Ken's Best of 2018

Goes to 11

By Ken Geiger

I'd just like to say thank you to Cooldad for giving me a platform to rant and to plug cool music on. It's always been a pleasure. I'd also like to thank everyone who supported me in my artistic endeavors this year, whether you bought a tape, booked me a show, or even told me you liked my set. That kind of stuff really makes it all worthwhile.

Anyways let's go with the Top 11 Albums of 2018. What a great year for music it was, as this list was goddamn impossible to finalize. If you have not heard any of these releases yet, make sure you go pick them up as soon as you’re finished reading this:

• Nicole Dollanganger, Heart Shaped Box (Crystal Math Music/Eerie Organization)
• Mark Kozelek, Mark Kozelek (Caldo Verde Records)
• Like Weeds, They Grow (Kitty Play Records)
• Nickelus F, Stuck (Trashfuck Records)
• Form Hunter, Form Hunter (New Forces Noise)
• Goth Girl & Torturing Noise, Split (Contradiction Tapes)
• Sleep, The Sciences (Third Man Records)
• Doyheart, Demo (Self-Released)
• Denzel Curry, TA13OO (PH Recordings)
• Maggot Cave, Maggot Cave (Pull Me Dick Mate Records)

Now for the 11 Best Live Acts, which was an equally hard list to make. There were so many great performers I saw all over the world in 2018. However, I decided to go with the ones that really just brought the live experience to a whole other level; something that felt like more than just your average concert:

• Lydia Lunch Retrovirus
• feedtime
• Merzbow
• Full of Hell
• Sleep
• Tommy Wright III
• Despise You
• The Flying Luttenbachers
• Bastard Noise
• Lucas Abela
• Batushka

The last thing I'll leave here is a Spotify playlist for my favorite songs that came out this year. I can only hope that next year will give us as much great music as this year did. Enjoy your New Year, Cooldad faithful! Party responsibly.