Favorite Songs of 2024 - Songs 12-22

 On with the List ...

12.    Bored by Waxahatchee.

"Armed with a safety pin

Overly confident

My skin is airy thin

But my game is rigged to win."

Waxahatchee (aka Katie Crutchfield) returns with a half-spoken, half-sung single about ... complacency? Also look for her duet with MJ Lenderman "Right Back to It," full of banjos and Southern angst. You'll hear from Mr. Lenderman again, soon.

13.    Another good year for the roses by Kurt Vile.

"These days I ... man, these days I do whatever I want,

Tone out the rest

'Til something wakes me from a rest.

Tone out the rest."

Kurt's doing his best to try to stay positive. To which I say both thank you and good luck.

14.    The Death Of The Punchline by The Hold Steady.

"Now I'm trying to manage some bands.

Looking for sad kids writing anthems for the big time.

Hands in the air and a flag at half mast on the grapevine.

Mourning the American dream and the death of the punchline."

Our Midwest poet Craig Finn and friends are back again, telling us a tale of gambling, drinking, possibly drug pushing ... and a band manager. Carry on, good sir.

15.    Mint Tea by Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson.

"So put another band-aid on my bullet wound

Pour us both another cup of that mint tea.

Sit down by my side underneath the moon

Tell me why you're so afraid of little ol' me."

A song about (mostly) comfortable, well-worn love. I think. With his nom de plume Johnny Blue Skies, Sturgill takes a more direct country route, with the little (but restrained here) blues and rock flourishes we've come to enjoy.

16.    Maestro (Tears Don't Lie) by Wilder Woods.

"I can tell that you're tryin'

I can tell that you're scared

Trail of fears and a face for denyin', baby

But I'm still here."

Sounds as if it's the end of this relationship for Wilder Woods' Bear Rinehart (also the frontman for NEEDTOBREATHE). But man, the way he takes us there is a joy: his voice, the background vocals, that chorus. 

17.    Love Of A Girl by The Avett Brothers.

"So I sneak out, peace out, peek out the curtains

Of a blacked-out bedroom passed-out cartoon 

Version of a person with a whole herd of sheep

Just floatin' in a circle with come capital z's."

What meaning is the in this daily grind? It's all for the love of a girl. Maybe it's an oversimplification, but I have to think the Brothers' interchanging vocals would be much more difficult to accomplish if they weren't ... brothers.

18.    Breakfast for Dinner by Winnetka Bowling League.

"It's when I picture us in forever

Wrinkles matching, layering up

For cozy winters

And a lifetime of breakfast for dinner."

A fun little love song from a group that I must admit I was somewhat disappointed to learn is not from a Northern suburb of Chicago but, rather, was named after a real bowling league in Southern California.

19.    The Place That Makes Me Happy by The Moss.

"My baby got a twist like you've never seen

Shakin' her ass in the grass, she's a dancin' queen."

Demographically and life outlook wise, I'm sure I have little in common with The Moss. But I do appreciate their attitude, and this song.

20.    anything you wanna get! by Katie Billes.

"And what did your father say?

'If you hit it with your pure emotion

You can get it,

Anything you wanna get.'"

Another obscure one judging from the YouTube views, but a fun, positive song that the dad of a bright, successful daughter has to like.

21.    I'll Be Ur Friend by Rigby Picnic.

"One day I'll be growin' older

Being bolder, puttin' out the flame

I'll have picked my poison

Made my noise 'n given up the game."

Yet another little heard song, which warms my heart. A lovely end-of-love song. Rigby Picnic are (is?) Philidelphia-based musician Jake Hoffpauir (according to its/his Facebook page).

22.    Up All Night by James Bay (with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan).

"Let's talk about dreams

Let's talk about lies

Let's talk about all the things that keep us up all night.

Let's talk about who

Gotta talk about why

Let's talk about all the things that keep us up all night."

A fun stomper. If insomnia can be fun, that is. While they're not present on the video, the contributions of list favorites The Lumineers and Noah Kahan are unmistakably present in the music.

A pretty strong middle 11 this year, if I do say so myself. On to the next batch!

Favorite Songs of 2023 - Songs 1-11

At long, long last we've reached the end of 2023's List. Hardly an end of the year list, as it turned out. Nonetheless, I hope you've found some new favorite songs that will carry you well in to 2024.

1. Stick Season by Noah Kahan.

"And I'll dream each night of some version of you

That I might not have, but I did not lose.

Now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes

And I'm split in half, but that'll have to do ...

Have to do."

Several significant departures from the norm for the List with this song atop it. Never before has a song released in the previous year (i.e., 2022) made number one. Neither has a song this popular (14 million YouTube hits for the original video - which is not the one above) been at the top. But this is the song that kept bouncing around in my head from early in 2023, and convention was thrown out the window. Also check out Homesick and Dial Drunk from the excellent Stick Season album.

2. Lights Light Up by Fenne Lily.

"You came to me at the speed of a bad decision

Just the speed, the bad not so much.

We held each other while everything burned up 'round us

And inside of me, too

That's called love."

A lovely little love song from Ms. Lily. The first two stanzas quoted above are likely my favorite lyrics of 2023. As often happens, Lights Light Up traded the top spot with Stick Season for much of the year. The fact that it ended up number two is no reflection of how much I admire this song.

3. Modern Girl by Bleachers.

"Changed my meds, changed the flight

Bodies on, bodies wild

Body cam, only flams

Bleachers band only flams.

Playin' it like a heart attack for you

We playin' it like a heart attack."

Yes, the Jersey boys are back on the List. And they may well have risen to the top again, if this song had been released earlier in 2023. Pretty sure they could care less ...

4. Honey by Samia.

"I wanna go to the beach and die on the beach

I wanna be a mermaid.

I'm not scared of sharks, I'm not scared to be naked

I'm not scared of anything."

Along with boygenius member Lucy Dacus, Samia is the only artist on 2023's List that I've seen live - and that was as an opening act for ... Lucy Dacus. Bonus fact: Samia's last name is Finnerty, which was my paternal grandmother's maiden name. No wonder I like her, and love this song.

5. Dripfield by Goose.

"Howling out the prism

Calling for the rhythm

Time's my only prison

Dripfield where you sitting

Rising like the weather

Blood gets pumping redder

I know that life comes better

I know that life comes better

In love."

Believe it or not, there are two songs that are 5+ minutes long in 2023's top 11. Even more incredibly, there are two songs by bands named after winged water fowl in 2023's top 11. This is the first of both. Goose are apparently a popular jam band, which generally isn't my cup of tea. But this song goes down smoothly, especially first thing in the morning. Check out Hungersite and 726 from Goose's Dripfield album as well.

6. Not Strong Enough by boygenius.

"I don't know why I am

The way I am

There's something in the static,

I think I've been having revelations.

Comin' to, in the front seat, nearly empty.

Skip the exit to our old street and go home ...

Go home alone."

My admiration for Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and particularly Lucy Dacus has been expressed many times on the List. Put them all together and you get ... well, genius.

7. 3D Country by Geese.

"I used to cut 'em up

I used to tear it down

I coulda been the king of this town ...

But I'm going home."

Yup, here's the other big bird on the 2023 List. As well as the other 5+ minute song. What is it about geese and long songs you may ask? I have no idea. But I love Cameron Winter's (the lead singer for Geese) vocals on this song.

8. Expert in a Dying Field by The Beths.

"Can we erase our history

Is it as easy as this?

Plausible deniability

I swear I've never heard of it.

And I can close

The door on us

But the room still exists

(and I know you're in it)."

Spotify tells me this was my most-listened to song in 2023, which makes sense because it was released in 2022 and it may have been the first song I added to the playlist that eventually became The List. While their "A Real Thing" made 2022's List at No. 27, as you can tell I prefer this song from their "Expert in a Dying Field" album.

9. Hope is a Dangerous Little Thing by The Menzingers.

"They hope is a dangerous, dangerous little thing.

To keep finding out the hard way

What tomorrow never brings."

Now this is something you don't hear much of anymore (at least I don't): good ol' fashioned punk rock. That driving drumbeat certainly gives it away.

10. For Your Soul by Josh Ritter.

"Will you be worthy and yet

Unworthy in the same breath

And look yourself in the mirror?

Will you be righteous and strong

By saying when you are wrong

And put aside your own fear?"

"This is a test." But, apparently, this is not only a test.

11. Tropic Morning News by The National.

"I was suffering more than I let on

The tropic morning news was on.

There's nothing stopping me now

From saying all the painful parts out loud."

One of my all-time favorite bands issued not one, but two, albums this year. To be honest, I found them a little uneven, but this is my preferred song from both "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" and "Laugh Track."