Real poetry is always about plants and birds and trees and the animals and milk and honey breathing in the pink but real life is behind a screen by Pacing (anti-folk)
I'm Green by Mali Velasquez (indie folk)
The Secret to Life by FIZZ (indie pop)
Crazymad, For Me by CMAT (indie pop)
Javelin by Sufjan Stevens (folk)
Lahai by Sampha (indie soul)
chaos takes the wheel and i am a passenger by awakebutstillafraid (emo)
A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night by Katie Von Schleicher (indie pop)
The OPEN-HEARTED by Arlissa (pop)
Sitting Pretty by Half Stack (indie rock)
The Surface by Beartooth (metalcore)
Lessons That We Swear to Keep by Free Throw (emo)
Abundance by Sister. (indie folk)
Hot Milk by Adeline Hotel (folk instrumental)
The Hand That Fits the Glove by Faith Healer (indie rock)
Good Luck Bad Dog by Buckets (indie rock)
Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler) by Short Fictions (emo)
new planet heaven by HUNNY (indie rock)
Jenny From Thebes by The Mountain Goats (folk rock)
I listened to a lot of music last year: 231 LPs, plus EPs and compilations. This year, I listened to a lot less music: 141 albums and 24 EPs. I got a lot more into podcasts in 2023, and that meant a lot of audio time got eaten up listening to people talking instead of people making music.
But it would feel weird not to publish another top 20. It’s an annual tradition for this blog, after all.…
The narrative on this song really beats out any competition. The nuanced portrayal of an obscenely privileged little princess who wants punk cred, one who shoplifts and dyes her own hair to fit in. I love that this titular "Old Money Bitch" is not an effigy to privilege, but rather a somewhat layered character who feels overshadowed by their parents accomplishments while perpetually unable to escape and live a normal life. Her frivolous and misguided attempts to fit in make her stand out more as an untouchable little shit, and the ambiguity about underscores relationship to the character (as a purely fictional character study, somebody they knew irl or a self insert) in a World that wants to tear down "industry plants" makes the song's dance with danger one worth exploring across numerous listens.
awakebutstillinbed - airport
Admittedly, the mix on this song isn't perfect. However, I have to recognize the amazing songwriting and lyrics. This song is raw as hell, and Shannon Taylor can still scream like a banshee murdering her fears. The lyrics at the end about not recognizing yourself hit me hard, maybe I can relate more to them than I'd like to admit. Overall, this heart wrenching little song was one of my favorites this week, and I'm eagerly awaiting this new album!
Meh
The Menzingers - Hope is a Dangerous Little Thing
The Menzingers have a tendency to sound a bit constipated on their more anthemic tracks (looking at you "America (You're Freaking Me Out)"), but the band also tends to shine when writing simpler songs. The concept on this track is broad but very relatable, and it's not hampered by some generic-as-Muse political gesturing. Hope is a dangerous thing indeed.
blackwinterwells, FloodDubs - Glass Cannon
This newest song from blackwinterwells sounds pretty dry and faceless, as if to be buried in a playlist with thousands of similar songs. I guess I'm not surprised the sound and structure of 2012 dubstep is coming back in 2023, I just wish blackwinterwells incorporated this signature sound with their own (and didn't eschew personality).
Eyedress, Mac DeMarco - The Dark Prince
Zzzz....
Worst
The Streets - Too Much Yayo
It's been diminishing returns for the Streets since Original Pirate Material, but this is a new low. The farty synth and drill 808s make for a strange instrumental, and the horrible singing makes this a worst song of the year contender for me. Mike Skinner, lay off the yayo.
I had this list more or less ready six weeks ago, but I just haven’t had time to write it up in a coherent blog post. And then a week ago, I decided to add 5 more songs. Now you’ve 35 tunes to rock out to. You can even check out the Spotify playlist I prepared. Enjoy.
Continue reading 35 Songs I Liked in 2023
I've never seen anyone talk about this cover, which is honestly very upsetting cuz its so fucking good. I was honestly super disappointed when I finally listened to the original, cuz[and no offense to Belle and Sebastian fans, they're actually a really good band] the og is so lame and silly sounding compared to this cover.