The end of the year is fast approaching and for the first time in a long time, I am feeling less curmudgeonly about the state of music. There were some surprise releases from old favorites, and I also got hooked on some new favorites. I'd like to think this is an eclectic variety, but honestly, most of them are fast and catchy, just in different genres. Here's the first half of the list:
50. Tiny Moving Parts-Day Drunk: I got into this band in 2018 or so and they haven't quite bettered their efforts on breathe in 2019, but this is a nice little single to kick off the list.
48. Rise Against- Last Mand Standing: Sure Rise Against has put the same album out since 2008, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is probably the best song off their EP Nowhere Generation II.
47. Millyz/Jadakiss- Rearview Mirror: I honestly have no idea how this ended up on my radar, but it gives nostalgic Hip Hop vibes and I'm here for it. Do I know which one is rapping at a particular time? No, but it still hits in the headphones (edit-upon video review I know who is who).
46. Magnolia Park- Addison Rae: I found out who Addison Rae was when I debated with one of my seniors for a project that the Tik Toker was not in fact overrated. She actually is, but like her appeal to people who like to watch her dance, Magnolia Park has found an appeal making catchy pop-punk in 2022. You can find this as well as a few other good jams like "Drugs" and "Radio Reject" on their new album, Baku's Revenge. The music video also begins with a cameo from Finn McKenty, a YouTuber that I follow, so that's a fun connection.
45. De'Wayne-Good Mood (feat. grandson): With influences of Pop-Punk, Emo, and Hip-Hop spattered throughout his catalog, it's no surprise for De'Wayne to find his way onto this list. Alt Press' list once again leads me to this artist, who also put out "Die Out Here" and "Take This Crown" in 2022. One note I learned in research about him is that he apparently is or was dating Willow Smith.
44. Neck Deep-STFU: Childish sure, but it's catchy and fun. Unfortunately for Ben Barlow, this isn't even close to the best thing he did in 2022, which was on a song that will appear much farther down the list. It's unfortunate because it's not even a Neck Deep song.
43. Taylor Swift-Lavender Haze: I had a student say, "If Taylor Swift wasn't in your Spotify Top 5, did you even listen to music?" Well, she was in my Top 5 and it's because of this song and a couple others off her decent release Midnights. Personally, it takes a step back from Evermore and Folklore, but this song bumps in just the right way with its weird background vocals and killer chorus.
42. We the Kings- When We Were Young (feat. Derek Sanders): An appropriate name for a song in 2022 from a band that was cut from the same cloth as those featured in the famous Las Vegas concert this fall. It sounds like the good old days and even borrows guest vocals from Mayday Parade frontman Derek Sanders to really reinforce that it's 2008 in your stereo.
41. New Found Glory-Dream Born Again: A nice little acoustic jam from the Easycore kings, but it turns out there are more to come, as they are set to drop an acoustic album in January. "Get Me Home" kind of sounds like the same song, so here's to hoping that it's not just 11 tracks of this song on repeat.
40. State Champs-Eventually: An early contender for my album of the year, State Champs dropped Kings of the New Age back in May and it features a Top 5 jam, and several other strong candidates, including "Sunflower" which features Four Year Strong. 2008 is alive and well in 2022.
39. The Wonder Years-Oldest Daughter: This is an album of the year candidate as Dan Campbell (not of Lions kneecap-biting fame) put out one of the most heartfelt records of 2022. Campbell tackles quarantine, and parenthood, and in "Oldest Daughter" revisits an old character from a previous album. This is Philly as only Campbell can paint it and it hits at a time in my life when I am anxious about the same things.
38. Simple Plan- Ruin My Life (feat. Deryck Whibley): A precursor to The Blame Canada Tour, Simple Plan shocked me by releasing a decent song in 2022 with the lead singer of Sum 41. Bands like this were coming out of the woodwork to drop bangers and this isn't even the highest appearance for a Canadian singer/band because there are at least three more and none of them is Alexisonfire because that was not my favorite release of this year.
37. 408-Mark Hoppus (feat. Joshua Roberts/Kellin Quinn)- When did I know that 2022 was going to be my year for music? Well, it happened when I watched an homage to the "What's My Age Again" video for a song about the Blink-182 lead singer, who will also make an appearance on this list. Surprisingly, it's not for his surprisingly-mid song "Edging" that they released with Tom DeLonge back on vocals. If you don't know who Joshua Roberts is, then you won't be shocked to learn that he is Magnolia Park's frontman and boy do I love Magnolia Park. Kellin Quinn from Pierce the Veil also offers his talents.
36. Alice Merton-Loveback: I promised more Canadians and this German-Canadian just makes some of the most fun little bops. I've been a fan of Merton since "No Roots" and S.I.D.E.S was not as strong as Mint, but it does also feature "Vertigo" which made the best of 2021 when it was released as a single.
35. Silverstein-Die Alone: It seems like years ago that Silverstein released Misery Made Me, but it was just May that the album dropped. Building off their momentum from A Beautiful Place to Drown (2020), Shane Told and Co. have long established themselves as having staying power in my playlist since they first appeared in 2003 when "Smashed Into Pieces" was on every Victory Records sampler. This song even gets a boost from fellow Canadian Andrew Neufeld, who also released an album with Comeback Kid in 2022 (check out "Face the Fire" on that album).
34. Bring Me the Horizon-Strangers: These British rockers have reinvented their sound in multiple ways since their Deathcore days, but this accessibility has led to great things for them in their home country with three-straight Top 5 albums. This song actually found better success on American rock charts, but its catchy chorus helps chug this song along for me.
33. blackbear-Nothing Matters (feat. New Found Glory): I must admit that blackbear was my least favorite part of All Time Low's "Monsters" and as much as my niece loves him on Machine Gun Kelly's "my ex's best friend", I was not a fan. So when he released an album with a bunch of early 2000s musicians, I was leary. But as fate would have it, he makes not one, but two appearances from his album In Loving Memory. For this catchy track, he enlists Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory to help give it a boost.
32. Avril Lavigne- All I Wanted (feat. Mark Hoppus)- Oh Canada, you pulled out all the stops to bring nostalgia to 2022. Even Bryan Adams dropped an album, that's how Canadian 2022 was. Still, the most surprising was this venture from the Queen of Pop-Punk as she made a return to rock after her chilled-out release Head Above Water in 2019. And of course, this is on my list, I love Mark Hoppus and everything he does, except "Edging".
31. Machine Gun Kelly-Maybe (feat. Bring Me the Horizon)- I admit that I enjoyed MGK's foray into Pop-Punk on Tickets to My Downfall, but Mainstream Sellout was not the same enjoyment. In fact, only this song, which is boosted by those sweet Oli Sykes' vocals, is salvageable from that chore of an album.
30. Death Cab for Cutie- Here to Forever: This just sounds like old-school Death Cab and that's great because I'll be prepping for that all next year before going to see Ben Gibbard pull double duty in September. "Pepper" is also a decent song that comes off Asphalt Meadows.
29. Maddy Hicks-Kinda Over It: Earlier this year, Finn McKenty released a video with pop songs for people who like alternative music. This was one of those songs, and it is a real portrait painted by this young artist of what it's like to be in a toxic relationship. I can't personally say I have any experience in that department, but she conveys it well and it's got a great hook. The only real downfall is that you cannot sing this in public.
28. Belmont-Fully Sent: Belmont dropped my favorite record of 2020 and also took home song of the year with "By My Side". Aftermath was not as strong of a follow-up, especially the head-scratching song "Country Girl", but "Fully Sent" carries vibes of Reflections and got the most plays in 2022 for this group. "Advanced Darkness" also received some airtime as well.
27. Movements-Barbed Wire Body: Movements has become one of my most listened-to bands with most of it coming from 2017's Feel Something. Still, "Barbed Wire Body" was in heavy rotation as well because Patrick Miranda's voice is so appealing to my ears.
26. Lupe Fiasco-100 Chicagos: Almost like spoken word, "100 Chicagos" is a surprise entry from a rapper I enjoy, but who hasn't released anything I've listened to since 2017's "It's Not Design". Hip-hop got a strong push from releases like this, although most people will remember 2022 rap for that awful Drake album.
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