top 40 of 2018 | 10-1

10. Fickle Friends - "Glue"

Some damn fine retro-tinged pop coming out of Brighton, England. I had to pick this one up on cassette not just because the packaging was so cute, but is there any better medium on which to listen to music like this?

9. Gigi Rowe - "Got That"

I love that music written specifically for video games is becoming a thing, and even though this isn't really in that exact spirit, it counts! I was absolutely blown away by this when I came across it in Just Dance 2018. It recalls everything that was so perfect about mid-'80s R&B-flavored dancepop like Deniece Williams' soundtrack hit "Let's Hear It For The Boy" and Five Star's criminally underrated "If I Say Yes". And come on -- how cute is she?!

8. Troye Sivan - "Bloom"

I gushed in the last post about how Troye's debut single from this album was his emergence as a true pop star, but this second single and title track took things very quickly to full blossom: It's the right proper butt sex anthem that the world didn't know it needed. I had absolutely nothing like Troye growing up, so I'm very thankful for his existence for today's queer youth. The video is a perfect complement, too -- even driving home its early '90s motif by being shot in 4x3.

7. Christine & the Queens ft. Dâm-Funk - "Girlfriend"

A funny, funky twist on the concept of masculinity. We in the queer community often preach about how men often need to be more in touch with their femininity, but what about the inverse? Bring on the butchies!

6. Anna Burch - "Tea-Soaked Letter"

An absolutely perfect little indie pop-rock romp that made me realize how badly I was missing this specific sound from my college radio days. The melodic structure of this song is so damn well-written, right from the very first note, when she comes in singing the harmony instead of the melody that you expect.

Side note: I actually heard this for the first time while I was peeing in a restaurant bathroom, and I used my free hand to Shazam it -- a fact that I didn't necessarily have to tweet to and share with Ms. Burch, but I did anyway. Don't worry; she thought it was funny.

5. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - "The Punishment of Luxury"

Listen, I'm just as surprised as anyone that frickin OMD is showing up on my year-end top songs list in 2018 CE, but I had the grand fortune of seeing them live back in March, and they simply killed it. The first time I actually heard this song, the title track from their most recent album, was at that show, performed live, and it sounded just as good then as it does on the album. I've caught myself countless times the rest of this year humming this melody!

4. Jack Antonoff & MØ - "Never Fall In Love"

This is from the soundtrack to one of my favorite movies this year, Love, Simon. I wish Jack and MØ would do an entire album of synthpop like this!

3. Pale Waves - "Television Romance"

I'm so glad that there's still a new wave scene (if you know where to find it, anyway)! Manchester's Pale Waves absolutely crushed it with this one - every note, both played and sung, is perfect.

Worth noting: There are two mixes of this song, and I prefer the one used in the video to the one on the album.

2. Betty Who - "Just Thought You Should Know"

Betty Who is one of those artists who I stan more out of image or politics than the actual music. She blew me away with "High Society" from her debut EP in 2013, but I've never come close to loving any of her other songs like I loved that one, until now.

What so spine-tinglingly delicious about this track is the way it progresses from a quiet pop whisper into a pop punch. When it starts, you're nodding your head with her, but by the one-minute mark, it's "DAMN! Ok then Betty!!"

1. Kim Petras - "Heart To Break"

I honestly don't know what else to say about this except that it's literally a perfect dancepop song, and that I hope Kim has a long and fruitful career.