Favorite Songs from 2022
Keeping up my tradition. Late because of grad school.
Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
I'm thinkin' all through the night
I could be yours just like before
Rewrite another try
'Cause we've had the loneliest time
My discovery of disco last year has really got me loving the disco-throwback sound I’ve heard popping up last year (and shows up a few times on this list). Also, Carly Rae Jepsen is underappreciated.
Beyoncé – Cuff It
Bet you you'll see far
Bet you you'll see stars
Bet you you’ll elevate
Bet you you'll meet God
'Cause I feel like fallin' in love
I'm in the mood to fuck somethin' up
'Cause we gon' fuck up the night
This whole album is full of throwback disco and 90’s dance vibes but this one really got me.
Jens Lekman – The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom
I know all stories have an ending
But if you're out there somewhere listening
Send me a postcard if you want
No hard feelings if you don't
Your old friend, Jens Lekman
Lenkman’s 2007 album Night Falls Over Kortedala, was one of my favorites that year. I associate it with such a specific time in my life, finally settling into my life after undergrad. This song is a call back to “A postcard to Nina”, about a friend Lenkman made as a child. But in “The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom” he’s lost touch with Nina and reflects on their time together. It’s constructed the same as the first, but more subdued. Wistful. It perfectly captures that realization you’ve become disconnected from someone and without meaning to, you’ve both moved on. 2007 feels like a long time ago now.
Lizzo – About Damn Time
Oh, I been so down and under pressure
I'm way too fine to be this stressed, yeah
Oh, I'm not the girl I was or used to be, uh
Bitch, I might be better
Another disco throwback song. It’s hard not to feel good listening to this.
Kevin Morby – This is a Photograph
This is a photograph, a window to the past
Of your father on the front lawn, with no shirt on
Ready to take the world on, beneath the West Texas sun
The year that you were born, the year that you are now
I guess it’s part of turning 40 last year, but songs about looking back on our lives really get me now.
Stromae – L’enfer
Tout ce à quoi j'ai d'jà pensé
Dire que plein d'autres y ont d'jà pensé
Mais, malgré tout, je m'sens tout seul
Du coup
I do not know nearly enough French to have understood this song at first listen. But that didn’t matter. I found it hypnotic but like it’s on the verge of breaking open. Eventually I looked up the translation and the song is about struggling with suicidal ideation.
Orville Peck – The Curse of the Blackened Eye
Always said I should work on my escape
Have a heart too long, it's bound to break
Acting out the opus of your last eternal ache
Boy, just sing the song for heaven's sake
There’s something so sultry about this song full about being haunted. Plus, there’s a bridge! I love bridges in songs.
Jay Wadley – What About You?
I loved Fire Island, and while the soundtrack by Jay Wadley didn’t pop the way Muna’s excellent cover of Brittney Spears Sometimes, I found myself really caught by his score. A playful homage to British period drama soundtracks.
Death Cab for Cutie – Roman Candles
But I am learning to let go
Of everything I tried to hold
Too long ‘cause they all explode
Like roman candles
While the pandemic is not over, this song captures the feeling of trying to shake off the last few years of feeling stuck. Letting go of my regrets. I really like that bands I loved in my 20’s seem to grow up with me.
