Welcome to my reflection on the year 2022, summarized in a playlist of 22 songs.
Or, as I like to think of it, my real 2022 Spotify Wrapped (cleansed of the songs I just had on mindless repeat).
(Link to Spotify playlist : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xwwRsmYsKktoEcVUHoJuU?si=48838bf665ea4a11)
Chapter 1: Healing
1. I Wanna Get Better – ATC, The Ready Set
This is a cover of the Bleachers song, but a little more stripped-down and intimate with chillingly beautiful female vocals.
Anyways, in so many ways, this song represents where I was at the beginning of 2020, a bit numbed by loss and crisis, but at the same time committed to living and seeking help (therapy, counseling) to get “better.”
2. As It Was – Harry Styles
Harry. Styles. Between the emergence of his acting career, and the release of his album Harry’s House (which subsequently pervaded much of our soundspace), he’s been a fixture of 2022, in my book.
Beyond just its catchy opening riff, “As It Was” even made it into this NPR Planet Money Podcast, which asks “Is this song happy or sad?” Maybe we’ll never know. But to me, this song is a coming to terms with the fact that things are just different–not necessarily bad, just different. Whether in life circumstances or just even in who I am, choosing not to lament mourn what was, but to be thankful for it and for the life I have now, and the person I am now, recognizing God at work in both.
3. Moving Forward – Colony House
Despite missing Switchfoot on tour with NEEDTOBREATHE last year (we saw the one NEEDTOBREATHE show that Switchfoot skipped 😢), we caught them this year. Colony House, was playing right before Switchfoot, and they did this one live. I had heard this song before, but even getting to hear the bit of story behind it made it all the more rich with meaning.
It’s a beautiful song about moving forward (no duh), acknowledging the unkindness of life but not being defined by it.
When the pain is true, sometimes these troubles prove that I’m alive; …
Sometimes, Life can feel so unkind. Sorrow won’t define me, so just reminds my soul.
4. Don’t Be so Hard on Yourself – Jess Glynne
Not a new song by any means, but discovered it this year. It’s an anthem for sure, like Rachel Platten’s Fight Song but dancier.
It’s been a song for me trying to break free of perfectionism, my own high and possibly unrealistic expectations for myself, and learning to accept and live in God’s grace in all areas of my life, even the ones that aren’t explicitly spiritual.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, no
Learn to forgive, learn to let go
Everyone trips, everyone falls
So don’t be so hard on yourself, no
‘Cause I’m just tired of marching on my own
5. About Damn Time – Lizzo(ooooooooo)
As you can tell from the title, this song by no means passes the clean language test and certainly earns the “E” for explicit.
But I do love some Lizzo in my life. (Lizzo’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert is one of my all-time favorites.)
I originally put this song in the “joy” chapter, since it’s so fun and catchy, right down to the very Lizzo flute part.
But as I look back over these lyrics, it fits so well thematically with the journey of this year. (And because the next section is already packed 😂).
It’s been a minute tell me how you’re healing …
Oh, I’m not the girl I was or used to be
Chapter 2: Joy
6. Banks – NEEDTOBREATHE
“Terry loves Love!” – Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) in Brooklyn 99
One of the joys of this year has been getting to celebrate some friends getting married! This was an excellent choice for a first dance song for one of the couples. I already love NEEDTOBREATHE and this song, and them, so it was a perfect marriage of all three! (Pun intended)
7. Overpass Graffiti – Ed Sheeran
What would this playlist be without a song from my #4 artist on my 2022 Wrapped?
(I’m still going to somehow deny being a Swiftie despite her appearing at slot #1 on the list.
It’s me, I’m the problem, it’s me. It’s exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero 😉).
Anyways, this is yet another catchy pop song about love, but there’s an undertone of choosing commitment through the ups and downs of relationships.
8. Where I Belong – Simple Plan, State Champs, We The Kings
If I could choose two genres for the year, pop punk would be one of them. Three bands in one song? Sounds like a fun time.
This song sounds like the freedom and thriving in “life in a mostly post-COVID world,” as we’re finally catching up with friends, bands, and just life after what felt like an eternity away.
I’m finally breathing
Like I never could on my own
Start the countdown, let’s get it on
Scream our lungs out to our favorite song
‘Cause this is where I belong
9. Dear Maria, Count Me In – All Time Low
This is just a classic pop-punk banger. This one was actually in my Spotify Wrapped Top Songs of 2022.
I don’t need to say anymore. IYKYK.
10. I Ain’t Worried – OneRepublic (from Top Gun: Maverick)
Catchy. Fun. Summer vibes. This was the song from the movie of this summer. While most reboots pale in comparison to the originals, this one raised the stakes and was arguably better than the first. To top it off, we got to see OneRepublic live in concert (with NEEDTOBREATHE).
We also saw the Goo Goo Dolls, who unfortunately did not make it into this playlist (too many good ones to choose from!)
I think having all their songs on repeat in preparation for the concerts is what comprises at least 50% of my Spotify Wrapped.
11. The Big Bow-Wow – SNOOPY!! (The Musical)
This year, I learned of the existence of the Snoopy musical, and it has brought much amusement and mirth.
Snoopy is so silly. From his cackling laughter to his beagle antics, to this big musical number, he’s numero uno!
Class, yes! Style, yes!
Out front by a mile, yes! …
Pardon my beagle, but…WHOOPEE!
Now I’m The Big Bow Wow!
We may have even dressed up as Charlie Brown and Lucy for Halloween!
12. Dino Disco – Orange Guava Passion
Fun and funky song – about dinos just dancing it out.
That would be my second genre of the year: my foray into retro pop. I love the jazzy bass lines, the use of saxophone, and just the overall groovyness. This song and the next are the highlights of this genre for me.
13. Conjunction Junction – Couch
The language nerd in me likes this song. It’s about conjunctions! And, but, & or!
I am now realizing this is a cover of a Schoolhouse Rock song, but in a funky retro pop.
14. Blinding Lights – The Naked and Famous
Say hello to another cover! Again, I love the female vocal that adds dimension to the song, and I just like it more than the original by The Weeknd. Starts off slowly but powerfully and builds really well into a synth-driven banger.
I also really enjoy their other song, “Everybody Knows”, but their cover works as a representative sample given my self-imposed 22-song limit.
Chapter 3: Hope
15. The Road, The Rocks, The Weeds – John Mark McMillan
This song came out towards the end of 2019, but it remains a deep comfort and hope amidst the tragedies and sorrows of 2022, 2021, and 2022. Unlike the gods of Olympus, our Maker and Savior descended from heaven to enter into our suffering and feel every heartbreak with us.
When I’ve got no answers for hurt knees or cancers
But a Savior who suffers them with me
Singing goodbye, Olympus, the heart of my Maker
Is spread out on the road, the rocks, and the weeds
16. Kind – The Ben Potter
A struggle of this year has been to believe that God is good, not just on a cosmic scale, but on a personal level as well.
To know that He is for His glory and my good. This was a tender reminder of that.
(I’m in the middle of reading Dane Ortlund’s Gentle and Lowly, and this is like the song version of it!)
Your heart is kind
Your heart always beats kindly
17. Satisfy – Rivers & Robots
“jOggs.” Perhaps the master of Christian lofi chillhop. Meditative and atmospheric. Chill beats to be vibing out for Jesus.
This song has been on repeat — partly because it is first on my playlist, but also because it’s like Psalm 16 brought into the modern age.
18. Always Will Be – Jonathan Ogden
Your name alone has power to save the lost and broken
No force of hell can stop the things that you have spoken
You alone, You are worthy
Always were, always will be
I love this chorus–the reminder that He alone has power to save the lost and broken: both myself and the people around me.
In myself, I have no power to save, either myself from my own sins and habits, nor the power to fix the brokenness I see around me. But He does, and He has been and always be worthy of unending praises.
19. pink skies – LANY
I guess this is what the kids these days are listening to.
The Malibu beach vibe sounds rings with the youthful naivety of first love.
20. Look at the Sky – Porter Robinson
While I’m 90% sure that this is not a Christian song, it reminds me of the psalmist of Psalm 121, lifting his eyes to the Lord, for help, for hope. This song just exudes hope–and for me, it’s a hope in the God who has been “still here” throughout all the ups and downs of the year. As He wills, “I’ll be alive next year,” and he’ll do what He’s done in this year–made something good.
Look at the sky, I’m still here
I’ll be alive next year
I can make something good
Something good
Chapter 4: Christmas Songs
As a certified December baby, the Christmas season inherently encroaches on my experience of reflecting on the past year.
While there are plenty of serious Christmas songs that speak to the hope that Jesus offers at Christmas, (See my picks from 2020 and 2016) this year’s picks are new additions to my Christmas rotation, and they’re delightfully silly.
21. All I Want for Christmas is You – My Chemical Romance
Have you ever imagined the overplayed Mariah Carey single as an emo song? Well, wonder no more. This one opens beautifully with a “Welcome to the Black Parade”-esque piano, and breaks into that holiday pining in full emo glory.
MCR has been making a comeback this year, after all.
22. I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here) – The Old 97’s
Now imagine the cultural Christmas festivities viewed from the anthropological perspective of aliens. This gem, from the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a hilarious mish-mash of all of the secular Christmas lore — Santa, elves, chestnuts, glowing deer, you name it. The version in the Disney+ television special has Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord interjecting every few seconds with “No!,” which is exactly how accurate the aliens’ understanding is, but it makes for a great holiday song.
It’s like Matt Thiesen of Relient K wondering “What’s a partridge, what’s a pear tree? I don’t know so please don’t ask me; But I can bet those are terrible gifts to get.” in their version of the Twelve Days of Christmas, but even more misled.
a cup of kimitea 