It’s that time of year streaming services remind us all of the musical journey we’ve each been on for the last 365 days. Nashville Public Radio staffers took to Slack to compare and commend our colleagues’ choices the second Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay dropped this week, which got us thinking: Maybe we should share our top songs with all of you.
Below, you’ll find the tunes we had on repeat — and a little or a lot about why that was. Many choices were not released in 2022 at all, but kept us company this year regardless. And some of us insisted on giving you our top two contenders. You’re welcome, or we’re sorry.
To listen to them all, scroll to the bottom or click here for our Spotify playlist. You can also search each song in any streaming app.
“Lullaby,” Grace Ives
This was a standout on a playlist of a couple dozen recs from my most-trusted music suggester in life (and overall, favorite person) because it wasn’t the usual sad girl indie. It’s fun. It’s poppy. It’s the positive spin on the Groundhog Day existence of isolation that I desperately needed earlier in the pandemic. Still, the first time I heard the track, it was the introspective slowdown at the end — “It’s nothing to be sad about. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.” — that immediately made me “press replay.”
— Rachel Iacovone, WPLN News digital news editor
“Done,” Frazey Ford
My contributions are, admittedly, a bit all over the place, but I have no shame in playing them back-to-back. Frazey Ford’s “Done” appeared in my Discover Weekly one day, and I haven’t been able to shake it since. In all honesty, I haven’t listened to much of her other music (beyond her work in The Be Good Tanya’s), but managed to play this song a concerning amount and it made its way to the top.
— Cindy Abrams, WPLN News midday news producer
“90 Proof,” Smino feat. J. Cole
Also, I love J. Cole. And Smino. Enough said.
— Cindy Abrams, WPLN News midday news producer
“Beg For You,” Charli XCX feat. Rina Sawayama
Charli XCX’s new album “Crash” was released in March, and I have barely stopped spinning it since. The cover shows Charli in a dark glam leather getup and bleeding profusely after looking like she has been hit by a car — a painfully appropriate metaphor for a turbulent 2022, in my humble opinion. Amid an incredibly chaotic news cycle (Russia invades Ukraine! Crypto crash! Elon buys Twitter! Anti-semitism is back! Congress is divided!), Charli brings a bigger and brasher sound than ever before. No, she is not singing about world peace, but she does know how to write a damn good pop song about breakups. “Beg for You” was the theme song of my love life this year and my No. 1 most-streamed song, which, to my delight, she played when I saw her on tour in April. It’s Charli’s mega pop star moment after years of working in the electropop trenches, and I am proud to call myself a Charli’s angel.
— Julia Ritchey, WPLN News afternoon editor
“Grapejuice,” Harry Styles
“Honestly, it just put me in my feelies, and I love Harry Styles. Haha.”
— Mikayla Elias, This Is Nashville technical director
“Crying In Public (MUNA Remix),” Madi Diaz feat. MUNA
The “Crying in Public (Muna Remix)” was my 2022 “Dancing On My Own.” Did I cry in public to it? Yes! Did I dance alone in my house to it? Yes! Get you a song who can do both.
— Paige Pfleger, WPLN News criminal justice reporter
“For My Friends,” King Princess
And along a similar vein of “people break your heart, dance about it” I am also submitting “For My Friends” by King Princess.
— Paige Pfleger, WPLN News criminal justice reporter
“Certainty,” Big Thief
I try not to pretend I know what any song is “about,” but I think “Certainty” gets at the shelter we can find in each other, even — or maybe especially — when we aren’t sure it’s tenable. The first time I heard it, I was sure it was an old song I had once loved but forgotten. It felt like something salvaged, resurfaced from the murk of memory. But no, it was from an album that hadn’t even come out yet. A few months later, I was at my friends’ wedding, and it was their first dance. For a moment, that struck me as a bit of an odd choice. But then Adrianne Lenker got to the line that hooked me in the first place, and it’s a perfect summation of what it means to love someone: “For you, I am a child, believing.” It racked up quite a few more plays after that.
— Steve Haruch, This Is Nashville senior producer
“Paprika,” Japanese Breakfast
“I love this song. It sounds curious, hopeful and just joyful. The best.”
— Margaret Raney, Nashville Public Radio major gifts officer
“Secret Service,” Leikeli47
That groove, though. She produces her own music, and the pocket that she crafted out of a creeping, subterranean 808 pattern, beatboxing and other vocal samples is sooo deep. She slouches and struts right through it with her muscular bars. That’s why I could never listen to it just once.
— Jewly Hight, Nashville Public Radio senior music writer
“BREAK MY SOUL,” Beyoncé
I mean, it’s Beyoncé doing gospel-house: What more do you need?! Somehow an artist with her immense wealth and power managed to channel how the least of us have felt through this pandemic and turn it into an uplifting dance anthem for the soul.
— Ray Curenton-Dillinger, Nashville Public Radio membership coordinator
“Lilac Wine,” Nina Simone
Spotify lists my top-played song of 2022 as “Lilac Wine” by Nina Simone. It’s my 4-year-old son’s favorite song. He calls it “the sad song,” and on our drives to and from preschool, he requests it, hollering from his car seat, “Mom, can you play the sad song?” It’s about someone losing the love of their life, and then making and drinking hallucinogenic wine from the lilac tree so they can see that love again in a drug-induced state. It’s just the right song for a curious toddler.
— Meribah Knight, WPLN News senior reporter/producer of special projects
“Let’s go to Hell,” Tai Verdes
My Spotify is first and foremost coal for the furnace that is my morning run, and I need some Tai Verdes to get me moving in the a.m. Also doubles as some good windows-down music to blast, just be sure to avoid eye contact with Williamson County drivers at red lights. They are music’s toughest critics.
— Marianna Bacallao, WPLN News afternoon host
“Achilles Come Down,” Gang of Youths
Another Memento mori song I run to, but I must warn the vibe is very different.
— Marianna Bacallao, WPLN News afternoon host
“Everything Is Simple,” Widowspeak
This tantalizing 4-minute simmer never quite boils. I love its pairing of a sinister groove with airy and ephemeral vocals — and that the band once described this track as them “breathing” together. For a version that actually does erupt, check out Widowspeak’s KEXP session.
— Tony Gonzalez, WPLN News special projects editor
“Silk Chiffon,” MUNA feat. Phoebe Bridgers
I’m a gal band fanboy, and one of my favorites is MUNA!! Their release in 2022 of “Silk Chiffon” is my happy place song!
— Steve Swenson, Nashville Public Radio CEO
“Brad Pitt,” Coin
I won’t reveal how many times I played this song this year, but it is more than double my age. I’m going to keep playing it over and over and hope it helps me age gracefully.
— Aaron Monty, WNXP weekend radio host
“breathe again,” Joy Oladokun
Introspection, revelation, redemption. These wash over me every time I hear this song. This occurred well before I knew Joy’s backstory. Even more so afterward.
— Anita Bugg, VP of Content
“pushin P,” Gunna feat. Young Thug and Future
Pushin P by Gunna is my most listened to song of the year because it wouldn’t be P of me if it wasn’t. The song inspires me to continue pushing positivity, prosperity and peacefulness into the lives of those around me.
— Blaise Gainey, WPLN News politics reporter
“When My Times Comes,” Dawes
Top song: For the third year in a row, Dawes’ “When My Time Comes.” I am officially a Dawes-iple. Trademark it. I enjoy their new album, their old albums. Their best known song (which is probably “When My Time Comes”) and the most obscure stuff. Will I see them at the Ryman in March for like the fifth time? Yes.
— Blake Farmer, WPLN News senior health care reporter
“Headspace,” Sharon Van Etten
This is one of the most evocative COVID time capsule tunes on a whole record recalling those first pandemic days. I listened to “We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong” incessantly when abroad this summer, reviewing it for WNXP’s Record of the Week. So although this industrial, moody tune is about remaining connected to a partner throughout emotionally strained and “unprecedented times,” it now recalls for me the freedom and joy in solo travel, and trusting myself. Trusting it’s all going to be OK.
— Celia Gregory, WNXP morning host and special programs manager
“Satan,” Andy Shauf
My most played song was “Satan” by Andy Shauf, a one-off single from the Canadian narrative-song specialist inspired by his deeply religious family’s view of Halloween as the devil’s holiday and candy as the slippery slope to hell. It surprisingly became my musical medicinal solution to airplane anxiety with its lilting, transportive melody and distractingly genius wordplay “One invitation, one bite-sized bar. Would you like to come swimming in a big lake of fire?”
— Jason Moon Wilkins, WNXP program director
“Totally Fine,” PUP
There was no band that captured the frenetic energy of pent up inner chaos like PUP this year. One time, I almost passed out from lack of oxygen by yelling “Lately, I started to feel like I’m slowly dying, and if I’m being real, I don’t even mind. I was holding back ’cause I just couldn’t tell if I’m at my worst or totally fine” at the top of my lungs with the lead singer of PUP. This song is cathartic group therapy via gang vocals.
— Justin Barney, WNXP assistant program director
“Lyrics to Go,” A Tribe Called Quest
This is the BEST song A Tribe Called Quest ever released. A true masterclass on what can be done with sampling. It’s energizing and chilled out at the same time. The colors that come from this song expand past the visual spectrum of mere mortals.
— Khalil Ekulona, This Is Nashville host
“Keep Rising – The Woman King,” Jessy Wilson and Angelique Kidjo
I’m usually drawn to soundtracks — movies and musicals. Love “The Woman King” movie score, especially “Keep Rising,” and “My Power” by Beyoncé. But also the beautiful orchestral/African sounds sans vocals. It’s so inspiring and culturally relevant to me as a Black woman.
— LaTonya Turner, WPLN News morning editor
“N95,” Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” was my favorite album this year. So it’s no surprise my most listened to song was something from this record. I love “N95.” It sounds like a NFL Madden main menu song, and I love it. It’s hard to pick one song from this record, but I think “N95” sets the tone for this album.
— Marquis Munson, WNXP production coordinator
“The Happiest Girl,” BLACKPINK
The sass, the attitude, the energy of Blackpink really appeals to me. “The Happiest Girl” manages to squeeze that personality into a melancholy ballad (don’t let the title fool you). Also, it’s truly made for singing along while driving, which is always a plus.
— Nina Cardona, WPLN News morning host
“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
My second choice is what I think would have been my No. 1 song, if Spotify collected data past Oct. 31. Thanks to this track getting increasing rotation on WNXP, and the lyrics suddenly being extra relatable to my life in November, this was on loop for the entire month. Also, “Bad Habit” is basically two songs for the price of one with that sharp pivot for the second half, and who doesn’t want bonus Steve Lacy, you know?
— Rachel Iacovone, WPLN News digital news editor
“She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Double) [Gary Stewart],” Wednesday
North Carolina band Wednesday took on the 1975 Gary Stewart sad ass country song with the hilariously tragic title, “She’s Actin Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles).” Wednesday turns up the feedback and distortion all the way to mirror the inner turmoil of our protagonist who watches his partner shamelessly break his heart in front of his face as he helplessly turns his head to stare into the bottom of his glass. Wednesday add two tempo changes that act as a musical punch to the gut and the break in lead singer Karly Hartzman’s voice will have a tear in your beer as well.
— Justin Barney, WNXP assistant program director
“Geraldene” (on Palomino), Miranda Lambert
It wasn’t just the fact that this song invokes the name of my fave grandma, who was no more likely to let herself get walked on than the protagonist. I put it on repeat because of how Lambert’s vinegary, shit-stirring phrasing digs in its heels behind the rhythm section. That track was even blasting from my phone when I crossed the finish line at a 100 miler.
— Jewly Hight, Nashville Public Radio senior music writer
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