Are We There Yet? - Best of 2018
(DISCLAIMER: Until 2020 all my "Best Of" lists were on Facebook in the Notes section. In 2020, when I hadn't used Facebook for 6 months, they decided to do away with Notes. I was still able to access some of them, such as this one, but the layouts are a little wonky.)
Hello and welcome to my annual musical mixup! This year is a little different as I think I might have more to say about movies than music, so hang in there while perusing my longer-than-usual ramblings!
Well, as the title and main photo suggest, this year was probably the worst for me in the decade that I’ve been making this list, musically speaking. I don’t know if my tastes have changed, if I didn’t spend enough time seeking out music, or if this year was actually just plain bad. I usually have very little to say about disappointment, maybe 1 or 2 albums, but this year there was just disappointment all around. As you’ll notice in my Albums section, 3 of them are EPs, 1 is a soundtrack, and only 1 is a full-length album. Hopefully I’ve found some gems you’ll love though, so let’s dive into the music portion of this long-winded post! Starting, as usual, with a Mix of my favorite songs of 2018.
Best of 2018 Mix:
- “Nobody Likes the Opening Band” - I Don’t Know How But They Found Me
- “Elevate” - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse OST
- “Preacher Man” - The Driver Era
- “The Outfield” - The Night Game
- “MJ” - Now, Now
- “Cliffy” - Matt Maeson
- “Blonde” - Waterparks
- “Revolution” - The Wrecks
- “sometimes you meet the right people at the wrong time” - Can’t Swim
- “Young & Free” - Dermot Kennedy
- “Blood // Water” - grandson
- “Two High” - Moon Taxi
- “My Way” - Tom Walker
- “still feel.” - half•alive
- “Tell Me Tell Me” - courtship.
- “Fred Astaire” - Jukebox the Ghost
(as usual please feel free to make this playlist in other services I don’t use and provide a link, such as iTunes Music, Google Play, or whatever your preferred method. I’ll post it here to help others who use those services too!)
At 16 songs this is one of my shorter lists. I’ve always tried to keep my Best Of mixes to what could fit on an actual CD, as I feel that ever since “playlists” emerged people will make mixes of 50 or 100 songs, which just doesn’t feel as personal to me as a mixtape that you used to physically hand someone. Last year I broke this rule, so maybe I’m getting my comeuppance this year since it was so hard to find good albums and favorite songs.
The past few years my mixes have been filled with catchy, upbeat songs, usually in the Indie-Pop/Synthpop genres. This year I found myself liking more groove-oriented styles, usually something mid-tempo and taking cues from some Hip-Hop or R&B. Nowadays so many bands/artists are combining genres and defying being placed in just 2 or 3 categories, which I think is great. This has led to my mix being more diverse than previous years, I think, even though it was a rough year to find favorites. As always check out more from these artists if you like any of the songs! Some of these are from what I feel are mediocre albums, but who knows, maybe you’ll like them more than I do.
BEST ALBUMS OF 2018
Jukebox the Ghost is a band that’s been around for 13ish years, although I only got into them with their self-titled release in 2015. They have a pretty fun sound all around, they were Indie-Pop before Indie-Pop was a term I think hah Their influences, at least in the beginning, definitely came from the likes of Ben Folds, Barenaked Ladies, and other “quirky” pop bands that college kids loved in the early-mid ‘00s. Their sound has evolved and, despite keeping the piano instead of making all the keys parts synthesized like most other bands, is still very modern. They’ve had a small, maybe even “cult,” following for a while, but with this release and the attention the single from it got (“Everybody’s Lonely”), I think they’re finally able to take the next step in their journey to being a more well known band.
You can catch them this Spring (3/20 in Chicago) co-headlining a tour with The Mowgli’s, another band well known for their Summer jams and endless positivity (their song “I’m Good” took over the Summer of 2015).
grandson’s had a song on my Mix every year since I discovered him, and this year was no different. As an independent artist he was releasing singles every few months up until early 2018 when he got signed to Fueled By Ramen, and every song was a banger. After listening through his stuff you begin to realize he’s developed a formula present in almost every song of his, but you also realize that you don’t mind, because every build up to every chorus you’re excited for the atomic drop that happens. Seriously, the drops he has basically just destroy the floor right out from underneath you. People normally associate this style with EDM or Hip-Hop/Rap, but grandson has taken some of these Hip-Hop elements and paired them with crunchy guitars and heavy, Alt/Rock goodness. Finally, after a couple years of just singles being put out on Youtube and Soundcloud, he released this EP with his new label and I was able to put him here in the album section. He actually released multiple EPs this year, but this one has the best song on it (as you can see on my Mix up there). Now, I’ll just be awaiting the arrival of a full album, although I honestly couldn’t care less whether he made albums or just kept releasing singles, because I’ll be listening to every one.
Catch him on tour this Spring (3/12 in Chicago).
Matt Maeson was a very late find for me - we’re talking 2nd or 3rd week of December - but immediately became one of my favorites (obviously). The album’s opening song is a groovy, bluesy number with a thick, fuzzy bass, and this sets up the tone for the rest of album. At its core the album is just a Singer-Songwriter with an acoustic guitar, but each song gets coated in some sort of Blues/Pop/Rock sweetness with southern undertones. Matt Maeson’s sound is somewhere between Shawn Mendes, Jaymes Young, and Barns Courtney, but isn’t swung too hard in either direction. In addition to this EP he released a single in 2018 and I’m looking forward to more from this guy.
You can catch him on tour with NEEDTOBREATHE in Feb/Mar. For my fellow Chicagoans, although all dates are east of the Mississippi, none are in Chicago, so you’ll have to travel to Madison, Grand Rapids, or South Bend.
The Wrecks are a band of dudes in their mid-20s making fun Rock music that, depending on when you were born, will take you back to high school or college. I had one of their songs on my list last year (“Liar”) and while no song on this album quite matches up to that giant hit of theirs, the whole thing is enjoyable and fun and makes you want to drive around and hangout with your friends doing dumb stuff. They say they have more music coming out in 2019 so hopefully we’ll get a full LP. I’ll be surprised if some of their music isn’t used in some upcoming “coming of age” movies over the next couple years.
No 2019 tour dates yet.....except for a random one at a water park in Tempe, AZ in April. Makes sense.
Ok, so I know this is kinda cheating because it’s not just one artist, but holy balls is this soundtrack great. The song from this that’s on my mix plays during the animated credits (the part immediately after the movie ends, but before the regular, scrolling credits) and sitting there in the theater the first time I heard it, I immediately loved it. The first thing I did when I got home was look up that song, and then the rest of the soundtrack. Whether you want to get pumped up or just chill, this album can hit all your moods. I give the music a big chunk of credit for making the movie so awesome. This album may be the catalyst for me finally getting into Hip-Hop more. (also the album is completely clean since it’s from a PG movie, so listen to it with your kids!)
The movie is still in theaters! Go see it now!
ONCE OVERS
Here’s some artists that, for one reason or another, didn’t make it into my favorites but I still think you should give a listen to (all links here are for Youtube and I’ve noted what types of releases they had this year).
Bishop Briggs - “The Fire” - Dark/Pop in the realm of Florence + The Machine, with a healthy dose of electronics and splash of EDM/Hip-Hop influences. (1 LP)
Dreamers - “Last Love Song” - A good barometer of a modern Rock band. (2 EPs)
Meg Myers - “Numb” - Dark Alt/Rock reminiscent of the mid-90s. (1 LP)
Lany - “If You See Her” - Unabashed 80s Throwback Pop. (1 LP)
Bronze Radio Return - “The Storm” - Local Chicago boys who’ve consistently put out some decent Indie/Rock over the last 10yrs. (1 EP + 1 Single)
Sea Girls - “Eat Me Whole” - Good British Pop/Rock that’s currently flying under the radar. (2 EPs + 1 Single)
DISAPPOINTMENTS
“Mania” - Fall Out Boy - Oh man, where do I begin? The biggest disappointment was probably the first one of the year, and that’s Fall Out Boy. The album was supposed to come out in Sept. 2017 but they pushed it back to Jan. 2018 to make sure it was the best it could be. Well, if this was the best it could be, I really don’t want to know what it was like 6 months prior. The main thing is that the album is just soooo repetitive and they also went full Pop/Hip-Hop. Nothing wrong with the genres, but Fall Out Boy has, for a long time, just mixed those genres in with their Rock/Pop-Punk style and everything gelled so well together, so going fully towards one half of their style is what did them in for me. I still have a couple songs from the album on my iPod, “Last of the Real Ones” and “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” (and maybe one more?), but they have so much other good stuff that I don’t know if I’ll ever purposefully listen to those songs in the future.
They redeemed themselves a little with a 3 song EP released later in the year, “Lake Effect Kid,” which is a bit of a love letter to Chicago, but I still can’t recommend anything they’ve done this year with enthusiasm.
The rest of my “disappointments” aren’t necessarily bad, they’re just albums I hoped to be good but turned out somewhat mediocre:
“Hyperion” - St. Lucia - For someone firmly planted in the Synthpop genre St. Lucia has always had a surprising number of songs, on every album, that approach or surpass the 5min mark. In fact, the majority of his songs are this long. This has never been too much of an issue for myself, but I think the song lengths finally did me in on this album, turning possibly great songs into mediocre ones that you just want to skip at some point. For example, I love the first minute and a half of “Full Moon Rising,” and then it just continues for the next 3min not really going anywhere. Same exact thing with “Paradise is Waiting.” Granted he slowly adds layers to the song, but it just overstays its welcome. He still has 2 great albums before this one, so I’ll still be looking forward to the next one.
“Art of Doubt” - Metric - I wasn’t a big fan of Metric’s last release (“Pagans in Vegas”) but I hoped “Art of Doubt” would put Metric back in my everyday mix. Well that was not the case. I was intrigued on my first listen through the album, but after a couple more times it just became bland and boring to me. I don’t expect them to ever put out an album as good as “Fantasies” was again, but I’m still hoping for a little better.
“Erase Me” - Underøath - So I got excited upon hearing original Drummer/Clean Vocals Aaron Gillespie was reunited with the band and a new album was coming out! To my dismay it sounds like an average, generic Screamo/Post-Hardcore band of today. The 1st and 3rd tracks are pretty good in my opinion, but after a few listen throughs I’m not sure it’s worth trying to find any others that may be gems after a 12th listen or something. I’ll be sticking with their earlier releases for now.
The releases by Mumford & Sons, Death Cab for Cutie, and Twenty One Pilots didn’t catch my ears either, but I don’t feel like languishing over disappointments anymore. Onward and upward.
BEST MOVIES OF 2018
Ok, so I’ve wanted to do this before but never felt like I watched enough new movies in a year to make this section. Well this year, after unsuccessfully dealing with the shitshow that is MoviePass, Nel and I joined the AMC pass program and boy was it worth it. So now that I’m consistently seeing new films I hope to continue this section in future posts. Check it out!
Alright, I can’t think of an animated Marvel movie that ever hit the big screen, so the fact that this was made, and that the main character wasn’t the original Spider-Man that everyone knows and loves, was a huge risk. Somehow, just like Guardians of the Galaxy, this risk paid off BIG TIME. Everything about this movie is amazing. All the visuals are so cool, the background work and easter eggs are great, the voice cast was perfect, the story was well put together, and, as I mentioned earlier, the soundtrack is dope. If you haven’t seen it, I know the hype around this movie is ridiculous, but I can tell you it’s well worth it. Go see it.
Here’s an interesting movie that I thought would just be a fun Action/Horror, but it was so much more. This is more of an intense Thriller with great Action scenes and a dash of Sci-Fi. The movie is very tense throughout, and you’ll have moments of comfort and ease, but never for too long. And even though I recognized almost none of the cast, they were all great and I hope to see them in future films. I’m pretty tired of WWII as a setting for movies (and video games to be honest), but this is one worth watching. A+
This comedy has a somewhat basic premise - Girl meets guy, guy is a secret spy, girl and her best friend get caught up in worldwide secret agent craziness. This could’ve been a basic movie. It isn’t. It’s hilarious. A big part of that is Kate McKinnon, who absolutely destroys every role she ever does, so the fact that Mila Kunis (who has also made some surprisingly funny movies with “Bad Moms” and “Bad Moms Christmas”) is able to keep up and not feel like she’s bringing the movie down, is a testament to her as well. It’s absurd and you have to suspend your disbelief at the door, but it’s so much fun. There’s also only 2 credited writers, so Lionsgate must’ve just let them do what they want, and it turned out great.
When I found out Bo Burnham had written and directed a movie, I HAD to see it. From the trailer I wasn’t sure exactly what the tone of the movie would be (disclaimer: I usually only watch about one minute of any trailer for a movie and then never watch it again because I hate spoiling things for myself), but I figured it wouldn’t be your average coming of age film. And I’m glad it’s not that. If you watch interviews with Bo, you’ll hear him talk about how he wanted to make it as real as possible, not just making it about what he remembers middle school being like or making anyone nostalgic for it, just making it as close to what it’s actually like in this moment. That’s the other thing - it IS just a moment, a snapshot of the character’s life. There’s no life lesson being forced down your throat, there isn’t really a lesson at all. And that’s how Bo wanted it. He wanted it to be more of a conversation starter, mostly for parents and kids, but anyone really. I highly encourage watching some interviews of him after watching the film just to see his passion and thoughts behind the entire thing (and then some). This movie definitely deserves every accolade it gets.
Here’s a movie that I think is amazing, but for some reason only appeals to a certain niche of people. It seems like an odd pairing having Anna Kendrick seemingly playing her usual role as an endearing, quirky girl, along with what seems like a Mystery/Thriller, but it all works somehow. It’s based off a novel, so I’m not sure how close it is to the source material, but after realizing this film was in the hands of director Paul Feig, everything makes sense. This film is a great mix of Mystery, Thriller, and Dark Comedy, with just the right pinch of regular comedy (provided in a few small moments by Kendrick herself and the peanut gallery of other “moms” from the school Kendrick’s child attends). This film is a great ride from start to finish, and I would watch it on your own or with people you trust to be quiet and who don’t get up to grab a drink every 10min. I can’t recommend this movie enough. Do yourself a favor and see it soon.
There were so many good movies this year, so here's a few more that get 2 thumbs up from me:
Bad Times at the El Royale
A Quiet Place
BlackKklansman
Incredibles 2
Alright, that does it for 2018! Thank you so much for giving me your time and giving any weight at all to my opinions of this here media. Please let me know your thoughts, disagreements, and agreements (I assume all of you agree 100% with everything I’ve written here). What are your favorite songs, albums, or movies of 2018? What are you looking forward to in 2019? Peace!
Comments
Post a Comment