The 2018 end of the year music lists thread

wrote about robyn/sophie/janelle, super happy to do so

― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine)

loved your Robyn blurb

Something I’ve been wondering about before and was reminded of again while going over that Aquarium Drunkard list: Why is that these music loving people only bother with African pop music when it’s a) very old or b) made in the diaspora? I mean, you know you’re gonna lap that stuff up when the curated comps come out in 2050, so why not just engage with it now and enjoy it while it’s hot?!

xp — thanks!

the sophie album was the one I was most surprised by, particularly the middle which is a huge departure from her old stuff

breastcrawl i’m nodding but also kind of guilty of that myself

(also sorry for blowing my quota of kate bush references, in my defense robyn directly cited a specific album as an influence, and if “is it cold in the water” doesn’t earn the comparison nothing does)

I mean, you know you’re gonna lap that stuff up when the curated comps come out in 2050, so why not just engage with it now and enjoy it while it’s hot?!

this is otm and not only for african music.

Has Nicki Minaj turned up on any lists yet?

Whoa, I hadn't heard of this "Ohmme" duo... this is great

Jordan - great "Caution" write-up.

Carl Wilson

still gotta hear tropical fuck storm

eh

From Junkee list, The Ocean Party - The Oddfellows' Hall. The indie pop flows strong out of Melbourne. Eight albums under their belt and they just now get some attention when a key member passed just over a month ago.

I've been impressed by the consistently interesting tastes of Andy RSTB French for a few years. I didn't realize Ultimate Painting broke up, but glad I could find files of UP! -
http://www.ravensingstheblues.com/rstb-best-of-2018-reissues-etc/

I lose track of the good country-folk Americana stuff so it's great to be reminded to listen to the likes of Scott Hirsch especially. Howlin Rain, One Eleven Heavy, Doug Paisley and Anna St. Louis are good too. Crepes is really lovely synthy psych pop/dream pop from, yep, Melbourne. I was REALLY impressed by the power and humor of the self-described "electronic pub rock" of minimal wave/post-punk duo The Native Cats from Tasmania. It's their first album since Peter Escott transitioned to Chloe Alison. Also check out her 35 minute bit mixing comedy and experimental sound at an art exhibition last year.

http://thequietus.com/articles/25761-reissues-compilations-mixes-best-of-2018

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-electronic-music-of-2018/

is it just me that can't read the texts in the Spin list?

I can't either. Tried several browsers on different computers, with and without adblock.

The "Uneven Paths – Deviant Pop From Europe 1980-1991" compilation on that Aquarium Drunkard list is really great.

Sure is. This has been a terrible year for keeping up with new records for me because there is so much amazing archival stuff coming out. Feel kind of bad for favouring the old, and that loops back to breastcrawls point upthread, but basically I wish I had more time and money to keep up with both

xp yeah, that was #4 on the Picadilly Records list

Tropical Fuck Storm is so good

Finally got around to Aquarium Drunkard:

Sitka Sun – S/T - Perfect for my Afrobeat Kosmische Jazz Electro playlist I posted upthread.
Parades Against Parades – Driving Me Stoned - Never expected to see this in another list! This kind of garage/psych noir is my crack, has been in heavy rotation all year.
One Eleven Heavy – Everything’s Better - Just started listening to this from RSTB list.

I'm just going to have to dive in and listen to the rest of the albums (about 10% of the list) I hadn't heard yet.

NME’s Albums Of The Year 2018
https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/best-greatest-albums-of-the-year-2018-2419656

Oh my god that top three.

the blurb for #1 is a heck of a thing

tbh I don't know if TFS are gonna be up yr alley brad

the likes of ‘Canary Yellow’ and ‘Honeycomb’ are all the evidence you’d ever need to prove metal’s worth in the critical arena

We're still doing this?

glad Prass finally made a list at... *squints* #99

she did make #24 on the american songwriter list, hopefully she'll do better here

oh nice

The Fader's track list is up: https://www.thefader.com/2018/12/12/best-songs-2018-apple-music-spotify-playlist

I can't either. Tried several browsers on different computers, with and without adblock.

― pomenitul, Thursday, 13 December 2018 10:09 (five hours ago) Permalink

have you tried viewing the source

I'm completely serious, there are many sites (not spin's) where viewing the source is genuinely the easiest and best way to read

(unless someone forgot to turn off smart quotes like me, then it's hell, sorry about that!)

I'm sure this has been covered upthread someplace, but does it seem as if there is less overlap than ever on these lists this year? I mean, even compared to 2017? Obv genre lists have always been sorta balkanized by necessity, but there doesn't even seem to be any consensus among those individual lists. Time was you could mention something like oh, I dunno, Grimes in a record store and everyone would have at least known what you were talking about; this is the first year I've looked at many of these lists and thought "who the hell is that?" Then again, maybe this is what aging out feels like, at last. Or maybe, as NickB suggests upthread, there's just too much to keep up with.

(fwiw, the only 2018 album I've listened to this year more than three times was NTS Sessions 1-4)

the only 2018 album I've listened to this year more than three times was NTS Sessions 1-4

Thanks, katherine, that does work as a last resort.

I'm sure this has been covered upthread someplace, but does it seem as if there is less overlap than ever on these lists this year?

I don't have any actual non-anecdotal data on this, but maybe this has more to do with media staff/overlapping vs. non-overlapping freelance stables/voting pools?

wth is this

3. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, "Shallow"

we here at NME have whittles down 2018’s best releases into a list of 100 essential records

Man, even the opening blurb wasn't checked for typos.

Shallow is a jam get out

Rolling Stone - 50 Best Albums of 2018
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-best-albums-2018-764071/

50. Cupcakke - Ephorize
49. Esperanza Spalding - 12 Little Spells
48. The Carters - Everything is Love
47. Father John Misty - God's Favourite Customer
46. Sleep - The Sciences
45. Robyn - Honey
44. Jeff Tweedy - Warm
43. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V
42. Ashley McBryde - Girl Going Nowhere
41. Amanda Shires - To the Sunset
40. Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
39. Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch
38. Eric Crunch - Desperate Man
37. Tierra Whack - Whack World
36. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Sparkle Hard
35. Elvis Costello - Look Now
34. Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel
33. Neko Case - Hell-On
32. David Byrne - American Utopia
31. Rosalia - El Mar Querer
30. Free Cake for Every Creature - The Bluest Eye
29. Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive
28. Florence and the Machine - High as Hope
27. Noname - Room 25
26. Snail Mail - Lush
25. Rae Sremmurd - SR3MM
24. Kali Uchis - Isolation
23. U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited
22. John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness
21. Beach House - 7
20. The Beths - Future Me Hates Me
19. Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off Dog
18. Vince Staples - FM!
17. Lucy Dacus - Historian
16. Soccer Mommy - Clean
15. J Balvin - Vibras
14. Mitski - Be the Cowboy
13. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
12. Brandi Carlile - By The Way, I Forgive You
11. Paul McCartney - Egypt Station
10. Drake - Scorpion
9. Kurt Vile - Bottle It In
8. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - A Star is Born
7. Pusha T - Daytona
6. Travis Scott - Astroworld
5. Ariana Grande - Sweetener
4. Pistol Annies - Interstate Gospel
3. Camila Cabello - Camila
2. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
1. Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

Eric Crunch

ha

Allmusic - Favourite Pop Albums 2018
https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2018/favorite-pop

^ daphne & celeste ahoy!

Good to see the Eric Crunch album, which no one has much liked.

That Esperanza Spalding record is terrible. It's not even good in the arty singer-songwriter way of her previous work, never mind as a jazz record.

I quite liked it idk

Finally, Amanda Shires. That record is so great.

We are in a bit of a weird circumstance in that the only song anyone seemingly gave a fuck about this year “the story of Adidon” is not showing up on these lists for whatever reasons

Camila at #3! That's... interesting.

the lists are HIDING A SONG