I wasn’t going to do a “best music of 2022” post, originally, as, frankly, I don’t think it was really a banner year (I speak only for myself and my own tastes and perceptions), but my son Oliver got involved and his enthusiasm bowled me over, so we came up with some official categories. If your favorite stuff isn’t cited, I’m sorry — leave a comment as to what we missed out on, in your opinion.
Favorite New Song of the Year
I’m going to go with a truly strange toss-up, here, dividing the title between “Total,” a track off of Killing Joke’s 2022 EP, Lord of Chaos, because … well, it’s new Killing Joke, isn’t it, and that’s always a good thing. My other favorite new song is a truly unlikely one, for me. A couple of weeks back, I went with my next-door neighbor David to check out the WFUV Holiday Cheer Benefit at the Beacon Theater, ostensibly to see the headliners, Spoon. Spoon were great, but one of their opening acts was a band called Lucius, featuring two ladies whose soaring harmonies — sort of a folky/country vibe, although their albums are a little more modern/dancey — filled up that massive room to stirring effect, and I was quite struck by it. This was, I believe, the penultimate song of their short set, and it really put the hook in me. I find the “piano version” more indicative of the rendition I heard that night. Don’t mind me … I’m just losing my edge.
Favorite New Album of the Year
Been saying this for quite a while, but the debut long-player by the Art Gray Noizz Quintet (up top) handily claims this title, although I feel like I’m cheating, a bit, as their live album from last year pretty much featured most of the same material. Still, the studio versions are absolutely fucking ace, and the tactile artifact (available on LP and via Bandcamp, sadly not on CD, as yet) is a splendid object to behold.
Favorite Concert You Attended
Live music came roaring back, for me, in 2022. Off the top of my head, I saw Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus and the Art Gray Noizz Quintet (them again) at DROM in the East Village in February. I saw Henry Rollins do his spoken-word shtick at Warsaw (if that counts) in March. In May, I took Oliver to his first proper concert, that being DEVO at Pier 17. I’d gotten Oliver tickets to see Bauhaus in August, as well, but they cancelled (again) when Peter Murphy had to go to rehab. As a consolation prize of sorts, I took Oliver to see the Violent Femmes at City Winery, which is a bit like seeing a band at a Christmas-office-party venue — it was a great show, though. Beyond that, I saw LCD Soundsystem at Brooklyn Steel, and they were great, but crazy goddamn louder than I’d have ever expected.
All of these shows were really enjoyable, but just seeing Oliver thrill to his first show — the DEVO one — definitely seals the deal, for me.
Favorite Re-Issue of the Year
In terms of re-issues that were officially released in 2022, I’d have to say that the 40th Anniversary of the Virgin Prunes’ …If I Die, I Die gets my vote. I would otherwise cite the re-release of Chronic Town by R.E.M., but it came bereft of any bonus tracks. I mean, it’s still the best thing they ever did (fucking fight me), but I was hoping for just a little bit of an extra or two. The whatever-anniversary edition of Animals by Pink Floyd was pretty nice, too, even if the new cover art is kinda lacking.
Favorite Discovery of the Year
I don’t know if “discovery” is the right word, but I was genuinely pleased to learn that Wet Leg and Dry Cleaning — two newish British bands I’d prematurely written-off because of their “indefensibly stupid names” — were both pretty goddamn excellent. See? I can be wrong!
Band You Wished You Saw in 2022
Well, as bemoaned in this post, my son Oliver was greatly looking forward to seeing Bauhaus, but due to Peter Murphy’s evidently spiraling substance-abuse problem, that show had to be scuttled. Beyond that, I can’t say I feel I missed out on anything super special. I did miss The Cult and both Peter Hook & the Light and New Order when they respectively came through, but I wasn’t about to open a vein about it.
Band/Artist You Want to Go Away
How could it be anyone other than Kanye West? FUCK that guy.
Well, as of right now, I have tickets to go see Depeche Mode at Madison Square Garden with Oliver in May and The Mission (with Theatre of Hate) at Le Poisson Rouge in October (that’s a long way off, of course). I’m trying to finagle a way to get to the Killing Joke show at the Royal Albert Hall in London in March, but that might be tricky … especially considering it’s already sold out. But, we shall see. Lydia Lunch and Retrovirus are playing at TV Eye in Brooklyn some time soon. Might try to go to that.
Album You’re Most Anticipating
No idea, really. I know SWANS have something new in the works. I’m kind of curious to pick up the “super deluxe” re-release of Low-Life by New Order, but I need another “super deluxe” anniversary edition like I need a swift kick in the head.
Musical Trend You Want to Die
Good fucking lord, where do I start? I think the biggest trend that burns my toast, these days, is the penchant for contemporary pop singers/rappers to adopt this sort of affected mush-mouthed baby-talk vocal delivery. It’s pretty rampant, but I think one of the worst practitioners is this guy who calls himself Grandson, and this idiot called Kid Laroi. I think ass-clowns like Post Malone do it, too. It’s the worst shit in the world and no punishment would be too brutal for it, in my humble opinion.
Musicians You'll Miss the Most from 2022
Well, let’s see ... Mark Lanegan, Howie Pyro, Andy Fletcher, DH Peligro, Mimi Parker, Hamish Kilgour, Keith Levene, Wilko Johnson and, most of all, Jet Black. AND NOW FUCKING TERRY HALL.
Favorite Medium on Which to Listen to Music
While I will always appreciate the physical heft and ceremony of vinyl, I'm still in love with compact discs ... as laughably anachronistic as that might seem to you. I have reluctantly taken more interest in the abjectly evil empire of Spotify, more recently, as it's really the major way my kids listen to music, and we've been sharing playlists. I don't honestly believe my 18-year-old daughter listens to the stuff I send her (and, really, if you were an 18-year-old college freshman in 2022, would you give a crap about your father's musical recommendations?), but Oliver's been very enthusiastic, so that's been fun. I'm milking that for all its worth.
Favorite Live-Music Venue You Went to 2022:
Hmmm... let's see. Well, I quite enjoyed being at back DROM at 85 Avenue A in the East Village which, a quadrillion centuries ago, was a metal club called Beowulf. Pier 17 is open-air and summarily spacious, but beers cost $17 a pop, which strikes me as a bit unduly pricey. City Winery was fine but a bit antiseptic and kind of incongruously genteel (while we were enjoying watching Violent Femmes, there were patrons enjoying vintage merlots and plates of pasta primavera in the same room). I mean, it's not like Violent Femmes are Napalm Death, or anything, but the venue is very much not a divey rock club. Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn (somewhere in the hinterlands between Greenpoint and Williamsburg) remains a great venue, easy-to-navigate and smartly laid out, but kind of a bitch to get to and from (if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Manhattan snob like myself). I think of all the spots I revisited, this year, my favorite is still the stately expanse of Warsaw in Williamsburg, not least for the old-school Polish fare on offer. I've never had a bad time there.
Hmmm... let's see. Well, I quite enjoyed being at back DROM at 85 Avenue A in the East Village which, a quadrillion centuries ago, was a metal club called Beowulf. Pier 17 is open-air and summarily spacious, but beers cost $17 a pop, which strikes me as a bit unduly pricey. City Winery was fine but a bit antiseptic and kind of incongruously genteel (while we were enjoying watching Violent Femmes, there were patrons enjoying vintage merlots and plates of pasta primavera in the same room). I mean, it's not like Violent Femmes are Napalm Death, or anything, but the venue is very much not a divey rock club. Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn (somewhere in the hinterlands between Greenpoint and Williamsburg) remains a great venue, easy-to-navigate and smartly laid out, but kind of a bitch to get to and from (if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Manhattan snob like myself). I think of all the spots I revisited, this year, my favorite is still the stately expanse of Warsaw in Williamsburg, not least for the old-school Polish fare on offer. I've never had a bad time there.
Favorite Summer Song of 2022
Opinions seem to be split on this, but I quite enjoyed Gorillaz' new track with Thundercat.
Favorite Fall Song of 2022
Not a new song by any stretch, but during election season, this was definitely in my head...
Favorite Winter Song of 2022
I'm not sure I'm totally onboard, and I thought the finale of the show was sorta anticlimactic, but I gather this song is having a bit of a moment, and that's cool with me....
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