2022 OG-STYLE, PT 2: CHARLES COVERS TOP SONGS, ALBUMS, AND DIAMOND DAVE
Like Brian, I make no pretension that I’ve listened to any substantial percentage of the albums that were released in 2022. But I’ve listed my favorites of the 2022 albums I did listen to and also the songs released outside of 2022 that provided a soundtrack to my year. Finally, I’ve included some initial thoughts on one of the most fiercely debated issues in rock for the last 40+ years—which Van Halen song contains the definitive David Lee Roth spoken word section.
Top 5 Albums 2022
5. Labyrinthitis – Destroyer. Yes, I’m a Destroyer stan, but this one really has quite a few bangers.
4. God’s Country - Chat Pile. Rekindled my love for grindcore. (See, 3A60G Issue #4)
3. Dimensional Bleed – Holy Fawn. Same vein as Deafheaven, but with synthier, more emotive quiet sections and not quite as many blast beats.
2. RENAISSANCE – Beyonce. Irresistible to someone raised on Chicago house.
1. Boat Songs – MJ Lenderman. Certified 6OGs favorite.
Top 5 Songs from 2022
5. Hangover Game – MJ Lenderman. I don’t appreciate the insinuation about a game seared into my memory, but a great song.
4. Death is a Relief – Holy Fawn. A slow build to a screamy finish. So good.
Beyonce. We share a birthday, a love of house music, and a love of Jay-Z. Some days I wonder if Beyonce isn’t just my alter ego.
3. VIRGO’S GROOVE – Beyonce. We share a birthday, a love of house music, and a love of Jay-Z. Some days I wonder if Beyonce isn’t just my alter ego.
2. Gonna Lose – Built to Spill. BTS’s best single in years.
1. Eat the Wine, Drink the Bread – Destroyer. Best song off a really strong album.
Top 10 Songs I listened to during 2022, but were not released in 2022
10. Nearly Lost You – Screaming Trees. RIP Mark Lanegan.
9. Strictly Reserved for You – Charles Bradley. Checking out his cover of Changes that they use for the theme song for Netflix’s Big Mouth brought me to this banger.
8. Handsome Man – Wednesday. I think I may need to move to North Carolina with how obsessed I am with Asheville bands lately.
7. Cloud City – Hum. This underrated 2020 release keeps creeping back into my rotation.
6. Both Sides Now – Judy Collins. I became obsessed with tracking down all the versions of this song. I don’t know if this one is definitive, but it is the first.
Not sure why this one got under my skin; blame it on this summer’s roller-skating resurgence.
5. Double Dutch Bus – Frankie Smith. Not sure why this one got under my skin; blame it on this summer’s roller-skating resurgence.
4. MX – Deftones. Concert prep got me back into Around the Fur and then I couldn’t stop listening to this track.
3. Cut Your Ribbon – Sparta. I went to see Mars Volta, yet ended up listening to a Sparta song for weeks afterwards.
2. Red Red Wine – Tony Tribe. This is the original ska cover of the Neil Diamond song, which led to a crap cover by UB40, and which then led to the worst version of all: Neil Diamond’s reggae version of his own song, which is essentially the UB40 version, which was a lesser version of the Tony Tribe’s cover, which was a cover of Neil Diamond to begin with. A Russian nesting doll of awfulness (except for Tony’s).
1. It Rains Love – Lee Fields & the Expressions. I listened to a lot of soul over the last few years, but this one really got me.
Top 5 David Lee Roth spoken word passages in Van Halen songs
4. Mean Street
3. Panama
1. Unchained
