Top 100 Songs of 2018 - #100 to #91

Santigold, Troye Sivan/Ariana Grande + Lykke Li!

TOP 100 SONGS OF 2018

#100. DANCE TO THIS

by Troye Sivan ft. Ariana Grande

Young ambition, say we'll go slow

But we never do.

Look, I'm not a big enough fan of Troye Sivan to be able to tell you if the 'e' is silent or not in his name - like do you say Troy or something along the lines of Troy-eh - but I don't mind his 2018 team-up with Ariana Grande. I can tell you that the 'e' is not silent in Grande, so it's not pronounced grand. Pop culture hasn't left me completely behind just yet. 'Dance To This' certainly lives up to its name and makes you want to shuffle as awkwardly as Sivan does in the video that also makes me feel like a proud parent watching my two weird, mismatched children performing at the local talent show. (Matt Bond)  

#99. FRIDAY FOREVER

by Trophy Eyes

Slow down, take a moment with me

Got nowhere to go and I've got no one to be.

This song makes me feel like it’s 2006 again and that wasn’t such a bad year in hindsight. And in writing these words about it, I’ve just found out Trophy Eyes are Australian, which is hilarious, because I just assumed coming from an album called The American Dream and sounding like so much of the pop punk of the previously mentioned decade, they were from somewhere else. Maybe that’s just a reflection on how catchy this song is; I haven’t needed to know more because I’ve been busy thinking about getting day drunk, wondering what clouds feel like and trying to figure out whether to change my insta bio to “never really happy just quiet and polite”. (Jo Michelmore)

#98. UTOPIA

by Lykke Li

I see the dream in your eyes and I want it

It's burning bright like a fire from a comet.

On her fourth LP, so sad so sexy, Lykke Li moved away from the cinematic sounds that defined the album's predecessor towards a blend of modern pop and RnB. It won't go down as one of her most memorable collections of songs, but there were some highlights like the stripped back and reflective 'utopia'. It's simple, it's sweet, it leaves you wanting more and it's not ridiculously named like the album it finds itself placed on.  (Matt Bond)

#97. NO OTHER WAY

by Maddy Jane

Don't get me wrong, I know that we all change

Oh, just a little more and more each day.

At 22 I had just become the owner of my first bass guitar, which I didn’t play enough, I wasn't able to drive legally on my own, I dressed in poorly put together ensembles in terrible colours and I lived pretty much on tinned food and toast. Don’t get me wrong, tinned food can get pretty gourmet if you throw some grated cheese on it, but Maddy Jane at the same age has released two albums, toured with a bunch of impressive artists, run her own independent music festival and released songs like this one; incredibly catchy, super cute and lyrically adorable. She’s been so busy I hope she’s managed to fit in some tinned food and grated cheese treats. Bon Appetit. (Jo Michelmore)

If there's one sort-a, kind-a, maybe theme that shone through in Australian music in 2018, it's that everyone's kind of over it. You can substitute it for everything if you'd like. Everyone is over everything. But since we're Australians, we're also accepting things for what they are. No riots from us, no... just clever songs like Maddy Jane's 'No Other Way' that will have you singing along in no time to lines about those everyday, mundane chats about nothing. When the music's this good, it really is easier to accept things for what they are.  (Matt Bond)

#96. RUN THE ROAD

by Santigold

Rough ride, get me through it some way

Another long flight, make me earn the pay.

What... did you not know that Santigold released new music in 2018? If you said you didn't, I wouldn't be surprised. It seemed like the album I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions was released with zero promotion. I wouldn't have even noticed it if Apple Music hadn't recommended 'Run The Road' to me. But hey, if you weren't aware you are now and that means you need to go and listen to some Santigold, because she's still at the top of the dancehall music making game, serving accessible reggae inspired hits that are pretty much perfect for any occasion. (Matt Bond)


Oh how much I’ve missed that distinctive Santigold vocal, those beats so familiar and the way she makes sounds have been lacking in my life for a couple of years now. Although I like to revisit past loves every now and then (it’s been 10 whole years since L.E.S. Artisites!) there’s nothing as good as the hope you feel when you hit play on one of your favourite’s brand new tracks. And let’s say, ‘Run The Road’ is new but not new, it’s Santigold being Santigold, and Santigold is fabulous, so that's exactly what it is. (Jo Michelmore)

#95. COMEBACK KID

by Sharon Van Etten

Yeah, I'm the runaway

I'm the hardly stay, let me slip away.

2019 is going to be a big year for Sharon Van Etten, but in these last couple of months of this year we got a taste of what's in store in the form of 'Comeback Kid'. While there's been some re-release and EP action over the past couple of years, it was all the way back in 2014 that Van Etten released her last full-length LP, Are We There. If you've listened to that one (which you should - it's all kinds of amazing), you'll know it's super devastating and brilliant and all of the words you use to sell something that's reeeeeallly good. Moving forward, we seem to be looking at a more electronically influenced and, dare I say it, upbeat Sharon Van Etten. Will it last? The safe money is on no. Van Etten is one of the greatest storytellers in music today. And you don't get titles like that by telling happy stories. Do you? Maybe I've just been watching too much sad TV. Moving on...  (Matt Bond)

#94. IDGAF

by Dua Lipa

Your time is up, I'll tell you why...

Ah yes, it’s the ol’ Carly Simon effect again. A classic; one feels upset/hard done by/angered by the behaviour of one’s current or ex boyfriend/girlfriend/person they hang out with, so one writes a song about said person in order to makes oneself feel vindicated/absolved/better about said poor behaviour, but titles one's song with accusation or lack of care, because oneself is (apparently) over the situation, therefore creating an interesting paradox where song could not be created without existence of said boyfriend/girlfriend/person one hangs out with, even though one wishes said person didn’t exist. In this case, Dua Lipa claiming one DGAF, even though one must keep repeating that one doesn’t, therefore hasn’t moved on and D actually GAF. Make what you want of said theory, it’s a catchy song but. (Jo Michelmore)

Who doesn't love a good 'ole 'pack up your shit and get outta here' pop banger? I'm talking Jojo 'Leave (Get Out)', Kelly Clarkson 'Since U Been Gone' and now Dua Lipa 'IDGAF' style kiss offs that you can get your drank on and scream along to with the kids at the clubs on a Saturday night. It's been some time since I've been to these clubs, but I'm pretty sure only one of those songs is likely to get any play these days and that's obviously the one we're talking about here. Dua Lipa may be another artist that I'm unsure about when it comes to name pronunciation, but I'm liking her style so far. Her face in the video is actually giving off vibes like she doesn't give a fuck and maybe that's because of the outfits or maybe that's just acting, but I'm liking it. (Matt Bond)

#93. OVER AND OVER

by Jack White

And although you want me

The gods have all scorned me now.

I’ve listened to this song over and over and over (boom, thank you, I will be writing all week) and we may not have written on this blog for a while now, but let me say, a tradition is still a tradition around here as far as I’m concerned, so I’ll say the other obvious thing before these words are over. But about the song; its guitar riffs are typically Jack White harsh, it’s vocals are typically Jack White creepy, it’s drums are typically Jack White thundering and it’s bongos are typically Jack White surprising, which means about now is when I say the only thing I can ever manage to say about Mr White, even all these years later. Oh Jack. Oh sigh. (Jo Michelmore)

#92. HARD WAY

by Eliza Hull

No I won't hold onto you

Because I know what you're thinking...

The first time I heard Eliza Hull was waaaaaaaay back in 2013, when I played her tracks, like, about a thousand times over, or more. Five years ago feels like an eternity ago, but I suppose not that much has changed, considering I played her latest EP How We Disappeared about a thousand times or more this year, and although it’s only five new songs, they are very, very good ones. This track, ‘Hard Way’ with its handclaps, slightly spooky vocal track and searing instrumentation shows Eliza’s growth as a musician, and her outstanding vocal shows off her growing skill and depth as a lyricist. Looking forward to seeing where the next five years will take Eliza and her incredible talent. (Jo Michelmore)

#91. BITE THE HAND

by Boygenius (Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus)

I can't love you how you want me to

I can't love you how you want me to.

                   

With their powers combined, they are Boygenius! I'm a big fan of a long-form indie team up and it feels like forever since we've had one at the level of, say, Seeker Lover Keeper. In the second half of 2018 we saw American artists Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus come together to show off their musical talents and the results were nothing short of amazing. 'Bite The Hand' packed the greatest punch among the tales of love, loss and everything in-between. The gentle wave of regret that washes over you with the repeated line, "I can't love you like you want me to," will have you coming back for more from three songwriters that are killing it individually and together. (Matt Bond)