Here is my 2022 Top Un-Ten. Why is mine different? Because it’s damn hard to be successful at music, or any type of art, and people should be recognized for that, and because it's hard to rank my favorites. This is what I listened to this past year. Some I liked better than others, but it’s all good. All of it. My list is mostly albums, with a favorite song or two listed for each. A few songs are just singles.

Enjoy! I look forward to what 2023 has in store musically, as well.

#1

Amoeba Teen - Amoeba Teen - "New Material World"

The Bye Bye Blackbirds - August Lightning Complex - "We Got Lost"

"Fold Up Your Maps/The Girls Walk" single

Jim Basnight - Pop Top - "Hello Mary Jane"

Early Years - "Blow Your Life Away"

The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau - What If It Works? (reissue) - "Mavis Of Maybelline Towers"

Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men - Heart Inside Your Head - "One of the Boyz"

Frontperson - Parade - Parade

Lisa Mychols & Super 8 - Jem Records Celebrates Pete Townshend (comp)- "Baba O’Riley"

"Santa Please" single

Vista Blue - Stay Gold - "Cherry"

Push Puppets - Allegory Grey - "There’s No One Else Like Lynette"

Chris Church - Darling Please - "We’re Going Downtown"

The Flashcubes - "Tomorrow Night" (featuring Shoes) single

"Gudbuy T'Jane" (featuring Steve Conte) single

The Incurables - "Stop The World" Ukraine Benefit Single

Walker Brigade - If Only - "Choker," "Fallout"

In Deed - Twenty​-​Two Tracks From 2022 (comp) - "Don’t Kill The Babe

Tony Valentino - "Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White" single

Various Artists - We All Shine On: Celebrating The Music Of 1970 (comp) - All of them. All of these covers are great, and all the originals were AM gold in 1970, too.

Michael Simmons - Happy Traum EP - "Surely Justice"

Librarians with Hickeys - Handclaps & Tambourines - "Ghost Singer"

Richard Örhn - Sounds In English - "Take This Bottle"

Popular Creeps - All Of This Will End In Tears - "Gone by 45"

beabadoobee - Beatopia - "Talk"

Momma - Household Name - "Speeding 72"

The Airport 77’s - We Realize You Have a Choice - "Losers Win"

Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time - "Write a List of Things to Look Forward To"

The Beths - Expert In A Dying Field - "Expert In A Dying Field"

Alvvays - Blue Rev - "Easy On Your Own?"

The Big Believe - "Pirate Radio" single

Speed Of Sound - "Virtual Reality 123/Charlotte" 12" single

#2

Old Town Crier - You - "You"

Lannie Flowers - Flavor Of The Month - "Summer Blue"

Anton Barbeau - Power Pop!!! - "Julian Cope"

The Bablers - "Holding Me Tight Tonight" single

Spygenius - Jabbernowl - "Son Of the Morning, Go Man Go!"

Maple Mars - Someone's Got To Listen - "Gliding"

Nick Frater - Aerodrome Motel - "Stuck In My Ways," "Dancing With A Gertude"

Danny Wilkerson - "Strawberry Sherry" single

 You Know I Know/Blow Your Life Away (Single)

Jim Basnight

Power Popaholic Productions

The A-side to the newest single from Jim’s album The Early Years with his 70s band the Moberlys, saunters along. It's a love song, and punky, which he and the Moberlys were, and very good punks, at that.

But the B-side is one of his finest songs, and an early indication of how great his music has been. In just six lines, with the key ones being “What can it mean when you're gone?” "Blow Your Life Away singing that song,” and the kicker, “Oh baby, put that gun away,” he makes a powerful anti-suicide, pro-gun control statement. What’s better than that? Nothing, except these two great songs are must-hears.

Andrea Weiss

 Tim Reisert

Viewfinder (Official Video)

Sofaburn Records

The images in this video, like the lyrics, are spare and stark, some of nature or outdoor scenes, some of cameras, or of darkroom equipment like enlargers, which do have viewfinders, and timers. The lyrics speak of time, of loneliness, of sadness, sung in Tim’s equally sad voice.

It is a very good video, shot mostly in black and white, which suits the images and lyrics very well. The song is the title track to his just released album.

Andrea Weiss

 Maple Mars

Anchors Aweigh (Single)

Big Stir

Very cheesy metaphor for setting your sights on new horizons. Very crunchy, but the grit is very fine. It's a somewhat mellow, power pop take on grunge, and just the right song to start the new year with, as it’s great. This is the third single from Someone’s Got To Listen, Maple Mars’ debut album for Big Stir, and one of the better albums of last year.

Andrea Weiss

 The New Pornographers

Really Really Light (Single, Video)

Merge Records

The first single from the upcoming New Pornographers album Continue as a Guest, out March 31st on Merge Records, finds them going back to their pre-Whiteout Conditions sound, a cross between Brill Bruisers and Twin Cinema. It’s just as great. As much as I like Whiteout Conditions and their last album, In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, I am glad they went back to their old sound.

The lyrics are Carl Newman’s trademark puzzle boxes, fun to figure out, fun to interpret. Kathryn Calder’s keyboards keep bubbling up joyfully in the mix. She sings, along with Neko Case, and with Carl as the third voice their harmonies are wonderful. The song is something of a co-write between Carl and Dan Bejar, who seems to have left for good. The chorus is his from an outtake from Brill, and Carl wrote new verses.

The video is sweet; a young woman skates around a garage in ice skates, interpreting the song, with the room whirling around at times. Later, light comes from her skates. It rains in the garage at the end, and it is revealed that this is a competition, with Carl, Kathryn, and Joe Seiders, the drummer, giving her the thumbs up. It’s a lot of fun to watch.

This song was worth the wait. Merge Records is perfect for them. If you’re new to TNP, this is where to start. For old timers like me, go get this, you’ll love it.

Andrea Weiss

 I first head The Cynz on their single “Narrow Hips” and wanted to hear more. And more is this wonderful cover of “Tell That Girl To Shut Up,” originally by Holly and the Italians. But don’t take my word for it. The single is on Amazon, so head over there and listen.

The band was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: Why did you record this song?

Cyndi Dawson: Marty Scott (Jem) suggested we cover this song. I wasn’t thrilled by the idea, because it was already an iconic 80’s song and I really like writing our own songs. But I said I’d listen and give it some thought. Marty has a good instinct. I went home and listened a few times and I could hear how we’d do it. I spoke to Henry Seiz, co-founder and song partner for The Cynz, and I said, “Let’s make it sound like The Cynz while still honoring Holly.” I think we accomplished that very well. We had great fun in the studio with this and it only took us a few hours. We all just fell in. It came very naturally to us. Mike Wretched on drums and Dave U.Hall on bass immediately loved it. Jerry Ramos at Mercury Studios in Rahway did an incredible job getting the sound right.

AW: This really is a lost classic, with a woman, Holly Beth Vincent, playing lead guitar, a rarity when it came out in the 80’s.

CD: There were many women playing instruments in the 80’s in bands like The Go-Go’s, etc. They certainly paved the way for the 90’s bands like Hole, L-7, etc. I’ve always been a champion for women in pop and rock although I do not play a single instrument. I took drums in grade school, but was quickly pushed out by the guys. They were brutal. It’s a shame because I could have been very good at it. Once I became a dancer I just enjoyed the freedom of movement without anything encumbering me. So I have no interest in playing an instrument on stage. Thank goodness I have very good ones around me!!

AW: Did you want to spotlight other women? Do you, like me, wish that more women played power pop?

CD: I feel that just by being a front woman I am an example. I ran a music and poetry series for many years, where I spotlighted many women, called Poets and Angels. So I’ve always enjoyed other creative women around me. But I’m not really competing with the men. I’m simply competing with myself to strive constantly to be as genuine as possible and to always give the audience a great experience.  As far as wanting more women in power pop, I want more women in all genres. We are a band you can’t put a label on. Our music has rock/punk/pop punk and even 60’s influences. I’d like to see women getting as many opportunities as men, but in my experience, I think we are, more than ever. We are getting there.

AW: Would you say that this is a mean girls anthem?

CD: I considered this question when I considered taking this song on, but clearly it is done with great humor.  It would be a mistake to take the words too seriously. It’s a fun song. It’s a tantrum. It’s a jealous girl having a jealous tantrum and I would not have sung this had I believed it was a girl who really would act on their tantrum. It’s very juvenile, actually, in such a fun way. Haven’t we all felt this way at one time? I have!

AW: Would you consider doing more covers?

CD: I would prefer to mostly do my own songs. Writing is part of what I do. I’m a published poet that has traveled internationally with musicians to do spoken word performances. I began very young as a performance artist in New York doing my own pieces. So writing is part of why I do this. However, yes, if it’s the right song I’d cover an occasional song. The decade is not important to me. How I hear it as a Cynz sound is much more important.

 The Cynz

Tell That Girl To Shut Up

Jem Records

The original is by NYC early 80s power pop band Holly and the Italians. The original is great, but the cover ups the power and the pop, making it a bit better. What sounds like a mean girls anthem balances out when the main character, on meeting her antagonist, is nice to her. Check out both versions, but start with The Cynz's wonderful cover, which is available now on Amazon.

Andrea Weiss

 Small Reactions

There Is A Light (Video)

Sofaburn Records

This video of a funeral going awry wasn’t made the way films usually are these days: one roll of Super 8 film, no rewind, edits, or redo, chronological narrative, one take only. You wouldn’t think it would work, but not only did it, it placed in the Top 25 of the London Straight 8 film contest.

Small Reactions are from Atlanta, and the cast of this film, all artists and actors, are too. Rosso is the main character. The deceased was his mentor. So he shows up drunk, ticks of the other people at the funeral, even the priest officiating. Everyone comes apart until the priest uses his powers and they all fall down, perhaps dead themselves, but the last scene shows the priest and Rosso sharing a joint. To put a fine point on things, a woman takes selfies with everyone there, including the dead.

Small Reactions guitarist Ross Politi wrote the screenplay, and I bet it was fun to write. Craig Whitehorne, who plays the priest, served as something of a director. Put the two together and you get a great film. The acting is solid, the song is a wonderful soundtrack, and if you happen across this film, do yourself a favor and watch it. You won’t regret it, and maybe you’ll want to make or write one too.

Andrea Weiss