Favorite Songs of 2023
It seems like most Decembers recently I write something like “Well, it wasn’t a great year for music…” as I prepare to share a bunch of songs I both liked and listened to a lot. Something was different this year, though. According to Last.fm, I listened to about 15% less music in 2023 compared to 2022, and my least music…
Christmas Playlist
To get your pre-Christmas week started right, I put together a playlist of seldom played, (mostly) non-traditional Christmas songs to counter all the usual stuff you’re hearing at the mall, in your car, on TV, and in your offices/homes. Enjoy roughly 40 minutes of cool Yuletide tunes. “Main Title” – John Debney 2003. M and I sing the “Bop-bop bop-bop-bop”…
Friday Playlist – Bests Of
In preparation for next week’s unveiling of my Favorite Songs of 2023, a review of my past favorites. This playlist begins with 2004 and includes co-favorite Songs of the Year for 2017 and 2022. Also below are links to my annual Favorite Songs posts. 2009’s list has been, somehow, lost to time. 2011 was the year I was stupidly using…
Friday Playlist
Looking at the calendar, this may be the last regular FP of the calendar year. Next week will be a set-up piece for my Favorite Songs of the Year playlist, which will drop the following week. I plan on a non-traditional holiday music playlist for sometime the week before Christmas. Then I will most likely take the final Friday of…
Friday Playlist
We’ve reached December, the month when these playlists can get a little squirrelly. There’s less new music to begin with. I’m listening to holiday music much of the day. I’m also focused on my Favorite Songs of the Year playlist. This year has the added element of me just reading a book about Eighties music, and being neck-deep in a…
Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 94
Chart Week: November 14, 1981 Song: “Never Too Much” – Luther Vandross Chart Position: #37, 6th week on the chart, first week in the Top 40. Peaked at #33 for two weeks. Happy Thanksgiving week to you all! A quick entry based on a Casey anecdote about how a pop artist paid the bills before he started making hits of…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0MPKDxxlLKjK7qdv3S0cJx?si=ddff3358588541bf “Beaming” – The Treasures of Mexico What a glorious piece of jangle pop this is, harkening back to the mid-80s college rock scene. “What Now” – Brittany Howard Howard bringing the funk to her blues. If you don’t like this, stop reading these posts. “Beautiful Sky” – Semisonic featuring Jim James I gave Semisonic’s new album a listen when…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 93
Chart Week: November 5, 1983 Song: “Automatic Man” – Michael Sembello Chart Position: #34, 7th week on the chart. This was the song’s peak. A quick RFTS to fill the place of the Friday Playlist as we are taking an adult fall break for the next few days. The 100th entry in this series is getting very close. I’ve been…
Friday Playlist
An extra-stuffed playlist this week, heavy on tracks from albums I have previously shared songs from. Also, a heads up that there may be no playlist next week. I will be traveling for a couple days and may leave the playlist machine at home. Then again, maybe I’ll whip something together before we depart. It will be a surprise for…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 92
Chart Week: October 30, 1982 Song: “I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)” – Donald Fagen Chart Position: #36, 4th week on the chart, debut week in the Top 40. Peaked at #26 for three weeks in November and December. Pop music tends to be pretty limited thematically. Amongst the bazillion or so songs about love, lust, and heartbreak, occasionally one will…