Buckle your seatbelts, here comes an avalanche of accolades. As in years past, I tried to winnow these down to what lifted my spirits throughout the year. As opposed to, say, the most penetrating excavations of human darkness or whatever (Succession notwithstanding). Here’s some of what got me out of bed in 2023.
Tunes
I’ve made no secret that Peter Gabriel soundtracked my year. I’d go far as to say the man’s music carried me, pastored me even. The connection probably had something to do with his strategy of releasing a new song on every full moon for the entire calendar year. The resulting record, i/o, is Gabriel’s first original material in 21 years, and it is a staggering achievement. More accessible than the bulk of what he’s known for but no less carefully considered, wide-angled, or cutting edge, brimming with warmth and hope. It’s so inspiring to see a man well past retirement age doing such vital and fearless work (of the kind that only a man of 73 could do). I can honestly say I look up to him.
The other artist, of a similar vintage, whose music burrowed under my skin this past year is Annie Lennox. I became a fan of her stunning (and entirely sacred!) Christmas Cornucopia album a couple years ago, and was chuffed to hear so many listeners respond to her version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” in the Brothers Zahl Christmas episode. I’ve been working my way backward through her catalog the last few months, and have yet to come upon anything that hasn’t bowled me over with artistry and soul. “Music for adults” you could call it, though I wouldn’t want to connote boredom, as she is anything but. My favorite release at present is probably Peace, the underappreciated Eurythmics record she made in 1999.
Another sustaining discovery would be the soul records that Marc Bolan produced for other artists, notably Gloria Jones but also Sister Pat Hall. Total treasures, with all the joy of the T Rex sound but without the warble.
Last but not least, and this will probably get me in trouble, but 2023 was the year I developed an unpopular-to-the-point-of-provocation opinion: I prefer Art Garfunkel’s solo records to Paul Simon’s. [*DUCKS*] I’m not saying they’re objectively better — but these tunes cannot be denied. “Skywriter” alone!
For a sampling of the above, plus a ton of other gems, I’ve compiled a playlist of 26 Favorite Songs Discovered in 2023.
Fortunately, there was also a slew of amazing new music this past year. Here’s a playlist of 20 Favorite Songs Released in 2023.
Album of the Year not recorded by Peter Gabriel: Ordinary Ways by Jon Guerra. I had a feeling he and wife Valerie would blow us away in NYC this past spring (which they did), but I wasn’t prepared for this record to take up so much real estate in my soul the rest of the year. A post-pandemic cry of the heart, rooted in capital-G Grace and dripping with honesty, beautifully crafted and abounding in gorgeous melodies and unconventional sonic flourishes. If a more transcendent 90 seconds of music was released this year than the second half of “Let a Little Light In,” I haven’t heard it.
The rest of my personal Top Five Records Released This Year would be Blur’s ridiculously good reunion album, The Ballad of Darren, followed by The Gaslight Anthem’s History Books, Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS, and boygenius’s The Record.
Favorite Devotional Record: Sanctuary Songs by Porters Gate.
Song of the Year: “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” by The Rolling Stones. It’s always telling what people choose to say when their time is limited and the light is fading. The final track on what is presumably the last Stones record is their cover of Muddy Waters’ “Rolling Stone Blues,” the song from which the group got their name. But the final original composition on the final Stones record is this gospel tour-de-force, in which Mick drops any/all posturing and professes his faith in God’s deliverance, explicitly referencing at least three sacraments in the process. Octogenarian rock stars are something genuinely new under the sun, imho, and the fact that this is where the Glimmer Twins ended up is no small thing in my book.
Screens
While peak-TV seems to be waning, there’s still far too much quality programming for any one person to consume. So again, take this as a rundown of where I was glad to have given my limited attention.
Top Television. I’d be lying if I put anything other than Succession at the top. The episode right after you-know-what happens will go down as epochal. I genuinely miss Tom Wambsgans in my life.
On the More Redemptive End: The third and final season of How to With John Wilson was such a precious gift, from start to finish, like nothing I’ve ever seen. Only way to describe it would be as a God’s eye view of the human race, both unflinching and affectionate in the extreme, in turns delightful and disturbing but always profound and ultimately very touching. Think low anthropology in all its eccentric and love-inducing splendor, with left turns to spare. Beef was also a brilliant treatment of many of our favorite themes, responsible for the most sympathetic (and recognizable) depiction of the church on screen this year.
Other Shows I Enjoyed: Telemarketers, Colin from Accounts, Fargo.
Favorite Viral Video: Ethan Hawke on the pastoral necessity of the arts.
Favorite Movie I Saw in Theaters: The Holdovers (duh).
Second Favorite: You Hurt My Feelings.
The One I Missed and Am Most Dying to See: Godzilla: Minus One.
The One I Missed that I Am Least Dying to See: Killers of the Flower Moon.
Grace in Practice Documentary of the Year: The Saint of Second Chances.
Grace in Practice Debut Documentary of the Year, AKA the Darryl Davis Award: Refuge (run don’t walk!).
Pages
Book of the Year: How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. The world clearly needed this book, and thank God that Harrison was the one to give it to us. Take a gander at the GoodReads reviews if you want a crash course in what happens when you explode the exasperating categories that have grown up around Jesus-friendly writers. Bafflement and a little outrage, sure, but mainly mammoth relief that reality (and humor) are allowed to co-exist with faith. Watching HSK lay it down at our Orlando conference this past January, a few months before the book’s release, was a highlight of the year. I’m so proud we got to play incubator.
Most Inspiring Religion-Adjacent Non-Fiction I Read This Year: The Congregation in a Secular Age by Andy Root, with The Uncontrollability of the World by Harmut Rosa a close second.
Top Where-Have-I-Been Pop Theology Read:* What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey. (*read our Top Theology Books rundown here!)
Favorite Unwitting Law-Gospel Social Commentary: Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Turns Toxic–And What To Do About It by Jennifer Breheny Wallace.
Favorite ‘Genre’ Fiction I Read This Year: Pandora’s Star by Peter Hamilton, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.
Most Hilarious Music Memoir: Shell Shocked by Howard Kaylan.
Most Reliably Inspired Column for the Second Year Running: Cloud Support by Meaghan O’Gieblyn in/on Wired.
Most Indispensable and Forwardable Newsletter for the Third Year Running: The Red Hand Files from Nick Cave.
Runner-Up: The Speed of Love from Jordan Griesbeck.
Other Favorite Substacks: The Honest Broker from Ted Gioia, Notebook from Barbara McClay, After Babel from Jonathan Haidt, Ask Polly from Heather Havrilesky, Experimental Theology from Richard Beck, and the never-a-dull-moment ride that is Freddie DeBoer.
Favorite Interview: Willa Paskin’s profile of Greta Gerwig in The NY Times Magazine.
Long Read that Stuck With Me Longest (Other than SMZ’s Theories of Change): A tie between Justin Smith’s “My Generation” in Harpers and Tara Isabella Burton’s “Rational Magic” in the New Atlantis. For whatever reason, I also haven’t been able to shake Gideon Lewis-Kraus’s “The Reluctant Prophet of Effective Altruism.”
Column I Most Wish I Had Written: “Where Does Religion Come From?” by Ross Douthat.
Favorite ‘Aroma of Christ’ Obituary (Unrelated to Tim Keller, may he rest in peace): Bindeschwar Pathak in the Economist.
Most Spiritually Edifying Public Outpouring: The grief, wisdom and gratitude that followed Matthew Perry’s death.
Favorite Graphic Novel: Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. I’ve read countless Batman stories, with countless different angles. But until this year, I’d never read one that revolved around grace and forgiveness. Those themes run so counter to the Bat-mythos that I honestly don’t know how they got this greenlit, but wow, those final pages. A big HT to Heath R for insisting.
Jokes and Miscellany
Funniest Skits: I could watch highlights of Cunk on Earth for hours. And SNL’s Mariokart spoof was pretty special. But as far as discoveries are concerned, I chuckle just thinking about “Grandma the Clown” from The Dana Carvey Show (at bottom).
Funniest Comedy Shows: I Think You Should Leave was undoubtedly the freshest/zaniest, but Ten Year Old Tom made me laugh the hardest.
Laugh Out Loud Headline Not From a Satire Site (That I Really Wish I’d Had While Writing #LowAnthropology): Marie Kondo admits she’s ‘kind of given up’ on tidying up after having 3 kids.
Meme That Made Me Gladdest to Be Alive: This one, followed by this one.
Instagram Character That Always Brings It, Humor-wise: BJA’s Marnie.
Instagram Feed that Always Brings It, Gospel-wise: Andy Squyres.
Most Inventive and Redemptively Funny Use of Twitter: Amy Mantravadi’s thread retelling the Reformation via GIFs from The Office.
Most Reliable Humor Site: Reductress.
Favorite But Also Most Cutting Onion “Study”: Living Happy Life Strongly Correlated To Thinking About Property Values All The Time.
Favorite Cartoonist by a Landslide: Asher Perlman. Runner up being Natalya Lobanova.
Most Life-Affirming and Hilarious Sports: Combat Juggling and Extreme Ironing.
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