Best of 2018 in Music and Recordings

It is that time of the year where we take a look back and reflect on the best in entertainment.  As I said last week, when I reviewed my picks in Television; it has been a few years since I did this.  I have forgotten how much fun it was reflecting on such things, especially in a year with so much diversity.  Of course, if you go by the Billboard chart you may be a bit disappointed if you think you will find much of anything of merit there.  It has been a rough and repetitive year in "popular" music.  Maybe it is because I am getting older, but a lot of it sounds like crap to me.  If I can be so blunt. 

That being said, there are some gems there and I mostly stumbled upon some diamonds in the rough through friends and family, and people on my various social media platforms.  I create these lists to share with my public what I like, what I feel is the cream of the crop in these various fields of entertainment and my highest of recommendations.  

Per usual, some of my choices may surprise, but for the most part I am proud of my list (narrowed down to 31 entries, from my original shortlist of 62).  I still am baffled when critics can come up with just 10.  It helped me to concentrate on albums.  Childish Gambino's This Is America is actually the only "single" to make my list this year.  The other 30 are albums, audiobooks and a podcast.

All listed in alphabetical order by title.

Enjoy & be entertained.

A lot of these you can listen to (and watch) through dynamic searches on YouTube.  

Post Malone

BEERBONGS AND BENTLEYS

Kendrick Lamar and Various Artists,

BLACK PANTHER - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

Trevor Noah

BORN A CRIME: STORIES FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDHOOD

Beck

COLORS

Questlove

CREATIVE QUEST

Migos

CULTURE II

Dua Lipa

DUA LIPA

Dave Chappelle

EQUANIMITY AND THE BIRD REVELATION

Kane Brown

EXPERIMENT

Jimmy Carter

FAITH - A JOURNEY FOR ALL

Sting & Shaggy

44/876

Leon Bridges

GOOD THING

Various Artists,

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

Jon Batiste

HOLLYWOOD AFRICANS

Cardi B

INVASION OF PRIVACY

Marcus Miller

LAID BACK

Tiffany Haddish

THE LAST BLACK UNICORN

alexander.paak

OXNARD

XXXTentacion

?

Ziggy Marley

REBELLION RISES

Drake

SCORPION

U2

SONGS OF EXPERIENCE

Seal

STANDARDS

Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper & Various Artists

A STAR IS BORN - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

Lil Wayne

THA CARTER V

Bettye LaVette

THINGS HAVE CHANGED

Childish Gambino

THIS IS AMERICA

Luke Combs

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU

John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Alice Cooper, Brandon Victor Dixon & Various Artists,

TIM RICE & ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE IN CONCERT

SOUNDTRACK

Barbra Streisand

WALLS

Miguel

WAR & LEISURE

Drake's SCORPION is Breaking All Sorts of Records ...and Barriers

I thought I lost count when I watched this week's Hot 100 countdown. Not at all hating, but I just don't get it. 27 songs in the Hot 100 - that is almost a third! 7 in the top 10. That is 70%. He has been #1 with 1 of 3 songs non consecutively most of this year, save 3 or 4 weeks. I know he is good, but really? There used to be payola back in the day with radio stations. I just wonder with technology and streaming all being a big part of what charts. It makes me wonder sometimes. This would have never happened back in the day. Not even with The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson or Mariah Carey in her hey day. 

That being said, one does have to take notice of this great accomplishment.  All five of his studio albums have topped the charts and this one, every one of the double album's 25 tracks charted in its first week of release.  I can't find fault in the smart push by his team and record execs for making sure music stream users 'encountered' his album and were able to give it a listen upon its initial release.  Nobody comes close to the ground he is breaking with each passing release.

It will be interesting to see how Grammy voters respond.  He deserves to finally get some recognition in the top General field categories ie Album and Record, maybe even Song of the year.  It took Grammy awhile to even nominate him, let alone give him a win.  He has 3 Grammy wins out of 27 nominations to date.  While I am not his biggest fan, I do appreciate his artistry and respect his ability to attract such mass appeal from a very broad fan base.  

Maybe the industry will not look upon his efforts with jealousy and embrace, even reward his efforts when awards season rolls around.  Sure, he will get a ton of fan base awards like American Music Awards and industry one like Billboard Music Awards, but I am now more interested to see what the Grammy voters do.  Streaming is obviously the future of the industry and rewarding him would be a huge nod to that notion as well.

Just some random thoughts on the current music industry fodder.

--Antonio Cassone

GRAMMY Watch - General Music Categories - Picks & Predictions

The only sure thing about the major categories for this year's Grammy Awards is that Justin Bieber will win Best New Artist, even if I am kicking and screaming about it. Not saying the kid don't have talent, just that at least 2.5 of the nominees seem so obscure that it is kind of a joke to even still have the category, if they are gonna nominate some of these virtual nobodies. Drake technically isn't even a new artist, considering he had TWO PREVIOUS NOMINATIONS last year (this is the reason I made the choice for my pick the way I did)! And where the hell is Kesha?! So, all that being taken into consideration, it is almost like it is by design for Bieber to get the win here.

As for Record, Album and Song - the Academy got ballsy with some of the nominees in these categories - they will either stop it there or go all the way. I say RUN WITH IT!

Please...take the Granny out of Grammy - for once in your lives!

Record of the Year

This has to be one of the best contests ever at the Grammy Awards - there are so many ways they could go.

My Pick: EMPIRE STATE OF MIND - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

Angela Hunte, Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic & Shux, producers;

Ken "Duro" Ifill, Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton & Ann Mincieli,

engineers/mixers

Track from: The Blueprint 3

[Roc Nation]

My Prediction: NOTHIN' ON YOU - B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars

The Smeezingtons, producers; Ari Levine, engineer/mixer

Track from: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

[Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

So, like, where have you gone this past year where you haven't heard these two songs booming out of somebody's speakers. THAT is what Record of the Year should be about. Sure, I could get lazy and predict Lady Antebellum here. Because if the Academy stays safe, as they probably will, then YES, Lady Antebellum will get Record, Song and Album - something tells me that isn't gonna be the case this time around - we already had that surprise sweep a few years back a la Dixie Chicks and haven't heard a peep from them since.

Album of the Year

My Pick & Prediction: Recovery - Eminem [Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

Grammy loves career defining albums and this is one of them. Not counting any of the other nominees out here, just that Eminem has the momentum this year is all.

Song of the Year

My Pick: F*** YOU - Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence & Bruno Mars, songwriters

(Cee Lo Green) [Elektra]

My Prediction: NEED YOU NOW - Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott,

songwriters (Lady Antebellum) (Track from: Need You Now) [Capitol Records Nashville; Publishers: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing/DWHaywood Music/Radiobulletspublishing, EMI

Foray Music/Hillary Dawn Songs, Year of the Dog Music, Darth Buddha Music]

I really will squeal with delight if Cee Lo Green actually wins here. What a statement the Academy would make by embracing this. They may think the nomination is enough. though.

Best New Artist

My Pick: Florence & the Machine (wouldn't mind Drake, although he had 2 nods LAST year)

My Prediction: Justin Bieber

GRAMMY WATCH - Rap Music Categories - Picks & Predictions

I remember when the rap category emerged in the late 1980s and everybody in the industry was thinking it may not last, but a few years. Well, guess what? It is it's own field now with five categories and a lot of the nominees in this field have crossed over into many other fields, including the top four general categories. Eminem is definitely one to watch this year, as he leads all artists with the most nominations (with 10). He has already won a career 11 Grammy Awards in the past and could make a bit of history by getting into the over 20 club. Even if he wins five awards Grammy night, he will be in the elite top ten all-time artists with the most Grammy Award wins. For more on this, check out the article on it at Wikipedia.

Best Rap Solo Performance

My Pick: OVER - Drake (Track from: Thank Me Later) [Cash Money/Young Money/Universal Motown]

My Prediction: NOT AFRAID - Eminem (Track from: Recovery) [Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group

My Pick & Prediction: ON TO THE NEXT ONE - Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz (Track from: The Blueprint 3) [Roc Nation]

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

THREE of the nominees in this category are also nominated for Record of the Year. That has to be historical somehow. This one is so hard to call. I know which one I would vote for, but as to who will actually win - it is a toss up. I based my prediction on how a 'General' voting body of the recording academy may vote. See, voting members of the recording academy vote in the four general categories and can vote in up to no more than eight (8) of the 29 fields of music. So, let's say I were a voting member of the Academy. My field of expertise is Spoken Word, but I have also dabbled in a bit of music theory and know a thing or two about other fields of music. So I would vote for the top four general categories and my field of Spoken Word, but I would also be able to vote in Pop, Rap, R&B, Classical, Production, etc. up to seven more fields. So, honey, someone from Streisand to Swizz Beatz could vote from Pop to Rap to Country to Gospel in two seconds flat - so, I had to really think that process through when predicting this category (and some other ones too) . So, keep that in mind before complaining, if one of your favorite artists doesn't win come Awards night.

My Pick: EMPIRE STATE OF MIND - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys (Track from: The Blueprint 3

[Roc Nation]

My Prediction: LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - Eminem & Rihanna (Track from: Recovery)

[Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

BUT, part of me thinks Nothin' On You, too...ugh... lol - see what I mean? Ha!

Best Rap Song

My Pick: EMPIRE STATE OF MIND - Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Burt Keyes, Alicia Keys, Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic & Alexander Shuckburgh, songwriters

(Sylvia Robinson, songwriter) (Jay-Z & Alicia Keys) (Track from: The Blueprint 3)

[Roc Nation; Publishers: Carter Boys Music/Al Shuckburgh/Global Talent Publishing/Foray Music/Masani Elshabazz Music/EMI April Music/J Sewell Publishing/Lellow

Productions/Twenty Nine Black Music/Gambi Music]

My Prediction: LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem & Rihanna) (Track from: Recovery) [Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope; Publishers: Songs of Universal/Shroom Shady Music/Universal Music

Publishing/Universal Music-Z Songs/Hotel Bravo Music/M. Shop Publishing]

Love the Way You Lie is the only song in this category nominated for Song of the Year, so it seems logical to think it will win here. However, two songs by Eminem from his Recover album are nominated in this category. He may cancel himself out. It is too bad because Not Afraid seems like such an anthem to me. Nothin' On You could also rain on his parade here too. Something about the pop feel to that tune makes me think it will resonate with more Academy voters. These rap cats will be close though, throughout - and I love it. It says a lot about a music genre that so many were so against early on.

Best Rap Album

My Pick: HOW I GOT OVER - The Roots [Def Jam Recordings]

Hey, what can I say? Jimmy Fallon's late night gab fest is one of my favorite shows and The Roots do so well as his band. I gotta show them some love. Just plain, good BAND music. Love them for their style. They truly have their own sound that sets them apart from their contemporaries, but let;s face it... We know there is a shoo-in in this category hands down...

My Prediction: RECOVERY - Eminem [Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

Only Jay-Z could pull an upset here, and it would be deservedly so.

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be telecast live on Sunday, February 13, 2011 on CBS at 8pm, EST. For complete coverage and a full list of nominees, please visit the Grammy website.