// songs of 2018 //
A
20. The Chills – “Deep Belief”
19. Tirzah – “Holding On”
18. Kali Uchis – “Tomorrow”
17. Neneh Cherry – “Kong”
16. Sam Phillips – “Tears in the Ground”
15. Frankie Cosmos – “Caramelize”
14. Let’s Eat Grandma – “Falling Into Me”
13. Toni Braxton – “Long As I Live”
12. Robyn – “Because It’s In The Music”
11. serpentwithfeet – “bless ur heart”
B
10. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – “Middle America”
9. Spellling – “Hard To Please”
8. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry”
7. Miss Information – “Theme”
6. The Breeders – “All Nerve”
5. Low – “Always Trying To Work It Out”
4. Yo La Tengo – “What Chance Have I Got”
3. Wye Oak – “It Was Not Natural”
2. Mitski – “Why Didn’t You Stop Me?”
1. Janelle Monáe – “Screwed”
75 minutes — 74 with whiplash transitions on the Mixcloud file. And with most of the short songs concentrated in the top half (2:22! 2:11!! 2:08!!!), I’ll have room to append the majority of Whack World to the end of side B. Jk, this one’s shipping exclusively on CD.
The overall mood is less funereal this year, I hope, though it was hard to find an artist who wasn’t singing about some kind of daily collapse. Anecdotally: “Now my friend we’re out of time,” Sam Phillips once sang near the end of an album, and the ensuing silence glowed with the years ahead. Thirty years later that halo has shrunk to nil and she’s out there chasing her waking nightmare with the only words that feel good: “No one will cry for you.” Still, there’s Janelle Monáe’s vow to “fuck it all back down,” or Josiah Wise’s heart chorus, or, most improbably, the enduring warmth of Martin Phillipps (heavenly, molten, etc.) to confirm that the future not only exists, but in some kind of abundance. Personally, I feel like I spent the entire year sweeping up cat litter. I don’t intend to stop.
Some bookkeeping: I’ve managed to avoid any overlap with my albums list for the first time ever, I think, partly because I spent 0% of the year writing about my listening and a last-minute spreading-the-wealth seemed wise. Even so, I’ll spare you the usual litany of other songs I liked this year, with the exception of the last one I had to cut: “Hot for the Mountain” by Natalie Prass. Play it tonight for your new year’s toast.
