Category Archives: Music

Best Songs of 2025

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Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2025; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

  1. Bitter, by Freya Ridings on Blood Orange
  2. Opalite, by Taylor Swift on The Life of a Showgirl
  3. Ghost in My Machine, by Mia Wray on Only Love
  4. Why Am I Dancing_ by Pet Shop Boys on Nonetheless
  5. Pretty Ugly, by Zara Larsson on Midnight Sun
  6. Shapeshifter, by Lorde on Virgin
  7. Suburbia, by Tove Lo on Dirt Femme
  8. Blood Orange, by Freya Ridings on Blood Orange
  9. Nice to Meet Me, by Mia Wray on Only Love
  10. davina mccall, by Wet Leg on moisturizer
  11. Don’t Be Tough, by Jason Isbell on Foxes in the Snow
  12. Got to Begin Again, by Billy Joel on Cold Spring Harbor
  13. Perfect, by Freya Ridings on Blood Orange
  14. Favourite Daughter, by Lorde on Virgin
  15. Human, by Brandi Carlile on Returning to Myself
  16. feelslikeimfallinginlove, by Coldplay on Moon Music
  17. 2 Die 4, by Tove Lo on Dirt Femme
  18. Broken Glass, by Lorde on Virgin
  19. Dancing in a Hurricane, by Freya Ridings on Blood Orange
  20. Get Out My Way, by Mia Wray on Only Love
  21. Buckle, by Florence + The Machine on Everybody Scream
  22. I Leave Everything to You, by The Swell Season on Forward

A quartet of musicians are here with multiple tunes: Freya Ridings (4), Lorde (3), Mia Wray (3), and Tove Lo (2).  Freya and Mia both have such unique texture to their voices; Lorde marries her whispers with a rumbling, dark soundscape; and Tove’s vocals are so clear, a perfect coupling with the electronica.

The only downside of these four taking over the songlist is that The Zombies, Lucius, Maren Morris, Purity Ring, The Beths, Laura Stevenson, Vampire Weekend, Nation of Language, and Perfume Genius will have to wait until next year…hopefully. There’s just so much good music out there every year.

Best Songs of 2024

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Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2024; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

  1. Weak in Your Light, by Nation of Language on Strange Disciple
  2. Glass, Concrete & Stone, by David Byrne on Grown Backwards
  3. My Babe, by Spoon on Lucifer on the Sofa
  4. Pink Pony Club, by Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
  5. Hot to Go!, by Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
  6. The Feeling You Get, by Empire of the Sun on Ask That God
  7. Femininomenon, by Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
  8. Always/Never, by STRFKR on Parallel Realms
  9. Southern Storms, by Heavy Weighs the King on A Star in the Sky
  10. Twenty-Five, by Lake Street Dive on Good Together
  11. Turn the Lights Back on, by Billy Joel
  12. 365, by Waxahatchee on Tigers Blood
  13. The Nineties, by Kate Hudson on Glorious
  14. Escapism, by Raye on My 21st Century Blues (SNL, April 6, 2024)
  15. Wake Up, by Imagine Dragons on LOOM
  16. Red Wine Supernova, by Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
  17. My Kink Is Karma, by Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
  18. Worth It, by Raye on My 21st Century Blues (SNL, April 6, 2024)
  19. Please Please Please, by Sabrina Carpenter on Short n’ Sweet
  20. Change Nothing, by I Nine on Heavy Weighs the King
  21. Kaleidoscope, by Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Six by Chappell Roan here, for an album that actually came out last year. Her debut was one for the ages. Some miscellaneous notes:

  1. Saw Spoon in concert in Montreal — first concert I attended since the pandemic. Won’t be the last.
  2. How about Billy Joel putting out his first new song in decades? And did you catch the AI-infused video? Pretty amazing all around.
  3. So there’s a band named I Nine here, whose first album is titled Heavy Weighs the King. And there’s a band named Heavy Weighs the King. None of this is a coincidence, and their story can be seen via Rick Beato.
  4. Between Chappell Roan, I Nine/Heavy Weighs the King, and Waxahatchee, the three ladies here have some serious belting power. And while Kate Hudson may not have the same vocal strength, her entire album is excellent — I hope she keeps going with this musical side gig of hers.

Best Songs of 2023

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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.

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

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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”

Best Songs of 2022

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Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2022; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

  1. End of the Empire I-III, by Arcade Fire on WE
  2. End of the Empire IV (Sagittarius A-), by Arcade Fire on WE
  3. Happy New Year, by Let’s Eat Grandma on Two Ribbons
  4. King, by Florence + The Machine on Dance Fever
  5. American Teenager, by Ethel Cain on Preacher’s Daughter
  6. Beach House, by Carly Rae Jepsen on The Loneliest Time
  7. Mastermind, by Taylor Swift on Midnights
  8. Bostich, by Yello on Musik Music Musique 2.0
  9. Summer, by Emeli Sandé on Let’s Say for Instance
  10. At the Frick Museum, by Aimee Mann on Queens of the Summer Hotel
  11. Easy on Me, by Adele on 30
  12. Chaise Longue, by Wet Leg on Wet Leg
  13. Hold Me, by The Teskey Brothers on Run Home Slow
  14. Angel of Business, by Grace Ives on Janky Star
  15. Cambodia, by Kim Wilde on Musik Music Musique 2.0
  16. Hindsight, by Jake Wesley Rogers on Bros Soundtrack
  17. Home by Now, by MUNA on MUNA
  18. LSD, by Lucius on Second Nature
  19. Rerun, by Mia Wray on Stay Awake
  20. Less Than Zero, by The Weeknd on Dawn FM
  21. You Make the World a Better Place, by Priscilla Ahn on Waiting

The highlight of this year is Grace Ives — there are many more songs on her album Janky Star that could’ve made this list. Also a weird discovery — there’s an Australian record label called Ivy League Records that are featured here, on The Teskey Brothers and Mia Wray. Oh, and the lyrics to Chaise Longue are just hilarious!

Best Songs of 2021

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Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2021; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

  1. No Hard Feelings, by Wolf Alice on Blue Weekend
  2. Getting Older, by Billie Eilish on Happier Than Ever
  3. Drivers License, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
  4. Champagne Problems, by Taylor Swift on Evermore
  5. Obedear, by Purity Ring on Shrines
  6. Humankind, by Coldplay on Music of the Spheres
  7. Natural Blues (Reprise Version), by Moby on Reprise
  8. Don’t Go Dark, by Bleachers on Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
  9. Deja Vu, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
  10. Hard Drive, by Cassandra Jenkins on An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
  11. She Used to Be Mine, by Jessie Mueller on Waitress – Original Broadway Cast Recording
  12. Traitor, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
  13. Black Hole, by Griff on One Foot in Front of the Other
  14. Fallen Angel, by Erasure on The Neon
  15. The Let Down, by Francis Lung on Miracle
  16. Good Girls, by Chvrches on Screen Violence
  17. Hero, by Weezer on Van Weezer
  18. You Had to Be There, by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on When God Was Great
  19. Made to Love (feat. Ronnie Wood, Gina Martin & Dr. Mos-Shogbamimu), by Imelda May on 11 Past the Hour
  20. Happier, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
  21. Let Me Love You Like A Woman, by Lana Del Rey on Chemtrails Over the Country Club

As you can see, Olivia Rodrigo is on here four times, and they are all deserving. What a talent! “Happier” is my favorite song of hers, and perhaps for this mix, though Cassandra Jenkins’ “Hard Drive” is such a delightfully oddball song…they’re both great.

Favorite Songs of 2020

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Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2020; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

Horses, by Tomo Nakayama on Music from Touchy Feely
August, by Taylor Swift on Folklore
Conversations in the Dark, by John Legend on Bigger Love
Husavik, by My Marianne feat. Will Ferrell on Eurovision Song Contest
Now I’m in It, by Haim on Women in Music Pt. III
That Feeling, by Young London on Laggies
I Hate Everybody, by Halsey on Manic
Scared To Live (SNL Live), by The Weeknd on After Hours (Deluxe)
This Is Everything, by Grouplove on Healer
Delete Forever, by Grimes on Miss Anthropocene

Playing Dead, by Breathe Owl Breathe on Your Sister’s Sister
This Summer, by Loren Allred on This Summer
Bad Decisions, by The Strokes on The New Abnormal
Inner Child, by BTS on Map of the Soul: 7
Retrospect, by Vistas on Everything Changes in the End
Nothing at All, by Perfume Genius on Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
Death Stranding, by Chvrches on Death Stranding
Empress, by Snow Patrol on Wildness
Spring, by Angel Olsen on All Mirrors

We lost an excellent filmmaker this year, Lynn Shelton. Three of the songs featured on this list are from her movies — Touchy Feely (Horses), Laggies (That Feeling), and Your Sister’s Sister (Playing Dead). Touchy Feely is my favorite film of hers, but really, they’re all excellent.

Skin Deep: Dreamcast and Playlist

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At My Book, the Movie, I dream up the perfect cast for the film adaptation of Skin Deep. Please, if you have Awkwafina’s and Cate Blanchett’s phone numbers, give them a ring for me.

At largehearted boy, check out the the music for Skin Deep.

There’s even a Spotify playlist for your listening pleasure.

Favorite Songs of 2019

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Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2019; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

Love Song, by Lana Del Rey on Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Married in a Gold Rush, by Vampire Weekend feat. Danielle Haim on Father of the Bride
Cracking Codes, by Andrew Bird on My Finest Work Yet
Gloria, by The Lumineers on III
Hustle, by P!nk on Hurts 2B Human
Paper Rings, by Taylor Swift on Lover
Bad Guy, by Billie Eilish on When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Make It Right, by BTS on Map of the Soul: Persona
Some Kind of Love, by Dido on Still on My Mind
Orpheus, by Sara Bareilles on Amidst the Chaos
Falling for Boys, by Julia Michaels on Inner Monologue Part 2

Digital Boy, by Serena Jade (Live from the Rockwood Music Hall, NYC, 8-3-2019)
Stupid Things, by Keane on Cause and Effect
Allergic, by Post Malone on Hollywood’s Bleeding
I Was Terrible, by How to Dress Well on Care
Young Enough, by Charly Bliss on Young Enough
Billie Jean, by Weezer on Weezer (Teal Album)
Real Love, by Carly Rae Jepsen on Dedicated
Feels Good, by Lissie on Castles
Light on, by Maggie Rogers on Heard It in a Past Life

Many good tunes here, but I really dug the Charly Bliss song. Hugely anthemic, Young Enough just soars and soars.