Top 25 Songs of 2023

[transformers2]

Sports viewing and a trip to the movies over the weekend has me behind, so I'm going to use the next couple of days to catch up then turn my attention to the #1's after my selection is out of the way on Wednesday.
 
#3
John: Surfer, is that you? The instrumentation is pretty good, but the vocals managed to be both obnoxious and boring at the same time.

Leestu: Shame's record was on my radar for most of the year, but I never got around to checking it out. While this was an alright indie rock/art punk track, I'm not particularly eager to seek it out after hearing this.

six: Noname is typically very hit-or-miss for me, but this is a pretty good and by her standards, refreshingly aggressive track.

surfer: Nothing particularly good or bad about this.

Ron: Somewhat generic yet still effective pop rock with solid vocals, respectable energy and a catchy enough hook.

Chien: Pretty tough listen. While I've never been a big fan of The National, they sound like they're completely phoning it in here.

[numbersix]

John, while I generally am happy to hear a Sparks, I wasn't hugely blown away by your #1. I much preferred the drilling synth of the title track. Still, at least it wasn't another Margo track.

I did enjoy your list in total, though, and it actually felt like one of your best. Maybe that's because you're now a film-maker and your tastes are becoming increasingly pretentious and hipster. Or perhaps I'm getting older and less resistant to the middle-of-the-road. But very much enjoyed Yo La Tengo, Blur, Botticelli Baby, The Golden Dregs, and most others. Plus, an actual crossover and a near miss!

[transformers2]

#2
John: A very you pick, but man oh man this was a tough few minutes for little old me.

Leestu: Cool main riff and lengthy guitar solo. Everything else was kind of blah.

six: Have the same indifference towards this as I did Leestu's Shame pick at #3, although I will say that the quick noisy explosion at the very end caught me completely off-guard.

Surfer: I should've known this was going to show up on your list after John picked it at #3 I'll file this away as a case of successful musical profiling stat.

Ron: Not bad, but it sounds like a middling Frank Ocean B-side.

Chien: Agree with John that the language barrier is an impenetrable hurdle with this one. Compelling video though.

[JohnErle]

Maitland: Musical Profiler

Coming soon to Tubi.

[Leestu]

My top 25

#25. La condena: Triángulo de Amor Bizarro,
#24. Forlorn: Blossom
#23. Big Whale: Island Of Love
#22. Deeper: Everynight
#21. Water From Your Eyes: Barley
#20. Mandy, Indiana: Pinking Shears
#19. Momma: Sunday
#18. Yo La Tengo: Sinatra Drive Breakdown
#17. Legss: Fester
#16. HEALTH: Demigods
#15. Gurriers: Nausea
#14. Golden Hours: Dead On
#13. GHOSTWOMAN: Yoko
#12. Deeper: Fame
#11. A. A. Williams: Without You I’m Nothing
#10. Cory Hanson: Persuasion Architecture
#9. M(h)aol: Nice Guys
#8. Sprints: Up and Comer
#7. HotWax: Treasure
#6. Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee: Los Angeles (with James Murphy)
#5. Yard Act: The Trench Coat Museum
#4. Parannoul: Arrival
#3. shame: Adderall
#2. Cory Hanson: I Can’t Keep My Eyes Open

#1. Sunfruits: Feeling Fine

A green groovy number that makes my inner hippy happy while dancing along at first then rocking out at the end

[numbersix]

Leetsu, your #1 wasn't my favourite song from your list, not by a long shot. It was fun, trippy psych rock that was a little too nostalgic for me.

But your list in total was great. A few crossovers either in song or band (Yard Act, Shame), a few I knew already and love (Deeper, Mhaol), and a few surprises (Forlorn, Gurriers). Always a blast going through the songs which helped me get through Tranny's screamy metal tracks.

[transformers2]

Thanks to six for keeping this tradition that meant so much to Patrick alive and doing a great job taking over the hosting duties. Looking forward to doing it once again next January. Now, let's move on to my #1 shall we?


1.The Callous Daoboys-Pushing the Pink Envelope
It's only fair that I deliver 1 last heinous blast of extreme metal music before I close the book on my contributions to this year's countdown. "Pushing the Pink Envelope" sees The Callous Daoboys doing what they do best: unleashing an unrelenting storm of constantly shifting tempos, vocal styles and nods to genres from all over the musical spectrum without ever sounding unfocused or incoherent. It's mathcore at its most playful, exciting and chaotic and the fact that these guys and gals have their sound down to a science so early on in their careers is a testament to just how unbelievably talented and forward-thinking they are as a unit.

[transformers2]

My Top 25:
25.Mutoid Man-Frozen Hearts
24.Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves-I Remember Everything
23.Genesis Owusu-Freak Boy
22.Sampha-Suspended
21.King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Supercell
20.Travis Scott-My Eyes
19.Queens of the Stone Age-Obscenery
18.Kali Uchis-Moonlight
17.Dying Wish-Symptoms of Survival
16.Knocked Loose-Everything is Quiet Now
15.Horrendous-Chrysopoeia (The Archaeology of Dawn)
14.Yves Tumor-Ebony Eye
13.Kesha-Eat the Acid
12.Better Lovers-30 Under 13
11.Dua Lipa-Dance the Night
10.Job for a Cowboy-The Agony Seeping Storm
9.JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown-Burfict!
8.Foo Fighters-Under You
7.The Callous Daoboys-Waco Jesus
6.Mutoid Man-Graveyard Love
5.Queens of the Stone Age-Paper Machete
4.King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Witchcraft
3.Veil of Maya-Red Fur
2.JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown-Fentanyl Tester
1.The Callous Daoboys-Pushing the Pink Envelope

[numbersix]

Tranny, what can I say about your #1? Well, put it this way: I like curry, I like pizza, I like ice-cream, I like ramen. But if you put them all together in a single dish it's going to taste pretty awful.

As for the rest of your list, to be fair most of the screamy experimental metal didn't bother me that much, and once again I was able to appreciate the hip-hop choices, particularly the JPEGMAFIA/Danny Brown tracks. A few nice surprises, like Queens of the Stone Age, Yves Tumor, and King Gizzard (who I'm hoping to see in May at a fest they're headlining).

I do look forward to seeing you get older and gradually move from screamy metal to MOR country.

[JohnErle]

In a shocking turn of events, it turns out I did not enjoy Tranny's #1!! I know, who'da thunk it?

I didn't really dig Leestu's either, which was more surprising. His lists tend to be my favourites during these countdowns, but not so much this year. Oh well, maybe next time.

I already found a couple of songs I really like from 2024, so hopefully there will be a next time.

[numbersix]

RON'S #1



Teenage Dads: Speedracer





And the rest of the list:


2. Omar Apollo: Ice Slippin
3. Nothing But Thieves: Tomorrow Is Closed
4. Little Simz: Gorilla
5. Dom Dolla, Nelly Furtado: Eat Your Man
6. d4vd: Worthless
7. The Last Dinner Party: Nothing Matters
8. 070 Shake: Black Dress
9. Gorillaz, Adeleye Omotayo : Silent Running
10. Between You & Me: YEAH!
11. Teenage Dads: I Like It
12. Olivia Rodrigo: get him back!
13. Alan Palomo, Mac DeMarco: Nudista Mundial '89
14. Fred again.., Baby Keem: leavemealone
15. Shag Rock : Be Well
16. Lotte Gallagher: Adam
17. Tame Impala, Thundercat: No More Lies
18. Radio Free Alice: Look What You've Done
19. Holy Holy, Kwame: Messed Up
20. Maisie Peters :You're Just A Boy (And Im Kinda The Man)

[JohnErle]

Teenage Dads was catchy, summery pop, but I doubt it'll stick with me.

I was mostly struck by how misty and blustery the weather was at the start of the video because it looked nothing like how I picture Australia, and the whole thing reminded me of the video for In A Big Country with the band running around the moors of Scotland. Then a quick google revealed that the video was shot in Brighton and now the world makes sense to me again.

[silversurfer19]

Hi All, long time no see, apologies I'm not around so much these days, but good to see the forum is still going strong despite the huge gulf left in the heart of the community last year. Happy this aspect of the forum has remained, and whilst I've not had an opportunity to listen in on most of the music posted, I appreciate still being included in the countdown.

Last year was certainly a year for me which I spent listening to as much new music as I could, though I did spend quite a lot of the year looking back on some great music which had come before it, and this probably had an impact on the music in this countdown. Of the new music I did hear, there was some great stuff traversing many genres, and whilst I'm sure the songs I picked for this countdown likely went down like a lead balloon with most around here, I hope that at least one or two at least managed to get something from my countdown. I'm sure John has loved everything.

Anyway, firstly, here is my 25-2 list:

25. Bonnie Prince Billy, Crazy Blue Bells
24. PJ Harvey, Seem an I
23. Black Belt Eagle Scout, Nobody
22. Pardoner, Short Song
21. FACS, When You Say
20. Young Fathers, Rice
19. Purling Hiss, Yer All In My Dreams
18. Delivery, Baader Meninhof
17. Squid, The Blades
16. Pile, Loops
15. Deathcrash, Empty Heavy
14. Stuck, The Punisher
13. Dancer, Love
12. Lifeguard, Alarm
10. Protomartyr, Polacrilex Kid
9. Sweeping Promises, Eraser
8. Screaming Females, Mourning Dove
7. Sparklehorse, I Fucked It Up
6. Wombo, Slab
5. All Structures Align, Six Falcon
4. Washer, King Insignificant
3. BDRMM, It's Just A Bit Of Blood
2. Yo La Tengo, Fallout

To top my countdown, I picked the highlight of one of my favourite records of the year, and from a band who are absolutely a must see if you ever get the chance to catch live. I first discovered Wednesday through the brilliantly thrashy, guttural 'Maura' from their 2020 record I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone, and discovered a band who could weave a patchwork quilt of American culture into their mix of alt country, indie, shoegaze and alt rock via the intricate storytelling of Karly Hartzman. Their latest record, Rat Saw God, finds the band expanding on their already burgeoning palette, and this results in a complex, unfurling ride from start to finish. The epic Bull Believer is the record's heart, however, and over the course of it's 8 minute run, we find the band peeling layer upon layer of introspective confessions about death, grief and desperation, until it explodes into a scream-out of blood curdling proportions. Hartzman wears her heart on her sleeve, holding nothing back, and as the distortion and feedback squall in the background, it leaves her front and centre at breaking point demanding to 'Finish Him!' It's a brutally honest, emotive song which hits long after it's conclusion, and kept me going back again and again to this wonderful band.

1. Wednesday, 'Bull Believer'

[numbersix]

Ron, your #1 sounded like if The Strokes grew up on a tropical island. Not exactly for me, but like a lot of songs on your list, they were often too pleasant to dislike. Your list was as confounding as always, with the more poppy stuff lulling me into a false sense of security, and then occasionally you'll surprise with something excellent, like The Last Dinner Party (whose album came out today), or Little Simz. Makes it worth it.

[numbersix]

Chien's #1


Lana Del Rey: Grandfather, please stand on the shoulders of my father






Rest of List

4. Hoshi: Mauvais rêve
3. The National: Once upon a Poolside
2. Chilly Gonzales: French Kiss