Best of 2023 - Music

Today I have my top 5 music/rediscovering albums and moments of 2023. Music has always been a big deal in my life. Unfortunately I have not heard much new music the past couple years. I find myself going back to stuff I used to listen to, or finding older music that was popular a few years ago. I am not hip anymore. I'm 41 now. I don't know all the cool new artists out there at the moment. Maybe things will change as my kids get older. But right now, my music taste is not current. Keep that in mind as you read my list.

At number 5 I have Lil Dicky announcing his new record. I am a fan of his music. But even more so, I am a fan of his wonderful show "Dave" on FX. And this most recent season focused on him touring his new music. He also did a bunch of stuff in season two that referenced this upcoming record. The album is entitled "Penith". I can remember howling when he was doing publication for this record in season two. But he played some of the music in the show, and I found myself vibing out. He also did an entire episode this past season where he did a song with Rachel McAdams. It was a great episode, it centered around a fashion ball, and the song is dope. He also had some autotune stuff he did with Brad Pitt that I am curious to see if that made the record. He also had a great video for a song about his childhood crush. I am stoked. I feel like he hasn't put out new music in quite some time and I am more than ready to listen when the record comes out in January.

At number 4 I have my personal reintroduction to the band MGMT. I listened to them when they first came out, but after a bit I found them to be a bit pretentious and kind of forgot about them. Then I started to play a game on my phone called Beatstar and they had a song of theirs featured on the game, "Electric Feel". I would play the song on the game and find myself bobbing my head while playing. I was playing it one day and I looked at my wife and said, "this song slaps". Then I went to Spotify and started to listen to the record with "Electric Feel". I then went back to the beginning and found myself enjoying pretty much all of their work. They make pretty darn good music. They have a pretty cool sound. They make music to dance to. It is all pretty great and I'm glad that I stopped being a music snob with MGMT's discography. It has been nice to reacquaint myself with some pretty sweet, poppy and dancy music.

At number 3 I have my discovery of the band LSD. LSD is a three piece super group consisting of Sia, Diplo and Labrinth. The music is rad too. This is another band that Beatstar introduced me to. And I'm here for it. The music blends a bunch of genres. They have pop, electronic, hip hop and dance music vibes. The songs are catchy and fun to sing along to. They only put out one record, that I know of, and that record is one of my new favorites to listen to a lot in my car and home. I like the version of Sia this record has brought out. I enjoy Diplo's production here. And I love that I get to hear an artist new to me, Labrinth, who is great at his craft. LSD is one of my better personal discoveries lately and I'm glad they are in my music life now.

At number 2 I have Killer Mike's solo record, "Michael". This record is everything I hoped it would be. Killer Mike crushes verse after verse on this album. His guest list is second to none. He brought back a whole bunch of Atlanta rappers and let them shine here. But above all, Killer Mike further cemented his place as one of the best rappers in the game, now and possibly of all time. I knew going into listening that I was going to like this album, I just didn't know how much. Well, I love it and have been listening to it a bunch since this summer. Killer Mike is amazing and continues to do amazing work.

At number 1 I have Lil Yachty's "Let's Start Here". This album came out of nowhere for me. I have never listened to Lil Yachty priors to this record. He was never on my radar. And when people who's musical taste I trust would talk up this record, I laughed it off. Lil Yachty is a party rapper in my eyes. But "Let's Start Here" is an achievement. Lil Yachty did something completely out of his comfort zone, making a psychedelic record, and this is one of the best records I have heard in quite some time. It is wild and insane and wonderful. The songs range anywhere from eight to three minutes. Lil Yachty does hip hop verses, rock verses, R&B choruses and psychedelic stuff all over this album. The instrumentation is incredible. Whoever he got to play the instruments, he knocked it out of the whole entire park. This record is endlessly listenable and awesome. I have been blown away with every listen. Lil Yachty took a chance and hammered it. This album is amazing and you should listen to it immediately if you have not yet. It is worth your time.

That is it for my top 5 albums/musical moments of 2023. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 tv shows of the year. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to Lil Yachty's "Let's Start Here"

I've always been on the fence when it comes to Lil Yachty. He will make stuff I really like, then he will make some stuff that is too mainstream. He has this ebb and flow deal with me. Sometimes it hits, other times it doesn't.

I have this deal with a lot of artists. I'm sure other people do too. But I have had lots of people I know, people whose opinion I respect, tell me I have to listen to his new record. I was putting it off for a while. I just didn't think I was ready for it. I also heard it wasn't a rap record, but more of a psychedelic record. I have an odd history with psychedelic music. But I had some time by myself Saturday. I took my daughter to a birthday party, my son was over at his grandparents house and my wife was going out with a friend. So I went on a run and decided to give the record a shot.

I love this album, everyone. I have already gone through the record fully two times. I started to listen to it again this morning on the way to take my kids to school. My son seemed to dig it. My daughter said it sounded weird, but it wasn't bad weird. This was another feather in its cap. The record is called "Let's Start Here". The cover is also wild and I love it. It has all these presumably business people with faces that look like they are melting. They also have these odd permanent smiles on their faces. It is fascinating to look at people. It was scary at first, but now I am all about it. And the songs, these are works of art. I truly did not know that Lil Yachty had this in him.

This record is nothing like he has ever done before. It is so out there and different. He took a big swing and boy did he connect. From start to finish this record hits on every level. The music on this album is dope too. There are big guitars playing some good stuff. It sounds like something from the 70's but modernized. The drums have this rock groove, but also it skews very hip hop. It has the tempo and groove of hip hop. There is bass all over this record and it is great. Some songs are straight psychedelic. Lil Yachty will do some old school singing on these songs and it rules. He crushes the vocals. It is very impressive. There are a few songs where he slips back into hip hop, and it works with the music in the background. He even does some stuff where he is just speaking over instruments and I love it. I'm fully in on this album. I have loved every second of it to this point. I have been telling friends about it. I'm going to tell my dad about it tomorrow, and he is my barometer for how well new music translates to older generations. He is also the one who introduced me to psychedelic music, so I am very interested in his thoughts. But I adore this album. I'm all in. I think it is one of the better records I have heard in a very long time.

My hat is off to Lil Yachty. He has done something highly impressive and innovative here. I am hoping to see him live here in Saint Louis in October because I want to see these songs performed live. I definitely recommend checking this album out. It is great. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.