Event #29: "2018 in Review" 17 Dec 2018 • Host: Matt Andrews

Our final event of the year was a festive best-of, where we gathered together to share our favourite songs/albums of 2018. We also ran a pre-event survey for everyone to nominate their favourite albums of the year. Using some extremely scientific methodology (eg. adding together everyone’s scores for an overall tally), the top 8 albums of the group came out like this:

  1. Low - Double Negative (22 points / 5 nominations)
  2. Matt Berry - Television Themes (9 points)
  3. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer (8 points)
  4. Gazelle Twin - Pastoral (7 points)
  5. Goat Girl - Goat Girl (7 points)
  6. Ryley Walker - Deafman Glance (5 points)
  7. Aidan Moffat & RM Hubbert - Here Lies the Body (3 points)
  8. Tune-yards - I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life (2 points)

Clearly the Low album was the biggest winner, so we heard a song from it on the night. Big thanks to Joe Grassby for suggesting this concept!

We also tallied up some stats for the year in OTR:

As is now traditional, we embarked on our Christmas quiz. I reproduce the questions here for posterity:

1. Intros round

We heard a sample from each album played over the year.

2. Meta round

Question 1

Q: What was the average score for OTR albums this year?

A: 7.3 / 10

Question 2

Q: How many of the ten records we listened to were released in the 1980s?

A: One (Julian Cope – Fried (1985)

Question 3

Q: Which of these words was really used to describe an album?

  • Banterlicious
  • Windows XP
  • Metrosexual
  • Frappuccino 


A: Windows XP (Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer)

3. 2018 in music

Question 1

Q: Eddie Clarke of Motorhead fame died in January of this year. What instrument did he play

A: Guitar


Question 2

Q: We also lost Aretha Franklin – in what year did her first studio album come out?

A: 1961

Question 3

Q: There was a total lunar eclipse on January 31st. In the song Total Eclipse of the Heart, complete this line in the chorus: “We’re living in a powder keg…”

A: And giving off sparks


Question 4

Q: In May, Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest with Netta Barzilai’s song “Toy”. Which country’s culture was she accused of appropriating in the performance?

A: Japan

Question 5

Q: A band that reformed in 2018 recorded this banger in 2000. Name the group and the rapper.

A: Spice Girls (Mel B)

4. Who said it: Morrissey or Farage?

Q: “I’ve always been the outsider. I’ve always been regarded as some extraordinarily dangerous figure. I’m none of those things!”

A: Farage

Q: “When someone calls you racist, what they are saying is “hmm, you actually have a point, and I don’t know how to answer it”

A: Morrissey

Q: “Brexit did not happen. The EU wouldn’t allow it to happen. It is now a dead issue. The people said Leave but the EU said no”

A: Morrissey

Q: “You have the charisma of a damp rag, and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk”

A: Farage

Q: “What’s the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning? Wish I hadn’t.”

A: Morrissey

Q: “The great and the good will decide what is good for us and make sure that we get what is good for us, good and hard.”

A: Farage

Q: ”The euro Titanic has now hit the iceberg - and there simply aren’t enough lifeboats to go round.”

A: Farage

Q: “The rhino is now more or less extinct, and it’s not because of global warming or shrinking habitats. It’s because of Beyonce’s handbags.”

A: Morrissey

Q: “Madonna reinforces everything absurd and offensive. Desperate womanhood. Madonna is closer to organised prostitution than anything else.”

A: Morrissey

Q: “Will I ever forgive the British media for what they’ve done to me? No.“ (Farage)

Song selection

After the quiz fun, it was time to share everyone’s nominations for their favourite songs/albums of the year. Here’s the list of everything that was nominated (the playlist is below).

  • Lewis: Low - “Quorum”
  • Simon: Matt Berry - “Rainbow”
  • Holly: Dirty Projectors - “That’s A Lifestyle”
  • Martin: Confidence Man - “Boyfriend (Repeat)”
  • Lauren: Donovan Woods - “I Ain’t Ever Loved No One”
  • “New Joe”: Stephen Malkmus + the Jicks - “Middle America”
  • Andrea: Yves Tumor - “Noid”
  • Abdul: Camp Cope - “The Opener”
  • Steph: Baxter Dury - “Tais Toi”
  • William: Barefoot McCoy - “Last Lullabye”
  • Stefan: Joey Purp - “Hallelujah”
  • Nick: Neko Case - “Curse of the I-5 Corridor”
  • Joe: Hot Snakes - “Death Camp Fantasy”
  • David Rapson: Chloe x Halle - “The Kids Are Alright”
  • Matt: Sons of Kemet - “My Queen is Ada Eastman”
  • Rob: Daphne & Celeste - “Alarms”

Quite a few other songs were nominated by the above folks, and they’re all on the playlist below. Thanks for your choices!

It only remains to thank all the good folks who hosted OTR this year: Martin, Steve, Abdul, Lauren, Russell, Ruth, Lewis, Calum and Andrea. Thanks for a great set of events and looking forward to 2019.

Spotify playlist of songs

See above to see who nominated each song which matched our theme, "2018 in Review".