top 25 songs of 2018

Here's the straight forward list calculated (that's right, we got statistical on this one!). I give a little bit more of an explanation for the top 10. 

25. "Seventeen"  - Troye Sivan
24. "Black Sky (Reimagined)" - Kimbra
23. "Pray For Me" - The Weeknd /  Kendrick Lamar
22. "Mr. Tillman" - Father John Misty
21. "Get Out" - Chrvches
20. "We Appreciate Power" - Grimes feat HANA
19. "Genius" - LSD
18. "Sorcerez" - Gorillaz
17. "Baby" - Clean Bandit, Marina, Luis Fonzi
16. "Why Did You Do That?" - Lady Gaga
15. "Fireworks" - First Aid Kit
14. "Drunk In LA" - Beach House
13. "Human Being" - Robyn
12. "Some People" - Meg Myers
11. "The Dark Side" - Muse

#10. "Wings" - chrome sparks

This trippy little number seriously gives you some massive wings. Songs like these prove the magic and beauty of electronic music with multiple arpeggios dancing to delight to from pure heaven.

#9. "We KEEP on running" - what so not / toto

Okay, I'll be honest. Would never have guessed TOTO to be on this list ever, but they're feature makes the electronic rock sound absolutely explosive. I feel the energy, the emotion and lowkey want to get down. What So Not takes the credit, it's his musicianship which takes the cake on this dessert.

#8. "June" - florence and the machine

High As Hope marked a minimalist direction for Florence and company, and this album opener really only has one weakness: the fact that it's not a five minute epic like the rest of F&TM's songs! Between the crescendo, the beautiful lyrics and that ending build-up of drums and her cry of 'you're so high'...well, it makes me want it to be June all the time.

#7. "Time is up" - poppy / DIPLO

I'm not really looking forward to the robotic rising, but this song actually makes me feel more okay about the automaton takeover. Diplo's production mimics Daft Punk but had a bit more future 80s in there, while Poppy's Deadpan truly works. The breakdown (or is it more, breakup?) with the clock really sells the temporality that the time of human is coming with apocalyptic beats. 

6. "UNDERWATER" - RUFUS DU SOL

From the first second to the finale, I indeed feel that I am surrounded by water. The haunting children's choir alongside the sharp blade-like synth work really take this track to feel like you're drowning, if not from the concept but from the immense sound. 

#5. "DEEP END" - LYKKE LI

Trap music has moved from rap to the realms of pop, but it's artists like Lykke Li which can use their sad girl persona to make a trap pop bop. It's the kind of song I can play in the late night car ride, or in the backyard pool party. It's a song that makes me feel as wild as the teenager I was or was not or even a person in their mid twenties. Don't forget that catchy chorus, this was one of my songs of the summer due to its atmospheric high.  

#4. "DIE HAPPY" - METRIC

There is something both familiar and new within Metric's "Die Happy" off their amazing 'Art of Doubt' album. Like the album title suggests, the imagery provokes the unknown. Lines like 'still drinking that kool-aid like it's free' pokes out the feature which manifested itself so much in the last few years; the imbibe of the dangerous to our own unknown. Fascinating. Besides, the pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus punch will leave you flat on the floor.

#3. "WHEN THE NIGHT IS OVER" - LORD HURON

Timeless and fresh, new and old, leather and lace...Lord Huron plays on the juxtapositions through this folk ballad. It's punchy enough to make you emotional, tangy enough for a sultry dance and deep enough to contemplate the sadness within. "I hear the river say your name,
By the stars above, I know we were in love..." may come across cheesy to you (not me!), but when delivered in this song really set up a visual tale worthy of the folk-western band.

#2. "CHURCH" - ALISON WONDERLAND

In the era of #MeToo and the continuing discussions of sexual assault and abuse, this song runs almost parallel by tackling the subject of feeling worthless by a man who ought to 'treat me like church'. Alison Wonderland says she's not religious, but thought about the comparison of treating her worth like a holy temple. You have to wonder how many people have a similar statement for those that don't treat them as sacred; or even worse, those who are treated more poorly. If one is not being treated like a church, then what are they? A building? A house? A highway? A doormat? The choices are endless. But for Alison Wonderland, her feelings of hopelessness transform into a demand that she deserves more than a second-rate bargain. And it's done in a catchy trap pop bop way.

#1. "SCREWED" - JANELLE MONAE FEAT. ZOE KRAVITZ

This song is everything, like an everything bagel. It's pop, it's funk, it's R&B, it's electronic. Janelle sings, she raps, she states, she hums. The fervor or Dirty Computer comes to a very confidant tounge-and-cheek with the establishment. It's practically the song pointing at the adversary and saying, "If you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what you want". Janelle's dirty future is painted with oppression, but this songs as revolution through sexual blossom. I've been playing this throughout the year and everyone who heard it found something to grab onto it. Whether it's the sexual nature, the melody or simply the state of the world, this song takes the cake on my 2018.