Top 100 Songs of 2018 - #40 to #31

Alexander Biggs, Janelle Monae, Baker Boy + Eves Karydas!

#100 - #91

#90 - #81

#80 - #71

#70 - #61

#60 - #51

#50 - #41

#40. WITH OR WITHOUT

by Tired Lion

Take me away with you I'll be your come down

I'll be there for you now.

When an announcement came across the Facebooks that Matt Tanner was leaving Tired Lion, I had a bad feeling Tired Lion was about to go the way so many of my fave bands had gone before. Dropping a banging debut only to fade away, like so many young AUS bands do. Luckily for us, Sophie Hopes and the rest of the band took some time to regroup and have come back sounding as full of energy and attitude as ever with their most immediately engaging track yet. ‘With or Without You’ has one of the funnest, most loveable choruses of the year and you know you want to be shouting along with Hopes as she promises she’ll be there for you. Written in response to the band’s line-up changes and an uncertain future, ‘With or Without You’ acts as a riotous send off to the first Tired Lion era and promises an exciting second. Bring it on. (Matt Bond)

#39. WHITE DRESS

by Dunes

I forget, what were my dreams?

Come to the end, what have I seen?

It is surprisingly hard to find out a lot about New Zealand’s sisterly duo Dunes using generic searches like Dunes/Dunes Music/Dunes Music New Zealand/Dunes Album and so on and so forth. Sure they’re generic searches, but when your an act with a song as good as ‘White Dress’ you should be getting bombarded with search hits relating to how amazing said act is. Those words, those dreamy vocals, the hopeless romanticism of it all... they need to know the air you breathe, people. Why won’t you let them? Dunes count Florence Welch amongst their growing fan base and if it’s good enough for Florence it’s good enough for us all. I'm pretty sure that's international law. (Matt Bond)

#38. CLOSE ENOUGH

by Alexander Biggs

You're making sense to me

Feels like I can see, the forest for the trees...

Oh my gosh this is lovely. This is just lovely. The twisting and turning guitars, the percussion that drives but doesn’t overtake, the swing along sing song melody and the sweet, sweet lyrics; “feels like I can see forest for the trees and they grow in your vicinity”. Alexander Biggs manages that magical balance between confident yet humble throughout his music and he somehow makes it seem so easy to get lost within the storybook feel of his songs, if I could literally step inside any song on this countdown, this could be the one. (Jo Michelmore)

#37. MR LA DI DA DI

by Baker Boy

God dam, not breaking a sweat

Walking with a bounce in my step.

There’s about a billion things I want to write about Baker Boy and how important he and artists like him are to the Australian music landscape, and, as music is pretty much everything, how important he and artists like him are to Australian society in general, but then I always come back to that exact point, which is that music is pretty much everything. Which means that I can say or write a bazillion things about the impressiveness and importance of Danzal Baker, aka Baker Boy; but the most important thing is this. He writes and performs really good songs and if you’re not moving by the end of ‘Mr La Di Da Di’, you may want to check your pulse. You feeling ok? (Jo Michelmore)

#36. PYNK

by Janelle Monae ft. Grimes

Let's count the ways we could make this last forever.

No, it’s not just that song with the vagina pants video. Yes, it is that song. But Janelle Monae’s ‘PYNK’ is so much more. No, it’s not just about lady parts, but sure there is a delightful amount of time dedicated to female anatomy in the verses and that’s totally fine considering a whole bunch of us were brought into the world via lady business, yeah? Even if 'PYNK' was just that vagina song with the vagina pants video, that would be okay too. In 2018 we can listen to a great pop song about vaginas and the world won't fall apart. On a reasonable list of all the things that are making the world fall apart, this song wouldn't be on it. Janelle Monae wants to make the world a better, more inclusive place through her art and music and she's doing a mighty fine job of achieving her goals. Oh, and about those vagina pants (technically vulva trousers), you might find it as lovely as I do that some of the dancers aren't wearing them because Monae doesn't believe, "that all women need to possess a vagina to be a woman," and if that's not a lovely shout out to those that identify as women then I don't know what is. The part of the song including the following words is just the bestest thing ever too. “I wanna fall through the stars, getting lost is my favourite part, let’s count the ways we could make this last forever.” (Matt Bond)

#35. DOWNTOWN SHUTDOWN

by The Presets

Downtown shutdown, I can feel it

It's coming over, turnin' my lights out.

Take your standard/amazing Presets brand of eclectic, electronic soundscapes and throw in a gospel choir from Shepparton and you get the magical ride that is 'Downtown Shutdown'. Like the majority of their most memorable tunes, The Presets want you to take more from the song than just a strong desire to get wasted and dance the night away. You could totally do that with 'Downtown Shutdown', don't get me wrong, but you can do that while also remembering this was written in reaction to Sydney's controversial lockout laws that have essentially killed off the Kings Cross entertainment district. You want to enjoy the music for what it is, go for it. You want to enjoy the music for the message and the protest party vibes, you can do that too. The Presets continue to cater to all. (Matt Bond)


Firstly, let me get my rant out of the way: lock out laws are ridiculous. They are a bandaid solution. I've more to say on that, but I've got words about songs to write, so; end rant. Now to the song, which is a healthy reaction to said lockout laws. One of my closest friends saw The Presets play earlier this year, and enjoyed it immensely, but I cannot listen to this song, or any of The Presets 2018 album, Hi Vis, without thinking of my beautiful friend, who sent me a message days later, stating; “I just realised why so many people were wearing tradie shirts at that gig”. Did they start a revolution of tradie hi visibility safety fashion with this album? I’m not sure, but this is probably my favourite track from said album. (Jo Michelmore)

#34. I LIKE IT

by Cardi B ft. Bad Bunny and J Balvin

They call me Cardi Bardi, banging body

Spicy mami, hot tamale.

I couldn't tell you all that much about Cardi B. I've listened to some interviews and she is laugh out loud funny with a larger than life personality. From those interviews you can tell she's worked very hard for a very long time to get to where she is. I believe she was on a reality show (?) featuring emerging rap acts. There was a fight between Cardi and maybe Nicki Minaj or Minaj's security guard at a fashion (?) show. She's recently split with a fella called Offset (?) and they had a little one named Kulcha (?). There's a lot of questions there, but there's no question about how infectious her music is. She's been the hottest rap act in all of music this year and a lot of that has to do with her worldwide star-making turn on 'I Like It' featuring Bad Bunny (?) and J Balvin (?). Cardi kills it on her opening verse and the choruses. Misters Bunny and Balvin (?) are there too, but 'I Like It' is all about the lead artist and I think we'll find that the rap game is going to be all about Cardi B for a long time to come. (Matt Bond)  


It’s a countdown of all of 2018. Of course Cardi B was going to feature. I can’t say I know much about her, as I probably don't follow the right celebrity accounts on the socials, or many for that matter, but she's made enough of an impact this year that I know it wouldn't be a 2018 countdown without her. I'm not sure Bad Bunny or J Balvin would have made it without her though. I don’t know who they are. To be honest, I don’t know much about anyone anymore, but I know I’d enjoy a beverage as I listen to this track, because I like it like that (obvious what I did there) and as Matt said to me, we like ALL of the beverages, I mean musics. Damn right we do. (Jo Michelmore)

#33. LADY BLUE

by Emily Wurramara

I wish I could swim here forever

Miss Lady Blue, me and you.

If I knew nothing about Emily Wurramara then with the first notes of ‘Lady Blue’ I may be forgiven for thinking she’s some kind of blues or jazz singer from another time, her stunning voice is from somewhere else, and as it washes over the instrumentation, those constant repeated beats create the exact feeling of the constant rhythm of the ocean that ‘Lady Blue’ is written about. Is this onomatopoeia in a musical sense? Is that how one spells onomatopoeia? I’m unsure if there is such a thing what that would be called, but I do know when I listen to ‘Lady Blue’ I’m sitting by the seaside, I’m watching the waves, and I’m feeling…good. Good. You can’t ask more of a beautiful song than that. (Jo Michelmore)

#32. FURTHER THAN THE PLANES FLY

by Eves Karydas

Shoot, shoot, shoot

I'm so bored of all the talking.

Dammit. I like to be really positive about these songs, because after all they’re a representation of our faves of the year, but I’ve got a problem with this song. Eves Karydas has a voice that is too good. How am I meant to hit those high notes when I’m singing in my car? Huh? I sound like a bad, bad ringtone wailing ‘shoot shoot shoot…further than the planes fly” in my highest squeaky mouse tone, which Miss Karydas hits with not a concern in the world and sounds more magnificent than mouse. This kind of confident pop is going to take Eves K a long long way. Planes fly a long way but Eves Karydas voice flies higher. (Jo Michelmore)

#31. ALL THE STARS

by Kendrick Lamar ft. SZA

Love, let's talk about love

Is it anything and everything you hoped for?

Or do the feeling haunt you?

I know the feeling haunt you.

WAKANDA FOREVER... part 2! I think it's universally acknowledged that Kendrick Lamar is brilliant and that's exactly what he was throughout the entire Black Panther soundtrack. But especially on 'All Of The Stars'. So yeah, Kendrick Lamar's awesome. But let's talk about SZA, who completely owns every moment she appears throughout the track. The second half of the song really belongs to her and as that booming SZA delivered chorus finishes up the track, you're left wanting to hear so much more from her. The shots of SZA dancing her way through the stars in the video are gorgeous too. I just want to keep saying SZA. Is that because I was only recently told it's pronounced 'sizza'. Yes. Yes it is. (Matt Bond)