Your Top 10 Musical Discoveries of 2019

[MC Bad Genius]

Over the last few years, a few friends have started a tradition of sharing a playlist of our top 10 songs that we've discovered for the first time in the previous year. It could be songs that were released within the last 12 months, or maybe a bygone classic from decades ago that we simply hadn't come across before. It's been a really fun way to find out more about each other and also going on a bit of a musical adventure that we otherwise wouldn't have trekked down.

So I thought it might be interesting to share with some random people on this board and see what other sonic journeys it might take me down.

Feel free to post your top 10 as a list, or a Spotify playlist, or bunch of youtube clips, whatever floats your boat. You can give a little story about how you discovered each song, or describe why you like that particular song, or just let the music speak for yourself.

 

[MC Bad Genius]

Here's mine to start us off:




The first track (Fixture Picture by Aldous Harding) is my favourite song of the year, off my favourite album of the year, from the artist that put on my favourite gig of the year. The whole album is fantastic and this song in particular is reminiscent of Beck's "Seachange" (which is possibly my favourite album of all time), so it's no wonder I love it. The film clip matches the song perfectly - a mix of beautiful landscapes and some slight off-putting kookiness - and I could watch it over and over and over.

But I won't bore you with details of all the other ones haha.

 

[Roobs321]

Pre-2019 tracks I became acquainted & most obsessed with:

Skyline Pigeon - Elton John
That's the Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
Don't Walk Away - Jade
Man With Golden Helmet - Radio Birdman
Blue (Live in China) - Wham!
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) - De La Soul
River Man - Nick Drake
Wings of an Eagle - Russell Morris
Mr. Sunrise - Horsemen
Sexual (Li Da Di) - Amber

 

[DEVO]

I doubt I could name 5, but here goes.

My Darlin' Girl - The Audreys
I actually bought the album (Til My Tears Roll Away) back in 2014 when it was released, but for whatever reason none of the songs stood out, until a few months ago when I heard this song for the first time in five years and it blew me away. It has a real bluesy feel with fuzzy guitars and Taasha's voice is sublime. No idea why it didn't stick years ago.

Earth & Fire
Before Earth, Wind & Fire there was a Dutch prog/symphonic rock band Earth & Fire who in the early seventies produced some really interesting music. Lead singer Jerney Kaagman has a very under rated voice and could hold her own against most of today symphonic vocalist such as Sharon den Adel, Anneke van Giersbergen, Tarja Turunen and Vibeke Stene.

Angel Olsen
Hadn't heard of her until my daughter played her latest album while we were driving up to Sydney a few months ago.

Olympia
Another artist my daughter introduced my too. Smoke Signals is brilliant, has a wonderful 70's/80's feel to it.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I'm not across modern music very much (rely mostly on this board for recommendations usually) but stumbled across the Allah Las.



They also do a pretty cool cover of a George Harrison song, Fish on the Sand.

 

[DEVO]

I've thought of another one.

Tarnation
An Indie Rock band from San Francisco released a few albums in the mid nineties. Their third album, Mirador, contains some wonderful songs including 'Destiny', 'A Place Where I Know' and 'Your Thought and Mine' which I saw on Rage a few weeks ago. Lead singer, Paula Fraser has an very interesting voice.

I made it to five.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

I'll see what I can do.

May or may not be 2019 inclusive and feel like 10 is too limited.

Client Liaison - Off White Limousine.
Walk the Moon - Jenny.
Amyl and the Sniffers - Got You.
Groove Terminators - You Can't See.
Zomboy - End Game (TC remix.)
Sunbeam - Arms of Heaven.
Alison Moyet - Weak in the Presence of Beauty.
Dimension - If You Want To.
Parov Stelar - Catgroove.
Alice Deejay - Back In My Life.
Final Fantasy - Controlling Transmission.
C-Block - Time is Tickin'.
Dimension - Generator.
Katy Perry - Walking on Air.
Imperio - Atlantis.
Cosmic Psychos - Nice day to go to the Pub.
Fisher - You Little Beauty.
Infected Mushroom - Psycho.
Freya Ridings - Castles.
Jones & Stephenson - The First Rebirth.
Sunbeam - Outside World.

Sorry it's overfilled.

 

[HotSausage69]

 

[HotSausage69]

 

[screech]

Classic!

 

[screech]

Great idea! Earlier this year I started on a bit of a journey, working through the albums in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time that I had not experienced, you know the ones where you know the hits, or heard it in passing, but not listened to properly. A number of these tracks came from that, or from other discoveries over the year:

Love - Forever Changes [Entire Album] - I have posted about this previously, but I have no idea how I had not heard of this before




Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Carry On




Television - Elevation




The 13th Floor Elevators - Slip Inside This House




Big Star - My Life Is Right

 

[screech]

Buffalo Springfield - Broken Arrow




Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy




David McWilliams - Days Of Pearly Spencer




Bruce Springsteen - Downbound Train




Santigold & Julian Casablancas ft. Pharrell Williams - My Drive Thru

 

[screech]

Walk the Moon - Jenny

I wanna be the sand inside that hourglass...

That was a really good album, Anna Sun and Lisa Baby were excellent tracks

 

[La Dispute]

The best stuff Julian Casablancas has done post FIOE is either random collaborations or with the Voidz

 

[SSwans2011]

I know it wasn't meant to be favourite tracks of last year, but that's probably easier:

Mdou Moctar - Tarhatazed
Tropical * Storm - Paradise
Slowthai, Mura Masa - Doorman
The Comet Is Coming - Summon The Fire
Algiers - Can The Sub_Bass Speak?
Kirin J Callinan - The Whole of the Moon (Waterboys cover)
Westside Gunn - Lunchin
Uboa - An Angel of Great and Terrible Light
Liturgy - God of War
Seagull - Mercury

 

[Eddie Dingle]

I'm not across modern music very much (rely mostly on this board for recommendations usually) but stumbled across the Allah Las.



They also do a pretty cool cover of a George Harrison song, Fish on the Sand.

I'll check them out. First tune is cool.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

10 songs I discovered in 2019???

First five

 

[Eddie Dingle]

Second five...

 

[La Dispute]

Only properly listened to A Moon Shaped Pool last year, and I think it holds up really well. I still thought King of Limbs was awful, and in hindsight hasn’t even aged well, but AMSP is such a cruisy listen but gets intense at all the right moments. Identikit is their best song since Nude or Jigsaw Falling Into Place.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I came across Bored Nothing just scrolling through youtube



Lo fi indie. Had sort of missed them on the way through though I vaguely remember Let Down.

Found a few songs and liked them so did a bit more exploring but after a bit of reading found out that 'Bored Nothing' was one bloke, Fergus Miller, and he'd committed suicide a few years ago.

 

[RobbieGray17]

One of the best finds of 2019





2020

 

[Toump Ass]

Barbara Streisand - Woman In Love
Pat Benatar - Sex Is A Weapon (Instrumental Mix, played at 33rpm)
Viagra Boys - Sports (whole album is amazing)
Girl Band - Prefab Castle (again, killer album)
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
Donnie & Joe Emerson - Baby (killer album)
IDLES - Collosus
Missy Elliot - Pass That Dutch
RZA - Liquid Swords (whole album)
Keyon Harrold - The Mugician

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Donnie & Joe Emerson - Baby (killer album)
RZA - Liquid Swords (whole album)

Love these two

 

[Richard Cranium]

*GZA - Liquid Swords, not RZA.