My Top Ten Favorite Songs of 2023

Although there are still a couple of days left in 2023, I think I pretty much have down my top favorite songs of the year, not that much different than what I wrote down a few weeks a ago.  Here they are, each listed entry with the song's title followed by the artist and the album in parentheses...

1 OIL by Gorillaz (Cracker Island)

2 MY COSMOS IS MINE by Depeche Mode (Memento Mori)

3 PEOPLE ARE GOOD by Depeche Mode (Memento Mori)

4 SHIT TALK by Sufjan Stevens (Javelin)

5 BOTTLE EPISODES by The New Pornographers (Continue as a Guest)

6 NEW GOLD by Gorillaz (Cracker Island)

7 WHO WOULD YOU BE FOR ME by Metric (Formentera II)

8 A HAIRDRYER by The Smile (A Light for Attracting Attention)

9 PONTIUS PILATE'S HOME MOVIES by The New Pornographers (Continue as a Guest)

10 MY FAVORITE STRANGER by Depeche Mode (Memento Mori)

Oil has nonsense lyrics although speaking in vague terms of love.  What won it as my "Song of the Year" is its upbeat musical tone, sounding like a cross between alt-rock and Fleetwood Mac...the fact that Stevie Nicks sings on it was brilliant.  Depeche Mode is a British industrial/Goth band that's been around for years...their 2023 album Memento Mori contains some jewels.  My Cosmos is Mine is an assertive expression of identity, reminding me of Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down and Soundgarden's My Wave.  People are Good expresses the opposite from its ironic title: they really aren't so good after all! Sufjan Stevens, a longtime favorite Indie recording artist, came out with the album Javelin this past fall, my favorite track Shit Talk actually a beautiful, emotional 8-minute plus work of art...don't get misled by this one's title, either. I recommend the whole list, naturally, and you can hear them all on YouTube. You know, I just gave Number One another listen and realized that the lyrics aren't nonsensical at all...