Every year, we shoot out a little dispatch to our community asking for everyone’s highlights from the year – favorite albums, songs, artists, and musical or cultural moments. Since we’re wrapping the decade this time around, we also asked for any highlights from the past 10 years for those brave enough to revisit the recent past. We also tossed some fun Qs in like Best Cover, Best Art, Hot Take or Controversial Opinion, etc. Lists are always hard, and opinions change almost as fast as we publish the list, but we hope the below contributions help you find something new or find fellow fans or just bask in the sheer amount of amazing art and music produced each year. We are truly #blessed, ya know?
PS. Listmaking is serious biz, and this post will change and grow as more contributions come in from those who are still mulling!
PPS. Keep that radio dial (or streaming button) locked on KWNK 97.7fm (kwnkradio.org) for lots of killer year-end wraps, decade highlights, and reflections on this current cultural moment.
TUCKER RASH
Best of 2019:
10. jonatan leandoer96 – Nectar
9. Black Midi – Of Schlagenheim
8. Puzzle – X Hail
7. Glitterer – Looking Through The Shades
6. Eartheater – Trinity
5. ECCO2K – e
4. (Sandy) Alex G – House of Sugar
3. JPEGMAFIA – All My Heroes Are Cornballs
2. Show Me The Body – Camp Orchestra
1. Full of Hell – Weeping Choir
Decade Highlights:
10. Tie between Title Fight – Shed and Turnstile – Step to Rhythm
9. Full of Hell – Weeping Choir
8. The music of The Garden, Puzzle, and Enjoy
7. Grimes – Geidi Primes, Halfaxa, Visions
6. Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete
5. The I.L.Y.’s – The Sickest Fuck of them All
4. Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right
3. Tie between Sleep – The Sciences and Om – Advaitic Songs
2. Machine Girl – The Ugly Art
1. The entire Death Grips discography
Favorite Cover of 2019: Machine Girl covering Bennington by John Maus at their show in Reno in June
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: Show Me The Body – Camp Orchestra album art
Favorite Discovery: I recently got put on to the world of Scandinavian sad boy soundcloud rap like Yung Lean, bladee, Thaiboy Digital, ECCO2K, etc. I kinda fell head over heels for it and feel like I’ve been missing out on it for years.
Party Jam: bladee – Trash Star
Heavy Jam: Sleep – The Clarity
Song to Cry To: Grimes – Symphonia IX (My Wait is U)
Hot Take: I still listen to Morrissey.
Artist you Avoided: Palberta
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Roky Erickson – If You Have Ghosts
DONOVAN WILLIAMS
Best of 2019:
Show Me The Body – Dog Whistle
Denzel Curry – Zuu
Blanck Mass – Animated Violence Mild
Jacques Greene – Dawn Chorus
Danny Brown – Uknowhatimsayin
Clu – Always Forever
03 Greedo & Kenny Beats – Netflix and Deal
Roddy Ricch – Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial
Peggy Gou – Starry Night
Party Jam: Trippie Redd-Mac 10
Heavy Jam: Show Me The Body-Badge Grabber
Song to Cry To: Rod Wave-Chip on my Shoulder
MATT GRIMM
Best of 2019:
1. Boy Harsher – Careful
2. DOLLHOUSE – Demo
3. Devil Master – Satan Spits on Children of Light
4. L.O.T.I.O.N. – World Wide W.E.B.
5. Ben Special – Very Special
6. Pharmakon – Devour
7. Black Marble – Bigger than Life
8. The Body & Uniform – Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back
9. Croatian Amor – Isa
10. SPELLLING – Mazy Fly
Decade Highlights:
10. Tie between Title Fight – Shed and Turnstile – Step to Rhythm
9. Full of Hell – Weeping Choir
8. The music of The Garden, Puzzle, and Enjoy
7. Grimes – Geidi Primes, Halfaxa, Visions
6. Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete
5. The I.L.Y.’s – The Sickest Fuck of them All
4. Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right
3. Tie between Sleep – The Sciences and Om – Advaitic Songs
2. Machine Girl – The Ugly Art
1. The entire Death Grips discography
Favorite Cover of 2019: denzel curry & bad brains collab/cover of i against i
Favorite Discovery: so much of the Posh Isolation back catalogue, some incredible and weird experimental/punk/noise stuff from denmark that sounds like nothing I’ve heard before
Party Jam: One Eye Open – Black Marble
Heavy Jam: this is way too hard, probably the Dollhouse demo or the Body/Uniform Collab
Song to Cry To: Lost – Boy Harsher
Hot Take: the new lana del rey album is not worth all the AOTY hype
Artist you Avoided: big thief
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: david berman – inside the golden days of missing you
EKA BAJWA
Best of 2019:
• Temple of Angels – playing @ the holland project
• Hyolyn (kpop) – Dally
• Lizzo – live in Las Vegas
• Azealia Banks – 1991
• Sheer Mag – live @ the holland project
• Fearing – Black Sand – This entire album is just absolutely a big goth mood.
• Little Sims – Stilness In Wonderland
• Broncho – Bad Behavior
• Sateen – All of their music is absolutely iconic. We support Queer trans icons.
• Moon Boots – First Landing”
Decade Highlights:
Seeing Guitar Wolf live in Tokyo
SZA – Ctrl
Rihanna – ANTI
Black Breath playing @The Eyeball Ryland in 2010
Reigning sound – played live in Reno @ debauchareno
G.L.O.S.S. live in Berkeley – I never felt more seen and safe at any show in my life.<3, Yaeji – live in Berkeley
Favorite Cover of 2019: Mary Manor (Gabby Guerrero) – covering cat power’s Sea of love.
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: SUNMI(선미) _ Gashina(가시나)
Favorite Discovery: Kacey Musgraves
Party Jam: C.Y.S. – Original mix by Moon boots
Heavy Jam: Excalibur by Mindforce
Song to Cry To: True love will find you in the end by Daniel Johnston
Hot Take: If you don’t like Disco, you’re probably racist 😀
Artist you Avoided: Kanye West
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Daniel Johnston – Story of an artist
MICHAEL MOBERLY
Best of 2019:
#1- Sharron Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
#2 Tyler The Creator – Igor
#3 Andrew Bird My Finest Work Yet
#4 Beyonce – Homecoming – The Live Album
#5 Big Thief – Two Hands
#6 Ari Lennox – Shea Butter Baby
#7 Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
#8 Lana Del Re – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
#9 Raphael Saadiq – Jimmy Lee
#10 Frank Ocean – DHL
Decade Highlights: I only have one. It took most of this decade for me to fall in love with Taylor Swift. Now I am and one day she and I will meet and become in love, but I won’t give in due to my love for my own wife. And she will write the best album of the next decade about our lost love. We will see each other from across a room at a party and give a quick hug and she will whisper in my ear ” I will always love you”. I will nod to her and give her a look that says “Samesies”.
Favorite Cover of 2019: Juliana Hatfield Next To You Originally by The Police
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: The Stranger Things 3 Soundtrack
Favorite Discovery: Probably my favorite discovery was of Frankie Broyles and all his projects (Solo, Balkans, Omni)
Party Jam: Deaton Chris Anthony: RACECAR Feat: Clairo, Coco & Clair Clair
Heavy Jam: Frank Ocean: In My Room
Song to Cry To: Harry Nilsson: Spaceman
Hot Take: Pete Barnato is actually Riff Raff
Artist you Avoided: King Princess. But also like i have been listening a bit….
BRIDGET CONWAY
Best of 2019:
1. “Reward by Cate le Bon: This incredibly deliberate, eccentric release from Cate le Bon was my favorite album of the year and includes so many of my favorite songs (Mother’s Mother’s Magazines, Miami, Home To You….as I think about it, I absolutely love all the songs on this album). I also saw her perform over the summer and it was so thoroughly complete, elaborate, and effortless. She also built a chair! It’s not musical, but it was definitely my favorite chair of 2019.
2. Magician’s Success by Vanishing Twin: This song (and album The Age of Immunology) really do sound like magic. Smooth, psychedelic, strange magic.
3. All Mirrors by Angel Olsen: I loved this album the second I heard it, but seeing her perform it live really was where it’s at. Orchestral, theatrical, dramatic…everything it should be and MORE!
4. When I Get Home by Solange: This album sounds like slowing down. It’s ephemeral and grounded at the same time, and I listened to Stay Flo almost every day this summer.
5. Kick Him Out the Disco by ILL: Punchy punk from the UK. Sometimes funny and always glam!
6. Secretary by Cate le Bon and Bradford Cox: The fourth installation in Mexican Summer’s Marfa Myths series is this enigmatic EP from the aforementioned genius Cate le Bon and Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox. It’s the definition of idiosyncratic and sets the mood for a very specific time and place. The whole EP (Myths 004) is incredible, but Secretary is the song I kept returning to over and over.
7. The Seduction of Kansas by Priests: Priests always kill it, and their album from this year took their round-sounding post-punk to a higher conceptual level. It felt really whole, and I kept returning to it throughout the year. I saw perform at a tiny liberal arts college in rural Ohio (not the one I attend!) in February to a crowd of me, my friends, and about 30 boys wearing khakis and it was one of the most fun and most surreal shows I’ve ever seen.
8. The Practice of Love by Jenny Hval: She never fails us! Spooky and smooth mood music just in time for fall and winter.
9. I Have To Feed Larry’s Hawk by White Fence: Conceptually thorough music existing somewhere at the intersection of pysch-pop, poetry, and emotional honesty. Tim Presley tells you a story but you’re not sure where you are.
Decade Highlights:
MY WOMAN by Angel Olsen
Room Inside the World by Ought
Kaputt by Destroyer
Beyondless by Iceage
Hippo Lite by DRINKS
Hypnic Jerks by The Spirit of the Beehive
Preoccupations by Preoccupations
Relatives in Descent by Protomartyr
Created in the Image of Suffering by King Woman
In a Poem Unlimited by U.S. Girls
Favorite Cover of 2019: Lala Lala covered John Maus’s Hey Moon when I saw them in October. I’m not sure if there are any recordings, but it was beautiful and unexpected but made perfect sense the second they started playing.
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: The video for Daylight Matters by Cate le Bon is wacky, funny, eye catching, and beautiful.
Party Jam: Translator by Grün Wasser
Song to Cry To: Gretel by Alex G
ALBERTO GARCIA RODRIGUEZ
Best of 2019:
1. Pelada: Movimento Para Cambio
2. Solange: When I Get Home
3. Charli XCX: Charli
4. James Blake: Assume Form
5. J Balvin, Bad Bunny: OASIS
6. Tyler, The Creator: IGOR
7. Cuco: Para Mi
8. Alex G: House of Sugar
9: JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs
10:FKA Twigs: MAGDALENE”
Decade Highlights:
1. Frank Ocean: Blonded (2016)
2. Rihanna: ANTI (2016)
3. Kanye West: Yeezus (2013)
4. SZA: CTRL (2017)
5. Mykki Blanco: Gay Dog Food (2014)
6. Current Joys: Me Oh My Mirror (2016)
7. ARCA: ARCA (2017)
8: Robyn: Hony (2018)
9: Lady Gaga: Born This Way (2011)
10: SOPHIE: OIL OF EVERY PEARL’s UN-INSIDES (2018)
Other albums that did not make the list, but want to highlight:
-Beyonce: Beyonce (2013)
-Solange: A Seat at the Table (2016)
-Drake: Nothing Was The Same (2013)
-Angel Olsen: MY WOMEN
-Blood Orange: Cupid Deluxe (2013)
-Sky Ferreira: Night Time, My Time (2013)
-Death Grips: The Money Store (2012)
-Yves Tumor: Safe in the Hands of Love (2018)
-Kelela: Take Me Apart
-Downtown Boys: Full Communism (2015)
-Alex G: Trick (2015)
-Alex Anwandter: Rebeldes (2012)
-Grimes: Visions (2012) ”
Favorite Cover of 2019: Kali Uchis covers Bjork ‘Venus As A Boy’
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: 1. Solange – When I Get Home, 2. Peggy Gou – Starry Night, 3. FKA twigs – Cellophane
Favorite Discovery: Lofi Hip Hop Radio
Party Jam: Schacke – Kisloty People (Techno song of the summer)
Heavy Jam: Blonded Radio <3
Song to Cry To: Karen Dalton – Something On Your Mind
Hot Take: I haven’t canceled Morrissey yet
Artist you Avoided: KANYE WEST
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Daniel Johnston – Story Of An Artist <3
KAT NEIL
Best of 2019:
DHL by Frank Ocean
Angel’s Pulse by Blood Orange
Megan Thee Stallion & “hot girl summer”
When I Get Home by Solange,
IGOR by Tyler
Fine Line by Harry Styles
Decade Highlights: BLACK EYED PEAS
Favorite Discovery: DJ DISKOTEKA for her amazing taste in music and ability to always play the jams
Party Jam: Topdown- Channel Tres
Heavy Jam: Blue Monday- New Order
Song to Cry To: Heart of Gold- Neil Young
Artist you Avoided: CHRIS BROWN ALWAYS
MITCH DUFOUR
Best of 2019:
1. Peach Kelli Pop, Blushh and Guantanamo Baywatch played Reno!
2. Zig Zags – They’ll Never Take Us Alive
3. Regional Justice Center – Institution EP
4. Sheer Mag – A Distant Call
5. Monique from Save Ferris yelled at my friend for not skanking enough
6. Menzingers – Hello Exile
7. Checked blink-182 off the “”haven’t seen”” list
8. John 5 live is a sight to see. Crazy
9. Recreated a 16 year old Mad Caddies photo with Chuck
10. Claypool Lennon Delirium was really fun to see”
Decade Highlights:
1. Jeff the Brotherhood – We Are the Champions, Hypnotic Nights, Wasted on the Dream
2. Mrs. Magician – Strange Heaven, Bermuda
3. Bass Drum of Death – GB City, Bass Drum of Death, Rip This
4. Ty Segall – Melted
5. Peach Kelli Pop – PKP, PKPII, PKPIII, Gentle Leader
6. Guantanamo Baywatch – Chest Crawl, Darling… It’s Too Late, Desert Center
7. Hot Lunch – Hot Lunch, Seconds
8. Western Addiction – I’m Not the Man That I Thought I’d Be, Tremulous
9. White Reaper – White Reaper Does It Again, The Worlds Best American Band
10. Propagandhi – Failed States, Victory Lap
Favorite Cover of 2019: Colleen Green’s – Dude Ranch by blink-182
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: blink-182’s Darkside video was definitely the most confusing so I’ll go with that one.
Favorite Discovery: Parquet Courts, Stef Chura, The Kickstand Band, Blushh, Habibi, Menzingers, Amyl and the Sniffers, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Charly Bliss, Sheer Mag, Podcasts in General like blink-155.
Party Jam: Paranoid by Black Sabbath or Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac
Heavy Jam: South of Heaven – Slayer or Jeff the Brotherhood – Melting Place
Song to Cry To: Baby, Baby – Amy Grant
Hot Take: Telecasters look cooler than Strats
Artist you Avoided: Kanye
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: David Bowie – Queen Bitch
JAMIE PETERS
Best of 2019:
• Great Grandpa- Four of Arrows
• Wander-March
• Hikes-Mahal Kita
• Rat Tally-When You Wake Up
• King of Heck-Shine in My Chest
• Horse Jumper of Love- So Divine
• Artless Candor – Pacer Run
• Wreck and Reference- Absolute Still Life
• Elephant Gym-Underwater
• Mid-Air Thief- Crumbling
Decade Highlights:
Deafheaven-Sunbather (2013)
Crying-Beyond the Fleeting Gale (2016)
The Hotelier-Home, Like No Place is There (2014)
Foxing-The Albatross (2013)
This Will Destroy You- Another Language (2014)
Wreck and Reference- Indifferent Rivers Romance End (2016)
Purity Ring-Shrines (2012)
Father John Misty-Pure Comedy (2017)
Algernon Cadwallader- Parrot Flies (2011)
Titus Andronicus- The Monitor (2010)
Favorite Cover of 2019: Not 2019, but Hot Dad’s synthpop cover of Mambo No. 5, it gave a weird amount of emotional depth that wasn’t in the original lol. Also not 2019, but Hot Chip’s cover of Dancing in the Dark by Bruce (Hunk) Springsteen. For realsies 2019 answer: Lucy Dacus’s cover of Dancing in the Dark by Bruce (Hunk) Springsteen. I really like Dancing in the Dark lol.
Favorite Discovery: WEATHERBOX!!! Discovered them during their hiatus, BUT they’re coming back soon :^) !!!
Hot Take: If you don’t mess with grindcore you’re not really from Reno, sorry I don’t make the rules!
Artist you Avoided: Wallows, buncha high school students I taught told me to check it out, I hated it, and I think they hold it against me now lol
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Probably the closeness of both Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. That was a rough couple months in 2017. Also Mark Hollis from Talk Talk earlier this year.
SUNDAY SASSER
Best of 2019:
Attribution Reluctance- Pry
Patience-Mannequin Pussy
Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes- Soccer Mommy
M is for Empathy- Lomelda
Fade Into Dawn- Field Medic
Not- Big Thief
Disco- Surf Curse Music Video
Berkeley’s on Fire- SWMRS
Better Oblivion Community Center
Crushing- Julia Jacklin
Decade Highlights:
A Pearl-Mitski
Night Confessions- Miserable
Scraps and Love Songs Revisited- Porches
Lemons-Frontyards
All the Toppings- Panucci’s Pizza
Motorcycle.jpg- Slaughter Beach Dog
Monitor-Titus Andronicus
Crush Crusher- Ian Sweet
Crane Your Neck-Lady Lamb
Animal- Big Thief
Favorite Cover of 2019: Lucy Dacus covers Dancing in the Dark- Bruce Springstein
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: The Visual Album for A Different Age- Current Joys
Favorite Discovery: I listened to welcome to the black parade by MCRomance and lowkey it sounds like an emo bohemian rhapsody
Party Jam: Hellboy- SWMRS
Heavy Jam: Your Best American Girl- Mitski
Song to Cry To: Killer- Phoebe Bridgers
Hot Take: Billie Eilish doesn’t deserve the hype because her brother writes and produces all of her songs and plays them live for her
Artist you Avoided: The Regrettes
WATSON MEYER
Best of 2019:
10 Polvo – Polvo
9 Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want (2018)
8 Justus Proffit – L.A.’s Got Me Down
7 Jawstruck Serva Pool Show
6 Dreamdecay – N/O
5 Fil Corbitt/Lauren Baker – Valley Of
4 El Salvador Closing Celebration Show
3 Pile – Green and Grey
2 Spitting Image Comeback Show
1 Wand – Laughing Matter
Decade Highlights:
TELE/VISIONS House Show
Spitting Image Warehouse Show
Skinwalkers Album Release Show
2018 Holland Halloween show
Circus Circus Show
Tiny Gems
Protomartyr Holland Show
The Can’t Gets New Years Show
Pry Sheas Tavern Show
2014 Fourth of July Freedom Fuck Off
Favorite Cover of 2019: King Woman – I Wanna Be Adored (The Stone Roses)
Favorite Discovery: This year was the year i really listened to Bruce Springsteen and The Velvet Underground, but who cares about that. Probably my favorite discovery was of Frankie Broyles and all his projects (Solo, Balkans, Omni)
Party Jam: Surf Curse – Disco
Heavy Jam: Daughters – The Reason They Hate Me (2018)
Song to Cry To: Nick Cave – Hollywood
Hot Take: Mac Demarco dies with 2020
Artist you Avoided: Unintentionally; FKA Twigs
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Daniel Johnston
TYNA SLOAN
Best of 2019:
Flamagra – Flying Lotus
May the Lord Watch – Little Brother
Structuralis – Alfa Mist
Eve – Rhapsody
Drik Barbosa – Drik Barbosa
Abracadabra – Anna Wise
Athena – Sudan Archive
At The Party with My Brown Friends – Black Belt Eagle Scout
Any Human Friend – Marika Hackman
Metronomy Forever – Metronomy
The Return – Sampa the Great
Decade Highlights:
Lekhfa/Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca, and Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, Soft Hair/Soft Hair, 1 Time Mirage/Knife Knights, On the Go/MatthewHalsall, You and Me/Meute, Piece of Mind/Little Dragon, Faith Evans, and Raphael Saadiq, Nautilus/Anna Meredith, It’s Glimmering Now/Silver Jackson, Jazz/Mick Jenkins,Prisma Tropical/Balun, Piano Works/Philip Glass
Favorite Cover of 2019: 2010 Fuck the Pain Away My Bubba & Me
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: Flamagra/Flying Lotus DeluxeEdition Pop Art up Album and the little Spotify vids
Favorite Discovery: Brad Stank’s Eternal Slowdown…. How did I miss this Scouse!
Party Jam: Happy Birthday/Childish Major
Heavy Jam: Mooo!/Doja Cat
Song to Cry To: Interwined/Purple Ferdinand…I like the video as well
Hot Take: emo hip hop…I don’t understand this. I may have made this up, but you get me… those super sad purple sizrup dribble on your bib while you soak in a bath contemplating death or your girl?
Artist you Avoided: Robin Thicke
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Ranking Roger + Hollie Cook Milk and Honey
JACOB CHADWICK
Decade Highlights:
Young Fathers – Tape One & Tape Two
Bayonne – Primitives
Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
Leikeli47 – Leikeli47
Susso – Keira
Advance Base – Nephew in the Wild
Kanye West – The Life of Pablo
Polo & Pan – their Cercle set at Serre Monumentale
Favorite Discovery: Since I’m relatively new to town, I have found real joy in discovering music with ties to Reno, these some of my faves: Psychic Guilt, Tommy and the Tongues, Stirr Lightly, People With Bodies, Night Rooms, Surf Curse, Slovenly Recordings, Bug Bath, Tresed, Current Joys, Up is the down is the, anything on KWNK
Hot Take: I love Kanye.
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: Daniel Johnston – True Love Will Find You in the End
CLARK “RULES” DEMERITT
Best of 2019:
In no particular order…
Purple Mountains- Purple Mountians
Denzel Curry- Zuu
Cyberplasm- The psychic Hologram
Clarko- Medeocre Man 7″” (I’m my favorite!)
Minneapolis Uranium Club- The Cosmo Cleaners
Cate Le Bon- Reward
Maxo Kream- Brandon Banks
Beyonce- Homecoming: The Live Album
Decade Highlights: I can’t remember anything! These are a few words that I can think! Seeing Holland flourish and thrive from far away! Coneheads, Kanye, Maraudeur, Dream Decay live!, CLARKO! (I’m my favorite), Mozart, Uranium Club
Favorite Discovery: George Jones!
Party Jam: Shake 88 by Denzel Curry
Heavy Jam: I’m not sure what a heavy jam is
Song to Cry To: All of the Purple Mountains LP
Hot Take: While the cover is awesome, I do not like the new Blood Incantation record and I don’t understand the new Solange
Artist you Avoided: 100 Gecs
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: David Berman- Maybe I’m the only one for me
IAN GREY
Best of the Year:
Iketoma Hits – Otoboke Beaver
Machine Girl DJ Set
Goth Bingo Night
REBECCA BLACK LIVE
Andromeda- Weyes Blood
Any Horse Champ set
Pony – Orville Peck
Magdalene -. FKA Twigs
Summer Ends Show
Best of the Decade:
Halloween show 2016
High and Dry
Midway Show
Japanese Breakfast Show
Any Shannon and the Clams show
Holland 10 Year
Bury Me at Makeout Creek – Mitski
Body Talk – Robyn
PC Music
CAMERON BECK
Ten favorite 2019 albums- no particular order (except LFY is my favorite ’19 release):
Lust For Youth- Lust For Youth
Mustard- Perfect 10
Yellow Eyes- Rare Field Ceiling
Surf Curse- Heaven Surrounds You
Blood Incantation- Hidden History of the Human Race
Roddy Ricch- please excuse me for being anti-social
Lana Del Rey- Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Andy Stott- It Should Be Us
DaBaby- KIRK
Pissgrave- Posthumous Humiliation
Ten album favorites 2010-2019 (no order):
Alex G- DSU
Destruction Unit- Deep Trip
Kurt Vile- Smoke Ring For My Halo
Waxahatchee- Cerulean Salt
Death Grips- The Money Store
Tera Melos- X’ed Out
Wand- Ganglion Reef
Lorde- Pure Heroine
Gucci Mane/Metro Boomin- Droptopwop
Daniel Avery- Drone Logic
SCOTT BATES
Top 10 favorite music stuff of 2019 in no particular order:
The Juvinals “Sorry, I Wasn’t Listening” – I love the new record they put out this year. I’ve bothered them for years about doing a proper recording of ‘RX Plan’, and they almost accidentally left it off of the record! The particular songs that really blew me away were ‘DNA’ and ‘My Brother’, which makes me tear up just thinking about it.
Blunderbusst “Monarch of the Mountain” – Jen Scaffidi also writes songs that make me want to tear up. Her and the Busst worked hard this year on gigging around the US and releasing this gem of a double 7″.
Slovenly- Started working for em’ booking tours, and have been pretty impressed by some of the releases that’ve come out this year. Especially records from Telekrimen, Midnite Snaxxx, Model Zero, and Ladrones. Suggested tracks: Telekrimen – Richman Holocausto, Midnite Snaxxx – Music Inside, Model Zero – Missile Protector, Ladrones – Canción de Stan
Lake’s Crossing Rock & Pop Festival- Got asked to fill in on the low end for my buds in Elephant Rifle. This was a benefit for a loved one, so it was an obvious yes. Never thought that we’d have so many heavy bands playing at Wingfield park in the daytime, but Brad and crew pulled it off, and it was a beautiful success.
New Eddie & the Subtitles recording- Worked with two awesome songwriters this year and recorded some of that good stuff. Eddie just turned 70 and could still weave a mixed bag of great songs. Whether it’s sentimental heartbreak or politically frustrated punk fury, he still has so much creativity to be tapped.
New Slow Wow recording- Jenn’s songwriting has flourished to great levels this year. Just when you’ve thought you’ve heard the best one, out comes an even better one. Still amazes me that she materializes her songs from the get-go with melodic bass leads and vocals.
The Rats “In a Desperate Red” – Reissue – Like all Dead Moon fans out there, I have nothing but love and respect for the projects of Fred and Toody. This record stands out as one of the best they ever did. It was their 3rd and last before they eventually went on to greener pastures. If I don’t shut up now, I’m going to write a whole chapter on this band, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Messthetics show- Brendan Canty and Joe Lally of Fugazi came back to Reno for the first time since 1999 and blew my fucking mind.
Curb Cuts Radio on KWNK- My scrappy radio show will hit it’s 50th episode before the year ends. Kinda cool.
Pixies show at GSR- My awesome friend took me to this show and it was a very good time. The Pixies were very very very good. I don’t normally dig shows with assigned seating, but it did feel nice to just chill and watch a band you like. The guy in the seat in front of us stood up and got buck every time a lyric he knew came up, which was like 100 times, at least. We enjoyed his enthusiasm.
COLE HAMEL
Best of 2019
Music:
Ceremony – In the Spirit World Now
Theophilus London & Tame Impala – Whiplash (Single)
Bug Bath – Know It’s Not Your Fault
Events:
Being able to throw “Live at The Holland Project” was definitely the highlight of my year. It was incredibly generous of the Holland Team for allowing me to host it there, and I felt so much support from the bands and people who came through. Big shout out to KWNK and 40 Mile as well. The Live recordings should be finished shortly, and I hope to do it again next year! Another great show was Ceremony and Sheer Mag. I had a blast.
2010-2019. Too many to name, but the most impactful, and most defining to me were (in no specific order):
The Weeknd – Mixtapes (Trilogy)
Kanye West – Yeezus
Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino
Travis Scott – Days Before Rodeo
Arctic Monkeys – AM
Young Thug – Barter 6
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid Maad City
ASAP Rocky – LiveLoveASAP
Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression
Queens of the Stone Age – Like Clockwork
BRITT CURTIS
Best of 2019
Orville Peck – Pony
If there was ever something chemically engineered to be exactly something I’d fall head over heels with – this might be it. Glam cowboy crooner – mysterious, killer fashion, a meshing of a campy western vibe with a little John Waters and a perfect voice and songwriting skills to boot? Check, check, check. This album stayed on repeat all year long, and I actively made new converts if in someone’s home or car, so I could keep listening. I made my baby be Orville for Halloween, and I think it was Watson that said Orville is Reno’s Patron Saint. I feel that with all my heart, and by the number of Orville’s that joined Theo for Halloween, I think he’s absolutely right.
Hand Habits – Placeholder
I’ve been a Meg fan for awhile, both their solo work and their work with Kevin Morby, but Placeholder is like next level. This album is so good and so beautiful, and I honestly can’t find a single thing I’d change or a song or piece I don’t like. It’s the whole package and a stunning, perfect play for any time of day or night.
Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
Angel usually finds herself on my year-end lists when she releases new music – happy to report it’s business as usual and this big, orchestral, lush album didn’t disappoint.
Big Thief – U.F.O.F
Haunting, meticulous, beautiful, spooky and soft – like a band of wispy folk ghosts getting together in a foggy field. It’s an album that feels perfectly realized, has the ability to transport, and feels like a soothing balm to the endless anxiety and trauma of the year.
Lizzo – overall vibe
In the beginning of the year, Alana and I hung out with Shaughn and Cesar for their Up in the Mix Podcast. They demanded we watch this video and told us it would change our lives. IT DID. It was Lizzo’s just-released Juice and it was so good. We started a group chat after that just to talk about Lizzo. She released her EP close after and was already on her meteoric rise into the hearts of the whole nation. Her performances (esp. VMAs with a nod to Sister Act 2!), the vids, the release of Tempo with goddess Missy Elliot and the ensuing Instagram dance contest (“Lizzo flewd me to Coachella”), the insistence on self-love and bringing everyone up with her (especially those in need of the reminder) was a much-needed antidote to 2019. Let’s not forget Sasha Flute, the white sneaks, the killer outfits, the core message, the people she stood up for (starting unapologetically with herself) – she’s an unstoppable force and she gets one thousand A++++++’s from me.
Lil Nas X – the narrative
Like Lizzo, this was the gift that kept giving all year long. I found myself in constant conversations about Lil Nas X-related details and discoveries. For me, it’s less about the song (which, I do sorta like, or did maybe, in the beginning) than the discourse he spurred. Someone could teach a class on all the little things that make this story so good, so weird, so compelling, and one for the ages. Speaking of, if you missed the special Yee-Haw Agenda edition of Colloquial Sounds – listen HERE.
Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains
Love and peace to David Berman, and much gratitude for what will be a timeless record – one to return to and grow old with. I’ve been moved to tears more than once while driving when All My Happiness is Gone has unexpectedly played at just the right moment.
KWNK
A return to radio! Once KWNK began streaming, my listening increased like 50-fold. I originally advocated for the magic of radio – like FM airwaves only – but it was true that I did most of my listening in the car on the way to and from stuff. I made a commitment to myself to really actively tune-in as much as possible, and steer away from Spotify/Tidal and all that. It’s been nothing but rewards – there are so many good shows and programs and so many good DJs – and it really is so much better for both musical discovery than any playlist you’ll ever find on those other sites, while helping you remember songs and artists you love that you might not have heard in while.
Solange – When I Get Home
Another beautiful and visual project from Solange, with continued ambient and experimental elements, always a bit political, that takes the audience on a spiritual journey that’s aesthetically on point.
Lee Morgan
This is hardly new music – Morgan, a pioneer of hard bop jazz, died in the 1970s, but it’s my most listened to artist of 2019. People laughed at the end of the year when their Spotify wraps showed white noise or ocean sounds or whatever they fell asleep to as their top tracks. Morgan was THE artist that put our baby to sleep every nap, every midnight wake-up, every morning at 6AM. I bet we listened to no less than 2000 hours of Lee Morgan this year. Theo is like me, too much quiet and stillness makes him nervous. Morgan’s music hints at cozy 60s party unfolding just in the other room – there’s safety and comfort in that. And unlike the weird bloopy YouTube lullabies we played early on (or boygenius on repeat, which I loved maybe more than the other members of my family), Morgan is something that we all actually dig.
With shouts out to: Cuco, Clairo, Mannequin Pussy, Bill Callahan, and Nick Cave. I also think I’m gonna love this new Harry Styles, but haven’t had the time to give it proper attention yet!
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: So many good ones gone this year, but here are a few I’d like to shine some love on:
Roky Erikson – ‘Starry Eyes’ or ‘You Don’t Love Me Yet’
Hal Blaine – legendary session drummer and member of the Wrecking Crew – listen to The Ronettes ‘Be My Baby’ or Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’ (or watch The Wrecking Crew 2008 doc)
Shawn Smith, a soulful Seattle musician with the voice of an angel – listen to Brad’s ‘The Day Brings’
Ric Ocasek – The Cars – ‘Drive’
Daniel Johnston – ‘Devil Town’
David Berman – ‘Maybe I’m the Only One for Me’
Also, to the muse of one of my all-time favorite albums, Harvest Moon – Pegi Young – former wife of Neil Young, a musician in her own right, and founder of Bridge School Benefit Concert where I’ve seen some unforgettable performances over the years. Listen to ‘Unknown Legend.’
RAY MUELLER
Releases worth some words:
Have a Nice Life – Sea of worry
This album has meant a ton for me, and I have continuously listened to it since it’s November 8th release date. This is the most recent release of the shoe gaze/post punk band since the 2014 album The Unnatural World. This album is stylistically true to Have a Nice Life’s sound, gloomy, cathartic, and dark. The song that particularly caught my ears was the track, “Lords of Tresserhorn”, a song that is simple and repetitive, characterized by an emotionally pulverizing build cram packed with reverb, consistent of earlier albums like Deathconsciousness. Musically this was definitely hands down the highlight of my year!
Soul Glo – The Nigga in Me is Me
This release is fresh and exciting, raw and angry. Soul Glo is a hardcore band from Philadelphia, their sound is unique involving chaotic blast beats and breakdowns akin to a power violence sound, but also incorporating elements of a trap related hip hop sound, which is particularly clear on the track “31”. This content deals with largely political and emotional subject matter which can be seen in the title of this release, dealing with themes of oppression, racism, and personal struggle. Definitely worth a listen.
Show Me the Body – Dog Whistle
I’m certain that this album has made it on to many best of 2019 lists, but that’s for a good reason, because it’s a super solid release. The way I hear Show Me the Body is a refreshing direction that punk is taking, something new in a world of the same three chords heard for decades. This band is definitely basically a hardcore band, however they have unique sound that isn’t commonly heard within that scene. The lineup consists of bass, drums, and banjo, the vocals are gruff and pissed off, with an almost hip hop rhythm. I dunno there are some kinda goofy aspects about this band, like their clear romanticization of urban plight, perhaps overly serious tough guy attitude, and dramatic lyrical content. Overall however, this album is top notch and definitely one of the most novel releases this year, and I feel privileged to have been able to see them play live. My fav song on Dog Whistle is the opening track, “Camp Orchestra”.
Jerome’s Dream – LP
Y’all remember Jerome’s Dream? Yeah that’s right those screamo daddies from the 90’s. Well they released their first album since 2001 this year! I’m not exactly sure they can be classified as “screamo” anymore as the vocalist no longer does that, presumably because he used to scream at live shows without a microphone. The vocals nowadays are more like a calm yet unintelligible shouting. This however does not downplay the quality of this release, musically it is very good and consistent of their old sound, albeit a bit tighter, cleaner, and more refined. Its got the classic sound of 90’s screamo, occasional chuggy riffs broken up by shrieky harmonics, and sensitive slow sad guitar builds. The song that I personally thought stuck out was “Cataracts so Far”.
Diät – Positive Disintegration
Berlin outfit Diät released a companion record to their 2015 lp “Positive Energy” on Iron Lung records earlier this year and it’s got a bunch of hooky bangers on it. Reading the description on Iron Lung it seems like this record is basically about the contemporary mundanity of capitalist first world living and how there is no joy in living in this environment, which frankly I think most of us can relate to. Diät can be classified as post punk, and most of the songs consist of both powerful and melancholic catchy riffs coupled with beats that kinda make you wanna boogie (but you know in a goth kinda way). Fav song “Missed the Bus”.
Other cool songs:
Chelsea Wolfe – Birth of Violence
Fav song: “Deranged for Rock & Roll”
Boy Harsher – Careful
Fav song: “Tears”
Haunted Horses – Dead Meat
Fav song: “Wixkle”
Amygdala – Our Voices Will Soar Forever
Fav song: “BPD is Killing Me”
SeeYouSpaceCowboy – Songs For the Firing Squad
Fav song: “Self Help Specialist Ends Own Life”
Favorite cover: Pj Harvey’s cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “Red Right Hand”
Honorable mention for cover: Drahla’s cover of Psychic T.V.’s “Godstar”
2019 artist loss: Roky Erickson remembered by 13 Floor Elevators – You’re Gonna Miss Me; and Lorna Doom of Germs remembered by Germs – We Must Bleed
FINE MOTOR
Top Ten of 2019:
Girls Rock Reno Camp
Girls Rock Reno Open House
Felicia Perez’ exhibition “Still Here”
Books:
Zadie Smith, Grand Union
Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys
Melanie Micir, The Passion Projects
Karen Russell, Orange World and Other Stories
Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House
Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, She Said
EMILY PRATT OF PEOPLE WITH BODIES
Decade Highlights
Charles Bradley
Charles Bradley had a long career before 2010, but it was the period between 2011 to his untimely death in 2016 that the world fell in love with him. His voice was the sound of love itself. His lyrics came from the gut, the same place that ultimately sealed his doom. He was both of this world and beyond it. If all of this sounds saccharine and sentimental, that’s because that’s how his music was – totally unafraid of coming across as corny or cliche. “Lovin’ You” doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is, and as a result, it sounds like a resurfaced classic from decades past. His music was pure, joyful, and life-changing. Rest in Peace.
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
File under: can you believe it’s been 10 years? This album has that quality of feeling totally overwhelming in a beautiful way. When I start listening to it, I get this little fear of facing all the emotions that Arcade Fire takes me through. I don’t feel ready for it. It’s weird. It’s such a magnificent, scary, and beautiful album. It truly holds up and I think has solidified itself as a classic. You can hear its influence over a lot of the music that came out over the decade.
PaltaX @ Salon Pueyrredon in Buenos Aires
This band we played with in Buenos Aires played it very cool before they went on stage. They told us they were called PaltaX, saying it meant avocado. I wasn’t ready for the fury these five women brought to the stage. To a mid-sized crowd mostly standing near the back of the room, I witnessed the best punk rock set of the decade unfold. Their aesthetic was all dark tracksuits, tennis shoes, leather skirts, it painted such a beautiful portrait of the streets of Buenos Aires where they come from. They felt so real. Fast hardcore beats, ugly growling and screeching screams, and a keyboard player sending wild alien sounds over the top of the chaos. It was over before I knew it, but I’ll never forget it.
Riddles – Ed Schrader’s Music Beat + Performances
When I first saw Ed Schrader perform in Boise, I had no idea what to expect. His music was on Adult Swim, so I thought I might see some too-cool-for-school kind of band surfing on the crest of their hip wave. I was blown away by what I saw. First, the show was very sparsely attended, maybe 20 people, and Ed was dancing like there was no one else around. He was moving around and singing so freely, it was very moving, hilarious, and scary at the same time. I was moved to tears during the song “Culebra” as he told the story of a place he loved to visit in Puerto Rico that was now in ruins after the hurricane. After this powerful performance, I heard the album Riddles, and Immediately became a huge fan. “Tom” is a real heartbreaker.
Martin Creed – Love To You
Martin Creed showed me how easy it can be to over think and overwork your art, and also how easy it can be to just have fun and fuck around with the simple joy of creativity. He’s so sincere and so absurd, he can write a beautiful song like “Love To You,” but then tour on a performance called “Bum Piano,” where he literally plays a piano with his ass. He gets annoyed with being called an artist, which could be seen as aloof, but his angle is really compelling. Rather than having his work be considered Art with a capital A, he’d rather just relish in the joy of creation. He makes installation and performance art, has composed a handful of string quartets, and plays in a bizarre minimalist punk band. He’s really inspired me to explore creativity in any way I feel that day.
A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead
This icy glacier at the stated end of Radiohead’s career is like the sadness that descends near the end of a party that you don’t want to leave. It’s got all of the grandeur and beauty they’ve always been so good at crafting, with a distinct bittersweetness that comes with the end of things. Whether or not this is really their last album, it is an album of endings, it was about the end of Thom Yorke’s relationship that was soon followed by his partner’s death. There’s a real sense of grief that fills this already harrowing masterpiece. I don’t listen to it a lot. It affects me very much when I do.
Become Ocean – John Luther Adams
If there’s a theme that ties together all of these pieces, it’s the feeling of being overwhelmed. John Luther Adams, composer of Become Ocean, described his work perfectly as giving the feeling of “positive overwhelming.” Being overwhelmed comes with a certain quantity of anxiety. It’s like hyperventilating, feeling the terror coming on, and peacefully releasing it. Become Ocean feels like falling off a cliff again and again, slowly. It’s an experience that I can’t even imagine seeing live, but the recording, with a good pair of headphones, will do. I recently listened to it while reading the final chapter of Ursula K. Le Guin’s “A Wizard of Earthsea” and it was one of the most profound aesthetic experiences of my life.
Jose Gonzales & The String Theory @ The Pioneer Center
I met Jose Gonzales when he played with Junip years ago at the Knitting Factory. It was a cold night, and though it was a decent crowd, the cavernous Knitting Factory made it feel dead and empty. All feelings of intimacy were walled off by the ten-foot-stage between us all and the band. I asked Jose, “Why did you come to Reno?” and he said simply, “We’d never been here before.” I was worried that he’d never come back. But it turns out, something about our town had spoken to him, and he included the Pioneer Center on a list of limited venues on his tour with the String Theory. I almost didn’t go. I’m so glad I did. With an orchestra behind him, he elevated his songs to an entirely new strata, while feeling totally rooted and personal. He’s such a genuine and nice dude, and I was very inspired by his vision.
A Mulher do Fim Do Mundo – Elza Soares
A perfect example of the universality of art comes in the form of this album, released by a member of Brazil’s samba royalty – Elza Soares. Brazil’s taste for the avant-garde is a streak that runs deep, but rears its head in very unexpected places. The album title translates to “A Woman at the End of the World,” and is filled with that kind of apocalyptic terror and catharsis. Elza Soares suffered terrible abuse and poverty in her life, and lays it all out on the line in this album. It’s esoteric, dirty, punk rock, a stunning work of courage and power. It’s an album that can keep us going through Bolsonaro and Trump, empowering us to spit defiantly back at their hate.
The Buzzcocks @ Burger Boogaloo
I didn’t go. I’ll always regret it. The Buzzcocks have always been very near and dear to me. I’ve always felt a kinship with the fact that their melodic pop sensitivity didn’t exactly speak to the punk community at the time, and they struggled to fit in for many of their formative years. But they persevered, put out their own music, played relentlessly, and solidified their art as the classic and timeless work that it is. When Pete Shelley died, I missed my shot to see the Buzzcocks forever. I include this on the list as a reminder to everyone to see the bands you love when you have the chance to see them. You never know. Recently, a fresh band that had just barely formed their own sound – Hers – died in a car crash. You might think you have plenty of time, but anything can happen. Live now, experience all you can.
Tracks
Lovin’ You – Charles Bradley
Why is It So Hard? – Charles Bradley
Rococo – Arcade Fire
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Agatha Christie – PaltaX
Tom – Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
Culebra – Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
Mind Trap – Martin Creed
I Can’t Stop Thinking About You – Martin Creed
Daydreaming – Radiohead
Ful Stop – Radiohead
Become Ocean – John Luther Adams
A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo – Elza Soares
Pra Fuder – Elza Soares
Everybody’s Happy Nowadays – The Buzzcocks
Tomboy – Princess Nokia
Never Catch Me – Flying Lotus feat. Kendrick Lamar
Them Changes – Thundercat
The Sun Roars Into View – Sarah Neufeld & Colin Stetson
Way too many more to list
ILYA ARBATMAN
Thinking about the ‘best of the decade’ got me thinking about how we really like to think in decades when we turn a retrospective eye. The 60s with their enviable and (maybe) successful political movements, the 70s with their bright lights and disillusionment and cynical thrillers, the 80s with their synthesizers and alleged collapse of socialism, the 90s with their goofy hip-hop and perfectly earnest indie rock, the 00’s (do people really say ‘naughts’?) with their terrifying step towards Big Brother – just a few decades too late – and dunk in the postmodern bath where ideas, genres, and ideologies get all swirled up and messy and too diluted to matter, and then, now, the two-thousand teens ——— how do we characterize this decade? Unfortunately, it will probably take some good old-fashioned distance to really get a hold on what’s transpired these past ten years. It’s weird how you never really know what’s happened until it’s been over and done with for some time.
It was hard for me to conjure up anything meaningful for this ‘Best of the Decade’ because any trip I took into the past ended up being too personal, too about-me to really make sense to anyone else. So I thought, what objective record do I have of the past? Embarrassing as it may to be admit, the best thing I found was…..my e-mail. Seeing as I’ve had the same e-mail address since high school – back in those days somebody had to ‘invite’ you into the sacred Gmail society – it’s actually a pretty usable record of stuff. I could dive pretty deep into my own shit, but that’s a project for a different format and a tad too self-indulgent for this, so instead I figured I would: go year by year through my e-mail and sieve out the music that popped out. Hey, if a band made it into an e-mail that probably means I was pretty stoked on them, at least at that moment in time!
Of course, if past Ilya – say, 2014 Ilya – could read this list, he might be like, ‘dude, you were only into that band for like three weeks, that doesn’t characterize that year at all, you are an embarrassment to all Ilyas past, present, and future.’ But, there is only 2019-going-on-2020 Ilya, and he just really wanted to contribute to this ‘best of the decade thing’ and do his darned best, so here it is, my list of stuff – mostly bands, etc., but also maybe some other things here and there – that I think mattered to me according to my not that meticulous e-mail records over the past 10 years…
SEE ILYA’S “BEST OF THE DECADE” LIST HERE!
[Tags: Shoppers, Synare drum synths, Lemuria, Tsai Ming-Liang, Cathedral Ghost, Eric Naiman, Dusty the Cat Burglar, Lydia Davis + Clarice Lispector, Marital Impulses, Baader Brains, Tascam 688, Are You My Mother?, One Last Wish, Crisco Thunder, Dreamdecay, Where Do You Go When It Rains?, T-shirt quilt, UNITY, Big Crux, Clarke and the Himselfs, Hey Hallways, therapy, T. Rex, Sorry Not Sorry, Acid Fast, Stucko, Twin Peaks Season 3 , Surly, Eddie and the Subtitles, Wreckless Eric, Girls Rock Reno, Daniel Johnston, Leto (Summer), Jay Reatard]
NICK MEZA
Best of 2019
1. Mannequin Pussy – Patience
2. Portrayal Of Guilt – Suffering Is A Gift
3. Glitterer – Looking Through The Shades
4. Show Me The Body – Dog Whistle
5. Sanction – Broken In Refraction
6. State Faults – Clairvoyant
7. Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
8. Full Of Hell – Weeping Choir
9. No Right – Senescence
10. Ceremony – In The Sprit World Now
Best of the Decade:
In no particular order:
Angel Olsen – Half Way Home
Touché Amoré – Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me
Tigers Jaw – Charmer
Xibalba – Tierra Y Libertad
Full Of Hell – Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home
From Indian Lakes – Absent Sound
Culture Abuse – Peach
AGATG – Listen To The Colour
Cloakroom – Infinity
Beneath The Massacre – Incongruous
Favorite Cover of 2019: Jake Painter doing Cher!!! 😍
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: Fuming Mouth – The Great Decent
Artist you Avoided: Kanye West
BRIGDON MARKWARD
Best of 2019:
House of Sugar – (Sandy) Alex G
Self Titled – Purple Mountains
Two Hands – Big Thief
All Mirrors – Angel Olsen
When I Get Home – Solange
Movimiento Para Cambio – Pelada
Berryland – The Berries
A Distant Call – Sheer Mag
Patience – Mannequin Pussy
Atlanta Millionaires Club – Faye Webster
Best of the Decade:
A Seat at the Table – Solange
Life of Pablo – Kanye West
Whack World – Tierra Whack
Blonde – Frank Ocean
Reaching for Indigo – Circuit Des Yeux
Cupid Deluxe – Blood Orange
Burn your Fire for No Witness – Angel Olsen
Ruins – Grouper
Jeffrey – Young Thug
Pleasure Suck – The Spirit of the Beehive
Notable Album Art, Concept, or Video from 2019: Movimiento Para Cambio by Pelada had the most interesting album art I saw all year. The album was great too
Favorite Discovery: Last year + this year I’ve spent a lot of time diving into the back catalogues and classic albums of composers like Yasuaki Shimizu, Haruomi Hosono, and Hiroshi Yoshimura. I’ve been trying to better understand sound design, and the way these guys incorporate nearly every corner of music into their work has changed how I think about music, and composition in a huge way
Party Jam: Big Titties – Rico Nasty
Heavy Jam: Super Stare – Candy
Song to Cry To: Nites Like This – Choir Boy
Hot Take: Most music that falls under the umbrella punk music is corny and out of touch
Artist you Avoided: As much as I love Orville Peck and Show Me the Body, they’ve become unavoidable and I haven’t caught a break from them all year. I’m supremely burnt out
Artist Lost + Song to Remember: David Berman, All my Happiness is Gone / Purple Mountains