Top Ten Songs

Dec 12 2025

Every Year’s Top Song Since 2020

According to Dave, at least.

I’ve been blogging about all sorts of things for quite some time now, but the annual Top Songs list — which I’ve been doing both here and on Facebook and X — remains a personal favorite.

AND it’s fun to compare my lists to others, especially those who blog about music for a living.

In any event, let’s dive in with the top picks from each of the last six years; I’ll also rate each with “Staying Power” on a scale of 1 to 5; 5 means it still manages to maintain a certain level of coolness to me.

2020: The Districts, “Cheap Regrets”

Okay, I’m starting to think I’m the only one who has heard this song.

Not really, but, maybe the fact that this song’s video has only been viewed 195,000 times is telling me something.

Alas, Staying Power of 3/5. I still love it, and may still love it in a few years. But the rest of you have moved on (or never arrived in the first place).

2021: Glass Animals, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”

Band: still at it. This song: still slaps. Staying Power: 5/5.

2022: Hemlocke Springs, “Girlfriend”

Turns out this song, which arrived near the end of 2022 and immediately shot up to the top of my list, launched a bit of a star. Staying Power Rating: 4/5.

2023: The Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters”

Yeah, considering the fact this band has gone beyond cult following, I’m giving this song a 5/5 for Staying Power.

2024: Mannequin Pussy, “Sometimes”

I listen to this song way too often. The band is cool enough to support Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age on next year’s tour.

Staying Power: 5/5.

2025: Preoccupations, “Ill at Ease”

I’d give this a 6/5 for Staying Power if I could. I can’t give it a rating, though, since it’s from this year.

But if I could will the band to visit Chicago again…

Dec 08 2025

Top Songs of 2025, Part Two

We’re back! It’s Part Two, so today’s post goes from 13 down to 6. The Top Five will come tomorrow.

Let’s go!

13. Youth Lagoon, “Speed Freak”

If you’re wondering who or what a Youth Lagoon is (or are), here’s a primer from Wikipedia:

So that’s settled.

In any event, Youth Lagoon brings it with this song, which clocks in at 13.

12. Bar Italia, “Fundraiser

This song served as my introduction to the band Bar Italia.

It won’t be the first time you’ll see them in the countdown, as they are one of two acts with multiple appearances; they’re also one of two bands — see Witch Post, on last week’s first installment of Top Songs — that moves back and forth between male and female voices.

The video makes little sense, but the song is a banger.

11. Geese, “Taxes”

One of 2025’s “It Bands” is Geese. Part of the reason: front man Cameron Winter’s voice is unlike anything I’ve heard in quite some time.

And the lyrics? Way-too-Gen-X to be a band of kids in their 20s; angsty enough to get invited to sit in the driveway with me, pop open a lager, and yell at the kids to “get off my lawn.”

Below, the official video, and the band’s performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

10. The Boojums, “Burnin’ Up”

The best band you’ll ever see from Nova Scotia.

9. AFI, “Behind the Clock”

Perfect for a “How It Started…How It’s Going” post, eh?

How It Started: Lead singer Davey Havok at a fashion show in 2011.

How It’s Going: Davey Havok today.

It’s also a heavier sound for the band with their single “Behind the Clock.”

8. Turnstile, “Seein’ Stars”

My notes on this song: “Taco Bell brought me here.”

Yes, you’ve heard this song on Taco Bell ads and it’s okay if you want to go grab a Cheesy Gordita Crunch after listening.

7. Perfume Genius, “It’s A Mirror”

Here’s another from the category of “Guy Who Goes By a Stage Name That Sounds Like a Band.”

Michael Hadreas is the guy, Perfume Genius is the stage name.

6. Lola Young, “Messy”

Lola Young has had A YEAR — so much so, she needed to take a break thanks to the exhaustion.

“Messy” is a great tune; to be honest, the second link below is one of the best live performances I’ve seen this year, from Glastonbury.

See you…TOMORROW…for the Top Five Songs of 2025.

Jun 29 2025

Songs of the Decade (So Far)

It’s time for one of those bars that show you how far along you are, you know, updating the virus scanner or something like that. Except…it’s time for that with the 2020s.

Time, first off, for the disclaimer: I don’t care that there was no “Year Zero” and I also don’t care that the new millennium started in 2001. The 2000s started in 2000, the 2010s started in 2010, and the 2020s started in 2020.

That being said…

My Candidates for Song of the Decade

Rather than usual rankings — which I have done here for every year since 2022, and I have done on other socials going back to 2020 — I’m instead thinking we’re just going to go freeform. Like, here’s a song I liked, and here’s another one I liked and here’s one that has grown on me more than expected. And so on.

The Districts, “Cheap Regrets” (2020)

Yes, I have adored this song since I first heard it. I have tweeted about it for the past five years. No regrets at all.

With eleven days left in 2020, it's safe to say that this is Dave's Song of The Year.

Congratulations to The Districts (@TheDistrictsPa ) for the honor; they can pick up the trophy from suburban Chicago sometime in 2021.https://t.co/EFwt7q15eg
— Dave Van de Walle (@Area224) December 20, 2020

This song, for me, is a “Time and Place” song: I can tell you what I was doing (sitting in a parking lot in suburban St. Louis during the pre-pandemic shut-down period of 2020) when I first heard the song.

And I give thanks to my car’s SiriusXM setup, because I was able to rewind and replay it five times in a row.

It has also stuck with me, remained on my playlist, and isn’t going away. Great video, too.

Depeche Mode, “Ghosts Again” (2023)

I reached out to my pal “Canadian Steve,” from whom we’ve received a few contributions in the past, for his vote on “Song of the Decade (So Far)” and his response took less than a minute. His comments:

“Written and recorded shortly after the passing of original member Andrew Fletcher, a band that had recorded songs about death brought a newfound honesty to the inevitable.”

This particular song made an appearance in *my* Top Ten from 2023, clocking in at #4.

The Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters” (2023)

This was my #1 Song of 2023, and there was something about the energy of the band, the in-your-face-F-bomb lyrics that spoke to me. And quite a few others, too, as mainstream airplay followed (with an edit or two) for “Nothing Matters.”

Here’s the video version, complete with the F’ing chorus.

Chappell Roan, “Pink Pony Club” (2020)

Unless you’ve witnessed this turning a dance floor from meh to party in the span of ten seconds, you might not “get” Chappell Roan. Okay. Fine. That was me until a while back.

But, here’s to Chappell for being the right person at the right time — even if the song came out in 2020 and really didn’t become a THING until maybe last year — and becoming a cultural touchstone in the process.

Lola Young, “Messy” (2024)

This was released in June 2024 but, like Ms Roan above, Ms Young also appears to have been on a slow simmer for a while before standing thisclose to becoming absolutely huge.

Getting airplay in 2025 and topping alternative airplay charts in the US and Canada is enough to move this onto my Top Ten list for this year — hey, I don’t spend time on TikTok so I wouldn’t have seen it catch fire, and Young didn’t appear on Fallon and elsewhere til this year anyway — and, in addition to the below official video, you MUST check out the Glastonbury performance; emotional in a way that is taken aback at the success that she no doubt visualized.

Mannequin Pussy, “Sometimes” (2024)

My fear with this song is that, once we get to 2029, people might forget how downright awesome it is.

Part 90s angst and part 2000s female-led punk-ish rock, this song spoke to me in a “hey, this could have simultaneously been released in 1991 or 2001 or like yesterday” way.

Not sure how much sense that makes, but MP brings it. My #1 Song of 2024.

Bartees Strange, “Heavy Heart” (2022)

Interestingly, Mr Strange only hit #2 on my Top Ten Songs of 2022 list. (Click the link to see what was number one.)

However, Strange has staying power, has come out with new music, continues to have the soul-meets-rock sound that defies categories, and he’s so charming in interviews I wouldn’t mind having a beer with him.

And the song still hits.

Glass Animals, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” (2021)

Not the Glass Animals song you were expecting, anon? (That’s okay, here’s a link to “Heat Waves.”)

“Space Ghost…” got some heavy alternative airplay on the satellite channel I frequent in 2021, and the volume of weird rhymes hit me in a way that Twenty One Pilots might have; but this song spoke to me. And still does.

Fontaines D.C., “Starburster” (2024)

Kid 1 told me this should have been my Top Song of 2024 selection. She was overruled but it was a tight race and Fontaines finished second to the above-mentioned Mannequin Pussy. (Number 3, Fat Dog’s “Running,” hasn’t caught on throughout the universe as much as I would have hoped, but I’ll link to it nevertheless.)

I’m still a BIG FAN of this song. You may be as well.

Comments? Questions? What Am I Missing?

Let me know in the comments, and/or tweet away.

Dec 01 2023

The Top Ten Songs of 2023

We’re counting them down, just like Casey Kasem. We’ve done this before — here’s a link to last year’s post: Top Ten Songs of 2022 — and we like to think we keep up with the trends, within reason.

Please note a couple things from your friendly wannabe music critic:

I rarely listen to terrestrial radio for music. When I do, since I’m in suburban Chicago, it’s either the alternative station or the rock station or the…whatever that other combination alternative and rock station is. (That reminds me of a song from a band called Das Racist.)
I get most of my new music from a SiriusXM channel called “SiriusXMU,” with “Alt Nation” coming in second. (Yes, Pearl Jam Radio is one of the presets, too.) Shout out to Josiah.
I trend away from anything related to Taylor Swift. Nothing against those who love Taylor, but…I really can’t get into her music.
I listen to a good chunk of what I find on YouTube and what I see on Twitter.
Finally, I get music recommendations from a chap I call “Canadian Steve;” he’s the one who broke down Oasis for the blog. Sometimes it’s an email that should be a Substack, and sometimes it’s a WhatsApp message. Probably the guy more of a sense of what’s going on with the combination of Alternative, Rock, Pop Rock, Indie, and Everything Else than anyone I know.

Before we hit the Top Ten, here are the Honorable Mentions, ranked (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) for no reason.

HM(a). Queens of the Stone Age, “Emotion Sickness”

On my list of all-time favorite bands, QOTSA is up there. But, as we’ve pointed out before — notably in our piece on Rolling Stone’s list of 500 songs — “favorite” and “best” are often two different things. And that’s where I land on this particular QOTSA piece: one of my favorite bands hasn’t done its best work here. It’s a song that’s…fine. It sounds a little too much like other QOTSA stuff, and now they’re on the fine line between “Distinctive Sound” and “Every Song Sounds the Same.” But…well, we’re gonna keep listening to the album and here’s the track in question.

HM(b). Nilufer Yanya, “L/R”

This one gets an Honorable Mention mostly because I didn’t discover this song until 2023, but it was released in 2022. Nilufer Yanya is from England and of Turkish, Irish, and Barbadian descent. This song is pretty darn good and would have made last year’s Top Ten had I known it existed. (Shame on me.)

HM(c). Vacations, “Midwest”

For a band that calls its kind of music “Woozy guitar pop,” and is from Australia, why are they singing about places like Colorado? Dunno. Nice song here.

HM(d). Men I Trust, “Billie Toppy”

We like Canadians. You’ll see that below. In this case, a French Canadian band that released a song in September of 2022. It became an earworm for this reporter late last year and throughout a good portion of this year, too. Can’t chart it due to a technicality because it was last year, but oh well. We have our principles here. It’s a darn good tune.

HM(e). Maneskin, “Honey (Are You Coming?)”

What’s NOT to love about an Italian band with a Scandinavian name? This song is brand-spanking new…to me at least. But the radio station and Alt Nation are both giving it the “here’s the brand new song from Maneskin” treatment at the end of November, so let’s go with that. It’s a hoot. Big fun. Had to make the list as an Honorable Mention.

That’s enough of the Honorable Mentions, especially if we want to hit our December 1 publish date. Let’s go…Top Ten time!

10. Little Dragon, “Slugs of Love”

Clever dance-ish pop/alternative track from a band called Little Dragon. I dig, you may as well. Enjoy.

9. The Beaches, “Blame Brett”

Dave, what is it with you and Canadians? This all-female outfit from Toronto is back with its fourth album, Blame My Ex, and this particular track has picked up steam in the US, ending up on the playlist of at least one of the Chicago stations (and reaching 35 on the US Alt charts).

8. Noah Kahan, “Dial Drunk”

This song got some major airplay in 2023, and I’ll admit to being late to the party. But the lyrics! Dangit, this is a tragic story. Watch the lyric video and feel for the guy.

7. Lovejoy, “Call Me What You Like”

This song is pure fun. Lovejoy probably has the second-most mainstream success (or maybe third-most) of any song on this particular list — you’ll see when we talk up number one — and this song got all the way to number 5 on three charts, including LTU, which is “Lithuania.” There’s a joke there, possibly from the movie “Singles.”

6. Suede, “The Sadness in You, The Sadness in Me”

Pretty much every year I’ve been doing this, a song drops late in the year, stops me in my tracks, and makes the list. (Happened last year, take a look here: 2022 Top Ten.) Suede did the trick and I heard this song for the first time right before Thanksgiving and Oh. My. Goodness.

5. Brigitte Calls Me Baby, “Impressively Average”

There’s a band from Chicago channeling The Smiths? IN THIS ECONOMY?

4. Depeche Mode, “Ghosts Again”

What amazes me about Depeche Mode is how they can release something that sounds simultaneously like it’s fresh AND from 1990. Stunning in its beauty and its pain, this song is downright phenomenal.

Now…time for a female-dominated Top Three.

3. Cherry Glazerr, “Ready for You”

This song went into heavy rotation as soon as I heard it. It shall stay in heavy rotation likely for the next couple years.

2. Blondshell, “Salad”

I spent most of 2023 thinking it would be impossible to hear a better song this year. And, were it not for the top song (according to me), this could have been the year for Blondshell.

But let’s face it, this probably WAS the year for Blondshell. For instance, a network television debut on Jimmy Fallon’s program (below). Criminally underwatched — only 45K views? WHAT? — but a slick live performance. A tour (that I missed because I was traveling). A debut album that clocked in at Number 11 on Rolling Stone’s list of the Top 100 Albums of 2023. And freaking moxie, people.

“Look what you did, you’ll make a killer of a Jewish girl” is the line that caused the multiple rewinds of this song (thanks, SiriusXMU).

TBH, the lyric video is preferred in my book because you can see how good a songwriter Ms. Teitelbaum is. Three links below (Fallon, official video, lyric video).

https://youtu.be/nUiFV1v674Q?si=37_49w6ZCe2h3MPG

Also, before we get to the Number One Song (According to Dave) of 2023, might make sense to give you the last couple years’ picks. Eh? (Because everyone should have a ten-year plan, I’m already charting “Top Songs of the 2020s.” Set a calendar item for 12/1/2029.)

The Top Song of 2022: Hemlocke Springs, “Girlfriend”

Yeah, this was the Top Song of 2022. Now, 2.9 Million Views Later…Still slaps.

The Top Song of 2021: Glass Animals, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”

Before “Heat Waves” became a hit but actually after “Heat Waves” was released…

The Top Song of 2020: The Districts, “Cheap Regrets”

If pressed, this is the Best Song of the Decade (So Far). Released during the height of the pandemic — a pandemic that robbed us of so many live music experiences — were I to check my YouTube stats, this would no doubt be my most played since 1/1/2020. The video is awesome, the vibe is off the charts, the guitar is crazy good, the lyrics stick with you — “Didn’t know what a mirror was til I went to LA/Jacuzzis, an Uzi, a Land Rover ride/That’s what the money’s for/Bikinis, Bellinis, and pate” — and if any song cost-justified SiriusXM and my ability to rewind and hit play over and over in my Kia, this was the song.

Now, without further ado…

1. The Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters”

A debut single off a forthcoming album from a band that just launched getting this much street cred? Something MUST be amiss. The Guardian breaks down the brouhaha here.

But they toured, they opened for — Brits like to say “supported,” but that reminds me a little too much of David Brent supporting Texas (the band, not the state; IYKYK) — Florence and the Machine, and they’ve been really REALLY busy on that side of the pond. And the hype is, indeed, warranted.

The Last Dinner Party’s single, “Nothing Matters,” has everything you were looking for in a launch into the stratosphere. Justin Hawkins — who, we assume, STILL believes in a thing called love — hilariously breaks it all down (video below).

To wit, the video is macbre enough, and goofy enough, to work.

The song might be the catchiest thing you’ll hear this year. It’s already getting airplay in Chicago — edited, of course — and it’s just this band’s FIRST SINGLE.

Below, enjoy Justin Hawkins’ video (NSFW: Blue Language), then the band’s official video (NSFW: Blue Language), followed by a SFW performance for the BBC.

It’s the Song of the Year. At least, according to me.

There you have it. Let the debate begin!