Weirdo Music Forever's Top 19 Tracks of 2019
This weird planet of ours has somehow nearly completed another successful trip around the sun, and here at WMF that can only mean one thing — it’s time to share some of our favorite tracks released in the past year. Once again, we’ve compiled not only a stellar sampling of the tracks we’ve enjoyed most in the last twelve months, but also exclusive information related to those musical creations directly from the artists themselves.
Without exception, these nineteen tracks are — for different reasons — absolute gems in our world, and it is our privilege and pleasure to celebrate and share these treasures with you here. We hope the numbering/order* is interpreted in that spirit rather than strict rankings, since this list — though representing a comparatively broad spectrum of statements that fit snugly into the Weirdoverse — is composed of music that stands on its own merits, above the fray of numerical evaluation and ranking. The purpose of this present endeavor, therefore, is not to quantify or critique, but rather to present a playlist that works independently as an audible document, representing a year of particular music we feel deserves attention and celebration. And with that preamble concluded, we hope you enjoy these remarkable nineteen tracks that encapsulate the final year of the decade for us here at Weirdo Music Forever.
1. “How Many Times??” — The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips - even after decades of creating some of the most enduring psychedelic and experimental pop music out there - are inspiring in their refusal to stagnate creatively. The Oklahoma City troupe of trailblazers has indefatigably labored to create an unparalleled body of work treasured not only by WMF, but also by countless fans across the globe. This year’s Flaming Lips album King’s Mouth beautifully does justice to the legacy of the band’s songwriting and production as well as its commitment to continued creative innovation.
For while King’s Mouth does indeed boast pop craftsmanship in the spirit of past mega-classics The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, and At War with the Mystics, it also explores new territory and warrants significant attention from both loyal Flaming Lips fans and new audiences alike. And though the album — with its enchanting narrative and seamless flow — is arguably best experienced start-to-finish, “How Many Times??” is a standout track that works brilliantly on its own. We were delighted, then, that Wayne Coyne generously shared the background to this track with WMF in October, 2019:
“How many Times” is song that I had for a long time.. maybe 10 years.. it is (was) a vague, sweet easy-to-sing little bit… (the song ) uses a couple of 7th type chords that I’m not very good at putting together, so for the longest time it was just 3 simple chords… and easy longing type singing .
The Kings Mouth album needed a few more songs and so I got it out ( thought I had it on a 4-track but couldn’t find it but then actually remembered it) and Steven [Drozd] quite liked it and we quickly added the middle bit where the Little Boy King (because he’s so giant) accidentally steps on his cat and squishes it…and then it was, like, a complete song…kind of…but then it seemed a little toooo normal…
So I was messing around with little gimmicks to put into it and stumbled upon this ridiculous counting stuff. My engineer (who is quick and creative) ran the counting stuff into a couple of pitch-changed sequences and, while I was out playing a show somewhere, he placed the counting into the song. I came back and, he (the engineer’s name is Dennis) said , ‘I’ve put the counting all through it and… well…it kind of ruins the song.’ I heard it and immediately said, ‘TURN IT UP.’”
2. “Stray Here With You” — Ariel Pink
We are thoroughly transparent here at WMF in our conviction that Ariel Pink has made one of the most sizeable and significant contributions to the ever-evolving canon of experimental pop music, and crucially also raised awareness of several other important artists who may never have reached greater audiences were it not for his apparent commitment to shining a light on their work.
The first cycle of the Ariel Archives project became a reality in October 2019 (via Mexican Summer), further highlighting Ariel Pink’s singular and bold artistic vision in a manner closer to the artist’s original intent than ever publicly experienced before. The archival endeavor has been — and continues to be —one of the most rewarding music offerings of this year, and we are already eagerly anticipating cycle two’s 2020 arrival.
WMF caught up with Ariel Pink in November, 2019, and he offered the following thought on “Stray Here With You”:
“The sounds offered themselves on a platter, and I grazed on the goodness.”
3. “Home To You” — Cate Le Bon
Both on her own and as one half of perennial WMF favorite DRINKS (along with Tim Presley), Cate Le Bon continues to be one of the most inspirational artists in our world here at WMF. Cate’s 2019 album Reward (via Mexican Summer) has logged in ample time on our turntable at WMF HQ this year, and with good reason — the album is exemplary in its unique vision and poignancy, offering new delights with each revisiting.
In November 2019, Cate gave this “Home to You” background info to us:
“I wrote the bones of this during the Hippo Lite sessions. Tim [Presley] was in the village checking his e-mails and I was left with a bottle of white wine and a keyboard. I told him I’d write a pop song by the time he returned. He took his time. I drank all the wine and wrote H2U. He wasn’t into it.”
4. “Waiting on the Moment” — Jonathan Bree
Jonathan Bree has taken our weird world by storm this year with his memorable live shows (we caught two sets at this year’s Desert Daze, and one at The Lodge Room in L.A.), remarkable recent recordings, and videos. “Waiting on the Moment” exemplifies Jonathan Bree’s appeal, and we have a strong feeling that the Jonathan Bree audience is going to grow exponentially in 2020, aided by formidable songwriting and production along with exceptional imagery and highly-memorable live shows. In November of 2019, Jonathan Bree shared the following insights into “Waiting on the Moment”:
“It's essentially a breakup song that you can dance to. The line about the karaoke bar is a reference to a familiar haunt that suddenly became a depressing reminder of past good times that were likely gone forever. ‘Islands in the Stream’ was our go-to duet. Musically, its more a celebration of the promise of some new chapter.”
5. “Suburban Junky Lady” — Royal Trux/Ariel Pink remix
Like so much of the music and art closest to our hearts, this one threw us for a loop, in the best of possible ways. Uncertain what to expect when we first heard that Ariel Pink would be “remixing” part of the 2019 Royal Trux album White Stuff, the resulting double-7-inch EP both thwarted and exceeded any expectations we may have had. More of an overhaul than a remix, the resulting EP is perfectly encapsulated in the gem that is “Suburban Junky Lady”.
This past November, Jennifer Herrema gave this background to “Suburban Junky Lady”:
“The Pink Stuff remix sessions were done in our Costa Mesa studio with my Black Bananas/RTX bandmates overseeing the sessions. It was a 4-day project. I only attended one of the days as I did not want to influence or inadvertently blurt out stoned opinions. I wanted Ariel to feel free to fuck with my shit. The day I attended, I watched Ariel play ‘mouth drums’ and it was fuckin’ amazing!”
In October 2019, Ariel also shared the following with us about the track:
“I went down to Costa Mesa to their studio, and had access to their master tapes. She stopped by a few times, but I was left to do whatever I wanted. I re-tracked everything, but kept her and Neil’s original vocals. It kind of sounds like Prince.”
6. “Phone” — Tim Presley’s White Fence
Tim Presley delightfully occupies our playlists and vinyl shelves through a variety of past and present projects, collaborations, and billings, including White Fence, DRINKS, the Fall, and more. Additionally, he’s collaborated with — and recorded music by — Jack Name, who also is an especially-valued artist in the Weirdoverse. With all this in mind, we were thrilled to not only see and hear Tim perform live twice this year (once at Desert Daze and once at the Tom of Finland Institute), but also see his visual art exhibition Under the Banner of Concern, and — of course — warmly welcome his double-LP I Have to Feed Larry’s Hawk to our collection.
One of the highlights from the highly-recommended LP (via Drag City) is “Phone”, and in November of 2019, Tim Presley told us this about the standout track:
“[I] wrote this on Cate [Le Bon]’s piano while staying with her in the Lake District, UK. I wanted to write something simple, repetitive & stark. I guess lyrically, I really wanted to get the point across. ‘I thought that you would be there’. Communication is important.”
7. “Between Tides“— DIIV
DIIV’s 2019 album is being heralded by many as a crucial and redefining statement by the band, and the bold claim appears warranted. The album is strong from start to finish, and seems to herald the rebirth of a band. Likely to appeal to not only established DIIV fans, but also new audiences, Deceiver is one of the most impressive albums of the year. Track “Between Tides” stood out to us immediately upon hearing the album when it was released this autumn, representing the rejuvenated, instrosepctive, and purposeful tone not only of the album, but also of the band itself.
Colin Caulfied shared the following background to this track with us in November, 2019:
“This song went through a bunch of different phases. Initially Cole recorded a version called ‘Honey’ that had an almost completely different feel. It was less moody, more rock and had entirely different vocals/lyrics. After playing the old version live for a bit we stopped because it wasn’t clicking. We talked about abandoning it when we started writing for Deceiver, but I’m glad we kept trying. In the end it became this crazy mix of all the vibes on the record - quiet, loud, angry, cathartic, contemplative, woozy, angular. It’s one of my favorites of the new songs.”
8. “Wonderful” — Brion Starr
Brion Starr was a new arrival to our world in 2019, and one for we are exceptionally grateful. We spoke at length with Brion this past spring about his remarkable album Global Identity (via Taxi Gauche), and illustrious photographer Miriam Marlene Waldner documented Brion with an exclusive and beautiful photo set while he was in Los Angeles. The album has remained at the forefront of our awareness ever since, effectively exemplified by track “Wonderful”.
In November 2019, Brion shared the following thoughts with us on “Wonderful”:
“Look around and see this wonderful world full of beautiful people but for some reason we all make it so hard for each other. I prefer to focus on the wonderful which can be so very hard sometimes, I still remember crowding around the mic with Robbie, Lida, and Jack at Konk recording the backup vocals for this track and we all couldn’t stop smiling at each other.”
9. “Loose Cannon” Puzzle
Both as one half of The Garden (along with brother Wyatt) and through his solo work under the Puzzle moniker, Fletcher Shears is one of those rare artists from whom we are always exceptionally eager to hear. Artistically unpredictable (in the best sense of the word) and consistently prolific, Puzzle’s delightfully disruptive, genre-defying work is exactly the kind of music that keeps us happily on our proverbial toes and passionate about new music in general. 2019 Puzzle album X Hail warrants significant attention with standout tracks like “Demon With a Violin Playing Big Hits for Little Kids”, “Over1234Think”, and “Loose Cannon” all showcasing formidable facets of Puzzle.
In November of this year, Fletcher reflected on “Loose Cannon” for WMF:
“It's about continuing to live your life without facing the conflicts within. Those inner 'conflicts' begin to weigh down on you, then you expend all of your energy trying to escape them everyday because you either haven't accepted them as part of you, or you don't know how to.”
10. “Advice” — Mahne Frame
Although Mahhe Frame has intermittently performed with Kirin J Callinan as his drummer since 2016, he only recently came to our attention as a solo artist. We knew Mahne Frahme was on to something special the moment we heard his debut EP, KISS MY ASS, DEATH, with track “Advice” especially standing out.
Mahne Frame generously shared personal insights into “Advice” with us this autumn, prefacing that “I wanted a funny anecdote but in the end I felt I couldn’t honour the track without being honest.”
He elaborated: “My dad died [out of] the blue when I was 15, right round the time when a dad [would have] been real fucking helpful for a kid. In the years after, I found myself thinking what would dad say in times of need, [and] taking advice from the air. As I got older, I realized the air was actually my head and that was [kind of] like beating my dad at baseball and realizing I’m a big boy. So “Advice” is about that amongst other stuff. The bouncyness of the track came before the lyrics, but in the end I like that it has positive energy. My dad was real charismatic.”
11. “If I Die, Then I Die” — Emerson Snowe
Emerson Snowe is another welcome newcomer to the Weirdoverse, with an already-impressive body of work that grows and evolves so quickly we can never quite catch up with this prolific and highly-recommended artist. That being said, the irresistible “If I Die, Then I Die” has quickly become a staple in our world. The Australian, Berlin-based artist spoke with us at length back in April 2019, and once again award-winning photographer Miriam Marlene Waldner generously complemented the conversation with her exceptional photography.
In November, 2019, Emerson Snowe shared the following thoughts on “If I Die, THen I Die” with WMF:
“‘If I Die, Then I Die’ was one of the earliest Snowe tracks I wrote. It basically started the course of where the sound is now. It seems to resonate with a lot of people, and at the end of it all, that’s all I can hope for.”
12. “Complain Train” — Keel Her
Keel Her was known to us through her collaborations with R. Stevie Moore, as well as her associations and work with Tim Burgess and the O Genesis label. nonetheless, it wasn’t really until 2019 that we really found ourselves delving deep into the world of Keel Her. Pete Astor (The Weather Prophets, The Loft), Gnar Tapes, R. Stevie Moore, Tim Burgess, and other esteemed artists are confirmed Keel Her fans, and it’s easy to hear why. We spoke at length with Keel Her in her Hackney apartment and recording studio this past summer, and her 2019 full-length With Kindness is a remarkable achievement. Though the entire album is stellar, “Complain Train” has been the track to which we’ve most often returned.
This autumn, Rose shared the following musings with us on her track “Complain Train”: “Work all day, home to full-on domesticity. It felt repetitive, mundane, but also wild at times. I held my problems in, or I put them in the music. For me this song is in two parts; the first two verses were written when I was in an unhealthy relationship, having lots of arguments. The last two verses were written when I started having compassion focused therapy, and I started to make changes and decisions. And I wanted to forgive.
It was recorded at home in 2019 onto tape. I’m on Minimoog and Vox organ, Juan Jacinto on drums, bass and guitar from James Hoare.”
13. “Real Thing” — Lower Dens
Although “Real Thing” has existed online since 2016, it found a new home on 2019 Lower Dens LP (via Ribbon Music), The Competition. The track especially spoke to us when we experienced the memorable Lower Dens live set at Highland Park’s Lodge Room in September of this year. Ever since then, the track has been a steady fixture in our formal and informal playlists, and in October 2019, Jana Hunter gave WMF insight in the “Real Thing”:
"A funny thing about ‘Real Thing’ is that I and my co-writer (Arthur Bates) on that song have had for decades the kind of friendship that involves and influences each other's work, but is also chaotic and unstable so the only times we ever collaborated were on this song a few years back, and a 3-song cassette tape, likely lost to time, recorded on an alarm clock under the name Krazy Nerds, about 20 years ago."
14. “Icebreaker” — Cowgirl Clue
Since speaking with Cowgirl Clue in 2018, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing her perform live on several occasions, and continued to enjoy her growing body of recorded work. Already having ample tour time, singles, videos, and EPs to her credit, it felt surprising that 2019’s Icebreaker (via Vada Vada) is Cowgirl Clue’s full-length debut.
The surprise was a welcome one, however, and the album offers all the enchanting eclecticism associated with the Vada Vada ethos. Single “Icebreaker” especially stands out to us as an excellent example of Cowgirl Clue’s ability to synthesize seemingly unlikely, disparate elements from her sonic palette and create something uniquely hers. This autumn, Cowgirl Clue lent these insights into the track for us:
"‘Icebreaker’ was the first song I wrote for the album. There were special glimpses during writing and recording when I sort of knew it would shape the sound for my first album. After performing it across the country and revisiting it later in my bedroom studio, I decided to completely rework the track, adding distortion guitar and rave build ups [that] made the song pop. I wanted to write a song that captured the feeling of flirting for the first time. Representing, quite literally, an ice breaker for me and my music to listeners, I wanted to play out the sensations of inner butterflies in a bubblegum pop song."
15. “Different Color Hair” — Negative Gemini
We’ve enjoyed spending considerable time with Negative Gemini in 2019 through her recordings, videos, lives shows (most recently at the Adult Swim Festival in November), and of course our extensive sit-down conversation with her this past June. On the heels of last year’s highly-recommended Bad Baby (via 100% Electronica), Negative Gemini’s 2019 track “Different Color Hair” was released as part of the Adult Swim Singles series.
In October, 2019, Lindsey shared this background to “Different Color Hair”:
“I wrote myself a theme song for the time that I would dye my hair a different color. I’ve always admired how some artists seem to write almost jingles, so this is my jingle. I also had just gotten a really cool old tape delay unit and was having fun putting my guitar through that. So the song came really easily because of that.”
16. “Bodysnatcher” — Escape-Ism
Escape-ism — the latest project of renowned renaissance man Ian Svenonious (The Makeup, Chain and the Gang, Nation of Ulysses, etc.) — has provided us with a steady stream of engaging and interactive live performances, recordings, videos, and other film projects in the last couple years. We were honored to converse extensively with the ever-thoughtful Mr. Svenonius in April 2019 (once again including fabulous photography by Miriam Marlene Waldner) about Escape-ism’s most recent album The Lost Record, and much more. And while the album (The Lost Record) on which standout track “Bodysnatcher” appears actually came out in 2018 (via Merge), we allowed ourselves to include it here since the track was released this year as a 7-inch single.
In November, 2019, Ian gave WMF this glimpse into the track:
"‘Bodysnatcher’ is inspired by the 50s sci-fi Red Scare horror film (remade later with Donal Sutherland) but from the perspective of a person looking onto the alien pod longingly; instead of possession/brainwashing — or whatever the metaphor is — being terrifying, the ‘snatching’ or subsumption is desirable.”
17. “Hey Gary (Have You Seen My Girl?)” R. Stevie Moore and Gary Wilson
in the interest of full disclosure, we should once again mention that WMF was involved with this record. That being said, how could we not include this Wilson/Moore-penned treasure? The lead-off track from Fake News Trending (the first-ever collaborative album by the two near-mythical underground artists, via O Genesis), this track features vocals from both R. Stevie Moore and Gary Wilson, once and for all documenting the creative kinship between the two home recording legends.
Gary Wilson shared the following thoughts with us in November, 2019: “Stevie is a sharp guy, and when he asks me ‘Hey Gary, have you seen my girl?’, I wonder why. I think it’s because Frank Roma told me that he saw Linda and Stevie dancing (The Twist) near the North Side Park.”
18. ”Why I Came to California” Dent May
Dent May’s “maximalist” pop constitutes some of our favorite music, and during the course of the last couple years, we’ve enjoyed not only Dent May’s recordings, but also multiple live shows as well as an in-depth tête-à-tête . “Why I Came to California” is the sole cover included in the present list, and the entry is truly a testament to Dent May’s creative brilliance. For impressively, Dent May deftly manages to navigate the daunting challenge of paying tribute to an existing (and wonderful) track by another artist, and yet put his own stamp on it to such a degree that it could surely escape detection as a cover on nearly any Dent May playlist. Indeed, both Leon Ware’s original spirit as well as Dent’s are found on this gem.
Upon its release in January of 2019, Dent shared the following background to this track with us:
“This is the first thing I've finished at my new studio Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles. The Leon Ware track has sort of been my anthem since I moved out here 4 years ago. Think of this as an appetizer for the next album, which I promise I'm working hard on every day.”
19. “Honour Wave”, Daniel O’Sullivan
The multi-faceted talent who is Daniel O’Sullivan has found his way into the Weirdoverse via a myriad of entry-points, including his work with This Is Not This Heat, Tim Burgess, Grumbling Fur, and his solo work. Daniel’s Folly LP (via O Genesis) coaxes listening ears rather than demanding them, and rewards the thoughtful listener with each revisiting. Through the process of compiling the list, it’s felt natural to cap off our compilation and year with this peaceful gem.
Daniel shared with WMF in 2019 that“‘Honour Wave’ is a song about nosy neighbours, the importance of tuning out and sigilizing intention with new language.”
We hope you enjoy listening to the tracks on this this list as much as we have over the the last year. Far from comprehensive, there are of course additional tracks which have been ubiquitous in our lives throughout this last year of the decade, and our hope is that our list sparks further exploration and discussion connected to this most recent year of great music. Additional tracks this year that are highly recommended include Tim Koh’s “The Stomach” and XLNT’s “High Tide”, among others. In the meantime, please feel free to visit WMF’s Top 19 Tracks of 2019 Spotify playlist, presented in the same order as our list here.
We extend heartfelt gratitude to all the artists represented on this list for not only creating these fantastic works, but also for sharing their unique insights related to them. Last but certainly not least, profound thanks to you who visit the list and continue to support, appreciate, and spread the word about this music. Happy listening, and a happy new, weird year to you all.
*That understood, we have enjoyed listening to the list in this order, which is the order in which it appears in the WMF Top Tracks of 2019 Spotify playlist, which you can listen to here.
