My Favorite Music of 2019
/[Brief Update: If you were a supporter of the Jerx in 2019, you will be getting an email this weekend to get your shipping fee and address. We’re ahead of schedule with the rewards packages and they should start going out sometime next week.]
As I’ve done in years prior, today I’m posting some of my favorite songs and music videos from last year.
If you haven’t seen these posts in the past, my taste in music leans towards indie-pop, rock, garage, punk, rap, and sub more obscure sub-genres. I won’t be listing a bunch of radio hits here. Any good ones you already know.
I like sharing music because I know not everyone has the time to make it a priority in their life like maybe they did when they were young. So if that’s you and our tastes overlap at all, here’s a chance for me to share some stuff you otherwise might have missed.
I purchased 90 new albums in 2019 and sampled many hundred more. Here were the songs that made an impact.
Favorite Punk Album of 2019 - Morbid Stuff by Pup (Toronto, Ontario)
Not hardcore punk, more pop-punk, but still with a bit of an edge. I love the energy of this album. And they came out with a couple of great videos as well. There was one for the song “Kids,” which is kind of like a janky episode of Black Mirror.
The video below I like even more. The concept is great. They sent out a song for people to cover before they had released the song. So they gave them the lyrics and the general chords, but nobody really knew what the song sounded like when they were covering it. The video starts off with their attempts before transitioning into the actual song.
Favorite Jangle Pop Song of 2019 - 4am by the Maureens (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Great harmonies in this one.
Favorite Dream-Pop Song of 2019 - Shangri-La by Fox Grin (Atlanta, Georgia)
This has a late 90s feel to me. It may be the video though. Pretty song (and pretty video).
Favorite Song I Would Have Put at the End of a Mix-Tape for a Chick I Liked in High School - Your Hand In Mine by The Bedside Kites (Tampa, Florida)
I feel bad for you kids who don’t get to make mix tapes and CDs anymore. That was like a major way of connecting and flirting in my day (much in the same way I’m connecting and flirting with you now). it’s not the same to send a playlist. The only time I really ever think that I’m living in a computer simulation is when I think that humans have been around for a couple hundred thousand years and it just so happened that my youth coincided with the 20 years that mix-tapes and CDs were a thing? That seems unlikely.
You didn't want to make your mix-tape all love songs, or you come across as a little needy/corny. The first song should send some kind of message and the last song should always be a sweet little number where you’re essentially saying, “This is me talking to you.”
This is the song that would have ended my 2019 mixtape if I was crushing on you in 10th grade. A simple, summery, sweet number called Your Hand In Mine.
Well I waited around
For you to come around
And I am thinking about
The way your hand fits in my hand
Favorite Throwback Song - Rushing the Acid Frat by Stephen Malkmus (Portland, Oregon)
If you liked the sound of Pavement in the 90s, this new song from Stephen Malkmus could have been pulled from one of those old albums.
Favorite Psychedelic Song of 2019 - Paint Euphrosyne Blue by the Lucille Furs (Chicago, Illinois)
Straight 60s style psychedelic-pop.
Favorite Depressing Tune of 2019 - Northsiders by Christian Lee Hudson (Los Angeles, California)
Favorite Power Pop Song of 20919 - A Place in the Sun by Telekinesis (Seattle, Washington)
A great song. But it’s probably my top power-pop song this year because of the video. I like watching people dance by themselves.
According to iTunes, My Most Played Song of 2019 - Blackout Control by Spendtime Palace (Costa Mesa, California)
I don’t know if this was my favorite song of the year, but it’s definitely up there. The chorus flows in a way I find very satisfying, and the video cracks me up.
Favorite Album of 2019 - Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? by Bleached (Los Angeles, California)
Bleached is probably in my top five current bands, and this album achieved something rare for me in that every song on it was added to my main playlist. Usually, even when I really like an album, there are a couple songs I never need to hear again and I douche them out. But with this album, everything made the cut.
Throughout their catalog of music you will hear the sounds of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. But they always feel vital and of this time for me.
They pumped out a bunch of videos for this album. Here are a few below.
This next song isn’t a typical rock song. It’s 2:45 worth of build-up to a 30-second, fuzzed-out payoff. And, although it’s not very ambitious, it’s a one-shot music video. Something I always enjoy. And I like how you see clues that they’re setting up for something bigger throughout the opening portion.
Other Favorite Music Videos of 2019
Museum District by Minor Poet (Richmond, Virginia)
I really like this song by Minor Poet and the video makes me laugh because—for a reason I can’t quite figure out—they’re re-making Good Will Hunting.
Vossi Bop by Stormzy (Croydon, UK) and Boasty by Wiley (London, UK)
Both of these videos were directed by Henry Scholfield. I find his use of motion really mesmerizing. Both the things on camera, and the motion of the camera itself.
Everyday by Weyes Blood (Los Angles, California)
I came to this song late in 2019 and it’s been really growing on me since I found it. It mixes a beautiful song that sounds like it could have come straight from 1970 with the esthetic of early 80s horror flicks. It’s pretty great.
Other favorites from this year:
Ex-Hex - Rainbow Shiner
White Reaper - Might Be Right
V.V. Lightbody - Car Alarm (Put it on your make-out mix.)
Holy Now - All the Time
Deep State - Time Unrivaled
Telekinesis - Cut the Quick
Holiday Ghosts - Thinking of You
that dog - Old LP (I love when rock bands try something big and orchestral. The song starts around 6:15, but you may want to watch the rest for context.)
Here’s a Spotify playlist of these songs and albums for those who get their music that way.