By Karen Glauber

Prior to the break, I didn’t have time to focus on much besides finishing the year with The 1975 solidly in the Top 10, while attending to my kid’s seemingly endless flu. After bingeing the new season of Emily in Paris, my brain was malleable enough to assemble my list of favorite albums/songs of the year. So, with all the fanfare I can muster, my five favorite albums of 2022 were: 1) Spoon’s Lucifer on the Sofa, 2) The 1975’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language, 3) Arcade Fire’s WE, 4) Wet Leg’s Wet Leg, 5) Phoenix’s Alpha Zulu and The Lumineers’ Brightside (tied).

My favorite songs were the ones I heard on SiriusXM’s XMU and Alt Nation during my commute to and from the kid’s school, including The 1975’s “Part of the Band” (any song that references Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud is a guaranteed favorite), Spoon’s “My Babe” (stop everything you’re doing and listen to this now), Wet Leg’s “Chaise Song” (which was also my favorite song of 2021), The Head and the Heart’s “Virginia (Wind in the Night),” Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” f/Perfume Genius, Mitski’s “The Only Heartbreaker,” Windser’s “Memory,” Arlo Parks’ “Softly,” beabadoobee’s “The Perfect Pair,” Arcade Fire’s “Unconditional 1 (Lookout Kid)” and ” Florence + the Machine’s “My Love.” Without question, my favorite book of 2022 was Beggars honcho Nabil Ayers’ memoir, My Life in the Sunshine (I’ve read it twice).

2022 was the year I recommitted my love for Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, whose YouTube series, Justin Hawkins Rides Again, is must-see viewing. Brilliant.

Sure, I got COVID at a Beach House show, but their latest Sub Pop album, Once Twice Melody, is one of their best.

There was no bigger musical highlight of 2022 than my kid’s b’nai mitzvah, which was held after soundcheck at an AJR show (every kid’s rite of passage should include a private performance of “Dear Winter,” followed by a game of dodgeball with the band). The kid and I also flew to Chicago to see their favorite artist, Addison Grace, play a sold-out show.

How do we make 2023 even more compelling? The focus should be on the artist. Radio should just play the best music and STOP LOOKING AT CALL-OUT. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.

The Internet is ON FIRE with footage from Thursday night’s The 1975 show at the O2 in London, during which Taylor Swift performed “Anti-Hero” for the first time, as well as a rendition of The 1975’s “The City.” I read about it in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Stereogum, etc., and saw the footage on every social-media platform. There is no bigger rock band than The 1975 right now. The band’s KROQ performance from November has over 150k YouTube views. Talk about branding! I’m only ever this obsessed when Ted and I know that we’re right. “I’m in Love With You” is the perfect Valentine’s Day song. How can something so obvious be so difficult? I’m seriously getting a migraine.

God bless Wet Leg and the band’s five Grammy nominations! When they’re in L.A. for the Grammys, the band will be opening for Harry Styles for his three make-up shows at the Forum, just as Domino launches the new single, “Angelica.” Please shove your call-out and file Wet Leg in the category of NEW BANDS THAT MATTER.

Also, while I can’t see the screen (the aforementioned migraine), let 2023 be the end of the insanity where a spin on a station with a 0.1 in the ratings counts the same as a spin in L.A. Can we finally make an audience chart the standard? Give the indie labels a more level playing field on which to compete! Finally!

SONG TO HEAR: IDLES’ “Crawl!” The band is nominated for TWO Grammys—Crawler for Best Rock Album and “Crawl!” for Best Rock Performance. Brought to you by your friends at Partisan Records.