The Best Music of 2018

As promised last Friday I am going to come to you all this week with my top 5 things in sports, movies, music, tv and podcasts. These lists were a bit more difficult than usual because I am very set in my ways now. I also don't get out to the movies as much, but I have seen enough to make a list. I like doing this every year though, and that has not changed at all. I'm also ready to hear why I am wrong for the top 5 things that I have picked.

Today I am going to start with my top 5 albums/music that happened in 2018. I will count down from 5 to one. It also needs to be said that my list is different from others. You will see what I am talking about as I get into my top 5 music of the year. Lets get started.

At number 5 I have the three song EP released on Spotify this year by the band Heartbones. I heard about Heartbones since I am a fan of Har Mar Superstar. I follow pretty much all the music stuff he does, and when I heard he was going to team up with Sabrina Ellis, and do the songs of "Dirty Dancing" live, I was intrigued. Unfortunately for me I did not get to see them live, but I was blessed with the three songs they put out. The songs are also originals, they are not covers from "Dirty Dancing". I love these songs. They have that 80's synth sound, but made to sound more modern. Har Mar is perfect for this type music. He is a pop singer. His voice is perfect for that style music. And he shines on these 3 tracks. I had never heard of Sabrina Ellis until now, but she rules. Her voice is also great for this style pop music. These 3 songs I can listen to in the car with the kids, and they sing and dance along with them. I love these 3 tracks. I cannot wait to see what they come up with when they do eventually put out a full album. If the rest of the tracks are 1/3 as good as "Little Dancer", "Disappearer" and "This Time it's Different", it will most likely end up on my top 5 albums of 2019. If you are a fan of either Har Mar or Sabrina Ellis, or well made pop music in general, check out this 3 song EP. It rules.

At number 4 I do have a full album, and it is a soundtrack. That album is "Sorry to Bother You" by the Coup. First things first, this is not the same record with the same name that came out in 2012. I like that record to, but this is the soundtrack to a movie that you will definitely hear more about on Wednesday. But, the soundtrack to the movie is all new material from one of our greatest hip hop groups. Boots Riley and the Coup come just as hard on this record as they do on every other one they have released. The opener, "OYAHYTT" comes at you hard. It gets you ready for the rest of the record. Boots Riley crushes the vocals, and the guitar in the song is perfect. LaKeith Stanfield also crushes his verse on the song. It is a great table setter. From there on out we get great songs featuring people like tUnE yArDs, Janelle Monae, Killer Mike and E-40. It's a relative who's who of hip hop and R&B. This soundtrack comes hard, it makes me want to watch the movie and is a good, 9 song rap record. The Coup always do good stuff, and this record is no different. It's awesome.

At number 3 I have Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats "Tearing at the Seams". This record is amazing. I loved his first record, but I was hesitant on the second. I am always hesitant on second records from people who's first record I cherish. But a friend of mine, who's musical taste I very much trust, texted me and told me it was one of the best records he had listened to in quite some time. That night I downloaded the record and listened to it three times. It was, and still is, amazing. Rateliff and his band totally crush this record. It is so good. It is a shift in the alt rock genre of music. Rateliff has that gruff voice that I love in rock music. His band is amazing. The addition of the horn section was phenomenal. The way the record is sequenced is perfect. The fact that he has a song called "Intro" that comes in the middle of the record is one of my favorite things about it. This is a record I go back to every month or so and remember why I like it so much. It is such a good modern rock record. Rateliff and his band are on a big time upward trajectory. Now I cannot wait to see what they do next. I will have no trepidations when they put out their third record. I will listen to it the day it comes out. For the time being though, I have "Tearing at the Seams", and that makes me very, very happy.

At number 2 I have more of moment than an entire record or EP. But, "This is America" is a seminal moment in music, and out current culture, and it fully deserves to be on my top 5 music list for 2018. When Donald Glover, AKA Childish Gambino, released this song and video, you could feel a shift in political hip hop music. It is such an important song, but the video puts it over the top. That video is astonishing. It is haunting. It is terrifying and it is all true. Glover and director Hiro Murai knew exactly what they were doing this when they released it. I still, many months later, go back and watch this video from time to time. I listen to the song almost daily, especially when I exercise. It is such an important piece of music and art. It will be remembered for years to come. I would bet a good amount of money that my kids will study this song and video when they are in high school and college. Everything about "This is America" will be historically acclaimed and remembered. It is the most important piece of pop culture to come out in 2018.

And my number one record, and it is only ahead of "This is America" is because it is a full record, I have Pusha T's "Daytona". This record is the perfect hip hop record. Pusha T, from the start, crushes all the songs. He puts himself at, or near, the top of current emcee's. The opener, "If You Know You Know" has one of the best beats I have ever heard on a rap song. And Pusha crushes with his rhyming. And in a short 25-30 minutes he touches on so many important things and he nails it all. What stands out most is his "diss" track of the highly overrated Drake, and he doesn't even have to mention his name. We all know exactly who he is talking about, and like only he can do, he pulls it off without even mentioning him. I grew up listening to Clipse, they were one of the first real hip hop groups I devoured, and to see where Pusha T is now makes me so happy. "Daytona" is wonderful. I listen to this record all the way through once a week. Usually when I run. It is a perfect hip hop record. It has anything and everything a hip hop fan could want, and it is short and to the point. I love this record. I have not heard anything nearly as good as "Daytona". It is number one, and it is number one with a bullet. This record rules. It is, by far, the best record of 2018.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 TV shows of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to wait on his best music list to see if Run the Jewels did another surprise album drop just before the new year. Only a few hours left guys.

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Ty Listens to Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats New Album "Tearing at the Seams"

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats released their much anticipated second album about a week ago, and I'm here to tell you today that it was totally worth the wait.

I loved their first record. I love Rateliff's gruff voice. I love the way his band plays the music. They sound tight, and they can play that bluesy folk music almost as good as The Black Keys. Granted, I was very late to them the first time around, I am glad that I decided to give this band a try. I had kind of cooled on them after hearing their first record, and the song "Son of a Bitch" over and over again. Their record came out over a week ago, but I was still late to this one as well. I hadn't bought it yet because, to be quite frank, I had forgotten they were making a second one. But, a buddy of mine texted me the other day and said that their record was his favorite record right now. I trust this guy's opinion because he is a good friend, and we have very similar music tastes. So, that night after receiving his message, I bought the record. Now I am going to tell you all about it.

The new album is called "Tearing at the Seams" by the way. I decided that I would wait until the following day to give it a listen. I figured if my buddy said it was good, it would be, but I could wait. Well, since I bought it this past Saturday, I have been listening to it on repeat. This record, from top to bottom is truly wonderful. They sound so, so good. From the opening track to the closer, every song is perfect. I knew from the first note of the opening track, "Shoe Boot", that I was fully in on this record. When those horns come in, and the band plays with them, it is so uniquely Rateliff and his band. Then, after the almost 2 minute instrumental intro, Rateliff breaks into song, and the rest of the song rules. It is the PERFECT opener to a record like this, with a band that sounds like this. From there on out it is stunning. Immediately following "Shoe Boot", we get a great throwback R&B song that could have easily been recorded at Stax. The song is called "Be There", and it is amazing. Rateliff channels his inner 70's soul singer voice and crushes the vocals. The band plays a simple 4/4 rhythm, but it wonderful attached to the lyrics. A few songs later we get "Say It Louder", which sounds like one of the sweeter songs on the record. It is a great, but sad song, put to upbeat music. It is kind of fun to dance to I might add. "Say it Louder" is then followed by a very, very sweet song, "Hey Mama". I love this tune so much. It has excellent vocals and great piano playing attached to the rest of the instruments. And when the horns come in, I get chills every time I hear it. There are 2 songs featuring Lucius, "Babe I Know" and "Coolin Out". They couldn't be more different, but in all the right ways. "Babe I know" is one of the more tender songs on the record. It is played slowly and sweetly. "Coolin Out" has that Stax feel again, equipped with background singers doo the "shoo shoo" stuff. It is awesome. The title track, "Tearing at the Seams" is a thing of beauty. It is perfectly sung by Rateliff. Only he could pull off the vocals needed for a song like this. In fact, this song reminds me so much of something that The Band would have recorded back in the 70's, and I adore The Band. That is a very, very big compliment. I cannot understate enough how beautiful and classic this song sounds. "I'll Be Damned" is a great way to follow up the epic "Tearing at the Seams". It is more upbeat, faster paced and fun. This might be my favorite song to dance to on the record. My daughter also loves to jump up and down when this track plays. This also sounds most like stuff off his first record, in a good way. And closing the record out is the excellent "Boiled Over". It is such a good closer. It is slower and lets the band shine with how they play ballads. But, this track is a showcase for Rateliff's awesome and different singing style. He sings the hell out of this song. It is so god damn good. In fact, this whole record rules.

The songs I singled out today are the ones I really, really like. But, I like the whole record. This is a triumph. This record has me excited to see them live, and to see where they go from here. "Tearing at the Seams" is pretty much the perfect record for this genre of music. Seriously people, if you like Rateliff, want to check him out, or are just looking for some bluesy/folksy/old school R&B music to check out, buy this record now. It is totally worth it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time asked the Head Editor if he wanted to play some blues. The Head Editor declined, something about that music depresses him.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.