Author Archives: admin

Best Songs of 2023

Posted on by

Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2023; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

  1. The Grants, by Lana Del Rey on Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
  2. Right Hook, by Corvair on Bound to Be
  3. The Loneliest, by Måneskin on Rush!
  4. vampire, by Olivia Rodrigo on GUTS
  5. Million Dollar Baby, by Ava Max on Diamonds & Dancefloors
  6. Dream to Me, by Dario G on In Full Colour
  7. Devastatingly Mediocre, by Deanna Petcoff on To Hell with You, I Love You
  8. Truth About You (Live), by The Particles on 1980s Bubblegum
  9. While Without, by Annie Hart on The Weight of a Wave
  10. Give Me Your Love, by Girl Ray on Prestige
  11. Mine, by Kelly Clarkson on Chemistry
  12. Juliet, by Passion Polka on Musik Music Musique 3.0
  13. Finding Paradise, by Petite Noir on MotherFather
  14. Yesterday, When I Was Mad (Jam & Spoon Mix), by Pet Shop Boys on SMASH The Singles 1985-2020
  15. Blame Brett, by The Beaches on Blame My Ex
  16. Sour, by Echosmith on Echosmith
  17. Arm’s Length Away, by Tanlines on The Big Mess
  18. Nothing Left to Lose, by Everything but the Girl on Fuse
  19. Burn Away, by Patrick James on All About to Change

So many good songs here, but the one that most surprised me was Give Me Your Love by Girl Ray. It clocks in at almost eight minutes, and usually I find four-minute songs to test my patience. And yet this one is full of so many gentle twists of the melody and style that I felt like I could listen to another eight minutes. It’s also just very mellow. I’d never heard of this band before, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

The poppiest song of the year has to go to Olivia Rodrigo’s vampire. It’s hard to believe she was able to top her debut album, but she did.

Deep Roots review: “Modern complications in family succession”

Posted on by

Another review for Deep Roots, but this one has quite a few spoilers, so you might not want to read it until you’ve finished the book. 🙂 Thank you, Korean Quarterly, for covering my second Siobhan novel! I should also thank them for using a photo of mine that dates back a decade and change. Nary a single gray hair to be found back in those youthful days…

Skin Deep, Audiobook!

Posted on by

Skin Deep is now available in audiobook! Superbly narrated by Jennifer Sun Bell, I’m super thrilled that the book will now have a wider audience. Jennifer also narrated Deep Roots, which will be available in a couple of weeks.

So…the video cannot be embedded here, apparently (this is what I get for not using YouTube). But here’s the good old fashioned link to the first chapter:

Audible | Spotify | Google Play | B&N

You can also listen to it through your local library, via Hoopla! Many ways to get your Siobhan audio fix. 🙂

In Largehearted Boy: Sung J. Woo’s playlist for his novel “Deep Roots”

Posted on by

I’m not sure what I like more, having a book out or having the opportunity to create a playlist for it. Many thanks to Largehearted Boy, a.k.a. David Gutowski, for hosting my song list on his beautiful site!

Sung J. Woo’s playlist for his novel “Deep Roots”