LISTENING IN: My unexpected favourite song of 2023

‘Tis the season for best-of lists, and whereas my days of accounting such things are mostly past, 2023 produced for me a definite – and most unexpected – song. One I still can’t get out of my head. And don’t want to.

If you happened to be living under a rolling stone last year (or more likely, simply don’t have Amazon Prime Video), “Daisy Jones and the Six” was one of the most talked-about series of the year (and No. 1 on Prime).

Based on the book about the rise and fall of a fictitious 1970s rock band that was not-so-loosely based on the colourful history of Fleetwood Mac, the series notably starred Riley Keough – Elvis Presley’s granddaughter – who played the Stevie Nicks character to Sam (“Hunger Games”) Claflin’s Lindsay Buckingham (their tempestuous relationship being the foundation of the story).

At the same time, the 10-episode series was underpinned by an amazing original score of 25 songs – some written by the likes of Jackson Browne and Marcus Mumford – and so good that the band’s monster TV album “Aurora” was released as a real-life 11-song soundtrack by Atlantic Records and two singles – “Regret Me” and “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)” – made a mark in the charts. There are ongoing suggestions that the cast will even tour as a real band.

More impressively, the actors were just that, actually learning to sing and play instruments for their parts. (Despite her famous pedigree, Keough had apparently never sung a note before taking the part of Daisy).

My favourite song is “The River,” an epic throwback that owes as much to Tom Petty as the Mac and which was the fitting composition for the series’ concert finale and ultimate emotional climax. For what it’s worth, it’s my song of the year – maybe any year – but be warned, like me, you might not be able to get it out of your head.