Tristan's Top 100 Tracks of 2019

In a year where even what was real became a debate, these were the tracks that got us through it

• By Midrange Staff @midrangeyvr

2019 is the year where we pretty much stopped being surprised by how much worse things can get. What was once the surreal enormity of cascading racism, nationalist populism, a climate emergency seeming more and more likely to fucking end us, and even the very notion of what’s real becoming bitter partisan debates, became in the last 12 months, just kind of normal. Par for the course, the Modern Age as icons of a previous decade put it. As this one draws mercifully to a close, the best way not to wallow in a pit of existential despair regarding the sorry state of things is to look back on the music that had something to say about it. Girlpool searched for meaning in a relationship defined by nihilism. Stella Donnelly turned centuries of sexual predation on its head. Sharon Van Etten distilled the notion of youthful anxiety and forlorn nostalgia into crystalline perfection. Nilufer Yanya opened up about the debilitating effects of chasing that forever mirage of mental health with stunning confidence. Solange confronted her personal history and the legacy of her home, and found sheer pulsating triumph. Holy Herdon demanded- fucking commanded us to do something about the looming threats of our time. There was a lot going on. Most of it was wrenching, a lot of it was good, some if it was incredible. With that, here’s Tristan’s top 100 songs of the year 2019 ranked from 100 to 1. Listen to it on Apple Music or right here if you like.