2018: The Year In Music

2018 – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a royal wedding. The “Beast from the East” hits the UK, causing huge disruptions to business and travel (I, for example, was stuck at home and couldn’t make it to school). Sergei Skripal and his daugher Yulia are poisoned in Salisbury by novichok. Stephen Hawking, one of the great minds of our time, passes away. And the #MeToo movement goes global … so let’s see if the musicians behaved themselves this year!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Girls Like You (Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B)

I remember hating this song when it came out more than I hated myself.

Maroon 5 are one of the most annoying Pop acts of all time. They, and Cardi B, keep pumping out slop – “Girls Like You” is no exception.

9 – In My Feelings (Drake)

Oh yeah. It’s the “Kiki, do you love me?” song. I remember watching all the videos of people jumping out of their moving cars and not understanding them. I still don’t.

To be honest, “Nice For What” was way more deserving of a place on this list.

8 – The Middle (Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey)

The pre-chorus vocals have a lot of depth, but otherwise this is a bog-standard Club / Techno / Pop song.

7 – I Like It (Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin)

I don’t like Cardi B’s rapping style. The Trap beats are annoying. Bad Bunny’s verse is okay.

I dunno … I guess I remember “I Like It” being catchier.

6 – Psycho (Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

Generic beat. Generic rapping. No hook. How is this a hit?

5 – Rockstar (Post Malone feat. 21 Savage)

The slightly better of the two Post Malone songs – mainly because “Rockstar” has an actual hook.

I still don’t particularly like this style of lazy Trap beat.

4 – Havana (Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug)

There’s a Latin appeal to “Havana”, but otherwise it’s a mundane melody over a standard Pop song.

3 – Meant to Be (Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line)

Florida Georgia Line has a Country lilt to his voice that I don’t think fits the song, but Bebe Rexha’s vocals are nice.

Above all else, I wasn’t expecting a semi-heartfelt song in the midst of all these Trap beats. It’s still a bit boring either way.

2 – Perfect (Ed Sheeran)

A sweet ballad, albeit a little corny and predictable. I remember the Italian, operatic version of “Perfect” popping off, though.

1 – God’s Plan (Drake)

Every dude seemed to make “God’s Plan” their new personality when it came out.

Those light synths are nice. The rapping is okay. I’m currently listening to it and yawning.

FAVOURITE – “Perfect” (Ed Sheeran)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Psycho” (Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

My god. I say it every year now, but this was a pitiful set of hits.

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – 4th Dimension (Kids See Ghosts)

“4th Dimension” is the song from “Kids See Ghosts” that I think has the most obvious Kanye West input.

It sounds like an evolution from a track we’d hear on “Graduation” – it’s groovy, subdued, and with a borderline unsettling sample.

9 – Reborn (Kids See Ghosts)

“Reborn”, on the other hand, has Kid Cudi written all over it.

It’s entrancing and dream-like, with a repetitive chorus which sticks in your head.

8 – Suspirium (Thom Yorke)

Gorgeous vocals, sublime yet simple piano work. “Suspirium” is haunting and proves that Thom Yorke still has that creative, thought-provoking spark.

7 – Sober To Death (Car Seat Headrest)

This is the most listenable, easiest to get into song from “Twin Fantasy”. It’s pretty good.

Car Seat Headrest have a Strokes style which is weaker by comparison but decent in its own right.

6 – J’OUVERT (Brockhampton)

Brockhampton were my biggest surprise of 2017 with songs like “BOOGIE” and “HEAT”. “J’OUVERT” doesn’t do it for me as much.

The production is muddier and dirtier, which I’m not a big fan of. The rapping is still as hard as ever, so that’s a positive.

5 – When You Die (MGMT)

This is so different from the MGMT I’m familiar with.

It’s more stripped-back and Folk-y, but I don’t hate it. It’s a provocative song with some subtle yet effective touches of production.

4 – Bodys (Car Seat Headrest)

My favourite song from “Twin Fantasy”.

It’s high energy, has a memorable melody and it has some nice lyrics.

3 – Beach Life-In-Death (Car Seat Headrest)

Coming in at a whopping 13 minutes, “Beach Life-In-Death” is the longest song on this list by far. Does that make it the best? Well, not necessarily.

There’s certainly an epic, almost odyssey-like quality to the breadth of writing and storytelling. It’s a bit random for me.

2 – Little Dark Age (MGMT)

The album “Little Dark Age” could’ve made the top five albums … but oh well. At least a couple of the songs did.

Its title track is dark, foreboding and such a bop. This is the kind of MGMT electronica I adore.

1 – Ghost Town (Kanye West)

Kanye surprised everyone in 2018 when he dropped “ye”. What surprises me is that “Ghost Town” is actually good.

It’s kinda spooky, and the lyrics are self-deprecating – something Kanye does best.

BEST SONG OF 2018 – “Reborn” (Kids See Ghosts)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – Wide Awake! (Parquet Courts)

Parquet Courts sound like they’ve been plucked from the 80’s Punk scene.

The album sounds all over the place, but in the best way possible – “Wide Awake!” is a varied sonic journey.

4 – 7 (Beach House)

I probably said this the last time Beach House made one of these top fives, but I’m always surprised to see them in here. For good and bad reasons.

Their sound is so different and dreamy … but, like their previous albums, it doesn’t speak to me particularly.

3 – Joy As An Act Of Resistance (Idles)

Hell yeah. Now here’s an album that gets the blood pumping.

“Never Fight A Man With A Perm” and “Danny Nedelko” are shots of cocaine straight to the veins, and “Colossus” is one of the most monumental, angriest album openers of this millennium. Idles are a wall of noise and I love them for it.

2 – Kids See Ghosts (Kids See Ghosts)

Kids See Ghosts is the collaboration project between Kanye West and Kid Cudi. That’s a lot of talent on one album.

It’s a very short album – only 24 minutes – but it hits hard. There are no weak tracks, and songs like “4th Dimension” and “Reborn” are amongst the best of the year.

1 – Twin Fantasy (Car Seat Headrest)

I remember “Twin Fantasy” making waves with some of my alternative school friends. So, after eight years, what do I finally make of it?

… You may hate me, but I thought the album was pretty boring. I think I said this for the last Car Seat Headrest album – they do The Strokes but not as good. Why would I not just listen to, y’know, The Strokes?

BEST ALBUM OF 2018 – “Kids See Ghosts” (Kids See Ghosts)

Final Thoughts

Is it bad that I was a little disappointed by this year? The Billboard hits were as atrocious as ever, but I expected more from the high-rated stuff.

Overall Grade: C-

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: