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."

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!