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Rate-A-Record: The Greatest Song Ever Edition to Start the New Year
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the radio
Happy New Year! Some of you probably thought (hoped?) that 2023 would signal the end of my weekly Rate-A-Record stories. You would have been wrong; you don’t jump off a train when it’s moving as fast as this one. Even if I had considered a brief hiatus, it could not have started this Sunday, because the Fates have deemed that a brand-new year begins on the same day as Rate-A-Record, which calls for something extra special.
I have pondered this one over the always-strange period that falls between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when none of us are ever quite sure what day of the week it is. I only know that it’s Sunday because my phone has a reminder to post the weekly Rate-A-Record and because it’s the first time Arsenal has been top of the league on New Year’s Day since Barack Obama was president.
What is the best music to kick off a new year? Something upbeat, like The Bangles vs. The Go-Go’s? Or classic like The Beatles vs. The Stones? Maybe even old-school country, with Merle taking on Johnny?
Don’t be ridiculous, you know what’s coming just by the title.
