‘Speedway’ is the closing track on Morrissey’s 1994 album Vauxhall and I, arguably his finest solo release. My personal fave is 1992’s Your Arsenal but this one is right up there.
Morrissey has released nine more albums since but none of them managed the mix of angst, wit and whimsy quite like this one and its predecessors. I’d argue that any legit fan of Morrissey needs to know everything The Smiths ever did plus those first four solo albums.
Here’s a track from Randy Newman’s most recent album, 2017’s Dark Matter. The fact that this is the first time a song from the album has appeared on the blog since its release says a lot.
Newman is notoriously slow when it comes to releasing new albums (in part because he spends a lot of time on movie scores). Dark Matter was only his fifth studio album release in the more than four decades following a rather prolific run in the 70s.
Closing out this year-end edition of ‘What the Kids Are Listening To’ takes us to #41, where Silk Sonic has its only appearance on the chart with ‘Smokin Out the Window.’
First comes The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, whose ‘Save Your Tears’ was at #39 in 2023 despite being released way back in 2020. That song has some impressive legs.
In a year that gave us a new Beyoncé album, it’s surprising to see her first and only appearance on the year-end Hot 100 way down at #38. But that’s where you’ll find ‘Break My Soul.’
At #39 is yet another country bro, the fourth in the 30s, as Zach Bryan shows up with the oddly titled ‘Something in the Orange,’ the second single from his album American Heartbreak.
The #37 song on Billboard’s 2023 Hot 100 chart would definitely rank higher in my household. That has nothing to do with OneRepublic or the song itself, and everything to do with a shirtless Miles Teller dancing in slow motion while playing beach football. This is the gif that finally cemented for me the fact that my daughters aren’t gay.
Yes, ‘I Ain’t Worried’ is the song that soundtracked the bonding scene in Top Gun: Maverick, giving that film its equivalent of the first movie’s shirtless volleyball match.
Meet Me In Montauk 