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| stolen from google, the word "hits" being ironic in this context, I guess |
In many ways, making a Favorite Songs list is easier than making a Favorite Albums list. It's more arbitrary because there is less space in between each entry in terms of quality, which in turns mean that you can pretty much do whatever the fuck you want and still end up with a great collection of songs. And it's easier to write about because the emotions that come from the experience are much more succinct, as they are packed into one moment in time as opposed to spread out over a tapestry of such moments found on your 40-to-90-minute album.
If I can do whatever I want, then here's something that I usually do: limit the songs to one per album. I can easily think of a half-dozen songs that would've made the Top 25 if another song from that album wasn't already on here first. If it's that important, I'll mention it in the blurb; otherwise, pretend that all these songs are on albums that are worth exploring in total.
Something that I tried this year was giving more weight to songs that were not on albums that were featured in yesterday's Top Ten Albums list. Obviously I'm not indiscriminately cutting the very best songs for that reason alone. I'm just saying that there is so little fucking difference between a 28th-best song of the year and a 15th-best song of the year that I don't see why I should feel the need to double up when I don't have to. If you wanted to know that Floodlights' "Lessons Learnt" is one of the best songs of the year, then being told it's the best song on the fourth-best album yesterday pretty much achieves the same purpose.
So here are the songs that stood out in 2023, in some cases despite the album it can be found on. I don't know. Who gives a shit? Maybe we can just say that these are 25 great songs and leave it at that?
Top 25 Favorite Songs of 2023
25. "Major League" by the Tallest Man on Earth
Look, Major League is a silly movie. One of the silliest. But it's a mark of the Tallest Man on Earth's prodigious talent that he's able to wring so many beautiful sentiments from it anyway. I've loved this particular art form ever Sufjan perfected it on Illinois—taking something silly, and turning it on its head so that it becomes poignant. This song is about the Charlie Sheen movie, yes, but it's actually about the sense of adventure one might find in beginning anew, and the fear and excitement that spring from that life-changing decision. I guess there's only one thing left for the Tallest Man of Earth to do... WIN THE WHOLE FUCKING THING!!!!!
Look, Major League is a silly movie. One of the silliest. But it's a mark of the Tallest Man on Earth's prodigious talent that he's able to wring so many beautiful sentiments from it anyway. I've loved this particular art form ever Sufjan perfected it on Illinois—taking something silly, and turning it on its head so that it becomes poignant. This song is about the Charlie Sheen movie, yes, but it's actually about the sense of adventure one might find in beginning anew, and the fear and excitement that spring from that life-changing decision. I guess there's only one thing left for the Tallest Man of Earth to do... WIN THE WHOLE FUCKING THING!!!!!
24. "Burfict!" by JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
There are two paths to travel when responding to self-hatred. You can collapse inward, or you can explode outward. Danny Brown did both this year. Quaranta was his dark, reflective piece, and it's probably not getting ranked on either list only because it was just released like two weeks ago. SCARING THE HOES is the insanity the preceded it. There's dark and scary, and then there's the dark and scary that it sounds like it's happening in at a boxing match in The Matrix.
There are two paths to travel when responding to self-hatred. You can collapse inward, or you can explode outward. Danny Brown did both this year. Quaranta was his dark, reflective piece, and it's probably not getting ranked on either list only because it was just released like two weeks ago. SCARING THE HOES is the insanity the preceded it. There's dark and scary, and then there's the dark and scary that it sounds like it's happening in at a boxing match in The Matrix.
23. "True Blue" by boygenius
I appreciate boygenius' unique ubiquity throughout 2023, but I also think that I don't really need to say much more than this: I am still struggling with the idea that I like "True Blue" the best because it has some adorable girl-on-girl kissing in the video. I don't know what that says about me, or whether it says anything at all besides the fact that I am a cishet male whose mind was irrevocably warped by his pornography intake at the age of fifteen. I'd like to say that "True Blue" reveals Lucy Dacus as one of the great poets of our time, and that's why it's the best song on the record. Who's to say, though. Not me. I'm just a winter bitch with summer in my blood.
I appreciate boygenius' unique ubiquity throughout 2023, but I also think that I don't really need to say much more than this: I am still struggling with the idea that I like "True Blue" the best because it has some adorable girl-on-girl kissing in the video. I don't know what that says about me, or whether it says anything at all besides the fact that I am a cishet male whose mind was irrevocably warped by his pornography intake at the age of fifteen. I'd like to say that "True Blue" reveals Lucy Dacus as one of the great poets of our time, and that's why it's the best song on the record. Who's to say, though. Not me. I'm just a winter bitch with summer in my blood.
22. "Chet Baker" by Esther Rose
Wild to think that there are 23-year-olds who feel so "good" that they need saving. Then again, it's hard to remember back then. I was 23 over 1000 years ago, and all I remember are the good times. Shout out to Esther Rose for holding my feet to the fire.
Wild to think that there are 23-year-olds who feel so "good" that they need saving. Then again, it's hard to remember back then. I was 23 over 1000 years ago, and all I remember are the good times. Shout out to Esther Rose for holding my feet to the fire.
21. "Sideways Skull" by the Hold Steady
We're at the point where I don't have to tell you about how latter-day Hold Steady operates. We've been over this. The band is more than two decades old and sounds tighter than ever; Craig Finn has so many evocative words pouring out of him that sometimes he doesn't even have time to come up with one of those shout-along choruses that made this band legendary. It's not a matter of saying they were better way back when or they are better now. I don't think that's the question. The question is whether the adjusted structure works. When you listen to "Sideways Skull," it's hard to argue otherwise. These are the well-written short stories, and they happen to have gnarly guitars and "woo-oo!" hooks attached.
We're at the point where I don't have to tell you about how latter-day Hold Steady operates. We've been over this. The band is more than two decades old and sounds tighter than ever; Craig Finn has so many evocative words pouring out of him that sometimes he doesn't even have time to come up with one of those shout-along choruses that made this band legendary. It's not a matter of saying they were better way back when or they are better now. I don't think that's the question. The question is whether the adjusted structure works. When you listen to "Sideways Skull," it's hard to argue otherwise. These are the well-written short stories, and they happen to have gnarly guitars and "woo-oo!" hooks attached.
20. "Act Natural" by Margaret Glaspy
I love when artists try something new, but also love when they find their niche and hammer that shit home. I thought Glaspy's stabs at orchestration were strained at best, so it's nice to hear her return to the simple guitar-ditty pop nuggets that made her famous (well, famous to me, anyway). I also love when a song serves as a self-reflection—how she's acting natural on a song called "Act Natural." Lots to love here.
I love when artists try something new, but also love when they find their niche and hammer that shit home. I thought Glaspy's stabs at orchestration were strained at best, so it's nice to hear her return to the simple guitar-ditty pop nuggets that made her famous (well, famous to me, anyway). I also love when a song serves as a self-reflection—how she's acting natural on a song called "Act Natural." Lots to love here.
19. "I Think I Might Be Weird" by Fucked Up
One Day is Fucked Up showing off—"see, we can do the same thing we've always done, and we only need 24 hours to do it this time." Though, at a certain point, it doesn't even matter what's going on in the front end. Here in the back end, a lot of my time is taken up by thinking about this legendary non-hardcore hardcore band. When I hear this song in particular, I'm mainly thinking about how genius it was to get Damian Abraham to use his mighty yawlp to tell the story about the horrors of Canadian colonization. Hmm.
One Day is Fucked Up showing off—"see, we can do the same thing we've always done, and we only need 24 hours to do it this time." Though, at a certain point, it doesn't even matter what's going on in the front end. Here in the back end, a lot of my time is taken up by thinking about this legendary non-hardcore hardcore band. When I hear this song in particular, I'm mainly thinking about how genius it was to get Damian Abraham to use his mighty yawlp to tell the story about the horrors of Canadian colonization. Hmm.
18. "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" by the Rolling Stones ft. Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder
I don't want to put any words in Mick Jagger's mouth, but I get the sense that this song is all about closure, and being comfortable with what you are leaving behind. The Stones' legacy would be secure without their should-be swan song, Hackney Diamonds, but the album does a great job underlining the point, I think. Here, the penultimate song (and last "actual" song) looks to the future, and in the process, looks to the afterlife, since that's the only place to go from here. (Also, there's a tangential theory that the Stones are leaving the mantel of "rock 'n' roll" to Lady Gaga, which is a theory I fucking adore, but also don't have the authority to necessarily ratify.) To quote the quartet on the sinking ship: "Gentlemen, it's been a privilege."
I don't want to put any words in Mick Jagger's mouth, but I get the sense that this song is all about closure, and being comfortable with what you are leaving behind. The Stones' legacy would be secure without their should-be swan song, Hackney Diamonds, but the album does a great job underlining the point, I think. Here, the penultimate song (and last "actual" song) looks to the future, and in the process, looks to the afterlife, since that's the only place to go from here. (Also, there's a tangential theory that the Stones are leaving the mantel of "rock 'n' roll" to Lady Gaga, which is a theory I fucking adore, but also don't have the authority to necessarily ratify.) To quote the quartet on the sinking ship: "Gentlemen, it's been a privilege."
17. "Only Daedalus" by U.S. Girls
A surprisingly large number of thoughts to process for this one: how Daedalus is Icarus' father; the idea of "don't fly close to the sun" vs. the Kubrickian idea of "build better wings"; the role that myth has in our current culture; how that myth pertains to the act of giving birth; how surreal it is to think about all of this while dancing to one of the slinkiest, catchiest dance-pop songs of the year.
A surprisingly large number of thoughts to process for this one: how Daedalus is Icarus' father; the idea of "don't fly close to the sun" vs. the Kubrickian idea of "build better wings"; the role that myth has in our current culture; how that myth pertains to the act of giving birth; how surreal it is to think about all of this while dancing to one of the slinkiest, catchiest dance-pop songs of the year.
16. "Eutherians (Ultramarine)" by ME REX
If you're gonna repeat a word in a sentence, you need to repeat it at least like four times, because only in hyperbole does it regain its power. ME REX's repetition of "deep, deep, deep, deep" along with the rhythm of this epic song make me know that this shit is deep. It's been deeply embedded in my brain since I first heard it. I've been slightly annoyed with ME REX's shenanigans in the past, and I think "Eutherians (Ultramarine)" is so good that it proves me right—that this dude can soar if he stopped fucking around and made some straight-up great songs. Probably why they are calling Giant Elk ME REX's "debut album," even though it's at least his third major release. "Start here!" it exclaims.
If you're gonna repeat a word in a sentence, you need to repeat it at least like four times, because only in hyperbole does it regain its power. ME REX's repetition of "deep, deep, deep, deep" along with the rhythm of this epic song make me know that this shit is deep. It's been deeply embedded in my brain since I first heard it. I've been slightly annoyed with ME REX's shenanigans in the past, and I think "Eutherians (Ultramarine)" is so good that it proves me right—that this dude can soar if he stopped fucking around and made some straight-up great songs. Probably why they are calling Giant Elk ME REX's "debut album," even though it's at least his third major release. "Start here!" it exclaims.
15. "Sarah's Place" by Zach Bryan ft. Noah Kahan
Damn, dude, I did not think that Noah Kahan was gonna show up in any of the end-of-year discussion, but here we are. That's what happens when you get into the good graces of a dude who finds himself inexplicably one the most popular pop-country musicians of the year (inexplicable because Zach Bryan actually makes really good music, and his demeanor doesn't quite jibe with the rest of the trump-dick-sucking hucksters who made popular country music this year).
Damn, dude, I did not think that Noah Kahan was gonna show up in any of the end-of-year discussion, but here we are. That's what happens when you get into the good graces of a dude who finds himself inexplicably one the most popular pop-country musicians of the year (inexplicable because Zach Bryan actually makes really good music, and his demeanor doesn't quite jibe with the rest of the trump-dick-sucking hucksters who made popular country music this year).
14. "Rock River" by King Tuff
I could see maybe there being an argument that I enjoyed King Tuff's new album so much because I saw it performed live. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. A song like "Rock River" is gonna kick ass regardless of setting, but when you get to see the sweat pouring out of the artist as they showcase it for you, it has a way of heightening your appreciation for it. I could get into why that concert was important to me on a metatextual level, but we don't have to get that deep. I enjoy King Tuff at his best, "Rock River" is his best this year, and that's that.
I could see maybe there being an argument that I enjoyed King Tuff's new album so much because I saw it performed live. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. A song like "Rock River" is gonna kick ass regardless of setting, but when you get to see the sweat pouring out of the artist as they showcase it for you, it has a way of heightening your appreciation for it. I could get into why that concert was important to me on a metatextual level, but we don't have to get that deep. I enjoy King Tuff at his best, "Rock River" is his best this year, and that's that.
13. "Cigarette" by the Beaches
I haven't decided what it means when a band decides to stick a musical outlier in the final song slot of their album. I'm even less decided on what it means when that outlier is the best song on the album. You might say that the band didn't have the talent to make a whole album of this. You might say that it acts as a sneak peak of future work. You might just say that a song this good—almost like Haim attempting to fit in with the Drive soundtrack—is just simply good in any context, and so why not leave 'em wanting more?
I haven't decided what it means when a band decides to stick a musical outlier in the final song slot of their album. I'm even less decided on what it means when that outlier is the best song on the album. You might say that the band didn't have the talent to make a whole album of this. You might say that it acts as a sneak peak of future work. You might just say that a song this good—almost like Haim attempting to fit in with the Drive soundtrack—is just simply good in any context, and so why not leave 'em wanting more?
12. "Free Yourself" by Jessie Ware
I missed the whole Giorgio Moroder thing the first time around, since I spent the majority of Euro disco's critical and commercial peak being decidedly not alive. So it's kinda nice having someone like Jessie Ware repackage it for me. I get to experience the thrill in real time. And it is a fucking thrill, obviously. There's a reason we're still blasting this shit in Moroder's 83rd year.
I missed the whole Giorgio Moroder thing the first time around, since I spent the majority of Euro disco's critical and commercial peak being decidedly not alive. So it's kinda nice having someone like Jessie Ware repackage it for me. I get to experience the thrill in real time. And it is a fucking thrill, obviously. There's a reason we're still blasting this shit in Moroder's 83rd year.
11. "Frog on the Floor" by 100 gecs
It's goofy enough that my kids enjoy it, and I think that's the point. 100 gecs is weird as fuck but maybe "Frog on the Floor" is its way of reaching across the aisle to some young kids in Northeast Philadelphia with a little beginners ska music. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's been documented on this very blog that a 100 gecs song made Wilow dance for the first time, and then almost four years later we're still talking about 100 gecs as a way to bridge the age divide, how "Frogs on the Floor" was a song that I played enough that eventually Willow says, "Daddy, I think I like this song now." I think that, to a certain extent, framing a song in the "do my kids like this or do my kids not like this" discussion does the artist an incredible disservice. I also think that the exceptions boil down to when the music affects the relationship you have with your kids. It's not just a matter of who likes what, it's more so what we like and what that means for us. That's the power of music! On a song about a frog doing a kegstand!!!
It's goofy enough that my kids enjoy it, and I think that's the point. 100 gecs is weird as fuck but maybe "Frog on the Floor" is its way of reaching across the aisle to some young kids in Northeast Philadelphia with a little beginners ska music. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's been documented on this very blog that a 100 gecs song made Wilow dance for the first time, and then almost four years later we're still talking about 100 gecs as a way to bridge the age divide, how "Frogs on the Floor" was a song that I played enough that eventually Willow says, "Daddy, I think I like this song now." I think that, to a certain extent, framing a song in the "do my kids like this or do my kids not like this" discussion does the artist an incredible disservice. I also think that the exceptions boil down to when the music affects the relationship you have with your kids. It's not just a matter of who likes what, it's more so what we like and what that means for us. That's the power of music! On a song about a frog doing a kegstand!!!
10. "Eat the Acid" by Kesha
"Everything that's seen cannot be unseen." So it goes with the video for this song, which is one of the most evocative "visualizers" I have ever seen and probably will ever see. It's a four-minute close-up shot of Kesha's face, and for the entire four minutes, disembodied hands are groping her, choking her, abusing her, basically. It's surprising already to hear Kesha sound like Portishead. It's even more surprising that it's this successful, and this memorable. The cynics will protest that Kesha is still cashing in on her pain. The true believers know that her pain is real, and that art like this could never imply otherwise.
"Everything that's seen cannot be unseen." So it goes with the video for this song, which is one of the most evocative "visualizers" I have ever seen and probably will ever see. It's a four-minute close-up shot of Kesha's face, and for the entire four minutes, disembodied hands are groping her, choking her, abusing her, basically. It's surprising already to hear Kesha sound like Portishead. It's even more surprising that it's this successful, and this memorable. The cynics will protest that Kesha is still cashing in on her pain. The true believers know that her pain is real, and that art like this could never imply otherwise.
9. "Temple Song" by American Trappist
I like reviewing local and relatively unknown bands in Record Club. We don't do it too often, but it's nice to stay humble and to remember that not all good music is coming from the artists who got lucky and found even a small semblance of success. There are bands like American Trappist who will always feel small and will never break out. I think that's okay. But I also like when this happens: halfway through "Temple Song," American Trappist decides that, in fact, obscurity doesn't suit them, and that for a few minutes, they are going to sound like the biggest fucking band on earth.
I like reviewing local and relatively unknown bands in Record Club. We don't do it too often, but it's nice to stay humble and to remember that not all good music is coming from the artists who got lucky and found even a small semblance of success. There are bands like American Trappist who will always feel small and will never break out. I think that's okay. But I also like when this happens: halfway through "Temple Song," American Trappist decides that, in fact, obscurity doesn't suit them, and that for a few minutes, they are going to sound like the biggest fucking band on earth.
8. "This Is Why" by Paramore
"There are certain tricks in music that always get me, and [this song] has one of them. When the whole band is jamming, and all of a sudden they stop for a beat and all hit the same notes at the same time. Love it. That one moment makes this song worth it." This is what I wrote in 2017 regarding that year's 24th-best song, "Hard Times" by Paramore. If you're expecting to say something like "THIS IS WHY that particular music trick gets me going: ____" then you will be disappointed. I don't know why it keeps happening to me, or why it's Paramore that keeps doing it. But I can't help but think this is a more-they-change-more-they-stay-the-same situation. Keep going, Paramore.
"There are certain tricks in music that always get me, and [this song] has one of them. When the whole band is jamming, and all of a sudden they stop for a beat and all hit the same notes at the same time. Love it. That one moment makes this song worth it." This is what I wrote in 2017 regarding that year's 24th-best song, "Hard Times" by Paramore. If you're expecting to say something like "THIS IS WHY that particular music trick gets me going: ____" then you will be disappointed. I don't know why it keeps happening to me, or why it's Paramore that keeps doing it. But I can't help but think this is a more-they-change-more-they-stay-the-same situation. Keep going, Paramore.
7. "Cops and robbers" by underscores
I don't know if I made this clear in my extremely obtuse album review of Wallsocket ("good luck" reading that one again), but I really appreciated how underscores was able to incorporate the glitchy technobabble weirdness into the hooks. Bands less worth the effort would be content to add the weird shit as a distraction, as window-dressing. Not here. The moment when the first beat of the chorus is replaced with the sound of computer rebooting? That's fucking gold right there. The syncopation of "... / wwwWHEN'S THE LAST TIME" has been in my head for weeks. Bring the weirdness when it sounds like this.
I don't know if I made this clear in my extremely obtuse album review of Wallsocket ("good luck" reading that one again), but I really appreciated how underscores was able to incorporate the glitchy technobabble weirdness into the hooks. Bands less worth the effort would be content to add the weird shit as a distraction, as window-dressing. Not here. The moment when the first beat of the chorus is replaced with the sound of computer rebooting? That's fucking gold right there. The syncopation of "... / wwwWHEN'S THE LAST TIME" has been in my head for weeks. Bring the weirdness when it sounds like this.
6. "History Books" by the Gaslight Anthem
This is the kind of shit you can only pull once. The Gaslight Anthem, either haunted by or benefiting from constant comparisons to Bruce Springsteen throughout their entire existence, finally reunite and finally get the goddamn dude on of their songs. (Apparently, it involved a secret rendezvous at a Jersey pizza parlor.) It seems like an apotheosis, but that comes with inherent risk—where do you go from here? Will the Gaslight Anthem get to the point where they are remembering this moment and thinking "it just brings me down / when I think of it now"? Maybe. Still, when a song is this good—and of course it is, it's a fucking Gaslight Anthem and Bruce Springsteen duet!!—maybe it's best if we just enjoy the moment.
This is the kind of shit you can only pull once. The Gaslight Anthem, either haunted by or benefiting from constant comparisons to Bruce Springsteen throughout their entire existence, finally reunite and finally get the goddamn dude on of their songs. (Apparently, it involved a secret rendezvous at a Jersey pizza parlor.) It seems like an apotheosis, but that comes with inherent risk—where do you go from here? Will the Gaslight Anthem get to the point where they are remembering this moment and thinking "it just brings me down / when I think of it now"? Maybe. Still, when a song is this good—and of course it is, it's a fucking Gaslight Anthem and Bruce Springsteen duet!!—maybe it's best if we just enjoy the moment.
5. "Save the World" by Jason Isbell
This is the correct way to build a healthy distance between what you know is right and how you choose to express it. It's easy, too easy, to pontificate when you're this right, and want other people to know it. I mean, how fucking hard is it to admit that children are fucking DYING because of gun culture in this fucked up country? But see, there I go. I don't possess the patience and grace that Jason Isbell so clearly does. "Save the World" isn't about how gun violence is a scourge on our nation, not exactly. It's more about the fear of living in a society that doesn't seem to want to move toward any reasonable solutions. It's not a bullhorn, it's a mirror. Isbell is saying that it's okay to feel this way, and that he does too. He leaves the call to action implied, and that makes the song all the better.
This is the correct way to build a healthy distance between what you know is right and how you choose to express it. It's easy, too easy, to pontificate when you're this right, and want other people to know it. I mean, how fucking hard is it to admit that children are fucking DYING because of gun culture in this fucked up country? But see, there I go. I don't possess the patience and grace that Jason Isbell so clearly does. "Save the World" isn't about how gun violence is a scourge on our nation, not exactly. It's more about the fear of living in a society that doesn't seem to want to move toward any reasonable solutions. It's not a bullhorn, it's a mirror. Isbell is saying that it's okay to feel this way, and that he does too. He leaves the call to action implied, and that makes the song all the better.
4. "ballad of a homeschooled girl" by Olivia Rodrigo
I spoke in the intro above about albums with multiple excellent songs, and how in those scenarios, I'd choose the best of those songs to include here. Betchya didn't think I was thinking about Olivia Rodrigo when I typed that. It's true—if we're talking pure quantity, then GUTS probably has the most songs worthy of this Top 25 Songs list out of any album released in 2023. They—this amazingly catchy pop-punk song, the glam-pop "vampire," the snarky earworm "bad idea, right?", the stomper "get him back!", just to name a few—are so good that honestly, I'm not even worried about Olivia Rodrigo anymore. Who's pulling the strings? Who gives a shit? Keep yelling the word "fuck" and keep beating those crass Disney execs away. I guess my only concern is that Rodrigo is going to keep going down this path, and keep releasing more and more songs that are, like, right in my fucking wheelhouse, and I just don't think that's where your typical 2020s pop star necessarily wants to be, ya know? Catering to some fucking old man who's blogging about music? No. Just ask Carly Rae Jepsen what happens then—ever-rising critical acclaim, and gradually declining ticket sales. Appealing to the Puke on Your Birthday crowd: it's social suicide!!!!!!!!!!
I spoke in the intro above about albums with multiple excellent songs, and how in those scenarios, I'd choose the best of those songs to include here. Betchya didn't think I was thinking about Olivia Rodrigo when I typed that. It's true—if we're talking pure quantity, then GUTS probably has the most songs worthy of this Top 25 Songs list out of any album released in 2023. They—this amazingly catchy pop-punk song, the glam-pop "vampire," the snarky earworm "bad idea, right?", the stomper "get him back!", just to name a few—are so good that honestly, I'm not even worried about Olivia Rodrigo anymore. Who's pulling the strings? Who gives a shit? Keep yelling the word "fuck" and keep beating those crass Disney execs away. I guess my only concern is that Rodrigo is going to keep going down this path, and keep releasing more and more songs that are, like, right in my fucking wheelhouse, and I just don't think that's where your typical 2020s pop star necessarily wants to be, ya know? Catering to some fucking old man who's blogging about music? No. Just ask Carly Rae Jepsen what happens then—ever-rising critical acclaim, and gradually declining ticket sales. Appealing to the Puke on Your Birthday crowd: it's social suicide!!!!!!!!!!
3. "The Window" by Ratboys
Alright, these top three song have made me tear up almost every time I've listened to them over the past year. Answering the question "why?" for "The Window" is the easiest. It's easy because it is a song that is designed to make you cry. In it, Ratboys' Julia Steiner directly quotes her grandfather as he stood outside the hospital room and watched through the window as her grandmother died of COVID. I think what really gets me, though, is something that happened another layer removed—I read at one point that Steiner went back home and personally played this song for her family. Thinking about that scenario gets me good. I keep thinking about how her parents felt, and how powerful that cocktail of pride and grief must have been in that moment. The hook of "So take this part of me" works on a bunch of different levels—a love between a pair torn apart by disease, Steiner making this her own story and sharing it back to a familial audience, and then Ratboys giving us, the audience, our own window, that we can see this story and feel its power and maybe relate it to our own stories. I take this part of you, you take this part of me.
Alright, these top three song have made me tear up almost every time I've listened to them over the past year. Answering the question "why?" for "The Window" is the easiest. It's easy because it is a song that is designed to make you cry. In it, Ratboys' Julia Steiner directly quotes her grandfather as he stood outside the hospital room and watched through the window as her grandmother died of COVID. I think what really gets me, though, is something that happened another layer removed—I read at one point that Steiner went back home and personally played this song for her family. Thinking about that scenario gets me good. I keep thinking about how her parents felt, and how powerful that cocktail of pride and grief must have been in that moment. The hook of "So take this part of me" works on a bunch of different levels—a love between a pair torn apart by disease, Steiner making this her own story and sharing it back to a familial audience, and then Ratboys giving us, the audience, our own window, that we can see this story and feel its power and maybe relate it to our own stories. I take this part of you, you take this part of me.
2. "Bull Believer" by Wednesday
Here I am yet again, having to explain why one of my favorite songs of the year involves someone screaming like a fucking maniac. "Bull Believer" is a heavy song, but it doesn't hit catharsis until Karly Hartzman steals a phrase from Mortal Kombat—"finish him!"—and repeats it in so many increasingly violent ways that it becomes a form of enlightenment. I don't think a phrase repeated like this necessarily has to have meaning—for example: "Bailiff Ron!"—but instead it's the repetition itself lends it its intense power. Listen to "Bull Believer" and tell me you don't fucking feel it. I hear this song and I get this, like, tightness in my chest, and I'm still not sure if there is any meaning behind that or it's just a physical reaction to theoretical danger. In any case, for as long as there are indie rock vocalists who decide to briefly shred their vocal cords to make some sort of higher point, then I'll be here writing about 'em in the Top Songs lists.
Here I am yet again, having to explain why one of my favorite songs of the year involves someone screaming like a fucking maniac. "Bull Believer" is a heavy song, but it doesn't hit catharsis until Karly Hartzman steals a phrase from Mortal Kombat—"finish him!"—and repeats it in so many increasingly violent ways that it becomes a form of enlightenment. I don't think a phrase repeated like this necessarily has to have meaning—for example: "Bailiff Ron!"—but instead it's the repetition itself lends it its intense power. Listen to "Bull Believer" and tell me you don't fucking feel it. I hear this song and I get this, like, tightness in my chest, and I'm still not sure if there is any meaning behind that or it's just a physical reaction to theoretical danger. In any case, for as long as there are indie rock vocalists who decide to briefly shred their vocal cords to make some sort of higher point, then I'll be here writing about 'em in the Top Songs lists.
1. "Up Song" by Black Country, New Road
The idea of a "song" is cool because the idea is so malleable. Great songs can look so fucking different from each other. Some songs maintain greatness at a steady clip throughout. Some songs gradually morph into some amazing, assuming the listener can hold on. And then some songs have that one moment, that one brief moment that reigns over everything else going on in its runtime, not overshadowing but perhaps rising the tide for all boats, that one moment that achieves total catharsis and in turn makes the song in which its couched in one of the best songs of the year.
"Up Song" has such a moment. Its power both lies in the context in which it arrives, and also the context we provide to it from our own lives. That moment: the band stop playing, and everyone (lead vocalist, band members, audience) yells "Look at what we did together / BCNR, friends forever!" and then the snare drum kicks everybody back in, and the phrase is repeated thrice more, louder this time, with the instruments moving like a fright train, and barreling toward the conclusion.
The context is important but not necessary. It might not even be necessary for me to explain it, since I just did that last year with this band, maybe overly so—Black Country, New Road was hitting their stride and then lost their frontman, and so the 2022 album felt like a swan song. And yet, only a year later, and the band is continuing on. They are picking up the pieces and doing a different thing and trying to pick up some of the momentum. The other members share vocal duties (Tyler Hyde does her thing on this song, but lead duties are egalitarian at this point). They do all new songs, and they perform those new songs for kind audiences. Those new songs were all released on a live album this year, Live at Bush Hall. And it's clear what these songs, and this song particular, and this lyric particularly, means to the band. "Look at what we did together!" The "what we did" is basically... survive. Show resilience. Make beautiful music under trying circumstances. It's pretty inspiring, all things considered.
I find more meaning in what I apply it to. I see the lyric "Look at what we did together / BCNR, friends forever" as inspiring in its own right. Just replace "BCNR" with anything you want. I replaced it with "PoYB" over the summer, but it could be anything. The idea here is that there is a community of like-minded souls, and that they can find power in coming together and sharing this beautiful monstrosity that we call life. The "together" part is necessary; it's how society functions. We need to look after our fellow humans, make sure they have what they need, so that we can all live our lives as best we can. Together. "Friends forever" is icing on the cake. It's not enough to show sympathy. Empathy is required as well. We're in it together, and there is joy in being together.
I know a lot of that is wishy-washy, but that really is what I feel when I hear this song. When the band stops, my heart stops too, and when I hear the rallying cry of love and friendship and togetherness, I can't help but get wrapped up in that emotion. This is exactly how I want to feel when I listen to music. The best songs get me there.
The idea of a "song" is cool because the idea is so malleable. Great songs can look so fucking different from each other. Some songs maintain greatness at a steady clip throughout. Some songs gradually morph into some amazing, assuming the listener can hold on. And then some songs have that one moment, that one brief moment that reigns over everything else going on in its runtime, not overshadowing but perhaps rising the tide for all boats, that one moment that achieves total catharsis and in turn makes the song in which its couched in one of the best songs of the year.
"Up Song" has such a moment. Its power both lies in the context in which it arrives, and also the context we provide to it from our own lives. That moment: the band stop playing, and everyone (lead vocalist, band members, audience) yells "Look at what we did together / BCNR, friends forever!" and then the snare drum kicks everybody back in, and the phrase is repeated thrice more, louder this time, with the instruments moving like a fright train, and barreling toward the conclusion.
The context is important but not necessary. It might not even be necessary for me to explain it, since I just did that last year with this band, maybe overly so—Black Country, New Road was hitting their stride and then lost their frontman, and so the 2022 album felt like a swan song. And yet, only a year later, and the band is continuing on. They are picking up the pieces and doing a different thing and trying to pick up some of the momentum. The other members share vocal duties (Tyler Hyde does her thing on this song, but lead duties are egalitarian at this point). They do all new songs, and they perform those new songs for kind audiences. Those new songs were all released on a live album this year, Live at Bush Hall. And it's clear what these songs, and this song particular, and this lyric particularly, means to the band. "Look at what we did together!" The "what we did" is basically... survive. Show resilience. Make beautiful music under trying circumstances. It's pretty inspiring, all things considered.
I find more meaning in what I apply it to. I see the lyric "Look at what we did together / BCNR, friends forever" as inspiring in its own right. Just replace "BCNR" with anything you want. I replaced it with "PoYB" over the summer, but it could be anything. The idea here is that there is a community of like-minded souls, and that they can find power in coming together and sharing this beautiful monstrosity that we call life. The "together" part is necessary; it's how society functions. We need to look after our fellow humans, make sure they have what they need, so that we can all live our lives as best we can. Together. "Friends forever" is icing on the cake. It's not enough to show sympathy. Empathy is required as well. We're in it together, and there is joy in being together.
I know a lot of that is wishy-washy, but that really is what I feel when I hear this song. When the band stops, my heart stops too, and when I hear the rallying cry of love and friendship and togetherness, I can't help but get wrapped up in that emotion. This is exactly how I want to feel when I listen to music. The best songs get me there.
1 comment:
Bull Believer Hive, let's ride.
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