My top 5 albums 2019

I’m not going to bother making Top # lists for albums in a given year. A lot of the music that were impactful for me in a given year were not albums released that same year, and it’s not like I’m a legit music critic or anything where anybody actually cares about my list. Thus, for my own records, I’m making a list of the artists that were most impactful for me in 2019.

1. PUP

This is the only band where they had a super-impactful 2019 release for me, which was their critically acclaimed “Morbid Stuff” which put them on my radar, and was my entry point for their full catalog. Energetic, funny, interesting, and self deprecating. They’ve become a mainstay in my music repertoire, and I pull them up whenever I need some energy. Notable content: “Reservoir” (awesome video), “DVP” (awesome lyric video).

2. Miya Folick

Literally the rest of this list is a cadre of young, female, singer-songwriters. Miya Folick feels like a younger, poppier version of Mitski. Her debut album, Premonitions (2018), was the soundtrack of me doing work in the Detroit airport during my job search. Notable content: “Stop Talking” (great first song to listen to if you’ve never heard her before), “Deadbody” (super-powerful track).

3. Soccer Mommy

Dreamy and “kinda sad” music with fantastic pop sensibilities. Her 2018 album “Clean” got constantly repeated listens as I kept trying to sleep while on the airplane during my job search. I also learned a few days ago that she is the daughter of a music-loving neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. If I have kids, I hope they end up as talented. Notable content: “Your Dog”, “Last Girl”. “Inside Out” (older song, but just as strong).

4. Sidney Gish

A while back I spent part of the day looking through Mitski’s old work I realized she has always been talented but super serious. In the case of Sidney Gish, she’s super talented but not very serious at all. Fun and super awkward, all with amazing catchiness. A musical hero for all the dorky people in the world. Notable content: “Sin Triangle” (This video is totally what I mean by the whole “not serious” thing), “Presuambly Dead Arm” (Spoken-wordy gold that I stumbled upon on Spotify radio and hooked me).

5. Billie Eilish

The sibling duo of Billie and Finneas is great. The production is fantastic, and helps bridge older folks like me with the styles the kids like nowadays. Part of her success is that essentially everyone is able to like / appreciate the music. Seemingly seems to simultaneously embrace and reject the modern internet culture young people are living in. I’m a music snob, so I especially like it when pop culture deservedly (and undeniably) makes it through my hipster shell. “Ilomilo”, “Bellyache”, “When the Party’s Over” (of course)