Azure Blue - Shine On

I dedicate this year-end track to all the readers of Ooberus Oblivious!  Keep on shining into & through 2019 and I promise to do the same!
Happy New Year!!  Here's to POP music and to LOVE!!
(Azure Blue has a new album coming in March 2019!  That is amazing news!)

2018 Movies of the Year

1. Eighth Grade

2.  Hereditary

3.  Tully

4.  The Wife

5.  A Quiet Place

6.  BlacKkKlansman

7.  Can You Ever Forgive Me?

8.  Vox Lux

9.  We the Animals

10.  Won't You Be My Neighbor?

11.  New Wave: Dare to Be Different

12.  Pick of the Litter

13.  Disobedience

14.  Blindspotting

Cigarettes After Sex - Neon Moon

Keep on doing you Cigarettes After Sex...another beauty!

2018 AlbumS of the Year

So this year, I have been listening and listening to these albums, trying to whittle down to my ultimate album of 2018, and well, I could not do it!
2018, you have FOUR #1 Albums of the Year, and that is a beautiful thing!  Four amazing & unique voices in music!  Each one hits a different part of my brain and heart in their own individual ways and together they are my four albums combined, they are MY 2018 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR!!!!

1.  ionnalee - Everyone Afraid to Be Forgotten

1.  Tracey Thorn - Record          

1. Michelle Gurevich - Exciting Times

1.  Dubstar - One                      

2018 Albums of the Year - Part 2

Before my Album of the Year announcement tomorrow, here are the rest of my Top Albums of the Year!!!!

2.  Rush Week - Feels

3.  Battery Operated Orchestra - Snare

4.  Empress Of - Us

5.  Beach House - 7

6.  Azure Blue - Fast Falls the Eventide

7.  Suede - The Blue Hour

8.  Sarah Nixey - Night Walks

9.   Marianne Faithfull - Negative Capability

10.  Get Well Soon - The Horror

11.  Robyn - Honey

12.  Jaakko Eino Kalevi - Out of Touch

13.  Alpaca Sports - From Paris With Love

14.  Roosevelt - Young Romance

15.  Poppy - Am I a Girl?

16.  Still Corners - Slow Air

17.  Hooverphonic - Looking for Stars

18.  Tracyanne & Danny - Tracyanne & Danny

19.  SSION - O

20.  Mikey Collins - Hoick

21.  Taken by Trees - Yellow to Blue

22.  Gorillaz - The Now Now  

2018 Albums of the Year - Part 1

The first half of my favorite albums of the year!!

50.  The Decemberists - I'll Be Your Girl

49.  The Presets - Hi Viz

48.  Gwenno - Le Kov

47.  Eleanor  Friedberger - Rebound

46.  Jenny Wilson - Exorcism

45.  Twin Shadow - Caer

44.  Fine China - Not Thrilled

43.  Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

42.  ACTORS - It Will Come to You

41.  Pastel Ghost - Ethereality

40.  Brazilian Girls - Let's Make Love

39.  The Shacks - Haze

38.  James - Living in Extraordinary Times

37.  Princess Chelsea - The Loneliest Girl

36.  Mitski - Be the Cowboy

35.  Henric de la Cour - Gimme Daggers

34.  The Smittens - City Rock Dove

33.  Elysian Fields - Pink Air

32.  Wild Nothing - Indigo

31.  Watoo Watoo - Modern Express

30.  Red Red Eyes - Horology

29.  MGMT - Little Dark Age

28.  Pinkshinyultrablast - Miserable Miracles

27.  Spiritualized - And Nothing Hurt

26.  Shannon Shaw - Shannon in Nashville

...to be continued tomorrow!

Fred Schneider & the Superions - Laughter at Christmas

If you celebrate, Happy X-mas!  And if not, Happy Day to You!!  I Love You!!

2018 Video of the Year - La Casa Azul

I have a lot of love for this video by La Casa Azul!  It's got all the right emotions & triggers:  heartbreak, happiness, joy, freedom, LOVE and it's all tied up in a lovely POP track!

2018 Video of the Year - Finalists

Here are some of my favorite videos of 2018!  All contenders, but we won't see my ultimate favorite until tomorrow!!

SSION - Comeback


Little Dragon - Lover Chanting


Papa Topa y La Prohibida - Telenovela


Agar Agar - Sorry About the Carpet


Fascinator - Sex Crystals


St. Vincent - Fast Slow Disco


Janelle Monáe - PYNK

2018 EPs of the Year

My favorite EPs of 2018!!  Too bad Hatchie didn't put out an album this year, she could have gone for the clean sweep!!!

1.  Hatchie - Sugar & Spice

2.  Priest - The Lost Lions

3.  The Perfect Kiss - Filter

4.  Saint Etienne - The Surrey EP

5.  Little Boots - Burn

6.  The Marías - Superclean, Vol. II

7.  Nos Miran - Contigo

8. Amber Mark - Conexão 

9.  Yumi Zouma - EP III

10.  Red Sleeping Beauty - Always on Your Side

And the honorable mentions:  
11.  Anemone - Baby Only You & I
12.  Sleep Thieves - Fortress
13.  Lou Rebecca - Lou Rebecca
14.  MUNYA - Delmano EP
15.  Nos Miran - Humo
16.  Soft Regime - Hard Feelings
17.  The Yearning - Take Me All Over the World
18.  El Perro del Mar - We Are History
19.  Chrysta Bell - Chrysta Bell

2018 Song of the Year - Sure by Hatchie

SURE, this track came out at the tail end of 2017, but it wasn't "officially" released until 2018 on Hatchie's amazing debut EP "Sugar & Spice".  And SURE, this song didn't need any more time to make the top of this list and be my favorite track of the year.  I am IN LOVE with it.  The harmonies, the guitars, the lyrics, the beautiful voice...everything is right!!  I'm sure we'll get her debut album next year and I cannot wait.  In the meantime, bask in the brilliance that is "Sure" by Hatchie...My Number One Song of 2018!!!

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 7

8.  Tune-Yards - ABC 123



7.  Little Boots - Eros (feat. Planningtorock)



6.  Rush Week - Crush



5.  Fine China - Not Thrilled



4.  Jenny Hval - Spells



3.  of Montreal - Paranoiac Intervals/Body Dysmorphia



2.  ionnalee - BLAZING

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 6

15.  Azure Blue - Whatever '18 (feat. The Land Below & Peter Morén)



14.  Alpaca Sports - Summer Days



13.  Ladytron - The Animals



12.  Amber Mark - Love Me Right



11.  Pinkshinyultrablast - Dance AM



10.  ionnalee - WORK



9.  Tracey Thorn - Queen

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 5

22.  Priest - Our Time Will Come



21.  Let's Eat Grandma - It's Not Just Me



20.  Mitski - Nobody



19.  Chromatics - Black Walls



18.  Vlad Holiday - Like in the Movies



17.  The Perfect Kiss - Trying Your Patience



16.  Jenny Wilson - IT HURTS

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 4

29.  Battery Operated Orchestra - Bella



28.  Cellars - All the Time



27.  St. Vincent - Fast Slow Disco



26.  Tracyanne & Danny - Cellophane Girl



25.  Eleanor Friedberger - Make Me a Song



24.  Lindstrøm - Didn't Know Better (feat Ronika)



23.  Poppy - Time Is Up (feat Diplo)

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 3

36.  Two People - I'm Tied, to You  



35.  Twin Shadow - Too Many Colors 



34.  Turbotito - DIAMONDLOVE NO.1 (feat. Baby Alpaca)



33.  Clean Bandit - Baby (feat. Marina and The Diamonds & Luis Fonsi)

32.  Gorillaz - Tranz



31.  The Juan Maclean - What Do You Feel Free About?



30.  The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Apollo

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 2

43.  Carbon Poppies - Rain on My Face

42.  The Golden Filter - Talk Talk Talk

41.  Nos Miran - Humo

40.  Years & Years - Hallelujah

39.  The Regrettes - Come Through

38.  Fascinator - Sex Crystals

37.  Janelle Monáe - Screwed (feat. Zoë Kravitz)

2018 Pop Top 50 Songs of the Year - Part 1

And as it happens every year, so begins my Year End List mania!!  I start this year with my 50 favorite tracks of the year across the span of the next week!
LOVE LOVE LOVE POP POP POP!!

50.  They Might Be Giants - Push Back the Hands



49.  ALASKALASKA - Meateater



48.  Still Corners - Black Lagoon



47.  Hooverphonic - Uptight



46.  Deerful - Sunset Drive



45.  Lou Rebecca - Tonight



44.  Empress Of - When I'm With Him

Grimes - We Appreciate Power

At first listen, I was like "meh".  Upon second listen, I was like "WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU CAPITULATE?" while boppin' my head!!
New Grimes has a nice gruff sound but is also full of plenty of great pop moments!  Now BOP!

Vlad Holiday - Artificial Paradise

Another beauty of a song from Vlad Holiday!

Robyn - Honey

Official video-realness for the title track of Robyn's new album "Honey"!!

Ladytron - Far From Home

Another great track off of Ladytron's upcoming new album "Ladytron"!

Momus - The End of History

This may be my last Flashback Sunday for the year as my Year End lists are on their way and I wanted to end with a reaaaaaallllly good flashback!  This song just popped into my head and I knew it would be a perfect choice.  I discovered Momus in the late-90's and immediately fell in love with two of his tracks, "I Want You, but I Don't Need You" and this, "The End of History"...one of the sweetest "end of the world" songs ever!

Elysian Fields - Household Gods

Another lovely video off of Elysian Fields' new album "Pink Air"!

SSION - Inherit

Here's another EPIC video from SSION off his latest album "O"!

The Smittens - Sapphire (Nixon Stock-Aitken-Waterman Remix)

So much love for this new remix by Nixon for The Smittens' track "Sapphire" from their 2005 album "A Little Revolution"!  Nixon does an awesome job serving SAW-realness!!

Cold Beat - Love Is a Stranger / She's Invisible Now

Cold Beat's new EP of Eurythmic's covers is pretty awesome!!  Here are my two faves!!

Molly Nilsson - Gun Control

Another video off Molly Nilsson's latest album "2020"!

Friendly Fires - Heaven Let Me In

Great new dancy track from Friendly Fires!

Fosca - The Millionaire of Your Own Hair

Fosca's debut album "On Earth to Make the Numbers Up" is a near-perfect indie pop album that came out in 2000.  Choosing this track for my Flashback Sunday because it popped up on my random POP AWESOMENESS playlist the other day and it made me extremely happy!  Dickon Edwards is one hell of a lyricist!!

"I dreamt the film of my life as directed by Joseph Losey /
 It was eight minutes long, and cast as me was Parker Posey"

Galaxy Fingers - I Need Therapy

Galaxy Fingers released their debut EP "Let in Elijah" earlier this year.  Here's some of the beauty from that EP...