New music discovery is still a problem for me, particularly since I refuse to listen to any kind of radio. Regardless, the amount of new music I sampled throughout 2019 was a bit overwhelming. I hear a lot of great innovative music coming from most genres.

I’m starting to listen to more and more R&B lately as this seems to be the most exciting genre at the moment. Having said that I still lean towards rock and pop. I give you my top twelve songs of 2019, in no particular order.

Bury a Friend – Billie Eilish

As of writing this, Billie just won 5 Grammys including the “big four” for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. It’s not every year that something I really like also shows up on the Grammys.

 

Living Proof – Des Rocs

I love the muddy sound of this song which goes well with the lyrics. The guitar is also on point. It’s modern blues for the uninitiated.

 

Sad Day – FKA twigs

When I travel for business, I sleep with music on. The first time I heard this was in the middle of the night. I had to wake up and see who it was.

 

Lo/Hi – The Black Keys

Sometimes listening to The Black Keys is like taking a time machine to sometime in the 70s. I think this is one of those times.

 

Tokyo – White Lies

Speaking of time travel, White Lies is channeling the 80s. It reminds me a bit of Wang Chung.

 

Ready To Let Go – Cage The Elephant

Matt Shultz is this generation’s American Mick Jagger. This is such a great record.

 

Don’t Believe The Things They Tell You (They Lie) – Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara consistently put out excellent music. The guitar in this song is fantastic.

 

Descending – Tool

The long-awaited new album from Tool is better than imagined. It’s the marriage of prog rock, metal, and whatever else people call Tool. It’s hard to pull a single song out, the album should be listened altogether.

 

She Plays Bass – beabadoobee

Anyone that knows me well, knows I’m a sucker for female rockers. This is a banger.

 

Error 404 – Suzi Wu

This song came out early in the year, which gave me an opportunity to play it a ton throughout the year. It’s an ear worm.

 

We’ve Got To Try – The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers never disappoint and they certainly delivered in 2019.

 

Arrow- Half Alive

From the band that made my favorite video and song of 2018, it’s another ear worm. Also, it looks like they like Wes Anderson.

Given how frequent I post blogs, see you in 2021 for the 2020 list.