It is getting to be the time of year where everyone is putting out their best of 2019 lists. Hell, some are even doing best of the decade, but RD and I will be doing that a bit later on. But, like everyone else, I to like to do best of lists. This year will be the same as the past few. I will be doing music, movies, tv shows, podcast episodes or shows and sports moments. So, sit back and enjoy a week of "Best of 2019" lists from me. First off, we will do my top 5 albums. Oh, and before I go any further, I will add a few disappointments, for me, for the year. Anyway, lets get to it.
Coming in at number 5 I have "On the Line" from Jenny Lewis. I have really found myself going back to this record a ton lately, and liking it even more with every listen. Jenny Lewis has already proved that she is a wonderful song writer and arranger, but this album puts her on a whole other level. From songs about being in love, to total heart break, she hooked me from the start. She also worked with some great people, including Beck, that take this album to the next level. She has only gotten stronger and the stronger with each new album. "On the Line", to date, is her best record, and has me excited for what she is going to do in the future. Lewis is a star. More people need to recognize that.
At number 4 I have "The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience" from The Lonely Island. I feel like this record doesn't get the love it deserves because of the way it was released. There was not a ton of info, then all of the sudden they announced they were putting out a Netflix special and not many people knew if it was a comedy special, a musical or both. It is both, and it rules. The Lonely Island are already very, very funny. But, what people don't recognize is, they can really rap and make beats. This album hits hard. Some of the beats they produced, like the one with the pager sound on "Jose and Mark", or the whole "IHOP" song, those are amazing, super bobbing beats. They are as good as anyone making beats nowadays. Also, I know it may be cliché, but they are the modern day Beastie Boys. They sound like them, they rap like them, the only difference, they all have careers outside of music, in which they thrive in. This record plays so much in my car and my house that my kids know the words to the songs. My daughter calls "Oakland Nights" her jam. That song hits too. This record is so good and ranks right up there with their debut record. I was already a humongous fan, and now, especially with the Netflix special, they have won me over even more. Listen to the record first, then go watch the special. You will not be disappointed.
At number 3 I have "Hyperspace" by Beck. I have recently written about this album, and since that time, I think I have gone through the whole thing about 10 more times and I like it more and more. As I said in my review, the music sounds like it is from the 80's, but with Beck's influence all over it. The music is trippy and bouncy and fun. The lyrics are funky and groovy and quintessential Beck. I also love it when he does love songs, and "Die Waiting" is a great love song. Also, the slide guitar on "Saw Lightening" is rad. Everything Beck does, I am going to be a fan. But sometimes he does a record like "Hyperspace", and his genius blows me away more than it did before. I was talking to RD earlier today, and I told him that, at the current moment, this record is second only to "Midnite Vultures". It has the same feel, but more synth and more of an 80's lean. Even this morning, after speaking to RD, I put the record on because my son had a snow day, and he said he wanted to dance, and he told me "that new Beck record makes me want to dance". I love him so much, my son, and I really, really like "Hyperspace".
At number 2 I have "Cuz I Love You" by Lizzo. From the first moment I heard this record I knew it was going to be on my year end best of list. The title track is the opener, and it totally showcases Lizzo's beautiful voice. From there on out the record is all about empowerment, loving yourself, being good to those that are good to you and blocking out all the noise from the internet trolls. Every song on this album could, and should, be a top 100 hit. All of them are great. Also, the song with Missy Elliot brought me back to my teens, when I listened to a ton of Missy Elliot. She also does a great Erykah Badu esque song, "Jerome", that may be better than Badu. And while being a tremendous singer, Lizzo can rap. She spits man. She is so good on the song with Elliot, she crushes "Truth Hurts", she is phenomenal on "Better in Color", she is flat out amazing. Lizzo is finally getting the fame she deserves, and I love that she is out there being herself, loving herself and empowering young people to do the same. I hadn't listened to her before April of this year, but I haven't stopped since.
At number one I have "IGOR" from Tyler, the Creator. This album is a masterpiece. This is incredible. This shines a whole new light on Tyler, the Creator for me. Seeing him do this record live was such a treat. It is a true achievement. TTC did something totally different, totally out of his comfort zone and made one of the greatest concept records of all time. "IGOR" is also heartbreaking when you really listen to the lyrics. It is all about lost love and trying to deal with that. The way he sings and raps makes this album that much better. I didn't know he could sing like that, and he absolutely crushes it. As far as his rapping goes, he is one of the best in the game right now. Tyler, the Creator is a musical genius, and not of this world in my eyes. He is on a whole other level, or plain of existence. He was put here to make great music, and "IGOR" is his coup de gras. It is amazing. I highly recommend everyone, even people who don't listen to rap, listen to this album. It is that good. Okay, those are my top 5 albums for 2019.
As far as some things that disappointed me, or didn't work out like some may have thought, one, anything Kanye West does now is a joke. He is a farce of himself. He is a sellout. He is a phony. He is a hater. His beats are wack and his rapping has never been good. For anyone to think that this dude is a viable artist, especially the way he has presented himself this past year, is dead wrong. Kanye West needs to just go away quietly because he time was over 6 or 7 years ago. The dude is a poser. I am also appalled that the people behind the Kidz Bop records are still making albums, and trying to turn real songs into anthems for little kids. I let my kids listen to the original version of "Truth Hurts", so they don't have to listen to a crummy version on Kidz Bop. I would so much rather my son listen to Lil Nas X sing "Old Town Road" than some random pre teens. Bruno Mars is an excellent showman, so why let little kids try and sing his songs? The whole Kidz Bop thing needs to be stopped. They need to also stop taking explicit songs and trying to turn them kid friendly. I heard a little kid on one of the Kidz Bop albums doing "Truth Hurts" and saying, "turns out I'm one hundred percent that kid". That, to me, is worse than when basic cable shows movies and says things like "monster joker" or "bull shirt". It is offensive to the people who wrote the original song. Finally, I was so hoping that "RTJ 4" was going to come out in 2019. We still have a chance, albeit slight, that it comes out this year, but probably not. I know they are working on it. I have seen pictures and read lyrics they have posted online, and all of this has made me more and more excited for the record to come out. My fingers are crossed that they do the same thing they did for "RTJ 3", when they released it on Christmas night at midnight, but again, that doesn't seem likely.
There you have it, my best of, and disappointments in music in 2019. Come back tomorrow for my top five movies of 2019.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor fought to get Vampire Weekend’s “Father of the Bride” and Lana Del Rey’s “Norman Fucking Rockwell” on Ty’s list, but it is Ty’s list so those albums sit in the Head Editor’s head as the tops.
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