My favourite singer-songwriter Heather Woods Broderick just released a new song in November titled “Blood Run Through Me” that I like a lot. I’ve included the music video if anyone’s interested.
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@ShaneD It’s kind of funny, with all the music I have listened to this year, I am struggling hard to come up with a top 10 List! So instead, I’m going to do a slightly different take. I would say that far and away the thing that has had the most impact on me musically this year has been my re-invigorated interest and appreciation of classical music. Within this genre is where most of my top listens exist to be sure, such as
- Jacquelin Du Pre’, Elgar Cello Concerto and Schuman’s Cello Concerto Fantastucke
- Brahms, 4 Symphonies, Herbert Von karajan conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker
- Hilary Hahn, Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
- Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma and Daniel Barenboim playing Beethoven’s Tripple Concerto
- Mozart, the late Symphonies, Loenard Bernstein conducts the Weiner Philharmoniker
- Mendelssohn Symphonies 4 and 5, Karajan conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker
There was so much more great music listened to this year, but these are the standouts for me. Looking forward to discovering new things in 2023.
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I limited my list to just 2022 releases.
If I had picked just best new discoveries this year, regardless of date of issue, the list would be different.
I am Really enjoying:
- The Koln Concert (Live) 1975 by Keith Jarrett. Jazz
- Black Byrd 1973 by Donald Byrd. Jazz
- Red Clay by Freddie Hubbard (and lots of friends) 1970. Jazz
- Blue Train by John Coltrane 1958. Jazz
Lastly, # 5 is an oddball, for me. It is an EP called Big Takes by DWIG 2014. It is electronica and addictive. I have been looking for similar, but nothing else does it.
The top four songs in this list would bump out four albums in my top ten list.
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@ShaneD I gave it some more thought and started to focus on 2022 releases. Here is a list of the 2022 albums that tasted best to me! These are in no particular order
Albums of 2022
- Jazz Funk Soul - Forecast
- Lari Basilio - Your Love
- Mark Knopfler - The Studio Albums 2009 - 2018
- Tommy Emanuel & Mike Dawes - Accomplice Series, Vol. 3
- David Paich - Forgotten Toys
- King Gizard & the Lizzard Wizard - Changes
- Arctic Monkeys - The Car
- Snarky Puppy - Empire Central
- Jethro Tull - The Zealot Gene
- Black Country - New Road - Ants From Up There
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You do know that you’re supposed to listen to albums and not eat them right? 
Seriously though, I’m right with you on the Mark Knopfler set/compilation, KGLW - Changes, Empire Central (Does SP put out anything that’s not a great listen), and Arctic Monkeys. Jethro Tull’s effort was hit and miss for me. It looks like you and I could have a great time with a 12 pack and some listening time! 
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I KNEW I was doing something wrong. It’s no wonder I can never keep a collection! 
Yessir, a listening party would be awesome. We used to do that back in the day. We’d bring some beers, a good Scotch etc., some music, and we’d listen and converse/debate all night. Very good times, those. Unfortunately, all but one of those people are gone. One of the more bothersome consequences of the space-time continuum. That is why I like this group and this forum. This is a nice place where one can have enjoyable discourse. 
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Steve Vai: Inviolate :Album : slight_smile:
Open this link in YouTube to listen to other tracks from this album…
Less technical and more thoughtful songs than some of Steve’s earlier works…
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For anyone that enjoyed the Pure Reason Revolution album I posted or anyone who’s a fan of harder neo-prog or prog-metal instrumental pieces, check out Eraser by a band named Long Distance Calling. I’ve been meaning to post this here, but I kept forgetting.
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Well, with one day of vacation left before returning to work, it’s unlikely I’ll get to creating my top 10 albums and song lists from 2022. But here’s an incomplete list, from memory:
ALBUMS
- Wilco - “Cruel Country”
- Goose - “Dripfield”
- Zach Bryan - “American Heartbreak”
- Nilufer Yanya - “Painless”
- Tinsley Ellis - “Devil May Care”
SONGS
- “I’m Tired of Taking It Out on You” - Wilco (If you’ve been married a long time, like me, this song will resonate.)
- “Hungersite” - Goose
- “726” - Goose
- “Bronco” - Orville Peck
- “the dealer” - Nilufer Yanya
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Another album that’s definitely worth mentioning here is Animals As Leaders 2022 release entitled Parrhesia. If you’re a fan of Polyphia (especially if you like New Levels New Devils more than their 2022 album), djent, prog-metal/tech-metal instrumental work then this album with be right up your alley.
If you’re a fan of the violin and you follow contemporary players then you’ve probably already heard of Hilary Hahn. Her 2022 album, Eclipse, is really quite the listen. Hahn is an incredibly talented violinist who plays with a great feel for dynamics and knowing when to rely on her powerful technique and when to let the music speak by playing a more understated and nuanced style. You hear great examples of all these traits throughout the album and it makes for a wonderful listen.
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Okay, so I also thought I had posted Porcupine Tree’s 2022 return album, CLOSURE/CONTINUATION on this thread before, but I guess I thought about it and never ended up doing it.
I was really excited when I heard PT were returning to the studio to put out a record of all new material. When there’s as much anticipation and build-up after a long gap in the music industry as there was in the lead-up to this album, it goes one of two ways: 1) The album crushes and is as good or better than the waiting fans imagined it would be (think RATM - Battle of LA which was f*cking huge) or 2) The album falls flat on its face and is relegated to obscurity (think GnR - Chinese Democracy). Thankfully, this album is a classic PT album and it’s killer. It helps that Steven Wilson and Co. were actually involved in their own successful solo and side projects so it wasn’t like they were coming at this album rusty and out of the swing of things.
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Another 2022 favorite is A Light For Attracting Attention by The Smile. This is a Thom Yorke (of Radiohead fame) side project featuring members of Radiohead (Yorke and Johnny Greenwood) and Sons of Kemet (Tom Skinner) that came about when touring stopped because of the pandemic. Absolutely great album and definitely worth a spin!
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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ new live album, Live at the Fillmore 1997, is a great live album and definitely deserves to be on the list. It just dropped in late November. Not only did they capture a great show from one of my favorite venues (the Fillmore in San Fran), but they SQ is fantastic. The engineers did a great job capturing the audience and atmosphere while maintaining focus on high quality recording of the band/music. It’s a long set list chock full of great, classic Petty songs.
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Mars Valta and Interpol are certainly indie godfathers depending on how far you want to go back (like I know one could cite Velvet Underground, but that was an early era to where “indie” was ahead of its time). I put Modest Mouse in a similar boat with those bands/Spoon as you’re right, Spoon’s been around too long not to have made a sizable impact with their sound influencing other bands. Look at a new trend setter that I can’t stop hearing kids (ok, young adults) talk about: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Another example of a relentlessly original band with large output, unique sound and brand, etc. A pleasure to chop it up about music, trends, history, relations, analysis I feel crazy breaking down friends’ tastes otherwise! Haha
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Heck yeah, I’m definitely a KGLW fan! The pace that they release albums at is just crazy. I mean, they released seven full length LPs and a double LP comp (plus several EPs and singles) in 2022 alone and all of them are good with no two sounding alike. To me KGLW is something like a twenty first century version of Grateful Dead. They have an updated and unique sound, but they definitely have hippy-esque jam band vibes and their live shows (I have seen two) remind me of the Dead’s shows where there is a set list and songs, but any given song can turn into extended jams that basically go freeform and are just fun to listen to and follow. The band is made up of some top shelf musicians so these “freeform jams” I referenced are actually very well done, coherent, and musically expressive. Nothing boring or meandering as you find with some bands that try the structurless jam set style.
To keep this post totally topical, my two favorite King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard releases from 2022 were Changes and Ice, Death, Planet, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava. Both are definitely worth a listen and attempting to keep up with KGLW’s breakneck production pace pays dividends for sure because these guys seem to have tapped into a vein of productive creativity and it’s always cool to see what they put out next.
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And while we’re on the topic of great indie bands and 2022 releases worth listening to, let me recommend Dropout Boogie by The Black Keys. These guys haven’t released anything but sick tracks/albums since jump street. Dan Auerbach is a great, supremely talented guy who I was lucky enough to work with for a couple weeks in the studio years ago when I was still survivng on session work. His talent shows through on basically every project he touches and it all started with The Black Keys.
Dropout Boogie is another solid release that I can listen to straight through, stacked with bluesy goodness from one track to the next. If you haven’t heard this album you should. Period. (And the rest of The Black Keys discography for that matter)
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Thanks for the KGLW recommendation! Im listening to both albums on Tidal. I’m really impressed by their vibe, musicianship, creativity and their use of so many instruments . They sound great on the Symphonium Helios. The detail and texture are amazing!
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No problem. Spreading music is a reward in itself. KGLW has a big catalog and it’s only getting bigger at a pretty rapid pace so make sure you check out some of their other stuff while you’re at it. Their albums often sound quite different from one another, but they always have high levels of musicianship and creativity and they also tend to be produced very well too. If you’re in to hi-res stuff, they’ve been releasing their newer material in 24/96, too.
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I like KGLW, but much like Ty Segall and early 2000s Ryan Adams, they could use an editor. There are some real gems on their records, but there’s also some crap that are B-sides, at best.
I always question prolific bands like KGLW. Are they releasing everything they record because they think it’s worthy or are they doing it just to continue their reputation for releasing a shit ton of music to the world? There are times when quantity over quality works, but there are times when it doesn’t and a scalpel would have been a smart tool.
Hope I’m not seen as picking on KGLW. Dig some of their stuff. And even the greatest band of all time, The Clash, should have released “Sandinista” as a double album and not a triple. 
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