Top 20 Songs of 2019
20. Lil Nas X, “Old Town Road”
Whether or not it’s a good thing, “Old Town Road” will go down as one of the most significant songs of all time. There is so much history packed into this song that is ever being extended by Lil Nas X himself. The story starts with Billboard making a questionable decision to pull “Old Town Road” from the hot 100 country songs citing “not [embracing] enough elements of today’s country music.” This unto itself was a microcosm of subtle racism in the music industry and rose the song to prominence. Riding of this, “Old Town Road” pivoted and became a meme song for the ages. The remix with Billy Ray Cyrus is close to becoming the third song every to spend 15 weeks at the number 1 spot on the billboard hot 100. It will stay as week in week out, Lil Nas X lengthens its life span with an abundance of new memes (the latest being a remix video piggie backing off the area 51 meme). “Old Town Roads” domination of the music world for the better part of half the year signals a shift in trap/hip-hop but more importantly signals a shift in how music is consumed.
19. Bobby Krlic, “Fire Temple”
Ari Aster’s Scandinavian horror, Midsommar, was another fantastic installment from the man who is rewriting horror. Part of this fresh take, is the fantastic score that accommodates Aster’s movies. Each of these scores are punctuated with a mind-altering song during the climax of each movie. In 2018’s Heriditary, the song “Reborn” which played during the intense climax of the movies served as an overture of sorts for the entire score. Similarly in Heriditary, “Fire Temple” comes at such an oh shit point in the movie. The entire score for Midsommar is more serene than scary. “Fire Temple” finds a nice balance between these two modes as the strings bring a certain uneasiness to the atmosphere while the massive production leaves you sitting in awe. The score and especially “Fire Temple” allow for Midsommar to attain the amazing atmosphere that makes it such a jaw-dropping movie.
18. Brittany Howard, “13th Century Metal”
Brittany Howard shined brightest in Alabama Shakes because of her incredible voice and gusto, so it is interesting that the best song from her latest album is one where she doesn’t really sing. “13th Century Metal,” while not only having an incredible name, showcases Brittany Howard’s growth as an artist. Similar to Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” Brittany Howard uses spoken word to submit her gripes against society. Unlike Gil Scot-Heron though, Howard seems to focus just as much as the sound of “13th Century Metal” than what is being said. The sound on this song is one of the most unique on the album and coupled with her writing makes “13th Century Metal” one of Howard’s most enduring songs.
17. Lizzo, “Juice”
Lizzo entered the year with “Juice,” a song that piggie-backed off the themes and momentum from singles like “Boys” and “Truth Hurts.” Starting out with a synthy keyboard riff reminiscent of 80’s and 90’s home workout videos, “Juice” employs the same production to create a positive mental attitude as on songs like “Truth Hurts.” The lyrics read like a mirror version of yourself viciously pumping you up at the start of the day. This is Lizzo’s bread and butter. What makes “Juice” the definitive Lizzo song is the combination of this great production and funk throwback with the uplifting confidence of the lyrics.
16. Taylor Swift, “False God”
”False God” is one of Taylor Swift’s most unorthodox songs. Her formula of applying heartbreak and other inflammatory emotions to catchy pop chords is destroyed with this track. Not only does Swift manage to write some of her most searing emotional lines, she (and Jack Antonoff) manages to create a vast yet empty atmosphere that is a beauty and wonder to the ears. The horns and low bass create some of the best production on any Taylor Swift song. Lover served as a bounce-back for Taylor Swift in many ways and the combination of soft and somber lyrics with innovative (for Taylor Swift) production on “False God” are a high point on the album.
15. Jenny Lewis, “Heads Gonna Roll”
While not as enduring as 2014’s The Voyager, Jenny Lewis’s latest album On the Line has some hidden gems. The best is the album opener, “Heads Gonna Roll,” serves well as a hook with its eye catching title and somewhat morbid lyrics. Through these lyrics the song unceremoniously destroys (or reinforces, depends on the interpretation) the basic pop love-struck breakup song. Lewis sings about a forlorn lover who from most of the lyrics seems to have done nothing wrong but has either broken up with or is the crush of our heroine. The tale reads as one of frustration but with a dash of nihilism with the chorus reading “Heads gonna roll, baby / Everybody gotta pay that toll and maybe / After all is said and done, we’ll all be skulls.” Lewis loves twisting gender norms when writing lyrics (see “Just One of the Guys”) and with “Heads Gonna Roll” she’s writing a character more in line with Rick from Rick and Morty than a tradition strong female like Hermione Granger. This serves to highlight a double standards of sorts and makes “Heads Gonna Roll” a really compelling song.
14. Purple Mountains, “That’s Just the Way That I Feel”
If “Heads Gonna Roll” dipped its feet in the pool of nihilism, then “That’s Just the Way That I Feel” jumped in head first. It feels as though David Berman’s decade long absence from music culminated in the story of this song. Berman’s singer lyricism populates this song with cheeky yet depressing gems like “I met a failure in Australia / I fell ill in Illinois / I nearly lost my genitalia / To an anthill in Des Moines.” While we can laugh at these interesting lyrics, they provide a facade to Berman’s true emotions that ultimately led him to end him life this year. The song is also masked with a pretty upbeat feeling and tempo that most of the album inherits so you don’t immediately feel disheartened. Ultimately “That’s Just the Way That I Feel” represents masterful lyrics that showcase the creativity and hidden optimism in David Berman.
13. Perfume Genius, “Eye in the Wall”
Perfume Genius released a string of strong singles in 2019 that started with “Eye in the Wall” early in the year. A nine minute epic, “Eye in the Wall” cycles through the vast repertoire of Perfume Genius’s production tricks that create a droning sound that you can simultaneously dance to. It is an odd combination. There is a quick drumbeat that goes through most of the song and is low enough for your ear to subconsciously pick it up as a dance beat but the rest of the instrumentation creates a weird haunted house effect. The pitch shifting of Mike Hadreas’s voice give such an odd sound that only gets weirder as the song goes on. Midway through the instrumentation changes to a dazzling space-centric sound that pulses throughout the rest of the song. Who is this song for? Super indie kids at the gay bar? Maybe. “Eye in the Wall” sounds like looking at the aurora borealis but in the club. Songs like this are why Perfume Genius continues to have some of the most vivid and interesting production style of any artist in the indie space.
12. Ariana Grande, “NASA”
Its not often that NASA gets shout out in a pop hit let alone be the metaphorical crux of one. “NASA” by Ariana Grande represents both the unabashed confidence that defines many modern female pop stars. The song simultaneously has the cliche of distance makes the heart grow fonder and a chorus that yells “get off world / Imma need space.” These feelings are very multi-dimensional and it takes someone with great confidence to shout them from the rooftops and ultimately reconcile them.
11. Billie Eilish, “bury a friend”
Billie Eilish exploded into 2019 with the release of the lead single from her upcoming album, “bury a friend.” While the popularity of this song has waned a bit since its release due to the memification and trap beat of “bad guy,” “bury a friend” remains as the highlight of Eilish’s first album. While “bad guy” has a tongue and cheek attitude towards the Edward Cullenesque goth nature, “bury a friend” embraces it. The instrumentation is haunting but extremely catchy at the same time and Eilish’s trademark whisper vocals enhance the spooky atmosphere. “bury a friend” was most of the world’s first look at Billie Eilish and it proved to be the genesis of a budding and unique artist.
10. Charli XCX, “Gone”
“Gone” both represents Charli XCX’s growth from singing “Fancy” and “Boom Clap” and her latest album, Charli, as a whole. Some songs off of Charli follow the melodic route like “1999.” While there is some interesting quirks in this song, the production is pretty tame and pop-oriented comparatively. On the other hand, the album is also populated by songs like “White Mercedes” that rely heavily on dense production. “Gone” is in a Godilocks zone of its own. The chorus is catchy and melodic lending heavily to the current pop landscape while the production is harsh and metallic. Charli pushes the boundaries of what a modern pop song can be and she does it while shifting her role to a more directorial form.
9. Weyes Blood, “Movies”
While much of Weyes Blood’s new album is comprised with sparse chamber pop, “Movies” is filled to the brim with synths and strings that create a sound of wonder. The sound of the song is fantastic but it is accompanied by one of the most emotional vocal performances on the whole album. The music video for “Movies” starts out as a somewhat cliche of us watching people watching a movie. This (along with the change in aspect ratio) is suppose to make us self aware to some extent of us being in our own movie or some other stark realization (see the ending of The Wolf of Wall Street). The mood in the song and video shifts somewhat as sharp strings speed up the tempo towards the middle of the song. What follows is Weyes Blood belting the lines “I wanna be the star of mine / My own my own [movie].” Instead of pointing us to some jumbled social realization, “Movies” makes us look inward at our life with a childish yearning for more.
8. Lana Del Rey, “The greatest”
“The greatest” is at its core a song of nostalgia. It is Lana’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” but with less of a reverent look at the future and more a yearning for the past. Lana plays her part as California girl extraordinaire talking about missing classic rock such as The Beach Boys. This song is somewhat at odds with the ideas and philosophies of the rest of the album. Norman F*****g Rockwell explores Lana’s distaste with many old American ideals. In spite of some sentimentality for the past, Lana focuses on the weirdness of the present that she finds herself in. Talking about everything from the false alarm missile scare in Hawaii to Kanye West turning into an evangelist, the instrumentation and progression of “The Greatest” feels like a taking a blissful walk in the countryside. This weird miss-mash of moods coupled with the compelling songwriting writes a blueprint for “The Greatest” being one of Lana’s most enduring tracks.
7. Angel Olsen, “All Mirrors”
The namesake for Angel Olsen’s latest album, “All Mirrors” is a shimmering exploration of what made Olsen one of the most interesting artist to follow in 2019. Olsen transitioned her production efforts from the punk-rock found on her previous album to a more metallic, spacious sound. “All Mirrors” encapsulates this fact with the grand strings and and intense reverb. Olsen’s amazing voice has also transitioned in this way and on “All Mirrors” she sounds more like she is belting into the void rather than musing about relationships and the like. The song sounds like it is from a movie soundtrack rather than from the indie-rock sphere. “All Mirrors” is a testament to Olsen coming into her own as a craftsman and how far the genre has come.
6. HAIM, “Summer Girl”
2017’s Something To Tell You felt like HAIM was phoning it in. The massive success of “The Wire” and Days are Gone felt almost wasted. So when HAIM released “Summer Girl” (sadly not capitalizing on the hot girl summer before Megan the Stallion) I wasn’t expecting much. But I was wrong, blown away, and left mouth agape. “Summer Girl” musically feels like the grandchild of Lou Reed’s opus “Walk On The Wild Side.” With the very soft singing and horns the mood that “Summer Girl” creates is a thing of beauty that might work as a vessel for nostalgia. The content of “Summer Girl” is emotionally similar to “Walk On The Wild Side” but HAIM tells a harrowing story of endurance in a relationship while Lou Reed famously tells stories about drag queens and transsexuals trying to make it in New York. “Summer Girl” is HAIM’s total package and valiantly shows that the missteps of Something To Tell You were only temporary.
5. Bruce Springsteen, “Hello Sunshine”
Bruce Springsteen didn’t know that when he made the cover for Western Stars he was hopping onto a cowboy trend. The sad thing is I think this cover is way more emblematic to what Springsteen did with his new album compared to Lil Nas X’s never ending road. It was reported that Springsteen was inspired by glittery California pop like the beach boys when creating his new album and it shows. The lead single “Hello Sunshine” packs all the emotional punches of a “In My Room” with a country twist. The sparse piano and guitar riff create a instant mood of a relaxing but tear-jerking sunset. The lyrics are just soul crushing. This is Springsteen’s best song and material in years and it proves he still has the songwriting chops to ride with the best of them.
4. Tyler, The Creator, “Are We Still Friends?”
Choosing one song from Igor is near impossible as they’re are so many songs that embody all that is good about the album. It also comes down to which side of the Igor coin do you prefer? The funky, 70’s inspired glitz or the gruesome lo-fi cuts. While thematically the album seems to end with the anger of “I Dont’t Love You Anymore,” we see another stage of grief being hit (denial) with “Are We Still Friends?” The song is beautifully upbeat with samples from Al Green’s “Dream” baked into it. While the question the song poses is ripe with regret and denial, the instrumentation and mood make you feel like no matter what the answer, everything will be alright.
3. FKA Twigs, “Cellophane”
FKA Twigs had stayed relatively quit since releasing her monumental LP1 in 2014. “Cellophane” was the lead single off of her 2019 album, MAGDALENE there was a lot of hype for this because of FKA Twigs’s album drought. There could not be a better song to build the hype as “Cellophane” kept the momentum for Twigs. “Cellophane” combines many of FKA Twigs’s best attributes that are more scattered throughout her discography. The production creates a darkened mood with beautiful dainty singing that classic rock ballads utilize to really pull at our heartstrings. Twigs’s combines this with her innovative production style to make something truly unique. While the production is not as in your face as something like “Two Weeks,” the lack of production or emptiness at some points enhance her voice and gives “Cellophane” the extra oomph. The oomph pushes “Cellophane” to be FKA Twigs best song period.
2. Sharon Van Etten, “Seventeen”
“Seventeen” is at the emotional and sonic core of Sharon Van Etten’s new album Remind Me Tomorow. Van Etten is no stranger to emotional anthems (see “Every Time the Sun Comes Up” or “I Don’t Want to Let You Down”) as her wails of “I used to be free / I used to be seventeen” ooze of longing and nostalgia. Besides her own self pity and reflection, Van Etten seems to be taken into this emotive state by seeing someone of unwavering youth. Somewhat wiser, Van Etten shifts her goggles of nostalgia to a more disillusioned view of her formal self knowing what this person will become. What makes this song so insatiable is her gripping vocal performance combined with the 80’s inspired instrumentation. On many previous Van Etten projects, she seems to completely rely on her voice and go with a more spacious background. On “Seventeen” she lets the instrumentation and her vocal performance share the emotional load to make a truly lovely song.
1. Thom Yorke, “Dawn Chorus”
While much of ANIMA is devoted to Thom Yorke’s eerie fascination with electronics, “Dawn Chorus” sees him focus on the emotional atmosphere. “Dawn Chorus” is very aptly names as the soft background electronics and synths give the emotional allusion to the sun slowly rising in front of you. There’s something about the combination of this atmosphere and Yorke’s vocals that make the song so emotionally charged. I would say the emotional beauty is on the same scale as “Pyramid Song” or “Videotape” from the Radiohead catalog. Along with the release of ANIMA, Yorke released a Netflix special with a Lemonade Style long-form music video. The video for “Dawn Chorus” only hits home the emotional notes that permeate throughout the song. The video shows Yorke dancing with a woman (with some interesting choreography) that he has chased throughout the entire movie and finally able to give her a tool kit? It’s difficult to follow what exactly is happening. It beautifully ends Yorke’s Netflix special while enhancing the tear-jerking nature of the song even more. “Dawn Chorus” proves that even on his electronic escapades, Thom Yorke is still able to deliver some enthralling, mind numbing music.
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