Saturday, December 3, 2022

ThisSmallPlanet Best Music of 2022


             ThisSmallPlanet.com BEST MUSIC 2022

TOP TEN ALBUMS

Ben Harper. Bloodline Maintenance.
Big Thief. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You.
Dropkick Murphys. This Machine Still Kills Fascists. 
John Doe. Fables in a Foreign Land.
Kurt Vile. (watch my moves).
Robyn Hitchcock. Shufflemania!
Toro Y Moi. Mahal.
Tyler Childers. Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?
Vieux Farka Touré. Les Racines.
Weyes Blood. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow.



ALBUMS

50 Foot Wave. Black Pearl.

The Afghan Whigs. How Do You Burn?

Al StewartSparks of Ancient Light. Produced by Laurence Juber.

Andrew Bird. Inside Problems.

Angel Olsen. Big Time. Also a cool single of a different version of "Big Time" with Sturgill Simpson 

Ben Harper. Bloodline Maintenance

The Beths. Expert In A Dying Field.

Big Thief. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You.

Black Midi. Two albums: Cavalcovers (covers) and Hellfire.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy. High and High And Mighty Parts 1 & 2

Bright Eyes. The Companion albums. Conor Oberst redoes some early songs with help from Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee, and M Ward.

Buddy Guy. The Blues Don't Lie. Best Song: "I've Got A Feeling" (Beatles cover)

Calexico. El Mirador.

Charlie Musselwhite. Mississippi Son.

The Chats. Get Fucked. Check out "The Price Of Smokes". Aussie punk rock at its best.

CLAMM. Care.

Danger Mouse & Black Thought. Cheat Codes.

Dave Stewart. Ebony McQueen.

Dropkick Murphys. This Machine Still Kills Fascists. Lyrics by Woody Guthrie. "Dig A Hole" even features an archival Woody Guthrie vocal recording blended into a contemporary Dropkick Murphys performance. Brilliant.

Dry Cleaning. Stumpwork.

Elysian Fields. Once Beautiful, Twice Removed.

Fontaines D.C. Skinty Fia.

Gently Tender. Take Hold Of Your Promise! Sam from Palma Violets great new album. "Heaven Ho!" is a fave.

Gogol Bordello. Solidaritine.

Hugh Cornwell. Moments Of Madness.

John Doe. Fables in a Foreign Land. Best song: "El-Romance-O"

Idles. Crawler.

Karen Elson. Green.

Kevin Morby. This Is A Photograph. Also liked his song "Beautiful Strangers" on AirBnB ads.

Kurt Vile. (watch my moves).

The Mars Volta. The Mars Volta.

Mdou Moctar. Niger EP Vol 1 & Niger EP Vol 2.

MJ Lenderman. Boat Songs. He also did a cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' "Perfect" that was cool.

Neko Case. Wild Creatures.

OFF! Free LSD.

Oneida. Success.

Panda Bear & Sonic Boom. Reset (Expanded Edition).

Peter Doherty and Frédéric Lo. The Fantasy Life Of Poetry And Crime

Phil Manzanera. The Ghost of Santiago. Roxy Music guitarist's eclectic worldly joint

Plains. I Walked With You A Ways. Featuring Waxahatchee & Jess Williamson - Indie Country.

Robyn HitchcockShufflemania!

Steve Earle. Jerry Jeff.

Sudan Archives. Natural Brown Prom Queen.

Titus Andronicus. The Will to Live.

Tomberlin. i don’t know who needs to hear this...

Toro Y Moi. Mahal.

Trombone Shorty. Lifted.

Ty Segall. "Hello, Hi"

Tyler Childers. Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?

Vieux Farka Touré. Les Racines & with Khruangbin, Ali, a tribute to his late father.

Weyes Blood. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow.

Willie Nelson. A Beautiful Time.

Yard Act. The Overload.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Cool It Down. Also enjoyed singer Karen O doing "Under Pressure" with Willie Nelson (David Bowie & Freddie Mercury cover)

Yungchen Lhamo. Awakening.


SINGLES


Andrew Bird. "I Felt A Funeral, In My Brain" (feat Phoebe Bridgers). An Emily Dickinson poem set to music.

Anna Calvi. "Red Right Hand" (Nick Cave cover) from Tommy (for the show Peaky Blinders)

Beton. "Kyiv Calling". The Clash's iconic "London Calling" re-purposed for our times.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy. "Outsider" (Dee Dee Ramone/The Ramones cover)

Carla Olson. "I Can See For Miles" (The Who cover).

Dropkick Murphys & The O'Hamsters. We Shall Overcome (Ukrainian Version)

Eddie Vedder. "Long Shadow" (Joe Strummer cover).

Jake Xerxes Fussell. "The River St. John" from Tiny Desk Concert.

Joe Strummer. "Fantastic".

Lana Del Rey. "Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd." (Title song of a new album releasing in March 2023).(Name checks Harry Nilsson's 1974 song "Don't Forget Me".)

The Linda Lindas. "Racist, Sexist Boy"

Parquet Courts. "Watching Strangers Smile".

Phoebe Bridgers. "So Much Wine" (feat Andrew Bird) & "Sidelines" & "The Day After Tomorrow" (Tom Waits cover).

PJ Harvey. "Who By Fire". Leonard Cohen cover for the show Bad Sisters.

Quilloughby. "Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You)" (feat Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons). Morrissey parody.

Rowan. "Irish To My Bones".

Sparklehorse. "It Will Never Stop", newly discovered song by the late, great Mark Linkous.

Stephen McCarthy & Carla Olson. "Night Comes Falling".

Storefront Church. "Words" (Low cover, tribute to the late, great Mimi Parker of Low). Featuring Phoebe Bridgers.

Waxahatchee & Wynonna. "Other Side".

Wet Leg. "Chaise Longue".



ARCHIVAL


The Beatles. Revolver (Super Deluxe Edition).

David Bowie. Moonlight Daydream and Divine Symmetry feat "I'm Just Looking For A Friend"

The Chieftains. Bear’s Sonic Journals: The Foxhunt, The Chieftains, San Francisco 1973 & 1976. Recorded by The Grateful Dead's soundman extraordinaire Oswald "Bear" Stanley, it's an extraordinary document of one of the best Irish trad bands in their prime.

Kate Bush. "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)". Kate enjoyed a revival thanks to the show Stranger Things.

PJ Harvey. B-Sides, Demos & Rarities




BOOKS


Barbara Dane.

Bob Dylan.

Songs of Slavery And Abolition.


Some themes that colored the year...

WOODY GUTHRIE


Dropkick Murphys. This Machine Still Kills Fascists. Lyrics by Woody Guthrie. "Dig A Hole" even features an archival Woody Guthrie vocal recording blended into a contemporary Dropkick Murphys performance. Brilliant.


UKRAINE

Gogol Bordello. Solidaritine

Dropkick Murphys & The O'Hamsters "We Shall Overcome" (Ukrainian Version)

Children of Trostyanets. "War Is Your Name"

Julian Lennon. "Imagine" (For Ukraine)(John Lennon cover).

Pink Floyd. "Hey Hey Rise Up"/"Great Day For Freedom"

Beton. "Kyiv Calling". The Clash's iconic "London Calling" re-purposed for our times.


AFRICAN DESERT BLUES

Mali, Niger


JOE STRUMMER/THE CLASH


Eddie Vedder. "Long Shadow" (Joe Strummer cover).

Joe Strummer. "Fantastic".

The Clash. Combat Rock.


GOOD ALBUMS FROM VETERAN ARTISTS OVER 60

Hugh Cornwell

Al Stewart

Dave Stewart