DAVID GREENE, HOST:
So what were the best songs of 2018? Well, not surprisingly, opinions vary wildly, but let's check out one favorite from a co-host of NPR's All Songs Considered.
BOB BOILEN, BYLINE: I'm Bob Boilen. Before the end of 2017, I knew I'd just heard my favorite song of 2018. I'd never been so sure. "Night Shift" from Lucy Dacus is a six-minute and 32-second post-breakup song that extends a hand of hope after a virtual scream into a pillow.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NIGHT SHIFT")
LUCY DACUS: (Singing) The first time I tasted somebody else's spit, I had a coughing fit.
BOILEN: Lucy Dacus is a 23-year-old singer based in Richmond, Va. I was first attracted to her voice. It has a well-worn husk that adds heft to her stories of loss and death.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NIGHT SHIFT")
DACUS: (Singing) I'm doing fine trying to derail my one-track mind, regaining my self-worth in record time.
BOILEN: If you listen, you can hear the song's quiet subtlety. But as the story unfolds, the tone of the tune goes from spellbinding to a sonic burst of guitars and more.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NIGHT SHIFT")
DACUS: (Singing) You got a nine-to-five so I'll take the night shift, and I'll never see you again if I can help it.
BOILEN: Lucy Dacus told me that, for a long time, I didn't believe expressing this sort of negativity was productive, but it's less productive to resist the truths of a situation. And so she wrote "Night Shift." And as "Night Shift" nears its end and she imagines the years gone by, her look back on this bad relationship is hopeful. And that hopefulness is ever present, not just on "Night Shift," which is my favorite song of 2018, but on her album, "Historian," which is my favorite album of 2018.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NIGHT SHIFT")
DACUS: (Singing) You got a nine-to-five so I'll take the night shift.
GREENE: That was Bob Boilen from NPR Music giving us his favorite song of 2018, which is "Night Shift" by Lucy Dacus. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.