1. YG f/ 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj - "Big Bank"
"Big Bank" got a pretty negative reaction when it was first released, I think largely because of the beat, which sounds like DJ Mustard almost making a joke of doing the dinkiest Nerf version of his signature production style possible. But more than that, I think things like French Montana's "Pop That" and most DJ Khaled singles have kind of conditioned people to expect that if you have 4 rap stars on one track, the beat is going to be this big loud eventful thing. And I'm kind of happy that "Big Bank" kind of powered through early skepticism to become YG's biggest solo hit, the beat grew on me and every verse is good -- as someone who never wants to say anything nice about Big Sean, especially when he's on a song with 2 Chainz, I gotta give him credit, Sean did his thing. I also like how the really loud fire alarm klaxon sounds out at the end of the song that feels totally incongruous with the beat but for some reason works as a good closing. Here's the 2018 singles playlist I update every month. 

2. King Princess - "1950"
This song is on the pop charts all over Europe and Australia but just kinda grazed the top 20 of the alternative chart here and I'm annoyed that it didn't get bigger in America, it's really quite beautiful. 

3. Jacquees - "You" 
Jacquees's debut album 4275 came out in June and is one of my favorite albums of the year but it really feels like it didn't get much attention, his single that was big a year earlier "B.E.D." is on it but none of the new songs on the album made much noise. Instead, his collaborations with Dej Loaf and TK Kravitz got more airplay this year, and his remix of Ella Mai's "Trip" got a lot of buzz online, particularly after Ella's label had his version taken down. And people that apparently don't even know Jacquees just released the album have been roasting him about it and telling him to make original songs instead of remixing other people's songs, it's weird. Amidst all this, Cash Money decided to start promoting "You," one of several Jacquees songs from February's soundtrack to the Cash Money documentary Before Anythang, and it's not a bonus track on 4275 picking up steam at radio, so the album may not be DOA after all. And I'm kinda glad they rescued this song from obscurity, the chorus ("I'd rather be with you and all your bullshit") is kind of an oddly poignant observation about how when you fall in love, you'd rather have a complicated relationship with that person than a simple relationship with anyone else. 

4. 5 Seconds Of Summer - "Youngblood"  
When 5 Seconds Of Summer blew up a few years ago, it was kind of novel that this pop punk band who played instruments were touring with One Direction and being put in the same spaces as pop stars and vocal groups. But on their 3rd album, they finally gave in and went Maroon 5 and let a bunch of Top 40 producers and songwriters assemble a bunch of mostly programmed sounds for their records. And the album has mixed results but generally I think their factory-generated music is a little better than the band's true sound and "Youngblood" is probably one of the best things they've done, a deserving first top 10 hit in America.

5. Ari Lennox - "Whipped Cream" 
Ari Lennox is a singer signed to J. Cole's label who's from Washington, D.C., so I don't think this song gets played other places as much as it gets spins in D.C., but I like it, it's really grown on me lately.

6. Florence + The Machine - "Hunger" 
A couple weekends ago I took my wife to see Florence + The Machine and it was fantastic, I'm more of a casual fan than her but it was easily one of the best concerts I've seen in the past couple years, just an amazing vocalist with an 8-piece band building as much drama and catharsis out of her big orchestral pop songs as possible. And the show opened with the same 1-2 of "June" and "Hunger" as her latest album, with her practically running from one end of the stage to the other while singing the latter. The hardest working person besides Florence at these concerts is probably the guy who has to keep the spotlight on her while she's moving around. So that's what I'll always think of now when I hear "Hunger." 

7. Mary J. Blige - "Only Love"  
Strength Of A Woman was a great comeback moment for Mary and I'm glad she's coming right back with a new single a year later with a production team as good as Pop & Oak who I don't think she's ever worked with before. And it's cool that this song samples '70s Philly soul group First Choice, because "Pop" Wansel is the son of a Gamble & Huff staff songwriter from that scene and Mary J. covered one of their songs on one of her '90s albums. 

8. Kygo f/ Miguel - "Remind Me To Forget"
Miguel is such an incredible and versatile vocalist that I think it's almost a waste that he's merely a major R&B star and not a bigger crossover figure. So I like seeing stuff like the song he did for the Coco soundtrack and this song with EDM star Kygo create some little moments where he kind of reaches beyond his established fanbase. This song sounds a little too much like the crappy Kygo song with Selena Gomez but it's still pretty good beyond that. 

9. Meek Mill f/ Jeremih and PNB Rock - "Dangerous"
Once upon a time I thought Meek Mill's biggest selling point was how much volume and energy his biggest records had, how even his milder radio records like "Amen" weren't too soft and that he was letting Wale handle MMG's R&B lane. So it's amusing that a half decade later, Meek's R&B singles do better than Wale's or even Rick Ross's. PNB Rock's voice is so weird, I'm surprised and almost annoyed that he actually sounds good on here blending his voice with Jeremih's. And it's perhaps even more surprising that Yung Berg has kind of created a solid 2nd career as a producer (now called Hitmaka) and I hear his producer tag on the radio all the time. 

10. Imagine Dragons - "Natural" 
I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that Imagine Dragons are more or less the most successful rock band of the 2010s and probably aren't going away anytime soon. So as much as I hated all 3 of the big hits from last year's Evolved and feel like they've just continue to steamroll the charts with several new singles this year and "Natural," the lead single from another album due out in a few weeks, I actually like "Natural" more than almost anything they've done to date. It's kind of got a little more speed and propulsion to it than their other big loud drum-driven songs like "Believer." 

The Worst Single of the Month: Weezer - "Africa"
I thought Weezer kind of rode things out as a decent singles act in their second decade but in the last few years it felt like they finally became a really hollow, worthless self-parody. So it pains me so much that they managed to game the pop charts with a big comeback hit by simply appeasing the request of a viral tweet that asked them to cover a big cheesey '80s song. But at least they kind of trolled the idea by releasing a cover of the Toto hit that I actually like, "Rosanna," first. 

This entry was posted on Monday, October 15, 2018 at 1:01 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.