Top 50 of 2023 / #15 – 11: More Barbie, Dolly and a Genius

We get our last Barbie track in this section and some Dolly Parton, which are great things to have in the same sentence. We also get a track involving Phoebe Bridgers who will appear multiple times as we sprint to the top track of 2023. Let’s get into the music.

15. Ryan Gosling: I’m Just Ken

If you have listened to the podcast you knew this track was going on the top 50 somewhere…well…we’re here. This is an amazing track on the construction of the male identify and how it traps people in gender norms. In Ken’s case, male privilege is both a prison and a key to everything as he wields it to grant all the power he wants, but it also traps him in a gender box he can’t escape. Male privilege, especially white male privilege, allows Ken to escape the consequences of his actions as it destroys everything around him. This track is an invitation for all men to evaluate their own privilege and see the damage it is doing…because we all have a bit of Ken in us, but the question is, what are we going to do about it?

14. Dolly Parton: World on Fire

This is Dolly’s move to rock and the second time she has been on a top 50. The track itslef is how the world seems to be falling into chaos with war, protests in the streets, leaders who don’t show love to people and racial injustice. The track is fairly what you would expect from a classic rock track, but the chorus is transcendent. On the bridge Dolly hits a gospel vibe with the best vocal she has had in the last 15 years. She reaches this epic climax where she pleads for people to rise above hate and use love to mend fractures in society. The bridge is so epic I cried the first few times I heard it and it still hits hard.

13. Chris Stapleton: White Horse

We ahve seen Chris Stapleton go from country to pop and now back to traditional country. This track is full of steel and slide guitar, which has that country rock vibe I grew up with. Lyrically, we are in classic Stapleton fare as he takes a personal tale of love and struggle as he sings about not being the cowboy on a white horse that his lover deserves. What is clear is that his vocal is still as passionate and raw as ever as he just blasts over all the guitar to hit you right in the chest.

12. Boygenius: Afraid of Heights

We will hear from Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus again as their indie rock supergroup dominated 2023. This is a track espousing the merits of wanting to live a fulfilling if boring life, as opposed to romanticising the high risk filled life waiting for death. It may sound more exciting, but this nihilism doesn’t lead anywhere. Phoebe, Julien and Lucy harmonise so well together that the vocals on this track are otherworldly. We will talk more about their brilliance later in the top 50, so I will save some of my ammunition for then.

11. Travis Scott ft. Beyoncé and Justin Vernon: Delesto (Echos)

In a lot of ways this track seems to be an extension of Renaissance. This is a track where Beyoncé sings about power and echos of her life. Travis Scott is making a lot of bold choices on his Utopia record, which might be the best hip hop record of 2023. The track has a sense of doom and empty success as Scott sings about the echos of life and loneliness. For Scott, you can be trapped by success and your soul suffers the consequences for such emptiness. For true meaning you need love and connection. This is a deep track and record, which requires multiple listens to fully unpack it.