Holiday at the Sea's Favorite Music of 2019
2019 has been a great year for music. From 30-minute mind-melting jams to Tuareg guitar and all kinds in between. I LOVE year-end lists. I love seeing what other people loved, especially if I can find something I hadn’t heard before. And to a lesser extent, who doesn’t like having their tastes confirmed by people much cooler?
But I don’t necessarily like ranking everything. After all, every list is subjective. And is there really any music that is “best”? Maybe you preferred one album to others, but does that really mean it’s “better”? Excuse me while I step off of my soapbox.
And I don’t like not hearing what people recommend. So, as you already know, I made a four-volume mix of some of my favorite music of the year, which I hope you’ve already checked out. If not, feel free to do so here and here and here and here. Also, just one more time of review, I chose 50 songs this year but only 49 albums since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single.
Now that you’ve had a chance to to hear the songs, here is the complete list in alphabetical order.
I Was Real by 75 Dollar Bill
Mandatory Reality by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society
Ancestral Recall by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
U.F.O.F. by Big Thief
Sahari by Aziza Brahim
RE_CORDIS by Bruno Bavota
i,i by Bon Iver
V by The Budos Band
African Giant by Burna Boy
Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest by Bill Callahan
Ghosteen by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
All My Relations by Cochemea
A Good Time by Davido
Grow Towards The Light by Dire Wolves
Sun Cycle / Elk Jam by Elkhorn
Pianoworks by Eluvium
Blue Values by Eamon Fogarty
All Time Present by Chris Forsyth
Gold Past Life by Fruit Bats
One Of The Best Yet by Gang Starr
One Step Behind by Garcia Peoples
The Unseen In Between by Steve Gunn
Back At The House by Hemlock Ernst and Kenny Segal
The Gospel According to Water Joe Henry
Terms of Surrender by Hiss Golden Messenger
More Arriving by Sarathy Korwar
Miri by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Sauropoda by L'Eclair
Ilana (The Creator) by Mdou Moctar
Stars Are The Light by Moon Duo
Three Chords and the Truth by Van Morrison
All Mirrors by Angel Olsen
Desire Path by One Eleven Heavy
Phoenix by Pedro the Lion
Rainford by Lee “Scratch” Perry
Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains
Rose City Band by Rose City Band
‘Sideways’ by Seryn
Out of Darkness by Some Dark Hollow
Illegal Moves by Sunwatchers
Amankor / The Exile by Tartit
Amadjar by Tinariwen
Preserves by Matt Valentine
Father of the Bride by Vampire Weekend
Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten
Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits by Various Artists
Water Weird by Wet Tuna
Ode To Joy by Wilco
The Sisypheans by Xylouris White
Walk Through The Fire by Yola
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Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
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Holiday at the Sea’s Favorite Music Label of 2019
My Favorite music label of the year would have to be, without a doubt, Brooklyn’s Beyond Beyond is Beyond. Self-describes as: "“Music for Heads, by Heads,” which just about sums it up. More a vibe than a genre. A way of thinking than a particular style.
With five out of my favorite 49 albums of the year; (Dire Wolves, Garcia Peoples, L'Eclair, One Eleven Heavy, and Matt Valentine (plus, if I had expanded my list or included an “Honorable Mentions” section, this list would have expanded even more. That De Lorians is really good to mention only one more), no other single label presented as much music that I wanted to hear this year.
I can’t wait to hear what’s next.