Boshemia Wrapped: 2019 Playlist
At the end of every year Spotify presents you with a playlist of your top 100 most listened to songs. Boshemia staff have taken their top 10 to combine and make a playlist that reflects our vibes across the year. We’ve ruminated on how our top tracks ended up so and shared our thoughts.
Spoiler alert: we like Lizzo and Carly Rae Jepsen.
Alex:
Juice - Lizzo
Valentino - Years & Years and MNEK
Yellow Cloud - Trixie Mattel
Hello, Nice to Meet You - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Cast
On a Roll - Ashley O (Miley Cyrus in Black Mirror)
Girlfriend - MNEK
Anti-Depressants Are So Not a Big Deal - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Cast
Colour - MNEK and Hailee Steinfeld
Zettai Mutteki (Fallin’ Love) - Earth Defence Club
Independent Together - Steven Universe Cast
Thoughts:
My secret shame is revealed, an anime theme song made its way into my top ten (the show was decent enough, but the theme is a bop). Strikingly apparent for me is that music from TV permeates my listening habits - the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Cast have been my top artist for two years running now, and I’ve no doubt that the songs from Schitt’s Creek will make their way there for next year (A Little Bit Alexis is my new obsession).
I also got into MNEK in a big way this year after my partner introduced me to ‘Girlfriend’ which I was instantly hooked on, and the whole album is absolutely required listening. My music vibe for the year is upbeat - songs that inspire confidence or instil happiness, the kind I listen to to make those out-of-reach goals feel a little closer to reaching.
E:
Truth Hurts - Lizzo
Cellophane - FKA twigs
Best Part (feat. H.E.R.) - Daniel Caesar, H.E.R.
Helplessly Hoping - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Good As Hell - Lizzo
Higher (Stripped) - The Naked And Famous
Heat Wave - Snail Mail
Selling Flowers - Slow Hollows
Dreams - 2004 Remaster - Fleetwood Mac
Honey - Kehlani
Thoughts:
Well, well, well — look who had a major breakup in 2019! Here you’ll find my alchemical mix of powerful ‘fuck you’ ballads [thank you Lizzo!!!] mixed with wistful acoustic melodies for those lonely boi hours of the early evening. I’m personally surprised that ‘Dreams’ wasn’t my number 1.
I’m prescribing this playlist of mine to anyone trying to fall back in love with themselves. These songs will do it.
Q:
Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent - Gwen Guthrie
Now That I’ve Found You - Carly Rae Jepsen
Jokin’ Me - Stealing Sheep
Too Much - Carly Rae Jepsen
No Drug Like Me - Carly Rae Jepsen
You Oughta Know - Alanis Morisette
Promises - Aly & AJ
On The Radio - Donna Summer
Julien - Carly Rae Jepsen
Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
Thoughts:
So, in case you all missed it, it looks like a new Carly Rae Jepsen album came out this year (stream DEDICATED on Spotify, and while you’re there, stream E MO TION on Spotify) and clearly I could not get enough. My Canadian queen has taken four places in my top ten and honestly, it’s what she deserves. I’m seeing her live next year, so the obsession will only continue into the next decade.
I don’t actually remember listening to that much Gwen Guthrie, Alanis Morisette or Donna Summer, but I get fixated on a song for like a month and play it non-stop so that’s almost definitely what happened there (and will happen next year when ‘A Little Bit Alexis’ is my number one). Either way, mid-tempo slightly melancholy synth-pop was the mood of the year, and it looks like I need to broaden my palette.
L:
Juice – Lizzo
Good As Hell – Lizzo
MacArthur Park – Donna Summer
You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon
The Boys of Summer – Don Henley
Champion – RuPaul
Cut to the Feeling – Carly Rae Jepsen
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) – Sylvester
Adrenaline – RuPaul
Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! – Cher
Thoughts:
Welp, it’s evident that this has been a year of feel-good anthems that you can wiggle your bum to – I imagine in an attempt to counter my crippling depression? Or maybe I was just particularly feeling myself this year. In fact, both are true. Either way, this is a pretty solid top 10. I’m amused and surprised by the presence of ‘Adrenaline’ by RuPaul – I’m not even that big of a fan of that song?? Maybe it’s just on a lot of my playlists and gets unwarranted airtime. It managed to push Britney, Madonna, more Carly Rae and more Lizzo out of the top, which is frankly Not Cool. C’mon Ru, don’t you get enough exposure??
This playlist is such a triumphant permeation of the Bo gals, too. Both ‘Call Me Al’ and ‘Boys of Summer’ are summery, happy-vibe songs that I strongly associate with them, and that I play when I miss them – as you can see, a lot.
I also love that mine & Alex’s #1 song match 🖤birds of a feather and all that.
Robbie:
Truth Hurts - Lizzo
Selfish - Little Simz, Cleo Sol
Boss - The Carters
Offence - Little Simz
Lose My Cool - Amber Mark
Boss - Little Simz
Juice - Lizzo
LMK_What’s really good Remix - Kelela, Princess Nokia, Junglepussy, CupcakKe, Ms. Boogie
Bad Guy - Billie Eilish
Escapémonos - Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez
Thoughts:
This playlist is a rollercoaster. This year was even more of a rollercoaster. It was a really challenging one for me and I feel like I’ve overcome and achieved a lot. I guess this rundown reflects that. I mean, there are two tracks called Boss, there are SO many badass women, there’s fun, but there’s also a strong FUCK THE PATRIARCHY theme.
There’s some real strength in a lot of these songs, and it’s funny to think that most of these are my walking to work tunes. It shows how much my mental health coping strategy has changed from flight to fight, because these aren’t songs to help lift me out of an anxiety spiral, these are songs to prep me to go into battle (and a few ‘cook for me while dance in my kitchen’ tunes for good measure). My #1 comes as no surprise because I really wanted to support Lizzo in a big way. I may or may not have left ‘Truth Hurts’ playing with the sound off for hours at a time to help boost her listens. I’m not sure how to qualify the last one, so I’ll just let you listen to it and judge accordingly.
Spoiler: JLo is perfection