Let's face it: 2018 was a weird year for music. Hell, it was a weird year in general. At a time in which our world is in a constant state of turmoil, in which politics were truly exposed as the complete clusterfuck they were and America finally demanded a change, in which scientists predicted none of us would be long for the world- or at least the world wouldn't be here long for us- one would think that the music out there would reflect that.
Certainly, 2017 had a little of that, via the protest rock/rap hybrid of the supergroup Prophets of Rage, and we got a hint of it in Snoop Dogg's controversial "Lavender" video, which featured a clown resembling Trump being shot, but since then, save Ice Cube's trenchant and confrontational 2018 single "Arrest the President"- not one to mince words, that Cube- there's been shockingly little protest rock or rap to speak of.
Instead, it's as if most artists chose to ignore such things altogether and just sought escape. Who can blame them? As a direct result, there were an awful lot of mellow, chill-out type releases, be it rap, rock or country. Not that I was necessarily complaining, as I wanted an escape as much as the next person overwhelmed by what's going on in the world.
But, in the past, certainly in the late 60's/early-to-late 70's and early 80's, you would have seen far more in the ways of protest-type music, be it angry hippies (Neil Young, John Lennon, Stones, Bowie) or disgruntled metal-heads (Black Sabbath, MC5, Stooges) or punks (Sex Pistols, Clash, Bad Brains) or even New Wave (Talking Heads, Heaven 17, Devo). Nowadays, people just watch Netflix and chill while the world burns. Oh well.
Be that as it may, there was still some solid music out there, if you knew where to look for it. I can't say how much staying power it will have, but hey, it's got a nice beat and you can make out to it. Better than nothing, I suppose. Here then, in the aftermath of the Grammys on Sunday, is my own personal soundtrack of 2018, for better or worse. I did what I could!
My 10 Favorite Albums of 2018
1. Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
After the career high of the band's Stateside breakthrough, AM; rather than striking the iron while it was hot, the band took a breather and reconfigured itself for several years, coming back with a completely different vibe with this album, which many have understandably compared to Bowie circa his "Plastic Soul"/Thin White Duke era.
Unlike previous efforts, the guitars are not front and center, but more adopted as colorful background elements. Instead, most everything springs up from a piano base, allowing singer/lyricist Alex Turner's often-amusing lyrics to take front and center, highlighting his gift for a well-turned sardonic phrase.
It's always present, from the amusingly tongue-in-cheek, oft-quoted opening line: "I just wanted to be one of the Strokes/Now look at the mess you made me make" to the last song, "Ultracheese," in which he grumbles: "I might look like I'm deep in thought/But the truth is I'm probably not/If I ever was."
Somehow, the band manages to both engage in seemingly deep thought, while never hesitating to take the wind out of their own sails almost every step of the way. It's such a quintessential Millennial album that it would be annoying if it weren't so engagingly self-aware. In typical Gen Y fashion, these guys are nothing if not in on the joke.
I could see where some fans wouldn't know what to make of all this- after all, it's a complete stylistic shift from their last album. But a band has to grow or it becomes stagnant, and given the mood we're all in, maybe a little introspection isn't such a bad thing. Besides, it's not as if they can't go back to rocking out later on.
For where we are now, though, this about summed it up for me. Sometimes, to quote an 80's chestnut, you have to just sit back and say: "What the fuck." Or is it "What the fuck?" 2018 was a little of both. This album perfectly sums it up for me, regardless, which is why it's at the top of my list.
2. Jack White - Boarding House Reach
A weird one, to be sure, even by White's standards. But, given the year, I suppose that's to be expected. Either way, anything he does is worth listening to for me, having been a fan at this point since he was half of the groundbreaking White Stripes. Besides, I like weird, and it's been a while since I heard anything quite this determinedly strange. It's enough to make me wish I still smoked weed, lol.
Still, even longtime fans must have been a little taken aback by this one, which veers wildly between down-and-dirty funk workouts ("Corporation") to odd spoken word interludes ("Abulia and Akrasia," "Everything You've Ever Learned," "Ezmerelda Steals the Show") and early Beck-like experimental tracks ("Hypermisophoniac" and "Get in the Mind Shaft," which live up to their crazy names; the free jazz/rap-adjacent "Ice Station Zebra," somewhat randomly named after an obscure Donald Sutherland Cold War-era movie, and which features a theremin, because of course it does, and "Respect Commander," which, in the beginning, before a noisy bluesy section, sounds like a better version of something Paul Hardcastle would have done back in the day- I halfway expected to hear someone start intoning "Ni-ni-ni-ni-Nineteen!," lol) to a White Stripes-era track reworked with near-psychedelic Gospel-style back-up singers ("Over and Over and Over").
For good measure, he throws in a few more semi-traditional blues-based barn burners ("Connected By Love," the slow-motion keyboards and sludgy guitar of "Why Walk a Dog?") to ease people into the madness that follows and then a few mellower tracks to ease them out of it ("What's Done is Done," with nice old-school Nashville-style backing vocals from Esther Rose, despite the synth-based bleeps and blorps that also crop up in the song; the VERY old-school closing cover of "Humoresque," from famed Czech composer Dvořák).
All of this, plus what may well be the best video of the year, the Lynch-meets-Tarantino insanity that is "Corporation." Who's with him? Me, I guess. You should be too, but if not, me and my fellow weirdos will still have our fun. 😵
3. Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer
I just love Janelle Monáe. To me, she's the heir apparent to the late, great Prince. He obviously thought so, too, as the two were working together on this album up until his untimely death back in 2016. His presence certainly hovers over this album, most prominently on the excellent single "Make Me Feel," which could have easily been a Prince track from back in the day during the height of his career, and "Americans," which almost has a sort of revisionist "Uptown" vibe, updated for current times.
Monáe may well be at the height of hers, if this album is any indication- though the best may well be yet to come, in her case. Either way, her third album is her most cohesive, well-put-together effort to date, and that's saying something for an artist that has already done a multi-album concept narrative work (the ongoing "Metropolis" project) over the course of her career so far.
Unlike those albums, however, this one is far and away her most personal, setting aside her "Cindi Mayweather" persona in favor for a concept album that hits much closer to home, as it is written about her own personal journey and her sense of self as it has progressed over the course of her career. And what a fascinating journey it's been so far.
Divided into three "acts"- Reckoning, Celebration and Reclamation- the album explores how she feels she is viewed by society, her acceptance of it, and her intent to reclaim that and redefine it as it exists now.
The end result is nothing short of incredible, especially when paired with her near-hour-long narrative film that accompanied it, which she dubbed an "emotion picture," and which you should watch on YouTube ASAP if you haven't seen it, if you're even remotely a fan. Trust me, it's like the psychedelic freak-out version of Beyoncé's infamous Lemonade video film, only way cooler, IMHO.
Besides, anyone with the good taste to kick off their album with classic rock crooner Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) and invite the likes of Stevie Wonder, Grimes, Zoë Kravitz, Thundercat and Pharrell Williams to the party is doing something right. Longtime fans might be ever-so-slightly disappointed that she went a bit more commercial with this one, which is admittedly her most accessible effort to date, but hey, if it makes more people converts, I say go on with your bad self, Janelle.
4. A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant
2018 seemed about right for a new APC release, though this could have just as easily come out in 2016, to be sure, what with all the references to those we've lost in "So Long, Thanks for the Fish" (most of which died that year: Bowie, Prince, Ali, Carrie Fisher and Gene Wilder). However, I think the band needed a little more time to let things simmer- and the wait was worth it.
Their first release in some 14 years, "Eat the Elephant," as you might have guessed from that title, is a full-on take-down on modern politics, the hypocritical nature of those in power and their inaction on the things that matter- and our complicity in allowing it to happen on our watch by tuning it all out rather than fighting back (see "Disillusioned," about our over-reliance on cell phones and the like).
Such finger pointing didn't go over well with some critics, who dismissed the album as self-important and a little snooty, while others lamented that it wasn't a return to the heavy form of the band's debut, as was hinted it might be. Never mind all that- this is precisely the kind of album I alluded to in the intro: the one we need, if not necessarily the one some of us wanted. The truth hurts sometimes, and sometimes one needs to get their message across loud and clear.
A substantial portion of all this was written on piano (see also Arctic Monkeys), rather than guitar, as is typically the case for chief music maker Billy Howerdel, a former guitar tech-turned-bandleader. That more melancholic vibe makes this sound more, at times, like the sort of thing Tori Amos got up to in her earlier, more fiesty days, circa Boys for Pele. (Click here for evidence that may not be a coincidence.)
But, given time, the album slowly-but-surely builds to a heavier crescendo, as the guitars become more prominent and the vibe becomes angrier by the minute. Nor, despite that title, is lyricist (and erstwhile Tool front-man) Maynard James Keenan afraid to point the finger at liberals and Republicans alike (see "Hourglass")- or himself, for that matter ("Where to begin eludes me"- he admits on the title track).
But lest you think this is all self-serving, witness "The Doomed," in which Keenan laments the fates of the poor and destitute of the world, calling out NRA/Evangelical types for claiming to be good, God-fearing Christians, while willfully ignoring the mass murders being committed via gun violence on their watch- "Good luck, you're on your own," indeed.
Elsewhere, he bemoans the whole "thoughts and prayers" thing on "TalkTalk" and admonishes said people to "try extending a hand," and to not "be the problem, be the solution." At the same time, he's not above kicking someone evil while they're on the way down, as in "Delicious": "So delicious for the rest of us to witness your dread." I think the vast majority of us are waiting for that particular hammer to fall. Let's just hope it does.
Until then, as Keenan sings on the cascading finale, "Get the Led Out," he's "not one to dawdle" and "there's no time to coddle you." I think those who dismissed this one wanted to either be coddled in their time of need, or, yes, hear some quality raging against the machine. Instead, Keenan, in a soft-but-firm voice told them what they needed to hear- and maybe some didn't care too much for it. I did. It's high time we all did more.
5. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
I'm not a big country music person, even though I was born and raised in the South my entire life. In spite of that, I'm certainly well aware of it, and I'm familiar with a fair amount of its history (got no problem with Cash or Willie, for sure), Southern Rock spin-offs (Allman Brothers, Skynyrd, Eagles- OK, technically, they're California-based, but c'mon) and the more pop-oriented modern version (Shania, Taylor, Carrie).
Kacey Musgraves knows her history, too, and she's not the least bit concerned to throw all of that into a blender and make a veritable country music soufflé out of it. Like Taylor Swift before her, she's not the least bit afraid of the "P" word- that would be "pop music"- and she's got hooks to burn.
What sets her apart from the pack are her forward-thinking lyrics, which aren't afraid to invite people to the party that aren't traditionally welcome, such as the LGBTQ community (her breakthrough hit, "Follow your Arrow," implored people to "Make lots of noise/Kiss lots of boys/Or kiss lots of girls/If that's something you're into") and stoners ("Roll up a joint/Or Don't," from the same song)- with apologies to Hank, Waylon and Willie, in regards to the latter, who never shied away from such things- hence the "outlaw" moniker.
Neither does Musgraves feel compelled to stick to one type of sound. Golden Hour runs the gamut from old-school, traditional country to the more pop-oriented variety, with some of the loveliest ballads you'll ever hear. (Opening track "Slow Burn" gets me every time.) Recorded in the aftermath of her first marriage, as Musgraves settled into a new focus in her life as a wife and a musician at the height of her powers- and a potential "Mother"- it's a mellow one, but there's nothing wrong with that.
Her clever wordplay is in full effect here- note the double meaning of "Space Cowboy"- it's both a nod to the Steve Miller classic, as well as an admonishment/understanding of someone who needs some "space," with the spacious music offering up some of that for the antagonist of the song. Or "Velvet Elvis," which compares her man to the iffy-but-rewarding affection she has for the kitschier things in life, the things that bring us not-so-guilty pleasure, even while others may scoff.
Like the song of the same name, it's an album that's "Happy & Sad" at the same time- but never too much of both. A honeymoon album, in other words. Happy because she's starting a new phase in her life, but sad at the loss of her freedom that comes with pledging your love and life to one person.
It's also brave enough to be human, emotion-wise - and to allow that others should be regarded the same: witness "Wonder Woman," which, contrary to what one might think, is actually about someone who acknowledges they aren't the titular heroine- and don't expect their significant other to be "Superman," either.
In a year in which fallibility was readily apparent on, yes, both sides, that seems about right. I may be a liberal, but I'm not above admitting we have our issues, too- the whole SJW thing is beyond annoying to me. Musgraves has a song for that, too: "High Horse"- as in get off of yours. Musgraves' advice: "Giddy up/Ride straight out of town" and stop being a buzzkill. "If you're too good for us/You'll be good riding solo." Amen to that. The right may have bigger, more pressing issues that need to be addressed ASAP- but to be sure, we have some of our own.
I'm the first to admit this music isn't typically the sort of thing I normally go for, but maybe, after all the bitching and moaning and constant deafening roar of non-stop politics all-day, every day, this was just what I needed to fall back down to earth and appreciate the better things in life, and let go of the ones that plague me.
Yep, I'm clearly getting older- but not too old to still enjoy a good, old-fashioned noise-rock show, as you'll see elsewhere on this list. This was admittedly an anomaly for me, but a most welcome one, and you know what? Just like the protagonist of "Velvet Elvis," I don't feel guilty about it at all.
6. Lykke Li - so sad so sexy
I've been a fan of Li's since the jump, and though she's had lots of success overseas, the Swedish singer hasn't fared quite as well in the States, unfortunately, in spite of some choice soundtrack placements (New Moon, The Fault in Our Stars, Insurgent) and impressive guest spots (NASA, U2, David Lynch). Factor in some buzzy singles ("Get Some," "I Follow Rivers"- both from her second album) and ever-increasing critical acclaim with each successive album and you'd think she'd be a bigger star than she is- at least outside of Europe.
Alas, after climbing to #29 on US charts with her last album, in spite of any sort of hit single, her fourth album stalled at #173 in America. It even under-performed in her native Sweden, though it at least made the Top 10. That's too bad so many slept on it, because if there was a better chill-out/make-out album this year, I've yet to hear it.
Co-written with Ilsey Juber (who's written for everyone from Christina Aguilera to J.Lo to Beyoncé to Miley and sister Noah Cyrus), this is ironically Li's most accessible work to date, with almost hip-hop-style beats kinda reminiscent of what used to be called Trip Hop back in the day (a la Portishead and Tricky). It more than lives up to that title and is sexy as it is infectiously catchy.
Maybe it was the "sad" part that did her in, as the album does indeed dip heavily in the heartbreak well, and, as such, might not appeal to those looking for more of a "hop" in their "hip," as it were. The album admittedly works better as a cohesive whole than as a collection of potential singles- indeed, there's no obvious single here, period, in spite of no less than five being released in advance of it.
Still, those trap beats are catchy AF, and I feel like this is one that will later be regarded as one of the best of its kind, which is to say, "Dark Pop"- in the vein of Lana Del Rey, Lorde and Halsey. Some albums are just a slow burn, I guess, but just because most people slept on this one doesn't mean you have to.
7. David Byrne - American Utopia
Earlier, I mentioned Talking Heads, one of my all-time favorite bands. Front-man Byrne, after taking an extended break from recording- his last album was back in 2004, though he did memorably collaborate with St. Vincent in 2012- decided to come back in full force in 2018, regrouping with ambient mastermind Brian Eno again, with whom he did some of his best work in the Talking Heads.
Rather than rage against the machine, he chose to instead celebrate "reasons to be cheerful," which is to say, things to be grateful for, in spite of how divided we all are and how tumultuous things are at the moment. To that end, he mounted an ambitious, multi-media effort encompassing video, music and performance art, with an impressive stage show that was something to see.
The resulting album is not only his strongest set of material in ages, it's his most successful as a solo artist, debuting at #3 on the charts- his first solo effort to debut in the Top Ten. I guess a lot of other people needed reasons to be cheerful, too. Musically, it's also pretty ambitious, veering from the techno-oriented stuff that Eno made his name on, to the sort of wildly-varied musical instrumentation that the Talking Heads experimented with in the later period efforts.
Lyrically, it's also very positive, though not above a few older-era Byrne-style sardonic content, such as the snarky comment that "the Pope don't mean shit to a dog" in "Every Day is a Miracle." Indeed, Byrne takes the time to connect with the dogs of the world in a much more involved fashion in "Dog's Mind," which suggests we could all learn a thing or two from our furry friends. (Indeed, animals of all sorts crop up all over the album, to often amusing effect- looking at you, donkey!)
Elsewhere, Byrne announces, in the opening track "I Dance Like This," that "I dance like this/Because it feels so good," while at the same time, acknowledging sheepishly, "Well, if I could dance better/You know that I would." But still he "can't say that I'm ashamed." Nor should he be. The world's a better place with dancing in it- even if it's the likes of what was to be found in the movie Suspiria, lol.
As with the Talking Heads album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, the songs here are also concerned with our surroundings, what we put into our bodies (and what sometimes goes into them without our consent- see "Bullet") and how we respect or disrespect our environment.
And yet, Byrne is never preachy or talking down to the listener. Instead, he seeks to have us examine our lives and try and better ourselves as much as we can (see "Doing the Right Thing"), but only so the world can be a better place and we can be happier. And he does it with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. Nothing wrong with that.
The end result is something akin to Paul Simon's classic Graceland, but more out-there (and modern) musically and esoteric in a way only Byrne and Eno can be. It's a quirky affair that takes a few listens to completely wrap your head around it for neophytes, but those who are already converts will love it- it may well be one of the best things he's done, if not the best, since his Talking Heads hey-day. And that's saying something.
8. Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel
If you were a big fan of female-driven indie rock in the 90's, a la Liz Phair, Hole (circa Celebrity Skin) and The Breeders (whose members Kim & Kelly Deal appear on two tracks here) or slacker rock like Pavement and Yo La Tengo, this should be right up your alley. Barnett makes the sort of music those of us who came of age in that time, like myself, wish they still did more of today.
Unfortunately, pop and hip-hop reigns supreme at the moment, for better or worse, so if you miss that sort of thing, some digging is required. It's alarming how much of a drop off there is in real rock-and-roll at the moment, but it is what it is, and until someone comes around and changes it, don't count on it getting any better anytime soon. (Sorry, peeps, it probably ain't gonna be Greta Van Fleet, hyped though they may be at the moment.)
This album is admittedly a bit mellower than her debut record- it was that kind of year, as evidenced by most of my list here- but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable, IMHO. And yes, Barnett may not be the best singer in the world, but then, neither were many of the singers in rock bands in the 90's. Doesn't make them any less classic, and the same holds true here- her voice may be slight, but it completely fits the music that accompanies it, just as the likes of Lou Reed did with the Velvet Underground back in the day, another key influence here.
Also like many of the albums on this list, it's very self-aware and in touch with the way the performer in question is perceived. Such is the blessing- and the curse- of a successful previous effort, much less if that effort was a debut, as was the case with Barnett. As such, the lyrics are both self-referential and aimed at a like-minded audience that might also be experiencing some issues of their own. (Witness the self-explanatory "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence.")
I also dug the very DIY nature of her music videos for the album- check out the amusing one for "Sunday Roast," which plays as one of those music instructional videos, and is every bit as low-fi and down-to-earth as Barnett herself seems in general.
That's not a dig, either- I like that she comes off as an "Everygirl" rocker chick, and legitimately hope it inspired other young girls to pick up a guitar or what have you and take a crack at a musical career, too. We could use another wave of female rockers right about now. But for now, there's Courtney Barnett, and that's good enough for me.
9. Cat Power - Wanderer
Her first album in six years, Wanderer finds the erstwhile Chan Marshall in a contemplative mood, much like the rest of us. After the career high of her ninth album, Sun, which landed her in the Top Ten for the first time, she took a well-deserved break before coming back with this album, which is more in the vein of her past releases, which is to say, more downbeat and a little sad.
This is no doubt, in part, due to an ongoing illness, which caused her to be hospitalized multiple times and forced her to cancel a leg of her tour at the time, and sidelined her just as she would have- and should have- been enjoying the biggest success of her career. In addition, on a happier note, she also had a child in the interim, which also informs the proceedings in a decidedly better way.
So, for those who were a bit taken aback by the more upbeat Sun, Wanderer was a return to form, while those more won over by Sun were probably a little disappointed- an overall reaction that ultimately landed her in the lower regions of the Billboard Top 100. Though, to be fair, the album fared far better on the Rock, Alternative and Independent charts, landing in the Top 20 for the former and the Top 10 for the latter two.
Her normal label, Matador, was not amused by the album, and refused to put the record out altogether, forcing her to put it out on another label instead (Domino), for whom she recorded one additional track, a duet with Lana Del Rey, "Woman," which she gleefully released as a single as a sort of "fuck you" to her former label. The song landed at #20 on the alternative singles charts- her highest charting single to date in any country. Suck it, Matador! 😛
The album is an admittedly mellow affair, but like all the best albums, it's also a cohesive one, which holds together on the strength of an overall vibe, rather than as a random collection of songs that seem disconnected from one another. This one has a mood that lives up to the title, as Cat seems to drift towards one location to another, or more metaphorically, from one song to another. Perhaps needless to say, it's also a metaphor for the life of a musician in general, which tends to be inherently nomadic.
It also features a couple of well-chosen cover songs- fans know she's somewhat infamous for re-inventing other people's material in a unique way- see also the cover album Jukebox and the self-explanatory The Covers Record. Here, she tackles Rihanna's "Stay" and the classic "What the World Needs Now," from Hal David and Burt Bacharach in typically lovely fashion.
But it's her original material that's the real highlight here. This is Cat Power at her most raw, vulnerable and powerful. It may not be very mainstream friendly, and lack the sheen of the more popular Sun, but it's also real and unblemished, which is, TBH, the way I prefer her music, popularity be damned. As long as she's successful enough to keep doing what's she's doing the way she wants to do it, I'm good with that. I suspect she is, too.
10. Gorillaz - The Now Now
TBH, the band's last album, Humanz, left me a little cold. There were so many guest appearances, it felt more like I was listening to a mix-tape of different artists than one band. Granted, the band has always been known for it's wildly varied guest spots, which often add to the fun, party atmosphere of each album, but that album felt way too overcrowded to me. There was too little of Damon Albarn and too much of everyone else, you know what I mean?
Not so on this follow-up album, which pares down the group to its core, focusing instead on a stronger, more cohesive set of songs that hold together far better than the more chaotic Humanz, which, to be fair, was written during a year that was tumultuous for everyone, 2016, when the thought of a Trump presidency still seemed like science fiction. Little did we know...
Horrified that what he thought was a long-shot at best had come to pass, Albarn eliminated all the Trump stuff from the record and opted to make it more of a party record affair, in which he did succeed, to be fair. I just think most of us weren't in a very party mood at the time. I suspect it will play better on down the line.
But for the now now, as it were, we have this, a perfectly eclectic collection of songs that play much better together as parts of an extended whole, rather than a bunch of random, disconnected tracks. Albarn is pretty much front and center here, with only a small handful of guest stars (Snoop Dogg, Jamie Principle and George Benson), all of which are rolled out early on, to make way for the more Albarn-centric tracks.
As a direct result, those of us who love Albarn's work were in for a treat, as the material is strong, in spite of being somewhat recorded on the fly, in short order from the last one, which was only released about a year prior. As such, it's a much more casual, intimate affair that may lack in the way of obvious singles, but more than makes up for it in terms of listenability.
In short, rather than being a source of cherry-picking stand-out tracks, it's a bona fide album that holds together exceptionally well. A with many of the albums on this list, it's admittedly a mellower, slower, more contemplative collection of songs, but one that worked for me, in a year that found many of us reflecting back on how exactly we got here.
That's no to say there aren't some strong individual tracks here. For example, I just love the retro 80's vibe of "Sorcererz" and "Lake Zurich" and I certainly didn't mind the tracks with guest stars, "Tonight" and "Hollywood," which are much easier to welcome without all the clutter of such tracks on the last album. The fact that Albarn gets them out of the way sooner than later also helps the overall more intimate vibe as well.
Some may prefer the party vibe of their more celebrated efforts, but I thought this was one of their stronger efforts overall, in spite of the pared-down approach- or maybe even because of it. Either way, I will always look forward to seeing what the band comes up with next, as I don't doubt they will continue to surprise.
Well, that about does it for my Top Ten of 2018. Join me later in the week for some of my other musical faves of the year- if something you loved didn't make this list, it probably will there. I'll also break things down by sub-genre (rock, rap, pop, country, etc.) and get into some great songs I loved and even some reissues, soundtracks and film scores. Look for it soon! 😉
No comments:
Post a Comment