2022 was a long year. For me it was filled with lifetime highs and lows, and my top songs of the year likely reflect that push-and-pull. As in 2021, my top songs of the year were not all released this year— in fact, I don’t think any of them were! They are all songs that in some way encapsulate or add color to my experience throughout the year, and I have to apologize in advance form including so much Noah Kahan. His new album Stick Season is likely my favorite album of all time. But without further ado, here are my top 10 songs of 2022, in no particular order:
1. Let’s Get Married, Bleachers
Apart from being the song that played while my partner and I processed from our wedding ceremony, I think this song is maybe one of Bleachers’ best. It’s a great upbeat song to sing to on a long drive alone!
Favorite Line: “I’ve been gone, I’ve been gone, I’ve been so far gone lately. And I know it’s bad when we look out, but bad, bad people don’t live in our house!”
2. Better, Michigander
I really should have included Better in my 2021 songs list, but I forgot and it ended up not mattering because it landed a spot on this years’ list. From a song-writing perspective, I really enjoy the way verses, bridges, and choruses blend together. You never know what’s coming next, but every turn in the song is as great as the last. Plus, the music video is great.
Favorite Verse:
Well I’m sorry that things didn’t go your way
But if everything goes sideways
I’ll be there to carry you
Face your fears
It’s okay if you’re feeling scared
Just know that I will be there
3. All My Love, Noah Kahan
Off the Stick Season album, this song emerged as an unlikely favorite for me. I think I appreciate the delicate balance of frankly depressing lyrics with upbeat optimism on top of the fact that Noah Kahan had the skill to just string two separate choruses together, each able to stand on its own if he wanted. This song was even more fun live since it was sped up slightly.
Favorite string instrument: Mandolin
4. Divinity, Porter Robinson
We saw Porter Robinson at Red Rocks this year, and Iw as surprised at how much I enjoyed his music. Divinity is a fairly old song, but one that stuck out to me, and landed on all of my workout playlists and near the top of my Spotify plays for the year. As with a lot of Porter songs, I don’t know entirely what it’s about, but I love the few eerie, haunting lyrics that there are.
Favorite concert venue: Red Rocks
5. Jerk It Out, Caesers
Simply put, this song rips. I listened to it so much this year after re-discovering it that I had to include it on the list.
Favorite music video aspect ratio: 4:3
6. Stick Season, Noah Kahan
I don’t know if a lyric has ever hit home more than “I’ll drink alcohol ‘till my friends come home for Christmas.” I don’t necessarily know what that says about me, but I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. Stick Season is a melancholy love letter to small towns and New England and it was a letter I was happy to receive.
Favorite lyric, maybe of all time: “I’ll drink alcohol ‘till my friends come home for Christmas”
7. Somewhere Only We Know, Lily Allen
This version of Somewhere Only We Know was the song that my partner walked up the aisle to at our wedding. It’s one of a few songs where I really love both the original song (shoutout to Keane, which was the first band I ever saw play on SNL) and the cover. That feeling is bolstered by the fact that I love the music video.
The closest-to-SNL-live-performance-by-Keane I could find: Conan
8. Move Me, half·alive
Similar to #7 on this list, Move Me has one of my favorite music videos of all time, and it a great song. I love the constant piano riff and the more erratic drumbeats. Half-alive has quickly become one of my favorite bands.
Music video competition: Window in the Skies, U2
9. Maine, Noah Kahan
Having been to Maine earlier in the summer, I needed to include this song on my list. Not only is it a great song, but it captures much of the homesickness I felt at the beginning of the year. While actually in Maine, that was juxtaposed with some ridiculous tubing behind a speedboat, but Noah Kahan hasn’t written about that experience yet.
Favorite geographic region: New England
10. The View Between Villages, Noah Kahan
I don’t know if there is a better song to run to just after dusk or before dawn. The building momentum of the song is infective, and if you’re interested in running as fast as you can for no reason, I highly recommend giving this a listen at the end of a long run.
Favorite line to sprint to: “The things that I lost here, the people I knew, they got me surrounded for a mile or two.”
Here’s to 2023.
Recess 027