The 100 Best Albums of 2023
December 5, 2023 7:11 AM Subscribe
The 100 Best Albums of 2023 [Rolling Stone, Archive] As a certified Old, I was pleased that I recognized more than just a handful of names, but still overwhelmed by how completely out of touch I truly am.
It's interesting...I listen to a lot of music and have bought a lot of music from Bandcamp. Yet I'd only heard the EBTG and Lana del Rey (both great) and the Bad Bunny (hugely unimpressed) and 100 gecs (eh). Time was when I'd consistently have heard at least half of RS's Top 100.
Part of it is not having the same access points—freeform FM, MTV—that I had in my 20s and 30s. Part of it is that I don't enjoy the genres represented in the list as much as I do others, which may represent aging out of the target demo or simply a change in tastes on my part.
So, I'll be curious to hear what MeFites think of the list and what their own favorites are. A few of my AOTY contenders are:
jaimie branch, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
Matmos, Return to Archive
Manchester Collective, NEON
Wild Up, Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
posted by the sobsister at 7:30 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Part of it is not having the same access points—freeform FM, MTV—that I had in my 20s and 30s. Part of it is that I don't enjoy the genres represented in the list as much as I do others, which may represent aging out of the target demo or simply a change in tastes on my part.
So, I'll be curious to hear what MeFites think of the list and what their own favorites are. A few of my AOTY contenders are:
jaimie branch, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
Matmos, Return to Archive
Manchester Collective, NEON
Wild Up, Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
posted by the sobsister at 7:30 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
That looks like an interesting list, and the albums I've listened to are indeed good. Thanks for posting it, hippybear!
One thing I've been struck by in recent days, looking at English-language "best songs/albums" lists online is how similar they are. For instance, more than half of the Guardian's 20 best songs of the year are on Pitchfork's 100 best songs lists. It's nothing new that critical opinion has tended to herd towards the same works of art, but until fairly recently it was siloed into various groups, one of which was region. Now, genre lists still exist, but the general, overall best-of lists are now all incredibly similar. That's because critics have been chatting on Twitter between countries, and listening to the same shared songs, and reading the same commentary. It's a bit sad, because there are millions of songs out there, and hundreds, if not thousands, should be appearing on various best-of lists, but the field has narrowed a lot.
Anyway, rant over, it's fun to read those lists and find albums that otherwise wouldn't flash across my transom.
posted by Kattullus at 7:31 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
One thing I've been struck by in recent days, looking at English-language "best songs/albums" lists online is how similar they are. For instance, more than half of the Guardian's 20 best songs of the year are on Pitchfork's 100 best songs lists. It's nothing new that critical opinion has tended to herd towards the same works of art, but until fairly recently it was siloed into various groups, one of which was region. Now, genre lists still exist, but the general, overall best-of lists are now all incredibly similar. That's because critics have been chatting on Twitter between countries, and listening to the same shared songs, and reading the same commentary. It's a bit sad, because there are millions of songs out there, and hundreds, if not thousands, should be appearing on various best-of lists, but the field has narrowed a lot.
Anyway, rant over, it's fun to read those lists and find albums that otherwise wouldn't flash across my transom.
posted by Kattullus at 7:31 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
100. Arlo Parks, ‘My Soft Machine’
99. Depeche Mode, ‘Memento Mori’
98. Kelsea Ballerini, ‘Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)’
97. Godflesh, ‘Purge’
96. Crosslegged, ‘Another Blue’
95. Rae Sremmurd, ‘Sremm 4 Life’
94. Jorja Smith, ‘Falling or Flying’
93. Metallica, ’72 Seasons’
92. Nicki Nicole, ‘Alma’
91. Larry June and the Alchemist, ‘The Great Escape’
90. DannyLux, ‘DLux’
89. Bully, ‘Lucky for You’
88. Jamila Woods, ‘Water Made Us’
87. Yves Tumor, ‘Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume’
86. Lucinda Williams, ‘Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart’
85. Adekunle Gold, ‘Tequila Ever After’
84. The National, ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’
83. Kelela, ‘Raven’
82. Jungle, ‘Volcano’
81. Joanna Sternberg, ‘I’ve Got Me’
80. Diego Raposo, ‘Yo No Era Así, Pero de Ahora en Adelante, Sí’
79. Low Cut Connie, ‘Art Dealers’
78. Gale, ‘Lo Que No Te Dije’
77. Bebe Rexha, ‘Bebe’
76. Sampha, ‘Lahai’
75. Palehound, ‘Eye on the Bat’
74. 100 Gecs, ‘10,000 Gecs’
73. Wilco, ‘Cousin’
72. Holly Humberstone, ‘Paint My Bedroom Black’
71. Burna Boy, ‘I Told Them …’
70. Blur, ‘The Ballad of Darren’
69. Suga, ‘D-DAY’
68. Skrillex, ‘Quest for Fire’
67. Various Artists, ‘Barbie the Album’
66. Grupo Frontera, ‘El Comienzo’
65. The Rolling Stones, ‘Hackney Diamonds’
64. PinkPantheress, ‘Heaven Knows’
63. Mr. Eazi, ‘The Evil Genius’
62. Gracie Abrams, ‘Good Riddance’
61. Joy Oladokun, ‘Proof of Life’
60. Hozier, ‘Unreal Unearth’
59. Earl Sweatshirt and Alchemist, ‘Voir Dire’
58. Bonny Doon, ‘Let There Be Music’
57. Peso Pluma, ‘Genesis’
56. Melanie Martinez, ‘Portals’
55. Reneé Rapp, ‘Snow Angel’
54. McKinley Dixon, ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?’
53. Jordan Ward, ‘Forward’
52. Ice Spice, ‘Like..?’
51. Militarie Gun, ‘Life Under the Gun’
50. Dominic Fike, ‘Sunburn’
49. Yo La Tengo, ‘This Stupid World’
48. Gunna, ‘A Gift and a Curse’
47. L’Rain, ‘I Killed Your Dog’
46. Everything But the Girl, ‘Fuse’
45. Kylie Minogue, ‘Tension’
44. Jenny Lewis, ‘Joy’All’
43. Megan Moroney, ‘Lucky’
42. Samory I, ‘Strength’
41. U.S. Girls, ‘Bless This Mess’
40. Kara Jackson, ‘Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?’
39. Veeze, ‘Ganger’
38. Kaytranada and Aminé, ‘Kaytraminé’
37. Asake, ‘Work of Art’
36. Water From Your Eyes, ‘Everyone’s Crushed’
35. Drake, ‘For All the Dogs’
34. Troye Sivan, ‘Something to Give Each Other’
33. NewJeans, ‘Get Up’
32. Bad Bunny, ‘Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana’
31. Model/Actriz, ‘Dogsbody’
30. Miley Cyrus, ‘Endless Summer Vacation’
29. Kali Uchis, ‘Red Moon in Venus’
28. Caroline Polacheck, ”Desire, I Want to Turn Into You’
27. Wednesday, ‘Rat Saw God’
26. Amaarae, ‘Fountain Baby’
25. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, ‘Weathervanes’
24. Kesha, ‘Gag Order’
23. Christine and the Queens, ‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’
22. Young Nudy, ‘Gumbo’
21. Lana Del Rey, ‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’
20. Janelle Monáe, ‘The Age of Pleasure’
19. Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA, ‘Scaring the Hoes’
18. Jessie Ware, ‘That! Feels! Good!’
17. Anohni and the Johnsons, ‘My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross’
16. Becky G, ‘Esquinas’
15. Sufjan Stevens, ‘Javelin’
14. Karol G, ‘Mañana Será Bonito’
13. Noname, ‘Sundial’
12. Chappell Roan, ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’
11. Blondshell, ‘Blondshell’
10. Zach Bryan, ‘Zach Bryan’
9. Victoria Monét, ‘Jaguar II’
8. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal, ‘Maps’
7. Mitski, ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’
6. Paramore, ‘This Is Why’
5. Olivia Rodrigo, ‘Guts’
4. Lil Yachty, ‘Let’s Start Here’
3. Tainy, ‘Data’
2. Boygenius, ‘The Record’
1. SZA, ‘SOS’
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:36 AM on December 5, 2023 [30 favorites]
99. Depeche Mode, ‘Memento Mori’
98. Kelsea Ballerini, ‘Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)’
97. Godflesh, ‘Purge’
96. Crosslegged, ‘Another Blue’
95. Rae Sremmurd, ‘Sremm 4 Life’
94. Jorja Smith, ‘Falling or Flying’
93. Metallica, ’72 Seasons’
92. Nicki Nicole, ‘Alma’
91. Larry June and the Alchemist, ‘The Great Escape’
90. DannyLux, ‘DLux’
89. Bully, ‘Lucky for You’
88. Jamila Woods, ‘Water Made Us’
87. Yves Tumor, ‘Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume’
86. Lucinda Williams, ‘Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart’
85. Adekunle Gold, ‘Tequila Ever After’
84. The National, ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’
83. Kelela, ‘Raven’
82. Jungle, ‘Volcano’
81. Joanna Sternberg, ‘I’ve Got Me’
80. Diego Raposo, ‘Yo No Era Así, Pero de Ahora en Adelante, Sí’
79. Low Cut Connie, ‘Art Dealers’
78. Gale, ‘Lo Que No Te Dije’
77. Bebe Rexha, ‘Bebe’
76. Sampha, ‘Lahai’
75. Palehound, ‘Eye on the Bat’
74. 100 Gecs, ‘10,000 Gecs’
73. Wilco, ‘Cousin’
72. Holly Humberstone, ‘Paint My Bedroom Black’
71. Burna Boy, ‘I Told Them …’
70. Blur, ‘The Ballad of Darren’
69. Suga, ‘D-DAY’
68. Skrillex, ‘Quest for Fire’
67. Various Artists, ‘Barbie the Album’
66. Grupo Frontera, ‘El Comienzo’
65. The Rolling Stones, ‘Hackney Diamonds’
64. PinkPantheress, ‘Heaven Knows’
63. Mr. Eazi, ‘The Evil Genius’
62. Gracie Abrams, ‘Good Riddance’
61. Joy Oladokun, ‘Proof of Life’
60. Hozier, ‘Unreal Unearth’
59. Earl Sweatshirt and Alchemist, ‘Voir Dire’
58. Bonny Doon, ‘Let There Be Music’
57. Peso Pluma, ‘Genesis’
56. Melanie Martinez, ‘Portals’
55. Reneé Rapp, ‘Snow Angel’
54. McKinley Dixon, ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?’
53. Jordan Ward, ‘Forward’
52. Ice Spice, ‘Like..?’
51. Militarie Gun, ‘Life Under the Gun’
50. Dominic Fike, ‘Sunburn’
49. Yo La Tengo, ‘This Stupid World’
48. Gunna, ‘A Gift and a Curse’
47. L’Rain, ‘I Killed Your Dog’
46. Everything But the Girl, ‘Fuse’
45. Kylie Minogue, ‘Tension’
44. Jenny Lewis, ‘Joy’All’
43. Megan Moroney, ‘Lucky’
42. Samory I, ‘Strength’
41. U.S. Girls, ‘Bless This Mess’
40. Kara Jackson, ‘Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?’
39. Veeze, ‘Ganger’
38. Kaytranada and Aminé, ‘Kaytraminé’
37. Asake, ‘Work of Art’
36. Water From Your Eyes, ‘Everyone’s Crushed’
35. Drake, ‘For All the Dogs’
34. Troye Sivan, ‘Something to Give Each Other’
33. NewJeans, ‘Get Up’
32. Bad Bunny, ‘Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana’
31. Model/Actriz, ‘Dogsbody’
30. Miley Cyrus, ‘Endless Summer Vacation’
29. Kali Uchis, ‘Red Moon in Venus’
28. Caroline Polacheck, ”Desire, I Want to Turn Into You’
27. Wednesday, ‘Rat Saw God’
26. Amaarae, ‘Fountain Baby’
25. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, ‘Weathervanes’
24. Kesha, ‘Gag Order’
23. Christine and the Queens, ‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’
22. Young Nudy, ‘Gumbo’
21. Lana Del Rey, ‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’
20. Janelle Monáe, ‘The Age of Pleasure’
19. Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA, ‘Scaring the Hoes’
18. Jessie Ware, ‘That! Feels! Good!’
17. Anohni and the Johnsons, ‘My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross’
16. Becky G, ‘Esquinas’
15. Sufjan Stevens, ‘Javelin’
14. Karol G, ‘Mañana Será Bonito’
13. Noname, ‘Sundial’
12. Chappell Roan, ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’
11. Blondshell, ‘Blondshell’
10. Zach Bryan, ‘Zach Bryan’
9. Victoria Monét, ‘Jaguar II’
8. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal, ‘Maps’
7. Mitski, ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’
6. Paramore, ‘This Is Why’
5. Olivia Rodrigo, ‘Guts’
4. Lil Yachty, ‘Let’s Start Here’
3. Tainy, ‘Data’
2. Boygenius, ‘The Record’
1. SZA, ‘SOS’
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:36 AM on December 5, 2023 [30 favorites]
I was very pleased to see more than a few of the women I had profiled during my Pride Month posts had their albums appear on this list. One of the few times I've been "cutting edge" in the past decade or two.
posted by hippybear at 7:38 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 7:38 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I was looking at the Stereogum list this morning, and it was heavy on hardcore and shoegaze. I am not tuned in enough to know if that represents trends, or Stereogum's tastes.
Today, I am making my way through some of the stuff I missed that is on this list. In the meantime, here are 2023 albums I "hearted" in Tidal, for whatever value that has:
Being Dead - When Horses Would Run
PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying
Nighttime - Keeper is the Heart
Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
Bully - Lucky for You
Caroline Rose - The Age of Forgetting
Melenas - Ahora
Madeline Kenney - A New Reality Mind
Water from your eyes - Everyone's Crushed
feeble little horse - Girl with fish
Helena Deland - Goodnight Summerland
Indigo de Souza - All of This Will End
Terry - Call Me Terry
posted by tofu_crouton at 7:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Today, I am making my way through some of the stuff I missed that is on this list. In the meantime, here are 2023 albums I "hearted" in Tidal, for whatever value that has:
Being Dead - When Horses Would Run
PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying
Nighttime - Keeper is the Heart
Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
Bully - Lucky for You
Caroline Rose - The Age of Forgetting
Melenas - Ahora
Madeline Kenney - A New Reality Mind
Water from your eyes - Everyone's Crushed
feeble little horse - Girl with fish
Helena Deland - Goodnight Summerland
Indigo de Souza - All of This Will End
Terry - Call Me Terry
posted by tofu_crouton at 7:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
RS loves their legacy artists--Metallica, Depeche Mode, and the Rolling Stones (also, for some reason and possibly appearing for the first time on one of these lists, Godflesh) are all in there. Dolly Parton's Rockstar must have been released too late to make the cut.
Sorry, that was mean.
Artists from this list I've enjoyed: SZA, boygenius, Janelle Monae, Lana Del Rey, Wednesday, Kara Jackson, Jamila Woods.
posted by box at 7:41 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sorry, that was mean.
Artists from this list I've enjoyed: SZA, boygenius, Janelle Monae, Lana Del Rey, Wednesday, Kara Jackson, Jamila Woods.
posted by box at 7:41 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Does anyone listen to metal anymore?" "Huh, dunno." "Well, just in case let's put two bands from the 80s at the ass end of the list."
posted by gwint at 7:42 AM on December 5, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by gwint at 7:42 AM on December 5, 2023 [6 favorites]
I've heard eleven of them (Mitski, Sufjan Stevens, Lana Del Rey, Blur, The National, Paramore, Boygenius, Olivia Rodrigo, Kylie Minogue, Wilco, Arlo Parks), and many of them will end up in contention for my year's top ten, especially Mitski and Lana Del Rey, so it seems a pretty decent list.
posted by rory at 7:47 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by rory at 7:47 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh, and to stop being grumpy and get into the spirit of the post, the album released this year that I've listened to the most is certainly Lana Del Rey's Do You Know There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd? with Blur's The Ballen of Darren being a close second.
But if I had to pick one album that's most got under my skin, it would be Aperture by Hannah Jadagu.
posted by Kattullus at 7:50 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
But if I had to pick one album that's most got under my skin, it would be Aperture by Hannah Jadagu.
posted by Kattullus at 7:50 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have no idea who 80% of these musicians even are. I remain mystified as to how it's so hard to be informed about new music as a middle-aged person when I have no problem with any other popular artistic medium.
At any rate, looking at the list, I look forward to listening!
posted by rhymedirective at 7:57 AM on December 5, 2023
At any rate, looking at the list, I look forward to listening!
posted by rhymedirective at 7:57 AM on December 5, 2023
Albums I loved this year:
• Alex Lahey, The Answer Is Always Yes
• Sparks, The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
• Eddie Japan, Pop Fiction
• Subsonic Eye, All Around You
• Kara Mehrmann, Cascade
posted by pxe2000 at 7:57 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
• Alex Lahey, The Answer Is Always Yes
• Sparks, The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
• Eddie Japan, Pop Fiction
• Subsonic Eye, All Around You
• Kara Mehrmann, Cascade
posted by pxe2000 at 7:57 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
As a certified Old, I was pleased that I recognized more than just a handful of names, but still overwhelmed by how completely out of touch I truly am.
Pfft. You're still an intern old. Wait 'till you get to be a corner-office old like me, if you want to know true out-of-touchness ;)
That said, I, too, am pleased with not only how many of these names I recognized, but how many I've actually heard and enjoyed. I mean, I must be Melanie Martinez' oldest fan (which probably sounds creepier that it is.)
Also: Depeche Mode is still around? Wow.
Also: Also: Olivia Rodrigo is such a fun, guilty pleasure to listen to.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:57 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pfft. You're still an intern old. Wait 'till you get to be a corner-office old like me, if you want to know true out-of-touchness ;)
That said, I, too, am pleased with not only how many of these names I recognized, but how many I've actually heard and enjoyed. I mean, I must be Melanie Martinez' oldest fan (which probably sounds creepier that it is.)
Also: Depeche Mode is still around? Wow.
Also: Also: Olivia Rodrigo is such a fun, guilty pleasure to listen to.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:57 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Some other favorites of the year that I had forgotten:
Jess Williamson: Time Ain’t Accidental
Janelle Monae - The Age of Pleasure
Joanna Sternberg - I’ve Got Me
One of my favorite songs of the year is Vampire Empire by Big Thief.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:03 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Jess Williamson: Time Ain’t Accidental
Janelle Monae - The Age of Pleasure
Joanna Sternberg - I’ve Got Me
One of my favorite songs of the year is Vampire Empire by Big Thief.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:03 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't know what my AotY would be, but Yves Tumor -- Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (BandCamp link) certainly earned inclusion on the RS list.
posted by miguelcervantes at 8:03 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by miguelcervantes at 8:03 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm an older gentleman and listen to mostly classical, some jazz...but I still love me some Mommas and Pappas.
posted by Czjewel at 8:05 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Czjewel at 8:05 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ok, so as not to just shitpost on the thread, here are some of my 2023 faves (all links to Bandcamp):
The Bobby Lees - Skin Suit (punk w/ amazing singer)
Rabbit - Bardo (metalcore/noise)
The Hand - Vol 5 (EP) (great)
Goat - Medicine (psychrock)
Sif - Darkstalker (doom)
The Dity Nil - Free Rein to Passions (the last vestiges of rock and roll)
posted by gwint at 8:06 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Bobby Lees - Skin Suit (punk w/ amazing singer)
Rabbit - Bardo (metalcore/noise)
The Hand - Vol 5 (EP) (great)
Goat - Medicine (psychrock)
Sif - Darkstalker (doom)
The Dity Nil - Free Rein to Passions (the last vestiges of rock and roll)
posted by gwint at 8:06 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
You say "Out of Touch" like it's a bad thing.
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:14 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:14 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
My top five for the year (and y'all the fact that these are all from this year is something I'm proud of because it's not I don't like or want to like new music, I am just not exposed to it a lot):
The National, The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
U.S. Girls, Bless This Mess
Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure
Daisy Jones & the Six, Aurora (truly one of the most basic bish things I've ever done by falling in love with a fictional band)
Sparks, The Girl is Crying in Her Latte
posted by Kitteh at 8:15 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
The National, The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
U.S. Girls, Bless This Mess
Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure
Daisy Jones & the Six, Aurora (truly one of the most basic bish things I've ever done by falling in love with a fictional band)
Sparks, The Girl is Crying in Her Latte
posted by Kitteh at 8:15 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm always late - I listen to the past year's best-of on The Quietus because I am a snob and I haven't done that yet.
My music-listening got screwed up because our cat hates human music - she will come in and hop up next to you and meow and meow when she hears the horrible human voices, so I can't listen to music while doing chores or as background anymore. And as an Old, I can only take in so many new albums per year anyway - maybe five or six plus some songs.
This year I did listen to "The Dumbest Girl Alive", which I like a lot and have played many times, and the new Yves Tumor album, which I also like pretty well.
But I'd say that the only album I heard often enough to really get into it was, naturally, from 2022 - The Horselords' Comeradely Objects, which is, if you like that sort of thing, very much the sort of thing you'll like.
The older I get, the less that music about feelings and relationships resonates with me. I don't think this is about Olds per se so much as Old Frowner.
I see that there was a new John Zorn this year so that's nice. Maybe I'll be organized enough to get good headphones to defy the cat.
posted by Frowner at 8:23 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
My music-listening got screwed up because our cat hates human music - she will come in and hop up next to you and meow and meow when she hears the horrible human voices, so I can't listen to music while doing chores or as background anymore. And as an Old, I can only take in so many new albums per year anyway - maybe five or six plus some songs.
This year I did listen to "The Dumbest Girl Alive", which I like a lot and have played many times, and the new Yves Tumor album, which I also like pretty well.
But I'd say that the only album I heard often enough to really get into it was, naturally, from 2022 - The Horselords' Comeradely Objects, which is, if you like that sort of thing, very much the sort of thing you'll like.
The older I get, the less that music about feelings and relationships resonates with me. I don't think this is about Olds per se so much as Old Frowner.
I see that there was a new John Zorn this year so that's nice. Maybe I'll be organized enough to get good headphones to defy the cat.
posted by Frowner at 8:23 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think I've listened to 13 of the albums on the list in full at least once but probably didn't give half a second listen.
There's no way I'd put Lana Del Rey's album behind Sufjan Stevens'. I've listened to both of these quite a bit. The Guardian has A&W as the best song of the year and I find it hard to argue with that.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:25 AM on December 5, 2023
There's no way I'd put Lana Del Rey's album behind Sufjan Stevens'. I've listened to both of these quite a bit. The Guardian has A&W as the best song of the year and I find it hard to argue with that.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:25 AM on December 5, 2023
Apparently I listened to a lot of music that are basically rip offs of older music:
Jenny Lewis - Psychos is definitely Fleetwood Mac.
Nation of Language - Sole Obsession is definitely Human League & New Order.
Genesis Owusus - Leaving the Light is definitely Devo.
Deertick - Forgiving Ties is definitely Tom Petty and Joe Jackson.
Bleachers - Modern Girl is definitely dancy Bruce Springsteen - fronted by the guy who writes songs with Taylor Swift. It could be a Taylor Swift song.
In terms of the list, I'd replace Zach Bryan with Shane Smith and The Saints. Bryan's lyrics are so cliche, and they 'put sugar in their iced team' across the entire US now.
Also that Wilco album sounds exactly the same as everything they've done the past decade, and that Mitski album is good!
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:25 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Jenny Lewis - Psychos is definitely Fleetwood Mac.
Nation of Language - Sole Obsession is definitely Human League & New Order.
Genesis Owusus - Leaving the Light is definitely Devo.
Deertick - Forgiving Ties is definitely Tom Petty and Joe Jackson.
Bleachers - Modern Girl is definitely dancy Bruce Springsteen - fronted by the guy who writes songs with Taylor Swift. It could be a Taylor Swift song.
In terms of the list, I'd replace Zach Bryan with Shane Smith and The Saints. Bryan's lyrics are so cliche, and they 'put sugar in their iced team' across the entire US now.
Also that Wilco album sounds exactly the same as everything they've done the past decade, and that Mitski album is good!
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:25 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
In case at least one other person here is interested in three hours of knotty, gnarly, melodically and rhythmically dissonant avant-jazz, my favorite record of the year by a long shot was Find Letter X by Kate Gentile. Only a few tracks are available free on the Bandcamp page but there's an hour-long concert video featuring material from the album.
posted by dfan at 8:35 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by dfan at 8:35 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
My top three, only one of which has appeared on any of the lists (all the lists are all the same, just in jumbled order, as usual):
1. Worriers - Trust Your Gut
2. Spanish Love Songs - No Joy
3. boygenius - The Record
posted by General Malaise at 8:39 AM on December 5, 2023
1. Worriers - Trust Your Gut
2. Spanish Love Songs - No Joy
3. boygenius - The Record
posted by General Malaise at 8:39 AM on December 5, 2023
billy woods, somewhat late in his career, has been having a great run recently -- In addition to this year's Maps with Kenny Segal, see also his collaborations in 2020 with Moor Mother (BRASS) and 2022 with Preservation (Aethiopes).
posted by theory at 8:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by theory at 8:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Man, I'm old.
I love that the boygenius album is way up on the list, but I've spent more time with:
Young Gun Silver Fox - Ticket to Shangri-La
Theo Katzman - Be The Wheel
Cory Wong - The Lucky One
posted by emelenjr at 8:47 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I love that the boygenius album is way up on the list, but I've spent more time with:
Young Gun Silver Fox - Ticket to Shangri-La
Theo Katzman - Be The Wheel
Cory Wong - The Lucky One
posted by emelenjr at 8:47 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
25. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, ‘Weathervanes’
Well, I can vouch for this one, at least. Great album from a great songwriter, it felt like it had been my favorite album for years even after the first listen.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:52 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well, I can vouch for this one, at least. Great album from a great songwriter, it felt like it had been my favorite album for years even after the first listen.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:52 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm pretty sure Wednesday "Rat Saw God" is my album of the year. And I swear it's not just because I'm a shoegaze fan and a Sonic Youth fan and Southern Gothic fan and a bajillion years ago when I was a miserable teenager in my hometown, driving around smoking too many cigarettes, listening to shoegaze and Sonic Youth and trying not to totally nerd out in public about Carson McCullers or As I Lay Dying, I never, ever once imagined that one day, many years in the future my hometown would ever produce something so perfectly awesome as Wednesday.
posted by thivaia at 8:56 AM on December 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by thivaia at 8:56 AM on December 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
My Album of the Year is Dead Pioneers - Dead Pioneers.
posted by schyler523 at 9:05 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by schyler523 at 9:05 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I added a few things (Bonny Doon, Peso Pluma, Grupo Frontera) to my youtube music library to listen to later, so thanks!
posted by JanetLand at 9:06 AM on December 5, 2023
posted by JanetLand at 9:06 AM on December 5, 2023
And it begins!
This is the first year where I have to say I feel truly out of touch. My kids either listen to Taylor Swift or oldies (for some weird reason, my 12yo's bestie listens to nothing but 80's pop these days) and I feel like the zeitgeist is not nearly where I'm at. That being said, here are some of my favourites:
- King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Both PetroDragon Apocolypse... (Thrash) and The Silver Cord (Electronica-y) are great in their own ways.
- boygenius - Duh, it's great, if a little too consistently mid-tempo
- Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
- The new Kurt Vile is pretty good, 4Tet released a great live album, FredAgain.. has been doing some strong things, 100 gecs...
But yeah, it's been a weird one for me. I'm looking forward to all the retrospectives so I can find what I missed.
posted by sauril at 9:25 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is the first year where I have to say I feel truly out of touch. My kids either listen to Taylor Swift or oldies (for some weird reason, my 12yo's bestie listens to nothing but 80's pop these days) and I feel like the zeitgeist is not nearly where I'm at. That being said, here are some of my favourites:
- King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Both PetroDragon Apocolypse... (Thrash) and The Silver Cord (Electronica-y) are great in their own ways.
- boygenius - Duh, it's great, if a little too consistently mid-tempo
- Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
- The new Kurt Vile is pretty good, 4Tet released a great live album, FredAgain.. has been doing some strong things, 100 gecs...
But yeah, it's been a weird one for me. I'm looking forward to all the retrospectives so I can find what I missed.
posted by sauril at 9:25 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Depeche Mode
Metallica
Lucinda Williams
The Rolling Stones
Kylie Minogue
2023, you say?
posted by fairmettle at 9:31 AM on December 5, 2023 [6 favorites]
Metallica
Lucinda Williams
The Rolling Stones
Kylie Minogue
2023, you say?
posted by fairmettle at 9:31 AM on December 5, 2023 [6 favorites]
I listen to music all the time, and I find something new to me all the time, often from posts here, but I haven't thought about "albums" in a long long time. I do enjoy these types of lists to help me find new artists, but RS isn't a list i'd likely peruse.
The best lists also link to videos or streams to sample the artist.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:34 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
The best lists also link to videos or streams to sample the artist.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:34 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Came here to echo gwint’s comment above. There are some albums on here I’ve loved this year, especially Olivia Rodrigo’s, but I could probably make a top 100 of just metal albums this year, with the new ones from Panopticon, Smolder, and Tomb Mold at the top of the list if anyone needs a recommendation. Metal is a huge genre with a ton of subgenres and more amazing music than I can keep track of, but here we get… Metallica.
posted by skycrashesdown at 9:37 AM on December 5, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 9:37 AM on December 5, 2023 [7 favorites]
I recognize a handful of the artists (mostly the ones that have been around forever and happen to have released new albums in 2023), but have listened to exactly zero of the albums.
I am old.
posted by asnider at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2023
I am old.
posted by asnider at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2023
Various Artists has been dropping hits year after year.
posted by MonsieurPEB at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by MonsieurPEB at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
I've listened to one of these albums all the way through, and even kind of enjoyed it. So I'm still hip, I'm still cool.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:49 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:49 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I decided to try my luck with the top 5.
Number 1 was a complete whiff for me. The first track isn't even 2 minutes long, and I gave up about halfway through. It's not bad. There's nothing wrong with it musically or in production. It's just not for me.
Okay, how about Number 2? The first track is an old-fashioned number but at least had a refrain. Track 2 is rock and roll. Might have to find a tune off this record for my act. Put into rotation.
Number 3 held my interest long enough for the verse to start, but then was the same-old-same-old.
Number 4 was honestly a revelation. The first track has a nearly 7 minute run time and I never once tabbed over to contemplate skipping ahead. Track 2 could not be more different, but got me tapping my toes. Track 3 goes off in yet another direction, but is catchy and musical despite its lo-fi trappings. I skipped ahead to Track 9, which has a glitchy intro, but then turns into something that sounds like 1993 and 2023 mashed-up. And then that bridge! I'm going to come back to this and listen to the whole hour when I get a chance.
I had heard the hit off Number 5, of course. I had it stuck in my head for a while a month or so ago. Listening to a couple other tracks off this record, I think these are good songs. I dug the Sonny Sharrock vibe the solos on the first couple tracks gave me. The music on the hit is exactly the kind of stuff I like. I mean a
Anyway, I feel a little better about being so out of touch I had heard exactly one song off the top 5 records this year. I found some new music I really like, so today must be a good day.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:50 AM on December 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
Number 1 was a complete whiff for me. The first track isn't even 2 minutes long, and I gave up about halfway through. It's not bad. There's nothing wrong with it musically or in production. It's just not for me.
Okay, how about Number 2? The first track is an old-fashioned number but at least had a refrain. Track 2 is rock and roll. Might have to find a tune off this record for my act. Put into rotation.
Number 3 held my interest long enough for the verse to start, but then was the same-old-same-old.
Number 4 was honestly a revelation. The first track has a nearly 7 minute run time and I never once tabbed over to contemplate skipping ahead. Track 2 could not be more different, but got me tapping my toes. Track 3 goes off in yet another direction, but is catchy and musical despite its lo-fi trappings. I skipped ahead to Track 9, which has a glitchy intro, but then turns into something that sounds like 1993 and 2023 mashed-up. And then that bridge! I'm going to come back to this and listen to the whole hour when I get a chance.
I had heard the hit off Number 5, of course. I had it stuck in my head for a while a month or so ago. Listening to a couple other tracks off this record, I think these are good songs. I dug the Sonny Sharrock vibe the solos on the first couple tracks gave me. The music on the hit is exactly the kind of stuff I like. I mean a
V/vi? C'mon. Gonna have to give this one a spin too.Anyway, I feel a little better about being so out of touch I had heard exactly one song off the top 5 records this year. I found some new music I really like, so today must be a good day.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:50 AM on December 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
Also, lol to the Rolling Stones being on this list. I have a hard time believing that anyone not professionally involved with its creation has or will ever listen to the entire thing more than once.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:53 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:53 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
Although Rolling Stone has worked hard in recent years to recognise music artists other than the majority male and majority white, their attempts still feel a little tokenistic. It often feels like they are trying a bit too hard to be cool, rather than actually expressing their beliefs and opinions, and the choices they take from abroad are only at the very surface. The continued Anglo-centricism is to be expected, I suppose, for a US publication. But I can't help but be disappointed by end of year lists (at RS and elsewhere) that shed a light on how limited their (our?) musical awareness actually is.
posted by 0bvious at 10:26 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by 0bvious at 10:26 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's weird to see that Metallica album in there because it really sucked! But it was kind of a good year for metal. I'm a dilettante and not an avid listener of the genre but would recommend the Undeath, Tomb Mold, and Immolation albums from this year.
posted by kensington314 at 10:27 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kensington314 at 10:27 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also hoo boy, that SZA album feels like it came out ages and ages ago but it came out . . . [checks Wikipedia] wait!!! It came out in December 2022. I call foul. Good album though!!
posted by kensington314 at 10:29 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kensington314 at 10:29 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
You say "Out of Touch" like it's a bad thing
Being out of touch ain't great but I'd rather be out of touch than out of time.
posted by Sauce Trough at 10:35 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Being out of touch ain't great but I'd rather be out of touch than out of time.
posted by Sauce Trough at 10:35 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've listened to just about all of the queer and queer-adjacent albums. I'm so pleased to see this one make the list:
17. Anohni and the Johnsons, ‘My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross’
Truly, a gorgeous and moving album. Anohni is always stupendous.
posted by custardfairy at 10:37 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
17. Anohni and the Johnsons, ‘My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross’
Truly, a gorgeous and moving album. Anohni is always stupendous.
posted by custardfairy at 10:37 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm so pleased to see this one make the list:
17. Anohni and the Johnsons, ‘My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross’
Yeah it was a real left turn from the last Anohni record and was great! This and the Noname album, alongside the Sufjan album would probably be my tops from this particular list.
posted by kensington314 at 10:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
17. Anohni and the Johnsons, ‘My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross’
Yeah it was a real left turn from the last Anohni record and was great! This and the Noname album, alongside the Sufjan album would probably be my tops from this particular list.
posted by kensington314 at 10:40 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I feel I'm okay on artists, but apparently barely listen to albums these days. Joy Oladokun's album is great, and I liked Monae's newest too.
NewJeans is kpop, I've heard a couple of their singles and liked those too.
posted by mersen at 10:41 AM on December 5, 2023
NewJeans is kpop, I've heard a couple of their singles and liked those too.
posted by mersen at 10:41 AM on December 5, 2023
ok ok, you're all old and have never heard of these people. I mean, sure, there are 20 artists I counted on this list whose careers have been going for over a decade, based off my own cursory read, but ok :P
posted by wellifyouinsist at 10:45 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wellifyouinsist at 10:45 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I count about 30! I think the target demo for this list is some kind of weird mix of 35 year olds and 65 year olds.
posted by kensington314 at 10:53 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kensington314 at 10:53 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, lol to the Rolling Stones being on this list. I have a hard time believing that anyone not professionally involved with its creation has or will ever listen to the entire thing more than once.
The Rolling Stones are the epitome of boomer rock, though. A local call-in show recently had as it's topic, essentially, "Tell us why the Rolling Stones are awesome" and they easily filled the hour. I was dumbfounded that such an inane and seemingly niche topic (tell us about this one specific band) received so many calls.
Yes, I know the Rolling Stones aren't exactly an obscure band, but still...an entire call-in show dedicated to boomer fans calling in to talk about the time they once saw the Stones live...it was a fascinating bit of accidental anthropology.
posted by asnider at 10:56 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Rolling Stones are the epitome of boomer rock, though. A local call-in show recently had as it's topic, essentially, "Tell us why the Rolling Stones are awesome" and they easily filled the hour. I was dumbfounded that such an inane and seemingly niche topic (tell us about this one specific band) received so many calls.
Yes, I know the Rolling Stones aren't exactly an obscure band, but still...an entire call-in show dedicated to boomer fans calling in to talk about the time they once saw the Stones live...it was a fascinating bit of accidental anthropology.
posted by asnider at 10:56 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
The real problem is a listification culture when there's just so much music. Frankly, unless doing a broad survey of new music is itself your hobby or your profession, you're not going to have heard of most of these and you're not going to be familiar with all the artists, and why should you be? There will always be more good albums than you can listen to, more good novels than you can read, etc.
When I was younger and had more free time, I could really listen to more albums in the course of a year, and even then, I'd say that I only really listened to maybe fifteen or twenty new ones - by which I mean listening attentively long enough to build up an appreciation and a response. And every year, I'd sometimes want to go back and listen to old favorites, meaning that time for new ones was even more crunched.
I mean, I do have friends for whom music is a serious hobby, and they do listen to a large number of new albums every year, and I'm not sure I really have the temperament for that in any case.
But with relatively little free time, I feel happier when I seek out a small number of albums and songs each year that I really enjoy, that sort of get added to the music that recurs to me at odd moments and that I have some detailed thoughts about. The more I try to "keep up" the less I feel that I get out of things, because I'm trying to skim songs here and there to figure out what "requires" a deeper listen. I can't and don't want to consume music in that way.
posted by Frowner at 10:57 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
When I was younger and had more free time, I could really listen to more albums in the course of a year, and even then, I'd say that I only really listened to maybe fifteen or twenty new ones - by which I mean listening attentively long enough to build up an appreciation and a response. And every year, I'd sometimes want to go back and listen to old favorites, meaning that time for new ones was even more crunched.
I mean, I do have friends for whom music is a serious hobby, and they do listen to a large number of new albums every year, and I'm not sure I really have the temperament for that in any case.
But with relatively little free time, I feel happier when I seek out a small number of albums and songs each year that I really enjoy, that sort of get added to the music that recurs to me at odd moments and that I have some detailed thoughts about. The more I try to "keep up" the less I feel that I get out of things, because I'm trying to skim songs here and there to figure out what "requires" a deeper listen. I can't and don't want to consume music in that way.
posted by Frowner at 10:57 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
> jaimie branch, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
This is my absolute top for 2023, except it also fills me with sadness
posted by dis_integration at 11:14 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
This is my absolute top for 2023, except it also fills me with sadness
posted by dis_integration at 11:14 AM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
For me, many of my music purchases and much of my music listening is music that is new to me but not newly released. This is compounded by the fact that much of the available music that I purchase on physical media - almost exclusively used CDs, including a lot of boxed sets - is not brand new. I also tend to spend a large portion of my money and listening time filling in discographical (is that a word?) gaps of music for artists whom I already like e.g., Sleater-Kinney recently had a sale of the their back catalog on Bandcamp where I could choose what to pay for every album so I bought the 7 albums I didn't already have).
2023 albums that I've particularly enjoyed:
In Flames "Foregone"
Emily King "Special Occasion"
Desire Marea "On the Romance of Being"
I'd really like to include Peter Gabriel's new album on this list but (a) it's brand new and I haven't listed to it very much in the context of an entire album (even though I've gotten every song as they were released on each full moon throughout the entire year) and (b) it's not nearly as ambitious as I would like to have seen from him.
posted by ElKevbo at 11:28 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
2023 albums that I've particularly enjoyed:
In Flames "Foregone"
Emily King "Special Occasion"
Desire Marea "On the Romance of Being"
I'd really like to include Peter Gabriel's new album on this list but (a) it's brand new and I haven't listed to it very much in the context of an entire album (even though I've gotten every song as they were released on each full moon throughout the entire year) and (b) it's not nearly as ambitious as I would like to have seen from him.
posted by ElKevbo at 11:28 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
The real problem is a listification culture when there's just so much music .. There will always be more good albums than you can listen to
What I take from this thread is that fears of big bad Spotify killing music are wildly overblown *dons hard hat*
posted by Klipspringer at 11:30 AM on December 5, 2023
What I take from this thread is that fears of big bad Spotify killing music are wildly overblown *dons hard hat*
posted by Klipspringer at 11:30 AM on December 5, 2023
Thought I'd see Sudan Archive there, but maybe she was more last year than this year. What's a year anyway?
I'm 0/100 in actually being able to name any of the songs from those albums. I probably heard a cut or two from Olivia's album this year, but not as aware of it as I was with Driver's License on her first album.
Given the playlists I've heard at some recebnt parties, my contemporaries have given up trying to keep up and just have Apple Music or Spotify stick to a setlist suitable for an old folks' home full of boomers.
posted by morspin at 11:34 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm 0/100 in actually being able to name any of the songs from those albums. I probably heard a cut or two from Olivia's album this year, but not as aware of it as I was with Driver's License on her first album.
Given the playlists I've heard at some recebnt parties, my contemporaries have given up trying to keep up and just have Apple Music or Spotify stick to a setlist suitable for an old folks' home full of boomers.
posted by morspin at 11:34 AM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't do a ton of album listening, certainly not this year, but my top artists this year were:
1 Nora En Pure
2 Monolink
3 Ben Böhmer
4 CamelPhat
5 Lane 8
But a lot of this isn't album based, plus it's not a genre that I've found Rolling Stone covers a bunch. Still cool to look back and see what resonated and what I was able to really deep dive into.
posted by Carillon at 11:38 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
1 Nora En Pure
2 Monolink
3 Ben Böhmer
4 CamelPhat
5 Lane 8
But a lot of this isn't album based, plus it's not a genre that I've found Rolling Stone covers a bunch. Still cool to look back and see what resonated and what I was able to really deep dive into.
posted by Carillon at 11:38 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have heard of some of those artists. Probably less than a quarter. I couldn't name any of the songs on any of those albums.
I bought 75 albums on Bandcamp this year by independent musicians though. Got my own thing going on with my listening habits...
posted by Foosnark at 11:48 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I bought 75 albums on Bandcamp this year by independent musicians though. Got my own thing going on with my listening habits...
posted by Foosnark at 11:48 AM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Choosing a favourite album of 2023 doesn't mean that much when I've only listened properly to a dozen records released this year. The only one of those that made the Rolling Stone list (I Killed Your Dog by L'Rain) is my favourite of the moment. Like others above I loved jaimie branch's Fly or Die... Also Protect Your Light by Irreversible Entanglements.
posted by misteraitch at 11:50 AM on December 5, 2023
posted by misteraitch at 11:50 AM on December 5, 2023
morspin: Thought I'd see Sudan Archive there, but maybe she was more last year than this year. What's a year anyway?
Yeah, I made the same mistake. My first comment was going to be “what where’s Natural Brown Prom Queen”, but then I checked the date and saw that it came out last year. I listened to her music a lot this year, and saw her live – the show was fantastic – so I’ll probably always associate her with 2023 in my head.
posted by Kattullus at 12:22 PM on December 5, 2023
Yeah, I made the same mistake. My first comment was going to be “what where’s Natural Brown Prom Queen”, but then I checked the date and saw that it came out last year. I listened to her music a lot this year, and saw her live – the show was fantastic – so I’ll probably always associate her with 2023 in my head.
posted by Kattullus at 12:22 PM on December 5, 2023
As "popular music" continues to not so much fracture as atomize into a mist of tiny subgenres, this sort of list seems more and more pointless. And I guess I'm as guilty as anyone of not listening to whole albums as much as I used to anymore. Still, I'm a HUGE fan of the #2 album (boygenius) and the #21 (Lana Del Rey). I know the hits off some of the others, too, but I still love it when a record stands up as a coherent work of art.
posted by rikschell at 12:31 PM on December 5, 2023
posted by rikschell at 12:31 PM on December 5, 2023
What I take from this thread is that fears of big bad Spotify killing music are wildly overblown
Spotify doesn't kill music, it sells other people's music while barely compensating them. Therefore practically preventing musicians from selling thier own music to make a living. They killed the basic idea of people buying music.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:54 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Spotify doesn't kill music, it sells other people's music while barely compensating them. Therefore practically preventing musicians from selling thier own music to make a living. They killed the basic idea of people buying music.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:54 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
This list is a lot more contemporary and diverse than I would have expected from Rollling Stone. I am impressed. I was surprised to see a few things missing here, but then checked and apparently almost all my favorite recent albums were actually from last year.
posted by snofoam at 1:10 PM on December 5, 2023
posted by snofoam at 1:10 PM on December 5, 2023
an entire call-in show dedicated to boomer fans calling in to talk about the time they once saw the Stones live...
what will fans be "calling in" to talk about, 40-50 years from now? Taylor Swift or Beyonce, I'm guessing. Assuming there's a medium for older fans to call in on.. power grid etc.. cripes jeezus we can't even enjoy talking about music anymore
posted by elkevelvet at 1:22 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
what will fans be "calling in" to talk about, 40-50 years from now? Taylor Swift or Beyonce, I'm guessing. Assuming there's a medium for older fans to call in on.. power grid etc.. cripes jeezus we can't even enjoy talking about music anymore
posted by elkevelvet at 1:22 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
I do admire that the big partnership for the Rolling Stones tour next year isn't a credit card or a cellular company... For this tour, if you wanted to get early access tickets, you needed to have an AARP membership.
I am not making this up.
posted by hippybear at 1:28 PM on December 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
I am not making this up.
posted by hippybear at 1:28 PM on December 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
This was my Top 10 for KCRW:
Chocolate Hills - Yarns from the Chocolate Triangle
David Colohan - A Lunar Standstill
Everything But The Girl - Fuse
Inara George - What Keeps You Up At Night
Karoline Hausted - One and Apart
Marco Antonio Santos - About: Silence
Single Lash - Ladida
Slowdive - everything is alive
Tennis - Pollen
V/A - Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
In the end, they asked me to write the official blurb about Slowdive, although I really wanted to proselytize about Inara George.
My song of the year was "Run A Red Light" by EBTG.
posted by mykescipark at 1:34 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
Chocolate Hills - Yarns from the Chocolate Triangle
David Colohan - A Lunar Standstill
Everything But The Girl - Fuse
Inara George - What Keeps You Up At Night
Karoline Hausted - One and Apart
Marco Antonio Santos - About: Silence
Single Lash - Ladida
Slowdive - everything is alive
Tennis - Pollen
V/A - Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
In the end, they asked me to write the official blurb about Slowdive, although I really wanted to proselytize about Inara George.
My song of the year was "Run A Red Light" by EBTG.
posted by mykescipark at 1:34 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
I've been enjoying the new Duran Duran album that was released for Halloween this year quite a bit. It's full of joy and fun in a way that you don't expect from a band at this point in their career.
Aside from that, I got the Barbie album and the Barbie score and then put it all in movie order, and that's been my housecleaning music.
posted by hippybear at 1:39 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Aside from that, I got the Barbie album and the Barbie score and then put it all in movie order, and that's been my housecleaning music.
posted by hippybear at 1:39 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
There's a lot more music than there used to be, and it's far more accessible than it used to be. And music journalists care a lot more about their best-of lists being diverse than they used to. The association of pop music with youth also turned out to be more marketing than reality. Turns out everyone likes it for their entire lives, which is why a Rolling Stones tour being sponsored by AARP is not that weird.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 2:06 PM on December 5, 2023
posted by lefty lucky cat at 2:06 PM on December 5, 2023
One of the consequences of the streaming era for me, is that I read very little (mid/longform) music criticism. Social media and algorithm recommendations are generally enough. I’m normally still pretty good at working out what albums are going to be roughly where in mainstream lists. One of the albums I liked this year that is not on here, but I expected to be, is the new Mountain Goats one. Not quite sure if I missed the point where they became critically too mid for even Rolling Stone or if I’ve just overrated it, but I thought it was pretty decent for a 22nd album.
posted by Hartster at 2:14 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Hartster at 2:14 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Carillon, yes to CamelPhat! Somehow I ended up with a note sitting on my desk at home saying “CamelPhat new stuff” and then one on my desk at work saying “CamelPhat NYP2” which isn’t new but it sure bangs. Not many acts merit two notes to self.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 2:25 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 2:25 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
One of the albums I liked this year that is not on here, but I expected to be, is the new Mountain Goats one. Not quite sure if I missed the point where they became critically too mid for even Rolling Stone or if I’ve just overrated it, but I thought it was pretty decent for a 22nd album.
I was so excited about this album that I even made an FPP about it.
And on repeated listens, it didn't disappoint! I initially cringed past a few things that seemed a little bit too on the nose, but they don't bother me now. I didn't love the last three studio albums and so I was happy to be so pleased with a Mountain Goats record in 2023. I think Darnielle works best within a tight concept these days. I think the new album rules.
I think it totally deserves to be on year-end lists! But were the Mountain Goats ever on the RS year-end radar? Maybe they weren't, I don't recall.
posted by kensington314 at 2:31 PM on December 5, 2023
I was so excited about this album that I even made an FPP about it.
And on repeated listens, it didn't disappoint! I initially cringed past a few things that seemed a little bit too on the nose, but they don't bother me now. I didn't love the last three studio albums and so I was happy to be so pleased with a Mountain Goats record in 2023. I think Darnielle works best within a tight concept these days. I think the new album rules.
I think it totally deserves to be on year-end lists! But were the Mountain Goats ever on the RS year-end radar? Maybe they weren't, I don't recall.
posted by kensington314 at 2:31 PM on December 5, 2023
As "popular music" continues to not so much fracture as atomize into a mist of tiny subgenres
I think that's part of why I find following music so difficult these days. I'm just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of not only artists but genres and following major music blogs makes me feel like I'm expected to know or like or at least appreciate them all. It's all so accessible that I kind of miss when discovering a new artist or album or niche to like was, well, a discovery.
That, and I find the interfaces of Spotify and (albeit to a lesser extent) Apple Music to be so cluttered that I feel stressed out trying to do anything but play my old reliable playlists.
The funny thing is that in spite of this age of abundance, the radio stations (at least near me) are practically interchangeable within their formats. If you hear a song on one, you'll hear it again a few minutes later on the next one down the dial.
(I feel so old.)
posted by synecdoche at 2:34 PM on December 5, 2023
I think that's part of why I find following music so difficult these days. I'm just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of not only artists but genres and following major music blogs makes me feel like I'm expected to know or like or at least appreciate them all. It's all so accessible that I kind of miss when discovering a new artist or album or niche to like was, well, a discovery.
That, and I find the interfaces of Spotify and (albeit to a lesser extent) Apple Music to be so cluttered that I feel stressed out trying to do anything but play my old reliable playlists.
The funny thing is that in spite of this age of abundance, the radio stations (at least near me) are practically interchangeable within their formats. If you hear a song on one, you'll hear it again a few minutes later on the next one down the dial.
(I feel so old.)
posted by synecdoche at 2:34 PM on December 5, 2023
Ah, kensington314, I some managed to miss that post and have now given it the hardest possible favourite. Time to lose some hours exploring…
posted by Hartster at 2:35 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Hartster at 2:35 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
we can't even enjoy talking about music anymore
Eh, I more thought it was weird that a general interest call-in show devoted and entire episode to talking about a single old band. A broader topic about music in general would not have struck me as strange at all.
posted by asnider at 3:30 PM on December 5, 2023
Eh, I more thought it was weird that a general interest call-in show devoted and entire episode to talking about a single old band. A broader topic about music in general would not have struck me as strange at all.
posted by asnider at 3:30 PM on December 5, 2023
I know that if I live a thousand lives, I'll never hear even a sliver of a percentage of all the actually-good music that's out in the field—yet I still consume music like water. I've only heard of a fraction of these artists, and I don't mind that I've only listened to one of these albums.
That album was Lil Yachty's Let's Start Here. It was like walking into a room full of 100 flavors of jello cubes lit up by LEDs, while tripping on acid. I just let it wash over me rather than trying to listen to it. Good album, if a bit disorienting.
posted by not_on_display at 4:50 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
That album was Lil Yachty's Let's Start Here. It was like walking into a room full of 100 flavors of jello cubes lit up by LEDs, while tripping on acid. I just let it wash over me rather than trying to listen to it. Good album, if a bit disorienting.
posted by not_on_display at 4:50 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
MetaFilter: Good... if a bit disorienting.
posted by hippybear at 4:54 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 4:54 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've only heard two off of this list, although I am pleased to learn about some of the others as I hadn't realised they had new albums out (yes, ok I am old so that means Depeche Mode and Blur). Heretical opinion: although the National's First Two Pages of Frankenstein is good, I prefer its companion/B-sides, Laugh Track.
On review, many of my top listens this year actually came out last year. In no particular order:
The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field
Florence & the Machine - Dance Fever
The Big Moon - Here is Everything
Metric - Formentera (I know they've put out Formentera II this year but I don't like it as much)
Of those, both The Beths and Metric were new discoveries this year so I've also done a lot of listening to their back catalogue. Can recommend.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:18 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
On review, many of my top listens this year actually came out last year. In no particular order:
The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field
Florence & the Machine - Dance Fever
The Big Moon - Here is Everything
Metric - Formentera (I know they've put out Formentera II this year but I don't like it as much)
Of those, both The Beths and Metric were new discoveries this year so I've also done a lot of listening to their back catalogue. Can recommend.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:18 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I commented that RS's 250 "greatest guitarists" wasn't so much a 'top list' as it was a database. That's kind of what's going on here.
I think "top 100" anything is kind of stupid. I think RS did it so as not to leave anyone out, or types of people out, or styles of music out, etc... not to say any of this music is bad. It just seems cowardly to publish a list of 100 best because you can throw just about everything that was decent in it and not have to quibble about where they rank. It's armor against any kind of criticism... which is ironic because RS is being the critic here!
You can include just about anything because who's gonna argue about a list of 100 albums in 12 months? Of all the albums that release in a month... you only have to pick the ten best on average? I get that technically there's a thousand albums released every month, but I do not believe that RS is listening to even a quarter of that many. RS covers the music with at least SOME skin in the game.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:34 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think "top 100" anything is kind of stupid. I think RS did it so as not to leave anyone out, or types of people out, or styles of music out, etc... not to say any of this music is bad. It just seems cowardly to publish a list of 100 best because you can throw just about everything that was decent in it and not have to quibble about where they rank. It's armor against any kind of criticism... which is ironic because RS is being the critic here!
You can include just about anything because who's gonna argue about a list of 100 albums in 12 months? Of all the albums that release in a month... you only have to pick the ten best on average? I get that technically there's a thousand albums released every month, but I do not believe that RS is listening to even a quarter of that many. RS covers the music with at least SOME skin in the game.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:34 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm honestly baffled by Boygenius. Granted, I'm not the target demographic, but I'm not Taylor Swift's, either, and I can totally see why people love her. So many people gushed over Boygenius like it's the second coming, so I gave it a listen and was like "this is boring whiny open mic at the coffeehouse music". Then I'm like open your mind and listened to it twice more, and yeah, I don't get it. They can harmonize pretty well, I'll give them that. But Wet Leg is a hundred times more inventive AND fun. So is Taylor Swift.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 6:49 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 6:49 PM on December 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
So many people gushed over Boygenius like it's the second coming, so I gave it a listen and was like "this is boring whiny open mic at the coffeehouse music". Then I'm like open your mind and listened to it twice more, and yeah, I don't get it.
I've been listening to women with guitars since the mid-eighties. Indigo Girls are maybe my favorite band, easily in my top few. My iTunes library is shockingly long on material that is similar to boygenius. But wow, they do not connect with me much at all. I've tried. I'm sorry. I don't feel bad about it. Well, I feel as bad about it as all you people who have shat on Indigo Girls across 30 decades have felt about that.
posted by hippybear at 6:56 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've been listening to women with guitars since the mid-eighties. Indigo Girls are maybe my favorite band, easily in my top few. My iTunes library is shockingly long on material that is similar to boygenius. But wow, they do not connect with me much at all. I've tried. I'm sorry. I don't feel bad about it. Well, I feel as bad about it as all you people who have shat on Indigo Girls across 30 decades have felt about that.
posted by hippybear at 6:56 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
I hear ya, hobnail.
And I was going to add Olivia Rodrigo to that list and then I remembered the guy upstream dumping on my beloved Mode and then realized that heartbroken moody teenagers make the music biz go 'round and it's all the same in the end.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:44 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
And I was going to add Olivia Rodrigo to that list and then I remembered the guy upstream dumping on my beloved Mode and then realized that heartbroken moody teenagers make the music biz go 'round and it's all the same in the end.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:44 PM on December 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
That Lil Yachty album is pretty dope.
posted by credulous at 9:18 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by credulous at 9:18 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
Because of this list, I've just started listening to L’Rain's I Killed Your Dog, and so far I'm very much enjoying it. I'm not a big RS fan at all, but I do like those outliers that they shine a spotlight on every so often.
Also I don't get boygenius either for the life of me. What's funny to me about Phoebe Bridgers is she's dating Bo Burnham, who went to my high school and is such a typical student of that particular Catholic high school. I knew at least three Bo Burnhams.
Also to throw my entry into the "your favorite album is or isn't shit" pile, This year aside from Lil Yachty, I loved The Go! Team's Get Up Sequences Part Two, André 3000's New Blue Sun, and Sleaford Mods' UK Grim.
posted by not_on_display at 9:58 PM on December 5, 2023
Also I don't get boygenius either for the life of me. What's funny to me about Phoebe Bridgers is she's dating Bo Burnham, who went to my high school and is such a typical student of that particular Catholic high school. I knew at least three Bo Burnhams.
Also to throw my entry into the "your favorite album is or isn't shit" pile, This year aside from Lil Yachty, I loved The Go! Team's Get Up Sequences Part Two, André 3000's New Blue Sun, and Sleaford Mods' UK Grim.
posted by not_on_display at 9:58 PM on December 5, 2023
I love boygenius because I love Julian Baker, Lucy Dachus, and Phoebe Bridgers as individual artists, and it's cool hearing them bounce off each other, providing variations on a theme. This is not the kind of listening that new ears will do, however.
They are all excellent musicians individually, and boygenius really combined their audiences, which was probably extra-explosive after Bridgers won best album for Punisher. And then throw in some good timing; the world was just really ready for some queer friends to ride rollercoasters and sing songs.
And maybe add in that a lot of those new listeners just hadn't heard Dachus belt it out like she does in Nightshift and at the end of 'not strong enough.'
... Also 'always an angel, never a god' perfectly fits the spirit of one of my favorite mountain goats lines, but even more succinctly: 'mistreat your altar boys long enough, and this is what you get.'
It's a damn good song is what I'm saying.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:56 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
They are all excellent musicians individually, and boygenius really combined their audiences, which was probably extra-explosive after Bridgers won best album for Punisher. And then throw in some good timing; the world was just really ready for some queer friends to ride rollercoasters and sing songs.
And maybe add in that a lot of those new listeners just hadn't heard Dachus belt it out like she does in Nightshift and at the end of 'not strong enough.'
... Also 'always an angel, never a god' perfectly fits the spirit of one of my favorite mountain goats lines, but even more succinctly: 'mistreat your altar boys long enough, and this is what you get.'
It's a damn good song is what I'm saying.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:56 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I listened to 100 gecs more or less non-stop for a while in the spring, enough that Spotify now think they are one of my favourite bands.
But I've also probably left the album concept behind. I think maybe the albums I've listened through in order this year was P!nk's TRUSTFALL (three good songs, the rest were meh) and Shaka Ponk's self-named album (if you'd like some straight-forward rock to get through the day), neither of them on the list.
posted by Harald74 at 1:53 AM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
But I've also probably left the album concept behind. I think maybe the albums I've listened through in order this year was P!nk's TRUSTFALL (three good songs, the rest were meh) and Shaka Ponk's self-named album (if you'd like some straight-forward rock to get through the day), neither of them on the list.
posted by Harald74 at 1:53 AM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ten more albums I liked from this year:
Andre 3000 - New Blue Sun
Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die or Die Fly or Die (world war)
Mikaela Davis - And Southern Star
Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
Joni Mitchell - Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years
National Institute of Design - The NID Tapes: Electronic Music from India 1969-1972
Thandi Ntuli w/ Carlos Nino - Rainbow Revisited
Cat Power - Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
Slowdive - everything is alive
zake, Marc Ertel & James Bernard - Live at the Gothic Chapel
posted by box at 5:58 AM on December 6, 2023
Andre 3000 - New Blue Sun
Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die or Die Fly or Die (world war)
Mikaela Davis - And Southern Star
Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
Joni Mitchell - Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years
National Institute of Design - The NID Tapes: Electronic Music from India 1969-1972
Thandi Ntuli w/ Carlos Nino - Rainbow Revisited
Cat Power - Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
Slowdive - everything is alive
zake, Marc Ertel & James Bernard - Live at the Gothic Chapel
posted by box at 5:58 AM on December 6, 2023
I'm (sort of) old, but I listen to Spotify constantly while I'm at work, so I recognize more than half of the artists on the RS list. (Several albums on there are from artists whose previous work I really liked, but I haven't gotten around to listening to their most recent album.) Of the albums that I have listened to on the list, these are my favorites:
Bad Bunny, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana - I really liked Bad Bunny's previous album, and this one also doesn't disappoint.
Model/Actriz, Dogsbody - As a former indie music snob, I really appreciate this album's gritty, indie sleaze vibe.
Caroline Polacheck, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You - Catchy hooks, and an awesome 90's throwback vibe.
Peso Pluma, Genesis
Some other albums that I really liked that did not appear on this list are:
Yasser Tejada, La Madruga
Clark, Sus Dog
Warmth, Mourning Ghost
Aphex Twin, Blackbox Life Recorder 21f/in a room7 F760 (technically it's an EP)
Other than that, I listened to a lot of random 80's and 90's pop music this year, with the occasional beloved indie album from 2004-2014.
posted by carnival_night_zone at 10:46 AM on December 6, 2023
Bad Bunny, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana - I really liked Bad Bunny's previous album, and this one also doesn't disappoint.
Model/Actriz, Dogsbody - As a former indie music snob, I really appreciate this album's gritty, indie sleaze vibe.
Caroline Polacheck, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You - Catchy hooks, and an awesome 90's throwback vibe.
Peso Pluma, Genesis
Some other albums that I really liked that did not appear on this list are:
Yasser Tejada, La Madruga
Clark, Sus Dog
Warmth, Mourning Ghost
Aphex Twin, Blackbox Life Recorder 21f/in a room7 F760 (technically it's an EP)
Other than that, I listened to a lot of random 80's and 90's pop music this year, with the occasional beloved indie album from 2004-2014.
posted by carnival_night_zone at 10:46 AM on December 6, 2023
And while my previous comment did quibble about the relative rankings of 2 albums for me the bigger use of lists like this is to say "hey, here's some good stuff you might want to check out". I've probably got another week or so of mainly listening to the new Peter Gabriel album before I feel the need to hear something new but it's good to know that there's a lot of good new music out there.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:21 AM on December 6, 2023
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:21 AM on December 6, 2023
Just putting a link here to a new FPP that is a ton of other year-end best of albums lists.
posted by hippybear at 11:26 AM on December 6, 2023
posted by hippybear at 11:26 AM on December 6, 2023
I saw Noname live a few years ago and she was great, but the album that came out this year bummed me out. I hate that it ended (?) with a wildly antisemitic Jay Electronica verse.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:35 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by pxe2000 at 11:35 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Grandma over here has listened...
Grandma over here is rubbing hands anticipating starting an album or two this evening.
I know that if I live a thousand lives, I'll never hear even a sliver of a percentage of all the actually-good music that's out in the field...
This. Oh, dang, THIS! My latest thing is music from the 40s and 50s, in addition to medieval stuff if I'm in the mood. Unfortunately, I also like to listen to old favorites and need lots of silence for my sanity. I'm 70, life is too dang short, and they keep creating all the good stuff!
posted by BlueHorse at 12:04 PM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Grandma over here is rubbing hands anticipating starting an album or two this evening.
I know that if I live a thousand lives, I'll never hear even a sliver of a percentage of all the actually-good music that's out in the field...
This. Oh, dang, THIS! My latest thing is music from the 40s and 50s, in addition to medieval stuff if I'm in the mood. Unfortunately, I also like to listen to old favorites and need lots of silence for my sanity. I'm 70, life is too dang short, and they keep creating all the good stuff!
posted by BlueHorse at 12:04 PM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was an MTV baby. I could recognize a band by site or sound. I'm on the far side of 50, but I did really well at keeping up with pop music. And then...at the end of 2017, I bought a new car with satellite radio, and LOVED being able to listen to MSNBC, radio classics (old time radio shows from the 30s and 40s), and programming in other languages while driving. But I soon realized that I never, ever listened to the radio for songs anymore.
Then last year, I started using TikTok. I now hear a lot of new music. I just have no idea who is doing it, nor do I know the names of the songs, or what the whole darned song sounds like from beginning to end.
I recognize at least half the names on the list, and assume I'd recognize Depeche Mode or Hozier or Miley (other than (I Can Buy Myself) Flowers), but I don't think I've noticed any of these crossing my path.
I do NOT like this.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:42 PM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Then last year, I started using TikTok. I now hear a lot of new music. I just have no idea who is doing it, nor do I know the names of the songs, or what the whole darned song sounds like from beginning to end.
I recognize at least half the names on the list, and assume I'd recognize Depeche Mode or Hozier or Miley (other than (I Can Buy Myself) Flowers), but I don't think I've noticed any of these crossing my path.
I do NOT like this.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:42 PM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by Kitteh at 7:28 AM on December 5, 2023 [5 favorites]