When I posted the 2022 version of this list, I promised to share more on this blog in 2023. Well, that obviously didn’t happen. This is my first time back here since then. But I do have an idea for a podcast that I would like to produce in 2024, so hopefully you will see more of me in the coming year. Anyway, this list represents a very small portion of the “best of 2023” personal playlist I’ve curated over the past 12 months. Not really a fan of the “best of” terminology. I admit that, in many cases, there are much better songs than these out there, but the tracks listed below are the ones I gravitated to the most this year…my favorites, if you will.
Click here to see my favorite albums of 2023.
OK. Let’s get started…
“Flowers” – Miley Cyrus
OK…people who know me might be surprised to see this song on my list, but — seriously — “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus is an absolute banger.
“Nothing Left to Lose” – Everything But The Girl
It was so awesome to have Everything But The Girl return to the music scene in 2023, and “Nothing Left to Lose” was a fantastic way to usher in their return.
“Moonshine” – Young Gun Silver Fox
I am a sucker for “yacht rock” and Young Gun Silver Fox do it as well as anybody. Their Ticket to Shangri-La was one of my favorite albums of 2022, but “Moonshine” was a standalone single they released in early 2023. Not sure if any new music is coming from them in 2024, but they are coming back to the United States in January and February, and I got tickets for Christmas to see them in Brooklyn, N.Y., in early February. Can’t wait to see them live. Just hope a blizzard doesn’t mess up our plans.
“Ghosts Again” – Depeche Mode
I just couldn’t connect with a lot of Memento Mori, Depeche Mode‘s 2023 release. It was an OK album, but most of the tracks didn’t land with me. That said, “Ghosts Again” was more in line with classic DM and was a fitting tribute to fallen bandmate Andy Fletcher, so I am a big fan of that track.
“Kristine from the 7th Grade” – Ben Folds
“Kristine from the 7th Grade” from Ben Folds‘ What Matters Most is a humorous take on the political polarization in this country, with Ben questioning how a former classmate he remembered as fun-loving and happy could grow up to be someone who would send unsolicited emails filled with hate, anger and conspiracy theories. The song is bittersweet for me because I’ve cut so many ties with my former high school and college classmates because of this very issue. My best man from my 2010 wedding (and I was his best man in 2005) hasn’t spoken to me since early 2019 because he decided his support of a certain president/rapist/fascist was more important than our friendship.
“Good Morning” – Bad News for Birds
Bad News for Birds is an act from my town (the bar in the video is literally right down the street from me), but one of the members has been in a couple of prog-leaning projects I’ve followed over the years (one of which is coming back with new music in 2024) so that’s how I knew about them. It appears to be a one-off thing, or maybe they’ll just release a single every now and then? I don’t know. What I do know is that “Good Morning” immediately became a favorite with me. It just ticks so many of my boxes. I am a sucker for well-done dream pop like this. I hope there is more at some point, because this is damn near perfect.
“ballad of a homeschooled girl” – Olivia Rodrigo
GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo is one of my favorite albums of 2023, and “ballad of a homeschooled girl” was the track I kept on repeating to hear over and over again. And, as a bonus, Lo Moon‘s Sam Stewart (electric guitar) and Sterling Laws (drums) play on this track and some others (they also engineered a few tracks).
“Salad” – Blondshell
Blondshell got a lot of hype in 2023, and for good reason. “Salad” is a powerful, emotional song that stays with you. And, coincidentally, Sam Stewart of Lo Moon also plays guitar on Blondshell’s album, too.
“Let’s Make a Mistake Tonight” – Tennis
It’s hard to pick a favorite song from a Tennis album because they’re usually all really good. But I’m going to go with “Let’s Make a Mistake Tonight” from their Pollen LP.
“Call It Like It Is” – BAILEN
I’m a big fan of NYC sibling trio BAILEN, and “Call It Like It Is,” the first single from 2023’s Tired Hearts, was a great way to introduce the world to a brilliant album.
“Road to Joy” – Peter Gabriel
OK, “Road to Joy” sounds like a rehashed version of “Kiss That Frog” from Peter Gabriel‘s Us album (1992). But you know what? That song should have been a hit, so I’m glad that “Road to Joy” from 2023’s i/o wound up getting decent airplay on non-comm radio stations like WXPN. I consider it a do-over.
“Evidence” – Lo Moon
There have already been references to Lo Moon in this list, but here they are in full with the first single off their upcoming third studio album. Released in late October 2023, “Evidence” is an exploration of young love and the journey of self-improvement. The song is 6 minutes, 47 seconds of “epicness” and it sounds even better live — which I had the chance to experience during an intimate show at Pianos in NYC just days after the single’s release. Lo Moon played a bunch of new songs that night and they are some of the best I have heard from them. The new album is going to be spectacular. “Evidence” is the perfect appetizer.
“Begin Again” – Jessie Ware
Jessie Ware released my favorite album of 2023, That! Feels Good, and it includes what would have been my favorite song of the year in “Begin Again.” The Latin-inspired, horn-filled anthem of renewal is a true ass-shaker and Ware’s vocals are top notch. There was no better musical moment for me in 2023 then the ending of this song, starting with that build with her soaring voice and horns leading the way at 4:26. But the only reason “Begin Again” doesn’t top this list is that Jessie Ware is not the Beatles.
“Now and Then” – The Beatles
Is “Now and Then” a masterpiece? No. John Lennon recorded the original demo on a cassette in a noisy environment and the lyrics weren’t finished. Like the earlier “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” — also built on top of Lennon’s unfinished demos — the remaining Beatles did the best they could with what they had. That said, what Giles Martin, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Ben Foster and Peter Jackson’s MAL technology produced in 2023 — on top of the work done in 1995 by Giles’ father, George, and Jeff Lynne — is more than good enough to top this list. In my mind, there is no universe where a song by the Beatles — especially the last song ever released by the band — gets topped by any other. And, in the end, “Now and Then” also sounds pretty damn good.
Tandem With The Random 