Matt's Books and Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

I mentioned in the first post in this series that one of the most surprising and fascinating things about how my tastes intersect with the contemporary music scene is just how heavily skewed it is towards female artists. Just looking at 2020 and 2021, male artists accounted for only 3 of 20 slots for the top albums (and one of those featured female vocals) and male voices led none of the top songs. Even though my top albums list for 2022 still has a majority of female artists, four men are represented, which is enough of a surprise to be worth comment.

What stands out immediately is that only one of these male artists in the top is in the pop sphere, The 1975, with other high flyers being in country (Orville Peck and Sons of the East) and rap (Stromae). This makes 2022 a double outlier, since these genres are generally underrepresented in my tastes. Notably none of the artists I’ve mentioned so far is Harry Styles, whose Harry’s House from this year marked the last time a male pop album was front-and-centre in pop culture. I liked but didn’t love this album and it placed in twenty-fourth place.

Before leaving the topic of male artists, Weezer dropped four strong albums this year, making them one of them my top artists of the year, even if none of the albums rose to the top. And, Alpha Zulu, by electro-dance group Phoenix, also made the top thirty albums, which was a fun surprise.

Top 10 Albums

1. Midnights (Taylor Swift): While probably the most controversial of Swift’s four (!) Album of the Year Grammys, I think it was absolutely deserved. This is the rare album of hers that is marked by a clear division between songs I love and songs I don’t have much use for; but the ones that hit hit hard.
2. Bronco (Orville Peck): Orville Peck’s retro country stylings could very easily come across as a Johnny Cash impression, but he manages to inflect his music with so much charisma that it transcends the potential pastiche. Standouts from the album for me are “Daytona Sand,” “Outta Time,” and “The Curse of the Blackened Eye.”
3. Palomar Parade (Sons of the East): This album from Australian country (I’d call it ‘Americana’ if they weren’t Australian) group Sons of the East is glorious from top to bottom, but highlights include “Another Night,” “What I Do,” and “You Might Think.”
4. RENAISSANCE (Beyoncé): I’m in a weird place with Beyoncé. I recognize her talent, the power of her celebrity, and the importance of her message, but rarely love her actual music. But even I can’t deny this album!
5. Surrender (Maggie Rogers): This, Rogers’ second album, has a reputation as being a flop and a huge step down from her first. But I don’t see it. It’s perhaps a bit uneven, but has some of my absolute favourite songs on it.
6. Multitude (Stromae): One of my weird musical things is that I really love how French-language rap sounds. This album by Belgian rapper Stromae is case-in-point. I love his smooth flow and would love another album from him yesterday.
7. MUNA (MUNA): Sometimes for whatever reason, everything comes together with the perfect match of artist, songs, and production and a band can create something that transcends that they’ve done previously. This third album from this all-queer indie-pop girl-group is one of those albums.
8. Rising (mxmtoon): While no songs from Rising made my best-of-the-year playlist, this is a consistently strong album that found its way into my top 10.
9. CRASH (Charli xcx): It’s always interesting to see what an artist does just before an album that really breaks out. CRASH is a great example of this. It’s no brat but the building blocks are clearly all there.
10. Being Funny in a Foreign Language (The 1975): This is another solid and consistent album that lacks the super-high highs of some of the artist’s other work. For me the highlight from Being Funny… is “Wintering,” which is a quintessential The 1975 song.

Other Albums of Note

• Everything I Didn’t Say (Ella Henderson): In the early 2010s it looked like Ella Henderson would become the next huge British pop superstar. But due to some setbacks in her health and professional relationships, this was her first album since 2014. And it’s a solid new beginning for her.
• emails i can’t send (Sabrina Carpenter): Just as with the Charli xcx album, this is the album before Sabrina Carpenter hit it huge in 2024. I’d say it’s uneven, but it’s a huge step forward from her previous albums and features “Nonsense,” whose infamous outros went viral when she was opening for Taylor Swift during the Eras Tour.
• The Hardest Part (Noah Cyrus): It says a lot about Noah Cyrus’s musical sensibility and talent that I didn’t clock that she’s part of that Cyrus family until long after I really enjoyed this album.

Top 10 Songs

1. “Anywhere With You” (Maggie Rogers): This is one of those songs that I adore from start to finish. It starts gently, then slowly builds through its stellar bridge, until it absolutely explodes into the final chorus, which is one of my favourite musical moments ever. (Favourite lyric: “If I’m gonna lose my mind, I’m gonna lose it with you”)

The next four slots all belong to songs from Midnights, and the order really depends on the day. But for today’s purposes:

2. “You’re On Your Own, Kid” (Taylor Swift): This gorgeous and heartbreaking song offers wisdom to Taylor Swift’s younger self, and is another song that benefits from a slowly-building production. By the 2:05 mark it’s pure pop bliss, even if with its serious message. (Favourite lyric: “’Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take”)
3. “Bejeweled” (Taylor Swift): Another pop banger with a heavy message, this warning to a partner not to ask her to dim her light never doesn’t make me want to dance. (Favourite lyric: “I gave you my world, but have you heard? I can reclaim the land”)
4. “Maroon” (Taylor Swift): One of the best things about knowing Taylor Swift’s work—but also something that confounds those who don’t—is how it creates an ‘expanded cinematic universe’, with songs referencing older songs and either filling in narrative gaps or expanding on past imagery. “Maroon” is my favourite example of this, hearkening back to her youthful belief that love was “burning red,” without ever using the word red. Instead, she opts for all different colour words in the red family, demonstrating a more mature, nuanced perspective on love and relationships. (Favourite lyric: “Carnations you had thought were roses, that’s us”)
5. “Karma” (Taylor Swift): It would be easy for a song about Swift’s continued success when so many of the people who had tried to take her take her down over the years have fallen away, to come off as punching down. But “Karma” avoids this with a lightness and sense of humour that makes it clear it’s not that serious. (Favourite lyric: “Karma’s a relaxing thought / Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?”)
6. “SUMMER RENAISSANCE” (Beyoncé): This clear homage to disco somehow manages to still feel fresh and innovative despite its production screaming steamy nights on 1979 dancefloors. (Favourite lyric: “Boy, you never had a chance / If you make my body talk, I’ma leave you in a trance”)
7. “Overdrive” (Maggie Rogers): This is a lyrically simple song about a relationship that’s spun out of control, and I love it. (Favourite lyric: “You told me that I was all you could see, but you kept me in the dark”)
8. “Anti-Hero” (Taylor Swift): There was a six-month period or so when I couldn’t leave the apartment without hearing this song somewhere. And with a great hook and lyrics that are as self-aware as they are clever, there’s a good reason why. (Favourite lyric: “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”)
9. “she’s all i wanna be” (Tate McRae): While dance pop isn’t known for its lyricism, I love the way this song expresses the feeling of seeing your beloved hanging out with someone who triggers your insecurities. (Favourite lyric: “If you say she’s nothing to worry about / Then why’d you close your eyes when you said it out loud?”)
10. “What I Want” (MUNA): Combining infectious ‘80s-coded production with relatable lyrics about wanting to make up for lost time, this needs to become a queer party anthem. (Favourite lyric: “I want the fireworks, I want the chemistry / I want that girl right over there to wanna date me”)

Other Songs of Note

• “About Damn Time” (Lizzo): Equal parts clever lyricism, humour, unashamed sex-positivity, and impeccable r&b grooves, this is peak Lizzo.
• “emails i can’t send” (Sabrina Carpenter): While Sabrina Carpenter has exploded in popularity the past eighteen months by similarly combing lyricism, humour, and sex-positvity, in the title track to her 2022 album we see none of that performativity and are left with a raw and honest, deeply sad, song about her estranged father.
• “Sweetest Pie” (Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa): I’m not sure if this is pop-tinted hip hop or hip hop-flavoured pop, but either way it’s infectious. I dare you not to shimmy in your seat.

Most Surprising Inclusion

• “Everything Goes On” (Porter Robinson): The only reason this is surprising is that a song released as a tie in with a video game even made it on my radar. But it’s fun and has all the upbeat optimism of early-’10s Owl City with none of the cringe.

Notable Song that Missed the Cut

• “Take My Breath” (The Weeknd): I hate to pick on The Weeknd, but here we have another example of a super popular song by him that I know is good but just doesn’t hit for me.

[Note: It’s of course impossible to listen to everything, so while I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, omissions are inevitable. For consistency’s sake, I’ve gone with the year music was released, rather than when it became popular. Any ratings or rankings are my own and entirely subjective. This has nothing to do with objective quality but is simply reflective of my personal taste.]