Music of 2023

 

It's that time again; a moment to take note of the cultural artifacts that enriched our lives. I have to admit that I didn't have a lot of time for reading outside of work and I haven't seen a movie in a theater since Covid. However, i did consume a lot of music this mainly because I finally caved in and starting streaming music through the Amazon Prime Music service. That opened my ears to a lot of music that I might not otherwise have come across. Here are some of my favorites: 

1. boygenius - "the record:" Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers', and Lucy Dacus' supergroup debut was my favorite album of the year. More than the razor sharp songwriting. More than the tight harmonies. The main appeal of the album is the way that it feels like the joyful expression of best friends coming together to make music. It was the only rock record I really cared about this year and "True Blue" was one of the songs I sang the most in the car.

2. Everything But the Girl - "Fuse:" After 24 long years, it was a real pleasure to have an EBTG album around again. Of course, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt had made plenty of solo albums over the years, some of them very good, some of them rather average. But there is something magical about the way that Tracey and Ben collaborate on these songs. In many ways this was a sequel to the house-music influenced 2000 album "Temperamental," but at heart EBTG is a singer-songwriter outfit, as songs such as "Karaoke" underscore.

3. Bebel Gilberto - "Joao:" Bebel Gilberto became a big star on the international scene in the 2000s but has been noticeably silent for many years. This was a welcome return in the form of a lovely tribute album to her late, lamented father Joao Gilberto, who along with Tom Jobim virtually invented the bossa nova style in the early 1960s. It's clear from her takes on classics such as O Pato" that Bebel knows her way around this music. 

4. Jenny Lewis - "Joy'All:" Jenny Lewis showed us all how to do a break up album (and indeed) how to do a break-up on her latest albums. Unlike Kacey Musgraves' dour break-up album from a couple of years back, Jenny approached the material with a sense of joy and sass, especially on stand-out tracks such as "Apples and Oranges" and "Puppy and a Truck." 

5. Jose James - "On and On:" Jose James is one of several jazz singers and instrumentalists who has injected the form with hip hop in the last few years. On his latest, he pays homage to Erika Badu's body of work by stretching them out both in terms of length and ambition. Badu has always had a yen for jazz but hearing a proper jazz band reimagining her songs, especially the epic "Green Eyes," really brings them to life.

6. Cat Power - "Plays Bob Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert:" In a year of great tribute albums, nothing was a more daunting project than Cat Power's note-for-note interpretation of Dylan's electrifying performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London at the height of his powers in 1966. The funniest moment is when Chan Marshall recreates the audience member heckling Dylan by shouting out "Judas!" to which she/he retorts, "Yes?" 

7. Jessie Ware - "That! Feels Good!" The most charming element of British dance music diva is that, unlike, say, Dua Lipa, she's not a twenty-something model but rather a middle-aged mum who likes to bake. She also has house music pipes for days, as she amply shows off on this collection of bangers. The title track starts off the set with James Brown style funk. 

8. Nkosazana Daughter - "Uthingo le Nkosazana:" I've recently become fascinated with the sound of Amapiano, the jazzy dance music of South Africa. This album is a great example of the form, a party record of the first order with essentially the same hypnotic rhythm track throughout but with different artists helping Akosazana Daughter to elevate it. This is the sort of album that I was able to listen to on repeat as I was cooking or doing work. 

9. Soccer Mommy - "Karaoke Night:" Over the years, Sophia Allison has released a wealth of clever, lyrical rock music under the moniker Soccer Mommy; however, this year, she release an EP of covers of by artists that have influenced her, including Taylor Swift, Sheryl Crow and REM. The whole set is eminently listenable but her take on "Losing My Religion" is revelatory. I only wish she'd do something with Peter Buck. 

10. Brad Mehldau - "Plays the Beatles: Your Mother Should Know:" Brad Mehldau, my favorite contemporary jazz pianist, has been interpreting the work of Lennon and McCartney for more than a decade now, so it came as no surprise to hear that he was planning a full album of Beatles music. I would have preferred to hear him with his trio but a solo piano album is what was in his head, so I'm happy with that. 

Other Notable Albums: 

* Gracie Abrams - "Good Riddance"

* James Blake - "Playing Robots into Heaven"

* Cat Power - "Just Like a Woman"

* Charlie Crockett - "The Man from Waco:" 

* Dinner Party - "Enigmatic Society"

* Brad Mehldau - "Golden Slumbers"

* Madison McFerrin - "I Hope You Can Forgive Me"

* Arlo Parks - "My Soft Machine"

* Caroline Polachek - "Desire, I Want to Turn Into You"

* Margo Price - "Strays" 

* Chris Stapleton - "Higher" 

Favorite songs: 

* Gracie Abrams - "Amelie"

* boygenius - "True Blue" 

* Burna Boy - "Sitting on Top of the World" 

* Luke Combs - "Fast Car" 

* Charlie Crockett - "I'm Just a Clown" 

* Olivia Dean - "Dive"

* Dinner Party - "Insane"

* Mr. Eazi - "Fee ne Fefe"

* Bebel Gilberto - "O Pato"

* Jason Isbell - "Strawberry Woman"

* Jose James - "Didn't Cha Know"

* Stacey Kent - "Postcard Lovers"

* Jenny Lewis - "Apples and Oranges"

* Madison McFerrin - "(Please Don't) Leave Me Now"

* Kylie Minogue - "Tension"

* Roisin Murphy - CooCool" 

* Arlo Parks - Impurities"

* Caroline Polachek - "Bunny is a Rider" 

* Post Malone - "Chemical"

* Margo Price - "Time Machine" 

* Troye Sivan - "Can't Go Back, Baby" 

* Soccer Mommy - "Losing My Religion"

* Chris Stapleton - "Think I'm In Love with You" 

* Mae Stephens - "If We Ever Break Up" 

* Jorja Smith - "Little Things"

* Jessie Ware - "Pearls" 

* Jamila Woods - "Practice" 

I'd love to hear what you've been listening to this year.