Here they are, QX’s top (and bottom, and vers) tunes of 2018.
Look, so all other publications seem to be doing a LIST of their top tunes of 2018, and because we haven’t had an original thought since Mighty Hoopla, we thought we’d copy them and do the same. We’re nothing if not honest!
It HAS been a particularly good year for music, tbf. Yes, the charts are getting progressively shitter, but who cares about the charts these days really. We’ve been listening to CULT stuff because we’re SO COOL. With some more mainstream stuff thrown in as well.
We Appreciate Power – Grimes
This one really does beggar belief. It’s an absolute racket. A pill-popping, Doc Marten- cracking, tights-ripping racket. It’s also – allegedly – about Elon Musk, and the whole concept of a song about Elon Musk is so ridiculous that we can’t help but love it.
VIP – Dorian Electra
Dorian is a truly 2018 popstar – trendy, trippy and trending! They’re all about metallic jackets and bouncy, techno inspired beats. Their bolschy, tongue-in-cheek single “VIP” is a great one to play while getting ready and knocking back a vodka orange before the club.
24/7 – Le Fil
We’ve been going on about this ever since it hit streaming sites back in late summer. It’s a glorious, molasses-voiced, eighties-ish queer banger, sung by Chinese/Leeds lass, Le Fil! We say “lass” – Fil defies gender and genre! There are some great lyrics. Our personal fave is “You know I’m fully stocked, you better shop ‘til you drop.” What a LYRIC.
Fuego – Eleni Foureira
WHAT a summer tune! Every so often a song comes along that grips the gay community and becomes a sort-of flash in the pan cult hit, for a few weeks, and then just disappears. A bit like that ‘Really rude to Sandra’ video. Fuego was Cyprus’s Eurovision entry this year, and it’s got it all – hair flips, bouncy beats and a killer chorus!
No Tears Left To Cry – Ariana Grande
A gorgeously produced, deftly defiant release from the now untouchable Ariana, her first release since the horrors of Manchester Arena. Its genius lies in the fact that it tricks listeners into thinking it’s a mournful ballad, then picks up into an upbeat rejection of terror and oppression. Ten points to Ariana!
Tongue – MNEK
Another bop that defined the glorious queer summer. MNEK’s smooth vocals and some gloriously, sometimes madly up-tempo production make it irresistible. One to bounce around your bedroom to at 4am!
The Man – The Killers
The Killers are that rare thing – an all-male band who are actually GOOD? Weird! Their comfortably modern sound rides the wave between electro and pop/rock, with none of that naff indie crap that was popular a few years ago. In “The Man” they muse on their on toxic masculinity. How meta! Technically this was 2017, but we didn’t discover it until 2018. So there.
Turn Off The Light Vol. 1 – Kim Petras
It’s been a while since we’ve had a Halloween album! And gorge trans pop starlet Kim Petras chucked one out with unapologetic aplomb this year. It’s absolute genius. Song titles include “TRANSylvania” and “Boo, Bitch!” The highlight is definitely the spookily dark “Turn Off The Light” featuring Elvira. ACTUAL ELVIRA.
PYNK – Janelle Monae
Janelle is effortlessly cool, and this song is perhaps the coolest of all her effortlessly cool releases. Grimes produced it, and you can really hear her characteristic plinky, bolschy influence. PYNK is an homage to, well, vaginas. And why not.
Fashion After All – Poppy
Poppy is a popstar who thinks she’s a computer. She apparently genuinely believes she’s a computer. How ridiculous. We’re here for it! Her new album came out in November, and this glossy, silly song about cameras and angles had us living our Gossip Girl fantasy.
Crayons – Cupcakke
From her stonking debut album Ephorize, which didn’t so much drop as DEATHDROP at the beginning of this year, Crayons is a joyfully vulgar homage to gay sex. “Gay guy brave takin’ anal/when he cum that’s like a volcano”. Quite right Cupcakke. Quite right.
Everytime We Touch – Cascada
Truly modern, truly original, groundbreaking, showstopping, never the same, eat on it, shit on it, give birth to it.
