2018 Albums • Page 17

October

175. Tim Hecker - Konoyo +
176. a crowd of rebellion - III +
177. tofubeats - RUN +
178. Gunship - dark all day ++
179. Say Lou Lou - Immortelle +
180. Lights & Motion - while we dream +
181. This Will Destroy You - new others 1&2 +
182. PASSEPIED - neon to tora +

November

183. Yuki Murata - Piano Fantasia ++
184. Yuki Akira - Sosei ++++

 

336. Stefflon Don - Secure (2018)
337. Youngr - Obsession (2018)
338. Vince Staples - FM! (2018)
339. Plain White T's - Parallel Universe (2018)
340. Louis The Child & Whethan - Honey (2018)
341. Kito - HAANI (2018)

 

533. What am I.

 

October update!

 

342. Fucked Up - Dose Your Dreams (2018)
343. Matt Nathanson - Sings His Sad Heart (2018)
344. Rüfüs Du Sol - Solace (2018)
345. All Get Out - No Bouquet (2018)
346. Black Eyed Peas - Masters Of The Sun Vol. 1 (2018)
347. Rosalía - El Mal Querer (2018)
348. Imogen Heap - The Music of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - In Four Contemporary Suites (2018)
349. The Story So Far - Proper Dose (2018)
350. Tenacious D - Post-Apocalypto (2018)
351. John Nolan - Abendigo (2018)
352. Alison Sudol - Moon (2018)
353. Steven Page - Discipline: Heal Thyself, Pt. II (2018)
356. Major Lazer - Afrobeats (2018)
357. Mogwai - KIN (2018)
358. H.E.R. - I Used To Know Her: Part 2 (2018)

 

late update on a slow october

 

359. The Flaming Lips - Telepathic Surgery (1989)
360. Anywhere - Anywhere II (2018)
361. Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers - Bought To Rot (2018)
362. John Butler Trio - Home (2018)
363. Matt Pond PA - Free Fall (2018)
364. Fleet Foxes - The Fleet Foxes (2006)
365. Little Dragon - Lover Chanting (2018)
366. Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant (2007)
367. THEY. - Fireside (2018)
368. Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation (1987)
369. Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel Of Love (1987)
370. Whethan - Life Of A Wallflower Vol.1 (2018)
371. Depeche Mode - Music For The Masses (1987)
372. Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
373. The Dukes of Stratosphear - Psonic Psunspot (1987)
374. The Flaming Lips - Oh My Gawd!!! (1987)
375. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - Upside Down Flowers (2018)
376. Anderson .Paak - Oxnard (2018)
377. CHVRCHES - Hansa Sessions (2018)
378. Mumford & Sons - Delta (2018)
379. Sean Paul - Mad Love The Prequel (2018)
380. Fleet Foxes - B-sides and Rarities (2018)
381. Heart - Bad Animals (1987)
382. INXS - Kick (1987)
383. Smino - NØIR (2018)
384. Moby & The Void Pacific Choir - These Systems Are Failing (2016)

 

Everything new I listened to in October...

1.) “Mer De Noms” by A Perfect Circle
2.) “Awake” by Tycho
3.) “Vein” by Vein
4.) “S’only Natural” by hellogoodbye
5.) “Audio Karate” by Audio Karate
6.) “Fancy Outfit” by hellogoodbye
7.) “Close” by hellogoodbye
8.) “Recovery” by Eminem
9.) “Dark All Day” by Gunship
10.) “Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures” by Coheed & Cambria
11.) “Rize of the Fenix” by Tenacious D
12.) “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” by Eminem
13.) “Live” by Tenacious D
14.) “In the Drink” by Justin Courtney Pierre
15.) “Epoch” by Tycho
16.) “If” by Mindless Self Indulgence
17.) “Almost Killed Me” by The Hold Steady
18.) “Euringer” by Euringer
19.) “Revival” by Eminem
20.) “Eat the Elephant” by A Perfect Circle
21.) “New Others: Part Two” by This Will Destroy You
22.) “Kamikaze” by Eminem
23.) “eMOTIVe” by A Perfect Circle
24.) “boygenius” by boygenius
25.) “Skinny Dipping” by Stand Atlantic
26.) “8 Mile” Soundtrack
27.) “When Broken is Easily Fixed” by Silverstein
28.) “A Singer Must Die” by Art of Time Ensemble

 

185. Serph - random girls +
186. THE PINBALLS - chronos' rib +
187. Natsumi Miki - toketa ice no aji wa ao katta +
188. Gekijoban Gokigen Teikoku - stand up +
189. Kayoko Yoshizawa - joyu shimai ++
190. edda - karakuri dokei to tangu no machi ++

 

October in Review:
We're getting into the end of the year, when writing starts to pile up for me. I imagine the next few of these write-ups will be shorter as I just try to keep track of all the albums I've listened to, then inevitably start going back to albums that I've put aside. The only album I'm still waiting on is The 1975, and I'm holding a place near the top of my list for what's sure to be something feverish.

The boygenius EP is the best possible version of a supergroup. For all the hyperbole and media coverage around the collaboration between Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, it's somehow still underrated that three distinct artistic voices were able to adapt to a lingua franca. Though it's clear who wrote each song's foundation, there are invisible reverberations that make each song feel like the work of all three writers -- ripples from different parts of the same pond colliding to raise the waterline.

It's best brought to life in the closing song "Ketchum, ID"; as each singer's individual thirty-word verses somehow perfectly encapsulate both their lyric writing and delivery. The couplet that makes up the chorus is somehow both utterly lonely and filled with this kinship, their voices weaving together in Staves-like glory: I am never anywhere, anywhere I go. / When I'm home, I'm never there long enough to know.

Top 2018 albums of the month:
boygenius, Robyn, Nao

Recommended Songs I discovered this month:
Maggie Rogers - "Light On"
Toro y Moi - "Freelance"
Nao - "Drive and Disconnect"
Katie Pruitt - "Loving Her"
Father John Misty - "Everything Is Free [Gillian Welch Cover]"

 

385. Dave Hause - September Haze (2018)
386. Maggie Rogers - Blood Ballet (2014)
387. R.E.M. - Document (1987)
388. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (1987)
389. The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (2018)
390. Mae - Multisensory Aesthetic Experience (2018)
391. Sasha Sloan - Sad Girl (2018)
392. Sasha Sloan - Loser (2018)
393. William Ryan Key - Virtue (2018)
394. Alessia Cara - The Pains Of Growing (2018)
395. Emarosa - 131 Reimagined (2017)
396. Clean Bandit - What Is Love? (2018)
367. Eager Seas - Mine As Well (2018)

 

November:

103. All Get Out - No Bouquet +
104. Vince Staples - FM! ++
105. CupcakKe - Eden +
106. Rome Fortune - Beautiful Pimp 3 +
107. Troye Sivan - Bloom +
108. The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships ++
109, Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs +

 

Everything new I listened to in November...

1.) “Hell: The Sequel” by Bad Meets Evil
2.) “Post-Apocalypto” by Tenacious D
3.) “Full Collapse” by Thursday
4.) “Lifter Puller” by Lifter Puller
5.) “War All the Time” by Thursday
6.) “Songs That Saved My Life” Compilation
7.) “Half Dead and Dynamite” by Lifter Puller
8.) “Sleep It Away” by Brojob
9.) “Heal Thyself - Part 1: Instinct” by Steven Page
10.) “Eve” by Emery
11.) “Arrivals and Departures” by Silverstein
12.) “The Entertainment and Arts” by Lifter Puller
13.) “Heal Thyself - Part 2: Discipline” by Steven Page
14.) “The Cool” by Lupe Fiasco
15.) “Fiestas and Fiascos” by Lifter Puller
16.) “A Shipwreck in the Sand” by Silverstein
17.) “Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1: No Past. No Future. No Sun.” by Smashing Pumpkins
18.) “Merrie Land” by The Good, the Bad, and the Queen
19.) “Lasers” by Lupe Fiasco
20.) “In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing From Your Mind” by Failure
21.) “Rescue” by Silverstein
22.) “Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album - Part 1” by Lupe Fiasco
23.) “Dummy Boy” by 6ix9ine

 

I spent most of November re-listening to everything on my list that I liked but don't come back to often, so I didn't listen to nearly as much new stuff this month. Almost everything I did listen to this month is very good though. 1975 and Clarence Clarity are the highlights

 

November update.

 

novembro

 

November

183. Yuki Murata - Piano Fantasia ++
184. Yuki Akira - Sosei ++++
185. Serph - random girls +
186. THE PINBALLS - chronos' rib +
187. Natsumi Miki - toketa ice no aji wa ao katta +
188. Gekijoban Gokigen Teikoku - stand up +
189. Kayoko Yoshizawa - joyu shimai ++
190. edda - karakuri dokei to tangu no machi ++

December

191. The 1975 - a brief inquiry into online relationships ++
192. Reol - jijitsu jo ++
193. MACO - kokan nikki ++
194. LAMP IN TERREN - the naked blues ++
195. Aoi Yamazaki - flat +
196. TeddyLoid - silent planet: infinity +
197. moo - country darkness +
198. Hitsuji Bungaku - wakamonotachi ++
199. amiinA - discovery ++
200. JYOCHO - utsukushii shumatsu cycle ++

 

368. The Replacements - Pleased To Meet You (1987)
369. Jaden Smith - The Sunset Tapes: A Cool Tape Story (2018)
370. Jax Jones - Snacks (2018)
371. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - Merrie Land (2018)
372. Benny Blanco - Friends Keep Secrets (2018)
373. Mutemath - Voice In The Silence (2018)
374. AFI - The Missing Man (2018)
375. Good Old War - Part Of Us (2018)
376. My Brightest Diamond - A Million And One (2018)
377. Ariana Grande - Yours Truly (2013)
378. Fletcher - Finding Fletcher (2016)
379. Pearl - Open (2014)
380. Brooke Fraser - B Sides (2018)
381. Cold War Kids - This Will All Blow Over In Time (2018)
382. Cursive - Vitriola (2018)
383. Mastersystem - Dance Music (2018)
384. Moby & The Void Pacific Choir - More Fast Songs About The Apocalypse (2017)
385. ELIZA - A Real Romantic (2018)
386. Moby - Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt (2018)
387. Julien-K - California Noir - Chapter One: Analog Beaches & Digital Cities (2015)
388. Facing New York - Dogtown (2018)
389. The Decemberists - Travelling On (2018)
390. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Take 2 (2018)
391. We Are The Union - Self Care (2018)
392. Julien-K - California Noir - Chapter Two: Nightlife In Neon (2016)
393. Vic Mensa - HOOLIGANS (2018)
394. Eureka The Butcher - ¡EUREKA! (2017)
395. The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy (2018)
396. Rick Ross - Black Market (2015)
397. Mew with Copenhagen Philharmonic - Mew with Copenhagen Philharmonic (2018)
398. BROCKHAMPTON - All-American Trash (2016)
399. Paul McCartney - Off The Ground (1993)
400. Beastie Boys - To The 5 Boroughs (2004)
401. Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie (1997)
402. teddy - LillyAnna (2018)
403. Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up (2007)

 

November in Review:
What a different month this would have been without The 1975. I've been entranced by A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships for several weeks now -- it's as ambitious and tuneful and emotionally charged as anything that's come out this decade. Without the anticipation for that album (and its subsequent leak) taking up the last week and a half, I might have spent a lot more time digging into some other stuff that didn't grab me tight on first listen, such as Anderson .Paak or Vince Staples or SMINO.

That said, there were some absolutely wonderful albums that came out in November. I'd been waiting on Rosalía's El mal querer all year, as she released a string of stunning visuals that immediately created a world the synthesized flamenco and modern pop music in a vibrant and fresh (for me, at least) way. It’s invigorating. Even though I'm not accustomed to replaying music that is sung entirely in another language, she bowled me over with what might be my choice for pop album of the year if given more time.

The other album that I've been playing a lot this month is the newest installment of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series, More Blood, More Tracks. It's a largely stripped down collection of alternate takes from his classic 1975 album Blood On The Tracks, recorded in New York and thrown away for what he considered the "better" (and now considered "classic") versions that are on what many call his best and most personal record. I originally assumed I would listen to the bootleg once, pull an alternate cut that I liked for a playlist, and move on. Well, Bob had other plans. These songs brim with life, as standards like "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Simple Twist Of Fate" have a completely different feel -- new verses, phrasings, and melodies that felt like I was listening to a classic all over again for the first time. I talked about it for hours with my Uncle Joe at Thanksgiving.

Strangely enough, Dylan's tracks are the second of two legendary archives that were unearthed in November 2018, with the 50 year anniversary of The Beatles' "White Album " coming out with an expanded reissue. The release comes with the "Esher Demos", which are essentially an acoustic demo version of the album that breathes more human. It's a joy to hear their creativity at work, as they do things like sing out what would become an iconic guitar solo in "Back in the U.S.S.R." and work out the tempo of "Mother Nature's Son".

Blissfully, it seems like the music world is finally winding down for the year. Barring a surprise release of some kind, December could be very quiet, and I might get to actually go back to some more of the 300+ albums I heard this year. And maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe, I'll be able to find time to start writing about them!

Top 2018 albums of the month:
The 1975, Rosalía, JID

Top 50-year-old bootlegs of the month:
Bob Dylan (More Blood, More Tracks), The Beatles (Esher Demos)

Recommended Songs I discovered this month:
Cold War Kids - "Goodnight Tennessee"
ROSALÍA - "DI MI NOMBRE - Cap.8: Éxtasis"
Brittany B. - "Phuck It Up"
Bob Dylan - "Up To Me"
The 1975 - "I Couldn't Be More In Love"

 

201. DAOKO - shiteki ryoko ++
202. RADWIMPS -anti anti generation ++
203. Elephant Gym - underwater ++
204. kano - rye ++

 

Here's 2018. Another great year of listening to a bunch of music. Top 30 are bolded.

 

last one of the year

404. Dej Loaf - 'Go Dej Go' Vol. 1 (2018)

 

meh. on to 2019

 

December:

110. 21 Savage - i am > i was
111. boygenius - boygenius EP
112. Dej Loaf - 'Go Dej Go' Vol. 1 EP

 

That’s a wrap. This is the first time I’ve ever kept track of what I listened to. Also the first time I’ve branched out as much as far as genre goes and sheer amount of albums. So much good music came out this year. I liked a good chunk of what I listened to. Bring on 2019.