The Music 2019 Writers' Poll: Cyclone

Album Of The Year

1. Jamila Woods - Legacy! Legacy!
2. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! 
3. White Lies - Five 
4. Tyler, The Creator - Igor
5. Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
6. Dave - Psychodrama 
7. Solange - When I Get Home
8. Madonna - Madame X
9. SAFIA - Story's Start Or End 
10. Little Simz - Grey Area

Song Of The Year

1. 070 Shake - Nice To Have 
2. Travis Scott - Highest In The Room 
3. Stevan - LNT
4. Grimes - Violence 
5. Lil Nas X - Old Town Road

Artist Of The Year

1. Lil Nas X
2. Billie Eilish 
3. Stormzy 
4. Megan Thee Stallion 
5. Hooligan Hefs

International Artist Live Performance Of The Year

1. Janet Jackson 
2. James Blake
3. Denzel Curry 
4. Little Simz
5. Jon Hopkins

Australian Artist Live Performance Of The Year

1. Baker Boy 
2. SAFIA 
3. Sampa The Great 
4. Electric Fields 
5. Set Mo

TV Show Of The Year

1. Chernobyl
2. Game Of Thrones 
3. Legacies 

Movie Of The Year

1. The White Crow 
2. Us 
3. The Lighthouse

Highlight Of The Decade

Surviving in the media industry is a highlight. Music is forever enthralling. There is always some new "OMG!" Interviewing and meeting The Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) was a thrill this year as I'm still obsessed by vampire pop culture.

Prediction For Next Decade

The key trends in especially R&B and hip hop, symbolic cross-exchange, avant'n'B, art-rap, will continue. The music industry needs to decentralise: the media is focused on the US, yet the market and creativity are global and diverse (eg post-Soviet rap is very interesting). 

The laissez-faire, or 'stealth', album marketing campaign is failing pop artists. Virally promoting music via 'mysterious' LED billboards and installations in capital cities for Instagram posts or using custom hashtags only engenders ephemerality and cultural fatigue. 

The most disruptive thing that could happen with Australian music festivals is credible intergenerational programming, as ageism functions to invalidate the legacies of artists from particularly marginal and under-represented groups (the dance scene has long done this automatically). Yes, we should institute pill testing.