As always with this time-consuming project, a song MUST have a music video in order to qualify for the list (sorry Kids See Ghosts). December 15th, 2018 is the cutoff date for all 2018 music videos. Anything released after that date is eligible for next year's list. There is a playlist featuring the songs in order from 40-1 in order at the very bottom of the page in case you do not want to click each individual link as you read along the list.
Here is a list of songs that were in close consideration for the Top 40 Songs of 2018 that just missed the cut...
Countdown Contenders
The 1975 - TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME
Beach House - Black Car
Declan McKenna - Make Me Your Queen
James Blake - Don't Miss It
Japanese Breakfast - Boyish
Sufjan Stevens - Mystery Of Love
Tove Lo ft. Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant and ALMA - Bitches
Tyler, The Creator ft. Kali Uchis - See You Again
Young Fathers - Toy
I have never seen such a strong list of tracks to just miss out on a Top 40 (previous years included Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", Kanye West's "Monster" and Kendrick Lamar's "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". To the actual list... (click song titles for accompanying video)
#40. Car Seat Headrest "Nervous Young Inhumans"
Prior to this song, I thought that re-releasing a record only worked if an artist covered their previous work in a new style (See: St. Vincent's Masseducation from this year). As it turns out, a sudden influx of cash and new/updated equipment can make a song that sounded like it was recorded through a tin can into an outdated laptop with it's fan on high into a beautiful correlation of tracks that best show how a band like Car Seat Headrest can improve over time despite the seeds of greatness from their humble beginnings being so obvious now that they are one of the biggest names in indie rock music. "Nervous Young Inhumans" is sung from lead singer Will Toledo to his dream girl but, it gets more poetic with lines about his cursive writing and the very original usage of the underused phrase "Inhumans". It's a unique song that is both charmingly lo-fi (on 2011's Twin Fantasy) and energetic (on 2018's Twin Fantasy: Face To Face).
Fun Fact: There is actually 2+ minutes of a spoken outro over the beat that is not included in the official video that makes this song even greater.
#39. Ryan Beatty "God In Jeans"
#20Gayteen (originally coined by singer Hayley Kiyoko) was a very real thing in music. The amount of art released from LGBTQ+ artists that openly referenced their sexuality has never gotten more attention and somehow, less recognition despite the quality of releases never being higher from music that should have been bigger based on how many connections artists like Ryan Beatty has (Beatty already had a fanbase built on YouTube in the early-2010s and has worked with names like Tyler The Creator and Brockhampton). "God In Jeans" is a BOLD choice of a song for an artist to not only give an intense man-on-man video for but, to put on anybody's debut album. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, comparing a lover to god (Florence + The Machine did it this year with "Big God") but if any of those super strict churches find out about "God" being in Beatty's bed last night, the protesters would show what an impact this song has. It's by far the most emotional offering on his debut record and with his Miguel-like vocals, this is only the beginning for an underground superstar.
Fun Fact: #39 on last year's list? "Turn Out The Lights" by Julien Baker.
#38. Hozier featuring Mavis Staples "Nina Cried Power"
He might still end 2018 as one of the biggest one-hit wonders of the decade (2013's "Take Me To Church:) but, the darker-themed sounds of Ireland's John Mayer was bound to release more quality music. It took four years but, with an epic four-song EP that includes his best work to date and his first Top 40 entry in "Nina Cried Power". The song is a tribute to the politically-charged artists of decades past with direct references to Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday and the guest on this track, the superb 79-year old Mavis Staples. This song didn't need Staples' vocals for it to be a great song but, adding her to the chorus made this sound more powerful than anything in Hozier's previous discography.
Fun Fact: Mavis Staples is the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to make this year's list.
#37. Jay Rock "ES Tales"
Jay Rock's flow has never sounded better in relation to the beat than he does on "ES Tales". Short for "East Side Tales", the song is Jay telling stories from his days back in the projects over a Mario Kart-type beat. The hook of "Don't you know no good, don't you know no good bitch?" is immediately catchy and the music video really elevated the memorability of this track in particular. The video is Jay Rock strolling around the east side projects on a normal day but, extremely pixelated on purpose. It's a creative video for a cool song off the rapper's most mainstream album to date (This year's Redemption).
Fun Fact: Jay Rock is the first non-Kendrick Lamar artist from the TDE record label to have his own song (no Kendrick feature) on my Top 40.
#36. Christine and the Queens "Doesn't Matter"
From the opening synths and distorted tinny drumming of "Doesn't Matter", it's apparent that Héloïse Letissier and company have made a really fun and unique song. What becomes apparent soon after is that a ton of emotion went into writing this particular song. The entire song is a depressive episode where the character of "Chris" is done with sleeping around but simultaneously, feeling done with whatever life it is that Chris has chosen to portray up to that point. Music videos typically only count a very small amount (like 5% of the time it comes into play) in making my top 40 but, this was a pretty great year for videos and the interpretive dance between Letissier and her male co-star is some of the finest acting portrayed in a music video this year. The dancing is apparently representative of the struggle between masculinity and femininity but upon first watch, I just knew it was a captivating video and whatever meaning there may have been was just an added bonus. If there's one thing that the world can agree on, it's that Christine and the Queens know how to make videos.
Fun Fact: This is this band's first appearance on a year-end list for me after "Tilted" missed the cut back in 2015.
#35. The 1975 "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)"
The 180-degree turn this band has done for me in terms of quality was my favorite surprise of late-2018. I had heard their first album, didn't care for it and saw potential squandered, thought the second album was a bit too committed to being a child of the eighties but again, saw more potential and was intrigued with where they'd go next. With some more, dark life experiences, The 1975 kept the 80s vibes on this track and made a pop-rock song about heroin addiction that could and should be played on all major radio stations. If The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face" can be a hit, why can't "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)"?
Fun Fact: The music video for this one features an homage to The Talking Head's legendary Stop Making Sense tour.
#34. Janelle Monae' featuring Grimes "Pynk"
I'm pretty sure that the Grimes who helped produce and craft this song and the Grimes that, along with boyfriend Elon Musk, is feuding against Azealia Banks are two separate people. Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer was one of the most universally acclaimed albums of the year and it was with the release of "Pynk" that the potential for an incredible album was first hinted at. "Pynk" is not subtle at all in the way that Prince was not subtle at all (just one of many ways one could see his influence on Monae's latest album). Gee, those sure are some curiously designed pants! Pink like the inside of your... (Oh god, where is this going) baby (oh). Monae' announced herself as a "free ass motherfucker" with this song and video that hinted at a relationship with actress Tessa Thompson. It is the first song to fully form the "android" ideas that she had been flirting with during her first two albums as the androids are simply those who are different and/or of a different community (In her or Cindy Mayweather's case, the LGBTQ+ AND black communities). She has a fascinating catalog of music up to this point and even if the messages or meanings of the song are totally lost on the listener, it's still some funky shit that makes the listener feel like a free ass motherfucker for three minutes and that's what every Summer jam should sound like.
Fun Fact: The video for "Pynk" is nominated for Best Music Video at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards coming up in February 2019.
#33. Courtney Barnett "Nameless, Faceless"
Rock music is not dead as long as Courtney Barnett can pull out a song about whatever's pissing her off once every other year. "Nameless, Faceless" has a tremendous chorus that explains the differences in anxieties commonly faced by each gender. It's a pretty straight-forward female empowerment song that even showcases a small hint of confidence (something not commonly found in Barnett's songs) with the great line "He said "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup And spit out better words than you"
But you didn't". It's a song that also takes aim at a certain kind of internet troll that constantly shits on things just to shit on things to waste their time and boost their self-importance. It's as witty as some of Barnett's greatest hits and she is starting to put up quite the tracklist on that hypothetical album.
Fun Fact: "Nameless, Faceless" features backing vocals from Kim Deal of The Breeders (Check out "Cannonball" if you aren't aware of them, please)
#32. Dirty Projectors "Break-Thru"
After the bleak, depressing breakup record that was 2017's self-titled album, Dave Longstreth and the few people remaining in Dirty Projectors returned with an inverse album in the hyper-positive Lamp Lit Prose. The lead single, "Break-Thru" introduces a new mystery girl into Longstreth's life and he's obviously smitten with this cheery, bubbly song. In true Dirty Projectors fan, the instrumental for this track is very wonky sounding but, in a good way and the peculiar nature of the song is best experienced alongside the weird bird-heavy music video. I like the experimental nature of this band and the harmonization of records past was great but, this run post-Amber Coffman is my favorite era of the band from New York.
Fun Fact: Their song "Keep Your Name" was my #1 song of 2016.
#31. Christine and the Queens featuring Dâm-Funk "Girlfriend"
A very sensual G-funk song that has "Chris" adopting the persona of the female version of a womanizer. There are strong early-90s R&B vibes within this one thanks to the contributions of funk musician Dâm Funk. At the same time, it has an eighties vibe with both the music video and the saxophone-d outro. It's Christine and the Queens "Edge Of Glory", with more biting lyrics. The best part about this song is that there are no obvious references to make that sound quite like this lead single off of 2018's awesome sophomore album, Chris.
Fun Fact: Chris somehow did not even chart on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
#30. Travis Scott featuring Drake "Sicko Mode"
The first 59 seconds of "Sicko Mode" might be the best song to hit mainstream radio this year. It'd also be the best Drake song if it weren't for the sudden beat switch, which is still really awesome but, does not deliver on the promise that was the first backing track used in this song. With very immediate endings to short songs in music released by artists like Tierra Whack, Leikeli47 and XXXTentacion, "Sicko Mode" is the first song that I can remember having three different beats in it that made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The much harder bass-heavy beat may not have worked as much for me originally but, as with many songs on this list, it grew on me once the music video was unveiled. The video switches up WAY more than the song does and is one of the most enjoyable, trippy videos I've ever seen. Light bulb heads and meteorites are not exactly what I envisioned being the cinematography to go along with the biggest song off of Scott's Astroworld but dammit, I'm grateful that it is.
Fun Fact: "Sicko Mode" is nominated for two Grammy Awards this year (Best Rap Performance & Best Rap Song).
#29. Christine and the Queens "5 Dollars"
No, your eyes are not deceiving you, this is the third song (out of the 12 already revealed) from Christine and the Queens to make my Top 40 of 2018. "5 Dollars" is the song where the character of "Chris" takes a turn into prostitution. It's another cheery sounding song juxtaposed with dark lyricism (A personal favorite style of music) as "Chris" is not making any money in a profession one should probably be making a ton of money in but hey, it's still money for doing work that "Chris" enjoys, at least for the duration of this song. The songs following this one on the album show that the honeymoon with the new profession does not last. It's a simple song with a pulsating piano-based chorus sung beautifully by one of music's most underrated performers.
Fun Fact: #29 on last year's list? "Boys" by Charli XCX.
#28. Troye Sivan featuring Ariana Grande "Dance To This"
With all of the deeper meanings behind the songs on this list and the stories being told, sometimes it's nice to just stop thinking and play a fun song to dance to. "Dance To This" is pretty much the definition of that kind of song and it's not overblown in the way most dance-able songs that don't require thought are nowadays. The song is about a couple that would rather stay at home and dance together than party among others. In all likelihood, this is leading to more intimate scenarios (See the line about not wanting to sleep tonight and just taking "that" ride) but really, the double entendre of "Dance To This" doesn't seem to be the intent of the song as a whole. It's a chill bop that, considering it featured Ariana Grande, was a stunner of song to miss out on the Billboard Hot 100 entirely.
Fun Fact: The collaborations didn't stop here as Sivan appears in Grande's "Thank U, Next" video.
#27. Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B "Finesse (Remix)"
Speaking of all-star pop collaborations, the very first music video I watched in 2018 was the remix to "Finesse", a song that already had a Boyz II Men, nineties atmosphere to it that was immediately amplified by it's awesome, throwback music video. Bruno's been dripping in finesse since 2014's #3 song of the year, "Uptown Funk" and the title track on his latest album "24K Magic". Adding a Cardi B verse and into to this song was a smart decision as it made the song go from middling single with decent success to another absolute smash hit from two of the biggest artists in music right now. The music video is an homage to the television show In Living Color and is even shot at 60 frames per second to match the way television looked in the nineties, only in HD (therefor escalating it's satisfying viewing experience). It's another song that's nothing but fun and every time it came on, I would play imaginary table tennis with the beat.
Fun Fact: "Finesse" ranks #14 on Billboard's Year End Hot 100.
#26. Robyn "Honey"
The title track from her eighth studio album, "Honey" is a typical Robyn song in that it gets the blood pumping while thinking about love. It was a return to form for the 39-year old artist after an 8-year absence that never saw her lose form but also, just never really saw... anything from her besides a short EP produced by Röyksopp back in 2014. It's definitely a grower of a track that adds quiet layers every time the chorus is repeated. It gets bigger and bigger the longer the song goes on but, never becomes anything more than another simultaneously energetic and relaxing quiet bop of a pop song. Robyn has mastered sleeper hits and "Honey" is another natural selection for her future greatest hits album (a thing artists don't really do anymore but, with Robyn being a product of the 1990s, I could totally see her having one eventually).
Fun Fact: A rough draft of "Honey" was originally recorded and shared at the end of an episode of HBO's Girls.
#25. The 1975 "Give Yourself A Try"
The first single released off of The 1975's third album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is immediately gripping with it's loud guitar beat that admittedly never changes but, never loses my interest when the lyrics are as good as they are. The entire song is about lead singer Matty Healy reflecting on his sixteen years in this still-young band, talking to his younger self about how nothing changes if he never steps out of his comfort zone, a lesson pretty much everyone should go by. It's the most mature song this band has made to date and it is the song that convinced me The 1975 were headed in the right direction with this album.
Fun Fact: The guitar riff in the background? A much higher-pitched sample of Joy Division's "Disorder"
#24. Jorja Smith "Blue Lights"
All I knew about Jorja Smith coming into her debut album, Lost & Found, was that she was 21-year old prodigy of Drake's that I probably should have listened to much sooner in her rise. What I quickly discovered just by listening to this song was that she was heavily influenced by Amy Winehouse and probably Lauryn Hill as well. "Blue Lights" sounds more modern than anything either of those artists have in their discographies though (not surprising considering how much music misses these two artists for different reasons) and that's what made it a Top 40 hit, the fact that it had the soulfulness of an Amy Winehouse and the flow of a younger Lauryn Hill. The song describes the sense of nervousness Smith would feel in her hometown whenever sirens could be heard nearby even though she had done nothing wrong. The crime rate is very problematic where Smith grew up and the chances of being mistaken as the perpetrator in a crime are likely higher among youth minorities so yeah, those blue lights being strobe lights instead does sound pretty nice.
Fun Fact: Jorja Smith is a Best New Artist nominee at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
#23. Florence + The Machine "Hunger"
Now a staple of my year-end lists, Florence Welch and her machine of a backing band continue to pull out surprises after nine years in the spotlight. At the beginning of "Hunger", Welch mentions an eating disorder she had at 17 years old and she goes on to celebrate how much more prevalent self-love and confidence is among younger people today than it was not that long ago when she was a teen. The style of the song itself is a pop-rock anthem that sounds like something Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac would have done with more drums and less piano thirty or forty years ago. Considering both Nicks and Fleetwood Mac are now Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, that's a pretty damn complimentary comparison. Florence + The Machine may not have switched their sound up too much on High As Hope (It's not as cleanly produced as How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful but, it's more consistent than her debut) but with a voice like hers, nothing really needed to change.
Fun Fact: This is Florence + The Machine's sixth appearance on one of my yearly Top 40 lists.
#22. Drake "Nice For What"
Drake knows his audience is kids who just want to create a meme out of his legacy ("Hotline Bling" and "In My Feelings") and females who want him to murder their vaginas (see: Amanda Bynes) and enjoy the more sensitive yet obviously pandering Drake ("Find Your Love" and "Hold On, We're Going Home"). Thankfully, the pandering side of Drake took a more "woke" route to success with "Nice For What", the best song on his 25-track album that I previously mentioned as an abomination, Scorpion. The song celebrates women who don't need men and are doing just fine all by themselves. The video nails home that message by showing a ton of successful female celebrities just doing their thing as the bosses that they are. Much like "In My Feelings", it is influenced by the New Orleans bounce music scene and even features a quick spoken intro and interlude from Big Freedia. It's an amazingly produced song with a positive message and even the worst album from Drake yet did not make me forget that this is an absolute smash hit for a reason.
Fun Fact: Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor" is sped up as the chipmunk vocals heard in the beat sampled for this song.
#21. Metric "Dressed To Suppress"
After my favorite alternative rock bands of my teenage years like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes and Death Cab For Cutie just faded away in terms of either quality or quantity, Metric seemed like another band headed down that path with 2015's Pagans In Vegas. Of course, Emily Haines took some time to do her own separate project with 2017's Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton record, Choir of the Mind and with that sounding so fresh, I thought there was a chance that maybe Haines was better off without the rest of Metric. Instead, "Dark Saturday", "Now or Never Now" and most importantly..."Dressed To Suppress" showed a renewed energy within the band and I am so here for them going back to their rock roots with synths just being a small sample of the band's backing tracks instead of the entirety. "Dressed To Suppress" could have come off of any Metric record with the first 70 seconds reminding me of 2009's Fantasies and the rest of the song reminding me of everything prior to that breakthrough album. Haines has described the song as "exploring the maze of conflicts we encounter in our attempts at finding and holding onto love; the absurd mating rituals we routinely perform, and the vast divide between the desires our appearances can imply and the way we actually feel inside". A song that examines how the brain thinks through one's appearance to others that may or may not be paying attention by one of my favorite bands? Of course it made this list.
Fun Fact: This is Metric's first appearance since 2012's "Breathing Underwater" reached #6.
#20. LCD Soundsystem "oh baby"
Technically a song released in 2017, I never expected LCD Soundsystem to drop another music video off of their 2017 album American Dream but alas, the opening track was announced as a single late in September. The song was a nice return from the band after a 7-year absence that didn't really strike any emotions from me originally other than excitement for the return of one of the most fun bands around. Now, when taking the music video and a couple more listens into consideration, this is a song that is post-breakup music over a heavy synth beat that is par for the course among James Murphy's catalog of music. The video is the best music video of the year behind "This Is America" and I won't spoil it but, be prepared to blame whomever is nearby chopping onions. This was not originally one of my five favorite songs from their fourth album but, has slowly crept into that field.
Fun Fact: The music video stars one-time Oscar Winner (and six-time nominee) Sissy Spacek.
#19. The 1975 "Sincerity Is Scary"
"Sincerity Is Scary" is the most laid back single from A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. It's the slow burning upbeat pop song that is a necessary break among all the songs about addiction and our crumbling society that otherwise paint a bleak picture on The 1975's newest album. "Sincerity Is Scary" is a song that purposely avoids being ironic or humorous just to avoid sharing one's truest feelings out of a very modern fear of judgement for one's sincerity. Another incredibly written track from a band now in it's prime.
Fun Fact: The music video's set makes an appearance in the #35 song's video for "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)".
#18. Years & Years "All For You"
Olly Alexander is better off without his ex in "All For You". Frankly, the entire Palo Santo experience is the best thing Years & Years have ever done even if the series of music videos left me asking "But Y Tho?". This song is a kiss-off to the man Alexander loved previously despite that man's faults. Most importantly, it's one of the best, fresher sounding tracks on the band's second album and should have been a much bigger scene in the pop landscape. It's not a song that requires a lot of thought and the production is pure 2018 pop with an exhilarating build-up and catchy chorus. Most songs don't really need anything more than that and this song/video combination did more. In a world of sad songs with heavy bass dominating the music of today, it's always nice to go back in time and have a fun hook that isn't too intensely bitter.
Fun Fact: #18 on my 2017 list? "Mourning Sound" by Grizzly Bear.
#17. Kendrick Lamar with SZA "All The Stars"
Hearing this song before watching The Black Panther, I was fond of it but not necessarily captured by it's beauty. Once the song hits and the credits rolled on Black Panther, I fell in love with this song. "All The Stars" has all the makings of an Oscar winning song with a string section, incredible production and SZA's best vocal performance to date. Kendrick Lamar and SZA share about equal time on the microphone in this song and it's still amazing to think that two people this wildly talented came up on the same record label out of California. The song debates whether or not fame and fortune is all that it is built up to be in the general public's eyes. The "stars" word choice was a clever one when "stars" could have also been referring to the spirits that the Black Panther character could communicate with in that story. It's a gorgeous song with an even better video, making it unavoidable in it's attachment to the biggest movie of 2018 earlier this year.
Fun Fact: "All The Stars" has received four nominations at the 2019 Grammy Awards including Song of the Year.
#16. Pusha T "If You Know You Know"
Pusha T released an album in Wyoming, made Whitney Houston's crack-infested bathroom his album cover and told us all Drake was HIDING A CHILD. Those were all the highlights of pop culture in 2018 and yet, the beat kicking in on "If You Know You Know" was the most surprising and enjoyable part on Pusha's Wild Ride. The song is Push flexing over a Kanye West beat that is somehow delightfully ear-splitting. If you're in the streets, dealing coke or any other drugs, possibly even coming up as a rapper, you know you know like Pusha T knows. It is the opening track to an elite-tier rap album and "If You Know You Know" proved once again that Push doesn't need any new material lyrically, as long as he stays focused on his confidence and coming up with new words for objects like a crack pipe, the G.O.O.D. Music President is going to have some quality bangers left in his stash.
Fun Fact: Daytona, Pusha T's third solo album, is Grammy nominated for Best Rap Album.
#15. Janelle Monae' "I Like That"
Janelle Monae has not aged since I first recognized her appearance in the 2006 video for Outkast's "Morris Brown" and is high on the list of beautiful women in entertainment. I only present these ideas because at one point, she was rated as a "6" by a classmate when in 2018, she is "the shit" and knows that she has been all her life. This is the most personal Janelle Monae' song to date to appear on my list as she reflects on her journey from the "tomboy" character that maybe cared a bit too much about others' critiques to the "free ass motherfucker" she is now, living her best life on camera and in our headphones as a singer, rapper, social activist, actress and icon. None of the critiques matter anymore but, the critics are seemingly all on her side now, realizing that she has always been the best version of herself.
Fun Fact: Monae's Dirty Computer album features an accompanying short post apocalyptic film titled Dirty Computer: An Emotion Picture. "I Like That"'s video is part of a dream sequence in said 48-minute film.
#14. Christine and the Queens "The Walker"
Heloise Letissier's soft approach to her vocal performance on this song makes "The Walker" my favorite song off of Chris. The song is about the struggle "Chris" faces in just going out in public based on the perceived judgement from others (a common theme among a few songs on this list recently). The overall determination to continue on for another day of walking in public and being seen by others despite "Chris"'s depression is a huge victory for the character we follow throughout the record despite seeming like such a minor daily occurrence. Christine and the Queens join countdown royalty here as they are one of a shocking three artists to appear four times on this year's Top 40 due to the continued delivery in both production and surprisingly excellent vocals from Letissier.
Fun fact: Christine and the Queens' album Chris was recorded in both French and English.
#13. Troye Sivan "Bloom"
God, I wish this song were as big of a hit as it deserves to be. Some songs make it as a hit due to their online following (see: anything Post Malone), some songs make it due to their meme potential ("In My Feelings" by Drake) and others just make it because they are standard, safe, modern pop songs ("Bad At Love" by Halsey, "High Hopes" by Panic! At The Disco, "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 & Cardi B). I would have taken "Bloom" over ANY of those standard pop songs and it would have worked out perfectly fine. At the end of the day, this is a standard pop song with some eighties influences on it (I could definitely see George Michael or Boy George doing a song like this in a more open-minded America) about anal. You read that correctly, this is a risque song that doesn't shy away from just being one enormous double entendre with flowers and butt stuff. The video itself is a masterpiece in editing with Sivan trying out a career as a gender-bending model with some questionable choices in fashion. It's the boldest decision made by a pop singer in 2018 and it had meme potential (That Stretch Armstrong lyric video is creepy), has a huge online following (was trending on twitter the day of the song and video's releases) and was a pretty safe song in terms of sonic experimentation because there really wasn't any. HOW WAS THIS NOT A HIT? I blame Eminem for committing his biggest homophobic crime yet by surprise dropping Kamikaze the same night the Bloom album was released.
Fun Fact: Sivan is one of six artists to appear on my 2018 list multiple times.
#12. Young Fathers "In My View"
Young Fathers are the experimental Scottish hip hop trio that made an appearance a few years ago at #20 on my Top 20 Albums of 2015 list as a revelation of sorts for me as I had never heard anything quite like the music this band was making at the time. As it turns out, they are still coming up with innovative ways to make really cool sounds in their music and "In My View" is the bass-heaviest song of all off their 2018 record Cocoa Sugar. The song is a dark sounding song about karma and the fact that sometimes love is worth fighting a fight that one of the involved partners (in this case, the narrator) just doesn't feel like further pursuing. The video is again captivating and artistic to the point where I'll just admit to not knowing what the hell is going on. Ultimately, it's a fucking banger and that's all that matters on my lists sometimes.
Fun Fact: Young Fathers also had the #11 song of 2015 with "Shame" off of White Men Are Black Men Too.
#11. Lana Del Rey "Venice Bitch"
Lana Del Rey might be a witch with her vocals immediately casting a spell over the listener's ears, capturing their interests for the entirety of her songs, even if they feature multiple instrumental breaks and are over nine minutes long like this one. Of course, "Venice Bitch" is the name of a Lana Del Rey song and of course it sounds just like a song one might have heard at Woodstock during the Summer of Love. This is essentially the same way I felt about "West Coast" a few years back except this song presents new ideas into the Del Rey formula. First of all, it's easily the most dull music video she's ever had as there are some clips of her just being Lana Del Rey spliced between the same retro clip of highway traffic that somehow made me nostalgic for a road trip to California that I've never taken. Secondly, instrumental breaks just haven't been a big thing over her first four major albums so, hearing five-to-six minutes of synths spazzing out and quiet guitars made for an intensely chill first listen. Lastly, it's produced by Jack Antonoff of fun. and Bleachers fame and he helped mastermind the Lorde, Taylor Swift and St. Vincent albums that were all wildly acclaimed by critics and fans alike (mostly).
Fun Fact: Lana's sixth album (fifth as Lana Del Rey) will be released in March 2019 and will be called Norman Fucking Rockwell.
#10. Janelle Monae' "Crazy, Classic, Life"
After a song featuring Beach Boy Brian Wilson that is barely under two minutes, "Crazy, Classic Life" feels like the true introduction to the Dirty Computer experience. Before getting into criticisms of society and responding to haters, Monae' rides a Prince-like backing track to pure pop music heaven, letting the listeners know what her ideal world would feel like. There's the line "I'm not America's nightmare, I'm the American dream" which is probably in response to Donald Trump. It's not the best song on the album but, it immediately convinced myself and others that this album was going to be one of the more enjoyable listens of 2018.
Fun Fact: Monae' once toured with both Amy Winehouse and Mayer Hawthorne back in 2011.
#9. Beach House "Dark Spring"
Speaking of amazing intros, I was blown away within the first three seconds of hearing "Dark Spring" and knew I was in for a ride with Beach House's seventh album, 7. "Dark Spring" is a song left open to interpretation as there's clearly an astrology enthusiast among the two members of Beach House but, no clear reason for why Victoria Legrand is singing about the phenomenon that is outer space. It's a very short song in terms of lyrics (many Beach House songs are) but, the spacey vibes created by the immaculate guitars and drumming made this the perfect song about stars to listen to while looking up into the stars. I could think of no better way to start off an album than to insist on having the listener stop everything they are doing and just zone out while contemplating life. Beach House is the best band at creating this vibe and making it sound fresh time and time again.
Fun Fact: Beach House had my #3 song of 2013 in "Wishes".
#8. Years & Years "Sanctify"
This song and band got overlooked, even in the underground pop music fandom. I can't quite put my finger on what the opening to this song sounds like but, I know I've heard it in an NBA arena before and when I heard that beat kick in after "When I pray", I knew this was going to be a hard one to ignore. The song is about lead singer Olly Alexander and the complicated experience that is being with a "straight" man in a not so hetero situation. It's another song from the LGBTQ+ community about a fairly common (yet still foreign to so many) scenario that is finally getting the proper promotion and production behind it (I'm sure there are many songs that tell a story like this one but, none that had previously been big enough to grip my attention). The diversity in music is getting stronger these days and "Sanctify" is a pretty good example of why that is excellent progress.
Fun Fact: This is Years & Years' fourth appearance on one of my end-of-year Top 40s.
#7. Mitski "Nobody"
Puberty 2 was a great little album with some awesome indie rock songs on it but, Be The Cowboy is somehow getting all of the hype when outside of "Two Slow Dancers" and this phenomenal track, every song seemed way too short to leave any impact. "Nobody" is Mitski at her darkest lyrically and at her cheeriest sonically. The song is Mitski singing to herself about how goddamn awful it is to feel isolated in the world with some great lines about her flirting with changing herself in order to fit others' desires but still, not experiencing the rewards that could presumably come from this total effort. That all sounds miserable but, it turns into a disco track with a quirky music video. That's right, it's a total art show and it packs an emotional punch still and it's the highlight of her fifth album.
Fun Fact: Be The Cowboy is Pitchfork's #1 album of 2018.
#6. Superorganism "Everybody Wants To Be Famous"
The world needs more bands with classroom instruments and eclectic gangs of people that looked like they were picked last in gym class because, Superorganism is the future. This song is an anthem for the present day because who can't relate to wanting the perks of being famous? Everybody truly does want to be famous. The video is once again a major reason this song stuck with people as it features a fictional storyline of the band coming together via the internet and the visual effects are trippy as all hell. Floating cat heads, floating pizzas, 18-year old lead singer Orono Naguchi's face placed onto Mount Rushmore, if the song wasn't so catchy and the band seeming so genuinely upbeat, it'd be annoying enough to close your laptop mid-video. Instead, it all works as the top single for one of the best breakthrough bands of 2018 lands at #6.
Fun Fact: #6 in 2017? "Century" by Feist ft. Jarvis Cocker.
#5. Childish Gambino "This Is America"
THE music video of the year and quite possibly, the decade. The entire Hiro Murai-directed music video for "This Is America" shows what it's like to be black in America with a whole bunch of chaos going on in the background while we're all distracted by Donald Glover's sick dance moves. I'd be afraid of giving spoiler alerts but damn near everyone has seen this video so, let's talk about the guns. When I first saw this video, I was immediately impressed by the many small details (some of which I'm sure the internet hasn't even cracked yet)) including the gentle care that is taken once Gambino hands his guns away, while black human lives are just disregarded in the background. Prioritizing firearms over human lives is nothing new in America and that is especially the case around non-white lives in our nation's history. The song itself has an abrupt beat switch (makes "Sicko Mode" look tame in comparison) and features ad libs from many of today's famous rappers hidden in the background throughout Gambino's rapping verses. The lyrics match the video going from upbeat to dark in an instant with Glover constantly reminding us that this land is far from perfect and there's far more to life than just getting paid in America.
Fun Fact: "This Is America" is nominated for four Grammys including Song of the Year.
#4. The 1975 "Love It If We Made It"
People have been waiting for the right songs to make the crossover from music into political commentary and between numbers 5 and 4 on this list, there's two shining examples of why we need this kind of music occasionally. "Love It If We Made It" is the much bleaker modern day "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel, throwing in many references to Donald Trump and how much modernity has failed us as the world is crumbling around us all. The lyrics immediately raise goosebumps with Matty Healy yelling "FUCKING IN A CAR. SHOOTING HEROIN. SAYING CONTROVERSIAL THINGS." and the dark images spliced under the neon lights of the music video make for one of the more uncomfortable experiences a music viewer/listener could have in 2018. It is the fourth and final track off of A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships to appear on my songs list and it is clearly the deepest, most well thought out track The 1975 have ever crafted.
Fun Fact: Pitchfork named "Love It If We Made It" their #1 song of 2018.
#3. Janelle Monae' "Make Me Feel"
The very first single off of Dirty Computer is still the finest. Working with Prince on each other's projects in the last few years of his life paid off for Monae' with the funkiness of this tune turned up to 100. With some sexy whispering in the background through the chorus and a very Prince-like guitar grooving throughout this song, "Make Me Feel" was a natural hit that somehow never made it through to charting success (only appearing at #99 on the Hot 100 for a week) because America is fucked up. The song is Monae' very flashily announcing her sexuality in a way she had been trying to delicately deliver for years. It's another combination of excellent modern day songwriting with a throwback vibe that is just plain fun on all layers from one of the most talented celebrities we have in today's world.
Fun Fact: This is Monae's eighth appearance on a year-end Top 40 for me.
#2. Troye Sivan "My My My!"
Another song by a member of the LGBTQ+ community proudly displaying their feelings through the medium of upbeat pop music. On his first album, Blue Neighborhood, I saw potential from a 19-year old pop singer who already had some audience from his YouTube followers but, nothing really stood out lyrically besides "Heaven", a song combining faith and his internal struggle growing up gay. "My My My!" is a much sleeker, more adult Troye Sivan anthem that still makes me think of NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" every time I read the title, despite the clear quality difference (Not saying "Bye Bye Bye" is bad or anything, just not a very inventive song lyrically). The video nails home the point of this new, more confident, sexual Troye Sivan as he dances (something he's never done in a music video) around abandoned warehouses while the wind machines take over and strobe lights make it an electrifying, goosebump-inducing video for the first single off of his excellent Bloom album.
Fun Fact: The music video's director, Grant Singer, also directed The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face", "Starboy" and Lorde's "Green Light".
#1 songs of year's past
2006. P!nk "Stupid Girlz"
2007. Amy Winehouse "Rehab"
2008. Kanye West ft. Dwele & Connie Mitchell "Flashing Lights"
2009. Santigold "L.E.S. Artistes"
2010. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Skeletons"
2011. Adele "Someone Like You"
2012. Santigold "The Keepers"
2013. Arcade Fire "Afterlife"
2014. St. Vincent "Birth In Reverse"
2015. Courtney Barnett "Depreston"
2016. Dirty Projectors "Keep Your Name"
2017. Kesha "Praying"
2017. Kesha "Praying"
The #1 song of 2018
St. Vincent "Fast Slow Disco"
“I always felt this song could wear many different outfits and live many different lives. here she is in disco pants, sweating on a New York dance floor.” - St. Vincent
When I made Masseduction my #1 album of 2017, I thought "Slow Disco" was a beautiful song but, not even the best song on the album (That was "Happy Birthday Johnny"). Cut to Coachella weekend 2018 and there's a rumor that St. Vincent redid one of her songs as an anthemic disco cut and like Papi on ESPN's Highly Questionable, Si, si, I am very intrigued. Needless to say, my expectations were high as everything this woman has touched in her music career has seemingly turned to gold. Annie Clark exceeded those expectations once again with "Fast Slow Disco", a song that is the complete opposite of her 2018 reworking of Masseduction titled Masseducation. Not only did she add new layers to this song but, she also stripped down every other song from the #1 album of 2017 and made clear that her vocals are just as much of a force as her guitar playing. Premiering "Fast Slow Disco" among the rest of her exciting reworked older songs and Masseduction tracks was a perfect choice for St. Vincent as it adds a layer of fun to a song that was one of the sadder, more restrained songs in her repertoire. Now, it is both her best upbeat song with an ABBA influence and one of her better sad songs with a string section. Bold musical choices like hers are what gets remembered in thirty years.
Here is the Spotify playlist from #40-#1
Here is the YouTube playlist from #40-#1
Here is a playlist of rejected songs that were in consideration
“I always felt this song could wear many different outfits and live many different lives. here she is in disco pants, sweating on a New York dance floor.” - St. Vincent
When I made Masseduction my #1 album of 2017, I thought "Slow Disco" was a beautiful song but, not even the best song on the album (That was "Happy Birthday Johnny"). Cut to Coachella weekend 2018 and there's a rumor that St. Vincent redid one of her songs as an anthemic disco cut and like Papi on ESPN's Highly Questionable, Si, si, I am very intrigued. Needless to say, my expectations were high as everything this woman has touched in her music career has seemingly turned to gold. Annie Clark exceeded those expectations once again with "Fast Slow Disco", a song that is the complete opposite of her 2018 reworking of Masseduction titled Masseducation. Not only did she add new layers to this song but, she also stripped down every other song from the #1 album of 2017 and made clear that her vocals are just as much of a force as her guitar playing. Premiering "Fast Slow Disco" among the rest of her exciting reworked older songs and Masseduction tracks was a perfect choice for St. Vincent as it adds a layer of fun to a song that was one of the sadder, more restrained songs in her repertoire. Now, it is both her best upbeat song with an ABBA influence and one of her better sad songs with a string section. Bold musical choices like hers are what gets remembered in thirty years.
Here is the Spotify playlist from #40-#1
Here is the YouTube playlist from #40-#1
Here is a playlist of rejected songs that were in consideration
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| When all is said and done, 2018 was a pretty huge year for the music video as an art form. |
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