The No Badger Required End of Year Countdown (15 – 11)

Welcome to Day Five – today we explore the five tracks that sit just outside the Top Ten but before we dive into all that, here is another member of the Musical Jury with their pick of the year  Here is Rol from the wonderful His Top Ten Blog who rather stretches the ‘One Paragraph’ Rule.

“When the esteemed gate keeper of this fine blog asked me for my favourite track of the year, I almost didn’t respond.  Partly because that’s always such a difficult question to answer, but largely because I’ve been struggling with my self confidence lately… to the point where I’ve been doing a lot of reading up on how the brai works and why we get negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, anger or low self-esteem.  I’ve been trying to write about it (with added pop music!) in a blog series called Self Help For Cynics.  I tell you this not as an act of blatant self promotion but to illustrate why I was reluctant to contribute… I mean, who cares what my favourite song was in 2023?  My own handful of die hard readers may feign an interest, but why would the illustrious cognoscenti who follow No Badger Required give a monkey’s? (A particular apt idiom since it seems we can blamea lot of common mental health illness on an overactive monkey brain….but I digress.)

Second paragraph.  Oh dear.  And now I’ve broken the primary rule of engagement. Get to the poin, will you Rol!  My favourite song of the year?  Well, its too close to call.  It’s either this….

Modern Girls – Bleachers (2023, Dirty Hit Records)

…which won’t go down well with many of you as it’s a blatant 80s pastiche, complete with saxophones, hand claps, woah woah woahs and a chirpily singalong chorus.  Plus it’s the work of Jack Antaoff, who used to be in fun., a band with no capital letter and an unnecessary full stop in their name; most upsetting to English teachers like myself.  They were the guys who released that ‘We Are Young’ song from Chevrolet advert a few years ago and then broke up over artistic similarities (to steal a joke from Paul Heaton).  And as I try desperate to sell this to you, I realise I’m probably affecting the mental health of many a No Badger Required reader, so instead I’ll offer this….”

Checking Out – Divorce (2022, Hand In Hive Records)

Thanks Rol.  For what its worth I much prefer the Divorce track to the Bleachers one.  Then again, I think you said as much. Right time for some No Badger Required favourites.

15. Vanilla – Colour TV (2023, Tip Top Records)

To the best of my knowledge, which is to be fair, limited, the seaside resort and once a year Goth playground that is Whitby has only ever featured in one good song, that being Cud’s Morrissey annoying classic ‘(Only) A Prawn In Whitby’.  Well in 2023 all that changed when Cornwall’s Colour TV released ‘Vanilla’ and made easily the greatest record to ever mentioned ‘Whitby’.  ‘Vanilla’ is tremendous, it has guitars that roar and howl majestically all over the place, drums that crash frantically and a deliciously yelpy vocal from star in wating Sam Durneen.

Talking of delicious and frantic, here’s Richard D James.

14. Blackbox Life Recorder 21f – Aphex Twin (2023, Warp Records)

You know when you put aside all the nonsense that has happened in 2023, war, thousands of unnecessary deaths, surging cost of living and energy prices, dirty rivers, crumbling schools, the inexplicable celebrity status of Matt Hancock, escalating racial tensions fuelled by right wing politicians with a Trumpian disposition, it hasn’t been such a bad year.  I mean the Aphex Twin released a bunch of new tracks for a start….

Next up some anti corporate stoner rock

13. Buy My Product  – Water from Your Eyes (2023, Matador Records)

Some of the best songs in the world sound like they are about to spiral out of control.  The guitars get more and more distorted, the drums get more distant, the vocals get lost in all the chaos, the bass gets more frantic before something, often luck, brings them all back together so that it becomes one big cauldron of brilliance.  ‘Buy My Product’ does that.  Twice.  And then just stops as it actually does spiral out of control.  Astonishingly good.

Ok – here is the next next next big thing

12. Sinner – The Last Dinner Party (2023, Universal Records)

The debut single by all female London five piece The Last Dinner Party, a sweary baroque pop ditty called ‘Nothing Matters’ created a swirl of almost instant hype around them.  That hype has continued to build over the year.  Despite only having a handful of songs they have played sold out shows up and down the UK and have been snapped by a major label. Their debut album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ is already one of most anticipated records of next year despite it sounding a little bit like Fleetwood Mac in places.

All of which means we should hate The Last Dinner Party, right?  Nope.  They are outstanding and trust me, by Glastonbury you’ll know every word to every song.

Finally for today the best song to ever name check ‘Dr Pepper’.

11. 2009 – Pynch (2023, Chillburn Records, Taken from ‘Howling at a Concrete Moon’)

 ‘2009’ is a marvellous ode to being young.  A dreamy indie pop affair that is sort of half the slacker stoned pop of Beck and half the choppy art school ethics of say Bloc Party. Regardless of that it’s full of lyrics about skateboards, fizzy drinks, getting stoned and listening to heavy metal.  All of which are essential for being young and cool.  Apart from the heavy metal obviously.

On Monday we usher in the Top Ten Tracks, and start to look at some of the best albums of the year too, plus we’ll have more from the Musical Jury…