Top B&M

Just so you know up top: I do not engage with a lot of new books and music. However, I do read and listen to new-to-me books and music regularly. These entries might be old by 2023 standards but I experienced them for the first time in 2023…get it?

Presented in not particular order (Unless otherwise stated) here are the Metal Memories Top Books and Music for me in 2023!

BOOKS

Blood Meridian -Cormac McCarthy

It is what everyone says it is. A tremendous book that made me want to read more books. Violent and void, the straight or winding path, we all end here.

Aegypt -John Crowley

Pre-internet rural life in the Ohio River Valley is described so vividly by Crowley that I actually became nostalgic for summers on the farm. It’s fitting because the book is about a forgotten history that lies right under our noses. In many ways the rural landscape of my childhood does not exist in isolation as it did before the wifi and smartphones. It's still there of course but not the same. This book captures that feeling on the page and it is chilling to experience.

The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind -Ben Terris

Probably my favorite non-fiction book of the year (and it’s actually from this year so, yay!) and easily the most fun to read. It’s just so messy, I felt like I was sitting at a dinner table hearing all the gossip and loving every second. The psychosis of folks who chase lanyards in DC is laid out in perfect detail.

Escape into Meaning -Evan Puschak

I’ve enjoyed the videos of Nerdwriter¹ on youtube for years. Covering art and philosophy his short video essays are tight and dense, connecting constructive thought to various topics. His book is basically that….but in a book.

LA Quartet and Underworld USA Trilogy- James Ellroy

Where McCarthy’s characters are indifferent to violence and debauchery, Ellroy’s characters revel in it. The LA Quartet is a perfection of the modern Noir Detective story. The Underworld USA Trilogy is a takedown of the American Dream™.

In the best way, there is not a good person among the characters of these books. And if a good person happens to show up, they are either defamed, tortured or killed under false-pretenses. It’s is Ellroy’s America: No one good has any chance of making it out alive.

MUSIC

Album of the year 2023:

Desolations Flower -RAGANA

When I listen to this album I can smell the sage burning the year away.

Song of the Year 2023:

Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam

Of all the new songs that have been overplayed this year, this is the one that I never got tired of hearing. It’s cute, catchy and the epitome of faggy bubblegum pop.

My Album of the Year:

Blade OST

Y’all just have no idea how much I loved this album growing up. Re-watching the movies this year only re-solidified it as one of the greatest OSTs ever.

My song of the Year:

Another Night -Real McCoy

When every night is a dream you only make it better. This song is not new to me, I wore this cassette out in the 90s but it only recently made a resurgence to my daily gym listens. It is just such a love song. I honestly check out during the “rap” in the middle but its still so good.

Stay tuned for next week as I list my top movies, TV and Youtube series of the year!

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¹The most 2010 name for a blog ever.