Celeste

Feelin’ U: The Top Albums and Songs of 2022

The Top 50 Albums of 2022

1. Moor Mother- Jazz Codes

Review.

2. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

Review.

3. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores

4. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted

Review.

5. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

6. Rosalía- Motomami

7. Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

Review.

8. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry

9. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

Podcast discussion.

10. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees

11. Sarah Davachi- Two Sisters

Review.

12. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

13. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti

14. Tim Bernardes- Mil Coisas Invisíveis

15. Brad Mehldau- Jacob’s Ladder

Review.

16. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

Review.

17. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho

18. Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet- Evergreen

19. Miranda Lambert- Palomino

20. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

21. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

22. Sault- (God)

23. Matthew Shipp Trio- World Construct

24. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Review.

25. Beyoncé- Renaissance

Review.

26. Hermon Mehari- Asmara

Review.

27. Samantha Ege- Black Renaissance Women

28. Danger Mouse and Black Thought- Cheat Codes

29. Tyshawn Sorey- The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism

30. Nduduzo Makhathini- In The Spirit of Ntu

31. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

32. Carolin Widmann- L’Aurore

33. Robert Levin- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Piano Sonatas

34. Megan Thee Stallion- Traumazine

35. Gerald Clayton- Bells on Sand

Review.

36. iLe- Nacarile

37. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

38. Lucrecia Dalt- ¡Ay!

39. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

Review.

40. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77

41. Wilco- Cruel Country

Review.

42. Sault- 11

43. Tedeschi Trucks Band- I Am the Moon III: The Fall

Review.

44. Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Rais- Fauré: Complete Songs

45. Clarice Jensen- Esthesis

46. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel

47. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

Review.

48. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

49. Sault- Air

Review.

50. 2 Chainz- Dope Don’t Sell Itself

The Top 50 Songs of 2022 (Spotify playlist)

1. Porridge Radio- “End of Last Year”

2. Kae Tempest featuring Lianne La Havas- “No Prizes”

3. Celeste- "To Love a Man"

4. Anna Butterss- "Doo Wop"

5. Ice Spice- “Munch (Feelin’ U)”

6. Jana Rush featuring DJ Paypal- “Lonely”

7. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- "How Good It Is"

8. Lee Fields- "Forever"

9. Rod Wave- "Cold December"

10. More Eaze featuring Claire Rousay- "floor Pr. 2"

11. DJ Snake- “Disco Maghreb”

12. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

13. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

14. Kaitlin Butts- “She’s Using”

15. Soul Glo- “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmya–)”

16. Drake- "Down Hill"

17. Leikeli47- “LL Cool J”

18. Babehoven- “Fugazi”

19. Sunny Sweeney featuring Vince Gill- “Married Alone”

20. Cécile McLorin Salvant- “Ghost Song”

21. Steve Lacy- "Bad Habit"

22. Aldous Harding- “Fever”

23. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

24. Blackstarkids- “Sex Appeal”

25. Camilo and Nicki Nicole- "Naturaleza"

26. Hailey Whitters- “Everything She Ain’t”

27. Plains- “Hurricane”

28. Big Joanie- “In My Arms”

29. Horse Lords- “Rundling”

30. SleazyWorld Go featuring Offset- “Step 1”

31. Rauw Alejandro featuring Baby Rasta- “Punto 40”

32. Cole Swindell- “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”

33. Willie Nelson- “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

34. Tank and The Bangas featuring Lalah Hathaway and Jacob Collier- “Where Do We All Go”

35. Drake and 21 Savage- “Major Distribution”

36. SZA- “Kill Bill”

37. Big K.R.I.T.- “So Cool”

38. Emily Nenni- “On the Ranch”

39. Ohma- “Seeing Beyond What Is Here”

40. Thotcrime- “You’re Like a Black Hole, The Way You Expect My Life to Revolve Around You”

41. The Smile- “Opposite”

42. Jon Pardi- “Mr. Saturday Night”

43. Lyle Lovett- “12th of June”

44. Animal Collective- “Cherokee”

45. Hiatus Kaiyote- "Get Sun (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix)"

46. Coi Leray- "Players"

47. Leland Whitty- "Awake"

48. Regina Spektor- “Becoming All Alone”

49. Craig Finn- “Messing With the Settings”

50. Peter Lehndorff- “Nothing Can Change”

The Top 25 EPs of 2022

1. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

Review.

2. Tom Skinner- Voices of Bishara

3. Drug Church- Hygiene

4. DJ Premier- Hip Hop 50, Vol. 1

5. The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City

Review.

6. Sault- Aiir

7. Iceboy Violet- The Vanity Project 

Review.

8. Shabaka- Afrikan Culture

9. Your Old Droog- Yod Stewart

10. Christian Nodal- EP #1 Forajido

11. Christina Aguilera- La Fuerza

12. Flee Lord- Pray for the Evil 3 

13. Duckwrth- Chrome Bull

14. Ryley Walker- So Certain

15. Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim- The Wolf On Wall St. 2

16. WiFiGawd- Chain of Command

17. Chubby and the Gang- Labour of Love

18. Brain Tourniquet- Brain Tourniquet II

19. Lil Uzi Vert- Red & White

20. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges- Texas Moon

21. Otoboke Beaver- Super Champon

22. Portico Quartet- Next Stop

23. Elvis Costello- The Resurrection of Rust

24. Flatland Cavalry- Songs to Keep You Warm

25. Lil Ugly Mane- I Believe the World Would Be a Better Place Without You

The Top 25 Reissues, Compilations and Reimaginings of 2022

1. Charles Stepney- Step on Step

2. Saturno 2000: La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983

Review.

3. Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7

Review.

4. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences

Review.

5. Prince and the Revolution- Live

6. Son House- Forever On My Mind

Review.

7. The Beatles- Revolver: Super Deluxe

8. Ray Charles- Live in Stockholm 1972

9. Pastor Champion- I Just Want to be a Good Man

10. Bert Jansch- Bert at the BBC

11. The Pyramids- Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings

Review.

12. Quattro Modigliani- Schubert: The String Quartets

13. Elton John- Madman Across the Water: Deluxe Edition

14. África Negra- Antologia Vol.1

15. Andrew Cyrille, Elliott Sharp and Richard Teitelbaum- Evocation

16. Pavement- Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal

Review.

17. Biluka y Los Canibales- Leaf-Playing in Quito, 1960-1965

18. Geri Allen, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian- Live at the Village Vanguard: Unissued Tracks

19. Cecil Taylor- The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall N.Y.C. November 4, 1973

20. Charles Mingus- The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s

21. Norah Jones- Come Away With Me: Super Deluxe Edition

22. Nancy Mounir- Nozhet El Nofous

Review.

23. Marius Constant- Xenakis: Syrmos, Polytope de Montréal, Medea, Kraanerg & Oresteia

24. Staples Jr. Singers- When Do We Get Paid

25. Pauline Oliveros and James Ilgenfritz- Altamirage

March 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Original image of the curtain call of UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in March)

1. Rosalía- Motomami

Unparalleled pop.

2. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

Lethal minimalism.

3. Nigo- I Know Nigo!

Elite rappers (and Kid Cudi) collaborate with the polymath.

4. Brad Mehldau- Jacob's Ladder

My review.

5. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

Buffalo barbarity.

6. Drug Church- Hygiene

Unclean.

7. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

A ravishing rendition of the mesmirizing opera.

8. Sélène Saint-Aimé- Potomitan

Expansive jazz from France.

9. Destroyer- ​​Labyrinthitis

A not entirely embarrassing form of yacht rock.

10. Cécile McLorin Salvant- Ghost Song

Spectral art music.


Top Ten Songs (Released in March)

1. Kae Tempest and Lianne La Havas- "No Prizes"

Gold.

2. Celeste- “To Love a Man”

Torched.

3. Fana Hues- "Bad Bad"

Wicked good.

4. Normani- "Fair"

Un-break my heart.

5. The Supremes- “Witchi-Tai-To”

Wut.

6. Your Old Droog- “Fela Kruti”

“Music for people who check their email in the club.”

7. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

Rock down to electric avenue.

8. Lous and the Yakuza- “Kisé”

Mosh pit? Mosh pit!

9. Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lupa- “Sweetest Pie”

Irresistible empty calories.

10. Ho9909 featuring Bun B- "Slo Bread"

Inspired collaboration.

Top Ten Performances of March

1. Sparks- Crystal Ballroom

My review.

2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Roseland Theater

My review.

3. UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte- White Recital Hall

My Instagram snapshot.

4. Ted Poor and Cuong Vu- Jack London Revue

My review.

5. Steve Cardenas- recordBar

My review.

6. Arnold Young and the RoughTet- The Ship

My review.

7. Vanessa Rubin- Lincoln Hall

My review.

8. Timber Rattle- 9th & State

My review.

9. Angela Ward Trio- Blue Room

Herbie Hancock endorsed my Instagram video.

10. Pat Metheny in Kansas City: The Genesis of Genius- Polsky Theatre

My review.



Last month’s survey is here.

A Tough Pill to Swallow: The Top 50 Songs of 2021

Screenshot of Injury Reserve’s “Knees” video by There Stands the Glass.

My ranking of the fifty new songs I loved most in 2021 bears little resemblance to There Stands the Glass’ Top Albums of 2021 list.  The disparity is intentional.  A forthcoming accounting of the 50 best live performances I caught in 2021 will contain further deviations.  Injury Reserve’s disquieting “Knees” meant the most to me in recent months.  The rest of the songs are sequenced by personal preference with a bit of flexibility for optimal playlist appeal.  Here’s the Spotify playlist.


1. Injury Reserve- "Knees"

2. Coi Leray- "No More Parties"

3. J Balvin and Skrillex- “"In Da Ghetto"

4. Tokischa and Rosalía- "Linda"

5. Priya Ragu- "Lockdown"

6. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

7. Cake Pop, Pritty, Aaron Carter and Ravenna Golden- "Satin Bedsheets"

8. The Streets- "Who's Got the Bag"

9. Celeste- "Tonight Tonight"

10. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"

11. Badbadnotgood- "City of Mirrors"

12. Chlöe- "Have Mercy"

13. Sir the Baptist featuring Anthony Hamilton- "Jesus in the Ghetto"

14. Rod Wave- "Tombstone"

15. Remi Wolf- “Anthony Kiedis”

16. Blackstarkids- "Juno"

17. Shannon & The Clams- "Year of the Spider"

18. Olivia Rodrigo- "Brutal"

19. Amyl and the Sniffers- "Freaks to the Front"

20. Willow featuring Cherry Glazerr- “¡Breakout!”

21. Elle King and Miranda Lambert- “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”

22. Roman Alexander featuring Ashley Cooke- "Between You & Me"

23. Tinashe- "Bouncin'"

24. Megan Thee Stallion- "Thot Sh*t"

25. IDK with Swae Lee and Rico Nasty- "Keto"

26. Jungle- "No Rules"

27. Jana Rush- "Disturbed"

28. Nightmares on Wax- "Miami 80"

29. Earl Sweatshirt- "2010"

30. Slowthai featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie- "Feel Away"

31. Pooh Shiesty featuring Gucci Mane- "Ugly"

32. Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar- "Family Ties"

33. Saweetie featuring Doja Cat- "Best Friend"

34. City Girls- "Scared"

35. Kevin Gates- "Plug Daughter 2"

36. Maxo Kream- “Cripstian”

37. Tony Allen and Danny Brown- "Deer in Headlights"

38. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- "High and Lonesome"

39. Samantha Fish featuring Tech N9ne- "Loud"

40. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- “Brazilera”

41. Céu - “Chega Mais”

42. Adele- "All Night Parking"

43. Cécile McLorin Salvant - "Ghost Song"

44. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- “Albuquerque”

45. Willie Nelson- "Too Sick to Pray"

46. Brittney Spencer- "Sober & Skinny"

47. Lauren Alaina- "It Was Me"

48. Moby, Mark Lanegan and Kris Kristofferson- "The Lonely Night"

49. Loretta Lynn- “I Don’t Feel at Home Anymore”

50. Sarah Brand- "Red Dress"


Links to 16 previous year-end There Stands the Glass surveys begin here.

Catching Up: Overlooked Albums and Songs of 2021 (so far)

Marianne-Faithfull-with-Warren-Ellis-She-Walks-In-Beauty.jpg

Rather than compiling a conventional mid-year best-of ranking, I’m acknowledging albums and songs I initially overlooked or previously underappreciated in the first six months of 2021.  Many of the selections are obscure, but millions of people were tuned into songs and albums like “No More Parties” and En Contra De Mi Voluntad long before I caught up.

Top Ten Overlooked and Underappreciated Albums of 2021 (So Far)

1. Marianne Faithfull and Warren Ellis- She Walks in Beauty

Pure poetry.

2. Jaimie Branch- Fly or Die Live

Angry improv.

3. Lambchop- Showtunes

My review.

4. Susan Alcorn, Ingrid Laubrock and Leila Bordeuil- Bird Meets Wire

Hung up.

5. Jimmy Edgar- Cheetah Bend

My review. 

6. La Arrolladora Banda el Limón- En Contra De Mi Voluntad

Stupendous big band.

7. Silicone Prairie- My Life On the Silicone Prairie

Space junk.

8. Michael Wollny- XXXX

Progressive Euro-jazz.

9. Birds of Maya- Valdez

Unfiltered scuzz.

10. Elizabeth Chang- Transformations

Kirchner, Sessions and Schoenberg.


Top Ten Overlooked and Underappreciated Songs of 2021 (So Far)

1. Coi Leray- “No More Parties”

Curfew.

2. Moby, Mark Lanegan and Kris Kristofferson- "The Lonely Night"

Hurt.

3. Celeste- "Tonight Tonight"

Undeniable pop.

4. Karol G and Nathy Peluso- “Gato Malo”

Discussion on the In My Headache podcast.

5. Armand Hammer, the Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt- "Falling Out of the Sky"

Crash.

6. Roman Alexander and Ashley Cooke- “Between You & Me”

Closing in.

7. Anitta- "Loco"

Crazy-good.

8. Ana Lélia- "Meu Cantinho"

Gentle breeze.

9. Cuee and Joel Leoj- “Ain’t Going Back”

Amen.

10. Sir the Baptist and Anthony Hamilton- "Jesus in the Ghetto"

Can’t tell Him nothing.


My previous monthly rankings of albums, songs, concerts and films are here.