Music that moved me in 2022

The blog reignites this week with a belated look back at the music of 2022. This ritual has occurred most every year since 2005 and must carry on, regardless of what life throws my way.

One of the most interesting developments of the year was courtesy of the Netflix show Stranger Things — I would never have believed Kate Bush would have a big top 5 hit at this late date, and it was great to see a quirky ‘80s tune like “Running Up That Hill” sprinting up the chart.

Looking at music released in or not too far from 2022, heritage acts pretty much defined my year in music as tabulated by last.fm based on both my streaming and local listening. Tears for Fears claims both the album and single crown with The Tipping Point and “No Small Thing,” respectively. Duran Duran’s stunning Future Past was the number two album (it also took the runner-up spot for 2021), and ABBA took number three with Voyage. I was obsessed with the lyrics to “Don’t Shut Me Down” for much of the year (like a dream within a dream that’s been decoded, etc.).

My first reaction to The Tipping Point was to walk away from it, because the pomp and grandeur of TFF does not, at first listen, seem to be there. It is, though, on a more subtle scale. The gentle guitar strums that open the album on “No Small Thing” are a fake-out, as the song gradually builds to an intoxicating crescendo. It is a beautiful album that, in the TFF cannon, bears the most resemblance to the post-split Elemental. This would be a fine swan song, but I hope they have another one or more in them.

The heavy rotation of Future Past placed a stack of songs in the top 50: “Wing,” #15; “Future Past,” #28; “Invisible,” #35; “Nothing Less,” #36; and “All of You,” #46.

I had a pretty good bit of memorial airplay going on in 2022, bringing Vangelis in at #27 with the rousing instrumental “Chariots of Fire” and Olivia Newton-John at #78 with the rousing ‘80s pop of “Physical.” Meat Loaf is in there as well with three six- to eight-minute placings from the Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell album.

What’s so hot about the Hot 100? // This year again finds three points of crossover between my chart and the Hot 100, surprisingly all in the top 10 of the Hot 100.

— As It Was • Harry Styles // #2 Billboard, #72 Me

— Ghost • Justin Bieber // #8 Billboard, #49 Me

— Cold Heart (Pnau remix) • Elton John and Dua Lipa // #10 Billboard, #58 Me. This one actually topped my rolling chart with a long run at #1 in the second half of 2021 and finished at #38 for 2021. I love it that Elton John, after being frozen out of the pop chart for the last couple of decades, made the top 10 of the year on the Hot 100 with this fantastic mashup.

Click here to go down the rabbit hole with past years' recaps.