I’m going back in time and creating video playlists in homage to Matt Pinfield’s iconic 120 Minutes. 2021 proved to be a tough year to hold to my “only official music video” goal. Even so, this list has twenty-eight great videos that capture the spirit of our 31 Songs list from that year.
Read MoreHere’s to Matt Pinfield and the amazing show that was 120 Minutes. We watched every episode, even if only we wound up liking only a handful of videos. But 120 Minutes was always entertaining, diverse, and engaging. In tribute we offer a video playlist based on our 31 Songs from 2022.
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Of late it feels like music was slumped over the wheel, exhausted from years of struggle against a cruel pandemic and concert grift. It’s not like we didn’t find great songs, but the contenders’ list was often short. Even favorites didn’t always come to the table with winners.
Then comes 2022, swinging in like an exuberant toddler who is way ready for nap time to be over. We had around 150 albums in the evaluation queue, dwarfing lists from recent years. Most albums had more than a few banger tracks which made picking the shortlist pretty tough.
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31 Songs isn’t super formal but we do use guidelines to help us wrangle all the music we could include into a list we can process. Here’s the criteria we use to create our playlists:
Read MoreEvery year brings old and new faces alike, even if they all arrive masked. We’re starting to see artists adapt to the reality of a post-pandemic world where performance, recording, and fandom have all taken some strange turns. Music abides, though, and artists persevere despite significant obstacles.
Read MoreFuck Covid. Music isn’t going anywhere. Live shows may have ground to a halt. Musicians are learning entirely new skills, mastering the live streaming broadcast. And we’re seeing a whole new side of our favorite artists, often set in their living rooms.
Read MoreA solid dozen new faces this year, and another eight making their second appearance. Buckle up for some new stuff.
Read More2018 sees the return of several favorite and familiar artists: Elvis Costello, the Decemberists, Editors, Neko Case, Richard Thompson, and Metric.
Read More2016 was no easy year and to say 2017 is somehow better would really miss the mark. So many musicians lost across so many ages and all lost too soon: Grandaddy, Steely Dan, Husker Du, Smithereens, Tom Petty, Glen Campbell. These are the musicians of my youth, my adulthood, and my life. With their passing come new artists rising to comfort a saddened world and recharge a weary soul.
Read MoreDavid Byrne turned me onto this stunning psychedelia compilation from West Africa. He was moved to eulogize the passing of his friend, William Onyeabor, an amazing talent I am only now discovering. I am pretty dumbstruck by how amazing this is and I hope you are, too.
