Songs, 2023

20. Julie Byrne "Lightning Comes Up From the Ground"
“I wanna be a fantasy to you/and I think that is what's going on here” is the best opening to a song in 2023

19. Acid Souljah "American Tip Culture"
We've entered the billdifferen portion of my list (with another notable contribution at #12)

18. Jayda G "Scars"
17. Sofia Kourtesis "How Music Makes You Feel Better"
Elite vibes

16. The Japanese House "Touching Yourself"
The fastest way to my heart this year was to be a southern or at least southern-tinged punk/emo-tinged band with story-songs. I didn't know anything about Amber Bain (even that she's British) when I hit play, and after working through the album, this remained its high water mark: Bain’s raspy vocals recall the yearn of Danielle Haim at her most affected and the southern-coded fiddle and guitar jangle sound like Bonnie Raitt

15. 100 gecs "Dumbest Girl Alive"
I like 10,000 gecs but I don't love it. I have to admit this because the first time I heard this and "Hollywood Baby" I was ready to love it, more than our pets, more than Tari Eason, more than following mezcal-and-ices with beers. I was late to the gecs party because my initial thought was what's novel about white kids making nu-metal? Then I dug deeper and someone I trust aired out "Money Machine" at the bar and it went off. They nailed the alchemy on a few songs, repurposing mall-punk, nu-metal, ska, polka, Crazy Frog, 40 Oz. to Freedom, and the brand of internet music they pioneered into successful party music. This is a gauntlet thrown and the closest thing to an autobiographical note as well. Not everything "dumb" is secretly smart and "smart" things are often dumb: throw away classist/elitist traditional standards of high-/middle-/lowbrow and embrace the art, at their best this is what 100 gecs do

14. yeule "dazies"
Softscars' longest, highest soar

13. Animal Collective "Gem & I"
The best song of the year about cracking open a beer

12. Kreizy K "Soy un Malo"
It's incredible how such a minimal song can yield such a manic anthem, the signature dembow riddim with a dash of Liquid Liquid

11. Hamdi/Princess Superstar "Counting"
There's a slew of throwback trends brewing that keep threatening to take off but haven't yet: theoretical revivals of indie sleaze, bloghouse, Farrah Abraham-indebted avant-pop (Ayesha Erotica did have a TikTok hit this year), to, finally, bro-step. "Counting" works the margins of these disparate sounds and sweeps them all into the same gumbo

10. Lucas/Heaven "Every City Has a Rhythm"
In a kinder, less cynical world, this would unite optimistic fans of indie rock looking for a song less obnoxious than "All My Friends" and newer than "Hellhole Ratrace" and "Seasons" to Feel Things About At 1:45 am

9. Troye Sivan "Got Me Started"
This was the year the Big Obvious Sample and/or the Nostalgia-Inducing Sample reached a breaking point. A particularly odious strain of this was the millennial bait sample, where we're supposed to be impressed someone remembers "Time to Pretend" or something. I dismissed this song the first time I heard it, then I couldn't stop playing it. What separates it from Recognizable Sample detritus is its use during the hook as an exclamation mark, not the whole sentence

8. Nourished by Time "The Fields"
I look forward to having many a contemplative moment in the cold wearing a Carhartt jacket

7. Vayda "soulchild"
6. Baby Keem/Kendrick Lamar "The Hillbillies"
5. YT "Pocket Full of Money Got My Trousers Falling Down"
4. Philly Goats "X Em"
3. Beatking/Diamond/Princess/Sukihana "On Yo Head"
People with bad taste were more eager than ever this year to tell you rap is dying. Every artform has been in decline since 2019, but also things are as dynamic as ever. When pressed I say rap is my favorite genre but I listen to everything, which is true. But really rap is my favorite genre because at its best it encompasses everything. In conclusion, stop listening to the opinions of men with lingering sexual assault charges

2. NewJeans "Ditto"/"OMG"
Ideal pop music. "Ditto" gets the edge because of Baltimore club supremacy

1. Pinkpantheress/Central Cee "Nice to meet you"
Sometimes I hear a song or album and immediately know it will be among my favorites. Pinkpantheress finally dropped what she considers her debut album in November and as I spent time with Heaven knows its biggest pleasures slowly revealed themselves: "True romance," "Internet baby," "Capable of love." It wasn't until I sat down to write this post did I realize there wasn't another song on an album this year I anticipated on its tracklist or had an endorphin rush when it played on shuffle like "Nice to meet you" even though it's only been two months.

Collaborating with Cash Cobain? Her mind. This song constantly surprises me, from its operatic Spandau Ballet sample to Cobain's patented club/drill beat to the tabla interlude to Central Cee's verse. It's not "Planez"-tier, but Cee's rap is objectively dumb, which makes it endearing and adds to the song's imperfect charm.

The fatalism about the music business rankles me in its insistence things have lost their innate worth because an exploitative system doesn't function as efficiently as it used to. Pop music hasn't created a new star since Olivia Rodrigo in 2021, which is how you end up with Morgan Wallen and a cover of "Fast Car" dominating the summer charts when the entirety of music history is on your phone. Pinkpantheress has crossed over, but she also traces her ascent to 2021. This is not an emergency: I don't view endings as tragedies, but opportunities. You could view the lack of a dominant presence as a chance to listen to literally anything else. You can listen to this song right now, and hear her sing, "tell them how we met because you tell it best," and the sincerity will pulverize you. There’s no reason to not constantly treat and surprise yourself with music. Trends are recycled at such a rapid pace we will be wearing low-rise jeans with long t-shirts and cardigans as the mega-rich hide in doomsday bunkers to avoid paying for their sins. I don't care about anything else when I listen to this song because music's greatest magic is its ability to be the only thing that matters for three minutes no matter where you are.