From 2004 to 2008 it was my habit to make a compilation of the twenty best songs I heard first during that year. After nearly ten years off, the music I heard in 2018 inspired me enough to put the work into making a new mix. This year, rather than linking each mp3 individually I’ve decided to present it as a single mp3 (link removed in 2020, contact me if you’d like a copy).
As i was whittling the list down from about 80 contenders, I noticed that lyrics played a big role in what made the cut. 2018 has been a rough year for me, full of change and hardships as well as personal leaps. Nearly all of these songs are ones that resonated with my emotional landscape in some way, and I find every one of these songs sonically engaging. The track-list below includes my favorite lyric from each song.
I hope you’ll download and listen and tell me what you think.
Listen to “twenty from eighteen” on spotify
1. The Man Who Has Everything – Chance the Rapper
“please, man, we need some freeze pops”
2. Need A Little Time – Courtney Barnett
“I’m sorry that I lost my patience. you deserve better, It’s true”
3. The Return – Logic
“And all that superficial shit you love I’m just not into”
4. everything (feat. The-Dream & Kanye West) – Nas
“See cause you’ve never been the same as anyone else, don’t think the same as everyone else”
5. Lifting You – Michael Blume
“You gotta trust your insides, you gotta fuck with your own shine”
6. These Days – Manwolves
“I am getting so tough, but it’s getting so rough”
7. Loading Zones – Kurt Vile
“Cause I walk the beat like I’m the mayor of some god-forsaken town”
8. Thinking About Leaving – Mooneye
“I’ve seen it all before my eyes”
9. C’est La Vie No.2 – Phosphorescent
“I don’t wait up for days for your voice to answer to me no more.”
10. Fall Apart – Scott Orr
“I still feel like i did when we were just starting out”
11. If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead – James Blake
“as much as it feels as though (as though) your dead (dead)”
12. Fly – Low
“I don’t know, and I don’t mind”
13. Cómo Me Quieres – Khruangbin
14. Quand on arrive en ville – Fhin
“On prend tout c’qu’on peut prend en attendant, Quand on arrive en”
15. Nanã – Polo & Pan
16. What the Hell – So Percussion
17. Pay No Mind – Beach House
“Not dumber just a little bit older”
18. Gonna Love Me – Teyana Taylor
“I’m sorry if I made you feel less than you are”
19. Parking Lot – Anderson .Paak
“Alone in my own thoughts, enough is enough”
20. Reborn – KIDS SEE GHOSTS
“Had so much on mind, i didn’t know where to go”