I have a love-hate relationship with best-of-the-year lists. My reasons not to love it fall somewhere in between it’s all just subjective right up to they just uphold the hegemony of western music and old white men in journalism. But, on the flipside, it is interesting to see what a cohort of critics think was “good” or popular that year, and think about why those things connected, and how. It’s also nice to have some kind of an archive of what happened and what was released, even if the things included were only things that publications were sent by a PR company.
I’ve heard lots of criticisms this year of current music being stale, too referential, or that there’s too much sampling (god forbid!).
I thought this year was a great year musically. There were some excellent afrobeats albums from Amaarae, Asake, Burna Boy, Davido and Adekunle Gold, and amazing records from Kelela, Tirzah, Sampha, Cleo Sol, ML Buch and Romy. I enjoyed more experimental things from Laurel Halo, Arthur Russell, Marina Herlop and Aphex Twin and continued to be impressed by indie labels like Hessle Audio, Principe, Local Action, TraTraTrax, Nyege Nyege and Hyperdub. And I still spend too much time digging through Soundcloud, What’s App groups and blogs for weird micro-genres from around the world.
I’ve compiled a list of tracks I loved in 2023, with *an accompanying Spotify playlist* (I recommend you sort it by most recent date added). In here you’ll mostly find big basslines, catchy melodies, aggressive drums, interesting production, things that simply moved me in some way: from amapiano to club bangers. Enjoy! And keep scrolling for music video recommendations.
Best music videos of 2023
This year has been an interesting one for music visuals. Beyoncé chose not to make a single video for her latest album, Renaissance, in 2022. It felt like a very surprising yet deliberate move that didn’t really make sense until the announcement of the live tour movie in 2023, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. Why distract your fanbase with little videos, when you can deliver a full movie - one that will likely gross hundreds of millions of dollars over time (unlike fluctuating and unpredictable royalties from YouTube), and move culture and conversation in a much more impactful way?
Taylor Swift’s concert movie The Eras Tour was also released this year, and became the highest grossing concert movie of all time, earning over six times that of Beyoncé’s film. These movies aren’t a new phenomenon by any means, but it feels unprecedented to have two of pop’s biggest stars dropping career-defining movies in the same year.
But what of the humble music video?
Of the top 30 most watched videos on YouTube that were released in 2023, only one of those videos was an American act (Miley Cyrus).
That’s a testament to the current power of non-western acts dominating streaming numbers overall - particularly Latin and Korean artists, as well as the power of YouTube as a free streaming service and the world’s biggest music platform. People aren’t necessarily going to YouTube to watch videos, and it’s almost impossible to get a real data read on what were the most liked videos. Of those top 30 videos, none of them are what I would consider a “good video”.
There’s always some chatter that the music video is dead, and I hesitate to even air those ideas out here. It’s true that the budgets for videos these days aren’t reaching the heights of a Hype Williams’ video at the turn of the millennium, but the power of video is still strong.
At the highest levels, i.e. American pop music, where the budgets are flowing a bit more freely, the right music video can still create a big cultural moment. In the past few years, there’s been a steady stream of videos that will stir a conversation, like Lil Nas X’s “Montero”, Megan & Cardi B’s “WAP” or Ariana Grande’s “Thank U Next”. And for any artist, it’s a crucial way to bring fans in to their world, show their performance chops and overall aesthetic taste.
According to DataReportal, 36% of Gen Z watch a music video every single day, and 50% of all internet users watch a music video weekly. There is no doubt the power of the video reigns strong.
I’ve plucked eighteen recommendations from this year, those who beat the odds to make something really good. I’m looking for things that are impressive in their storytelling, in their ability to evoke something or that simply break the rules somehow.
In no particular order:
James Blake - Big Hammer, dir. Oscar Hudson
A menacing heist movie complete with Naked Gun-style camera mount. Don’t miss the ending. Also hat tip to another James Blake visual from this year, “Playing Robots Into Heaven” which is a really beautiful video evocative of the Seventh Seal.
Little Simz - Gorilla, dir. Dave Meyers
Just idea after idea. You could screengrab almost any frame of this and it would feel like a photo.
EBTG - Nothing Left To Lose, dir. Charlie Di Placido
I’m a sucker for a video that doesn’t star the artist at all. This one is a straightforward concept in just one location - a delightful choreography unfolds.
Mustafa - Name of God, dir. Mustafa Ahmed
No big tricks here, just beautifully chosen scene selection.
Bakar - I’m Done, dir. rubberband
Videos that revolve around one conceit can be super effective. That’s what this is.
Sevdaliza - Nothing Lasts Forever (feat. Grimes), dir. Willem Kantine
Deepfake video starring Madonna and Julia Fox as bodybuilders. The deepfakes are bad and so is the overdone product placement for Teenage Engineering, but maybe that’s the point?!
Weyes Blood - God Turn Me Into A Flower, dir. Adam Curtis
Getting Adam Curtis to direct a video is a touch. He’s a master of choosing the right footage for the right feeling. This is six full minutes of vignettes capturing the horror and the beauty of life.
Viagra Boys - Troglodyte, dir. Cissi Efraimsson
Generally, a very literal interpretation of the song’s lyrics can be a misfire for a video. But here, the lyrics are so fun that it’s very much the right decision. A claymation about killer shrimp? Sold.
Danny Brown - Tantor, dir. *UNCANNY
How to make a lo-fi video have hi-character.
Troye Sivan - Rush dir. Gordon von Steiner
POV: you’ve just come out and you’re spending the summer in Berlin. And the choreo is on point.
Kokoroko - Rapt, dir. Akinola Davies Jr
Beautiful scenes and cinematography from Makoko, Lagos, aka “the Venice of Africa”.
Benjamin Earl Turner - Headspace/Bent, dir. Abteen
Surreal, touching and violent all at once. Apparently the animatronic character took months to make - it paid off.
Rema - Trouble Maker, dir. Meji Alabi
Rema has put his visual world front and centre from the very beginning of his career, and I’m excited to see his videos levelling up.
Sampha - LAHAI: Time Travels Memories, dir. Sampha & Caleb Femi
Beautiful short that draws the lines from ancient tradition to the future. Taking you somewhere between dreams and memories.
The Hives - Bogus Operandi, dir. Aube Perrie
The Hives do the Evil Dead.
Travis Scott - Circus Maximus, dir. various
Clocking in at 1h15, it’s billed as a film, but it’s more a collection of different videos with an all-star director line-up: Harmony Korine, Kahlil Joseph, Andrew Dosunmu, Gaspar Noé and more. With a line-up like that it’s hard to deny there is some impressive imagery in here.
Mette - Mama’s Eyes, dir. Camille Summers-Valli
Stellar editing, choreo and archival footage selection.
Yvnnis - Gare Du Nord, dir. Ferina
An extreme amount of techniques in here. Hats off to the editor.
AntsLive - Number One Candidate, dir. Tom Emmerson & Billy King
Strong colours, big fun.