The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #1

 #1. The Classic Crime - Alone In The City

Track: Alone In The City
Artist: The Classic Crime
Album: Grim Age

 

 

I've been a fan of The Classic Crime since their 2010 record Vagabonds, but they've never actually made the Countdown. I was a little late on figuring out how much I liked Vagabonds, and in 2012 their song "The Precipice" just missed out on cracking the list. It wasn't quite the runaway to #1 that the last two years were, but there was definitely a point, probably within a month of when this album was released, that I realized that this was one of those transcendent songs that would be on my daily playlist for a long, long time.

The song opens with a beautiful cello, a soft guitar and a basic drum beat joins alongside. There isn't a ton musically to lift things up until the final verse, which explodes as if it were shot from a launchpad into the stratosphere. I could quote every line of lyrics as being my favorite and the musical progression only makes the final verse stand out even more. The song isn't a single, doesn't have a music video, and is barely among the top 5 streamed songs on the record. But for me, it was both the most streamed and most influential song released in 2023, and is now enshrined among the greats that finished at #1.

Favorite line: "There's a man on the corner screaming at me, says that I have a problem; I guess I agree. So I reach in my pocket to give him some change, and he pushes it back; says it can't fix the pain"

Previous five #1s:

2022: Forever Unknown - sad people, blue eyes
2021: Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline
2020: Lilieae - Level
2019: VNV Nation - Only Satellites
2018: Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song
2017: Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #2

 #2. The Broken Relics - Rodeo

Title: Rodeo
Artist: The Broken Relics
Album: Night in the Desert

3 releases, 3 appearances on the Countdown. The Broken Relics are an institution and they seem to only be getting better. Their debut release scored the #2 spot with "Where The Creatures Roam" in 2019, they had a single release in 2020 that reached #19 ("Goodbye Tennessee"), and they're back at #2 again this year. This album is my absolute favorite of 2023

It was a near impossibility to pick an actual favorite song from this record. Was it the rocking opener, "Crosswalk"? The COVID-themed retrospective "Birthday", or maybe the ascendant title track, which singer Bryce Warmouth told me he wrote partially with me in mind.... arguably the most humbling thing I've ever been told. No, it ended up being the emotionally tinged, keyboard laced "Rodeo", which speaks of a broken relationship and the damage it does to the songs protagonist. It's nothing short of beautiful and one of those songs you can't skip once the drums come in. I genuinely loved this album so much that I was convinced that it would land at the #1 spot this year, at least until I first heard the song that finally did make it.

What will that be? Stay tuned!!

Favorite line: "But I'll pray for the sun, and it all seems a little too cold. But baby know tonight, it's just a dirty ol' rodeo. We're gonna grab a horse, let's go go go."

Previous five #2s:

2022: Rammstein - Lügen
2021: The Struts - Another Hit of Showmanship (ft Albert Hammond Jr)
2020: Purity Ring - stardew
2019: The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam
2018: The War On Drugs - Pain

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #3

 #3. White Lies - Trouble In America

 

 

Title: Trouble in America
Artist: White Lies
Album: As I Try Not To Fall Apart (Deluxe Edition)

 

We've reached the 3 songs that I thought had a shot at being #1 this year. Buckle up!

 

Every now and then a song pops up in an adjacent playlist and takes me for a ride. I don't know where I found "Trouble In America" but I know it was in the winter months and I was playing a lot of Destiny 2. Interesting how memory plays you like that. Anyways, within 2 or 3 spins, I knew this was going to be one of those songs that is constantly stuck in my head and added to multiple playlists.

And so it went! All the way up to #3 on the Countdown this year, with an infection bass and key rhythm and a fantastic bridge building up to an explosive chorus that is difficult to shake. It's a song that I sang and danced to many times without ever really digging into the lyrics - a true musical bliss song for me. The must've sang the chorus a thousand times the year over and even as the year waned it never fell out of rotation. Just a really solid, fun song that reminded me of mid-2000s synth driven alt-rock.

Favorite line: "My old man's making trouble in America, oh Lord take the weight off of me"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous five #3s:

2022: Ronnie Martin - From the Womb of the Morning, The Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours
2021: Acceptance - At the Edge of the Earth
2020: White Reaper - Real Long Time
2019: Smith & Thell - Forgive Me Friend
2018: Vesperteen - Medicine

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #4

 #4. Gable Price and Friends - I Don't Wanna Live Like This

Title: I Don't Wanna Live Like This
Artist: Gable Price and Friends
Album: The Consequence Of Being Alive

It's always interesting to me how many bands that I had never listened to before sneak into the top 5 every year. It's not beyond reason that a new band should make their best music first - the term "sophomore jinx" rings evermore, but in looking through the history of the Top 20, there is a plethora of artists on their first or second album right there at the top. Gable Price and Friends have only been a band since 2020, and I remember the first time I heard this song I was like, whoa, this is THE song. 

There are a lot of times when you first hear a song and ride that initial wave, but for "I Don't Wanna Live Like This", the wave went the entirety of 2023; the mark of a truly great song. There's a positivity in Price's words and voice as the band blasts through an incredible amount of harmonious pop-rock. The album has a lot of great positivity and leans on getting through the hardest times of our lives. It also breaks a run of 3 straight years where the #4 spot went to a local artist. Perhaps there will be more later?

Favorite line: "Please be kind, I'm breaking, I'm in used condition - truth don't make it alright"

 

 

Previous five #4s:

2022: Truslow - Abbey Dear
2021: A Tiger Made of Lightning - Little Birds
2020: Forever Unknown -  Bury Me
2019: VHS Collection - Sign
2018: Curse of Cassandra - Re-Bind

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #5

 #5. The Awakening - Gabriel

Title: Gabriel
Artist: The Awakening
Album: The Passage Remains

The Awakening is actually one of my wife's favorite bands, with Ashton Nyte being one of her all-time favorite musicians. So I've been "listening" to them for a while, although not really latching onto anything other than the fact that they make solid music, an Nyte has an incredible voice. I've checked out their last 3 albums without a lot of hurrah, but something on The Passage Remains really nailed me. There are several songs that were in rotation the majority of the year for me: "All is Grey", "The Never World", "The Carraige", and of course "Gabriel". The bass-line on the song rumbles throughout, the chorus progression is one of my favorite's from the entire year... I don't really know what it was that set this song apart, but it made a heavy impression on 2023 for me.

There was a significant jump from #6 to #5 in streams this year, meaning we're really into the meat and potatoes of songs now. I suppose that's appropriate with these being the top 5 and all... we'll see where we go from here!

Favorite line: "Out of the fire, through the valley below. Swing from the wire and let it go"

 

 

 

Previous five #5s:

2022: Silversun Pickups - Alone on a Hill
2021: Meryl Creep - Spiraling
2020: Empathy Test - Monsters
2019: Within Temptation - In Vain
2018: Andrew WK - Music Is Worth Living For

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #6

 #6. White Reaper - Pages

Title: Pages
Artist: White Reaper
Album: Asking For A Ride

White Reaper is another returning artist, after landing at #3 back in 2020 with "Real Long Time". All things considered, I think I like "Pages" better, but there are more significant releases in 2023 than there were in 2020. It's a simple song about the end of a relationship and how the protagonist watched everything progress from good to bad to worse. Oddly enough, I didn't care for either of the albums that the two songs were from but they are two absolute bangers and the band is definitely on my radar going forward. "Pages" is just one of those songs that hooks you from the first riff til the last chorus.

Favorite line: "I tore out all the pages, I tore them all out"

 

 

 

 

Last five #6s:

2022: YUNGBLUD - The Funeral
2021: Gang of Youths - the angel of 8th ave.
2020: TRVSS - All The Bugs
2019:  Rammstein - Radio
2018: Turnspit - Walk Away

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #7

#7. Teenage Wrist - Something Good

 

Title: Something Good
Artist: Teenage Wrist
Album: Still Love

It was just two years ago when Teenage Wrist burst onto the scene and ran away with the #1 song, "Taste of Gasoline". Even with a host of great other songs released that year, Taste was far and away the most played song of the year and my anticipation for their next release was significantly high. 

They did not disappoint. "Sunshine", "Still Love", "Digital Self", "Cigarette Two Step"... this album is full of outstanding and emotionally hazy songs, reigniting the best characteristics of shoegaze and alternative metal styles with a newer edge. Interestingly, it was a non-single "Something Good" that really blasted me. It might be the emotional high-point of the album and although several tracks got a good amount of spins, it was the one that I kept coming back to time and again.

Favorite line: "I just wanted to love myself - I did the best I could. I wanna come back to something good".

 

 

 

 

 

Last five #7s:

2022: Best Foot Back - Give It A Go
2021: '68 - Bad Bite
2020: King Princess - Ohio
2019: Cold - Shine
2018: Jukebox the Ghost - Everybody's Lonely

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #8

#8. Blackcarburning - Divide Us (ft Mari Kattman)

Title: Divide Us (ft Mari Kattman)
Artist: Blackcarburning
Album: Watching Sleepers

Blackcarburning is a side project of Mesh's Mark Hockings, although Mesh has been inactive for so long that I'd almost consider it his primary endeavor at the moment. The projects aren't totally dissimilar to each other - Mesh's lyrics are a little more personal, Blackcarburning's synths bite a little harder, and having different vocalists on a few of the songs definitely makes it a little more intriguing. But it seems that there is a significant gulf between the creative nature of the songs. In fact, I'd say "Divide Us" is probably the most Mesh-esque song on the record, with Helix's Mari Kattman delivering a brilliant vocal performance that blasts the song into the stratosphere. Even though the song starts slowly and lasts every bit of six minutes, it has the best chorus of any song I heard this year, which spent a lot of time stuck in my head.

Favorite line: "It's always been you and me"

 

 

 

Previous five #8s:

2022: Spiritbox - Sew Me Up
2021: Manchester Orchestra - Bed Head
2020: Ships In The Night - Lost Times
2019: Billie Eilish - You Should See Me In A Crown
2018: Miller and the Hunks - Gravity

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #9

 #9. Bush - Heavy Is The Ocean

Title: Heavy Is The Ocean
Artist: Bush
Album: The Art Of Survival

The fact that Bush keeps cranking out albums that rip pretty hard is really something to behold. It feels like every time they put something out, there's at least 1 track that is pretty solid, and I felt like The Art Of Survival would be the same based off of its lead single, "More Than Machines". What I ended up finding was one of my favorite albums of the year, with tracks like "Shark Bite", "Slow Me", "Judas Is A Riot". and our #9 song. "Heavy Is The Ocean" grinds and pushes forward, let by Gavin Rossdale's unmistakably sorrowful twang. It's a song I couldn't get out of my head the entire year, and feels like the first really big song of this year's Countdown.

Favorite line: "Heavy is the ocean. Steady all the ways. Heavy is the ocean. Cracked by we don't break."

 

 

 

 

Previous five #9s:

2022: Ghost - Spillways
2021: Assemblage 23 - Factory
2020: Apollo LTD - You
2019: Sleeping With Sirens - Leave It All Behind
2018: mind.in.a.box - Attack

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #10

 #10. Phoenix - Tonight (ft Ezra Koenig)

Title: Tonight (ft Ezra Koenig)
Artist: Phoenix
Album: Alpha Zulu

Phoenix dropped one of my all-time favorite albums in 2009 (with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix) and promptly fell right off of my radar. Their music is a little too ridiculous and scripted sometimes, but they almost cracked the 2017 Countdown with "J-Boy". I didn't expect much from Alpha Zulu, and it wasn't until midway through the year that something in the bass-line and chorus really nailed me. I couldn't get through the entire album, but this song is ridiculously catchy, and having Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig on the 2nd verse doesn't hurt at all either.

Favorite line: "Now I talk to myself and it's quite surprising"

 

Previous five #10s:

2022: Andy Mineo - Been About It (ft Lecrae)
2021: Echo Image - Walk My Mind
2020: Loathe - Two-Way Mirror
2019: Fit For A King - When Everything Means Nothing
2018: The Night Game - The Outfield

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #11

#11. Owl City - Kelly Time

Title: Kelly Time
Artist: Owl City
Album: Coco Moon

Owl City looked like an unstoppable force in the early years of the Countdown, landing at #3 in 2009 (Fireflies) and just missing the #1 spot in '11 with Galaxies. Adam Young released 2 albums as Owl City after that in 2012 and 2015 and then went on an album hiatus - still doing movie soundtracks but not making records. 2023 marked his return and, well, what a comeback it was! Coco Moon sounds like a throwback to Owl City's early material. Some of the songs ran a bit long (as has always been his style), but the lead single hit me like a stack of bricks when it came out, and I must have listened to it 6 or 7 times just that day. 

Amusingly, I didn't realize until after 3 or 4 listens that the song is about the movie Cast Away, but that doesn't detract from the beautiful tale of friendship and love.

Favorite line: "Ooh, I'm ready for anything - who knows what the tide will bring?"

 

 

 

 

 

Previous five #11s:

2022: The Weeknd - Gasoline
2021: The Birthday Massacre - The NeverEnding Story
2020: Nightwish - Harvest
2019: Demon Hunter - The Negative
2018: Power Quest - No More Heroes

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #12

 #12. Kamelot - Eventide

Title: Eventide
Artist: Kamelot
Album: The Awakening

I had to check my notes just to be sure, but in the history of the J1 Countdown (2009-2022), released 4 albums without actually charting. 3 of those 4 albums had songs that made the "Songs That Just Missed) list (Hunter's Season, Veil of Elysium, Amnesiac, respectively). There have been plenty of other solid power/symphonic metal entries, but neither Kamelot nor Evergrey (my other favorite of the genre) have charted... until today!

All of that being said, this might be my favorite Kamelot album since 2007's Ghost Opera. It's not just the heavy breakdowns and lyrical poetry of "Eventide", but also the sheer power of "One More Flag in the Ground", the screaming guitars of "The Looking Glass", and the ballad-esque opening of "My Pantheon". But it was "Eventide" that took to the skies the first time I listened to the album and never looked back. The song is crushingly heavy and beautifully written, as most Kamelot songs are, and is a worthy debut after so many years of coming oh-so-close.

Favorite line: "Until life and death will reunite, your song shall guide me through my house of pain"

Previous five #12s

2022: Coheed and Cambria - The Liars Club
2021: Romy - Lifetime
2020: Alright Years - Something I Can Dance To
2019: Bloody Hammers - From Beyond The Grave
2018: Fashion Week - Tell Me Something

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #13

#13. Meet Me @ The Altar - Say It (To My Face)

Title: Say It (To My Face)
Artist: Meet Me @ The Altar
Album: Past // Present // Future

A band that feels like a late 90s pop-rock throwback mixed with a punky sound and bizarre aesthetic, Meet Me @ The Altar was one of the more pleasant musical discoveries I made this year. The first time I heard this song I knew I wanted more from the band, and their newest album Past // Present // Future was one that I genuinely enjoyed listening to (and laughing at) in 2023. "Say It (To My Face)" calls out the keyboard warrior culture that attacks everything popular and interesting with grace and attitude. It's a fun song that drives a good point home about judging others.

Favorite line: "It's so obvious - you really need some attention - hope you're having fun."

 

 

 

 

Previous five #13s

2022: Judah & the Lion - scream!
2021: The Dirty Nil - Blunt Force Concussion
2020: Slimfit - Pineapple Pizza
2019: Vesperteen - Operate
2018: Marshmello & Bastille - Happier

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #14

 #14. Beck - Thinking About You

 

Title: Thinking About You
Artist: Beck
Album: Thinking About You single

I'll always remember one of our local DJ's saying "There are two types of Beck albums - happy Beck and sad Beck". Whatever his secret is, the man has been putting out quality music for over 3 decades now and shows no sign of stopping. "Thinking About You" definitely qualifies as a sad and mournful song, and it was right around the time that my best friend died that it came out. It resonated heavily with my soul and is almost painful for me to listen to at the moment, but it was definitely in heavy rotation for a short while and figures to be played a lot more going forward.

Favorite line: "Forty roses couldn't cover my grave - no cross and rosary for my soul to save. Want to believe in something - it don't even have to be true."

 

 

 

 

Previous five #14s:

2022: The Regrettes - Anxieties (Out of Time)
2021: beabadoobee - Last Day On Earth
2020: The Anix - Renegade
2019: Rome - Uropia O Morte
2018: Solar Fake - The Pain That Kills You Too

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #15

 #15. Brave the Sea - Where I Belong

Title: Where I Belong
Artist: Brave the Sea
Album: Lady Death

There's a 3 song run on Brave the Sea's newest album, Lady Death, that gives a run to any other album this year. It starts with the comedic "Bad Luck", the powerful, punchy "Going Down", and the melodic ballad "Where I Belong". All 3 were in heavy rotation in 2023 for me, and surprisingly it was the latter that cracked the Countdown. It's a mournful number sung by guitar/mandolinist Mattie Toskin that once again proves that the band is more than just a Celtic/Pirate rock group. These guys are one of the best live acts in town and just keep cranking out great recorded material.

Favorite line: "Someday I'll belong, I'll belong right here"

 

 

 

 

Previous five #15s:

2022: Truss - Drown
2021: AFI - Begging for Trouble
2020: The Unlikely Candidates - High Low
2019: Syrian - We Are Stars
2018: Plushgun - Lukewarm

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #16

 16. VV - Run Away From the Sun

Title: Run Away From The Sun
Artist: VV
Album: Neon Noir

I was never a huge fan of HIM, so I was fascinated to find how much I enjoyed Ville Valo's (VV) solo effort. I could have picked this song or "Echolocate Your Love", the latter which opens the album with a bang. "Run Away From the Sun" has a more mellow feel to it, more of a love ballad than anything else. Something about the somberness of Valo's voice really connected with me. It almost makes me think I should take a deeper look into HIM's catalogue in hindsight. Better late than never, right?

Favorite line: "We are the ones with moonlit hearts - run to me"

 

 

 

 

Previous five #16s:

 

2022: Silent Planet - Panopticon
2021: PEABOD - Love Everybody (ft Tedashii)

2020: Sir Sly - Material Boy

2019: Blindside - Gravedigger

2018: Good Charlotte - Shadowboxer

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #17

 17. The Cordial Sins - Sugarcoat

Title: Sugarcoat
Artist: The Cordial Sins
Album: Small Talk

Two years in a row, the first Ohio entry comes at #17, this time with Columbus' The Cordial Sins and their much anticipated album Small Talk. The album was even better than anticipated, in fact I'd put it in my top 5 albums of the year, and showed that frontwoman Liz Fisher and the gang have found the perfect way to blend together the buzz of shoegaze with a more upbeat tone. Every song is solid and Sugarcoat is far and away the standout, soaring and humming as it blasts through your head and entrenches its infectious melody in your mind.

Favorite line: "No need to sugarcoat it, everyone seems to know it, I'm fine..."

Previous five #17s: 

2022: Grumpy Plum - i don't care
2021: Porter Robinson - Look at the Sky
2020: Corduroy Brown - To My Younger Self
2019: SYML - Clean Eyes
2018: Superorganism - Everybody Wants To Be Famous

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #18

 #18. VNV Nation - Before the Rain

 

Title: Before the Rain
Artist: VNV Nation
Album: Electric Sun

VNV Nation is one of my all-time favorite bands, and landed at #1 in 2019 with "Only Satellites". I try to keep my expectations tempered when a favorite band releases a new record, but VNV did another solid job with their new record, and I had the pleasure of seeing them live a few months after the release. The synths on "Electric Sun" definitely bite harder, more like the earlier VNV records, but the modern sound fits in with the progression that Ronan Harris has built upon his craft. This is a great uplifting song.

Favorite Line: "We built a universe so we could hold the cosmos in our hands."

 

 

Last five #18s:

2022: The Foxies - Overrated
2021: Daymare - Control
2020: Little Hurt - Alaska
2019: James Truslow - Overwhelmed
2018: The Raquels - Just a Txt

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #19

 #19. Switchfoot - On Fire (Ingrid Andress Version)

 Title: On Fire (Ingrid Andress)
Artist: Switchfoot
Album: The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version)(Deluxe Edition)

Now this is an interesting one. Switchfoot decided to re-release their massive 2003 album, The Beautiful Letdown, for its 20th anniversary. The album featured re-recorded versions of all of the songs, calling it "Our Version". A few months later they one-upped themselves by released a collaborative version with re-imaginations of each song by different unique artists. It was definitely a brilliant undertaking, and although I didn't necessarily love the other band's versions of songs I had spent 20 years loving, one stood out about the rest.

The most ironic part for me is that On Fire was probably my least favorite, or perhaps least listened to song on the original album over the years. Something about the softness and sincerity of Ingrid Andress' voice really brings a new life into the song. I actually consider this version better than the original, and it had enough momentum to roll into the Countdown at #19.

Favorite Line: "When everything inside me looks like everything I hate, You are the hope I have for change, You are the only chance I'm gonna take"

 

 

Last five #19s:

2022: Bad Omens - Like A Villain
2021: Royal Blood - Typhoons
2020: The Broken Relics - Goodbye Tennessee
2019: Sigrid - Sucker Punch
2018: Rick Springfield - In The Land of the Blind

The 2023 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #20

  #20. Dreamers - Wallow In It

Title: Wallow In It
Artist: Dreamers
Album: Wallow In It

 

Twice before, Dreamers found themselves just missing making the Countdown before finally cracking in this year. Wallow In It talks about not wanting to feel better just quite yet - a feeling that a lot of sad and lonely people (like myself) can understand. Like most of their music, it's catchy enough to get stuck in your ear, and clever enough to stay there.

Favorite Line: So low, been flying solo - for so long, I've been so alone

Last five #20s:

2022: Halestorm - The Steeple
2021: Grabbitz - Pigs in the Sky
2020: Seether - Dangerous
2019: Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
2018: Ghost - Dance Macabre