So, 2019 huh? What a year. If you had told me that there would be a singular year in my 30s where, in essence, all of my favorite bands were going to release a record, I certainly would not believe you. Look at the writing on that wall. Cold has only released one album since 2005, and that was in 2011. Slipknot's last two releases were 2008 and 2014. Rammstein had been 10 years since their last release. While bands like Korn, VNV Nation and Demon Hunter had continually released records, the possibility of all six releasing a record in the same year? Millions to one, right? But here we are. How many will make it into this years Countdown? We shall see.
I made it a point to try and listen to more music this year. Not that I ever don't, but working in the music industry I try to keep myself on par with the curve of things. Does that mean that there'll be a bunch of awful mumble rap songs on here with 17 guest vocalists? No, not at all. The 2019 edition will be as eclectic as every previous year, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of good local acts sprinkled in as well.
For those of you who are new, here's how the voting breaks down -
- Songs are not ranked solely by plays/streams. Although Last.FM gives me a solid representation about what I was listening to throughout the year, it cannot possibly capture every single time I listened to a song. Also, how fair would it be to have a song released in August measuring up against a song released in January?
- However, with that being said, when I looked at which songs had the most streams via Spotify last year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was fairly close to the order of songs I had. However, the true measuring stick is which songs were my favorite or were the most impactful to me throughout the year.
- The general rule of thumb is that any songs released from September of the previous year forward qualify. There are some exceptions, but that is 99% of how things go. Exceptions would be noted in the article.
- One of the biggest rules of previous years was 1 song per band. There have been a few "ties" e.g. two songs that were equally impactful from the same band, but more often than not it's just the 1. However, last year Miller and the Hunks released 2 albums and both had hits that could have made it. As it happened, one came did and the other didn't, but I realized that that specific rule needed a little tweak. So, the new rule is one song per album release. Seems fair, right?
Last year was a particularly good year for local releases, with Vesperteen (#3) and Curse of Cassandra (#4) landing in the top 5, and three others dotting the Top 20. Florence and the Machine took the top spot with Sky Full Of Song after a heated year long battle with The War On Drugs' Pain. Here's the entire list...
20. Ghost - Dance Macabre
19. Rick Springfield - In The Land of the Blind
18. The Raquels - Just a Txt
17. Superorganism - Superorganism
16. Good Charlotte - Shadowboxer
15. Plushgun - Lukewarm
14. Solar Fake - The Pain That Kills You Too
13. Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
12. Fashion Week - Tell Me Something
11. Power Quest - No More Heroes
10. The Night Game - The Outfield
9. mind.in.a.box - Attack
8. Miller and the Hunks - Gravity
7. Jukebox the Ghost - Everybody's Lonely
6. Turnspit - Walk Away
5. Andrew WK - Music Is Worth Living For
4. Curse of Cassandra - Re-Bind
3. Vesperteen - Medicine
2. The War On Drugs - Pain
1. Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song
The only bands returning from years prior were Power Quest and Florence (she now a 3 time honoree), and as you can see there was a good mix of older artists and newcomers. Here's to another great and fun year of recapping music!
The Head and The Heart - Missed Connection
Album: Living Mirage
TH+TH first graced the Coutdown back in 2017 and almost snuck back in this time around. As usual, there is a bunch of jostling somewhere from 15 down, and this year was no different. It was a song that I wasn't initially excited about, but it slowly crept into my head kind of like they always do.
Taylor Swift - ME! (ft Brendan Urie)
Album: Lover
Look, I can explain. For reasons I cannot fathom, this song popped up in my Spotify "Release Radar". As I had never streamed any Taylor Swift or Panic! songs before, I was slightly confused but figured, just for giggles, why not give it a spin. My wife was in the room and she was so horrified that I couldn't stop laughing. Here's the thing. This song might have made the countdown, if Swift hadn't edited out the "hey kids, spelling is fun" part for the release of the record. That's my favorite thing. I swear, it's all I care about in this abomination of a song. I just listen to that over and over again because it's so damn funny. My wife will testify to the fact of me following her around going "hey kids, spelling is fun!"
Weedhaven Laughing Academy - Close the Book
Album: Close the Book single
Here's your first local artist of the Countdown. WLA is a conglomerate of dozens of years of touring around Ohio and the world, led by the immortal Wolfgang Parker. This song is catchy as hell, and I feel like if the guys had any desire at all they could give some serious clout to the music scene.
Diniver - The Earth, The Moon, The Sun
Album: Realms of Time
As much as I don't listen to metal like I used to, there's always a handful of metal tracks that almost make it in at the end of the year. Diviner has a unique first - they're from Greece.
Meg Myers - Running Up That Hill
Album: Running Up That Hill single
Meg Myers landed in the 2014 Countdown with "Desire" and just missed on her last record. She supposedly was looking to release a record this year, but that seems to have fallen apart. I enjoy her version of this song; not as much as Placebo, but on par with Kate Bush. I thought it was cute that Meg tried to emulate her accent, somewhat.
Honorable mention: My Epic - White Noises (ft Cory Brandan); Of Mice & Men - Mushroom Cloud; New Years Day - Skeletons; The Raconteurs - Now That You're Gone; Tourist Trap - Hourglass; Walk The Moon - Timebomb; X Ambassadors - Hold You Down; The Awakening - Shore; MxPx - San Dimas High School Football Rules; Evergrey - Weightless
