The Mountain Goats
In League With Dragons
"Full of firearms / and flash drives / full of passports / and international money orders"
FX's You're the Worst got it so close to perfect in the series finale with their MG song. Yes, the two leads are the closest we've seen to Darnielle's alpha couple on screen. But "No Children" doesn't fit nearly as well as the more hopeful (but still totally fucked up) "Old College Try".
"Full of firearms / and flash drives / full of passports / and international money orders"
FX's You're the Worst got it so close to perfect in the series finale with their MG song. Yes, the two leads are the closest we've seen to Darnielle's alpha couple on screen. But "No Children" doesn't fit nearly as well as the more hopeful (but still totally fucked up) "Old College Try".
Tierra Whack
Tierra Whack follows the acclaim of 2018's 15-minute, 15-song Whack World by showing that she can full length songs as well. The desk lamp on the single cover is so random.
Diplo feat. Octavian
We could do without the pseudo DJ airhorn ("pew pew pew") but at least Diplo doesn't audio watermark his songs with a ton of garbage like DJ Khaled.
The Flaming Lips feat. Mick Jones
Kings Mouth: Music and Songs
Kings Mouth: Music and Songs
The Flaming Lips and Mick Jones collaborating on an entire album is pretty much a dream combo, so it was a bummer when we learned that Mick was only the story's narrator. Fortunately, the album was perhaps our favorite by Wayne and Co in over a decade. Still, sing Michael sing!
Charly Bliss
Young Enough
"I can barely keep myself afloat when I'm not saving you"
"I can barely keep myself afloat when I'm not saving you"
Angelo de Augostine
Tomb
The influences are obvious here (including album producer Doveman), but they don't take away from the timeless sound and execution.
Rina Mushonga
In a Galaxy
"Are we done talking / 'cause I'm so tired of all your lies"
Julien Baker
Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's 'The Midnight Organ Fight'
Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's 'The Midnight Organ Fight'
Tiny Changes is an album of TMOF covers and was planned and recorded largely before Scott Hutchinson's 2018 death. It is a great reminder how good TMOF is. "Head Rolls Off" has always been our favorite (#11 song of 2008, but now on the all-time favorite 100 list) but "The Modern Leper", "My Backwards Walk", "Good Arms" and "The Twist" are pretty classic as well. Julien Baker's take is the only new version that challenges, or even improves, on the original. So much hurt in that dude.
J.S. Ondara
Tales of America
Tales of America
"Oh Lebanon / life is brief / don't sit alone / in your constant fear"
The Tallest Man on Earth
I Love You. It's a Fever Dream.
The weariest song of the decade, not just musically but lyrically -- it is about mustering enough energy to go down to the hotel bar or just go to bed. It's left unsaid, but he totally goes to bed. Been there.
I Love You. It's a Fever Dream.
The weariest song of the decade, not just musically but lyrically -- it is about mustering enough energy to go down to the hotel bar or just go to bed. It's left unsaid, but he totally goes to bed. Been there.
Big Thief
Two Hands
"Not what you really wanted / nor the mess in your purse / nor the bed that is haunted / with the blanket of thirst / it's not the HUNGER revealing / nor the ricochet in the cave / nor the hand that is healing / nor the nameless grave"
Francis and the Lights feat. Bon Iver and Kanye West
As noted in prior years, the only thing we like more than Francis's music is when it is accompanied with some highly choreographed Vote for Pedro dance moves. Whether it is solo in a field, with Bon Iver or with Chance the Rapper. So the lack of an opportunity to see Kanye do some smooth spins and invisible rope gathering is a real let down.
Lana Del Rey
Norman Fucking Rockwell
"Writing in blood on my walls 'cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad / don't ask if I'm happy / you know that I'm not / but at best, I can say I'm not sad"
Little Simz
GREY Area
Impressive lyrical flow and delivery against a killer loop. Simz sounds bone tired narrating her teenage years and early modest dreams which seemed big at the time (new era caps, PS2, buying weed from a Jamaican).
Better Oblivion Community Center
"For clumsy ballerinas with Dad's blank check / there's a place in Altadena that sounds perfect / well, they'll let you be the swan even with missteps / and clap until your body is sore"
This is all about the continuous build for us. Would be a great song to catch live if Connor and Phoebe ever hit the road together (again).
Aldous Harding
Designer
The song is just so damned lovely and it is ranked too highly for us to spend time focused on the video ... but let's focus on the video. We'll give you a minute. You back? What the hell was that, right? Its a series of gloriously weird dancing gifs, then the monster, then, huh? It even has great youtube comments. Youtube comments! You're welcome.
Sturgill Simpson
SOUND & FURY
"Compromise is made out of peace / but history is made out of violence"
Sturgill drops the typical alt-country for full-on ZZ Top, but ZZ was never this badass. Perfect match w/ album cover.
Vampire Weekend
Father of the Bride
FotB may have been our favorite album of the year, but it is clear that Rostam's departure left a bit of a hole. Still, Koenig can construct the hell out of a song. The turns of phrase here, the build to the final verse, the noodle guitar solo, the voice modulated Haims, it all kills.
Rosalia
Fucking Money Man - single
2020 plan: more Catalan, less FMM.
Full top 100 (counting up):
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