Basic Folk: Cindy & Lizzie’s Best of 2022
Hi let’s get to these best of lists! The rule for making these lists is that there are no rules. We make ’em as long as we want with as many different types of sounds that we want. Enjoy!
BEST OF 2022: Cindy Howes, host of Basic Folk
2022 was a HUGE year for me! I got married, bought a house, my dog died, I got a new puppy and 100,000 other things. Music was always there for me and I NEEDED it. Sometimes when you’re running around for 6 straight months, you can forget to unwind and have fun. I feel lucky to be able to spend so much time listening and then sharing. It’s my favorite thing! Hope you find some new favorites on here. I always love hearing what you like, so let me know.
Want my playlist on Tidal? HERE.
Album of the year: Ondara, Spanish Villager No. 3
Discovery of the year: Eliza Edens, We’ll Become the Flowers
BEST OF 2022: Lizzie No, guest host of Basic Folk
i have never been interested in ranking the “best” songs of the year for the same reason that i would never attend a potluck and rank my loved ones’ contributions. how can you compare macaroni and cheese to pound cake, especially if both were made with love? you can’t. but i do enjoy looking back on the songs that stuck with me throughout the year.
in the spirit of reflection, i’m listening to my 2022 favorites playlist and noticing some themes. there were blood-thumping pop songs that asked bold questions like “am i ready to be loved?” [lizzo] or “did it help you sleep, did it make you stronger, beating up on me?” [betty who]. there were intimate folk songs that admitted they didn’t have the answers just yet, like anais mitchell’s “little big girl” and anthony d’amato’s “but i go.” there were catchy, delicate snowglobes of nostalgia such as kevin morby’s “bittersweet, tn” and brittney spencer’s “a hundred years old.”
but my very favorite songs this year, the ones that got me through the hard days, were expertly executed, defiant anthems that seemed to be written specifically for this moment of history. i’m talking about s.g. goodman’s “if you were someone i loved,” molly tuttle’s “crooked tree,” adia victoria’s “ain’t killed me yet,’ and miranda lambert’s “strange.” each of these songs seems to say, “i have my eyes wide open to what the world is like, and i am choosing to carry on anyway.” each of these songs invites us to look truth straight in the eye. each has a sublime sense of melody combined with rock and roll confidence.
thank you for listening to basic folk in 2022. i hope we were able to bring some new music into your life.
xo,ln