00: Top 5 Albums of the Year

2. The Albums of 2019

In the midst of quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak, your passionate hosts take solace in their shared love: music. In this episode, Charles and Courtney run through the major album releases from the first quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2020, critiquing an assorted list of projects that range in quality from merely expected (Caribou, Against All Logic, Megan Thee Stallion) to exceeding expectations (The Weeknd for one host and Lil Uzi for the other). They also offhandedly give one mention to an artist whose new effort they wouldn't give the time of day (Hint: it starts with "Tam—" and ends in "—pala") and call out each other's blunders in real time, as per usual.

Corrections:
Dan Snaith does not have "a number" of alternate monikers, as Charles suggested. He only has one additional to Caribou and Daphni, called Manitoba, which he's not released music under since the early 2000s.

Caribou's 2010 album is 'Swim,' not 'Sun.'

3. 2020 Q1 New Releases

In this episode, Charles and Courtney return from a few months off the air to tackle the quite divisive Christmas Day release from one of the hosts' favorite working rappers: Playboi Carti's 'Whole Lotta Red.' They discuss what typifies Carti's work, how his approach to delivery/cadence and beat choice have changed with the new record, and where it fits in to the artist's "deceptively thoughtful and carefully assembled" catalogue. SLATT!

4. Playboi Carti's 'Whole Lotta Red'

In the first edition of a three-part Year-in-Review extravaganza, Courtney and Charles share their top 17 and top 20 (respectively) favorite songs of 2020. They discuss how TikTok influenced song-craft, the politics of the lack of a notable feature credit on a shared list-maker, and puzzle out the ingenuity behind some of the hottest bangers of the year. Listen to find out what made Courtney most want to "get up off the couch and dance," and which *two* finger picked acoustic guitar diddies won Charles's affection.

5. The Songs of 2020

In the second edition of the show's best of 2020 blow-out, Charles and Courtney sum up the year that was, discussing what motivated (or deterred) their listening in 2020 and ponder what it says about their individual relationships to music in general. Then, they talk about the picks just outside their top 10 albums lists: their honorable mentions, which gives one host a chance to talk about 15 additional records, singing the praises of titles that went overlooked by many.

6. The Albums of 2020: Intro + Honorable Mentions

Two longtime best friends, Charles Lyons-Burt and Courtney Schollian, find enthusiastic harmony and contentious disharmony in this podcast about music, with a particular focus on live performances. Their mission is to be as adventurous as possible, hopping across various genres and venue sizes, detailing their experiences at festivals and small club shows alike, and bridging the gap between pop and the obscure.

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