Favorite Songs of 2023 - Songs 12-22

Better late than never? We are definitely not going to make the Jan. 1 deadline, but what's a week or so between friends? Here's the red-headed stepchild of The List:

12. Then It All Goes Away by Dayglow.

"You tell me everything and tell me it's fine, but
There's 'something tells me that

There's something going on here.'

I know the way you got that look in your eyes

And then it disappears."

No "sounds like The Strokes" song on this year's List, but this one definitely puts me in mind of a frequent List member. Any idea who (here's a hint: they're French)?

13. Road to Joy (Bright-Side Mix) by Peter Gabriel.

"Get the blood to flow in every nook and cranny

Get the blood to flow from my head to my toes

Get the blood to flow, flowing all around me

Get the blood to flow with the life in my soul.

Back in the world

Walking down the road to joy."

One of my all-time favorite artists, but he's never appeared on The List before, probably because this is his first new album in ... 21 years? Anyway, welcome back Peter.

14. It's Fine by Bethany Cosentino.

"And it's fine

'Til it's not fine.

This conversation's going on too long.

I'm sick of it, I started it

With a little bit of wind blowing through my mind ...

It's fine."

The lead singer of Best Coast (whose Different Light made The List in 2020) is back. Sounds like she's finished with whatever relationship she's addressing in this song ...

15. Sixers by The Hold Steady.

"He's home late from some dinner and some drinks

Another Friday with the suits in the steakhouse.

Asset management's as thrilling as you'd think

But they pay him pretty well

Now he's renting out the penthouse."

Another song of urban malaise from Craig Finn and the band. It's so hard to choose just one stanza of lyrics from a Hold Steady song, because they're all great, and they're all connected.

16. Don't Look Back by The Revivalists.

"I don't look back

No, I ain't got time.

I can't relax, it's down to the wire

Six feet deep in the fire now."

Another rocker. Much prefer this song to "Kid," the song from from their album "Pour It Out Into the Night" which got all sorts of airplay this summer.

17. Chosen to Deserve by Wednesday.

"We always started by tellin' all our best stories first

So now that it's been awhile, I'll get around

To tellin' you all my worst.

Just so you know what you signed up for

What you're dealin' with.

Just so you know

What you've been chosen to deserve."

So what are Wednesday (from Asheville, NC)? Country? Alternative? Indie? Shoegaze? My brother Jeff declares "Americana Cowpunk." Seems about right.

18. Really Really Light by The New Pornographers.

"I am blurry on this here particular scene

That I'm trying to paint, if you'd sit still for me.

Paid off all the vultures up in the air.

I'm not seeing them so we must be more or less square now."

Neko Case, A.C. Newman and crew are back with this upbeat sounding song about ... the white noise in all of our lives? 

19. Living in the Sunshine by Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers.

"Living in the sunshine

Living in the bright light

Wasting time, feeling fine

Yeah, feeling fine, fine.

Living in the sunshine, hey hey

I heard it said, heard it said

Got to grow up sometime ...

But not now."

A bit of a cheat here as apparently this song was recorded as a part of the Spirit Trail sessions, one of my favorite records ever. But since Living in the Sunshine was release for the first time this year, we get to enjoy it along with great songs like Pete & Manny, Great Divide, and Sneaking Up on Boo Radley. Spirit Trail had the 25th anniversary of its release this year (as if I didn't already feel old just seeing Bruce H. now as compared to last century).

20. Too Good at Raising Hell by The Struts.

"Sex so good, make the neighbors smoke a cigarette.

But I'm still bored to death.

Think I'm getting too good, too good at raising hell

But I'm wearing it well."

Remember my comment that there were some fairly mindless rockers on this year's List? The video definitely borrows from old stars like Alice Cooper and Kiss. And the first line quoted here? Classic.

21. Too Drunk to Drive by hey, nothing.

"You hate the sight of mullets so you close your eyes
But the spinning's just beginning and it's on the rise.

And you're nauseous

Think you better call it a night."

Apparently hey, nothing are "Tyler Mabry and Harlow Phillips - two highschoolers from just outside Atlanta." So, basically they and I have nothing in common. Except for this song, which I really like.

22. nothing to do by Oso Oso.

"Nothing to do but hang around

I always knew I'd let you down

Nothing to do but hang around

Slip through the cracks, let myself drown."

Doesn't sound like Oso Oso (aka Jade Lilitri, a former List denizen) was in a very good place when he wrote this one. I also recommend checking out "nothing says love like hydration" including the amusing lyrics: "Nothing says love like a Gatorade, Nothing says love like hydration."

Stay tuned for the Top 11.

Favorite Songs of 2023 - Songs 23-33

It was a weird year musically for me - no live concerts, lots of time on Spotify and in C's car on Sirius and semi-listening to songs suggested by Uproxx to find candidates for this year's List. The result is an odd combination of new artists and old favorites, quiet, often sad songs, and loud, pretty much meaningless rockers, obscure releases and very popular ones, and a few that fall somewhere in-between all of the above. It may not be my most coherent list, but I prefer to think of it as ... eclectic. 

23. Gimme Back My Soul by Medium Build.

"When I met you at the tap room

I was young, with big brown eyes.

Got your number, for the summer

I was drunk, but you were nice, nice, nice.

Told you about Jesus

I told you about James

Told you about all the pieces of me

That I can't change."

The first of many songs on this year's List that I can empathize, but not sympathize, with.

24. Surfing in Iceland by Goth Babe. 

"I was waiting right there away from 

Hiding from the bad and hiding from the bad 

I was standing right there in Iceland 

And this is mighty rad and this is mighty rad."

 

Yes, Goth Babe is a male (Griff Washburn). And, yes, he apparently really did surf in Iceland.

25. Positive Charge by The Gaslight Anthem.

"I need a spark

I need a positive charge

Plug it into my veins and make me love this life again.

I need a spark

I need a positive charge.

Plug it into my brain and make me love my life again."

In the oft repeated "reminds me of" category on the List, this song definitely puts me in mind of the best from the Gin Blossoms back in the day.

26. Joiner by Blondshell.

"You've been running around LA with trash

Sleepin' in bars with a gun in your bag.

Asking 'Can I be somebody else?'

You've been riding around on handlebars

Buying drugs from guys in cars

Asking 'Can I be somebody else?'"

I can't tell if Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum) is rubbernecking a car wreck, or wants to become part of it.

27.  Highlands by Middle Kids.

"Wherever you are, we're just getting started

Out of the dark, into the highlands.

Give me your heart, I wanna hide it

And I can't keep waiting for things to change."

The Kids from Down Under are back. And it sounds like they're ready to stir some ... stuff up.

28. SLAP ME IN THE FACE by PRONOUN.

"Slap me in the face and tell me I'm perfect

I wanna feel nice instead of just feeling sad

The world is so big and its future is yucky

I wanna play nice but you should treat me real bad."

Not sure I'm entirely comfortable with the message, but anything that pronoun/PRONOUN (aka Alyse Vellturo) does is so darn catchy it can't be ignored.

29. Something Wrong by Hand Habits.

"I'm beggin'

Beggin' you to understand

Amazing, call you my friend

Is there something wrong with that?

Is there something wrong with that?"

This song from Hand Habits (aka Meg Duffy) is haunting, but I like it. Is there something wrong with that?

30. CSI: Petralona by Westerman.

"Close shave in Petralona

My new friend walked me, hand in hand

Down to that busy square

You said, 'Let's head someplace quieter'

Athen is small

Everybody knows you here."

No, not that CSI. Sounds like Westerman was sorting through some deep stuff. Glad he had his friend with him.

31. Sugar Babies by Spoon.

"At the bar, don't forget les au revoirs les sugar babies

They saw me in the storefront standing still

They walked on by they couldn't chill

They'll say hello next time now maybe."

Anything Spoon does is worth a listen. Their longevity (they formed 30 years ago) and ability to not get stale and yet be true to themselves and their sound is admirable.

32. Save the World by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

"Balloon popping at the grocery store

My heart jumping in my chest.

I look around to find the exit door.

Which way out of here's the best?"

We know how you feel, Jason. I love how the instrumental intro sounds like "breaking news" music on a t.v. station.

33. I Don't Know What You See in Me by Belle and Sebastian.

"I've been looking in, and looking out

And there's a million faces in the crowd

But you chose to hold your gaze on me.

And it only took a moment to see."

Belle and Sebastian have been around for almost as long as Spoon, but I believe that this is their first appearance on the List. Welcome, old friends!

Stick around friends, 22 more songs to come!

Favorite Songs of 2022: Songs 1-11

We've come to the top of the list a little later than most years past, but hopefully not too late for you to appreciate my favorite eleven songs of 2022. 

1. Returner by Gang of Youths.

"Now I live by a motto, just like Assou-Ekotto

And it's 'F___ you and pay me,' it's a line I respect.

A below-average shooter, I'm hardly Batistuta

But the vision, the motivation I get."

We complete our Australian-centric list, naturally, with another artist from Down Under. Gang of Youths have made the list several times before. This is my favorite song from their excellent album Angel in Real Time because of the above lines and their soccer references, as well as the Pacific Islands chorus. Because my friend Charlie, also a GOY fan, says this is his least favorite of all on the record, I'm going to break the rules and give you a second song, a number 1.b., if you will, which is likely the most-played song from Angel in Real Time - In the Wake of Your Leave.

2. Rubberneckers by Christian Lee Hutson.

"I'm a self-esteem vending machine

A doctor's office magazine.

A funhouse at the county fair

A staircase to nowhere.

If you tell a lie for long enough,

Then it becomes the truth.

I am going to be okay some day,

With or without you.

With or without you."

The next three songs are all in the running for my favorite lyrics of the year. I believe that it's hard to find a word in this song that is out of place. If you listen closely to the chorus, you'll likely hear the voice of an artist mentioned in the first edition of this year's list with the promise that she'd reappear. She also produced Hutson's album Quitters, along with her frequent collaborator Conor Oberst.

3. Blush by Matt Nathanson. 

"And when the sun is getting lower

And your wildest days are done.

And they ask you about a photograph

From back when you were young.

Baby, you don't have to tell 'em

What you did when we were us.

But when you think about it

I hope you blush,

Just a little bit.

When you think about it

I hope you blush."

Another song about lost love, but one fondly remembered. The "We looked good, we looked good, we looked good" chorus makes me smile everytime I hear it. And I also really like the words, and the feel, of this song overall as well.

4. Canola Fields by James McMurtry.

James McMurtry at Mountain Stage.

"And there's not much moving on the romance radar

Not that I'm craving it all that much.

But I still need to feel, every once in a while

The warmth of a smile and a touch.

In a way back corner of a cross-town bus,

We were hiding out under my hat.

Cashing in on a thirty-year crush.

You can't be young and do that,

You can't be young and do that."

The (now long ago) aforesaid old favorite I got to see in 2022, at Mountain Stage. As already mentioned, I have a hard time deciding whether these lines are my favorite ones of 2022, or whether one of the two songs immediately above contain them.

5. American Teenager by Ethel Cain.

"I do it for my daddy

And I do it for Dale

I'm doing what I want and, damn

I'm doing it well.

For me, for me,

For me, for me."

Quite the backstory for Hayden Silas Anhedonia a.k.a. Ethel Cain (according to Wikipedia, anyway). Her voice reminds me of an American Dolores O'Riordan (of The Cranberries). A lovely, haunting song.

6. Country by Good Morning.

"Yeah, I think it's a little bit different now

I got a boyfriend and I got a psych.

I know that one really cares about me,

And, at least, that the other one tries."

Yet another Australian band, although honestly they sound very American to me (again - guess I just need to give up trying to figure that out). A really catchy song with great lyrics about a lost friendship - but I love the instrumental intro and outro best of all.

7. Time Escaping by Big Thief.

"Desert ground so cold and clean

Spreading out like a magazine

Reading the dirt like gossip.

What do the weeds say? They say:

'Everything, everything, everything falls through

Each dimension breaks in two

Like the two hands clapping ...

Like the two wings flapping.'"

So many really good songs on Big Thief's double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. This is my favorite, but if you're inclined, check out "Certainty," "No Reason," and "Little Things" too.

8. Love Is Yours by Flasher. 

"It's like a knock on the door,

I've never heard it before,

You have me opening, oh so naturally.

It's better than the real thing,

I'm seeing 2020,

You got me missing what I didn't know I need."

One of several songs (numbers 2, 5, 6, and 11 are the others, to be precise) from artists in the Top 11 that I didn't know before 2022, but am glad I do now. Flasher sounds like a cross between The Dandy Warhols and The New Pornographers to me.

9. Here to Forever by Death Cab for Cutie.

"Oh, these days it's so hard to relax

You gotta hold a gun to my back

To make me smile

To make me smile."

Sounds like our old friend Ben Gibbard spent the pandemic contemplating his mortality. Completely understandable.

10. Free by Florence + The Machine. 

"I'm always running from something

I push it back, but it keeps on coming.

And being clever never got me very far,

Because it's all in my head.

And 'You're too sensitive,' they said.

I said, 'Okay, but let's discuss this at the hospital.'"

Florence has appeared on the list several times before - she's back and strong as ever. I don't think I've ever said this before, but that harpist can jam! "And for a moment, when I'm dancing ... I am free." If only we all could be.

11. Rewind by Daybed.

"And I hoped maybe time would slow

Feels like the end of a road

With all the friends I used to know."

And here I thought Hometown was an obscure choice. This song now has 144 YouTube views (and at least four are mine). I love the music on this one (particularly the banjo). Apparently Daybed = Reagan Smith, the banjo player of The Oh Hellos (which, I guess, explains why the banjo is so good).