A 2-pronged playlist for 2022
Looking at life’s ambitions and lessons from both sides now
For my first walk of 2020, I thumbed through playlists for a good symbolic song to start a fresh decade. I accidentally hit “I’m Still Standing,” by Elton John. “Well played, fate,” I thought.
2020, of course, turned out to be the phlegm remnant year of all time. So I stubbornly stuck with the same song to start 2021.
“Bite me, fate,” I said.
“Break a hip, Dave,” fate replied.
Time for a different approach. Here’s a playlist filled with ambiguity, just as lots of us are as we enter 2022. Here are 10 ideas — some fresh, some stale, some a little of each — with two songs apiece. I’ll smatter in other tunes just to annoy you further, but the playlist at the end is just the 20. Here goes:
Appreciate the moment. Congratulations! You’ve accomplished your biggest goal of 2021: You did not die. Everything else is gravy. So we’ll open with “I’m Still Here,” from Stephen Sondheim, and end with its complement, “Bite Me, Fate,” by Elton John.
Set the right tone. If a comment or text doesn’t come across the way you intended, maybe your tone spoke louder than the words. Consider the emotional impact of these two songs — or, more precisely, these two versions of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Marcus Mumford helps you warm up with a soulful version, and then, when you’re in full stride past the hour mark and kicking some 2022 ass, the Dropkick Murphys will stomp on in.
Expand your horizons. If all Kanye West and Jay-Z ever listened to was rap and their own era, they wouldn’t have known about Otis Redding and “Try a Little Tenderness,” the world wouldn’t have had “Otis” and we wouldn’t be able to yell along with, “I GUESS I GOT MY SWAGGER BACK.”
Smattered tunes Nos. 1 and 2:
Believe it or not, some great songs aren’t in English. Mexican ranchera superstar Vicente Fernández performed sorrowful songs for decades, and “El Rey” is a staple for many special moments. Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki” has been covered and tweaked for decades, including an English-language hit by A Taste of Honey and a Spanish version by Selena.
Strive to be better. “I’m perfectly incomplete,” Jessie J sings. “I’m still working on my masterpiece.” Maybe your masterpiece won’t lie in work, but in family, in friendships, in kindness. Cash Cash’s “How to Love” is mildly about romance, but let it remind you how easy it is to go through life with blinders on. Lots of people can fix the broken in your heart, platonically if not romantically, but you have to let them.
Are you missing someone? Sometimes death takes our loved ones away, other times life takes them in different directions. Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “hope ur ok” tug at different heartstrings for different generations.
Are you missing something? “If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?” the song asks. Are you focused on what — and who — really matters to you? If something has gone wrong, can you fix it? As “Seasons of Love” reminds us, you’re about to get another 525,600 minutes. Cherish them.
If all men count with you, but none too much … Yes, I stole this heading and the next one from Rudyard Kipling’s “If —.” No matter how many brilliant people (not just men) you surround yourself with, one thing is certain: You’re going to get some stupid advice. Not blatantly stupid, just wrong for your life. So hear them out, then listen to “Nothing” and “Follow Your Arrow” before you proceed.
Smattered tune No. 3:
Besides having a name, Jim Croce sings, he has a song. “And I carry it with me and I sing it loud. If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud.” Remember that if someone is trying to change your tune.
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same … You have to relinquish your Baby Boomer card if you’ve never heard “Both Sides Now,” which reminds us of life’s ambiguities. But I also love “Possibility Days” because of lines like these: “The best part of a bad day is knowing it’s OK” and “The worst part of a good day is the one thing you don't say.” So say it, FFS!
Use negative emotions as fuel. Whether it’s Taylor Swift getting back at a bully in “Mean” or Alanis Morissette lashing out at Mr. Duplicity in “You Outta Know,” singers use music to sort out bad relationships. But sometimes we can all channel the nasty stuff to make us better. Envy can make you more passionate, pain can make you more compassionate.
Smattered tune No. 4:
The emotional stuff certainly isn’t just for women. Tom Brady, Draymond Green and Mark Zuckerberg are among the gazillions of men who use that fuel, too. Then there’s bit of bad romance from Tony Bennett, which came out long before any of these men — or women — were born.
Have a good cry. In the middle of the playlist are seven minutes for you to reflect on moments that touch your heart. The finale of “Cinema Paradiso” — I explain it in the Slaw here — features a great instrumental that gives your mind a chance to wander. Just before it is “So Big/So Small,” which is partly about a divorced mother’s travails with a troubled teen, but mostly about unconditional love.
So here’s the list, which might look better here because Substack ain’t exactly great when it comes to displaying playlists. Even better, though: Make your own. Put in songs that remind you of 10 things that are important to you. If you don’t like to have a good cry, have a good laugh — or a good scream. Whatever helps you have a good new year.
Murphy Slaw
Something old: The words of Joan Didion will live on, just like the lyrics of Sondheim and the songs of Fernández. Three big losses in recent weeks. RIP.
Something new: This is a great Twitter thread of nice moments from the year.
Something borrowed: I wonder if this man answers to the name of Shaggy.
Something blue: Sometimes it’s sweet when people ask you questions. But it also can be annoying if the questions come out of laziness. Have we got a website for you: Just Fucking Google It. Yes, that’s its name. You go to the site and type in their question — like “What does FFS mean?” if my “Possibility Days” reference baffled them — then it gives you a link like this that you can email back to them, accompanied by whatever words you choose to add.
Thanks for the tunes. I'll listen while I walk Benny. Hope you and yours have a splendid new year, Dave. Glad we can keep in touch.