Recap - Sophisticated 2023

posted Dec 20, 2023

We all like to think we’re smart and refined. This stuff makes me think I am, if only for a moment.

highlights:

Westerman - my album of the year I think.
Titanic - a close second
The National - Two albums, both different, both awesome

2020s music playlists sophisticated-ass grown-up music

Recap - Sophisticated 2023

Best Of 2023 The year-est of years

Wind, Again Sary Moussa structure, sign, and play

Clear Language Balmorhea post-ambient-gaze

Blood Sugar Sex Magik Red Hot Chili Peppers a funky party

Release Cop Shoot Cop hidden industrial gem

A Universe That Roasts Blossoms For A Horse Sirom extraterrestrial folk

Quiet Signs Jessica Pratt ghostly beauty

Even In Arcadia Sleep Token auditory rorschach test

Tomorrow Was The Golden Age Bing & Ruth masterfully ambient classical

The Lemon Of Pink The Books a micro-dose of joy

Watersong Savina Yannatou let it drown you

Cenotes Giant Squid love this thing

Transcendental Youth Mountain Goats like nothing else

Rest In Space Islandman groovy as hell

Glory Perfume Genius emphasis on "genius"

Rhythm Revolution Ferry Djimmy African funk lost classic

Animal Choir Her Name Is Calla Beauty and menace

Arrival Fire! Orchestra weirdly cool

Tenants of Misty Mansion Per Störby Jutbring wönderful

Daughter Of A Temple Ganavya the spirit of devotion

Yellow River Blue Yu Su a field trip

Cicada Waves Ben Seretan piano in the rainstorm

Haram Armand Hammer & The Alchemist a modern classic

The Room Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel best of the year

Primal Prayer Beverly Glenn-Copeland a balm

Under The Lilac Sky Arushi Jain Synthistani music

Convex Nym eco-chill

How Will I Live Without A Body? Loma an evolution

Absolute Elsewhere Blood Incantation Umma Booma

Ghosts Hania Rani lovely

Strands Steve Hauschildt relentlessly calm

This Place Will Become Your Tomb Sleep Token Tomorrow's classics today

Atlas of Green Dialect A delightful shot of meta-nostalgia

The Köln Concert Keith Jarrett one historical night

The Mountain Haken prog metal masterpiece

Oh No OK Go more than just videos

Eye To The Ear Cosmo Sheldrake Cosmic pop

Compassion Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, and Tyshawn Sorey awesome trio date

Until We Meet The Sky Solar Fields full-spectrum beauty

Madar Jan Garbarek, Anouar Brahem, Shaukat Hussain A global summit

Deathbed Requests Memory Drawings spooky bliss

New Heaven Inter Arma Everything But The Kitchen Sink-core

Slow Water Stephan Crump the river

Anima Mysterium Yugen Blakrok shamanic sojourn

All Born Screaming St Vincent Annie gets serious

Superunknown Soundgarden gungy minor classic

Reconciled The Call The best 80s album nobody's heard of

Interstellar Interlude Tomoki Kanda beauty ex nihilo

August Still Lost Bird Music classic poetry set to bluegrassy music

Nighttime Birds And Morning Stars Sarah Louise glitch-calm folk

Lord Of The Harvest Peter Talisman downtempo primitive

Notes With Attachments Pino Palladino and Blake Mills low key funk fest

Lungs Florence + The Machine Not calling you a liar.

My Favorite Things John Coltrane it actually is one of them.

Stubborn Persistent Illusions Do Make Say Think ballsy post rock

Inheritance Omar Ahmad smooth sailing

An Ever Changing View Matthew Halsall lovely

Baralku Emancipator comfort food.

Kick INXS sometimes you get kicked

Dusk The The brainy alt rock classic

The '59 Sound Gaslight Anthem A solid slab of pathos

3 Blood Sweat And Tears better than it has any right to be

2112 Rush air drum central

Yallah Beibe MC Yallah a blast

In Step Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble A monster of a blues record

Ask The Ages Sonny Sharrock Sharrock's Magnum Opus

Machinarium Soundtrack Tomáš Dvořák a delightful soundtrack to a fun game

Rough And Rowdy Ways Bob Dylan A Master Class

Floodplain Kronos Quartet music from the cradle of civilization

Sorceress Opeth a kick in the head

Wild Light 65daysofstatic a post rock tour de force

Happy Child Carmen Jaci whimsical electronic

My 21st Century Blues Raye a journeyman becoming a master

Prezens David Torn a wild trip

Queen Of Sheba Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf African / Middle East fusion

Mingus Ah Um Charles Mingus Get hit in your soul

Safe In The Steep Cliffs Emancipator an explosion of calm and lucidity in my brain

Good Kid m.A.A.D City Kendrick Lamar A short film by Kendrick Lamar

The Great Awakening Shearwater Shearwater returns with another great one

Best Of 2023

The year-est of years

Wind, Again

Sary Moussa

structure, sign, and play

Clear Language

Balmorhea

post-ambient-gaze

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

a funky party

Release

Cop Shoot Cop

hidden industrial gem

A Universe That Roasts Blossoms For A Horse

Sirom

extraterrestrial folk

Quiet Signs

Jessica Pratt

ghostly beauty

Even In Arcadia

Sleep Token

auditory rorschach test

Tomorrow Was The Golden Age

Bing & Ruth

masterfully ambient classical

The Lemon Of Pink

The Books

a micro-dose of joy

Watersong

Savina Yannatou

let it drown you

Cenotes

Giant Squid

love this thing

Transcendental Youth

Mountain Goats

like nothing else

Rest In Space

Islandman

groovy as hell

Glory

Perfume Genius

emphasis on "genius"

Rhythm Revolution

Ferry Djimmy

African funk lost classic

Animal Choir

Her Name Is Calla

Beauty and menace

Arrival

Fire! Orchestra

weirdly cool

Tenants of Misty Mansion

Per Störby Jutbring

wönderful

Daughter Of A Temple

Ganavya

the spirit of devotion

Yellow River Blue

Yu Su

a field trip

Cicada Waves

Ben Seretan

piano in the rainstorm

Haram

Armand Hammer & The Alchemist

a modern classic

The Room

Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel

best of the year

Primal Prayer

Beverly Glenn-Copeland

a balm

Under The Lilac Sky

Arushi Jain

Synthistani music

Convex

Nym

eco-chill

How Will I Live Without A Body?

Loma

an evolution

Absolute Elsewhere

Blood Incantation

Umma Booma

Ghosts

Hania Rani

lovely

Strands

Steve Hauschildt

relentlessly calm

This Place Will Become Your Tomb

Sleep Token

Tomorrow's classics today

Atlas of Green

Dialect

A delightful shot of meta-nostalgia

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

one historical night

The Mountain

Haken

prog metal masterpiece

Oh No

OK Go

more than just videos

Eye To The Ear

Cosmo Sheldrake

Cosmic pop

Compassion

Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, and Tyshawn Sorey

awesome trio date

Until We Meet The Sky

Solar Fields

full-spectrum beauty

Madar

Jan Garbarek, Anouar Brahem, Shaukat Hussain

A global summit

Deathbed Requests

Memory Drawings

spooky bliss

New Heaven

Inter Arma

Everything But The Kitchen Sink-core

Slow Water

Stephan Crump

the river

Anima Mysterium

Yugen Blakrok

shamanic sojourn

All Born Screaming

St Vincent

Annie gets serious

Superunknown

Soundgarden

gungy minor classic

Reconciled

The Call

The best 80s album nobody's heard of

Interstellar Interlude

Tomoki Kanda

beauty ex nihilo

August

Still Lost Bird Music

classic poetry set to bluegrassy music

Nighttime Birds And Morning Stars

Sarah Louise

glitch-calm folk

Lord Of The Harvest

Peter Talisman

downtempo primitive

Notes With Attachments

Pino Palladino and Blake Mills

low key funk fest

Lungs

Florence + The Machine

Not calling you a liar.

My Favorite Things

John Coltrane

it actually is one of them.

Stubborn Persistent Illusions

Do Make Say Think

ballsy post rock

Inheritance

Omar Ahmad

smooth sailing

An Ever Changing View

Matthew Halsall

lovely

Baralku

Emancipator

comfort food.

Kick

INXS

sometimes you get kicked

Dusk

The The

brainy alt rock classic

The '59 Sound

Gaslight Anthem

A solid slab of pathos

3

Blood Sweat And Tears

better than it has any right to be

2112

Rush

air drum central

Yallah Beibe

MC Yallah

a blast

In Step

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

A monster of a blues record

Ask The Ages

Sonny Sharrock

Sharrock's Magnum Opus

Machinarium Soundtrack

Tomáš Dvořák

a delightful soundtrack to a fun game

Rough And Rowdy Ways

Bob Dylan

A Master Class

Floodplain

Kronos Quartet

music from the cradle of civilization

Sorceress

Opeth

a kick in the head

Wild Light

65daysofstatic

a post rock tour de force

Happy Child

Carmen Jaci

whimsical electronic

My 21st Century Blues

Raye

a journeyman becoming a master

Prezens

David Torn

a wild trip

Queen Of Sheba

Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf

African / Middle East fusion

Mingus Ah Um

Charles Mingus

Get hit in your soul

Safe In The Steep Cliffs

Emancipator

an explosion of calm and lucidity in my brain

Good Kid m.A.A.D City

Kendrick Lamar

A short film by Kendrick Lamar

The Great Awakening

Shearwater

Shearwater returns with another great one

¡Ay!

Lucrecia Dalt

Excellent, beautiful, and a little creepy