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 2021 - Songs 1-11

One would be tempted to bid 2021 a less-than-fond good riddance ... if we hadn't already done that with 2020. So let's just appreciate the new music that our seemingly endless pandemic brought us. Including three albums (which happen to contain the first three songs on my list) that could have filled out the Top Ten all on their own.

1. Stop Making This Hurt by Bleachers.

"But if we take the sadness 

Out of Saturday night

I wonder what we'll be left with

Anything worth the fight?

I wanna run from the darkness

Wanna shout at the light

It's coming over me now

Two, three, four, five oh God we barely survived!"

I went back-and-forth a lot between this and number two on the list for much of the second half of the year. Stop Making This Hurt, however, was the one song that I never skipped on any device throughout the year, and it's the one that compels me to crank up the volume more than any other. And so, here are the Jersey boys, with their horns and Jack's goofy dancing. Long may they rock. I also recommend giving a listen to Don't Go Dark and How Dare You Want More from the LP Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night (along with the already nominated Chinatown).

2. Not Dead Yet by Lord Huron.

"I've been out way too long

Heading right for the edge

If she asks about me

Tell her I'm not dead yet."

The boys from Michigan return to their western/rockabilly roots on their new album Long Lost and I for one am glad for it. I believe that Lord Huron now holds the distinction of having two Number Two songs on my list through the years (Until the Night Turns was second in 2015). So close ... I also recommend to you Mine Forever, Long Lost, Love Me Like You Used To, and I Lied from their 2021 offering as well.

3. Hot & Heavy by Lucy Dacus.

"You knew that I wanted you to bend the rules

How did I believe I had a hold on you?

You were always stronger than people suspected

Underestimated and overprotected."

The above lyrics are perhaps my favorites of the year. If not them, then the ones I will gift you immediately below. Lucy's latest album Home Video (which, as the title suggests, is based on memories from her past) is chock full of them. Check out VBS and Brando from that LP as well, at the minimum. The video's fun too and consistent with the Home Video theme. I'm sure it was made in RVA (but didn't look it up to confirm).

4. Family Farm by The Hold Steady.

"When she was combing through the carpet I could not resist her charms

She brought me to a fortress she called the family farm

Out along the towers there were guards with heavy arms

I guess there was some tension with the neighbors."

So do you prefer Lucy's wry observation or Craig Finn's deadpan understatement? Tough call for me. The boys from Brooklyn (by way of Minneapolis - the midwest is the setting for many of their tracks) are back with another set of lyrically brilliant songs courtesy of Mr. Finn in their new album Open Door Policy. Give Lanyards a listen as well.

5. Empire Builder by Typhoon.

"You and I know we both know that

Everybody's angry

Everybody's lonely

Maybe it's hopeless

And maybe love is not enough

But let's not rule out the possibility."

Definitely a pandemic song. Perhaps an apocalyptic song. At least Kyle Morton's still got a bit of hope. Typhoon recorded their album Sympathetic Magic remotely, no small feat for a notoriously large ensemble. The entire LP is very good, especially (in addition to Empire Builder) And so What if You Were Right.

6. Fire and Brimstone by Sean Rowe.

"I had a dream

Last night

When I was lying

On my bed

And the whole world

Was standing still

And the moon

Was turning red."

My New Year wish: that, for one day in 2022, I can sing like Sean Rowe.

7. Dino's by Gordi and Alex Lahey.

"There was a greatest hits on the stereo

There was a nun drinking her doubt

There was a young boy making promises

To a Dolly Parton cardboard cutout."

A pretty ode to ... a Nashville dive bar (okay, I admit that I looked up the location). Both Gordi and Alex hail from Australia. I'm glad that they found their way to Tennessee, at least for one evening.

8. Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender.

"I was far too scared to hit him

But I would hit him in a heartbeat now.

That's the thing with anger

It begs to stick around.

So it can fleece you of your beauty

And leave you spent with nowt to offer

Makes you hurt the ones who love you."

A song of teenage rage (and an abusive father, I'm guessing). But with the redemptive vision of someone who "got out" reflecting on the person he was, the one he could have become, and the one that he became instead.

9. Questions by Middle Kids.

"And I got questions

And you got answers

And I'm not sure

 if they're fact or fiction

And I got questions

And you got answers

And I'm not sure

 if they're even worth asking."

The Kids are back with another stellar effort, part of their 2021 album Today We're the Greatest. Not much doubt where they stand with regard to whomever this song was written about. Cellophane (Brain) is also worth a listen from their newest LP.

10. Faith Healer by Julien Baker.

"Faith healer

Come put your hands on me

A snake oil dealer

I'll believe you if you make 

Me feel something."

The third member of boygenius didn't quite make the top of my list, unlike her cohorts Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. But her 2021 album Little Oblivions was well regarded by people whose opinions count more than mine (in other words, just about everyone's). This is my favorite song from that effort. We're all searching for something, aren't we?

11. New Fragility by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. 

"On a holiday, you said you just need to get away

Taking some midnight ride out to Long Beach Island

Stranded, half-naked on a strange man's couch

No hearts are broken when there's no one to let down."

All the low notes of a break-up (or, more exactly, post-break-up) song. That last line gets me everytime.

Here's to (hopefully) seeing some live music in 2022 - that would be a good way to restart, wouldn't it?

Favorite Songs of 2018: Songs 12-22

And the list rolls on, with the often (unfairly) overlooked middle kids (which happens to include the band Middle Kids ... ). And, unsurprisingly, The Decemberists.

Colin Meloy and The Decemberists in concert (photo by me)

12.  Nonbeliever by Lucy Dacus.

"You deal an unspoken debt
No kindness without wanting something back
What do I owe you? What did I forget?
Are we even after all of that?"

Nonbeliever in God? In a (human) relationship? In self-worth? I'm not exactly sure. But I'm not a nonbeliever in Lucy; she has a beautiful voice, can construct a great song, and can play a mean guitar.

13.  The Heart Is a Muscle by Gang of Youths.

"I wanna be loved, I wanna be whole again

So tuck my hair behind my ears and touch my soul again

The window is wide, the post unfulfilled

And I just ask you to be patient if you'll have me still."

Every year my list contains an invisible dividing line between the songs I like and those I really, really like. This year that line starts here. Songs 13-2 are, in my humble opinion, exceedingly good and pretty much interchangeable (number 1 has been number 1 since early in 2018 and has budged since). Gang of Youths was recently in D.C., and I'm very sorry I missed them. The video will give you a good idea as to why.

14.  Easy Enough by Pinegrove.

"All my limits have held me back

I hold my head and I let it ask

Why

I'm altogether down

And when will it end now?

Back after a year-long, self-imposed hiatus (you can read the long, strange story here) the kids from Jersey are back with a new record. Thank goodness for that.

15.  High Beam by Sjowgren.

"And I don't wanna spend a lifetime

Worried about the sidelines

What other people are say about me

About me

About me."

Their second appearance on this year's list (and the fourth overall, I believe) as the mystery band from San Fran has stepped up what seemed to be a slow drip of their great music.

16.  Dancing's Not a Crime by Panic!At the Disco.

"Dancing, dancing, dancing's not a crime
Unless you do it without me
Unless you do it without me."

Go ahead, laugh, I can take the heat. And do repeatedly from family and friends for my fondness for this band (which roughly places me 45 years pre-my current age and seemingly forced to defend the "!" in its name). I dare you to listen and not bebop just a little while you do.

17.   Mistake by Middle Kids.

"You're standing out in the rain, tonight
Like you got something to say, to God
And you got a debt to pay back
For something you did way back

You wanna make it okay."

These Kids made last year's list as well (as did Cold War Kids, absent this year). I believe the title of the song is exactly what it's about - a mistake that someone made, maybe a long time ago. I'm okay with that (the straightforwardness, not necessarily the mistake).

18.  We All Die Young by The Decemberists.

"And in this dream, Bill Tecumseh Sherman
Glowered at the foot of my bed
He was long and lean, he spoke in perfect German
And I recorded all that he said
Yeah, I recorded all that he said

And he said:
'We all die young
We all die young
We all die young
We all die young."

More lyrical magic from the "hyper-literate" Colin Meloy and his band. While I'm including a "live" recording of the song here, check out the studio version as well. Definitely a touch of Pink Floyd in the children joining in on the chorus.

19.  In a River by Rostam.

"We are swimming with no clothes on
In a river in the dark
And I am holding on to you, boy
In the faint light of the stars."

One of several songs on this year's list either recommended by or heard for the first time with my comely spouse. I love the music in this song, which borders on orchestral.

20.  How Simple by Hop Along.

"Don't worry we will both find out

Just not together."

One of my favorite couplets (if that term can apply to two, non-rhyming verses) of the year. Matched by the year's best album name "Bark Your Head Off, Dog."

21.  Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers.

"I'm on the outside looking through
You're throwing rocks around your room
And while you're bleeding on your back in the glass
I'll be glad that I made it out
And sorry that all went down like it did."

I love the imagery of "emotional motion sickness."

22.  Causing Trouble by Saint Sister.

"But honey I know you
We dance to Elvis in the kitchen
At least we used to
And honey you know me
We danced from Belfast to the Basin
When you sang And it Stoned Me
Well, it stoned me.'

A harp, two beautiful voices, and a Van Morrison reference? Yes, please.

Stay tuned for my Top 11 songs, coming soon!

Favorite Songs of 2017: Songs 12-22

Without further ado, songs 12-22:

12.  Hope the High Road by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

"I've heard enough of the white man's blues
I sang enough about myself.
So if you're looking for some bad news
Well you can find it somewhere else.
Last year was a son of a bitch
For nearly everyone we know.
But I ain't fighting with you down in a ditch
I'll meet you up here on the road."

To be clear, when I called Isbell the new poet laureate of Appalachia in my last post, it was MY   version of Appalachia to which I was referring.

13.  Now & Then by Sjowgren.

"Some things had changed
But others stayed the same and you,
You had your stories.
Some different stories
I left behind."

I don't know much more about the artist than I did in 2015 when their (her?) song "Seventeen" was high on my list. But they appear to enjoy the mystery. As long as they keep making music like this, that's okay with me.

14.  Fashion by The Royal Concept.

"'Cause I love the way you wear on me
And you fashion is so wild and free
Honey, loving you ain't easy
But I'm not gonna leave ya
No no
So baby put your dope ass crazy fashion on me."

The boys from Sweden are also a past member of the list, albeit five years ago, with a song that reminded me of The Strokes (and Phoenix). "Fashion" puts me more in mind of a certain Purple Icon of Pop who passed away last year. Even if their music continues to be a bit derivative, as long as it sounds like this, I say "vive la sameness."

15.  I Dare You by The xx.

"I get chills
Heartbreak multiplies
I'm on a different kind of high.
A rush of blood is not enough
I need my feelings set on fire."

Just a plain ol' lovely love song.

16.  Then Again by Pinegrove.

"Wakin' in an unusual town
every morning this September.
You could sleep it off and leave it all
but in the morning you remember."

Along with Jason Isbell, the other artist with two songs on this year's list. Pinegrove's album "Cardinal" is my favorite of 2017.

17.  Near to the Wild Heart of Life by Japandroids.

"I was destined to die dreaming
When one day, my best friend
With passion and pure provocation
Summoned me and said
'You can't condemn your love
To linger here and die
Can't leave your dreams to chance
Or to a spirit in the sky.
May your heart always be ardent
Your conscience always clear
And succumb to the city and surrender, baby
I'll be waiting here."

If you ever get the chance, go see Japandroids live. It's astonishing how much (excellent) sound can come out of two guys, a guitar, and a set of drums.

18.  Fighting a Ghost by Matt Hires.

"What do you say
when your heart's not in it?
What do you do
when there's no new beginning?
How do you start
When you've forgotten how to finish?"

I've really liked Matt Hires for quite a while now, particularly his voice and the little bit of disgust or outrage boiling just below the surface, even if he's just singing about lost love.

19.  Slip Away by Perfume Genius.

"Don't look back, I want to break free
If you'll never see 'em coming
You'll never have to hide.
Take my hand, take my everything."

In a year of angst and equivocation, there was at least one simple love song that I liked a lot -- and this is it. And those drums ...

20.  Holding On by The War on Drugs.

"Now I'm headed down a different road, yeah
Can we walk it side by side?
Is an old memory just another way of saying goodbye?"

Highway songs are common, particularly in the U.S. Somehow, The War on Drugs managed to make the genre uniquely their own in this song.

21.  Edge of Town by Middle Kids.

"I got all muddled up and journeyed to the edge of town
And then the road cracked open, sucked me in and I went down
I'm standing face to face with the kind of the underground
Some things just don't add up, I'm upside down I'm inside out."

This Aussie group toured with Cold War Kids this summer. Talk about the ultimate vacation for the Kids!

22.  Don't Take the Money by Bleachers.

"Will we fight, stay up late?
In my dreams I'm to blame
Different sides of the bed
Roll your eyes, shave my head
Now we're stuck in the storm
We were born to ignore
And all I got is a chance to just sit
(Baby love me you've got me, runaway)."

Proof that pop songs aren't necessarily devoid of meaning (or self-examination). Yes, that's Lorde you hear singing - she co-wrote "Don't Take the Money" with Bleachers' Jack Antonoff. And yes that appears to be Maeby Funke commiserating with Jack at the start of the video (and presiding over his "The Graduate" like wedding at the end). And finally, yes, Jack seems to regularly get his butt kicked in Bleachers videos.