Favorite Songs of 2025 - Songs 23-33

We're back again with The List - who knows if successfully completed by year's end, but giving it the old college try. This year's List is somewhere between eclectic and confusing, as always, featuring some recent denizens, some new artists, some old favorites who have never made the list, and a few who may have actually made their way into the category of popular music. As always, anyone in the last group included in The List is purely accidental.

23.    Lou Reed Was My Babysitter by Jeff Tweedy.

"I wanna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake until my shoes untie

'Cause rock 'n' roll ain't ever gonna die

Not as long as you and I are alive.

'Cause rock 'n' roll is dead

But the dead don't die."

Exhibit A in the category of "old favorites who have never made The List." In fact, neither Tweedy nor his band Wilco ever have, although I've listened to them for years. I'm sure there are two people out there (to whom I am related) who can also relate to the song title. And bonus points for Tweedy doing a great Lou Reed impersonation. 

24.    Honkeytonk by Oldstar.

"I knew I’d make a fool of myself

If I walked on to your side of the band

So I packed up and left

Haunted by the thought of you in someone else’s arms."

Not a song of lost love, but instead love never realized. Oldstar are a NYC band playing "country rock from Florida for everyone" according to their Spotify bio. Seems about right. Couldn't find a video of just Honkeytonk, but the song begins at 9:09 in the video above. Or you can listen to two other of their songs beforehand as well.

25.     Down to be Wrong by HAIM.

"Down to be wrong, don't need to be right

I left you the keys, I left on the lights

I locked myself out of the house

I'm on the next flight, you can't talk me out of it, yeah."

A second appearance on The List for the Haim Sisters. This one's a break-up song, completely lacking in remorse.

26.    Ankles by Lucy Dacus.

"If it's the thought that counts

Let's think it through."

To be honest, I was a little disappointed by this latest effort "Forever Is a Feeling" from Lucy Dacus (my "teacher's pet" according to my friend Philbert). But I like this song a lot, and the above couplet is among my favorites of the entire year.

27.    Twist and Turn by Cardinals.

"Wrong and right

Ah all your life.

Get those wrongs and right them, baby

Learn to tell your lies."

Another fairly depressing song (sorry about that!), but this one from Irish band Cardinals, which along with the upbeat tempo somehow makes it easier to take. That and the seemingly cathartic ending where they seem on their way to redemption. 

28.    The Forks of Cypress by Patterson Hood and Waxahatchee.

"Wait until morning and I will meet you there

Even when it's storming there's sunlight in your hair

I'll bask in your splendor and your scent upon the air

Past the Forks of Cypress."

A Southern tale of forbidden love by Drive-by Truckers' Patterson Hood, made all the more haunting by Waxahatchee/Katie Crutchfield's backing vocals.

29.    Snowflakes by Dropkick.

"We complicate the words that we hear

Thinking that it wasn't clear."

Most of the British Isles are now covered, with this effort from Edinburgh-based Dropkick. Some power pop to relieve the depression of most of the above songs (Jeff Tweedy excepted).

30.    Inept Apollo by Nation of Language.

"How many miles ago?

A dream that fell

Lamented in the morning glow

Embraced and left alone

How many miles ago?"

Nation of Language is one of those bands (synth pop? semi-shoe gaze?) that I would have told you I would never like. And yet here they are, for the second year in a row, on The List. AI tells me that this song "explores themes of artistic self-doubt, imposter syndrome, finding solace in creative work amidst life's difficulties, and the struggle with love and loss." I will take our soon-to-be computer overlords' word for it. 

31.    Last Night I Held Your Hand by Somebody's Child.

"And I thought my youth was over

Now I'd die for you

Now I feel myself get older

But not when I'm with you."

Ireland strikes again on The List with Somebody's Child. A song about reflecting on lost youth (from 30-something front man Cian Godfrey ... spare me says this 60-something listener), or perhaps a Mrs. Robinson-esque relationship?  

32.    What's Fair by Blondshell.

"Maybe it was not the right time

Maybe it was not the right wine

Maybe it was in the water

Maybe God turned a blind eye."

Sounds as though Blondshell, a.k.a. Sabrina Teitelbaum is working through some issues with her mom. Language warning for this one, if that's still necessary these days ...

33.    Hard to Love by Dehd.

"Won't catch me goin' on about where the good men gone

Give me someone rough and tumble, someone hard to love."

Dehd's Emily Kempf seems to be looking for a bad boy. 

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!