The 2018 end of the year music lists thread

For sure. Like I said, I know I'm being unfair (I have similar feelings regarding Alex Ross).

surprised no eminem

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/30-best-hip-hop-albums-of-2018-771909/

The Slate critics roundtable discussion is out with essays and some lists on the bottom. Sometimes folks try to hard in such things to be all encompassing regarding music, politics, culture, but Jason King does it pretty well here I think, starting with Coltrane's lost album Both Directions At Once that's out this year, and mentioning a Leon Bridges track Bad, Bad News, M. Ndgeocello, Afrobeats, Prince and mentioning country music, French protests and much much more

https://slate.com/culture/2018/12/2018-music-both-directions-at-once-coltrane.html

Phonica record shop:

http://offtherecord.net/best-of-2018-albums/
http://offtherecord.net/best-of-2018-singles/

ooh some cool ones in there, thanks, did not know about the SW/SVN album

Metacritic's best reviewed of 2018 list

https://www.metacritic.com/feature/best-albums-released-in-2018?ref=hp

sleeve, the clips i hear off this one sounded pretty nice - maybe up yr street too?

12. Sound Voyage
En Route To Thailand LP

(Free Soul Inc)

A very specific and original project from Krautrock maestro’s Niko Schabel & Tom Wieland, nothing else like this in the shop. The pair went on a sabbatical to Thailand, creating field recordings and digging rare records, they returned to the home studio to build this stunning and faithful combination of old-east meets the new west. As the sales notes aptly put it “Sounds like Kraftwerk jamming in a Thai temple with the locals and Moritz von Oswald on controls? Welcome to the next level, they simply call it Outernational Kraut Electronica. First stop: Thailand.”

yeah I was checking that one out as well, thanks!

this is a pretty good dubby track off that: bangkok echo

Sometimes folks try to hard in such things to be all encompassing

Oh yeah, the Slate critics' roundtable, where listening to both pop and country makes you "all-encompassing" when it comes to music.

That may seem the case, but this year there are a couple of contributors with more varying tastes (Jason King has jazz, afrobeats, UK r'n'b and more), Rawiya Kameir mentions afrobeats and dancehall... But no Unperson with avante-jazz and metal

Um, afrobeats and UK r'n'b and dancehall are just pop from other countries.

Good list from the German MusikExpress:

1: International Music – DIE BESTEN JAHRE
2: Tocotronic – DIE UNENDLICHKEIT
3: DJ Koze – KNOCK KNOCK
4: Sophie – OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES
5: Blood Orange – NEGRO SWAN
6: Soap&Skin – FROM GAS TO SOLID/YOU ARE MY FRIEND
7: Idles – JOY AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE
8: Julia Holter – AVIARY
9: Goat Girl – GOAT GIRL
10: Helena Hauff – QUALM
11: Arctic Monkeys – TRANQUILITY BASE HOTEL + CASINO
12: Die Nerven – FAKE
13: Kamasi Washington – HEAVEN AND EARTH
14: Drangsal – ZORES
15: Janelle Monáe – DIRTY COMPUTER
16: Mitski – BE THE COWBOY
17: Jon Hopkins – SINGULARITY
18: Christine & The Queens – CHRIS
19: The Good, The Bad & The Queen – MERRIE LAND
20: Serpentwithfeet – SOIL
21: Kurt Vile – BOTTLE IT IN
22: Snail Mail – LUSH
23: Perel – HERMETICA
24: Ezra Furman – TRANSANGELIC EXODUS
25: Beach House – 7
26: Isolation Berlin – VERGIFTE DICH
27: Nils Frahm – ALL MELODY
28: Robyn – HONEY
29: Low – DOUBLE NEGATIVE
30: Suede – THE BLUE HOUR
31: Shame – SONGS OF PRAISE
32: Anna Calvi – THE HUNTER
33: Ross From Friends – FAMILY PORTRAIT
34: A.A.L. (Against All Logic) – 2012–2017
35: Der Nino aus Wien – DER NINO AUS WIEN
36: Rhye – BLOOD
37: Florence & The Machine – HIGH AS HOPE
38: Villagers – THE ART OF PRETENDING TO SWIM
39: The Internet – HIVE MIND
40: Mouse On Mars – DIMENSIONAL PEOPLE
41: Fucked Up – DOSE YOUR DREAMS
42: Yves Tumor – SAFE IN THE HANDS OF LOVE
43: The Blaze – DANCEHALL
44: Lucy Dacus – HISTORIAN
45: Neneh Cherry – BROKEN POLITICS
46: Agar Agar – THE DOG AND THE FUTURE
47: Tim Hecker – KONOYO
48: Big Red Machine – BIG RED MACHINE
49: Haiyti – MONTENEGRO ZERO
50: Yung Hurn – 1220

It's about time, Norman Records

Les Inrockuptibles:

1. Flavien Berger — Contre-Temps
2. Arctic Monkeys — Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
3. Cat Power — Wanderer
4. MGMT — Little Dark Age
5. Idles — Joy as an Act of Resistance
6. Courtney Barnett — Tell Me How You Really Feel
7. Kanye West — ye
8. Jorja Smith — Lost & Found
9. Miossec — Les rescapés
10. Neneh Cherry — Broken Politics
11. Perez — Cavernes
12. Parquet Courts — Wide Awake!
13. Dominique A — La fragilité
14. Jeanne Added — Radiate
15. Jacco Gardner — Somnium
16. Snail Mail — Lush
17. Lomepal — Jeannine
18. Blood Orange — Negro Swan
19. A$AP Rocky — Testing
20. Car Seat Headrest — Twin Fantasy
21. Superorganism — Superorganism
22. Shame — Songs of Praise
23. Agar Agar — The Dog and the Future
24. Mitski — Be the Cowboy
25. Rosalía — El Mal Querer
26. Connan Mockasin — Jassbusters
27. Pusha T — Daytona
28. Insecure Men — Insecure Men
29. Rendez Vous — Superior State
30. Sophie — Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides
31. Jean-Louis Murat — Il Francese
32. Alpha Wann — Une main lave l'autre
33. Damso — Lithopédion
34. Oneohtrix Point Never — Age Of
35. Franz Ferdinand — Always Ascending
36. Dream Wife — Dream Wife
37. U.S. Girls — In a Poem Unlimited
38. Young Fathers — Cocoa Sugar
39. Daniel Blumberg — Minus
40. Ty Segall — Freedom’s Goblin
41. Nas — NASIR
42. Kurt Vile — Bottle It In
43. Spiritualized — And Nothing Hurt
44. Helena Hauff — Qualm
45. Myth Syzer — Bisous
46. Amen Dunes — Freedom
47. Saba — Care for Me
48. Cardi B — Invasion of Privacy
49. Vald — XEU
50. Grand Blanc — Image au mur

Meh.

Tbf I haven't heard the #1 yet. And I'm only interested in their francophone suggestions anyway.

Norman Records have also done a reissues list, which is much more up my street tbh

https://www.normanrecords.com/features/albums-of-the-year-2018#best-reissues

Admittedly there were several undeniable classics in Norman's reissues list but I have to agree, the top new releases are leaving me relatively underwhelmed.

https://www.stereogum.com/2027032/barack-obama-best-songs-2018/news/

Someone send him an invite for the ILM EOY poll.

Listening to some of these and damn that Jupiter & Okwess track is a blast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mSmmo-_5t8

Norman Records have also done a reissues list, which is much more up my street tbh

https://www.normanrecords.com/features/albums-of-the-year-2018#best-reissues🕸

X-post- Yes to that Jupiter & Okwess track on the Obama list.

the playlist at the end of carl wilson’s last music club entry is good (disclaimer: i was part of it this year)

https://slate.com/culture/2018/12/best-songs-2018-playlist-spotify.html

I realize it's linked above, but I think it's worth including Obama's full list here in the thread.

---

Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2018:

Apes••t by The Carters
Bad Bad News by Leon Bridges
Could’ve Been by H.E.R. (feat. Bryson Tiller)
Disco Yes by Tom Misch (feat. Poppy Ajudha)
Ekombe by Jupiter & Okwess
Every Time I Hear That Song by Brandi Carlile
Girl Goin’ Nowhere by Ashley McBryde
Historia De Un Amor by Tonina (feat. Javier Limón and Tali Rubinstein)
I Like It by Cardi B (feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin)
Kevin’s Heart by J. Cole
King For A Day by Anderson East
Love Lies by Khalid & Normani
Make Me Feel by Janelle Monáe
Mary Don’t You Weep (Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version) by Prince
My Own Thing by Chance the Rapper (feat. Joey Purp)
Need a Little Time by Courtney Barnett
Nina Cried Power by Hozier (feat. Mavis Staples)
Nterini by Fatoumata Diawara
One Trick Ponies by Kurt Vile
Turnin’ Me Up by BJ the Chicago Kid
Wait by the River by Lord Huron
Wow Freestyle by Jay Rock (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

And in honor of one of the great jazz singers of all time, who died this year, a classic album: The Great American Songbook by Nancy Wilson

I got the Colored Music reissue, absolutely love it
― willem

have you heard "individual beauty" (is that part of the reissue?), it was nice

JFC. The people who think he makes these lists himself... He has 100 interns with his foundation. He might sit in on a 90 second session to vet political problems?

I’ll buy that if you attest & have knowledge that it’s true, but... what purpose is served by releasing an intern-written list?

kurt vile streams thru the roof

Entertainingly written summary of notable box sets (some of which I hadn’t heard about): https://variety.com/2018/music/news/best-music-boxed-sets-2018-beatles-dylan-kinks-1203096326/

Part 1 of 5against4's best 40 albums of 2018:

40. Clarence Barlow - Musica Algorithmica
39. Tom Mudd - Gutter Synthesis
38. Þráinn Hjálmarsson - Influence of Buildings on Musical Tone
37. Jakob Ullmann - Müntzers stern/solo II
36. Moritz Eggert - Musica Viva Vol. 30
35. Autechre - NTS Sessions 1-4
34. Brian Eno - Music for Installations
33. Christopher Trapani - Waterlines
32. Dita Von Teese - Ditta Von Teese
31. Jeffery Alan Jones - Most Beautiful Island
30. Erik Friedlander - Thoroughbreds
29. Kenneth Hesketh - In Ictu Oculi
28. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy
27. Jörg Widmann - Drittes Labyrinth/Polyphone Schatten
26. Rohan Drape & Anthony Pateras - Ellesmere
25. Erkki-Sven Tüür - Illuminatio/Whistles and Whispers from Uluru/Symphony No. 8
24. Chaines - The King
23. Lance Austin Olsen - Dark Heart
22. Colin Stetson - Hereditary
21. Anna Þorvaldsdóttir - Aequa

http://5against4.com/2018/12/30/best-albums-of-2018-part-1/

i gave them a chance to sell me on why i should actually listen to the dita von teese album, but no, i'm sorry, i don't believe i will.

Oh, thanks. Tbh I didn't really know 5 Against 4 until you mentioned it on the classical thread but it seems like something I've been looking for.

He'd probably fit right in here. His tastes are highly eclectic (although this year's list is a little more homogenous than usual so far), especially for a contemporary classical buff, and he's an excellent writer to boot. I crib quite a few of my favourite yearly releases from his blog and his concert coverage and accompanying records are great as well. I too am skeptical of the Ditta Von Teese but who knows? It's interesting to have included it in an EOY list that's so heavily skewed towards classical/ambient/'avant-garde'/soundtracks. Looking forward to part 2.

*recordings. That word gives me a hard time for some reason.

Turns out all the tracks on the Dita Von Teese album were written by Sébastien Tellier so it self-consciously comes across as a Gainsbourg/Birkin tribute, down to the inclusion of a couple of French-language songs. If you're a Tellier fan – I find him mildly amusing, no more and no less – you'll probably like it.

And here's part 2:

20. Computer Magic - Danz
19. Gottfried Huppertz - Metropolis
18. Ryoji Ikeda - Music For Percussion
17. Toivo Tulev - Magnificat
16. Coppice - Surreal Air Fortress
15. Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir - Choral Works by Schnittke & Pärt
14. Michael Cutting - Stills
13. James Newton Howard - Red Sparrow
12. Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears
11. irr. app. (ext.) - A Transfigured System
10. various artists - Phantom Images
9. Rich Shapero & Elsiane - Rin, Tongue and Dorner
8. ionnalee - Everyone Afraid To Be Forgotten
7. Thom Yorke - Suspiria
6. Fia Fiell - All In The Same Room
5. Lauren Redhead - hearmleoþ—gieddunga
4. Morton Feldman - For John Cage (Mark Knoop & Aisha Orazbayeva)
3. Piggy Black Cross - Always Just Out of R.E.A.C.H. (Robotic Eclosion After Coming Hylozoic)
2. Lee Fraser - Cor Unvers
1. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the end of time - Stages 4 & 5

http://5against4.com/2018/12/31/best-albums-of-2018-part-2/

I'm shocked Kate Bush's box set didn't make that top 10!

My year-end Top 10. I'm a little skeptical as to what's going to materialize for Pazz & Jop, but if nothing else, its puzzling continuation gave me a push to again do this. Not sure I would have otherwise this year--and wouldn't have done so at least until February without the deadline.

That's a terrific blurb on "December 24th," a track I played several times that night.

Thanks. So frustrating that it's so short...

“Aliens in Our Midst,” their Twinkeyz cover. The Twinkeyz? Honest to god, never heard of them, but, if we can finesse our way around the lyric about the five-year-old friend who likes to dress in his sister’s clothes, my school’s music teacher and I are hoping to perform it at a future school assembly with my grade 3 class. (We’re very enlightened, promise; parents and principals sometimes have different ideas.)

Is there any way for an adult to attend a school assembly as a non-relative/teacher without looking like a creep?

(I mean, I went to my niece’s Christmas pageant last month, but they did nothing cooler than “Let It Go”).

If it happens, and I hope it does, I'll post a YouTube video privately and send you the link. As the nine-millionth reconfiguration of "Louie, Louie," it's amazingly easy to play on guitar (if it weren't, it'd be beyond me).

it's interesting to read that your way into "Miki Dora" was through the backstory! I fell in love with that song the first time I played the album, the slow build of the music and his voice drew me in, it wasn't until much later that I learned what the song was about

http://505indie.com.br/acervo/os-50-melhores-albuns-brasileiros-de-2018/

Elza Soares at 10; Carne Doce's Tonus at #1 (who?); 23 is Marcelo Cabral, avante-samba rock pal of Romulo Froes in Sao Paulo; 31- Gilberto Gil; 34. Heavy Baile – Carne de Pescoço is funk carioca; 38 is Ava Rocha-- more avante-samba

That's it?

One of the best lists for last, The Finest Kiss always finds singles I never knew existed. I added the ones available on Spotify to the end of my singles list: https://finestkiss.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/2018-singles-of-the-year/

Not all singles, but pop tracks selected from Dream/Art/Jangle pop, Shoegaze, etc.: https://open.spotify.com/user/1212496385/playlist/1TingElLqQsoqmRciGAUoy?si=ouXrBmV1TQutTAy4ShCoyg

yeah i've been digging the stuff on colemine this past year, nothing wrong with genre exercises if the feeling's there

had to look up whomst the Y in "GAPDY" was. earnestly thought it was Yeasayer