When I say February was rough… I mean it was the kind of rough where I spent several days not listening to music. Not for comfort or emotional release. Not in the background. Nothing. I was ready and expecting the end results to be slim or full of repeats but, somehow, I did find a lot of new songs this month. They’re not really happy and the love songs are few, but—as always—music did help me get through in the end.

            We still kept our rules: no more than 20 songs per month, no more than 1 song per artist (not including features or collabs), and no more than 3 songs per compilation album. This helped trim it down from 35 new “Likes” in February to more manageable numbers. At the end of the year, only songs from each of these monthly lists are eligible for the Best Of list. I will also start indicating old favorites (versus new finds) with an asterisk* since that will make it clear which ones are automatically out of the running.

            So, which songs did come into play?

1. “Kilby Girl” by The Backseat Lovers ~ So we chase jack with love
2. “Vienna” by Billy Joel* ~ It’s all right, you can afford / To lose a day or two, ooh
3. “Duvet” by bôa ~ I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning
4. “Lua” by Bright Eyes ~ But what’s so easy in the evening / By the morning’s such a drag
5. “Tommy” by Claud ~ You keep the lights down low, keepin’ your eyes closed
6. “Jigsaw” by Conan Gray ~ Killin’ parts of myself to fit you / Clear as shit I was not the issue
7. “Miserable Man” by David Kushner ~ We’ll take our chances after all these letdowns
8. “Doing the Right Thing” by Daughter ~ Then I’ll sit in silence / Let the picture soak
9. “Poke” by Frightened Rabbit ~ And now we’re unrelated and rid of all the shit we hated
10. “Hunger” by Florence & The Machine ~ I thought that love was a kind of emptiness
11. “Could Have Been Me” by Halsey ~ I wanna live better days
12. “Meant to Be Yours” by Jamie Muscato and the Original West End Cast of Heathers ~  You carved open my heart! / Can’t just leave me to bleed!
13. “reckless driving” by Lizzy McAlpine feat. Ben Kessler ~ And one day it’ll kill us (would you hold me when we crash?)
14. “Possibility” by Lykke Li* ~ Tell me when you hear my silence
15. “Fat Funny Friend” by Maddie Zahm ~ I’ve drawn out in Sharpie where I’d take the scissors
16. “Painkillers” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise ~ Think of all the things you’ll be missing
17. “Notion” by The Rare Occasions ~ I’m sure there won’t always be sunshine
18. “Better Off Dead” by Sleeping With Sirens ~ And the demons that she has are all she knows
19. “Begin Again (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift* ~ I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny ’cause he never did
20. “How Long” by Tove Lo ~ I know it takes some time / To feel the pain of losin’ a lie

            A lot of this came off a great playlist I found that fit the mood I was stuck in. Some of them are old standards of depression. Otherwise, the few highs I found carried me through. I have hope I’ll find songs that move me in many ways in March: to dance, to sing, to cry, to laugh, or more. All I ask is for something other than silence.

            Until then, find your own musical happiness; or, you can discover the ongoing What I’m Listening To in 2022 playlist here.