2023 Honorable Mentions: Songs & Albums

Great songs and albums that juuuuuuust missed my main lists.

Dec 13, 2023

2023 was, as every year is, filled with incredible songs and albums. Not everything I liked could make my Best Of lists, so here’s an additional 10 songs and 5 albums from 2023 I adored, in alphabetical order. Every song includes a YouTube link so you can listen along, and a Spotify playlist is located at the bottom for you to save.

Songs

Yellowjackets is a show that uses the music of its era (the 1990s) extremely well, so it makes almost too much sense to get one of that era's biggest artists to cover its theme song. Morissette’s voice makes a perfect match for the song’s existing creepy vibes. LISTEN

I thought the Super Mario Bros Movie did an excellent job of capturing the magic of the games, and that started with the soundtrack. You hear “Press Start” relatively early in the film (fitting with the title), and it sets the stage well for the colorful adventure with plenty of callbacks to the game. Beyond just the tunes from Super Mario Bros., you get plenty of sound effects of Goombas, pipes, and even Bowser’s sinister laugh. It’s all wrapped together by some sublime orchestration, and it makes the movie all the much better. LISTEN

The Chemical Brothers’ latest record is full of their strongest material in years, but one of their best songs this year wasn’t even included on the record. With a workmanlike beat, “All Of A Sudden” powers its way forward. The driving synths make it a dancefloor stunner, so how it got left off the record is beyond me. At least it won’t get left off my lists. LISTEN

Written during the pandemic, “All Night” is a celebration of life that couldn’t be achieved during that lockdown. Now that we’ve re-emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, you can practically feel the positive vibes on this song envelop you. It’s as kaleidoscopic of a pop song as Georgia’s ever made. LISTEN

In her timeline of a robot learning what love is, “Affirmations” is the moment of self-realization. It both makes fun of things like affirmation walls and shows growth in the character Hannah has played for years. LISTEN

One of Jeff’s most blunt statements on the general malaise of the world we live in is one of his best. “FUTURE IS DUMB” is as up front as its title suggests, a raucous anthem that’s slick as hell and lyrically memorable. I wouldn’t want anyone but Jeff complaining about the modern world. LISTEN

Perhaps the most intricate song on Jessie Ware’s new album, “Begin Again” opens like you’re entering an alluring party full of strangers. The further along you get into the room, your interest in those complex people around you rises. Jessie’s magnificent voice sets the atmosphere perfectly, and as the song works towards its climax, so does the party. Will you start again? That’s the question Jessie begs on this rich track. And, spoiler, it’s only my 3rd favorite song off this record! LISTEN

King Gizz’s second offering of 2023 is a hybrid of mythological lyrics mixed with robotic synthpop stylings. Such an odd mix is combined to perfection on “Set”, a history lesson on the Egyptian god Set set to a mechanical beat. It’s like you’re on a factory floor’s conveyor belt, with each new bit of information flowing along the line until you get the complete picture of Set. And of course, it’s catchy as all get out. LISTEN

The breakout k-pop group taps into a little Baltimore club music with “ETA”. It’s got some staccato horns that at first I found annoying, but over time they grew on me. And of course you’ve got some sticky choruses courtesy of the girls, who sing about a man who promised a lot and delivered a lot less. The variety these girls gave us this year made them always worth checking out. LISTEN

Just like many of the songs on GUTS are, “logical” is a souped-up ballad from the modern-day master of teen drama. The scaling piano melody matches the desperation in Olivia’s voice as she comes to terms with how irrational loving someone can be. The heart-wrenching bridge sees all instrumentation drop off as Rodrigo lists off all the reasons she shouldn’t care about this dude, but just can’t quit it. Young love isn’t logical at all, and this is a fantastic distillation of those teen feelings. LISTEN

Albums

Everyone knows the Super Mario Bros. theme song. It’s so iconic I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t know it. And the producers for the Super Mario Bros. Movie could’ve just ran with that main theme song, but thankfully, they didn’t stop there. The OST for the film references of course the original theme, but also the Athletic Theme from Super Mario Bros. 3, Gusty Gardens from Super Mario Galaxy, and so much more. Plus, sound effects from all sorts of Mario games are lovingly added for depth across many tracks. Brian Tyler and his orchestra showed a real love for the games I love so much, and it made the movie pop just like the games do. LISTEN

Two years after the band called it quits and ten years after they gave us their swan song, Daft Punk continue to grace us with their presence. This 10th anniversary edition of said swan song’s bonus tracks offer more insight into that album’s creative process. Songs like “GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)” and “The Writing of Fragments of Time” are rare peeks into the studio the robots held court in. “Infinity Repeating” is a scrapped song featuring Julian Casablancas that could go toe to toe with RAM’s best, and the finale of “Touch (2021 Epilogue)” can bring a tear to your eye depending on how invested you were in Daft Punk. For me, I was very invested, making this an incredible gift that I can’t get enough of. LISTEN

For better or for worse, these guys are making appearances across all my lists this year. And for as atrocious as their “We Didn’t Start The Fire” cover was, Fall Out Boy’s latest album is their best in years. They double down on the overdramatic pop punk they cut their teeth on to a fault and give the fans what they really want. Songs like “Love From The Other Side” and “Heartbreak Feels So Good” feature an energy not seen within the group for some time, and even the overly optimistic “What a Time To Be Alive” slaps. The self-titled closer even has some motifs that call back to earlier records on the song. If Pete Wentz & company could just cut out the crap, they’d get back to their mid-2000’s peak, but they really wouldn’t be Fall Out Boy without some crap mixed in with the gold. LISTEN

The more Amber Bain grows, the warmer her music sounds. Her latest record as The Japanese House is more purely pop-inspired than ever before, resulting in some of the most enjoyable songs she’s ever made. The subjects of heartbreak are familiar, but when they’re delivered on catchy songs like “Touching Yourself” or “Friends”, you can at least dance the problems away. LISTEN

T-Swizzle’s fifth album was a groundbreaking moment where she fully crossed into the pop sphere, immediately mastering everything about the genre. Nine years later, the songs of 1989 are still incredible, from smash hits like “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood” to deeper cuts like “Wildest Dreams” and “New Romantics”. This rerecording is a great excuse to get back into the record, with five solid new “From The Vault” recordings adding some more context to the album’s creation. It’s one of the most interesting moments in Swift’s career in a whole new light. LISTEN

2023 Honorable Mentions: Songs & Albums

Great songs and albums that juuuuuuust missed my main lists.

Songs

Albums

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