Pitchfork’s #8 song of 2023 is ‘Chosen to Deserve,’ a darkly romantic tune by Asheville-based alt-country band Wednesday. This song was the second single from the band’s fifth studio album, Rat saw God.
Lead singer Karly Hartzman kicks off this track with the evocative line “We always started by tellin’ all our best stories first so now that it’s been awhile, I’ll get around to tellin’ you all my worst” and then proceeds to do exactly that, describing her debaucherous adolescence.
The sixth best song of 2023, according to Pitchfork, is SZA’s ‘Kill Bill.’ I featured it back in April, when it was in the top five of the Hot 100. No argument from me on this one — it’s a great song.
In the 7th spot is ‘Super Shy’ from K-pop group NewJeans. This is the lead single from the girl group’s second EP, and it was a big hit in South Korea before making a minor splash in the U.S. (it reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100).
Pitchfork’s #5 song of the year is the third single from Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album Guts, the love-him-and-hate-him anthem ‘get him back!’
Rodrigo has such a knack for writing catchy hooks and tapping into Gen Z angst that she is well on her way to becoming the musical voice of her generation. Over just two albums, she has already amassed a laundry list of signature songs that sound simultaneously like they’ve been around forever and were written earlier today.
The #4 song of 2023, according to Pitchfork, is ‘namesake’ by Chicago-based rapper Noname. Noname (who does have a name, and it’s Fatimah Nyeema Warner) is a slam poet turned rapper who released her second studio album, Sundial, this year.
This is my first exposure to Noname and I’m immediately captivated. I love the sound of her flow as well as the music she’s rapping over. I sampled a couple of other tracks from the album and they all share the same sensibility and vibe. Could it be? A rap artist I like enough to keep listening?
It’s that time of the year when music critics start dropping their best-of lists and I realize how little I pay attention to new music outside of my own little bubble.
Looking back at the hundreds of albums released so far in 2023, the only ones with which I spent any amount of time were by these artists: Belle & Sebastian, boygenius, Lana Del Rey, Bob Dylan, Ben Folds, Jason Isbell, Olivia Rodrigo, The Rolling Stones, and Paul Simon. That’s not even enough for a top ten.
Meet Me In Montauk 