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| "Views of a Pleasant Collection" - Wenham, MA (January 26th) |
This was a wild year for music. Lots of new discoveries and many hours spent relistening to the classics from childhood. There was love and loss, reflection and hope, and everything in between in the last twelve months. And I think my top songs of the year are a solid representation of the rollercoaster. I'll pick one song for each month to talk about, but will include many bonus tracks as well. Links to all songs will be included of course. Here is part one, which covers the first half of the year. Part two will come out tomorrow.
God Bless and hope you enjoy,
- ZB James
January
"Keep Me in Your Heart" by Warren Zevon - The Wind (2003)
My father passed away on January 6th this year, and this was the song we played at his funeral. This album was always a favorite of his when I was a kid, and I think it helped him reflect on his own father's passing back then. It certainly has helped me cope. Funny how that happens. Music can be like a religion or belief system that gets passed down through generations. Truly amazing.
Zevon's final album was also eerily similar to my dad's final chapter. Both had terminal illnesses. Both stayed relatively isolated in the end. Both had words they wanted to share before they were taken from this world (my Dad wrote many books, and a few dealt with his terminal illness). The lyric "Engine driver's headed north up to Pleasant Stream" feels like it was sent from the cosmos. We grew up on Pleasant Street and my Dad named his publishing company after the stream in the woods near our house. You can't make this shit up lol.
RIP Dad and RIP Warren. A couple of all-time legends.
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| "Winter Contemplations" - Wenham, MA (January 29th) |
January Honorables
February
"Kokomo, IN" by Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee (2021)
This song really hits at a nostalgic heartstring as Michelle paints a picture of a love and a childhood lost. "Passing time just popping wheelies" sparks wonderful imagery of the neighborhood block. "God I wish I could go back there, left alone in my room" transports any listener to their bedroom when they were ten years old.
I was also in the process of cleaning out my own childhood house back in February. We were getting ready to sell in the wake of my Dad's passing. And so to hear this song while I was literally staring all my memories in the face was unforgettable.
The song is called "Kokomo, IN" but the actual town doesn't matter. It's a placeholder for any hometown anywhere in the world.
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| "An Island's Light" - Sanibel, FL (February 25th) |
February Honorables
March
"Tehachapi" by Margo Cilker - Pohorylle (2021)
I am a big fan of female Americana singers, and my discovery of Margo Cilker's debut album Pohorylle was a mondo moment for me this year. It's a homerun through and through. And I think "Tehachapi" is the best and most accessible song on the record. "Wasn't much of a warning, he disappeared one morning. Put his mattress up on the back of a pickup truck" is one hell of an opening verse. She delivers it very well.
I also love the New Orleans style jam in the middle, filled with horns and honky tonk piano. And her shoutout to Little Feat? Sold.
Just a very fun and enjoyable tune, and always cool to fall for an artist right at the debut. I'm excited to see where Margo's career takes her next.
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| "Reds" - Hamilton, MA (March 4th) |
March Honorables
April
"He'll Make It Right" by Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes - The Best of Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes (1995)
Me and a few friends went on a river trip Easter weekend this April, so we decided to put together a religiously-themed playlist for the occasion. Most songs were ridiculous, others deeply meaningful, and only one took the whole weekend by storm. Insert "He'll Make It Right" by Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes. A ten minute gospel funk jam of epic proportions.
I'm not a devout Christian by any means, but God damn I'll have what these guys are having lol. They're all just feeling it, singing and playing their hearts out. We camped out on an island on the banks of the river, and I'll never forget laughing the day away as this song blared over the speakers. You go a little crazy when your a day-in on a camping trip, and this song certainly elevated our insanity.
There were no leaves on the trees yet, a crazy rain storm on the second night, and a group of maniacal campers who invaded our campsite. But it didn't matter in the end. He made it alright.
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| "Passion of the Pine" - Topsfield, MA (April 16th) |
April Honorables
May
"Coma" by Big Thief - Capacity (2017)
I went on a trip to Baton Rouge in May and rented a car to go site-seeing across the Deep South. I discovered Big Thief in the middle of the jaunt, and it was the biggest musical discovery of the year for me. No question about it.
I love this band, they are beautiful and haunting and insanely talented. And no song has needled into the depths of my mind more than "Coma". I am mesmerized by it, and have been obsessed by Adrianne Lenker's phrase "iris of the body" and what it means. So much so that I even used it as a line in a poem that I wrote for my friends' wedding. For me I see it as a way to describe the light that is inside all of us. Our souls. The iris controls the amount of light that reaches out retina, and so the iris of the body would be the part of our being that controls the amount of light that reaches our hearts.
Clearly I have my own interpretation, but I enjoy not knowing what Lenker actually means and am happy to hear other people's perceptions. It's a solemn song about abuse, trauma, and the hope of healing. But despite the heart-wrenching tone, it's one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. She is a poetic and songwriting mastermind.
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"Tha Block Is Hot" - Baton Rouge, LA (May 18th)
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May Honorables
June
"Time Escaping" by Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (2022)
Big Thief stayed on repeat for many weeks after I discovered them, so naturally they get top song for back-to-back months. "Time Escaping" blew me away when I first heard it, and it still gives me chills. It's the band announcing a new chapter with an explosion of sound. A huge moment within their history.
"Electric waves, a rush of energy. Silent river, pouring backward eternally. Through the phase and touch of entropy. Old age in the beginner" is the opening verse, which sets the existential mood. Lenker proceeds with a mind-bending delivery of verses until she ends, exclaiming "Everything, everything, everything for free. As it all eventually... turns to dust and petal. Molten rock and meadow. Time escaping...time escaping".
I love everything about it. The lyrics and message, the overwhelming sonicscape, the perplexing instrumentation. A true tour-de-force.
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"Yodelay" - Dover, VT (June 11th)
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June Honorables
Thanks for reading, hope you discovered something or caught some sort of inspiration. That's what it's all about. Tune in tomorrow for the epic conclusion of ZB's Top Songs of the Year 2022 - Part Two: From a Buck to a Cold.
Preesh that ass,
- ZB James
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