I’m way late getting this list out, but if we’re going by last year, then I’m right on time because I guess this is my new normal. I’d like to also do a Best of the 2010s List, but that will be even later in the year.

Personal life win: I’m getting married this year! Now I can listen to love songs without feeling bitter. But seriously, I’ve been doing these lists since I got out of high school in 2003 back on my LiveJournal. It’s wild how far it’s all come. I’d like to do a deeper reflection on the decade of music, but once again, that will be saved for that list. Until then, I’ll just say that 2019 was fantastic for both music and me.

I typically discuss new trends and other observations here. I mean, this is a format that evolves slowly as I only do them once a year. I guess it’s a good idea to have continuity. Firstly, from a personal observation. I’m turning 35 in 2020, and that means I’m starting to feel… older. I wouldn’t say old — just older. But the age gap between me and some of the artists I listen to has become increasingly apparent to me. And I’m pleased to say that it doesn’t really impact my ability to enjoy or respect it. Artists like Clairo and beabadoobee (still waiting on her full LP!) have wowed me this year. And while not every latest trend has appealed to me (looking at you, mumble rap) I’m happy to try to keep up with as much new and progressive music that’s being put out there by younger people. I hope this never changes, because it keeps me feeling young and open minded myself.

What I notice most about new music coming out today… is that it’s all over the fucking place. I mean that in a good way, and I honestly don’t think it will ever change. I had pondered this idea almost a decade ago: as a culture, we’re building this insane electronic library of media that’s accessible globally. Not just music, but movies, TV, video games, fiction, non-fiction, you name it. The tools of music creation have already become more widely accessible, but now information media itself has become ever-present. Obviously it has been for some time – I mean, the Internet wasn’t invented yesterday. But people who are entering maturity and creating art today are people who essentially grew up on the Internet from a young age (whereas my generation started up with that a bit later). Now, not every kid is on Wikipedia reading about musique concrète and the history of experimental music and shit, but I think plenty of them are. And that’s already having an impact on the music that’s out there.

I’ve noticed the new generation being more accepting, open-minded, and diverse in their interests. I’m thinking about Denzel Curry and how influenced by death metal and punk he is, despite his primarily Miami hip-hop pedigree. I think it’s awesome how much crossover appeal music is having these days, and I think that’s also going to lead to a lot of new creative energy. I think we will see more and more genre blending artists in the decade to come. But we will see a lot of everything to come.

Popular trends will come and go as always – but I think from now until we burn the planet down, there will be a giant layer of independently produced music that will satisfy just about every urge. There will always be some shoegaze revival bands, there will always be some artists progressing IDM even further, there will always be heartfelt singer songwriters, there will always be Japanese bands making Western punk music and American bands making J-pop inspired music until we’re done with all these silly geographic labels. Maybe eventually all labels will go away, and we’ll all just be listening to the same random sonic frequencies designed by some monolithic music algorithm to appeal to all human tastes. Maybe humans will overpopulate and play all their music all so loud that it creates a gigantic, thunderous wall of noise that deafens everyone until we’re left with the greatest song of all – silence. Or maybe kids will just get high and cover Pink Floyd, fuck if I know. Here’s my favorite albums of 2019, see you next year.

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