The Years of Living Albumlessly
by Steve Forstneger
For the second year running, I havenโt submitted an albums-of-the-year list because the only albums I listen to are those that I review for Beats Per Minute. Occasionally, a blockbuster release will sneak its way onto my desk, but that only strengthens the argument against an annual recap. I spend my time almost exclusively with singles, reviewing a song every weekday on Instagram and trying vainly to swim with the constant flow of new music.
Each time an artist or publicist emails me with a new single, I eventually listen to it. According to my 2023 Spotify Wrapped, I listened to exactly 6,700 artists, 10,020 songs, roughly 31 solid days of music. Approximately 200 of those tracks ended up being reviewed, and another 180 joined them on my Best Of 2023 playlist.
The reasons I started doing this arenโt interesting โ I actually just deleted several paragraphs of sucky explanation. Maybe Iโm trying to refute a stereotype. Music fans have complained for generations that critics follow an agenda at the expense of more deserving artists. As if when I was the editor-in-chief of the monthly Illinois Entertainer in Chicago, I conspired (over poker in a smoke-filled room) with my counterparts at the Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times, Reader, and New City over coverage. Though we would like to have taken credit for (and subsequently distanced ourselves from) Kanye West, that shit is really on yโall.
At the same time, critics do talk, read each otherโs reports, and we turn each other onto what has turned us on. We are a functional necessity for one another; thereโs simply too much music that can be missed. Finding consensus among us is the proverbial herding of cats, however. When we submitted our songs-of-the-year nominees (usually between 20 and 50 from each of us), I chose 45 and only three of those overlapped with anyone elseโs (โTiny Gardenโ, โContactโ, โRun, Run, Runโ) with an additional artist overlap in Susanne Sundfรธr. Versus Pitchforkโs top 100, I fare little better: keep โGardenโ and โContactโ, remove โRunโ, and swap Sundfรธr with Christine & The Queens and Blonde Redhead. Incidentally, I reviewed three of those artistsโ albums this year.
Looking over everyone elseโs submissions, the album game is clearly what drives the songs conversation at BPM. Thirty of our songs of the year come from our albums of the year, while seven of my 45 nominees came from albums I personally reviewed. (Yet no artist is represented by more than one track โ an unwritten rule.) Individually, my colleagues nominated nearly every track on the Boygenius and Sufjan Stevens records. I donโt know what tipped the balance in favour of โNot Strong Enoughโ and โShit Talkโ, respectively, but โconsensusโ is an exaggeration. Sixteen of Pitchforkโs Top 25 songs came from their top albums. Chicken/egg regardless, the correlation between albums and songs looks like the true source of this tyrannical agenda. (And they say albums donโt matter anymore.)
The following list represents my Top 10 tracks of 2023, adjusted for album influence (positions 3, 4, 7, 11, and 14 were originally held by Sister Ray โTeethโ, Unknown Mortal Orchestra โLaylaโ, Nation Of Language โWeak In Your Lightโ, Christine & The Queens โTrue loveโ, and Mick Jenkins โShow & Tellโ off albums I reviewed).
- San Holo โLIGHT ONLYโ feat. Bipolar Sunshine
Maybe the sort of song that a future bass o.g. could create in their sleep, for sure: that San Holo spends the track teasing a bass drop that never arrives and yet he still achieves a feeling of release? Addictive.
- Residente โBajo y Baterรญaโ
An increasingly agitated, 9-minute diss track. The frustration of his rivalry with J Balvin spills over into rolled Rs that spray like bullets. Few of his detractors are spared; credit to his bassist and drummer for keeping pace.
- BJ The Chicago Kid โLong Timeโ
Recording in Al Greenโs studio with Greenโs equipment gives this track its tone, though Green never used a beat that sounded like a rug being beat against a porch. The lyrics deal with a different kind of ghost.
- Ivan Cornejo โDonde Estรกsโ
Americansโ widening acceptance of hispanic dance music seems to halt at more traditional Mexican styles even while Peso Pluma and Gera MX sell out large venues. Ivan Cornejoโs heartache needs no translation as this fumbling guitarrรณn overflows into a sea of reverb.
- Blonde Redhead โSit Down for Dinner Pt. 1 & 2โ
This bisected song drew its inspiration from Joan Didionโs The Year Of Magical Thinking, which itself came from Didionโs husband suddenly dying in the midst of a separate, family health crisis. โPt. 1โ handles the initial shock and mourning, while โPt. 2โ finds time moving along without remorse.
- Burna Boy โBig 7โ
Another death-inspired song, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy uses โBig 7โ as a celebration of life. A summer jam that could be extended by another minute, the video features Busta Rhymes and RZA in possibly the most upbeat cameo of their careers.
- MUNNYCAT โTACO TRUCK (oh, wtf?)โ
This L.A.-based duo escaped the Rust Belt by bankrolling their career through licensed music. Occasionally, they drop a single like this oneโabout a missed connection at a mobile food vanโwith the imagination of Gwen Stefani meeting Flaming Lips in The LEGO Movie.
- DROELOE โFoolish Fishโ
The title possibly refers to a cosmos/occult-themed YouTube channel while DROELOE searches for answers to his own crisis. His doubts about such beliefs ultimately comes forward (โWhat if Iโm wrong?โ) but the real battle is with a Gorillaz-ish earworm melody that moles its way through his problems.
- Susanne Sundfรธr โleikara ljรณรฐโ
Sundfรธr never hesitates to brandish her pipes, but here their role is a tool that can bridge the gap between double-dutch jump rope, Gospel, and ABBA. The a cappella arrangement would be brave if it werenโt so well suited.
- Vanessa Tha Finessa โTop Notchโ
The final track on her debut EP, โTop Notchโโs playground handclaps like โMiss Mary Mackโ combine with nearly calypso vocals as Vanessa Tha Finessa announces herself. Itโs like getting your ass kicked in the schoolyard.
