Albums & Singles, 2023

01. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts 

02. PJ Harvey, I Inside the Old Year Dying

03. Black Belt Eagle Scout, The Land, The Water, The Sky

04. Boygenius, The Record

05. Paul Simon, Seven Psalms

06. Blondshell [s/t] 

07. Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn into You

08. Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

09. Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loveliest Time

10. Nili Hadida, Love Life Death Despair and Anohni, My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross [tie] 

01. Caroline Polachek, "Dang"

02. Lana Del Rey, "A&W" 

03. Bizarrap and Shakira, "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" 

04. Olivia Rodrigo, "Vampire" 

05. Olivia Rodrigo, "Get Him Back"

06. Tate McRae, "Greedy" 

07. Tate McRae, "Exes" 

08. SZA*, "Kill Bill"

09. Kylie Minogue, "Padam Padam" 

10. Jessie Ware, "Begin Again"

*note: SOS was on my 2022 list. 

You know, the greatest films of all time were never made

The "Extended Version" of the Eras Tour film (for Taylor Swift is nothing if not the savvy master of collect-'em-all "versions" of any and everything) benefits both from the (re-)inclusion of "The Archer," "Long Live," and "Wildest Dreams" (where is "Cardigan," though??!) and also from one's ability on VOD to fast-forward past "The Man," "The Last Great American Dynasty," and "Bad Blood," their considerable, respective aural cringe levels cranked intolerably to 11 with cornball Broadway musical-style staging. 

But definitely not past the between-songs banter, which – however generically standard across concerts it may well be – shows why the first artist in any medium to be named TIME's "Person of the Year" for their art (i.e., Bono's philanthropy aside) is somehow still more than "just" one of the most prolific, accomplished, and talented singer-songwriters of her generation. She is also the most charismatic and deeply likeable Very Famous Person on the planet, in a cultural moment when overexposure via warts-and-all social media has yielded unflattering if not off-putting "versions" of many if not most Very Famous People. 

Anyone who still scoffs at the flaky tastes of the masses should listen closely to (or watch, as the Eras show centrepiece) all ten breathless minutes of the extended "All Too Well" and marvel at how a subtle literary genius of limitless sensitivities has willed herself into being the biggest one-person global brand this side of Elon Musk. If he represents something close to the worst of our age, Swift represents the best – 2023 from the glass-half-full view. And, goddamn, she just turned 34!

Places in the Heart

"'Context': It's a new spell that makes everything that's wrong right!" 

Much sharper and funnier than SNL's take on this appalling crisis in moral conscience. 

(And Michael Rapaport is my new favourite wizard.)  

Just in time for a long, dark, wet winter, I made the ultimate sad songs playlist. 

(It is named in honour of the meteorological phenomenon that is happening here right now.)