As 2024 winds down, The Diversions desk and staff are looking back at the tracks that got us through the chaos, the highs and everything in between. Here’s our top picks for songs of the year — don’t miss the playlist below to relive it all!
“Lithonia” – Childish Gambino
“Lithonia’s” pensive synths and driving guitars teeter between liberation and devastation, exemplified by a simple declaration in the chorus — “Nobody gives a fuck.” Is Gambino condemning this mentality or inspiring self-determination? It’s up to listeners to decide.
Glover’s roaring vocals amplify the song’s gravitas as they hammer away. While the Childish Gambino project is over, Donald Glover ensured that he went out with a powerful punch, delivering one of his best songs. – Joe Wicke, Diversions reporter
[Maryland Filmmakers’ fall film festival spotlights UMD student talent]
“Satellite Business 2.0” – Sampha and Little Simz
Talk about a glow-up. Sampha transformed an unassuming, minute-long interlude from his 2023 album Lahai into a full-fledged cosmic banger. His signature euphonic vocals sail across a relaxed instrumental colored by beeps and pings, serenading listeners about the wonders of the vast universe.
Rapper Little Simz guides us back to Earth as she breezes through her guest feature — a confident rejection of any of her naysayers. “Satellite Business 2.0” is a blissful respite from a demanding world and fully realizes the original’s untapped potential. – Joe Wicke, Diversions reporter
“What Love Is” – Zimmer90, What Love Is
Disguised as a one-hit wonder — transformed into a non-skip anthem. This track is 2024 for me. My first listen hit at midnight Dec. 31 under the roaring planes at Gravelly Point, Virginia.
The electrifying, taser-like beat doesn’t ask gently: “Do you know what love is?” But I let myself drown in that incessant question, hypnotic and relentless, as Zimmer90 pulls me to a New York rooftop bar, arms loose, flailing like nothing else matters. – Jade Tran, Diversions Editor
“Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” – Charli XCX and Lorde, Brat
It’s already confusing enough to be a girl, but hearing Charli hammer that into my brain over a choppy beat? Unreal. The remix takes it up 10 notches — a raging, chaotic sound that radiates pure club energy.
Now, this is girlhood and the confusing chaos it comes with compressed into a three-minute anthem. Hello? I’m too busy strutting my apartment hallway, two icons blasting through my AirPods, proving they definitely worked it out on the remix. What started as a speculated diss track quickly morphed into a non-negotiable banger with the help of the great Lorde. – Jade Tran, Diversions editor
“Drums of Death” – FKA Twigs, Eusexua
Eusexua as an album might center on the ephemerality of connection, but its third single — the Y2K futuristic vision of “Drums of Death” — is a demand to put your own pleasure first. Twigs’ ode to escapism morphs the sounds of corporate life into something supernatural.
Glitchy synths, silvery layered vocals and technological defects become marching percussion. In a world demanding no days off, Twigs’ request to “relax and ease your mind” is needed now more than ever. – Sofia Appolonio, Diversions editor
Midnight Cowboy – JADE
It can be agonizing to shed a girl group label. Little Mix pioneered a generation of bubblegum UK radio candy. Its members have struggled to establish themselves independently (to a more tragic extent than others), but JADE’s sultry trip-hop single “Midnight Cowboy” dismisses fears she can’t stand on her own.
Electronic pulses behind Thirlwall’s early Destiny’s Child-esque cadence craft a hazy, twilight image of a late-night club rendezvous. A stark contrast from the pounding EDM of “Angel of my Dreams,” it’s exciting to see where JADE will take her upcoming album sonically. – Sofia Appolonio, Diversions editor
“Holy, Holy” – Geordie Greep
The guitars in “Holy, Holy” drill away like a wild machine. Walking while listening to the song, your gait quickens to the disorienting rhythm. The flimsy concrete world around you twists, contorts and deflates.
“Do you know my name? Of course you know my name!” Greep is wailing. Bongos. Saxophone. The chorus returns and the frenzy reaches a mad peak. You’re sprinting now. Which way is home? Who cares? – Cameron Lee, Diversions reporter
“Wristwatch” – MJ Lenderman
I remember where I was when I first heard “Wristwatch.” There was a book sale in front of the Art-Sociology Building and I went to go hunt the racks for treasure. Soon I found a major score: Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy of Modern Song. My discovery marked an interesting coincidence — Lenderman’s deft, humorous imagery featured throughout “Wristwatch” and other Manning Fireworks tracks carries much resemblance to Dylan’s mid-’60s amphetamine-fueled output.
The song throbs with down-home muscle, complemented nicely by Lenderman’s delicate, Neil Young-ish squall. A true humdinger. “Himbo dome” indeed. – Cameron Lee, Diversions reporter
“Muñekita” – Kali Uchis, El Alfa, JT
A blend of reggaeton and dembow, “Muñekita” is the Spanglish banger we didn’t know we needed. Each singer’s contrasting flows add a unique twist to the song — especially El Alfa’s weird but catchy bridge that reminds you of being on the dance floor when a DJ changes songs.
Though the tempo changes quite a bit, the song makes up for it with fun, hot energy. It’s definitely a summer anthem. – Emely Miranda-Aguilar, Diversions reporter
“APT.” – Rosé ft. Bruno Mars
Playing a drinking game is fun, but writing a song about a drinking game is even more fun. The only thing that could make it better is if it sat at the top of the Billboard Global 200 chart for six weeks. Oh wait — it did. For Rosé’s first single as an independent artist, that’s not bad.
Bruno Mars also killed it in the song, and it overall reminds me of his Unorthodox Jukebox days with meshed genres, a funky beat and a comical music video. The song especially hits differently, knowing Rosé almost didn’t release it and even deleted it. – Emely Miranda-Aguilar, Diversions reporter
“Igual Que un Ángel” – Kali Uchis ft. Peso Pluma
In the first half of her second Spanish-language album “Orquideas,” Kali Uchis dives head first into dreamy pop. Catchy lyrics layered over groovy bass and angelic synths make “Igual Que Un Ángel” a stand-out track. Peso Pluma’s voice, usually raspy and gravelly in songs like “Ella Baila Sola,” is lightened up to match Uchis’ silky vocals. Just like the song says, it was, “sent from heaven down to earth.” – Abigail Olear, Video reporter
“Bodyguard” – Beyoncé
Just when we thought Beyoncé had run out of genres to defy, in comes “Bodyguard.” From Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s country album, the track feels like it could have been ripped out of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Not quite country, folk or indie, “Bodyguard” is Beyoncé continuing to prove that she can’t be pinholed into one genre. While some may have been shocked by the track’s Grammy nomination for “Best Pop Solo Performance,” I knew exactly why. – Abigail Olear, Video reporter
“In the Living Room” – Maggie Rogers
Maggie Rogers released “In the Living Room” in October, capping off a landmark year that saw the Easton-born singer-songwriter release her third studio album and embark on multiple globe-spanning tours.
The track leaps, jumps and swoons through the echoes of a failing relationship, blending some of Rogers’ smoothest songwriting to date with an irresistibly catchy production, capping the local artist’s impressive year on a high note. – Adam Hudacek, Tabloid editor
“Punish” – Ethel Cain
Ghostly voices drone behind a trembling piano on Ethel Cain’s single “Punish,” a glimpse of her upcoming album Perverts. The track is another haunting, experimental track for the Florida-based artist who gained notoriety for her Southern gothic-inspired album, Preacher’s Daughter, in 2022.
Themes of religious trauma, personal repression and desperate longing punctuate the song, a nearly seven-minute preview of Cain’s latest sonic evolution. – Adam Hudacek, Tabloid editor
“reincarnated” – Kendrick Lamar
On his surprise November album, Lamar blends the west-coast hype with a haunting and deep lyrical track on “Reincarnated.” The Compton rapper takes listeners through the stories of several musicians throughout history that “sold their soul” before narrating a conversation purported to be between God and the Devil, punctuated with his innate ability to alter his vocal delivery to fit his themes.
It’s an immensely enjoyable listen that leaves fans shocked and contemplative as they listen to its final verse. – Matt Kauffman, Diversions reporter
[4 stories ready to power the next wave of movie musicals]
“i scream this in the mirror before interacting with anyone” – JPEGMAFIA
“50 beat switches a minute, they gon’ put me in a Guinness” — it certainly does feel like the beat changes that much throughout this not even 2-minute long, explosive opener to rapper-producer JPEGMAFIA’s 2024 album SIN MIEDO.
Set to an ever-shifting instrumental of rock drum fills and a distorted, riffing guitar, Peggy proves that he simply can’t stop innovating, cementing himself as one of the most creative and experimental names in the game. – Matt Kauffman, Diversions reporter
“Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts
This is the opening for the new anime Dandadan! It tickles my brain in a very fun way and makes me wonder how anyone could possibly speak that fast. Japanese is already a really hard language and they are fully speed rapping. All that and the beat is phenomenal. – Reina Baker, Copy editor
“Insomnia” – Eve
Another lovely Japanese song. I would call this one more in the vein of indie rock. Fun fact, this artist has music videos attached to his songs that literally could make their own cinematic universe. Look them up. They’re great. – Reina Baker, Copy editor
“I Told You Things” – Gracie Abrams
In the deluxe version of her album The Secret of Us, Gracie Abrams explores vulnerability and heartbreak in the song “I Told You Things.” The lyrics feel like a diary entry with a flare of poetry. Abrams’ tone develops throughout the song, deepening her message of emotional fallout.
The simplicity of the tune’s piano and electronic arrangements let listeners fully absorb the emotion in the lyrics. This reflective and regretful song contains quite the build-up to its powerful bridge — which I would argue is one of the best she has produced — and one I often catch myself singing. – Talia Macchi, News reporter
“WILDFLOWER” – Billie Eilish
“WILDFLOWER” serves as a powerful metaphor for living authentically, free from the pressure to conform. Featured as track five on Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT album, released in May, the song stands out with its lighter energy, sharing a refreshing contrast to the many base-heavy tracks in the record. Eilish’s vocals are pure and idyllic, and the subtle background sounds of wind and birds help to paint the song’s nature-like theme. “WILDFLOWER” is the perfect song to listen to when the weather is just warm enough to roll down your windows while driving. – Talia Macchi, News reporter
