Songs I've heard in 2022 that made me go "...fuck."

Not really a 2022 recap...

Songs with nice beats are good, but songs with good lyrics? SUBLIME. | Photo from Pexels.com

A few hours from now, the world’s gonna welcome 2023. What would a new year behold? Will it be any better than the preceding years? All we can do is hope for the best. Though, before we say goodbye to 2022, I’d like to share some songs that have stopped me on my tracks. These are the songs that I’ve came across this year and they, quite literally, made me go “...fuck.”

1. Astronomy by Conan Gray (2021)

Written by: Conan Gray, Dan Nigro

I first heard Astronomy when it was making its rounds on TikTok – just like any other “this-will-soon-be-famous” pop songs nowadays. However, unlike other pop songs, Astronomy deserved the clout it got. The song talks about a love that was extinguished, not by the usual third party but by mere distance. Intelligently, the song illustrates this by using astronomy to liken the distance that the lovers now have, providing a stark contrast to the closeness couples would usually have. In the entire song, the persona sets things straight and confesses to their partner that the love they once shared had already ceased to exist.

“We've traveled the seas, we've ridden the stars We've seen everything from Saturn to Mars As much as it seems like you own my heart It's astronomy, we're two worlds apart”

What really drew me into this song is the way that it frankly sounds…different. Whenever we hear breakup songs, we often hear messages of regret and disloyalty. Adele literally said “regret and mistakes, they’re memories made” in Someone Like You (2011) while Robyn instructs you to Call Your Girlfriend (2010) because you “just met somebody new.” Astronomy, however, just says “I fell out of love” and, rather than to mess things up or have the other person hold onto nothing, it’s best that they accept their situation and go their separate ways as they’ve already become “two worlds apart.”

2. Liability by Lorde (2017)

Written by: Lorde, Jack Antonoff

Liability is a classic to anyone who’s made to feel irrelevant and not enough. The song is like a conversation between a person who was made to feel like, as the title suggests, a liability, and themself. This level of vulnerability and honesty is what drew me to this song.

“The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy 'Til all of the tricks don't work anymore And then they are bored of me”

In the few years I’ve had in this little blue planet, I find myself opting to forget unfavorable things rather than keep them in my memory just to retell them (even to myself). Some might say it’s my coping mechanism, I say that’s fair. But, the persona faces unfortunate events head-on. If people like me would rather forget, the persona relieves the memory, stays true to themself, and accepts all the pain that comes with it. To me, this melancholic acceptance of fate is pitiful yet very realistic – and that’s what makes this song sublime.

3. Funeral by Phoebe Bridgers (2017)

Written by: Phoebe Bridgers

One of the things I like about some artists is that they can write short stories and put notes onto them, making a song as a result. Don’t get me wrong, I love songs that are written like poems, but there’s just something about narrative songs – and that’s exactly what Funeral is. In the song, the persona narrates their experience of having to sing at a funeral while, throughout the song, they contemplate life, grief, and emotions.

“Wishin' I was someone else, feelin' sorry for myself When I remembered someone's kid is dead Jesus Christ, I'm so blue all the time And that's just how I feel Always have and I always will”

Talking about death or anything that relates to it is hard, but talking about it and mental health is even more difficult. The song wonderfully faces this taboo by simply being frank. It talks about death and mental health normally – as things should, tbvh – and that’s what I love about it. Funeral doesn’t pretend it knows how to deal with death, grief, and even depression. It narrates that it’s something the persona has (and possibly us, too) and it’s okay to be that way. Though it speaks of death, it does so in a way that it also celebrates life and existence – just like a funeral.

4. Happiness is a butterfly by Lana Del Rey (2019)

Written by: Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff, Rick Nowels

It was around the middle of 2022 when I heard the entire Norman Fucking Rockwell (2019) album by Lana Del Rey. While I love every song, Happiness is a butterfly really stood out to me, especially with how the persona of the song describes their relationship situation with their partner.

“If he's a serial killer, then what's the worst That could happen to a girl who's already hurt? I'm already hurt If he's as bad as they say, then I guess I'm cursed Looking into his eyes, I think he's already hurt He’s already hurt”

To be honest, this song reminds me of Rihanna’s We Found Love (2011) by how it illustrates two broken or hurt people finding solace in each other. Though, Happiness is a butterfly goes deeper into what finding love means when you’re (almost certainly) perpetually broken. Lana shows prudence in her writing as she likens finding happiness to catching a butterfly. It’s elusive, hard, and near-impossible. It would take you great lengths just to get the winged creature, but you better not hold onto it too tight, lest you crush it. And I think that’s what love and happiness truly is: fragile.

5. ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine (2022)

Written by: Lizzy McAlpine

This 2022, I really allowed myself to discover new artists, especially those who consider themselves as indie artists. That’s when I stumbled upon Lizzie McAlpine’s ceilings. This song also narrates, but what I love about this is that it’s very illustrative and criminally short. It leaves listeners hanging and wanting for more.

“You kiss me in your car And it feels like the start of a movie I've seen before But it's not real And you don't exist And I can't recall the last time I was kissed It hits me in the car And it feels like the end of a movie I've seen before”

I’m just gonna say it: what I love about ceilings is its vulnerability and honesty to showcase the persona’s insecurity in their supposed relationship. This is something I, like most of you, have felt before and will probably feel again. The lack of assurance whether something we feel is true, or just a made-up reality in our heads, will forever be a disease that would plague our hearts and minds. It’s not as if we can put it down to get rid of it or find a cure. It, unfortunately, comes with life and all we can do, sometimes, is to just lay on our beds and stare up at the ceiling… wishing things would just “move faster.”

And that’s a wrap! 2022 introduced me to a wonderfully diverse genre of songs that I would definitely go back to. While I know there are some releases this year that I’ve yet to listen to, I’m happy to close the book of 2022 with these five songs that became its highlights. Needless to say, I can’t wait for what 2023 will bring!

Adieu, 2022!