My year-end Spotify ‘Wrapped’ told me I listened to 4,510 musical artists in 2022. I heard 192 unique music genres. My total play time was 92,254 minutes... more than 98% of other listeners in the US. I did like the ‘title’ they awarded me: Adventurer... a seeker of sound. I plan to lean into sound seeker.
For those new to Tunes, the songs I select each year aren’t ranked. It’s meant to be an eclectic mix of new music, some you know, some you don’t. Some you will love, some you won’t. I always think as I pull this list together that if you like most of it, I’ve succeeded in pushing the boundaries of musical exploration.
While I rarely list a favorite, “Stronger Together” by the Bayou City Comeback Chorus (BCCC) hit home. At its essence, BCCC are a Houston based social justice music collective. The music is infused with psychedelic funk, jazz and gospel. “Stronger Together” is a song I keep going back to for inspiration.
We’re wrapping up year three of living with covid, as it continues its transition to endemic. Music got a little brighter again this year as we each, in our own way, decided to embrace a more normal way of living life. Seeing New York City begin to lift itself back up is heartwarming. It’s been home for almost 30 years.
I fell in love with the Linda Lindas when I saw a 2021 video of a song they wrote and performed at the LA Public Library, “Racist, Sexist Boy”. They released their first album Growing Up in 2022. “Magic” is on that album and made it to this year’s playlist. They’re empowering.
Markets threw a few good old fashioned temper tantrums as central banks continue to fight to arrest still too high inflation. Anyone nostalgic for the 1970s got an education on what inflation feels like. Nostalgia is so wistful... it allows you to grey out the parts of the past that weren’t as much fun in the moment as they seem to have been with hindsight.
Adia Victoria’s “Ain’t Killed Me Yet” along with Trampled by Turtles’ “It’s So Hard to Hold On” and Panda Bear’s “Edge of the Edge” each made reasonable thematic reference points for 2022 market volatility. So did Brian Jackson’s “All Talk” and Steve Gunn’s “Protection”.
Joss Stone’s “No Regrets” and Jessie Ware’s “Free Yourself” are divinely infused with 1980s dance fun. Bump them back-to-back, followed by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s “Hate Dancin” for toe-tapping pleasure. They’re infectious.
One of my best finds this year was Hollie Cook. She released her first album in 2011 and I shamefully admit I only discovered her this past year. She describes her sound as “tropical pop”. It’s so much more. Cook’s album Happy Hour was one I played far too much this summer. The ‘fun fact’ I learned about Hollie Cook? Her father is Paul Cook, drummer for the Sex Pistols.
ESG (Emerald, Sapphire and Gold) is a legendary post-punk and funk band from the South Bronx that has influenced everything from funk and dance music to hip-hop over the decades they’ve recorded. They have a new album coming out along with a documentary. Both are entitled “Are You Serious?”… “The Jam” makes this year’s playlist. If you don’t know ESG, you should.
SAULT and Phoebe Bridgers are artists you also need to know. SAULT’s “Fight for Love” and Bridgers’ “Sidelines” each made it onto this year’s playlist. Heartbreakingly honest music you will have on repeat. I’m going to add Arlo Parks “Softy” and Aoife O’Donovan’s “Sister Starling” into the mix of standout artists with 2022 releases not to be missed.
I’ve been doing Tunes in one form or another since the late 1980s. I think that hit home this year as I listened to some of the music I’ve mentioned. I can hear the influence of prior decades in this year’s Tunes... it sneaks into the music reinvented. The beauty of art is building on what came before, to create what comes next. What could be more inspiring?
I have my 2023 Tunes (so far) Spotify playlist up and running, so you can see what cycles on-and-off as the year ahead progresses. The profile name on Spotify is: tunes4ourtimes.
Please let me know of new music I’m missing. You can find me at: tunes4ourtimes@gmail.com. Happy listening!
There is always incredible new music being made... you just have to stop, look for it and listen.
“We all do ‘do, re, mi’… you’ve got to find the other notes yourself.” Louis Armstrong