NPR Music Staff Picks: The Best Of 2018
We all process a year differently. That's why, as we wave goodbye to 2018, even though NPR Music has already published our collective lists of the best albums and songs of the year, we're sharing some favorites that are a little more personal. Below, instead of aiming for consensus, we've collected picks from many individual members of NPR Music's team — over 100 albums, songs, concerts, books, breakfasts and more — that warmed, widened, haunted or lit up our own little corners of the world.
World Cafe Host Talia Schlanger's Year-End Wish For 2018
In my job, I talk to a different musician pretty much every day. And regardless of age, genre, level of fame or politics, speak with any artist long enough and you'll likely find that what motivates people to make music is the desire to make connections. My favorite music changes all the time, and so my year-end list is a year-end wish. I hope you have found at least one piece of music that's made you feel more connected in 2018. And I hope you can find some way to tell the person who made that piece of music that they matter to you. You can send them a letter. You can tweet at them. You can buy a ticket to their upcoming concert. You can support the charity they founded. You can give their album to your aunt for Christmas. You can simply say their name in your apartment right now and quietly wish them well (Neko Case, thank you for helping me untangle some of my own yarns with the ones you spun this year). Musicians are helpers. Thanks to all the helpers.
12 Things That Haunted Rodney Carmichael In 2018
When I look back on 2018, it won't be the music I loved but the music I found myself haunted by that will define the year for me. It's a reflection of how stark these times are — politically and culturally. So here are the 12 things — from albums to a range of performances — that shocked, stoked and unsettled my spirit in 2018.
1. Saba's eulogy of an album 2. Tierra Whack's afro-surreal visual escapade 3. Noname's absurdist on 4. Juice WRLD's depressing, drugged-out, teen break-up album 5. J. Cole's existentialist antidote to addiction, 6. Kanye's spineless appeal to the president in the Oval Office7. Mac Miller's fated of "2009"8. Tekashi 6ix9ine's masterclass in trolling showcased on two appearances9. Leikeli47's unmasked choreopoem for colored girls, 10. Royce Da 11. Childish Gambino's visual apocalypse "This Is America"12. Lonnie Holley's ghostly meditation on America's history of racial oppression,
