Happy non-denominational-holiday-greeting to you and yours! Maybe this will finally be the year I get the only thing I’ve ever wanted: a duplicate of the exact Hit Clip I had as a child (pictured below) featuring the same one-minute songs I ran into the ground — “Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC, “Stronger” by Britney Spears, and “Dancing Queen” by A*Teens — and a bonus clip with “Everywhere” by Michelle Branch.
Speaking of music (?), it’s time to that thing that people do at the end of the year where they share their favorite albums of the year in list order. There were only two albums that completely dommed my year (with a third sneaking in at the very end, wink wink), which means I have very few favorites and a lot of honorable mentions that I listened to for a week and forgot about for the rest of the year but still wanted to highlight.
Now that I’ve gotten my disclaimer is out of the way, let’s get in to it (yuh):
My Favorite Albums of 2022:
Renaissance by Beyoncé: I don’t really know how to talk about this album, because I don’t know anything about house/dance/ballroom music, and my knowledge of disco stops at Off The Wall by Michael Jackson. But I like how it manages to harken back to some of the most forgotten feel-good genres while also being extremely forward-thinking. “Plastic Off The Sofa” was my favorite for the longest time, but now that I’m older and wiser I can see “Virgo’s Groove” really is the one.
Crash by Charli XCX: I love this little British bitch, hyper-pop or not.
SOS by SZA: I knew this wasn’t going to be CTRL pt. 2, but once I actually accepted it wasn’t going to be CTRL pt. 2, I was able to look past the the darker, spacier sound and appreciate it for what it is. There’s at least four songs I could do without (my thing about “Love Language” is….just be “Hit Different”), but more songs means more SZA-isms, and who doesn’t want that?
My Honorable Mentions of 2022:
Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales by Jazmine Sullivan
Caprisongs by FKA Twigs: I still think that song with The Weeknd is garbage tho.
HYPNOS by Ravyn Lenae: Ravyn is so good but there simply isn’t a single spot in all of New York City quiet enough to listen to this front to back.
Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain: This album is sooo scary to me that I can’t listen to it all the way through without getting a legit stomach ache, and the ending also makes me genuinely sad, even though I know it’s not real (no spoilies). But the fact that she’s able to elicit such a visceral reaction from me every time is proof she did something right.
The Trouble With Fever by Michelle Branch: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. She needs to ditch that cheating husband of hers, both personally and professionally.
Hold The Girl by Rina Sawayama: Sadly this album only sounds good around Halloween.
MOTOMAMI by Rosalía: I don’t know what she’s saying but I can tell she’s having fun :)
She/Her/Black Bitch by Doechii
I also want to shout out WOAH, WHAT A BLUR by Bree Runway, which was released the same day as the SZA album and has been massively overlooked, and Gemini Rights by Steve Lacy, which I kind of liked after one listen so I kept it in my downloaded albums and never returned to it. I also meant to listen to the MUNA album but never did. Sowwy!
Okay that’s all I wanted to say! In case anyone cares, my most anticipated albums of 2023 are Desire, I Want To Turn Into You by Caroline Polacheck and Raven by Kelela (the irony of putting their names next to each other is not lost on me, lol), as well as the final two parts of the Renaissance trilogy. That is, if she can finally get off her ass and gives us those damn visuals…
See you in 2023!!!