The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - Intro and Songs That Didn't Make It

 I almost started this post with something along the lines of "y'all, I screwed up last year", but let's be realistic: I did not screw up and I refuse to let a weird year define the legacy that is the Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown. I've been doing this for almost half of my life and I'm not stopping today, tomorrow or next week. Ready or not, here we go!

2022 marks the FOURTEENTH YEAR that I've been doing this. I've learned a lot along the way and I am excited as ever to do this again. We always start with the list from the year before, so let's take a look at that bad boy:

20. Grabbitz - Pigs in the Sky
19. Royal Blood - Typhoons
18. Daymare - Control
17. Porter Robinson - Look at the Sky
16. PEABOD - Love Everybody (ft Tedashii)
15. AFI - Begging for Trouble
14. beabadoobee - Last Day On Earth
13. The Dirty Nil - Blunt Force Concussion
12. Romy - Lifetime
11. The Birthday Massacre - The NeverEnding Story
10. Echo Image - Walk My Mind
9. Assemblage 23 - Factory
8. Manchester Orchestra - Bed Head
7. '68 - Bad Bite
6. Gang of Youngs - the angel of 8th ave.
5. Meryl Creep - Spiraling
4. A Tiger Made of Lightning - Little Birds
3. Acceptance - At the Edge of the Earth
2. The Struts - Another Hit of Showmanship (ft Albert Hammond Jr)
1. Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline

 

You know what? For as rough as 2020 was, 2021 was a really good rebound year. More than half of these songs are still in my daily Rockman rotation, and I'm pretty sure at least 2 of them will be in my "Most Played" year end list as well. Contrast that to 2020 where most of the Top 20 was burned out of rotation by the end of the year. Plus we had multiple local bands in the top 5 and a plethora of genres to enjoy. I make no promises for 2022, except that locals will still be sprinkled in and (hopefully) there will be more songs that stay in the daily rotation for a good long while.

As usual, we start with the songs that almost made it. The songs here are simply in alphabetical order by artist. 

Arcade Fire - The Lightning I, II
Album: WE

Every year, there's a few songs that surprise the heck out of me, and this time around it's Arcade Fire with their magnificent new album WE. The album features four different songs broken up into Parts 1 and 2, and I felt it was worthwhile to put both parts of "The Lightning" here. If I had to break them up, Part 2 is the stronger of the two, but they go together so well.

 

Florence + The Machine - Free
Album: Dance Fever

 The only reason Florence didn't make the Countdown on her 4th consecutive album was because there were too many other great songs ahead of this one. "Free", "King", "Choreomania"... you name it. This album is flat-out incredible.

 

Justyfi - Betrayal
Album: Betrayal single

I had never even heard of Columbus rapper Justyfi before he became the youth pastor at my church. As it turns out, he's pretty dang good, and he's released an EP and a full length album this year if you want to check out more of his flow. "Betrayal" just happened to be my favorite of his music from this year.

 

Ripe - Settling
Album: Settling single

The first time I heard this song, I said to myself "oh great, another alt-rock band that sounds like every other one trying to make it on the radio these days". The second time I heard it, I said "wow, I can't get this song out of my head". Funny how things like that work out.

ZoneZero - Halo
Album: Halo single

Another local addition to the Countdown, ZoneZero are currently recording their second EP and have gained a decent following around Ohio with their energetic live show and their sound that hearkens back to the nu-metal revolution of the early '00s.

 

Honorable Mention: Bad Wolves - Lifeline; Battle Beast - Russian Roulette; Bayside - Strangest Faces; beabadoobee - Talk; Maggie Rogers - Want Want; Mitski - The Only Heartbreaker; Power Quest - Bound for Glory; Rusty Shipp - Bottom of the Barrel; The Manatee Room - Expensive Taste; Zoo Trippin' - Any Way I Can Get It

The 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - New Format Introduction

Usually the last day of November is the first day of the Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown. I share stories about the previous years, look back on the Countdown from the year prior and share 5 songs that almost made it. The first 20 days of December would get a song per day, along with a blurb about the song, artist, album, and anything else I felt necessary writing about. I am changing things up slightly this year, and I will go into further details below...

 

For what it's worth, the first J1 Countdown was done in 2009. It was as loosely done as you can imagine, and honestly ended with me just throwing songs out and that being that. In 2010 I decided to keep a record of new songs released, what I was listening to throughout the year and put together the first actual countdown on Xanga. The first two or three years (I honestly don't remember or have the records), I just shared 5 songs a week until the end of the year and not much else other than their order. For the last decade, the Countdown looked pretty much the same, with the song and album, a YouTube link, a blurb about each song, and a listing of prior years. 2013 was the first year I moved things over to Blogspot - you can see the first #1 here.

Realistically, things ran fairly smoothly in the early years. I'd have the list done by mid-November, write most (if not all) of the blurbs by the end of the month, and share from there. As work and life obligations piled up, it became apparent that the original model wasn't sustainable, and it got to the point in 2017 and '18 that I was only a few days ahead as I wrote each blurb. It got to the point where I was asking myself: is this even worth it any more?

But by then, I was using Last.FM and Spotify fairly religiously. It was easier than ever to keep track of what I listened to and find new releases from all around the world. The Countdown in 2009 was just songs I heard on the radio, from artists I already knew/followed on MySpace/Facebook, and songs I'd hear on the muzak at work. In 2021 I had entire playlists devoted to new music and new releases from across the sonic landscape, and it seemed like it would be too easy to just keep going until I could write no more.

And suddenly, I couldn't write anymore. December 1st of last year, I sat down to get ahead and write a few blurbs, and I felt zero motivation. And on the 2nd, 3rd, and beyond. It wasn't until two weeks into December that I realized I had to make a choice - either figure out a solution, or scrap the entire event and just give it in a list format. Things ended up looking a little... different... last year, and by the end I truly considered ending the Countdown at 13 lucky years.

Well, here we are. Year 14. I've decided to streamline things just a little - I'll still do a song per day (for my sanity) but it'll only be a paragraph about each, and I'll continue to add my favorite lyric(s) from each as well. Why? Because deep down, I honestly love writing about music, even if I've lost a lot of the passion I had the last decade and a half. Also, I've stared at a list of over 50 songs from 2022 for the last month trying to figure out just what order they could possibly fall in. It's been a GREAT year for new releases, and I can't wait to share my favorites with you for the next month!

See you tomorrow!

October 2022 Recap

We've reached the final recap of the year, which means the next post will be the first of the 2022 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown! Excitement!

Another slight drop in scrobbles for the month of October, with starting a new job and less time to listen every day. 2473 scrobbles from 946 artists, which Last.FM tells me is 5% less scrobbles from 19% more artists... I think it was all the kooky Halloween tracks that jumped that artist number up. Top genres were Rock, Alternative Rock and Alternative (how cliche, lol) while the top 3 hours were 10p-11p, 12p-1p, and 10a-11a. 

Top 10 Songs for October

10. Silverstar - Gremlin

9. Demon Hunter - The Negative

8.  De/Vision - Your Hands On My Skin - Sonnet Shuttle Mix

7.  Beartooth - Skin

6. AFI - Begging for Trouble

5. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down

4. Teenage Wrist - Taste of Gasoline

3. Forever Unknown - sad people, blue eyes

2. Bobby "Boris" Pickett - Monster Mash

1. Ronnie Martin - From The Womb Of The Morning, The Dew Of Your Youth Will Be Yours

That has to be the most eclectic mix of 10 songs for far this year,with the Halloween anthem mixed in. You've got older songs, newer songs, and of course a few that will surely be in this year's Top 20.

 

Top 10 Artists for October

 

10. Bobby "Boris" Pickett

9. Vanessa Carlton

8. Training for Utopia

7. Trans-Siberian Orchestra

6. Starflyer 59

5. Assemblage 23

4. Rome

3. Rackets & Drapes

2. Pillar

1. Anberlin

 

I remember there was one specific day where I really wanted to listen to Anberlin, and of course they got their usual hits throughout the rest of the month. Halloween hitters at the top and bottom, and a bunch of older artists that I felt like rediscovering. An incredibly curious month, indeed. 

As is custom, the next Monthly Recap post will be in February (for January). Up next is the Top 20 Countdown, the 30 Most Played and Top 25 Artists. See you soon!