Flashback 2018- 5 Best Songs Of The Year

The number of new songs released every day makes creating a list like this an act of madness. Even compared to the ever-growing stockpile of TV shows that appear on cable and streaming services or the amount of movies that debut in theaters and on Netflix, songs are nearly infinite. By the time you finish reading this paragraph, a teenage rapper might have just dropped the next viral hit. A veteran pop star might have returned with a new single. Your favorite indie band from high school might've just gotten back together.

* "Make Me Feel," Janelle Monáe

Over the last 10 years, Janelle Monáe has carved out her own moon crater on the often rocky surface of popular culture. On albums like 2010's The Archandroid and 2013's The Electric Lady, she deftly played the role of a robot sent from the future. In 2016, she had significant roles in both Moonlight and Hidden Figures, two movies that introduced her style, wit, and gift for drama to even larger audiences. "Make Me Feel," the better of the two excellent singles she's released for her next record Dirty Computer, feels like the next step in her evolution and the latest move in her quest for world domination. Drawing inspiration from her mentor Prince, who reportedly contributed the synth part on the song, she's concocted a rhythmically nimble and sexually fluid piece of electro-pop candy.

* "Space Cowboy," Kacey Musgraves

"You can have your space, cowboy," sings Kacey Musgraves on this clever, moving ballad of romantic estrangement. Marching through symbolic territory picked over by Steve Miller and Clint Eastwood, the 29-year-old country singer finds a new spin on an old turn-of-phrase, kicking the dust off it with ease. As you'll quickly figure out, the "space" in the song isn't interstellar. Instead, she's thinking about the way the "sunsets fade" and "love does too." The pause she puts between "space" and "cowboy" works like a knife, cutting a cliché in two.

* "Middle America," Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

By now, Stephen Malkmus is a reliable American institution. In the years since the break-up of the beloved indie rock group Pavement, he's made six albums with his backing band the Jicks and, while fans can argue over their favorite, each record is sturdy and playful in a way that's rare for an aging guitar god. "Middle America," the first new Jicks material in four years, finds him in a reflective mood. "Time gets to me," he warbles at multiple points, drawing you into a calming web of poetic observations, pastoral images, and plainspoken advice like "open the door and piss if you need to." It's the sound of a curious mind untroubled by its place in the world.

* "No Tears Left to Cry," Ariana Grande

For her first single since the tragic Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, pop diva Ariana Grande chose a title that appears maudlin on first glance. You can almost hear the syrupy strings when you read the words. But the actual song she's crafted here is a hypnotic, UK garage-influenced banger that chooses defiance over sentiment. Being all cried out, emotionally spent after hours of grief, becomes a form of strength. She wears her pain like armor here, and is supported by crisp, dance-ready production that makes the catharsis feel earned.

* "Hurt to Look," Swae Lee

On hits like "No Flex Zone," "No Type," and "Black Beatles," Mississippi rap group Rae Sremmurd sounded like the life of the party. But there was always a melancholy quality to even their most raucous songs, a sense that the unending debauchery was also a coping mechanism. "Hurt to Look," the new single from the group's break-out Swae Lee, is a more direct engagement of that sensitive side. Lines like "I can feel the weight of what you say" and "Colors burst and all I see are shapes" give the airy R&B song a drug-addled Before Sunrise vibe, which is aided by the smeared, hazy-eyed production. It may hurt to look but it feels great to listen.