You gotta listen to their Slowdive live sesh + your 2023 faves revealed!

Dear friends,

You did it! Yes, you! You beat the algorithm for KCRW with your picks for People’s Choice and Live Session Of The Year! Hundreds of you chimed in after I put the call out here last week, and the people have indeed spoken.

Let’s dive in for a second, if we may. Hell yeah on boygenius’ the record as your No. 1. If I have a regret from this year, it’s not rocking out quite hard enough. My soul sister from Richmond, VA, Lucy Dacus + the inimitable Phoebe Bridgers + the fierce and poetic Julien Baker created a Grammy-nominated tour de force. When I saw your picks, I listened again and again. You schooled me. I slept on it. (Though KCRW certainly did not.) Full stop. Thank you. I’m slightly embarrassed, but grateful.

Y’all also clearly hit the dancefloor this year: Jungle, Chemical Brothers, Depeche Mode, Gorillaz + the littles, Yachty and Dragon, all made your cut. I love that you love Slowdive as much as we do. Our live session that went out today is your reward (see below).

Speaking of live sessions, onto your 2023 favorites: The Linda Linda’s Live From HQ performance was for the ages, and you knew it. From their blistering set to the tender request for a hug from their 5-year-old super-fan, Bea, those young women were (and still are) an inspiration. Interviewing these teenage musical powerhouses was a highlight of 2023.

And your love of Cat Power’s Live From HQ warmed me up! Between us, behind the scenes, Chan hung out after MBE (almost all afternoons!) talking music. Her session reminded us all of her virtuosity.

I was stoked to see Peter Cat Recording Co.’s Live From session in your Top 10, too. The New Dehli quintet showed us all that musical chops and great pop songs can create a cult following that sells out big rooms all over the U.S. (not to mention the world) effortlessly.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: KCRW Music’s goal is to not only beat the algorithm, but to break it to pieces. And I remain in awe of you every day because you do that, too. Maybe that’s why we’re such a good team. Thank you for jumping in to participate in our Best Of 2023. We’ve got our last couple of roundups — Breakthrough Artist and Favorite Reissues, Remixes, and Compilations — for you below.

Hope your holiday is beautiful and look forward to catching up with you again next week.

Slowdive: KCRW Live Fron HQ

“There’s basically two kinds of artists,” says KCRW’s Andrea Domanick. “There are the ones who follow in the legacies of the sounds we know and love and push them forward. And then there artists who etch out new space in the aural universe, expanding the experience and possibilities of what music can be. Since helping pioneer shoegaze in the late ‘80s, Slowdive have been the latter, and have kept their eyes (and ears) set on the sonic unknown ever since.”

Whether you’ve been into this band and their ilk (think: My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Lush, etc.) for the long haul, discovered them this year via TikTok, joined the club at any other point in between, or are just learning about them at this very moment… trust us, their utterly gorgeous KCRW Live From HQ session requires your immediate attention. What are you waiting for?

Breakthrough Artist 2023: Baby Rose

“The first time I heard Baby Rose’s voice,” says Morning Becomes Eclectic co-host Anthony Valadez, “I instantly had to stop what I was doing and lean forward toward the car radio. There’s no one that sounds quite like her, with a rich, guttural baritone that plumbs depths akin to Nina Simone and Ahnoni. It’s a sound the DC-born, Fayetteville-raised, LA-based singer/songwriter and producer describes as ‘healing music for the aimless and heartbroken.’”

Read and listen on for more of what made 2023 such a banner year in the midst of an already remarkable career, and revisit her performance Live From KCRW HQ to fully comprehend what makes her stand out.

Best Of 2023: Reissues, Remixes, and Compilations

College rock cleans up nice, disco goes to space, De La Soul finally lands on DSPs, and more: These are the collections of reissued classics, remixed magic, and expertly arranged compilations that set our hearts on fire in 2023.

What’s your favorite holiday song?

Almost everyone has holiday traditions, and most of them involve listening to the same songs over and over, year after year. For example: My [KCRW’s Marion Hodges here!] favorite Christmas song is Okkervil River’s “Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas,” but my childhood Christmases were almost entirely soundtracked by Amy Grant. Anyone else out there choreograph original dance numbers to “Breath Of Heaven (Mary’s Song)?” … Anyone?

The folks who work tirelessly to inform and entertain you with KCRW’s Press Play are no strangers to this type of nostalgic reflection and they’re sharing all. Did you know Madeleine Brand’s childhood was extremely British and enveloped by traditional choral music? What about Editor Michell Eloy’s gleefully unhinged peek behind the scenes involving Guster’s “Carol of the Meows.” Listen on for all the feels and hit us up with your own holiday music memories.