PREAMLBE

Over 2021 I cataloged every piece of decent-to-good media I consumed in my phone’s notes app.

I mean everything. Podcasts. Movies. TV shows. Music. If I didn’t hate myself for wasting time afterwards, it went in the list.

Starting January 1st, 2022, I began writing little reviews concerning each piece with the intention of turning my thoughts into a simple 10 minute video. But the more I went on, the less and less interested I became in actually making the video itself. It was fun to write the list, reminisce on the past year, but I didn’t really want to edit everything down into something consumable for other people. It was just, kinda, for me?

So around February I ditched the whole idea of making a video, and here we are.

I’ve decided to share my thoughts with you dear reader, but in order to get to the good stuff, you’re going to have to READ! Mwhahahahaha!

Thank you for giving even a half ounce of care in regards to my opinions on these things. And here we goooo!

Wanna skip the thoughts and go straight to the music? Here’s a sampler playlist

MF DOOM

I wish I could say I had heard the late MF DOOM’s music before his passing in early 2021. After checking out his discography last year, it’s clear to me that the world lost a one-of-a-kind artist. He had lyricism that poured on the rhyme but was still easy to parse and full of emotion, subject matter that both embodies and challenges hip hop ideals, and beats that’ll absolutely rip you upppppp.

Rapp Snitch Knishes? One Beer? Hoe Cakes? I listened to Meat Grinder like 100 times!

My personal favorite album is MM…FOOD, but I get it if you’ve got opinions on that because DOOM was a masterpiece maker. Every single record this guy put out is thematically strong and full of lore surrounding his various personas. He’ll hit you with something real and personal, while simultaneously creating larger than life worlds of fantasy and adventure. Fantastic.

The villain may be gone but his art will live on in the countless people he continues to inspire. RIP.

Geese – Projector

Funky, pulsating, rock with a mystic bend, Geese is the music you hear before the cult sacrifices you to the lizard king. It’s like if LCD Soundsystem and The Strokes had a baby and raised it in the woods.

70s style grooves, vague chanting lyrics, and zippy vocal delivery that’ll occasionally hit you with that falsetto goodness. You want glittery guitars? We got them. Syths with weight? We got them. A percussionist that’ll drive that the ritualistic dance until that dude in the weird headpiece finally sets the pyre I’m tied to ablaze? Here you go!

For a debut this is insanely promising and I can’t wait to see where this project goes next. Favorites include Rain Dance, Disco, and Opportunity is Knocking.

Tyler the Creator – CMIYGL

WE GOT OUR TOES OUT!

Some of Tyler’s best bars with dreamy vacation style production, braggadocio, and THE FEATURES! Holy crap the features are easily best of the year. Youngboy Never Broke Again & Ty Dolla $ign on WUSYANAME were framed in a completely new light for me. Lil Wayne goes so ham on HOT WIND BLOWS that you’d think he was a butcher. DJ Drama doing the DJ Drama thing is smart and funny and good. (It took me a bit to get used to since I didn’t grow up on hype mixtapes, but when I leaned into it, WOOF it was over.)

Despite the all the money-focused 2000s throwback seen on the surface of this album, Call Me If You Get Lost is actually a thematic heartbreaker where nobody comes out clean or happy. It’s about getting everything you want, having nothing you need, and hurting people in the process. It’s about coping with your loneliness and past, and trying to find positivity along the way. Despite that generally being a hard-fought battle.

Nothing is clear cut on CMIYGL. One second Tyler’s talking about “I ain’t never had anxiety” and but the song right before he “Felt like the boat goin' down, it felt like I'm missin' a paddle” It’s this wonderful juxtaposition that gives you a very clear vision of the whole record.

As always when you’re talking Okonma, the visuals are INSANE. Wes Anderson-y color pallets, clothes that are equal parts tailored and casual, campy green screen with plenty of practical stuff too - when are we getting a full length feature? Please. I need this.

HAIM - Women in Music pt. 3

The Haim sisters have been making quality music for a while now but I think Women In Music Pt. 3 is my favorite album they’ve ever put out. It’s everything you expect from a Haim record, track after track of these perfect harmonies, smart song writing, and classic country folk inspiration. (mixed with a dash of R&B)

BUT!

It also dives into all these unexpected places too! The opening track, Los Angeles, kicks things off with this fantastic Jazzy beach vibe. All That Ever Mattered is like just a few feet away from being a classic 80s rock banger. And the haunting simplicity from Man from the Magazine? Straight up had to take my headphones out and pause when I heard it for the first time. Devastating.

It’s cool to see a family trio experimenting at such a high level - putting out music that feels complete and nuanced. Bravo.

I.H. - Let Me Do One More

My expectations for this Illuminati Hotties record were incredibly high after listening to the singles.

(Pool Hopping and MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA are 100% Bangers Bangers Bangers)

But somehow Sarah Tudzin still managed to surprise me!

All Rippers No Skippers isn’t a meme. It’s real.

Kickflip and u v v p throw in these like country cowboy yee haw vibes that I can really yippie kai yay with. The Sway is a brutal modern lullaby with this hopeful streak that filled my heart right back up. Joni: LA’s No. 1 Health Goth is my favorite track on the album, with gleeful, viscous, merriment of the highest order.

I’ve seen some people online questioning if this is the last IH record. Apparently the past few have been AWFUL to make, and I mean, check the title? But I really hope the crew simply takes a break for a while and comes back stronger because I am in love with this band at this point and desperate for more.

Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure?

Ever heard of a dude named Anthony Fantano? The Needle Drop? Melon?

In a lot of ways he’s sort of like the YouTube equivalent of a Roger Ebert… but for music.

His review can launch your career or cause album sales to drop. The man truly has that much influence at this point. And guess what his best album of 2020 was? Yeah. This one.

Now, I didn’t know that when I first listened to Jesse Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure, but after taking in this massive project I totally get why he rated it highly. This record is sooooo polished with vivid disco beats that are anything but dated and an orchestral side that will send your soul to heaven if you listen too closely. The vocals are elegant, punchy, and never outstay their welcome. The lyrics are catchy, emotional, and creative. It’s old school pop with a new school approach, a winning combination if ever there was one.

Highlights: Soul Control, What’s Your Pleasure?, Read My Lips, Spotlight, Please, Impossible, Hot N Heavy, oh shoot I’m basically listing the whole thing. Just listen to all of it.

Lil Nas X - Montero

This dude said NO! Not Today! I will NOT be a 1 hit wonder!

A cavalcade of genre that manages to be very personal, mega catchy, and have a deceptive edginess, Montero is kind of a miracle album.

There are tons of good features (Miley Cyrus is amazing here), it balances being playful and serious on a razor, and comes across as focused despite exploring so many concepts.

Name any other artist who can put a song like That’s What I Want in the same lineup as Life After Salem and it sound cohesive. You can’t. And that’s the mark of a truly original voice in music.

P.S. It’s insane that Lost in the Citadel exists. Okay. Just had to say that before moving on.

Kanye West – Donda

There are people featured on Donda who should be in prison. Kanye West himself is a mentally unstable individual with a sea of problems. And the whole thing is about 30 minutes too long.

But Donda RIPS.

Sorry y'all. I wish it didn't honestly. Please don't cancel me.

But I think it kinda rips.

Complete with a gimmick filled rollout and massive delays Ye is way closer to making albums like he used to with this project. The man busts out some truly godlike production, inspired lyrics (as well as a buncha corny ones), and a slew of unexpectedly amazing features.

The song Jail manages to be both anthemic AND dreamy. BUT then you have Heaven and Hell – full of a wild power that I absolutely love. Jonah, Hurricane, and Moon sound GORGEOUS! And that Lauryn Hill sample on Believe What I Say is incredibly well done. It could have been such a flub.

Kanye isn't really breaking a ton of new ground with the writing here but he covers a lot. His upbringing, his relationship with fame/the media, faith, mental illness, politics, and of course his breakup with Kim Kardashian.

Top to bottom this record feels open. Vulnerable. Like a complicated guy with absolutely nothing to prove processing a difficult season of life. It can be pretty indulgent and doesn't always make sense, but like, that's who this dude is?

And when the songs sound this good, with wordplay this clever, and some genuine emotion behind it...I gotta be honest. It rips.

Flo Milli - Ho Why is You Here?

I feel ultra-late to the Flo Milli train, but oh my goodness, this album goes insanely hard. Cutting delivery and punchy beats paired with untouchable rich girl princess lyrics makes for an unapologetically rad listening experience.

AND THOSE HOOKS! SO CATCHY!

It's no wonder she went TikTok viral like a billion times.

Cake Pop 2 – Cake Pop

Dylan Brady from 100 Gecs and a bunch of their friends got together to release a new collaborative album and its ALL HYPERPOP KILLERZ ALL THE WAY DOWN. Cake Pop 2 may not be the deepest most complex rich future type stuff that critics wanted, but critics suck. Give me an album of pure electric energy like this from people who love their craft and are leading the charge for a weird niche genre ANY DAY.

The lyrics are 90% nonsense. The beats go so hard that they almost blew the speakers out in my car. It’s 20 minutes of a jubilant sonic playground.

Black Rum, Almost Famous, WHISTLE! Put em in the spotify queue. Right now. Do it.

Hey, Ily – Internet Breath

Nostalgia heavy pop punk mixed with screaming breakdowns and FREAKIN’ CHIPTUNE - Hey, Ily feels like a project specifically created just for the band itself, but is easy to enjoy! A unique sound with whining hooks, kinda sappy but heartfelt lyrics, and that oh so important X factor: coolness.

Yum yum yum I eat it all up. Pretty Boi and Don’t Talk About It are standouts. I’m ready for that album already!

Jeff Rosenstock - Ska Dream

My man put out one of the best records of 2020 and then said, “HEY! LET’S MAKE IT SKA!”

And it was good! Unironically good!

Jeff Rosenstock clearly has a fondness for this style of music and was daring enough to remix his own songs to a point that they have an entirely new life. No fat here to be seen. Just a completely fresh way to experience an album that’s only a year old! It’s a celebration I won’t soon forget.

Highlights: Airwalks, Horn Line, Old SKrAp

SOPHIE

Just like with MF DOOM I found the work of SOPHIE posthumously.

In 2017 I just about broke my headphones listening to Vince Staples Big Fish Theory on repeat, which was produced in part by SOPHIE, but I had no idea at the time. Then this year my younger brother Max began playing Immaterial Girl in the car and I absolutely lost my mind.

I was already on the 100 Gecs hyperpop train, listening to Underscores and blackwinterwells and the occasional Charlie XCX, but SOPHIE and was so different compared to all of them. Brighter. Wilder. You can tell she was pioneering a sound that the world is just now catching up to.

In general, their style is to combine a hodgepodge of surreal electronics that will cause most casual listeners to scratch their heads on a first pass. Its Avant Garde. Weird. A glittering abstraction that’s not always easy to groove with. But then by that second pass you’ll hit a track that’ll just flow into you, and in that moment, you’ll get it. And you’ll never stop getting it.

Immaterial Girl is probably SOPHIE’s most accessible track and its 100% my favorite. But the entirety of the OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES album is worth a listen. Singles like BIPP and VYZEE are also tracks you shouldn’t ever leave home without.

It’s a great tragedy that we lost SOPHIE when we did. Especially in such unexpected fashion. But even with such a short time on earth, their influence on music is already felt, and will be for years to come.

Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

My brothers both got REALLY into Olivia Rodrigo last year. I think she might have been Timmy’s most listened to artist? Anyway, I liked Sour a lot too and felt it deserved a place on my list. Quality vocals, cool production that jumps all over the place in terms of genre, and anthemic lyrics that are still clever in their own right. Every song on this album is good.

Traitor is high school breakup equivalent of that scene in Indiana Jones 2 where that dude eats a human heart. Déjà vu gives me chills. Good 4 U is doing its dead level best to bring back pop punk. Brutal is a downright AFDJBSLKHDAGHOSD:GLJKSAGN:SG. Like how did Disney okay that one? I’m obsessed with Brutal.

I hope Olivia Rodrigo keeps making music like this.

Remi Wolf

What genre is Remi Wolf’s music? Honestly, it’s hard for me to pin down. Pop, funk, a little soul, but also it doesn’t fully feel like any of these things. I guess it’s better to just lean in and embrace the freedom rather than give it a category anyway.

Sometimes Remi will just launch into a baby talk breakdown. Sometimes she’ll add in a cartoon sound effect. Sometimes she’ll even get real with you. It’s great! The I’m Allergic To Dogs ep is sick and Juno is a mega solid follow up.