Long Was The Year: A Playlist
"Sleep long and fast / Let the past be the past"
The following is an attempt to distill the past 12 months into 50 songs. Some of it is my favorite music released this year, some are older songs that I became obsessed with for an extended period of time, and a few are otherwise representative of the year in one way or another.
I’ve included more details about the tracklist after the cut (much in the style of my friend Gen’s excellent weekly playlist newsletter) but it’s rather long and self-indulgent so my feelings won’t be too hurt if you don’t read all of it. The only thing I ask is that you please listen to the playlist in order. If you don’t use Spotify, you can listen to it on YouTube here; a couple of the songs aren’t on Spotify anyway.
It was not a very good year but some very good things did happen. I saw new cities and old friends and listened to a lot of music that I’d never heard before. I felt sorry for myself most days. I stood with my feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my memory; I was forced to begrudgingly admit that Lake Michigan does resemble the sea when standing on its freshwater shore. I managed to do some writing; I was even told some nice things about this writing. I started teaching myself how to cook! I went to museums and cinemas and libraries and playhouses and cried in almost all of them. I read The Lord of the Rings. I cut my hair. I lived.
Happy holidays to everyone. I say it every December but it always bears repeating: may the next year be kinder on us all.
— ECT
1. Broadcast, “Long Was The Year” from The Noise Made By People, 2000.
Well, what else is there to say?
2. The National, “Patterns of Fairytales” from Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, 2003.
I maintain that Matt Berninger is one of the greatest contemporary lyricists, but I can admit his songwriting is a little uneven on the first two National albums—he didn’t seem to hit his lyrical stride until Alligator in 2005, and even then that record has some extreme clunkers. The lyrics on this track from their sophomore album are unusually sharp for that period: “I guess you must be somewhere breathing / Where skin and everything still know what they are for / And blood remembers where to go…”
3. Nilüfer Yanya, “midnight sun” from PAINLESS, 2022.
4. The Smile, “The Opposite” from A Light for Attracting Attention, 2022.
5. Shygirl, “Woe” from Nymph, 2022.
6. The Beta Band, “Inner Meet Me” from The Three E.P.’s, 1998.
Almost all of the scant writing I was able to accomplish this year was done while listening to this band.
7. Dry Cleaning, “Anna Calls From The Arctic” from Stumpwork, 2022.
“Everything’s expensive and opaque and privatized.”
8. Jucifer, “Amplifier” from I Name You Destroyer, 2002.
My roommate Dan had been bugging me about listening to this band for a while because he thought I would like them, and (unsurprisingly) he was correct. Fun fact: the 2020 film Sound of Metal is based on the real-life couple that forms Jucifer.
9. Wet Leg, “Convincing” from Wet Leg, 2022.
10. Myslovitz, “To nie był film” from Z rozmyślań przy śniadaniu, 1997.
My friend Ola, who introduced me to this band, told me that they were sometimes described as “Polish Britpop” (lol) back in the 1990s.
11. Fontaines D.C., “Nabokov” from Skinty Fia, 2022.
12. The Mountain Goats, “Extraction Point” from Bleed Out, 2022.
13. Pavement, “Secret Knowledge of Backroads” from Slanted & Enchanted, 1992.
Stephen Malkmus originally wrote this while he was still in Silver Jews, David Berman’s band, but I prefer this version recorded with Pavement. “I’ve never felt like I do now…”
14. Ethel Cain, “Thoroughfare” from Preacher’s Daughter, 2022.
I am often resistant to the artists that become abruptly popular in certain online circles, but I have to admit the Tumblr girlies were right about this one. The histrionics on this track in particular remind me a little of some 1970s songstresses and a lot of the unspecific Americana imagery popularized by Lana del Rey. That sounds like a dig but I swear it’s a compliment.
15. Todd Rundgren, “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference” from Something / Anything?, 1972.
I finally watched the extended director’s cut of Almost Famous this year, which briefly revived my interest in classic rock.
16. Harry Nilsson, “I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City” from Harry, 1969.
17. Wilco, “Can’t Stand It” from Summerteeth, 1999.
18. MGMT, “Indie Rokkers” from Time to Pretend (EP), 2005.
This EP is inextricably linked to the season two finale of Skins UK in my mind. Nevertheless I still think it holds up.
19. Sports Team, “The Drop” from Gulp!, 2022.
Thank you to Gen for this song/album as well as the next.
20. Dogzilla, “Lunch With Ed” from Allizgod, 1989. (on YouTube)
There is very little information to be found about this Boston-based band except for a couple of frustratingly crappy live performances that have been uploaded to YouTube. (My research has been further complicated by the existence of another band called Dogzilla in the early aughts as well as a book titled Dogzilla written by the same guy who wrote Captain Underpants.) In a parallel universe they were Boston’s answer to Faith No More.
21. Viagra Boys, “Punk Rock Loser” from Cave World, 2022.
This album isn’t nearly as clever as it wants to be, but a couple of songs do slap.
22. Outkast, “Dracula’s Wedding (feat. Kelis)” from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, 2003.
23. Young Fathers, “Geronimo” from Geronimo (Single), 2022.
I was probably one of maybe five people in the entire universe who actually saw the Trainspotting sequel when it came out in 2017 (and I was definitely the only person who saw it twice in theatres), but I’m glad that I did because if nothing else it introduced me to this Edinburgh-based band. Young Fathers if you’re reading this PLEASE tour in the United States next year!!!!!
24. Japanese Breakfast, “Sit” from Jubilee, 2021.
25. Big Thief, “Blurred View” from Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, 2022.
26. Fleetwood Mac, “Warm Ways” from Fleetwood Mac, 1975.
Christine McVie forever and ever and ever.
27. Sasami, “Take Care” from Take Care (Single), 2019.
28. SZA, “20 Something” from Ctrl, 2017.
SZA released this about a month before I actually entered my twenties. I probably would have been less excited about that milestone if I knew just how accurate this song would turn out to be.
29. Miya Folick, “2007” from 2007 (EP), 2022.
I admittedly wasn’t in love with this EP compared to her earlier music, but these songs sounded amazing live. If you ever get the chance to see a Miya Folick concert, I urge you to attend—she’s an incredible performer.
30. Stereolab, “Anonymous Collective” from Emperor Tomato Ketchup, 1996.
“You and me are molded by things well beyond our acknowledgment…”
31. Yo La Tengo, “The Room Got Heavy” from I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, 2006.
32. Buffy Sainte-Marie, “He’s A Keeper of the Fire” from Illuminations, 1969.
If I hadn’t gotten into Radiohead shortly afterwards, this would have been my most-played song of 2022 because I listened to it on loop for all of February and most of March.
33. Fanny, “Last Night I Had A Dream (orig. Randy Newman)” from Mothers Pride, 1973.
Possibly the most underrated band of the 20th century—maybe even the most underrated band of all time. Please do yourself a favor and watch this live performance of this song.
34. L7, “Till the Wheels Fall Off” from Smell the Magic, 1990.
L7 is probably best remembered for the somewhat unexpected popularity of their 1992 Butch Vig-produced single “Pretend That We’re Dead,” as well as the definitely unexpected incident a few months later, when frontwoman Donita Sparks threw her used tampon at some hecklers in the audience at the Reading Festival.
35. Hole, “Plump” from Live Through This, 1994.
“Was Pitchfork Right To Rank Live Through This Above Nevermind On Their Best 90s Albums List" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
36. Britney Spears, “Heaven On Earth” from Blackout, 2007.
37. Beyoncé, “VIRGO’S GROOVE” from RENAISSANCE, 2022.
My friend Laura said that this album sounds like the music RuPaul thinks he’s making.
38. Sudan Archives, “#513” from Natural Brown Prom Queen, 2022.
39. Anika, “Masters of War (orig. Bob Dylan)” from Anika, 2010.
They played this song over the speakers right before Pavement came on the first time I saw them. It sounded fucking incredible (those drums!), to the point that I was almost disappointed that the song was cut off by the band’s entrance. For a couple weeks after the show I struggled to discover what the song actually was, but I eventually prevailed!
40. Radiohead, “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box” from Amnesiac, 2001.
In retrospect it’s a little ridiculous that I didn’t listen to Radiohead at all until this year. Then again having access to “My Iron Lung” as a teenager would have probably made me ten times more insufferable than I already was, so I guess I should be thankful for small miracles. This was my #1 most played song in 2022.
41. Lorelei, “Caterwaul” from Asleep (EP), 1993. (on YouTube)
I was briefly obsessed with this band during my shoegaze phase in 9th grade but had been unable to remember their name for years. I finally figured out who they were a few months ago—I could have wept at the shocking familiarity of their music after nearly a decade without it.
42. Blur, “Country Sad Ballad Man” from Blur, 1997.
43. Swirlies, “Bell” from Blonder Tongue Audio Baton, 1993.
44. Pinback, “AFK” from Summer in Abaddon, 2004.
Thanks to Gen for this one as well. “I miss you / not in a Slint way / but I miss you…”
45. Mitski, “I Guess” from Laurel Hell, 2022.
46. The Lemonheads, “My Drug Buddy (Demo)” from It’s A Shame About Ray, 1992.
47. Julia Jacklin, “End of a Friendship” from PRE PLEASURE, 2022.
48. Low, “Laser Beam” from Things We Lost in the Fire, 2001.
Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk formed Low in 1993 and remained the only two consistent members of the band until Mimi’s death a couple months ago. She just had the loveliest voice.
49. Fat White Family, “I Believe In Something Better” from Serfs Up!, 2019.
Probably the most devastating read of my life came from Ola after I’d posted something about this band: “i googled fat white family when you were talking about them yesterday…and then i saw they are british and thought: of course they are british, emilia was posting about them. and then the next thing i saw in articles i clicked is that they argue a lot, all of them have drug problems and apparently the lead vocalist has a good creative chemistry with the guitarist???? i was like, yeah. of course. of course.” YEESH!!!!
50. WHY?, “Simeon’s Dilemma” from Alopecia, 2008.
Like most of the music I listened to in my early teens, I first discovered this song because a cool girl I followed on Tumblr reblogged it. If I remember correctly, she put this song on a mix CD she gave to her crush in their senior year of high school; if I’m not mistaken, she and that boy are still together today. Back then the premise of the song—someone’s 25th birthday—seemed impossibly far away. At the time my life felt very small and I could not imagine that I would ever live to see a quarter of a century. This year on my birthday my dear friend Graham texted me the opening lyrics of the song: “Today you’re twenty-five, I made you something fine, it’s in the palm of my new hand…”