Top 119 Songs of 2019, #40 - 31

#119 - #111

#110 - #101

#100 - #91

#90 - #81

#80 - #71

#70 - #61

#60 - #51

#50 - #41

#40. BRING ME HOME

by G Flip

I am breaking down, I am losing my patience

They say that winding roads lead to great destinations

I never expected it when I first heard this song, but sometimes life gives you interesting gifts over and over and you just have to accept them. So when ‘Bring Me Home’ first appeared in one of my social media feeds at the beginning of the year, I proceeded to listen to it a million times over, knowing this was going to be one of those special ones that would stay with me a long time after that first listen. It spoke to me, doing that thing that all the most special songs do, becoming a friend, one I would turn to in those moments alone with my headphones, sending all the goosebumps with every listen. Little did I know how good a friend it would become, now giving me some of the greatest laughs as well, after Matt and I saw GFlip playing at the end of this year, where we witnessed a room full of appreciative fans lift their phones into the air during said song, and one man lift his light up shoe into the air, waving it with such emotion as the sole flashed away in unison with a sea of iphones and androids. What a moment. Live music is unpredictably the best. I will be forever thankful to GFlip for the gorgeous song, and the hilarious fan. (Jo Michelmore)

#39. SHIVER

by Ngaiire

I'm looking right into your eyes

And it feels like I could die

I’m yet to hear a Ngaiire song that I don’t love, and ‘Shiver’ is no exception, it’s quickfire beats and danceable sounds are perfectly Ngaiire, but it was when I read what the shiver in ‘Shiver’ means, it made me love it even more than I originally thought, it being a tribute to her late Grandmother and how Ngaiire remembers her, sees her and knows her presence surrounds make it even more special than just a simple pop song. I can’t help but smile at the thought of someone’s memory floating over dancefloors and making people move for years to come, and I hope Ngaiire gets a giant smile out of that too. (Jo Michelmore)

#38. FINALLY

by No Mono

Finally, I was all I had to be

Mid way through this year, I spent an evening with one of my best friends in which we both accidentally on purpose managed to somehow make our way into a (not so) random gig in a beautiful venue and see No Mono, a name I previously knew very little about, except knowing that my friend liked them. What we witnessed was incredibly beautiful material being performed to a crowd much smaller than their talent deserved, but while we drank gin and were taken away on a gorgeous wave of electronic emotion and a voice from another world, I couldn’t help but appreciate how lucky I was to see Tom Iansek and Tom Snowdon’s project before it ended, as it did with the release of this song. It’s dramatic and its exquisite, it’s a perfect combination of both their connection and their talents and I could write a million positive words about one of the greatest nights of my year, and some of the greatest talent I found in 2019, but they say it all themselves with their last lyrics; “finally, I was all I had to be…” (Jo Michelmore)

#37. CELLOPHANE

by FKA twigs

But I just want to feel you there

And I don't want to have to share our love

On the hauntingly beautiful ‘Cellophane’, FKA twigs wears her heart on her sleeve and shows her vulnerable side like never before. Everything seems to be working against a relationship that’s likely already over and her world is crashing down around her. She takes this to a literal level as she crashes through time and space in the video that’s just as perfect as the song itself. All this and ‘Cellophane’ also gives you the perfect lines to scream at anyone in any situation when it’s not going your way. WHY DON’T I DO IT FOR YOU? WHY WON’T YOU DO IT FOR ME. It’s the little things in life that get you through the day. (Matt Bond) 

#36. LOVER

by Taylor Swift

And there's a dazzling haze

A mysterious way about you, dear

Oh, T-Baby Swift. You know I only like to hear the word lover when it’s used in the name of a particularly meaty pizza. But for you, I’m willing to make an exception, because the title track to Swift’s seventh studio album is the most romantic thing going around. It’s the part in the movie when Kate Hudson says yes to love. It’s the part of the TV show when Ridge and Brooke get married for the 15th time. It’s that feeling you want to have in the real world (the what?) with that special someone. It’s love. Taylor Swift has made love into a song. Feel her love, mortals. Feel it! (Matt Bond)


I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that this is not Ms Swift’s best song. But when someone has as much fame and chart success as Ms Swift does, one can’t deny that even my least favourite song isn’t that bad. And what does it matter if I despise it, she’s written a song that I’ll no doubt hear for years to come in soundtracks and at amateur theatre and weddings and engagement events, so she’s done a Mariah and insured she’s certainly not going to go broke any time soon. Well done Ms Swift. This song isn’t the greatest song I heard all year, but it is the greatest business move I’ve heard for years. She’s a smart one that Swift. (Jo Michelmore)

#35. REAL THING

by Middle Kids

Two trains and a bus to get home
Sleeping on each other's shoulders

Hopeless romantics, anxiety tragics and the sounds of Middle Kids. What more does one need? Nothing. That’s what. ‘Real Thing’ is a rocking and rolling heartbreaker of a track that puts those questions out there that run through all of our heads when we’re falling in luuuurve. Is this the real thing? Could this be it? The opening lines are full of hope and possibilities and then it turns so quickly that you barely have time to catch your breath. Hannah Joy sells the performance brilliantly, like she’s confessing a secret that’s not supposed to get out. Middle Kids continue to spoil us with their emotionally layered tracks, while also firmly establishing their place as the best of the best when it comes to storytelling. (Matt Bond) 

#34. CHARLIE

by Mallrat

I'm gonna love you forever

I hope you warm up to me

I remember hearing this song for the very first time, listening to those oh so warm first notes and words, desperately reaching for some kind of technology, anyone’s technology so I could remember it forever, manically remembering lyrics while trying to unlock my phone, all the while trying to lose myself in the words, because I knew this one was a special one. One of those songs that finds some part of your life and plays it back to you with every sound, I don’t know who Charlie is but if I was to have enough talent to write a song for all the people I have adored in my life, then this would be the song that I would write.  Instead, I only have the ability to write about this song, which has made itself onto a list of all the songs I have adored in my life. (Jo Michelmore)

#33. EYES WIDE

by Bec Sandridge

And I've got plenty of heart

But is there limit to us?

Manic pop with an 80s throwback twist has become Bec Sandridge’s speciality. ‘You’re a Fucking Joke’, ‘Animal’ and ‘Stranger’ have all showcased how amazing Sandridge is when she’s rocking this vibe and you can most certainly add ‘Eyes Wide’ to the list too. I’ve said this before about Sandridge’s songs, but they really do get you feeling like tonight’s a good night to get yourself out on the town and have some of this ‘fun’ you’ve heard so much about, dancing the night away until the sun comes up and heading home with a large Big Mac meal at 5am to watch whatever bizarre true crime documentary Netflix has decided you need to see. That’s what fun is right? If you said no you’re still young, you’ll change. But we don’t ever want Bec Sandridge to change, because she keeps on bringing the actual fun to the music world and we couldn’t be loving it more. (Matt Bond)

#32. LET IT OUT

by Seeker Lover Keeper

I can see you're struggling

But it won't be long, 'til I'm home

How many years was it between Seeker Lover Keeper albums? Seven or eight? To be honest, I didn’t expect we’d be hearing another album from the Sarah Blasko-Holly Throsby-Sally Seltmann supergroup and then this quiet, moving number ‘Let It Out’ was released and everything just seemed right in the world. You can find a thousand songs out there with a vague message about being true to yourself, but it’s rare to find one as genuine and heartfelt as this. A celebration of the unique with a healthy side of the best kind of friendships. It’s the music we need and deserve and it’s all thanks to Seeker Lover Keeper. Even if it takes another seven, eight or twenty years, I hope we hear more from Seeker Lover Keeper. The world’s a kinder, brighter place with them in it. (Matt Bond)

#31. DANCE MONKEY

by Tones and I

And how I beg to see you dance just one more time

For some, it seems an impossible task to celebrate the success of Australia’s musical exports. But the backlash against Tones and I as ‘Dance Monkey’ dominates charts and airwaves worldwide has been on another level. Instead of dwelling on that, let’s just celebrate Tones extending her record breaking run at the top of the ARIA singles charts for another week. Be happy for an artist that has the longest running solo, female number one in the UK of all time. Applaud a new artist smashing her way into the top ten of the US Billboard charts. Relish in the possibility of the biggest Australian song of the year topping the Hottest 100, from a triple J homegrown act no less. Because why wouldn’t you? Tones and I’s achievements in 2019 have been astounding. Oh, and ‘Dance Monkey’ is a BANGER too. So there’s that. (Matt Bond)


Anyone who hasn’t been living off the grid in the last six months has definitely heard this song, and most probably heard about the amount of records it has broken in it’s chart topping positions across the world, even though I have no idea who or what makes a chart these days. And whether you liked this song in the first place or not, I only hope for T and I’s sake it doesn’t carry the number one curse, where everyone loves it for a while, then groans in annoyance a few months later because they’ve heard it far too many times and couldn’t stand those opening notes one more time. Just like another song I used to know, although I’m not sure whether Tones or I is Gotye or Kimbra. Fingers crossed we hear more from all of them. (Jo Michelmore)