iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
Anything related to 2023 in music!
I'll go with a top 30 albums with a brief description of why I liked them for the top 10, followed by other end-of-year odds-and-ends.
1. boygenius: the record – Stunningly emotional, creative album of beautiful songwriting that mixes the best qualities of Julien Baker, Pheobe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. Fav song – “Not Strong Enough”
2. Paramore: This is Why – Paramore fantastically meld their emo roots to post-punk textures and dance-punk vibes that will shoot through you like electricity. Fav song – “This is Why”
3. Blondshell: Blondshell – One of the best debuts of the year that fuses together endless earworm alt-rock melodies with her caustic lyrics. Riot grrrl turned singer/songwriter. Fav song – “Joiner”
4. Steven Wilson: The Harmony Codex – A brilliantly mind-bending series of songs that display Wilson’s eclectic prowess and impeccable gift for melodies. Fav song – “Impossible Tightrope”
5. Caroline Polachek: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You – Art-pop as IMAX, where she tries anything and everything, following her muse down every rabbit hole, and it all works spectacularly. Fav song – “Billions”
6. Mitski: The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We – Mitski feels more singular than ever, her voice resonant in a sparse musical landscape. A return-to-form shaped like a snowstorm. Fav song – “I Love Me After You”
7. Bully: Lucky for You - Chockful of absolutely monstrous songs, built on heavy riffs, furious vocals, and powerful melodies. There’s no weak links here. Fav song – “Hard to Love”
8. Squirrel Flower: Tomorrow’s Fire – Superb songwriting built with shuddering guitars that reflect her raw lyrical approach. It takes everything from her last two albums and elevates it. Fav song – “Alley Light”
9. The National: Laugh Track – Leagues ahead of their other 2023 LP, this album is full of wonderfully crafted songs that spiral outward unexpectedly – like marbles strewn across the floor. Fav song – “Space Invader”
10. Anna B Savage: In|FLUX – Full of poignancy, Savage proves to have one of the most distinctive, emotional, operatic voices out there today, with styles from feather-light acoustic to ultraviolet pulses. Fav song – “In|FLUX”
11. Angie McMahon: Light, Dark, Light Again Fav song - "Letting Go"
12. Miss Grit: Follow the Cyborg Fav song - "Follow the Cyborg"
13. Young Fathers: Heavy Heavy Fav song - "I Saw"
14. Avalon Emerson: & the Charm Fav song - "Dreamliner"
15. Heartworms: A Comforting Notion Fav song - "Consistent Dedication"
16. Lanterns on the Lake: Versions of Us Fav song - "The Likes of Us"
17. Worriers: Trust Your Gut Fav song - "Cloudy and 55"
18. Wednesday: Rat Saw God Fav song - "Chosen to Deserve"
19. Depeche Mode: Momento Mori Fav song - "Speak to Me"
20. Carly Rae Jepsen: The Loveliest Time Fav song - "Put It To Rest"
21. Brigid Mae Power: Dream from the Deep Well Fav song - "The Waterford Song"
22. Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS Fav song - "Bad idea right?"
23. Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, Jacknife Lee: Los Angeles Fav song - "This Is What It Is"
24. Peter Gabriel: i/O Fav song - "Road to Joy"
25. Elly Kace: Object Permanence Fav song - "Forgot My Name"
Worst album of the year: Roger Waters’s Dark Side of the Moon Redux (what a pointless monument to Waters’ galaxy-sized ego and hubris. A creatively bankrupt failure.
Most disappointing album of the year: PJ Harvey’s I Inside The Old Year Dying (I was looking forward to this one but it was just really lacking in any spark or spirit. Harvey has always crafted music that scratched the right parts of my brain and provided an emotional gut punch. This is all head, no heart.)
Best concerts of the year:
- U2 at Sphere: I saw all of Achtung Baby live in the closest environment to ZooTV that I’ll ever have a chance to witness. No show can possibly be as powerful for me.
- boygenius at Forest Hills Stadium: powerful, cathartic, and full of love - a wonderful display of stellar songwriting and beautiful friendship between these three artists.
- The Cure at MSG: I’ve wanted to see The Cure for years and they more than lived up to their legendary status. Mix of hits, rarities, and new songs – lots of tracks from Disintegration and The Head on the Door.
- The Last Dinner Party at Bowery Ballroom: get on the hype train for this band now, cause they’re going to be huge. They created a wonderful, theatrical, entrancing, thrilling noise – Kate Bush goes glam rock.
- The National at MSG: Seeing The National headline MSG for the first time was an unforgettable experience, especially when they closed with an unplugged, 20,000-plus strong singalong to “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.”
My favorite 2023 albums.
Slowdive - everything is alive
M83 - Fantasy
VNV Nation - Electric Sun
Some of my favorite albums of 2023:
Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V
We Are Scientists - Lobes
Depeche Mode - Memento Mori
The New Pornographers - Continue as a Guest
Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good!
Bayonne - Temporary Time
Django Django - Off Planet
Local Natives - Time Will Wait For No One
Disclosure - Alchemy
Nation of Language - Strange Disciple
Will Butler + Sister Squires - S/T
Blonde Redhead - Sit Down For Dinner
Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
Metric - Formentera II
Duran Duran - Danse Macabre
Favorite EP's
Manchester Orchestra - The Valley of Vision
Drab Majesty - All Object In Motion
Spoon - Memory Dust
Pet Shop Boys - Lost
Some Favorite Tracks of 2023:
The National - Tropic Morning News
Depeche Mode - Ghosts Again
Nation of Language - Sole Obsession
Gorillaz - New Gold
Kesha - Eat The Acid
Big Thief - Vampire Empire
Thundercat/Tame Impala - No More Lies
100 gecs - Dumbest Girl Alive
Manchester Orchestra - The Way
Carly Rae Jepson - Kamikaze
Disclosure - Looking For Love
Cannons - Loving You
slowdive - kisses
Blur - The Narcissist
Hatchie - Dream On - Country Girl
Hozier - Francesca
Drab Majesty - The Skin and The Glove
Death Cab For Cutie/CHVRCHES - An Arrow In The Wall
Blonde Redhead - Snowman
King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard - Theia
U2 - Atomic City
Metric - Stone Window
We Are Scientists - Miracle of '22
Cannons - Desire
VX H RR - Adrenochrome
Caroline Polachek - Bunny Is A Rider
Beach Fossils - Don't Fade Away
Jay Rock/Anderson Paak - Too Fast (Pull Over)
Drake/J. Cole - First Person Shooter
Vacations - Midwest
The National - Smoke Detector
Finally saw Depeche Mode in concert this year and made it to a Sphere show (and met Cobbler in October!).
All in all 2023 was a pretty good year for music.
Thank you my friend. Great post