Monthly Report: December 2022 Singles
1. Metallica - "Lux Aeterna"
I posted a Metallica deep cuts playlist last week without having any clue that Metallica would be releasing a new single and announcing an album 3 days later. And as much as I think anyone who likes Metallica kind of braces themselves for new music from the band to potentially piss them off, "Lux Aeterna" has gotten a pretty warm reception, and I think it's justified. A fast, short song with an "Ace of Spades" vibe and a really unpredictable, textured Kirk Hammett solo, possibly their best single since "Fuel." Here's the 2022 singles Spotify playlist I update every month, but I'll begin my proper year-end lists here in the next day or two.
2. Peezy - "2 Million Up"
I wrote about the new version of "2 Million Up" with Jeezy in the Remix Report Card last week, but the original has really quickly become one of my favorite songs on the radio, such a barrage of clever lines over a fresh flip of the familiar "Don't Look Any Further" sample.
3. The 1975 - "I'm In Love With You"
I was actively rooting for "Happiness" to be the hit of this album cycle, but "I'm In Love With You" is the one that's taken off on American alternative radio. And it's really grown on me, though, there's just such a direct simplicity and joyful energy to the whole thing that I don't even mind too much about Matty Healy's awkward interracial relationship lyrics ("you show me your black girl thing, pretending that I know what it is, I wasn't listening").
4. Bryson Tiller - "Outside"
"Wait (The Whisper Song)" by the Ying Yang Twins is infamous mainly for the whispering, and what they're whispering, but I always thought that Mr. Collipark's beat was what really made that ridiculous and risky song work, those weird bending tom tom drums, and I was always a little disappointed that Collipark didn't make a dozen more beats with those sounds. So as weary as I am of new R&B hits that recycle samples of mid-2000s hits, I love what Bryson Tiller did with the "Wait" drums here.
5. Ed Sheeran - "Celestial"
Ed Sheeran's the kind of slightly offputting but undeniably talented guy who I try to give a fair shake to, but I really haven't liked much of anything from his last couple projects. So I was pleasantly surprised that this low profile one-off single he did that's featured in a couple Pokemon video games is just great, marrying his earnest melodic singer-songwriter vibe to a dance beat in a less forced way than his last album.
6. Chris Stapleton - "Joy Of My Life"
John Fogerty didn't release "Joy Of My Life" as a single in 1997, but the beautiful love song about his wife has emerged as his most enduring post-Centerfield song. And Chris Stapleton released his lovely cover as a single earlier this year, really great rendition.
7. Little Big Town - "Hell Yeah"
I put a lot of effort into keeping tack of new albums every Friday, combing lists of new releases on the web and on Spotify and so on. So when something from an artist I love slips between the cracks, I get kind of annoyed, or even pissed at the artist's label for failing to spread the word. And a week or two back I realized that Little Big Town released a new album in September and I didn't have a clue until I heard the single, "Hell Yeah." And now I'm listening to Mr. Sun and it's excellent, I realize they haven't had a big hit in a minute but Capitol Records should be ashamed that even a fan who keeps his antennae up didn't realize it existed.
8. Mimi Webb - "Ghost of You"
Yesterday I wrote about how I randomly heard an Anna Of The North song on MTV Hits and checked out her album, and that's also where I heard "Ghost of You." Apparently Mimi Webb is a pretty big star in the UK but I hadn't heard of her, now I'm really looking forward to the album she's releasing in March.
9. Snakehips f/ Tinashe - "Who's Gonna Love You Tonight"
Another video I saw on MTV Live recently and very quickly fell in love with the song. It's great seeing Tinashe flourish in her post-major label era, feels like she could have a sort of Carly Rae Jepsen arc as a more successful cult artist now.
10. Adele - "I Drink Wine"
I suppose it doesn't really matter whether someone who sells as many albums as Adele really capitalizes on the album cycle with a steady stream of singles. But it still felt like a missed opportunity that Adele released one of her best albums, 30, and seemed to abandon promotional efforts after the initial promo blitz. And then we finally got a third single, a whole 10 months after the video for the second single, I guess timed to her long-delayed Vegas residency instead of trying to maintain any chart momentum. I'm glad "I Drink Wine" finally got its single release, the title kind of grabs your attention because it feels a bit more blunt than what you'd expect from Adele, but the song has a sort of subtle lightness to it that contrasts nicely with her more dramatic piano ballads, almost like Billy Joel could've written it or something.
The Worst Single of the Month: HARDY - "Jack"
HARDY has been a staple of my list of the worst country hits of the year in recent years. But he's crossed over to hard rock radio with his latest single, which is the same kind of dumb-clever song about whiskey as his country material, but with a little screaming and power chords added in.
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