2022: A Playlist

Jan 06, 2023

It’s January here at Do You Know What I Love The Most?, and that means it’s time to sum up the last 12 months with Year End Lists! I’ll be devoting the rest of this month to rounding up and discussing the various media released in 2022 that meant the most to me — just like every other website on the internet! Isn’t that special?

To truly kick our Year End Lists off in earnest, I put together a playlist of songs that defined 2022 for me. The rules? Only one song per release, and the songs have to have been released in 2022. I did specifically sequence these songs to flow together in order, but it wouldn’t be very punk of me to say you couldn’t listen to them on shuffle either. If you know me or have been reading this newsletter for any period of time you probably know by now that my taste in music is rather niche, so this playlist is only representative of what I’ve listened to this year, and not at all of the “objectively best” music has to provide at large. I try to be a culturally literate as possible, but life is too short to listen to music you don’t like, no matter how good or popular it actually is.

2022: A Playlist can be found here on Spotify, or if that’s not your streaming platform of choice, it can also be found here on YouTube. Below I’ve also included a sentence or two of commentary on each track. I hope you guys can find something here you enjoy, if not in the music, than at least in the writing.

And it’s possible your email may cut off part of this article, so if you want, clicking through and reading in your browser may be a good idea!

“Mind Yr Own” — Camp Trash (The Long Way, The Slow Way)

Goddamn do the boys in Camp Trash know how to open up a record. I’ve listened to “Mind Yr Own” more than almost any other song this year and haven’t even begun to get sick of it — I know the lyrics are bleak, but it’s a track that makes me wanna jump around, pump my fist, and sing along. I’m so bummed I wasn’t able to see these guys live this year.

“Wyatt's Song (Your Name)” — The Wonder Years (The Hum Goes On Forever)

An ode to Wonder Years singer/lyricist Dan Campbell’s oldest son Wyatt, this is my favorite song of the year, hands down. I’m blown away by how it honors the band’s past and growth (With the way the chorus, “Your name’s the only one I like,” reflects upon and updates the now ten-year-old lyrics “all the kids names I've ever liked recited tragedy”), but I’m even more blown away by the sheer amount of love packed into this one little song. From memorizing Wyatt’s heartbeat to clearing the garden so he won’t cut his feet when he runs to simply waving goodnight to the moon together, “Wyatt’s Song” is bursting to the seams with unconditional love and acts of true kindness, so much that I can barely get through this one without getting choked up, even this long after its release. “Gonna grow you a place safer than this”? Goddamn, I wish Dan was my dad.

“Floating” — Teenage Halloween (The Homeless Gospel Choir/Teenage Halloween Split)

A thoughtful musing on the struggle of trying to float through life’s waters while keeping your head above the waves of despair, buoyed by its upbeat, bouncy tune and some delightful splashes of keys and horns.

“nothing says love like hydration” — Oso Oso (sore thumb)

I apologize for getting incredibly sappy for a minute, but “Nothing says love like a Gatorade/Nothing says love like hydration” is such a sweet idea to build a song around. Why, yes, simple acts of kindness, even just handing a friend a drink, really are the garden from which real love grows.

“Matilda” — PUP (THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND)

PUP singer/lyricist Stefan Babcock sings “Matilda” from the perspective of his first guitar, funneling his guilt over never playing the instrument anymore into a track filled with pained longing. As someone who has completely lost his shit and wept like a little baby at the end of Toy Story 3 every time he’s seen it, it works on me like gangbusters. I’ve shed tears over this damn guitar more than a couple of times this year.

“Please Don't Take Me Back” — Martha (Please Don’t Take Me Back)

Nostalgia has a way of blinding us, serving up a perfect reimagining of the past that conveniently ignores all its flaws. Martha understands, but won’t let us fall for it. “Take me back to the old days
Take me back to the glory days we had
Take me back to the old days
No wait, don't do that
I was really fucking sad
The old days were bad”
Thanks, Martha, I really need that reminder sometimes.

“(Kind of) Alone For The First Time” — Emmett O'Reilly (My Vacation)

Pkew Pkew Pkew bassist Emmett O’Reilly spins an evocative tale about the splintering of a friend group, and what it feels like to suddenly find yourself on the outside. Despite his loss, O’Reilly’s narrator seems to find some triumph in the situation, some satisfaction in learning how to be alone for the first time. God, the Pkew boys are such good storytellers, every one of them.

“I'm Not Getting Any Younger” — Matt Brasch (Days, Months, Years, Blood, Sweat, Tears)

I’ve always loved the back-up vocals Matt Brasch has provided to the Wonder Years over the years, so it’s a joy to get to see him take the lead on his Days, Months, Years, Blood, Sweat, Tears EP. Brasch’s voice is great, of course, but I’m also taken by the relentless, chugging guitar throughout much of the song. I don’t know if this makes sense or has much of anything to do with this track thematically, but listening to this song reminds me of being in the middle of a heavy storm and watching the world around you become engulfed. I love that music has the ability to paint a sonic picture like that.

“Old Clothes” — Tiger’s Jaw (Old Clothes)

“Old Clothes” is the title track from an EP largely made-up of B-Sides from last year’s I Don’t Care How You Remember Me, which was not only one of my very top albums of 2021, but which is also the record that made me finally fall in love with this band in the first place after so many years of being a casual fan. I truly love that we’re now entering the fourth calendar year of this album cycle; I kinda hope it never ends.

“One, Five, and Four” — hospital socks, Trevor Lozon (single)

I discovered Trevor Lozon on a podcast I listen to that tells the stories of former cult members; like myself, Lozon grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness and left as an adult, and his guest vocals on “One, Five, and Four” are the fulfillment of an already unlikely lifelong dream to be a professional musician that was made even more unlikely by his upbringing. hospital socks themselves also have a heritage that piqued my interest, with guitarist Miles Stevenson being the son of legendary Descendents1 drummer Bill Stevenson. I had to check the song out; thankfully, it absolutely rips, an intense, aching, heartfelt sonic journey. Very proud of these boys.

“Driving Through The Night” — Gregor Barnett (Don't Go Throwing Roses In My Grave)

Menzingers co-frontman Gregor Barnett’s first solo album is an interesting experiment with more than a few worthwhile songs on it, but it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that my favorite track is the one that sounds just like a Menzingers song.

“Lonely Island” — Knuckle Puck (Disposable Life)

I’d never really given Knuckle Puck a chance in the past, and I regret that now. I checked out the Disposable Life EP because of a blink-182 cover on it, but ended up being really blown away, and listening to the entire thing on a loop four or five times that night. “Lonely Island” is my favorite track on the EP because of that soaring chorus — even if it does remind me of a certain famous Taking Back Sunday chorus.

“Everybody but You” — State Champs (Kings of the New Age)

Spiting an ex by throwing a party and not inviting them is a plot straight out of a Nickelodeon sitcom, but it’s also a helluva fun concept to build a pop-punk song around. This song just makes me wanna dance.

“Nightcalls” — SUCKERPUNCH! (single)

Spotify has a tendency to, every few months, choose a song it thinks I will like and play it to death. Thankfully, “Nightcalls” is one of the few that I not only like, but haven’t gotten tired of yet. I know nothing about this band, but I should really dig into them further, cause “Nightcalls” slaps.

“Sea Level” — Dan Andriano & The Bygones (Dear Darkness)

I always get a kick out of hearing how far afield Alkaline Trio co-frontman Dan Adriano’s side projects drift from the Trio’s whole Masters of Darkness shtick; “Sea Level” is a catchy blast of pure rock Americana. I’ll admit that I keep mishearing the lyrics “are we bottoming out?” as “are we bottoming, now?” and I snicker every time .

“Kissing Lessons” — Lucy Dacus (single)

Sometimes you listen to a song that just changes you as a person, and “Kissing Lessons” — an ode to childhood friendship and tentative queer awakenings — is one of those songs. My words can’t do it justice. Just listen to this one.

“Dance With Me” — Joyce Manor (40oz. to Fresno)

My favorite song on a record packed front-to-back with absolute jams, “Dance With Me” just makes me want to dance. Puts a big ol’ grin on my face. The bouncy bass in the verse never fails to get my blood pumping, and then there’s that bridge that’s just built to pogo to! I’m so mad Joyce Manor hasn’t been playing this one live.

“Bye Bye Big Bear” — The Dirty Nil (single)

Early in the pandemic the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA closed its doors. The Chameleon Club was a shitty venue — cramped, slow lines, bad sight-lines, and beyond hot — but it was my shitty venue, a place where I’d made a lot of great memories. I mourned that venue despite doing nothing but complaining about it for years. The Dirty Nil feels my pain, and brings that same experience to “Bye Bye Big Bear,” a eulogy to the shitty little roach infested convenience store that had kept the band fueled throughout their entire career, there for them throughout all their ups and downs. It’s a testament to how, sometimes, the worst places are the ones that end up sticking with us the most. R.I.P., Big Bear.

“Something Loud” — Jimmy Eat World (single)

“Something Loud” is equally triumphant and reflective, a musing on one’s past that only a band with a past as successful and storied as Jimmy Eat World could pull off with such sincerity and lack of pretension. It’s always great to hear these guys go full rock star; they don’t do it enough.

“Safe Space” — Roe Knows Best (single)

I’m starting to notice a theme running through a few of these songs! I love the idea of creating a safe space for someone to just be themselves, but writing an ode to the people who have created those spaces for us in our lives is an idea I love even more. Of course, Roe O’Brien delivers these beautiful sentiments with her typical 90s rocker flare, ensuring they’re a blast to listen to from start to finish.

“Make It Happen” — The Early November (Twenty)

“Make It Happen” began life as an acoustic track on an EP early in The Early November’s career, and there couldn’t have been a more appropriate song to dust off and turn into one of the band’s most kick-ass, crowd-friendly anthems in celebration of their twentieth anniversary as a band. The ambitious, motivational, forward-thinking ethos found in this track and its lyrics is exactly the spirit that’s brought TEN success and kept them around all these years, even when times got tough.

“Fresh Pope” — Pkew Pkew Pkew (Open Bar)

I’m really fascinated by the way Pkew Pkew Pkew writes songs. My first reaction to “Fresh Pope” was to laugh at the idea of a punk song about choosing a new pope. Next it was to dance and shout along, cause it’s a pretty kick-ass punk song. But after a few listens what I finally noticed was how the song is really about staying home “sick” from work to watch TV and running across a story you never would have seen otherwise; it reminded me of being home sick from school as a kid and running across the strangest shit on daytime TV. That’s a really evocative story to build into such a silly, simple seeming song. Pkew Pkew Pkew pulls this shit off all the time — and they’re fun to dance to too?! Hell yeah.

“Pandora's Eyes” — Screeching Weasel (The Awful Disclosures of Screeching Weasel)

There’s an interesting character study buried in this otherwise fairly standard pop-punk track (not an insult, I love standard pop-punk, give me those four chords) involving an incredibly self-aware narrator crippled by his guilt, shame, and inability to change his cheating ways. I found it to be a nice touch that elevates this song above many of the others on this record.

“Edging” — blink-182 (single)

Yeah, yeah, this song is pretty stupid, but it’s hard to not fall for the first new track featuring the classic Mark, Tom, and Travis trio in over a decade. These fifty-year-old teenagers sure know how to write an ear worm.

“Unstoppable” — MXPX (single)

90’s pop-punk veterans MXPX haven’t put out a new full-length album of original songs since 2018, but have instead taken the very modern approach of releasing a few new singles every year. “Unstoppable” is yet another fun, inspirational pop-punk anthem from one of the most consistent bands in the scene.

“Girl Sports” — Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers (single)

This song is beautifully brutal, just a non-stop three minutes of these women utterly eviscerating misogynists in the scene set to some blistering hardcore shredding. This song makes me want to hit something.

“Pretty Songs” — Bob Vylan (Bob Vylan presents The Price of Life)

A sick hardcore protest song…about how protest songs are stupid and useless and violence and revolution are the only answer? What a fucking mood.

“This Is Why” — Paramore (single)

I didn’t like this one on my first listen and…yup, I was wrong. Just so very wrong. It’s such a strange song musically, kinda fraught and jagged, but that vibe becomes catchy very fast, and perfectly fits the story of betrayal and paranoia the song is telling. I can't wait to hear what the rest of the new Paramore album sounds like next year.

“You Can Do It” — Rumble Pack (Something To Get Stoked About)

Rumble Pack puts their own spin on children’s music, writing punk anthems with kid-friendly messages that their parents will want to dance along to too. This one is a bop, but as simple as its message is, its one us adults need to hear sometimes too. And I love the bits where singer Michael Hansen calls out to the listener, it’s so fun and he has such an interesting voice.

“Try” — Eddie Vedder (Earthling)

This song came on at the gym one day, and I liked it so much that I had to stop what I was doing to Shazam it; my jaw was on the floor when I saw it was from Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder. Look, I’ll freely admit that I haven’t listened to anything else on this record at all. I’m not ready to be the kind of Guy who listens to solo Eddie Vedder records. But “Try” still slaps.

“I USED TO DRAW” — Signals Midwest (Dent)

I was recently introduced to Signals Midwest via “Your New Old Apartment,” a track all about the pain of seeing your friends so rarely as an adult, but also the joy of watching your friends thrive and rooting for them from afar. It left me weeping in my car on the way to work the first time I heard it (and every time since). After checking out this year’s Dent I can safely say that Signals Midwest brings this same sense of bittersweet longing to all their best songs. “I USED TO DRAW” hit me especially hard as a kid who grew up filling book after book with his scrawlings but eventually drifted away. “I used to draw everything/I lived in all-day-long daydreams/I wanna live like that.” “So when you're ground-down and grey/In those gradient weekdays/Just remember the gift/Is that you get to keep doing it.” How can your heart not be moved by that? How can you not listen to this song and not want to go out and make all your dreams come true?!

“Good Reason” — Future Teens (Self Help)

How do you move forward in life when all the traditional coping mechanisms you’ve been given just aren’t working anymore? Is there any use in trying to follow the Golden Rule when you can’t stand yourself? How much longer can the optimism of “everything happens for a good reason” keep us afloat? “Good Reason” finds the Future Teens grappling with these heady questions alongside their listeners. They find no answers, and the track is all the better for it.

“Southbound and Sinking” — Dashboard Confessional (All The Truth That I Can Tell)

I haven’t exactly kept up with Dashboard Confessional over the years, but a friend suggested their new album, and I’m glad I checked it out — it’s very much in the style of their best, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most. “Southbound and Sinking” is a song filled with heartbreak and longing, as all the best classic emo ballads are; its chorus has been stuck in my head all year even as the other songs on this record, nice as they are, failed to make a lasting impression. This one is also four minutes of Chris Carrabba simping for an unattainable woman, but I suppose that’s classic emo too — it works, despite itself.

“Sun Hotel #2” — The Menzingers (On The Possible Past)

On The Possible Past is the first official release of the On The Impossible Past demos, in honor of the landmark album’s 10 year anniversary. I don’t normally get a ton out of demos, and that holds true for most of these too — but then there’s “Sun Hotel #2.” It’s an entirely different song than the “Sun Hotel” that would eventually make the album, a far more somber version of those events, devastating in a way the Menzingers’ triumphantly nostalgic Americana anthems rarely are. “And you told me again, ‘Greg I prefer more handsomer men, but for you tonight I will make an exception’”? Devastating. The song closing on an utterly unconvincing “I don't even think of you that often”? Absolutely devastating! This is better than the album version by a country mile.

“Dream Born Again” — New Found Glory (single)

I’m honestly not that big of a fan of acoustic songs, and especially of full-on acoustic albums, and especially of full-on acoustic albums from punk bands. I love New Found Glory, but I was not excited to get new acoustic songs from them. But you know what? This track slaps. I can admit when I’m wrong. Acoustic or not, it still manages to be upbeat and catchy, and Jordan Pundik’s voice sounds especially good to me on this one. I’m not normally the kind of guy to notice this, but the production just sounds especially crisp and really makes the track pop. Yeah, I like this one a lot.

“More Than It Hurts You” — The Front Bottoms (Theresa)

The Front Bottoms have a way of adding these silly little moments of levity to their songs that really make them shine, and the call and response exchange of “'Cause everybody here is tripping some new drug except for me’ ‘Why?’ ‘'Cause I don't have the money’” is one of their best. It just makes me laugh and puts me in a good mood, as does the rest of this song.

“Oblivion” — Smokin' On Planes (single)

After writing several mini-essays throughout this piece, it’s actually a bit of a relief to find a song I can’t analyze my way out of. I can’t tell exactly what story the lyrics are trying to tell, but they evoke thoughts of loneliness, alienation, and isolation, and that’s a really cool trick. I could listen to the harmonies on the “OOHs” in this one all day long.

“Blue Eternal” — Said the Sky & Motion City Soundtrack (Sentiment)

I don’t really know much of anything about DJ/Producer Said the Sky, and could take or leave the flashy production flourishes he mostly likely brings to this track, but you know what, I’ll thank him anyway for getting us a new Motion City Soundtrack song. I’ll always, always, always cheer for that.

“El Dorado” — Prince Daddy and the Hyena (Prince Daddy and the Hyena)

This track kinda feels like three different songs mashed together, but all three work really well, both separately and combined. Singer Kory Gregory gets to show off multiple sides to his voice, and again, I’m a sap who just loves the sentiment here. “I’m stuck. Let’s get unstuck together.” Awwww.

“You Always Want To Bomb The Middle East” — Cheekface (Too Much to Ask)

Cheekface has a knack for writing fun, peppy songs with lyrics that sound like complete nonsense on first listen, yet often have deeper meaning if you care to go digging for them. “You Always Want To Bomb The Middle East” essentially compares the grotesque war-lust of most governments to a friend with an annoying habit or hobby they just can’t help themselves from bringing up over and over, and the metaphor works cause, yeah, we all know that guy!

“Cold Truth” — JER (Bothered/Unbothered)

“Cold Truth” is another withering takedown of entitled internet jackasses from everyone’s favorite ska advocate JER. The keys in this one absolutely rule. But my favorite part of this track is when JER tells their critics they need to pay them for their time then drops their Venmo handle right in the middle of the verse. King Shit right there.

“Raised by Wolves” — The Interrupters (Into The Wild)

Speaking of ska, the ever-consistent Interrupters are back with a new record. “Raised by Wolves” is another raucous single; like most of Into The Wild, it digs into singer Aimee Allen’s troubled childhood, bringing a new, personal, cathartic touch to the songs that hadn’t been present in their past material.

“Caroline Told Me So” — Mikey Erg (Love at Leeds)

Sometimes all you want is a minute and a half of fast, super-catchy pop-punk, and when that urge hits, who better to turn to than scene veteran Mikey Erg himself? He’s got us covered.

“What's Up?” — Mom Jeans (Sweet Tooth)

I kinda feel like this song was made just for me. Plaintively depressing lyrics paired with super peppy music, expertly straddling that fine line between pop-punk and emo while being a quintessential example of both genres? Shit rocks. One of my absolute favorite songs of the year.

“Panic Button” — Zachary Ross and the Divine (Rebuilding Heaven)

I’m genuinely surprised by how much I like both this song and the entire EP it comes from. Zachary Ross’ songwriting has improved since his Man Overboard days; I’m not normally one for electronic flourishes or vocal effects in songs, but I think they work really well here to strengthen and amplify Ross’ voice; I love the way the song switches from mid-tempo to a faster pace, with Ross’ voice escalating and exploding in response; even the kinda goofy bridge is so achingly sincere that it manages to circle around to actually stick the landing. Every aspect comes together with “Panic Button” to create a total jam, a full package pop-punk banger.

“Conscious Uncoupling” — Pool Kids (Pool Kids)

Oh my god, “Conscious Uncoupling” is absolutely devastating. Set in the moments after the break-up of a long-term relationship, “Conscious Uncoupling” opens with the narrator somberly realizing all the experiences they’ll never have with their ex again, but that sentiment quickly sours into anger and fury, then a desperate hope for acceptance that’s a long way off. The lyrics expertly dance between these frantically oscillating emotions, and the music just as skillfully reinforces each, taking the listener through the narrator’s fraught emotional journey; by the time the song is over I feel like I just went through a devastating break-up, too. “Conscious Uncoupling” is so well made that it’s exhausting to listen to, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

“Red, White, and Blue” — Proper. (The Great American Novel)

Like much of The Great American Novel, “Red, White, and Blue” is an attempt to come to terms with the turbulence of growing up in America as a queer person of color, in this case using the metaphor of an abusive relationship to frame the narrator’s experiences with his home country. It’s intense and heady stuff, like all of Proper.’s best tracks.

“Anime Flashbacks” — Carpool (single)

Carpool was a recommendation from a friend; I love it when friends recommend music to me, and even moreso when they nail my taste. I really dig the sparse, nostalgic lyrics and touches of synth in this one.

“The Cooliest? Don't Ruin It” — Carly Cosgrove (See You in Chemistry)

This song is so uplifting. The vocals, the guitar, the lyrics, they all feel so soft and light, like they’re lifting you up. There’s such optimism contained in this track — cautious optimism, to be sure, but optimism nonetheless, and it’s refreshing to hear a track that celebrates having a good thing while it’s still good.

“Back at 45” — Justin Courtney Pierre (Permanent Midnight)

With “Back at 45,” Motion City Soundtrack frontman Justin Courtney Pierre has penned a sweet, catchy little dittie about aging somewhat gracefully, but the real grace note on this one is Pierre’s daughter adding her commentary over the track, jumping in to harmonize or to criticize certain lyrics. It’s beyond adorable, and really helps highlight one of the biggest reasons why Pierre’s life has gotten better as he’s aged.

Speaking of songs about being a parent, that’s a perfect segue into our closing track…

“You’re The Reason I Don't Want the World to End” — The Wonder Years (The Hum Goes On Forever)

Okay, I broke my own rule and included The Wonder Years on this list twice, but there was no way I wasn’t closing my playlist out with this track. “You’re The Reason I Don’t Want the World to End” is such a perfect encapsulation of what makes The Hum Goes On Forever such an incredible album, and in fact, a summation of many of the themes explored elsewhere on this playlist as well. After opening the record by admitting “I don’t want to die…or maybe I do,” Dan finds his son’s glove in his coat pocket and is reminded of all the reasons he has to go on — no matter how terrifying the world becomes, no matter how dark his own mind feels. “I don’t want to die, because I got to protect you. You’re the reason I can’t leave here yet. The reason I don’t want the world to end.” That’s goddamn beautiful. I’m no dad, but I can certainly see myself in this song. I think almost all of us have a reason we don’t want the world to end, something or someone to remember when shit is at its bleakest — or, if we don’t yet, there’s one out there for us if we approach life with the open, empathetic, communal approach the Wonder Years champion.

“Put the work in. Plant a garden. Try to stay afloat.”

ABOUT

“Do You Know What I Love the Most?” is a newsletter from Spencer Irwin about his relationship with the stories he loves. Spencer is an enthusiast and writer from Newark, Delaware, who likes punk rock, comic books, working out, breakfast, and most of all, stories. His previous work appeared on Retcon Punch, One Week One Band, and Crisis on Infinite Chords, and he can be found on Twitter at @ThatSpenceGuy. If you like this newsletter, please subscribe and share with your friends!

The Descendents, of course, are longstanding titans of the pop-punk scene who made it onto 2021’s “Top Albums” list here at Do You Know What I Love The Most?

Do You Know What I Love The Most?

2022: A Playlist

ABOUT

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