It’s official. I’m over the hill. My peak “music fan” years are behind me. I’m writing this on December 12 because there’s no hope that I can make up for 49 subpar music seeking weeks in the last three. My annual playlist is only 19 songs long. It hasn’t been that short since 2008 (when I kept the list to the maximum that could be burned onto a single compact disc).
[my other ‘year end’ posts: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011]
Song of the Year: “Hop To It” by Marc Rebillet
[runner up: “Anxious” by Carly Rae Jepsen]
“Hop To It” isn’t even a stand alone track by Marc Rebillet. The below YouTube clip is just seven minutes that was cut out of his hour long live steam earlier this year. A stream that was sponsored by a sex toy company. But who cares about those above caveats — I love this sound. Meanwhile, I don’t know why “Anxious” was subjugated as a ‘bonus track’ instead of being on the album proper.
Album of the Year: Three Dimensions Deep by Amber Mark
[runner up: The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen]
It was nearly impossible to pick a single track from Amber Mark’s album to feature on my annual playlist. Important to note: Our North American Idol, CRJ, released her best work since Emotion.
Concert of the Year: Kacey Musgraves at ACL Fest
[runner up: Lil Nas X at ACL Fest]
I didn’t get to many shows this year, but thanks to friends in Austin — I got to boost my number of total number of acts I saw this year. Kacey was a bucket list item for me, and Lil Nas X’s performance was incredible. The only thing keeping CRJ from this top spot was the venue being subpar.
Song of the Summer: Hottest Record in the World by Digitalism
[runner up: Let’s Do It Again by Jamie xx]
Song Discovered Thanks to a TV Show / Movie of the Year: “Renaissance” by Cristobal Tapia De Veer (the remix/version used for The White Lotus season 2)
Regret of the Year:
Missed shows
To paraphrase a dead Beatle, Life got in the way of my concert plans… The War On Drugs, Beach House, The National, and Amber Mark are all acts I literally had tickets to see and was unable to attend.
Best Decision I made in 2022:
Recording a “Triller” video with my wife
There’s no way I’m posting that on a public post, but if you know me — ask and I may text it to you.
Thank you very much for reading. To close, here are the concert collages / showlog from 2022:
