Top 10 songs of 2018, bonus tracks, and playlist

 

 

 

To listen to the music, I created Spotify and YouTube playlists. I reserve the right to alter the list if I change my mind or stumble upon new stuff that impresses! Below is my top 10:

 

 

 

1.)
Keep Reachin sung by Chaka Khan 
(Nice and funky. A great find from end credits of new Quincy Jones documentary. If the song had been cut down to 3 minutes it would have been stronger. But still pretty awesome)

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.)
The Crossing by Alejandro Escovedo
(From his concept album on immigration, the affecting title track which also has a brilliant melody attached. I’d go so far and say it’s a modern classic already)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.)
Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves 
(A couple of other bloggers gushed over this and I have to admit they’re right! Doesn’t get stale and what a voice! )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.)
Crazy, Classic, Life by Janelle Monáe
(Empowering lyrics and maybe the best pop chorus of the year)

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.)
Shallow by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
(From A Star Is Born soundtrack. Not many Oscar songs gave me chills in recent years but Shallow did ! Hope it wins Best Song. Haven’t seen the film)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.)
Kindness of Strangers by Courtney Marie Andrews
(She is wise beyond her years and the lyrics are sporadically great. Her vocal has intensity and reminds me a bit of Crystal Gayle. Her writing is improving though the album is less melodic compared to 2016’s Honest Life)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.)
Suspirium by Thom Yorke 
(A simple piano ballad that may not have the experimentation of other tracks on the Suspiria soundtrack, yet is easily the most moving and memorable from the film)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.)
Les Jeux to You by Julie Holter
(Strange lyrics sung with a joyful, child-like enthusiasm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.)
The Silence by Joan As Police Woman
(Doesn’t limit itself to the #MeToo movement, as anyone could identify with honesty. I love the instrumentation. The track samples chants from a women’s march on Washington in 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.)
South London Forever by Florence + The Machine 
(The vocal hits me emotionally. Great lyrics)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just missed the top 10:
Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter by Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Connected by Love by Jack White
Tenderness by Parquet Courts
One Thing Left to Try by MGMT
New Birth in New England by Phosphorescent
Ugly And Vengeful by Anna von Hausswolff
Partners In Motion by Wild Nothing
It’s Okay to Cry by Sophie
Pay No Mind by Beach House
Sunday Never Comes sung by Ethan Hawke (Juliet, Naked soundtrack)
Everybody’s Coming To My House (live on Stephen Colbert) by David Byrne
Love Is Magic by John Grant
Who Do You Love by All Saints
Mariners Apartment Complex by Lana Del Rey
Black Lagoon by Still Corners
Beach 2K20 by Robyn
Portrait by Mariah Carey
Dancing and Fire by Low
Face by Tracey Thorn
Black Walls by Chromatics
Girlfriend (feat. Dâm-Funk) by Christine and The Queens

 

 

 

---

 

Other songs I liked by artists I didn’t blog about:

 

 

 

Savior (2018 version) by St. Vincent
(Feels more raw and heartfelt than the 2017 pop edit. Her vocal performance is remarkable. The album consists of stripped down acoustic versions)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Version of Me by Kimbra
(An up-and-coming artist from New Zealand. I struggled to get into the album (Primal Heart) but this single struck a chord. Quietly powerful with a lovely use of piano. The video is stunning in its simplicity)

 

 

 

 

 

 
Leads Me Back by Sarah Blasko
(Again, like Kimbra above, I wasn’t wowed by the album Depth Of Field. The haunting closing track by the Australian singer-songwriter has been on repeat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugly by First Aid Kit
(I tend to gravitate towards specific songs by the Swedish duo. Emmylou is a great tribute to country legend Emmylou Harris on their 2012 debut LP. Ugly with its timeless lyrics about appearance and expectations is among their best as well)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Destroying Angels by Garbage (feat. John Doe and Exene Cervenka)
(Has been described as a murder ballad. If the listener has lost a close one the lyrics could be poignant. There’s a sense of heartbreak: “Some things they are so painful. No words for them exist. And everyone was solemn. As they laid her in the dirt“)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite Repeated Warnings by Paul McCartney
(From his new album Egypt Station. He’s on record saying it’s an anti-Trump protest song about climate change and he read the title in a newspaper. I like how changes pace at 2.27 and again at 4.28)

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
(I was able to overcome my dislike of autotune. A good pop song with an ambitious Inception-like music video)

 

 

 

---

Late discoveries from Said the Gramophone’s top 100 songs:

 

 

 

 

In Another Life by Sandro Perri 
(Reminds me at times of Prince’s Little Red Corvette and the synths from Wait and See by Holy Ghost! Yet Perri manages to make something new and beautiful with this single (listened to the 6 min edit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut Me Off by Madeline Kenney 
(The music video in an office workplace sets the scene and definitely helps the song come to life. A simple guitar riff and simple lyrics work well together. Pretty catchy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lifer by Wye Oak 
(I love the heartfelt lyrics. The song is spoiled (or some might say elevated) by the harsh guitar solo at the 2 min mark)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pick Up by DJ Koze 
Pick Up (6 min version) casts a spell over the listener with an infectious house beat and Gladys Knight’s vocal performance can almost make you cry. Sampling Gladys Knight & the Pips’s “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls on the TV by Laura Jean 
(Skilled synthpop production and the chorus “Girls on the TV” stays with you)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlotte’s Thong by Connan Mockasin 
(There’s something Kurt Vile-esque about the laid-back atmosphere. Connan Mockasin can play the guitar and the central riff is one of 2018’s best)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Controller by Channel Tres 
(I don’t usually go for Hip House, a mix of Hip Hop and House, so the unfamiliarity is maybe part of the fascination. What a great, hypnotic beat. I could imagine this single getting played by DJs as makes you want to move)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long As I Live by Toni Braxton 
(A hummable chorus which gets lodged in your brain. For fans of 90s R&B)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Thought That I Could Get Away with It by Joseph Shabason
(The saxophone player from Destroyer’s Kaputt (still my favorite album of the decade) has been busy, including DIANA and as a solo artist. This is from his second solo album Anne, in which he blends jazz, ambient, electronic sounds and samples from interviews with his mum)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spa by Nicholas Krgovich
(Another album in which Joseph Shabason is saxophonist)

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think? As always, comments are welcome