Matthew McVickar’s Favorite Sounds of 2019

This is the ninth year running that I have collected my favorite sounds.

(Previously: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

All year long, I make a note when something sticks out to me as I’m listening to music, and at the end of year I isolate the sounds from their songs, string them all together as one audio file, organize the descriptions, and share.

The Sounds

There are pieces from 71 tracks in 9 minutes in this year’s collection.

You can choose to listen to the sounds in four shorter segments (mixed in with the list) or as one long collage (the player above)—whichever you find easier to follow.

The List of Songs and Notes

Part 1

1. Alex Falk — Mark
   Reversed, warped vocal sample.
2. Amazondotcom — A Flower, Nocturnal and Permanent
   Refracted clap.
3. Amazondotcom — Priestess
   Overdriven brassy swells.
4. Ana Roxanne — It’s a Rainy Day on the Cosmic Shore
   Broken mic static as rain.
5. Anderson .Paak feat. André 3000 — Come Home
   Flute trill mirrors snare rhythm.
6. Battles feat. Xenia Rubinos — They Played It Twice
   Synth tone matching the sustained vocal note.
7. Batu — Shiratani
   Buzzing-of-wings outro.
8. Bea Miller, 6LACK — it’s not u it’s me
   Gated “talk-ing-bullshit.”
9. Benoît Honoré Pioulard & Sean Curtis Patrick — Marlen
   Fluttering synth loop.
10. Big Thief — From
    Rolling marble, returning later as clattering percussion.
11. Big Thief — UFOF
    Vocal glitch loops.
12. Bon Iver — Hey Ma
    High-pitched vocal sample rhythmic accent.
13. Brittany Howard — 13th Century Metal
    Pause.
14. Caroline Polachek — Insomnia
    Blocky, autotune-aping vocal embellishment.
15. Chris Cohen — Sweet William
    Sneaky rising percussive synth embellishment.
16. Clairo — Bags
    Isolated hi-hats.
17. Dominique Leone — Little Liars
    Startled pigeons.
18. Dominique Leone — You’ve Got to Make Mistakes to Win at Life
    Over the line, “No one wants to buy your art,” Leone grumbles “Man, tell me about it.”

Part 2

1. Ekin Fil — You, Only
   Whirling, coquí-like chirps.
2. Emily Reo — Ghosting
   Ringing bleep-bleep embellishment.
3. Fennesz — Rainfall
   Ping…
4. Floating Points — LesAlpx
   Isolated bleep motif that exits the breakdown.
5. Flume feat. SOPHIE & Kučka — Voices
   Chopped up vocals and helicopter kicks.
6. Friendly Fires — Cry Wolf
   Techno breakdown.
7. George Cory Todd — I Will (Not!)
   Sudden dry guitar track.
8. Geotic — Troperens
   Squeaking piano bench.
9. Heather Woods Broderick — I Try
   Quick double descending piano glissando (and the repeated chorus of “I try…”)
10. Helado Negro — Fantasma Vaga
    Tape-stop sample pattern.
11. Hot Chip — Bath Full of Ecstasy
    Vocoder’d, up-and-down-pitched “If you’re looking for a cuuuuure…”
12. Jay Som — Devotion
    Mallet percussion motif.
13. Jessica Pratt — Poly Blue
    Rhythmic triplet keyboard in the background.
14. Jordan Christoff — Alice
    Layers of drummed strings.
15. Kasper Marott — Drømmen Om Ø - Forever Mix ’19
    Breaking hinge.
16. King Princess — Cheap Queen
    Echo on the snare on the 3.
17. King Princess — If You Think It’s Love
    Scratch transition.
18. Kitten — Memphis
    Dialup internet.
19. Konduku — Ceviz
    Chopped hand percussion break.

Part 3

1. Kornél Kovács — Rocks
   Synth riff that reminds me of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Seven Wonders.’
2. Leech — Bit Rot
   Lo-fi stabs over breaks.
3. Leif — Borage
   Vocal reverb frozen in place.
4. Lizzo feat. Missy Elliott — Tempo
   Rewind.
5. Local Natives — When Am I Gonna Lose You
   Song collapsing in on itself.
6. Lower Dens — Galapagos
   Vocal effects.
7. M. Sage — Window Unit + Three Flat
   Synth glissando.
8. Midland — Frequency FM
   Ping-ponging whirring sounds.
9. Moodymann — I Think of Saturday
   Pitched-down, stretched-out snare.
10. The New Pornographers — Higher Beams
    Repeated outro.
11. Octo Octa — I Need You
    Feedback swell in the loop.
12. Overmono — Salt Mix
    Warped and looped squeal.
13. Panda Bear — Token
    Noisy synth Shepard tone.
14. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin — Close Eyes
    Layered, decaying snap snare.
15. Project Pablo — Toes Unstepped
    Panning hi-hats.
16. Robag Wruhme — Ago Lades
    Odds-and-ends percussion.
17. Robyn — Beach2k20 (Yaeji Remix)
    Faux phone call intro, tinny resonance syncopation.

Part 4

1. Rosalía — Milionária
   Scoff after “Tanco el centre comercial / I em menjo jo sola un gelat” (“I close the mall / Eat ice cream alone”).
2. SASAMI — Free
   Tremolo on the vocals.
3. Sigrid — Sucker Punch
   The drop.
4. Special Request — Shepperton Moon Landing
   Vibrato that’s just a frozen loop of echo.
5. Spencer Krug — Improv Compilation #1
   Dog howl-along.
6. Teebs — Studie
   Surf guitar.
7. Teen Gaze — Longing
   Noisy vocodered percussion.
8. TR/ST — Unbleached
   Detuning bleep transition.
9. Tyler, The Creator — Running Out of Time
   The beat finally drops.
10. Vampire Weekend — Flower Moon
    Danielle Haim’s bridge.
11. Vampire Weekend — Harmony Hall
    Reverse snare to chorus.
12. Vampire Weekend — Sympathy
    Pitched-up vocal snippet triplets.
13. Vampire Weekend — How Long
    Clipped “How—  —long.”
14. Vanishing Twin — Magician’s Success
    Bouncy sound effects.
15. Vinuela/Rosenberg — Industry Waves
    Clacking lo-fi piano motif.
16. Weval — Someday
    Disintegrating drums.
17. Yu Su — The Ultimate Which Manages the World
    Vocal loop.

Thank you for listening!