Zrbo's Favorite Songs of 2019

Wow, 2019! What a year, huh? All that STUFF that happened. It was nuts! Right? And let's not forget all those people that died. But, then, there were all those people that lived too! Crazy!

I don't have much to say about the state of music anymore. By now I've mainly retreated into my own world of music (sitting in a bunker), with only the occasional bit of popular music piercing through (here behind my wall). I couldn't even tell you what's in the Top 40 anymore, maybe a Kanye song, or maybe Drake? I heard there's someone named Lizzo? I dunno. With that caveat, here are some songs that managed to break through.

5 - Lebanon Hanover - "Babes of the 80s" (She Past Away Remix)


I have to give credit where credit is due. Youtube's algorithm is remarkably good at zeroing in on a specific music preference and offering more of it up for your listening pleasure. Here we have a song brought forth by our algorithmical gods, bestowed onto me, and I now bestow it on to you.

I've never heard of the band Lebanon Hanover, but these guys goth, and they goth hard. Yes, I just turned goth into a verb. This song is steeped in late-night murky spooky club dance. But look, what w'ere really here for is the VIDEO. And what a marvelous video it is.

This video is an amazing capsule of 80's dance culture. Look at these people! When modern entertainment tries to recreate the 80s (Stranger Things et. al.) it could never dream of achieving what we see here. Just look at the lanky, sweaty guy at 1:06, or the 80's version of Jersey Shore in his jacket at 1:25 and 3:27. There's also this amazingly average looking couple at 4:20 who dance perfectly in time with the actual song.

Then at 2:15 we have one of the most amazing specimens you could possibly hope to find. This guy saw the video for A Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran" and ran straight toward some marvelous hair. Holy New Wave Batman!

Ok, so I can tell that some of this video looks a little more recent. The mohawked woman who starts off the video and a few people shortly thereafter look like they were probably filmed in the past decade. Also, the more I watch the video the more I know I've seen some of this old footage before, I just can't remember where from. So this is probably not some long lost footage that the Swiss duo Lebanon Hanover have been sitting for 30 years. But wow. A nice, moody dark wave club song and a fantastic little video to go with it.

4 - Childish Gambino - "Redbone"


Alright, I realize I'm a couple years late to this song, but by god is this thing funky. I'll confess this only here on this very blog, but whenever this song starts up within about three seconds my urge to engage in some substances legal in my state begins to skyrocket. It practically demands it. Mr. Gambino (or should we say, everyone's second favorite Hans Solo) sure has an ear for the funkiest of grooves.

3 - Charli XCX & Christine and the Queen - "Gone"


You may recall that I had a Charli XCX song on last year's top 5. I put Charli on the list again this year because I find her pop experimentation intriguing. She's pushes at the boundaries of what pop can be. For example, on this year's album Charli which includes last year's pick "1999", she has a follow up called "2099" - and it sounds just like that. Like some sort of bizarre pop music from the future. I honestly think it sounds horrible. But you know what? I'm glad someone's at least trying to create something different in the pop music space.

With the video for "Gone" we have Charli and genderqueer artist Christine and Queens having some sort of sexual power fantasy strapped to cars in the rain thing going on, and damn do they bring the energy. Especially Christine, she just throws her whole self into the endeavor. It's quite impressive.

2 - Chvrches - "Never Say Die"


I said at the beginning of this post how I've largely retreated into music and artists I'm already familiar with. Why, just last year I had a Charli XCX song on this list, and I've mentioned Chvrches in my yearly top ten's at least twice before. This track is actually off of 2018's album Love Is Dead that I didn't get around listening to until this year. With Love is Dead the band decided to go with an outside producer for the first time, enlisting guidance by bringing in Eurythmic's Dave Stewart. It's a much glossier, almost pop-like album. It's a good album, but it feels to me like a lot of the weirder, stranger edges of Chvrches have been slowly sanded off with each subsequent album. Many songs sound a little too pop friendly. I miss the stranger tracks like their debut album's "Science/Visions", or "Lungs".

That being said, there are some good songs to be found on Love Is Dead and "Never Say Die" is one of them. I don't really have much to say about the track - I like the sparkly synths and the way it fades off at the end, lending the impression that it goes on forever.

1 - Mila Mar - "A Song For Me"


With all the shit going on in the world, and with the multitude of stress in my own life (did I mention I had twin boys this year?) I needed something calm. Mila Mar's "A Song For Me" was my calming anchor. Mila Mar is this little German group I stumbled upon many years ago that musically is difficult to describe. They kinda alternate between world music, opera, and light pop music. It's a Mazzy Star situation as well - the name of the band is Mila Mar, but the amazing voice behind it is Anke Hachfeld, who I've read has a ridiculous four octave range (she performs solo under the name Milù).

You can hear Anke's versatility on this track, and if you're interested in hearing more you couldn't do any better than listen to their track "Was Bleibt" (What Remains), that would make Richard Wagner weep with envy (someone give her a viking helmet already, for God's sake!).

"A Song For Me" begins calmly and slowly, with notes that almost sound like a lullaby or children's song. Sung in a made up language, a la Sigur Ros, the song has no real lyrics, just impassioned morphemes that express great emotion. The song slowly gathers steam, with drums coming in near the end to help lift it to a triumphant finish. It's the perfect song to wake up to in the morning (which I did many times) and it's my favorite song of 2019.