Throwing back to the week of December 10, 1983, we find a couple of repeats atop the Billboard Hot 100 in ‘Say Say Say‘ (Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) and ‘All Night Long (All Night)‘ (Lionel Richie).
In the #3 spot is Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl,’ the second single from his An Innocent Man album, and one of three from that record to reach the top ten. ‘Uptown Girl’ spent five weeks at #3, its peak position on the chart.
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?
Meet Me In Montauk 