We reached out to our DJs and staff members here at WKNC and here are their responses for their top 3 songs of 2020. Every song named was released in 2020 so there’s no better way to find new music than to skim through this expansive list. These songs have also been added to a playlist on WKNC’s Spotify account.
Laura/DJ Beowvlf; GM
- Deftones – “Genesis”
- Oneohtrix Point Never – “the Whether Channel”
- The Garden – “Fool’s Expedition”
Jamie Lynn; Station Adviser
Jamie was allowed more than 3 songs but she only gave us 2. We’ll allow it.
- Kississippi – “Around Your Room”
- Tune-Yards – “nowhere; man.”
Molly/DJ Cicada; Program Director
- Arca – “La Chiqui (ft SOPHIE)”
- Shygirl – “Freak”
- Yung Lean – “Dogboy”
Erika/The Saw; Chainsaw Rock Music Director and Content Manager
- Boundaries – “Behind The Bend”
- Upon A Burning Body – “Chains of Agony”
- Ingested – “Black Pill”
Becca/M’Lady; Promotions Director
- Oklou – “Gods Chariots”
- Oneohtrix Point Never – “No Nightmares”
- Monolithic – “Alone With You (Computer Data Remix)”
Gab/Beefless Poison; Sponsorship Director and Assistant Afterhours Music Director
- Magdalena Bay – “Good Intentions”
- Coco & Clair Clair – “TLG”
- Jessy Lanza – “All The Time”
Liz; Afterhours Music Director and Graphic Designer
- Magdalena Bay – “Airplane”
- Planet 1999 – “Party”
- Kitty – “12th House”
Makayla; Underground Music Director
- Loving – “Nihilist Kite Flyer”
- Thundercat – “Funny Thing”
- Cookiee Kawaii – “Rather Be”
Maddie/Buzz; Daytime Music Director
- Fiona Apple – “Shameika”
- Mamalarky – “Fury
- Arlo Parks – “Black Dog”
Romir/THE FUNKY BUDDHA; Local Music Director
- Thundercat – “Dragonball Durag”
- Jrusalam – “DN&”
- Metallica – “All Within My Hands (Live)”
Chip/the DJ formerly known as Chippypants; Assistant Daytime Music Director and Content Creator
- Sir Chloe – “Sedona”
- Papi Shiitake – “Sleepwalk”
- Felly – “Weak Hearts”
Miranda; Blog Content Creator
- Freddie Gibbs – “Scottie Beam”
- Amaarae – “HELLZ ANGEL”
- Joji – “MODUS”
Kyle/DJ Mango; Assistant Underground Music Director and Content Creator
- Gabriel Garzon-Montano – “Everything is Everything”
- D’Angelo – “Really Love”
- Mac Miller – “Everybody”
Minh/Cozy P – Multimedia Director
- Spillage Village – “Ea’alah (Family)”
- Phoebe Bridgers – “Savior Complex”
- Woodkid – “Pale Yellow”
Jaylan; Podcast Content Creator
- The Weeknd – “After Hours”
- Nothing But Thieves – “Phobia”
- Pop Smoke – “Got It On Me”
Raney/DJ Butter; Blog Content Creator and Graphic Designer
- Frank Ocean – “Dear April”
- Greta Van Fleet – “Age of Machine”
- Mac Demarco – “Here Comes The Cowboy (demo)”
Leeann/DJ Psyched; Content Contributor
- Hayley Williams – “Pure Love”
- Declan McKenna – “The Key to Life on Earth”
- Rina Sawayama – “XS”
Caitlin; Content Contributor
- Phoebe Bridgers – “I Know The End”
- Rilo Kiley – “A Better Son/Daughter”
- Maggie Rogers – “Dog Years”
Joey; DJ
- Des Rocs – “Wayne”
- Penelope Scott – “Dumpster”
- Penelope Scott – “Lotta True Crime”
Three Bears in a Coat; DJ
- Midnight Club – “Close Your Eyes”
- Glass Cactus – “Anatasia”
- Waters – “Hypocritical”
Patches; DJ
- Viagra Boys – “Creatures”
- Flatbush Zombies – “Afterlife”
- JPEGMAFIA – “Rough 7”
DJ Sumatra
- Gorillaz – “Pac Man”
- Mac Miller – “Hand Me Downs”
- Car Seat Headrest – “Deadlines”
Juhi; DJ
- Sofie – “Guest”
- Momma – “Habitat”
- Jayda G – “Both of Us”
Museum Maddie; DJ
- Sun Room – “Just Yesterday”
- Fleet Foxes – “Can I Believe You”
- Phoebe Bridgers – “Halloween”
Yung Mattro; DJ
- 100 gecs – “hand crushed by a mallet remix”
- Osees – “Scramble Suit II”
- Aquiles Navarro; Tcheser Holmes – “NAVARROHOLMES”
Flowers McPowers; DJ
- Habibi – “Angel Eyes”
- Jeff Rosenstock – “Scram”
- The Dune Sea – “Summers Over”
T -Time; DJ
- Touche Amore – “Reminders”
- Pinegrove – “The Alarmist”
- snake eyes – “skeletons”
Squat Johnson; DJ
- 100 gecs – “xXXi_wud_nvrstøp_ÜXXx (Remix)”
- SLIFT – “Umoon”
- Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – “Cars in Space”
Rainbow Riot; DJ
- The Lemon Twigs – “Live in Favor of Tomorrow”
- Mapache – “Me Voy Pa’l Pueblo”
Delusional Melodrama, DJ
- Yves Tumor – “Gospel For A New Century”
- Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B – “WAP”
- Porridge Radio – “Sweet”
Sycamore Slim, DJ
- Loma – “Ocotillo”
- Joy Crookes – “Anyone But Me”
- HAIM – “Don’t Wanna”
Cookie Cutter, DJ
- Joywave – “Mr. Eastman”
- Glass Animals – “Heat Wave”
- The Strokes – “Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus”
Two -Tone, DJ
- Hatari – “Klamstrakur”
- Tupperware – “Blue Sky”
- Linea Aspera – “Redshift”
Big Sam, DJ
- RMR – “RASCAL”
- U.S. Girls – “4 American Dollars”
- Tame Impala – “It Might Be Time”
Big Hoss, DJ
- Taylor Swift – “Mirrorball”
- Bob Dylan – “Key West (Philosopher Pirate)”
- Beverly Glenn-Copeland – “River Dreams”
DJ Traffic
- Slow Leaves – “Half of the Bed”
- Lil Uzi Vert – “Baby Pluto”
- Tennis – “Need Your Love”
DJ Head Hunter
- Jessie Ware – “Spotlight”
- Thundercat – “Dragonball Durag”
- Roisin Murphy – “Jealousy”
White Tiger, DJ
- Cub Sport – “Drive”
- Pinkish Blu – “Watermark”
- King Princess – “Pain”
DJ Scratch n Sniff
- Glass Animals – “Your Love”
- Sir Chloe – “Too Close”
Lil Witch, DJ
- Yaeji – “Waking Up Down”
- Coco & Clair Clair – “TLG”
- adrianne lenker – “anything”
Deeanthony Jayanthony, DJ
- Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi Bi – “WAP”
- Mac Miller – “Good News”
- Clipping. – “Say The Name”
young iowa, DJ
- Lil Uzi Vert – “Bean (ft. Chief Keef)”
- Loathe – “Broken Vision Rhythm”
- Deftones – “The Spell of Mathematics”
Lomain, DJ
- Sylvan Esso – “Rooftop Dancing”
- Anderson .Paak – “JEWELZ”
- eevee – “Serenity”
Clearly, the tastes of our staff are all over the place. In all honesty, we originally intended to highlight a few albums that popped up several times across the spectrum, expecting a few to do so. This… did not happen but it’s actually rather exciting to see how far spread our genre influences are (wonderful for students working at a radio station). However, it should be noted that both Phoebe Bridgers (“Punisher”) and Mac Miller (“Circles”) were listed three times with Deftones, 100 gecs, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Hayley Williams following with two acknowledgments each. With 39 contributing students and 118 songs total this playlist is sure to cover every major genre and have hidden gems tucked in every corner. Give it a spin, let us know what you think on social media (@wknc881 on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram). Cheers to the New Year with hopefully another great line-up of releases to come.
