It's that time of year again. Christmas is over, and we await the start of a New Year. But, as is customary during the "in between week" it's time for me to look back over the past twelve months, what we were doing, who we were doing it with, and in the case of this blog, what we were listening to.
Yes, it's time for my Top 100 of the year.
For me, it's a tradition that goes back to 1976 (and retroactively back to 1964), looking at the songs that, for me anyway, marked the year.
Actually my obsession with year-end lists goes back to December 1966, when the top 40 music station that I started listening to that year, WABC, played the "Top 100 of 1966" on New Year's weekend. All those cool songs I listened to had a year-end ranking, and it was awesome looking back that some great music back then. In subsequent years, the station started playing the Top 100 of the year on Christmas morning, all the way through New Year's Day (or weekend, depending on when January 1st would fall). I would grab my pencil and paper and start writing the songs and numbers town; the deejay's were great at announcing the numbers, in particular Dan Ingram, but also Cousin Brucie Morrow, Chuck Leonard, Ron Lundy and many of the others.
By the 1970's many other stations would count down their top songs of the year. Once WABC changed formats to all talk, I followed other stations with their countdowns. By the 1990's, with myself turning mostly to alternative rock, and staying up in our "skihaus" in Vermont, I would listen to WEQX, a station out of Albany NY and Manchester VT as they counted down their top songs; something they still do to this day.
Naturally my tastes didn't always coincide with the general public's so I decided to make my own lists, and many years, put them on a series of cassette tapes in order, from #100 down to #1. Most often it was taking an entire day, which I would start doing early morning on December 26, and finish up by that night. I even had a couple friends, also music lovers, over, for their commentary and to mention their favorite songs.
By 2004, I had enough of it. With music changing as well as my life as well, I stopped keeping track, although I still listened to current music. Enter Facebook. By 2009, I thought it would be a cool idea to list my favorite songs of that year. It would, with a big friends base, get out there. Other friends, such as Brian Sniatkowski would do something very similar; Brian would list his 25 favorite albums of the year, which he would keep up to this day.
When I introduced by blog in August 2010, I ranked my current weekly favorites via Excel spreadsheets. Determining my year end rankings was easy, just using a sort based on the weekly points I would give these songs.
Which brings us to my 2019 list. It was a weird year to say the least. Popular music-wise, the trend against traditional rock pretty much came to a head, as hip-hop pretty much dominated, although some accessible pop songs abounded, some of them even hitting the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100. As I usually do each year, I hop aboard some of the more palatable songs on the chart, mixed in with mostly alternative rock, with a dash of country as well.
This year for me proved very unusual in styles. My #1 song was by a hip-hop artist, who had passed away (from a drug overdose) in late 2018, helped out by a rapper, as well as one of the few rock bands who were relevant in the 2010's. The mixture was neither hip-hop, rap or rock, instead it was a cool, indie-pop concoction that grabbed hold of my years and just wouldn't let go. And while the song only peaked at #62 on the Hot 100, it did make a dent in the Hot AC chart and especially Sirius XM's "Alt 18" chart.
My number one song of 2019 is "I've Been Waiting", by Lil Peep and ILoveMakonnen featuring Fall Out Boy. The song did make the Billboard writer's list of the "100 Best Songs", at #99, and many others on my list did, too. You can view the article here.
The Black Keys, who led off the decade with 2010's number one, "Tighten Up", came back after a five year hiatus and placed two songs in the top 5: "Lo/Hi" at #2, and "Go" at #4. The number three song went to "Kombucha" by Winnetka Bowling League, a project headed by EDM artist Matthew Koma, who had placed a few songs in my list in years past. The band released its second EP this year, Cloudy With a Chance of Sun. Another band that had a year-end chart topper, Foster the People, who grabbed top honors in 2014 with "Coming of Age", as well as the runner-up position in 2011 with their monster crossover smash "Pumped up Kicks", scored the #5 song this year with "Imagination"; one of their three songs on the list this year. The number six song went to British indie-rockers, The Horrors, with a track from their 2017 effort, V, with "Point of No Reply".
Nick Waterhouse, who had my #1 song last year with "Straight Love Affair" from a 2016 effort, released his fourth, eponymous set, which yielded the #7 song, "Song For Winners'. Elle King, the daughter of comedian Rob Schneider, who had the 2015 runner-up with "Ex's and Oh's", is back in the top 10 with "Baby Outlaw", at #8. Rounding out the top 10 are singer Amber Arcades and duo The Driver Era.
While alternative ruled the list as usual, there was some diversity this year. Two country artists, Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett made the list. During the spring I had added two modern songs that qualify as "Carolina Beach Music": Too Much Sylvia and The Holiday Band made the chart. "Country Trap", a mixture of traditional country and hip-hop, landed two songs: "Old Town Road" (Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) and "The Git Up" (Blanco Brown). Reggae band The Big Takeover scored with "Girlie Girlie" in that genre, then switched to a Motown-style beat with "Shy". And contemporary Christian artist Lauren Daigle made the list with the Adele-inspired "You Say". And while artists who have been around primarily this millennium, two artists from the past made the list: Elton John, whose biopic rocketman was released to theaters in spring, made the list in a duet with Taron Egerton, who plays him in the movie. It's his first appearance on my year-end list since 1995's "Made in England". Elton first made my list in 1971 with "Your Song".
Going back even further is Tommy James, who first hit my list in 1966 with his band Tommy James & The Shondells. "Hanky Panky" was my #1 song that year. He last made my list in 1980, with "Three Times In Love". He released an album Alive this year, and two songs made the list, including a slow, "acoustic" version of his 1967 smash "I Think We're Alone Now", which also made my list in 1987 in a cover by Tiffany.
Pop songs, as they frequently do, make my list, some of them even hitting #1 on Billboard. "Sucker" by Jonas Brothers, "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and especially "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, which broke the Billboard Hot 100 #1 record, all made the list. Other pop successes include alternative crossovers Panic! at the Disco, Marshmello and Bastille, and Billie Eilish, with "Bad Guy". Ava Max also scored a Billboard top 10, with "Sweet but Psycho". Panic!'s song "High Hopes", which landed in the #96 position last year, is the only one to make the list again this year, at #19.
Jersey artists also made several entries. Wyckoff's Jonas Brothers led it off with "Sucker", while ScreenAge, Donna Missal, The Lumineers, Tommy James, and Sharon Van Etten either started or currently live, in the Garden State.
Several artists tied with the most entries this year, with three. SNS perennials Foster the People and Fitz and the Tantrums, along with Cage the Elephant and Beck (including a collaboration between those two), as well as Pennsylvania favorite Shannon Marsyada
Below is my top 100 for 2019. Note that these songs were my favorites that I had listened to over the past twelve months, not necessarily those that were only released this year. Remember that you can click on a song to view its video or link to a page or website.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves Top 100 of 2019
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
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25
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26
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27
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28
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29
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30
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31
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32
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33
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34
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35
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36
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37
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38
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39
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40
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41
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42
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43
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44
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45
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46
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47
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48
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49
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50
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51
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52
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53
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54
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55
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56
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57
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58
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59
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60
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61
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62
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63
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64
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65
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66
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67
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68
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69
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70
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71
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72
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73
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74
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75
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76
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77
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78
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79
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80
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81
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82
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83
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84
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85
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86
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87
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88
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89
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90
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91
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92
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93
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94
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95
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96
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97
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98
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99
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100
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▲ Songs with more than 50 plays on my iTunes library or iPod. ● Songs with between 25 and 49 plays on my iTunes library or iPod.
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