WILT

What I’m Listening To: 2022 Honorable Mentions

Another full year of WILT is done. Each month I kept track of my favorite songs and albums, but plenty didn’t make the cut. A lot of decent songs were buried in the backlog, but I’m here to bring them to light. These songs have stood the test of time and deserve a shout-out for their lyrics, vocals, rhythm, emotive quality, or for a memorable quality. Below, we have 2022’s Honorable Mentions list.

Our rules still stand: no more than 20 songs, no more than 1 song per artist (not including features), and no more than 3 songs per compilation album. Additionally, the artist could previously appear on WILT as long as the particular track hasn’t. Each song will be marked with the month it first appeared in my ‘Likes’ to indicate its longevity. Only a limited number of songs from this playlist will qualify for my Best Of mix (because we’re being fair here).  These twenty tracks were culled from the remaining 214 ‘Liked’ Songs of the year.

Let’s give some attention to the underdogs.

  1. “I wanna love you but I don’t” by Ben Platt ~ April ~ I think it sucks that you’re perfect / ‘Cause you’re not perfect for me
  2. “SUMMER RENAISSANCE” by Beyoncé ~ August ~ I’m gonna trust you even though we met tonight
  3. “1985” by Bo Burnham ~ June ~ How can I be what I am, but 40 years ago, gee-whiz?
  4. “Her Body Is Bible” by FLETCHER ~ July ~ I like your T-Swift T-shirt on the ground
  5. “Poke” by Frightened Rabbit ~ February ~ To make you feel you’re with someone who deserves to be with you
  6. “The Bug Collector” by Haley Heynderickx ~ June ~ To put the priest inside a jam jar
  7. “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) – Bryce Miller/Alloy Tracks Remix” by Journey ~ July ~ True love won’t desert you
  8. “Moderation” by Lilyisthatyou ~ March ~ When the party’s over and it’s just you
  9. “hate to be lame” by Lizzy McAlpine feat. FINNEAS ~ April ~ What if the stars never aligned?
  10. “Night Shift” by Lucy Dacus ~ February ~ In five years I hope the songs feel like covers
  11. “MEAN!” by Madeline The Person ~ May ~ Projecting on me will never be the way to fix you
  12. “GASLIGHT!” by Maggie Lindemann and Siiickbrain ~ July ~ Shouldn’t love a girl, just to tear her down
  13. “Class of 2013 – Audiotree Live Version” by Mitski ~ July ~ Mom, am I still young? Can I dream for a few months more?
  14. “Tears Over Beers” by Modern Baseball ~ February ~ I’m friendly and thoughtful and quite awfully pretty / But he needed more than me
  15. “Riches and Wonders” by The Mountain Goats ~ October ~ I learn foreign and exotic terms of endearment
  16. “touch tank” by quinnie ~ July ~ Do you wanna wake up to me every morning?
  17. “Love Abuser (Save Me)” by Royal & The Serpent ~ December ~ I would kill to be yours
  18.  “Presumably Dead Arm (617 Sessions)” by Sidney Gish ~ March ~ I wanna know your passwords
  19. “Bad Habit” by Steve Lacy ~ November ~ I know I’ll be in your heart ’til the end
  20. “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants ~ July ~ Even old New York was once New Amsterdam

Obviously, July was a great month for music and it was hard to narrow it down the first time. Compared to last year, this list is more skewed toward rock/alt/indie with a bit of pop thrown in. A lot of these artists appeared on the main lists, but plenty didn’t. Regardless of their placement, these songs and artists were a part of my 2022 and deserve some love. Who knows what honorable mentions 2023 will bring?

Until then, we can enjoy the complete What I’m Listening To in 2022 playlist here.

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