2023 Top 5 Lists

Ah, 2023!  For me and hopefully for you too, it was a return to normalcy- we saw some outstanding live music/theater performances and finally got to take the EU/UK trip we'd been planning.  Any year you visit record stores in 5 different countries on 2 continents is a good year!  Sonoma Arts Live, the theater company my wife Jaime and I run, is going strong and last summer we were back onstage together for the first time in years in Guys & Dolls.  Plus, I'm still doing my radio show, ALL KINDSA GIRLS, every Saturday night on KSVY.  We finished 2023 spending the holidays at home joined by family and friends- all in all I'm thankful for a pretty great year.  As always, 2023 was further enriched by the movies, TV shows, records and books I saw, listened to and read.  You'll even see a new category, Top 5 Rockumentary Workouts, because if you don't watch something cool while you're on the elliptical you will go insane- it's a medical fact.  So, in a tradition that dates back to 1999, I humbly submit my 2023 Top 5 Lists:

TOP 5 MOVIES

American Fiction (post post-truth)

The Holdovers (Christmas in New England)

Barbie (transformational)

Women Talking (rage to redemption)

The Quiet Girl (scannán álainn)

TOP 5-ish STREAMING/DVD MOVIES

Honor Society / The Starling Girl / Full Time (she deserves better)

The Innocents / Aftersun (our daughters will save us) 

How To Blow Up A Pipeline / Jethica (ideas eclipse income)

Tetris / BlackBerry (this is how you tell true stories)

Bloody Hell / Sisu (international mayhem)

TOP 5 CLASSIC THURSDAY MOVIES

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (Sturges slays)

Murder, My Sweet (Marlowe is the Man!)

Now, Voyager (Bette will break your heart)

Outrage (Ida Lupino was fearless...)

A Taste of Honey (UK decay)

TOP 5 ROCKUMENTARY WORKOUT MOVIES

Jobraith A.D. (the American Bowie)

Waiting: The Van Duren Story (Memphis Power Pop icon)

Creem: America's Only Rock & Roll Magazine (Big Bangs)

Being Evel (didn't play music, still rocked!)

The Public Image Is Rotten (thankfully, no politics)

 

TOP 5 ALBUMS

Duncan Reid/Big Heads- And It's Goodbye From Him (will be missed)

No Tears- Heart Shaped Eyes (Swede pleases)

The Whiffs- Scratch 'N' Sniff (KC R&R is back!)

Kurt Baker- Rock N Roll Club (Maine sustains)

Uni Boys- Buy This Now! (2 for 2)

 

TOP 5 TV SHOWS

Shrinking (perfect practice)

Beef (the lies we tell ourselves)

The Bear (work/life imbalance)

I'm A Virgo (Riley rules)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (kindness first)

 

TOP 5 BOOKS

The Latecomer- Jean Hanff Korelitz (Oppenheimer fun)

Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow- Gabrielle Zevin (trust Marx) 

All The Sinners Bleed- S.A. Cosby (Southern Gothic)

The Immortal King Rao- Vauhini Vara (futureshock)

The Candy House- Jennifer Egan (it's still a goon)

 

TOP 5 LIVE PERFORMANCES

Dear Evan Hansen 2/11/22 Orpheum SF (devastating/beautiful)

White Reaper 2/22/23 August Hall SF (we deserve love)

Six 3/14/23 Orpheum SF (the historemix)

Hoodoo Gurus 5/21/23 GAMH SF (We All Turned On!) 

The Little Big Things 10/11/23 @sohoplace London (Henry flys)

 

If you're interested in what I'm watching, hearing and reading during the year check out the ALL KINDSA GIRLS Twitter feed (I disavow the name change).  Please respond with your own 2023 favorites as I'm always looking for quality viewing/listening/reading material- perhaps your picks will end up on next year's lists.  Wishing you all the best in 2024!