Top 119 Songs of 2019, #60 - 51

#119 - #111

#110 - #101

#100 - #91

#90 - #81

#80 - #71

#70 - #61

#60. BURY A FRIEND

by Billie Eilish

When we all fall asleep

Where do we go?

I mean... like... yeah. Right? You take all of the pop, add in a little bit of the horror, try to figure out where exactly it is that we go when we fall asleep and you get ‘Bury A Friend’. Easily the darkest song on radio this year, which probably earned it an insane amount of armchair criticism, but I don’t think Billie Eilish is going for face value assessments of her tracks. At least not this one. It feels conceptual on a ‘I’m challenging for the Halloween crown like Mariah owns Christmas’ level. Which is to say it’s nothing like that, but you get what I mean... like... yeah. Right? Loving the visual accompaniment too. I’d watch that scary movie. (Matt Bond)

While this is probably my least favourite song title of the year (I'd rather not thanks), no one can deny the allure of Billie Eilish’s music this year and her knack with unusual sounds and catchy beats has been refreshing. But the fact that her debut album took a line from this tune and was titled When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is indicative of the type of subject matter you’re going to be hearing when you listen to said album, which is to say, you’re not going to be finding answers to any philosophical questions, but you are going to be nodding your head quite vigorously along the way, which is as important as philosophy anyway. (Jo Michelmore)

#59. SOLID GOLD

by PNAU ft. Kira Divine and Marques Toliver

Don't tell me of your concepts

I need love that's forever

Since the release of ‘Chameleon’, it feels like PNAU have figured out what they really want their brand to be. It’s nothing crazy, it’s just dance act that pumps out bangerz with a z and they’ve found themselves one of the biggest dance acts the world over because of it. Don’t mess with the formula that brings success, let the fabulous vocals of Kira Divine shine and earn all of the club play. The system works and it’s perfectly encapsulated on the positive mood adjusted that is ‘Solid Gold’. (Matt Bond)

#58. BAD GUY

by Billie Eilish

Duh

I saw part of an interview with Ms Eilish recently in which she was asked the same questions for three years running and had to watch her previous answers, then answer again, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was the only one cringing at the answers of her 16, 17, 18 year old self, because how will so much scrutiny affect the talent of someone like her? I don’t know. I hope not much at all, because songs like ‘Bad Guy’ are standout in the pop world. Is pop what she makes? I don’t even know anymore. It’s just a word. I’ve not met many people who dislike this song, so I guess that makes it pop(ular) in a traditional sense. And I do know that I know a five year old who loves this song because of one word. Duh. (Jo Michelmore)

#57. LET YOU KNOW

by Flume ft. London Grammar

And I guess somehow

You'll just keep on coming back

How could you go wrong when you put Flume and London Grammar together on a track? Oh, that’s right... you can’t. Why would you think that? That’s rude. Maybe if you could just not for a second, you could get back on the right path in this life and continue to embrace Flume’s production and Hannah Reid’s hauntingly stunning vocals. Dance to the story of a borderline toxic relationship... wait. What? (Matt Bond)

#56. PATIENCE

by Tame Impala

 
And still my ways are aimless

 I know

In 1989, thirty years ago, a band named Guns N Roses released a slow rock song called 'Patience', with a whistle that would get stuck in one’s mind for days after hearing it. This is not that song. Tame Impala’s version of 'Patience' is more house than hip swaying (google Axl Rose dancing) and much more psychedelic than power ballad (google 80s rock ballad). This 'Patience' is proof that Kevin Parker just needed a little time to come up with something we’d all be swinging along to in 2019 and perhaps we all need a little more patience when trying to google old songs on the NBN. *Insert rant. (Sorry, on to the next song). Ahem. (Jo Michelmore)

#55. A PLACE THAT I DON'T KNOW

by Odette ft. Gretta Ray

What else can I do when the city skyline

Leaves me blue and indecisive?

Welcome back to Gretta Ray who joins us again in our 119 songs, this time as the feature with the fabulous Odette, and oh what a feature. If you’re going to feature in anything, you wanna feature with someone like Odette. Her voice reaching depths of vulnerable emotions and heights of hurt, you can’t help but feel caught up in her world with subtle strings and keys and sounds that are beyond description, other than to say they send shivers and shadows in ways the most beautiful voices and pieces do. It’s glorious and it’s gorgeous and all the other words that mean good, very, very good. (Jo Michelmore) 

#54. FEAR OF MISSING OUT

by Ainslie Wills

I'm so happy for you

I just thought I might be next in line

Ohhhh. Oh no. It’s last year’s song of the year champion, Ainslie Wills. You’re asking yourself why I’m saying, “oh no.” Maybe it’s got something to do with Wills’ ability to pluck out this season’s storyline from the HBO series where I’m the protagonist sitting back and thinking something might be missing when it’s all weddings and babies and promotions and holidays. Why do we feel like we’re missing out? If you’ve got a phone and live relatively on the grid in 2019 I think we all know why we’ve got a case of bad FOMO dropping on us every now and then. Much like 2018’s #1 jam, ‘Society’, Wills is taking stock of her life and asking if she’s where she wants to be at this stage of her life on ‘Fear of Missing Out’. I hope like the HBO series where I’m the protagonist (title currently being workshopped) that when Ainslie Wills stops and takes a moment that she realises things aren’t all that bad. I hope she’s surrounded by brilliant people and appreciates the huge talent that she has for putting these thoughts into creating such amazing songs. At the very least, I hope she might get a lol thinking about a future HBO protagonist listening to her music and wondering to himself if he’s missing out because he doesn’t have such a gift. Oh well. HBO, call me. (Matt Bond)

#53. VOICEMAIL FOR JILL

by Amanda Palmer

No one on that pavement's gonna

Shout at you that your heart also matters

This song is like no other, because no one really talks about it. Because no one ever tells you. Because no one wants to admit it, because no one wants to feel it, because no one wants to know it. Because to relive the moments in the eyes of loved ones is too hard, and in the eyes of strangers is terrifying. Because you relive them every minute of every day for such a long time, until time takes over. Because forever later is just like one minute sometimes and because they say it’s not healthy to live in the past, even though you want to as much as you don’t. Because the past is much harder, then easier, then harder. Because it doesn’t get either, it gets different and so on and so forth, the ride continues. Because it seems like the jigsaw will never be finished now, because decisions were made about all the pieces. Because above all, they are missed like no others.

Because if none of this makes sense, then this song is a voicemail for Jill, and all the Jills you know, and you do know them, even if you think you don’t. And because if any of those becauses made sense, then much love, you will know this song was written for you. (Jo Michelmore)

#52. YOU SEEMED SO HAPPY

by The Japanese House

Sometimes I start believing

In things that aren't real

This is a trap song. What is a trap song? It’s a song that is a trap. A simple concept really. What I’m delaying saying for no reason is that ‘You Seemed So Happy’ comes off all dreamy and cute with nice guitars and Amber Bain’s perfectly androgynous vocals and you’re tapping along and loving life and then you start listening closer to the lyrics and suddenly you’ve stepped into one of those nets in the jungle in the movie and you’re upside down and everything is not okay because this isn’t a happy song at all. It’s a trap song, okay? Bain is a Siren luring you, the scurvy-riddled sailor, to a painful death on the rocks as your boat crashes into them, all because you’ve fallen for the alluring sounds of The Japanese House. Isn’t being dramatic fun? ‘You Seemed So Happy’ really is all of that and more though. It’s complex, it’s a little and a lot heartbreaking and it’s worth every repeated listen. Top tune from a top act. (Matt Bond)

#51. AWAKE

by Tkay Maidza ft. JPEGMAFIA

If the beat is David

I'm Goliath

Another year, another perfect opportunity to say Tkay? Slay. Our fave Australian rap dynamo doesn’t have time to sleep and, frankly, we have that in common. I feel that Tkay Maidza is out there making killer tunes, living her best life and being a badass instead of watching every SNL clip ever uploaded to YouTube though. ‘Awake’ would be a boomer-y nightmare, but you can already see the kids eating this one up and practically salivating at what’s to come from Tkay after this. Teaming with JPEGMAFIA this time around, the two artists command your attention with snappy rhymes over a dark, slow-trap like beat. It feels like a bold new direction for Maidza and a stark difference from the sparkle of tracks like ‘U-Huh’, but this growth is exciting. We might not be boomers or kids, but we can’t wait to hear more of this from Tkay soon. Long may she slay. (Matt Bond)