(The Best of 2022)
Well, here it is….my favorite issue of the year.
Let’s dive into the Top Five Pop Culture Lists…
[movies]
This list comes with a large asterisk* because I haven’t seen: Avatar: The Way of Water, the buzzy sci-fi romp Everything All At Once, the (controversial) historical epicThe Woman King, the Korean war fighter pilot movie Devotion, and a bunch of others due to the fact that…I rarely have two hours of free time.
Entergalactic: To be fair, it’s OK if I can’t talk you into trying this one out, but this Kid Cudi written and directed (and soundtracked) animated isn’t a huge time commitment, clocking in at just over an hour (a movie story in a TV season finale length).
Cudi, one of my favorite artists (to the point where it’s almost a meme, if you’ve been reading The Five for years now) turns in a romantic comedy that I believe stands as the updated version of Singles, the iconic Gen X rom-com about dating in Seattle during the explosion of the grunge music scene (if you haven’t watched it—Pearl Jam and Soundgarden are in the movie playing live—add this one to your list).
Entergalactic captures the hope, uncertainty and angst of mid-twenties to early-thirties life for a lot of Younger Millennials, as well as the natural high that comes from working in a creative field, mostly broke but surrounded by brilliant dreamers.
The story centers around a comic book artist as he gets out of one relationship, falls for the new neighbor in his building, and navigates the city of New York (the setting is a main character here) and career complexities.
Cudi announced his retirement from albums/touring to focus on acting and film and TV writing. This is a heck of an argument that he made the right choice.
Top Gun: Maverick—In a world of sequels, remakes, reboots and spinoffs…execution, rather than novel ideas (for better or worse) can create a box office smash.
Tom Cruise has limited range as an actor, but delivers on what people want to see here, and Jennifer Connoley (A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for a Dream) and Miles Teller (Whiplash, Fantastic Four) lead a surprisingly strong supporting cast, given that the movie could get by on the fighter jet action sequences alone. (Teller using his musical talents on screen is also a nice touch, and call back to the original).
I still go back and forth on whether or not this is a “good” movie (as it’s half remake, half sequel), but dang it, it’s a fun one.
TG:M isn’t original, but it’s unforgettable.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
I’m pretty hit-or-miss (and more miss than hit, as of late) on Marvel, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a cut above, thanks mainly to director Ryan Coogler (Creed, Fruitville Station) focusing the story on the grief over the death of former main character T’Challa.
This perhaps the only time in history when the characters in a movie are mourning a character, as the actors portraying the cast are also processing their grief over the death of the former lead actor, Chadwick Bozeman, who died of cancer prior to filming BP:WF. Wakanda may be a fictional place, but the pain on screen is quite real.
There are a couple of annoying plot holes and just a bit of obnoxious, unnecessary world building for future projects…but the script and camera stay focused on processing grief.
In the increasingly silly world of Marvel (see: that stupid Thor movie from last summer) one film dared to take itself seriously…and it paid off.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Director Rian Johnson has one goal for the Knives Out series…update Agatha Christie style mysteries for the modern age. If you’ve never read the British Queen of mystery, first of all, shame on your Jr. High English dept. Secondly, add anything by Christie to your 2023 reading list. She published 66 novels in her life…any of them are a good starting point.
Johnson’s screenplay updates Christie’s ethos for the modern era, with the villain in Glass Onion being portrayed as a tech billionaire bro (some have speculated Edward Norton’s character is based on Elon Musk, but the narrative is much closer to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s real life controversies around “stealing” the initial idea while attending Harvard).
There have been some on the political right that claim Glass Onion is woke (it isn’t), is a flop (82 million hours of the film watched and counting) or just plain bad (see Ben Shapiro’s Twitter rant, which basically accuses the film of…not being formulaic enough, but at the same time too formulaic?) Which is a weird turn of events—the political right has gone from ignoring culture to largely being grumpy about it (which, for the record, is a dumb strategy).
Ignore the haters and give this one a chance—twisty plot, fantastic cast, beautiful and interesting settings.
Johnson is contracted for a trio of Knives Out films, but here’s to hoping the Daniel Craig (Skyfall, Casino Royale) let franchise keeps going after that.
The Batman: Yes, the Caped Crusader is a moody, loner gearhead without a friend in the world.
Yes, it’s a blend of 90’s crime thrillers (Seven proved to be a heavy influence) and 1930’s noir.
Yes, that’s not going to be everyone’s bag.
But the acting here by Robert Pattison (Twilight, The Lighthouse), Zoey Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men First Class), the incredible physical transformation of Colin Farrell (S.W.A.T., The Lobster) and the unhinged insanity of Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) is the kind of cast that used to stack up Oscars…back when they still gave Oscars to movies people actually see.
And the cinematography…unmatched in 2022.
Writer/Director Matt Reeves (Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) is treading on ground the likes of Spielberg, Tarentino and a handful of others have walked before.
[tv]
NOTE: Neither Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power or House of the Dragon made my list…even though I love both GOT and LOTR, and loved the ending of both series.
But both fell of the list due to the fact that each respective first season was quite talk-y, more concerned with world building than plot and a bit of a labor to get into. Both shows are set up for incredible second seasons…but a great final three episodes doesn’t erase a handful of duds.
Also, I haven’t watched Yellowstone season 5, Tulsa King, 1923, Echo 3 or a handful of other shows that might have made the list…but a
Reacher/The Lincoln Lawyer (Tie): A pair of murder/mysteries with excellent acting and twisty plots that aren’t obvious from the jump. Both are reboots of movies trying to tell novel-length stories in a 2 hours, neither of which worked well.
Reacher tells the tale of a hulking war vet (The Hunger Games alum Alan Ritchson is also 6’6”, I always root for tall actors, since it’s usually tough for them to get parts) who is arrested for murder in a small southern town with only a small amount of cash and a WWII French War Medal in his pocket.
The Lincoln Lawyer unravels a Russian nesting doll’s worth of interconnected crimes in LA, while newly sober Mickey Haller inherits the case load of a recently murdered attorney. Neve Campbell (Scream) turns in one of the best supporting actress reels of 2022 in this one.
1883: The Yellowstone prequel was everything I hoped for and more. Western genre OG Sam Elliot turned in an incredible performance as did real-life couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (who stayed in character off-camera and barely interacted with each other during shooting).
But the most stunning part of 1883 was the star-making work of relative unkonwn Isabel May, who’s performance reminded me of Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar-nominated debut in Winter’s Bone.
The Terminal List
This one was a dream come true for me. My favorite novel series as an adult + Antoine Fuqua as showrunner (Training Day, The Magnificent Seven) + the highly underrated Taylor Kitch (Friday Night Lights, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) + a career best performance from hitmaker Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Parks & Rec).
The show manages to expand on the source material from the novel without veering the themes off course. The Terminal List is a complicated novel to bring to the small screen…but the dream team pulled it off.
Stranger Things
In season four, the crew from Hawkins, IN encountered more serious horror elements, the cast of “main” characters expanded (including the unforgettable Eddie, now of that unforgettable Metallica scene) and balanced all the story beats.
No notes. Perfection.
The Walking Dead
My favorite show of 2022, despite the odds going against it. First of all, consumers seem to only want 10 episode seasons these days—not 24.
And very few shows can go for twelve years without falling in quality (for reference—The Walking Dead debuted a year before Spotify launched in the U.S.)
But somehow, TWD did what sci-fi does best—forces us to look at our world in new ways through the lens of a fictional one—while simultaneously wrapping up an incredible saga and launching THREE spinoffs.
On paper, it seems like too much to pull off. In reality, they threaded the needle.
If you were ever a fan of the show…I highly recommend making your way back at some point to finish it—all seasons will be on Netflix in January.
[albums]
Dropkick Murphys—This Machine Still Kills Fascists
Celtic punk outfit Dropkick Murphys have surprisingly deep songwriting, but are often written off as a “party band,” probably due to the amount of booze their loyal fanbase consumes at live shows.
The Boston based group’s album of Woody Guthrie songs should, if there’s any justice, raise the band’s reputation to a higher level.
Guthrie was one of the founders of the Country/Americana scene, and this collection of gems touches on the life of blue collar workers in the time between the two World Wars. Plus, the feature from Turnpike Troubadours’ vocalist Evan Felker is not to be missed.
(Tie) Lee Bains + Glory Fires—Old Time Folks + The Wonder Years—The Hum Goes on Forever
A pair of albums that serve as spiritual brothers due to a common punk influence and place serving as the primary subject matter for songwriting.
Lee Bains dove into the Appalachian South that rarely gets a voice in pop culture, while The Wonder Years’ Soupy (yeah, it’s a weird nickname) composed a love letter to his hometown of Philadelphia.
If you get a chance, play both of them back to back on a road trip…you’ll find the common thread.
(Tie) Demi Lovato—HOLY FVCK + Nicole Galyon—firstborn
Two great albums from two solo artists stepping into something new. For Lovato, it’s battling constant drug use (and likely the demons of child stardom) while embracing her love of 00’s hardcore and emo like Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and Job for a Cowboy.
For Galyon, stepping out meant sharing her own story and songs after decades writing massive hits for others from behind the curtain of anonymity, and it’s a heck of an autobiographical journey.
Apollo Brown—Cost of Living
Rapper Philmore Green reaches back to the late 90’s/early 2000’s soundscapes of his hometown of Chicago, pulling heavily (including samples) from early Kanye West and Common…it’s a blend of backpacker rap and sharp storytelling…and one not to be missed.
Apple Music | YouTube Music
Zach Bryan—American Heartbreak
What else can I say at this point?
Bryan released songs at a rapper’s mixtape pace in 2022…and dang near any of them could be a single. The Oklahoma native built a buzz from home recordings while still serving as active duty Navy, which meant no live shows.
Free of his shiptending duties, Zach Bryan went on a run that hasn’t been seen in pop, rock and country since The Beatles and Rolling Stones cranked out hit after hit in under a year, with not even a hint at a drop in quality.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
A.I. The Anomoly-Soul’s Acrylic: CCM-themed backpacker hip-hop from Buffalo, one of the hotbeds of lyrical rap in 2022. It’s tough for a woman to stand out in this genre, but A.I. does it.
Pony Bradshaw—North Georgia Rounder—EP’s 1-3: Nobody’s songwriting pen captures the nuance of rural life like Bradshaw, which he continues on this excellent batch of Americana tunes.
The Lone Bellow—Love Songs for Losers: Unforgettable harmonies from
Caedmon’s Call (Self Titled): The folk/CCM pop crew from Texas reunited to re-record their 1990’s debut (a la Taylor Swift), which had gone out of print. The results are stunning.
Aysanabee-Watin A Canadian first nations citizen (Objibui-Cree), Aysanabee mixes Ed Sheeran-ish pop with recordings of his grandfather speaking on growing up margnialized by the Canadian government.
[singles]
Adeem the Artist—Books and Records: A pitch perfect summary of post-COVID, high inflation life…where the working class are doing everything they can to get by.
Once in a great while, a singer finds a way to say what everyone has been thinking, but hasn’t said out lout yet. Adeem does that on “Books and Records.”
Charles Wesley Godwin & Zach Bryan: “Country Roads, Take Me Home”
From Bryan’s live recording at Red Rocks, the iconic John Denver single stands out from a thousand other covers of the classic Americana tune—and both singers ride high off the sold out crowd who endured a literal snowstorm to be there.
Zach Bryan—This Road I Know: On a 34 song album…the best song, may not be a song.
There’s an argument that “This Road I Know” is a poem set to guitar picking and some keyboards…but in a world of hyper inflation, coming food shortages and a possible third World War…Bryan’s dream of home, love and friendship may be just what we need.
Hailey Whitters—Boys Back Home: A singer-songwriter departs for LA, only to look back with fondness for the guys she grew up around.
They wear worn-out boots, they take off their hats/For suppers and sermons, funerals and flags
They'll bail you out of a ditch or a bar/And they won't be caught dead in no electric car
'Cause it's all sure rock roads for the boys back home
Whitters avoids genre cliches and paints a pretty accurate picture of the lives of some of my best friends on the Illinois prairie…and of the kind of man I'm trying to be.
Leah Kate--10 Things I Hate About You and Gayle—ABCFU (tie): I'm not even going to pretend I believe that Leah Kate has the songwriting chops or artisitc vision to launch a career with an earworm like “10 Things,” but I really don't care.
Olivia Rodrigo and Lorde were also teenage stars who were largely built in corporate boardrooms, and both turned out excellent pop debuts. (When Lorde took more creative control of her second record, she crashed and burned…proving sometimes it is indeed better to just “shut up and sing.”)
“10 Things” is a teenage breakup anthem probably churned out by middle aged, corporate songwriters…but who cares? It's as catchy as it is smart, and I'm still not sick of it.
ABCFU by Gayle is…pretty much the same song and same story, but different enough to also blow up on TikTok.
…and that will do it for this year.
Thanks, friends.
Exciting things are coming in 2023.
-sth