music monday: 2019
Welcome to my top music of 2019 post! This year was spent more focused on music than dramas, and figured that a dedicated post of my favorites in music of the year was warranted. I listened to a lot of music, as I tried to keep up with a lot more of the comebacks (mainly because of the podcast) more than I normally do, but was also rekindled with some of my old favorites and found some really great new music and artists in the process.
Last Christmas I posted my “Top Ten Asian Songs That I Liked a Little More Than Others” list on twitter, and this year was no different. I went over a bit on why I picked them on the thread here, but really when it comes to these lists there aren’t too many actual reasons on why I pick what I pick. When I like a song, I just like it. I want to listen to it more and rarely skip over it when it comes on.
Here’s the list (in order that they were released):
‘Nothing But You’ by Junho
‘I Am Not Alone’ by Sori ft Folded Dragon
‘Done for Me’ by Punch
‘Uma to Shika’ by Kenshi Yonezu
‘Deja Vu’ by Dreamcatcher
‘Melt’ by TK from Ling tosite sigure ft Yorushika
‘Umbrella’ by King Gnu
‘Finale’ by DAY6
‘UR’ by MONSTA X
‘above the time’ by IU
It was really tough to pick a favorite out of the grouping, but the honor had to go to ‘Deja Vu’ by Dreamcatcher. While ‘Finale’ by DAY6 definitely has a special place in my heart (and is a close runner up) ‘Deja Vu’ was on a whole other level. I think the song showcases each of the girl’s vocal ability spectacularly, the dance’s concept was done really well (as it starts, it ends with the mirror image) and I think one of the best examples of how you can take an already existing concept (Dreamcatcher’s nightmare) and integrate it with what the song’s collaboration calls for to follow that storyline (the song is in collaboration for the mobile game ‘King’s Raid’) and still have it fit. It’s done so well and has been on top repeast since it was released.
Out of all of the songs for the year that I enjoyed, there was one that came as a complete surprise. While I knew of their existence mainly because of a single member’s acting roles, I had very little interest in the group before hearing this song. I tried to make a point of listening to every comeback I could this year, and when the song first came out I really enjoyed it. Then I just kept listening to it on repeat. That song: ‘RPM’ by SF9.
It was actually in my top 25 for most of the year, eventually getting bumped by Red Velvet’s ‘Pyscho’ as a last-minute add (sorry, the song is just so good), it still stands as a break out for this year and makes me excited to see what else they have in the future. Congrats, SF9, for making me want to see more from you and actually will be excited when their album is released on the 7th.
Here is my top 25 list in full:
I also kept up a running playlist of all the music that I enjoyed over the year. The purpose for this was originally so I could remember what music I enjoyed during the specific month, and after I would throw it into this ongoing list. It is a great mix of new music, and new-to-me music that I found in 2019 that wasn’t necessarily put out this year. You can find all 10ish hours of that list here. It’s a good length to get through the workday and I think it gives you more of a realistic look into the massive amount of different music I am into.
I went through my list and picked out my top ten albums of the year. This was actually a really hard task (moreso than picking my top songs) because there were a lot of contenders. There were actually several more albums this year that could have easily made it here, but we don’t need a top 25 list of albums. As you will see, some of these albums - while being on the top list - didn’t have songs that made it to my top ten. That was not part of the criteria, as this list was eventually was picked from the albums that I played in full the most and just connected with the album on whole. The only true rule I implemented was that the album couldn’t be a singles album (one song + the instrumental version), mini albums were allowed.
Again, the list is in the order that they were released.
King Gnu’s ‘Sympa’
Dreamcatcher’s ‘End of the Nightmare’
Ken Kamikita’s ‘Arche’
Chen’s ‘Dear My Dear’
NELL’s ‘Colors in Black’
DAY6’s ‘Entropy’
Brown Eyed Girls’ ‘RE_vive’
MONSTA X’s ‘Follow:Find’
IU’s ‘Love Poem’
BAND MAID’s ‘Conqueror’
I had a really hard time choosing between a couple of the albums, as they had several releases this year. MONSTA X had some really great offerings this year, but in the end Follow:Find was just a solid album. Even with the emotional toll of the whole situation, I still really love the album and I think it showcases the members on a great level. There were quite a few albums (and songs) that came out at the very end that really outshone things that happened earlier in the year.
While I picked up a lot of new groups this year, there is one stand out for me…and it’s not who you are expecting if you follow me on Twitter. While I did pick up a good number of new groups (turns out that when you are busy and have no free time to watch dramas, you DO have free time to listen to music since you can do it during work hours!), the spot of honor goes to the Japanese group, King Gnu. This is a tiny bit of a cheat, as if you follow our podcast you’ll know that I talked about them on our very first music episode (the Big Bang one). I had found their song Prayer X via the old BFF, YouTube suggestions (they are just so great at sending music my way), and had fallen in love with it. That was technically around November of 2018, but my rules apply and they will count for my favorite new artist of 2019 as well as my top artist all around.
King Gnu is still relatively new, and have really gained more traction within the past couple of years, but there is a good amount of music videos to be found and all of their music is on Spotify. I really love the vocals in this group, and their sound is what I love about all jrock/jalt music. Their songs can be really emotional too, and they are not afraid of exploring topics in their music videos and making the whole experience a work of art.
I really connect with music that you can actually feel the artist connecting with on just another level than just singing lyrics or playing some notes, and they are great example of it. I really just can’t get enough of them. I genuinely have loved every release they have put out, and I never feel the need to skip their music when it comes on shuffle. I’ll be doing a Flavor Profile on them sometime in the next couple of months, so I won’t talk a lot about them now. You should just all go listen to King Gnu. Like now.
(They’ll also be releasing their new album this January so this is a perfect time to go through the rest of their music!)
Some runners up:
-Dreamcatcher: Rising to the top of my girl groups (and dethroning EXID who had the position for a while), Dreamcatcher is such a great group. Their music is fun and interesting, their concept is great, and they seem like a group of really great people actually having fun. In a world that is not so kind of kpop girl’s, DC really got lucky that they were able to switch to a concept that allows them to be happy.
-DAY6: While DC was a complete surprise, DAY6 was a surprise in another completely different path. I’ve actually like DAY6 for a while, they were a group I already liked their music. While I wasn’t up to date with what they did, I did check out their releases pretty close to when they did a comeback but I just never gave them the attention they deserve (listen, there is so much good music in the world and I am but one person with a limited amount of hours where I’m conscious). When the MX stuff went down, I was already getting super into them via their videos and all that other stuff that is unique to idol groups, and then I fell HARD. Looking back, we should have all seen this coming. In the end here I am…and I’m not mad.
-NELL: Last-minute addition to my music this year goes to the indie rock group, NELL. NELL was not a new group in terms of me knowing of their existence, but I had never actually listened to them. Again, so much good music out there, so much to miss. Spotify, who is really gunning for that BFF spot (watch out YouTube!), suggested a song of theirs…and then I spent the rest of the day listening to their entire discography without skipping or stopping except for a brief pause to drive home from work. So, thanks Spotify for just adding to my ever growing list of artists I have to sloppily try to keep up with.
So that’s my year of music in a nutshell! This year was filled with lots more music than others (and less than the other ones), but that’s only because I used to not talk about it as much. It’s weird going from a place where no one listens to what you listen to…to now when I can talk about something and I don’t get the look of “This girl is crazy.” It’s been taking a bit of time to come out of that place and be comfortable.
Also, can I give a big shoutout to both YouTube and Spotify? Between the two they’ve kept me being able to listen to new music from some of my favorite artists. The amount of Japanese artists allowing their music on Spotify is amazing and wonderful. Gone are the days I’d have to search for sellers overseas for CDs, or hope that iTunes would have the album I wanted (most of the time, they did not) or only getting a minute clip of a music video. I’ve also seen more artists move to put their videos in whole on YouTube. It’s really helped me be able to enjoy the music I want and not have to go through leaps and bounds to hear it. Music also kept me sane most of the year both emotionally and while I was so busy doing other things.
I don’t have many resolutions this year, but one of the big ones I have is to write more on this blog and some of the major posts that I will be doing will be music-centered ones. I had to look realistically at what my life is like and what I could be able to do here while keeping up with life, and music just fits the bill. While I’ll still be doing drama focused ones, the fact that I can listen to an album easier than finishing a drama was a real deciding factor. I also want to talk more about the music I love, as while I do listen to what everyone else does sometimes, I find I don’t always. I don’t want to be held back because I’m the only one in my circle who listens to them from expressing what I love. I also want to get more comfortable reviewing music, and the only way to do that is to do it more. Look forward to a return of my Flavor Profiles, and a lot of other specific posts this coming year.