2019 in Singles:
Defining a year through music is very personal. Our lists will vary based on musical taste, the evolution of search engine algorithms, and the power of the media sound bite. Gone are the days where big name labels produced mega hits through radio play, when you could spend all day recording your favourite singles off the radio. Gone are the days when music savvy friends dug through crates of albums and ripped discs for a mixed CD. Whether a song reaches your ears now depends on the power of the mathematical formula, stumbling upon an unknown band at a festival, or recommendations from your Internet friends. We are your Internet friends. Listen to the songs which defined 2019 for us.
19
Devours : “Vivaldi My Reptile”
“I see the fear in your wandering eyes / The mountain of shame that towered over our lives / I’m standing by with bated breath, holding out for one more year / It’s everything you’ve needed /And it’s a risk I hope you’re willing to take when it’s time to let go / You’ll never wanna look back again”
B-sides: Curmudgeon / Gimp Mask
18
Dawn Richards : “Dreams and Converse”
“Let’s get dressed in lavender sunsets / Let’s get dressed / Wear our dreams like Converse / Oh, let’s get dressed in lavender sunsets / Where our dreams are timeless”
B-side: Spaces / New Breed
17
clipping. : “Blood of the Fang“
“Everybody wanna kill a movement ‘fore the moment / But they cannot kill what cannot die/ There wasn’t ever really an opponent / For what they figured was only three-fifth-human/ And they thought they could enslave/ By disconnecting from the truth”
16
(Sandy) Alex G : “Gretel”
“It’s calling me back/ House of Sugar/ Did they bury me here? / Daddy, don’t let ’em put me down”
B-Side : “Hope” / “Southern Sky”
15
Sharon Van Etten : “Seventeen”
“I know what you’re gonna be/ I know that you’re gonna be! / You’re crumbling up just to see/ Afraid that you’ll be just like me”
14
Anderson Paak (featuring Brandy): “Jet Black”
“We peakin’ / Hands above us / Feels like someone liftin’ me / We peakin’ / Arms like lovers / Feels like someone sent for me”
B-sides: Make It Better (feat. Smokey Robinson)
13
JPEGMAFIA : “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am a Thot”
“Show me where the prophets go/ Show me how to keep my pussy closed / She said, “You better count your blessings for real”/ Amen (Woo!) / Pray for my babies, they doin’ time / Pray that these crackers don’t Columbine / Britney, this a sign/ Pray you grow healthy and hit your prime”
B-sides : “Free the Frail” feat. Helena Deland / “Beta Male Strategies”
12
YBN Cordae: “Have Mercy”
“Sweet Lord, please have mercy /Baby Jesus, please save us /I know I used up my three favors /Back to sinnin’ like a week later /New car, speed racer /Cop a crib, need acres / Most of all, we all need prayer /Karma comin’, beware “
11
Perfume Genius : “Eye in the Wall”
“Bend like a reed / Tell me you need me / Bleach on a berry/ Honey the sigh you can’t hide/ Your body on screen/ 1993 / I’m full of feeling/ I’m full of nothing but love”
B-Side: “Pop Song”
10
Thom Yorke : “Dawn Chorus”
“If you could do it all again/ Yeah, without a second thought… / In the middle of the vortex/ The wind picked up / Shook up the soot/ From the chimney pot / Into spiral patterns/ Of you, my love”
09
Purple Mountains : “Nights That Won’t Happen“
“And as much as we might like to seize the reel and hit
rewind
Or quicken our pursuit of what we’re guaranteed
to find
When the dying’s finally done and the suffering
subsides
All the suffering gets done by the ones we leave
behind”
B-Sides: “Margaritas at the Mall” / “Darkness and Cold”
08
Angel Olsen : “All Mirrors”
“On your smile, buried alive, I could have/ Died to stay there, never have to leave there / Standin’, facin’, all mirrors are erasin’/ Losin’ beauty, at least at times it knew me”
B-Sides: “Summer’s Gone” / “Lark”
07
Weyes Blood : “Movies”
“Some people feel what some people don’t/ Some people watch until they explode / The meaning of life doesn’t seem to shine like that screen”
B-sides: “A Lot’s Gonna Change” / “Wild Time”
06
Charli XCX : “Gone” (ft. Christine and the Queens)
“I try real hard, but I’m caught up by my insecurities/ Pour me one more, watch the ice melt in my fist / I feel so unstable, fucking hate these people/ How they’re making me feel lately / They’re making me weird baby, lately”
B-sides: “Official” / “Cross You Out” (ft. Sky Ferreira)
05
Aldous Harding : “The Barrel”
“I hear a song from inside the maze, the very one you made / You shook at the ivory mantle/ As a poet, I knew to be gentle / When you have a child, so begins the braiding/ And in that braid you stay”
04
Big Thief : “Cattails”
“And I find you there in your country flair/ Middle of the river in a lawn chair/ With your wrinkled hands and your silver hair/ Leaving here soon and you know where…/ With the windows wide by your side / You don’t need to know why when you cry”
B-sides: “Jenni” / “Not”
03
Jenny Hval : “Ashes to Ashes”
“Put two fingers in the earth/ Into rotting plums/ Into the honeypot/ Into moist nude magazines / Or on your device/ Swipe with two fingers/ Like you were kicking feet underwater, or under the earth/ To get up to the surface”
B-sides: “High Alice” / “Six Red Cannas”
02
FKA twigs : “Sad Day”
“Taste the fruit of me Make love to all you see / Would you make a wish on my love?”
B-Sides: “Cellophane” / “Daybed”
01
Lana Del Rey : “The Next Best American Record”
“Whatever’s on tonight‚ I just wanna party with you/ Topanga’s hot tonight‚ I’m taking off my bathing suit/You make me feel like / There’s something that I never knew I wanted”
B-side : “Cinnamon Girl” / “The greatest”
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