I should know better, but I just can’t help it – after decades of participating, I still participate in the WXRT Listeners’ Poll. WXRT is the worst in hypocrisy, promoting itself on its wide playlist but despite the great number of artists that they play, they only play the same 2-3 greatest hits by all of them (except the Beatles and Talking Heads). The “new” artists they play are all record company artists who generally play mid-tempo soft rock or reconstituted 1960s and 1970s R&B (which to me is a form of ageism – old folks don’t want to rock out). As the famous saying goes, if you keep repeating the same lie often enough, people will begin to believe it. You can’t imagine how many how many angry notes I get when I complain about how limited and redundant the station is.
I have voted in the Poll for years and have tried to keep up with how many of the records I have purchased that year. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the station would list 30-50 top vote getters, an I always had 90%+ of the list. As time as gone on, the station stopped posting more than the top 10, primarily, I believe because they don’t play 30-50 new records pee year, and the regular listeners don’t hear more than 10-15 new records per year. Some years, I’ve had one record and usually when a big act like Springsteen or the Stones release a record.
Looking at the 2022 List, I actually own three of the releases, two of which were on my personal Best of 2022 list: Wilco’s “Cruel Country” at number 4; Eddie Vedder’s “Earthling” at 8; and Florence + The Machine’s “Dance Fever” at number 9. Wilco usually appears on their list because it’s easy – everybody’s heard of them, they generally make interesting, non-traditional music, and their home base is Chicago. Vedder of course leads Pearl Jam and he was raised here; Florence has always been a favorite of Chicago. (Vedder’s record did not make my Top 10.)
The rest of the list are the easily influenced lemmings who only own 100 records and who thrive on repetition. One of my least favorites, The Heat and the Heart are there, as usual. Tedeschi-Trucks Band and Death Cab for Cutie and The Black Keys are talented and do good work, but generally have never appealed to me personally. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats just make me want to listen to the Stax records from the 1960s and 70s that they have ripped off. Worst of all, boring mediocrities Caamp and Spoon were the top two albums. Cammp is marginally tuneful and I’ve never liked Spoon, but the lemmings lap it up.
The list of live concerts fall in line: Wilco and Arcade Fire (both of which I wish I had seen), The Lumineers and Caamp (I would have been in a coma for that show), Spoon, Avett Brothers, The Killers (overrated, overplayed Queen for the 21st Century), and of course, the synonym for boredom, Coldplay. The only show on the list I did attend was Roxy Music at number 10.
I wish I could say that the list is disappointing, but after all these years, I know that it’s going to be bland, dull and filled with the crappy bands WXRT plays incessantly. My expectations were met.

Carlos Correa is a terrific shortstop. At 28-years-old, Correa has already been AL Rookie of the year, won a World Series title (albeit on the cheating Houston Astros team of 2016). He has been an All-Star twice in his brief career dating back to 2015. This Hot Stove League winter of 2022-2023 has been the Winter of the Shortstop. Perhaps no offseason in baseball history has boasted more talented young shortstops entering the market. The signings have been fast and furious: Trey Turner left the Dodgers for the Phillies and a $300 million contract; Xander Bogaerts signed with San Diego, leaving Boston for $280 million; and Dansby Swanson signed with the Cubs for $177 million. Others may have been younger, but Correa is a proven veteran who is in the prime of his career.
After seven seasons with Houston, he entered free agency guided by uber-agent (and considered the anti-Christ by many owners) Scott Boras and signed a three-year deal with the Twins which he later opted out of after his first season with the team. Having failed to sign Aaron Judge after he decided to remain with the Yankees, maybe the owners of the Giants, felt a need to make a big splash in free agency or felt that the team’s fans needed to be placated. So, they signed Correa to a 13 year, $350 million deal. The pundits saw a three-way battle for the NL West: the big money Dodgers, the equally big spending Padres, and the Giants.
Then, the unusual happened: while Giant fans were smiling and anxious for the season to start, suddenly Steve Cohen, hedge fund billionaire turned into Kreskin. In the wee hours of Dec. 21, Correa agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract with the Mets. How did that happen? Isn’t a deal a deal? Well, the Giants’ deal fell apart due to concerns over the shortstop’s surgically repaired right ankle. The injury occurred in 2014, his final year in the minors. He has played every season without serious injury or missing games and had a stat line of .291/.366/.467, a OPS of .833 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs.
The sublime became the ridiculous when The Mets were also concerned about the ankle after conducting a physical, and according to The Post’s Mike Puma and Jon Heyman, the team tried to get contract language protection in case the ankle would keep Correa from playing. The Mets were then willing to guarantee $157.5 million over six years, and he would’ve been eligible for an additional six years and $157.5 million had he reached plate-appearance and innings benchmarks.
Then, the Mets balked at the contract. So, Correa re–signed with the Twins. To no one’s surprise, the All-Star shortstop passed his physical with the Twins and the team announced the re-signing to a six-year, $200 million contract with the potential for another $70 million over four vesting years. Overall, while the total money is lower, the annual payout is actually more per season than the than the bigger deals, and in six-years, Correa will be 34, with lots of baseball left, barring injury, and a much lower risk to the team.
Only drawback: I was counting on having him out of the AL Central. The White Sox can use all the help they can get.

I had just been thinking that this past football season had a lot of very close games. Going back to the Bills-Chiefs playoff game last January in which the Chiefs scored with only 13 seconds remaining in regulation, before Patrick Mahomes worked his magic, brought the game to overtime and eventually a victory. If you include the College Football Playoff semi-finals a couple of weekends ago, there were exciting games no matter who one rooted for; even those with no dog in the hunt like myself were mesmerized. (Of course, the College Football Championship Game was a complete blowout.)
I thought it was just me; I thought the games were closer, more exciting. Even teams with numerous injuries and those with surprising backup quarterbacks like Brock Purdy who has gone from being Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft (final player drafted) to leading the 49ers to at least Super Wild Card Weekend, at home against Seattle. Sometimes, my hunches are correct. As I was thinking about what I would write about this, and asking if you, sports fans, came to the same conclusion. One of the email subscriptions I have is from Axios Sports and on Wednesday, they confirmed my suspicions.
Axios’ writer Jeff Tracy did the number crunching: an amazing 45% of games this season (122 of 271) were decided by six points or fewer, the most since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002. The next-most such games in that time were 41.8% in 2016 (107 of 256). To put that in perspective, 6.8 games per week (generally 16 games per week, not counting byes) were decided by no more than a touchdown.
In the great football heaven in the sky, former NFL Commissioner Pete Roselle is smiling. For those who don’t remember, Roselle was the commissioner who led the league to becoming one of the most successful sports leagues in the world. Roselle oversaw the increase of the league from 12 to 28 teams in great part due to the merger of the NFL and AFL, the creation of the huge television rights deals and the Super Bowl. That said, Roselle believed in parity, which he called “excitement.” Teams were competitors on the field, but partners in bags of money. Why is this important? Because this season’s particularly high percentage of close games can be called a product of the razor thin line between winning teams and losing teams – a record-tying 25 teams ended with a winning percentage over .400. With few great teams, and a few horrible teams, the adage that any team can win on any given Sunday was truer than ever. Another factor is that scoring fell to its lowest mark since 2017 — and second-lowest since 2009 — as fewer points yield less variance.
All in all, I think most fans, devout and casual found that this season will be one to remember. Let’s hope we have similar games for the playoffs and Super Bowl.

I have been very outspoken on the problems that have brought down the Northwestern University football program. Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald has been the most successful coach in school history because he recruits very well, has had a tremendous defensive coordinator and a barely alive offense and an ability to keep games close and win them. Honestly, the Cats have won more than lost despite Fitz’s continuing difficulty in making during game decisions and clock management.
One thing that has been a boon and a bust to the program has been Fitzgerald’s dependence on his coordinators. On the one hand, Fitzgerald’s best move of his career was hiring Mike Hankwitz when he was suddenly let go by Wisconsin and became one of the best defensive coordinators in the country. Hankwitz however, retired two seasons ago and Jim O’Neal, a buddy of Fitzgerald’s in their early coaching careers was hired. O’Neil failed in every coaching position he held prior to coming to Evanston, and the NU defense fell from one of the best n the country, usually among the top 30 units in the country to 63rd. The offense, which has been woeful for years under OC Mick McCall, was given to Mike Bajakian, whose unit was 107th in the country in Total Offense, and even then an improvement over the 112-118 ranked offenses under McCall. The team’s record proved out the bad individual rankings – 1-11.
Fitzgerald’s Achilles’ heel is hubris. With the units struggling, Fitz would show unending loyalty to the coordinators. It was only after years of poor offensive play that McCall was pushed out. Hankwitz deserved his tenure, but with his retirement, the head coach once again hired a buddy and then refused to publicly hold him accountable. However, Fitz may have learned a lesson (or the athletic directors no longer sat on the sidelines letting Fitzgerald do whatever he wanted), O’Neil was relieved after this season (no replacement has been named to my knowledge); Bajakian remains.
Why am I bringing all of this up? The Athletic ran a story ranking all 131 FBS football programs with the season completed. Of course, the playoff participants were 1-4: Georgia, TCU, Michigan and Ohio State. The rest of the teams were ranked and, of course, I looked for the Wildcats. They were ranked, deservedly, 122 out of 131 teams. According to the Atlantic, the preseson ranking was 87th. With 42 bowl games – 84 teams, Northwestern was expected to have been on the bubble, maybe sneaking into a bowl game.
NU reportedly has started, finally, to react to the College Football world of the 21st Century – coming up with money to address NIL possibilities to players. This should attract players in the Transfer Portal and perhaps keep the better players from using the portal to jump to other programs. Add the potential for a new football stadium in Evanston (assuming it can get past local opposition).
While hope always springs eternal, the 2023 season will be determined whether Fitzgerald can find a competent defensive coordinator and either a new offensive coordinator or a kick in the rear end to Bajakian. Most of all, Fitzgerald should be a little more introspective, maybe look to the coaches more than the lip service

The biggest story in sports today is the heart attack suffered on the football field by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. In the first quarter, after a relatively routine football play on Cincinnati wide receiver Tre Higgins, Hamlin got up off the ground and just collapsed. Medical staff were there almost immediately, had to perform CPR for several minutes right on the field, leaving the live audience and the home audience stunned as the ESPN talking heads tried to fill up the empty time (which they did fairly well, explaining without being sensationalistic).
As of now, Hamlin remains in serious condition at a hospital about 2 miles from Paycor Stadium. It appears that a hit to the chest may have disrupted the beating of the heart. Could it have been exacerbated by a genetic condition not found in normal medical tests, which in the NFL are quite comprehensive.
As I watched, I was reminded of October 24, 1971. The Bears were playing the Lions at Tiger Stadium. It was a grey day; the Lions had won 3 games in a row and were in hot pursuit of the Vikings in the division. The Bears and Lions have always been division rivals, although not with the passion as the rivalries with the Packers and Vikings. Late in the 4th quarter, with the Bears leading 28-23, the Lions were driving and Chuck Hughes came into the game as an injury replacement. Hughes caught a 32-yard pass from QB Greg Landry to the Bears 37. Three plays later, Landry tried to hit the great Lion tight end Charlie Sanders, which was broken up near the goal line. Hughes was a decoy on the play, and began running back to the huddle with 1:02 left. Suddenly, Hughes fell to the turf clutching his chest.
I think most Chicagoans will always remember pictures of Hall of Famer Dick Butkus standing over Hughes and waving for the officials to get Hughes help. (Bear great defensive lineman Ed O’Bradovich started yelling at Hughes to stop faking an injury to get the clock stopped, but OB saw Butkus’ reaction and realized it was real.) Team doctors, trainers and a cardiac physician who happened to be in the stadium that day all worked to try and save him. In this case, the game continued sine there was only 1 minute left. The Bears won the game, after which the teams were notified that Hughes had died.
I admit, as an 11-year-old kid, I thought that maybe Butkus had finally killed somebody. Alternatively sad about the death and slightly exhilarated and embarrassed to think that my childhood hero Butkus’ reputation was even more fearsome after the incident. (I was a kid – I am embarrassed about it now, but I have to be honest with you gentle reader.)
Many years later, while writing for The Sportswriters on TV and before the discovery of CTE, I wrote that the equipment was woefully inadequate for the game of football. Back then, I wrote that the game of football was not made to be played by 6’8” men with 1% body fat who could run a 4.45 40-yard dash. I said then that every play generated the equivalent force of a car accident, but young men were out there, willing to risk their bodies and healthy to play football, and hopefully make more money than they ever would have in a regular profession, or worse, life on the streets.
I first posted these sentiments in 1995 or so, and in the time since, football players have gotten even bigger and faster, While the NFL and the rest of football had to be sued to be drug out of the Ice Age to admit that football players suffer severe head trauma, and while more is being done, the equipment is still inadequate to protect the players’ brains. Which leads us to the other parts of the body, like the heart. Admittedly, the NFL has top doctors on duty in stadiums, and as I mentioned above, do a very thorough examinations of players entering the league and while playing. Without these doctors, we have to ask whether Damar Hamlin would have died like Chuck Hughes? Would today’s medicine have saved Hughes? There’s no way to tell, but I know that Hamlin would probably have died right there on the field if there weren’t serious medical staff on duty.
I think we all are praying and hoping for the 24-year-old Hamlin to survive. Reportedly, he stayed in college an extra year to remain closer to his 2-year-old brother. He started a charity for kids before he had made any money in the NFL (he was only a sixth-round draft-pick.) He is much too young, has too much to give the world aside from football. The NFL should make more all-inclusive the medical examinations given to all players. We have all heard of players who are discovered with potentially lethal conditions that makes participation in sports an unwarranted gamble.
Last night, I was watching my old friend and fellow-NU alum Kevin Blackistone on MSNBC and he made an excellent point. While we talk about the changes in the game and the equipment and medicine are discussed, what about us – the fans? Football is an unusually American game (Rick Telander reminded us that there are more gins than people in the country), and we have been conditioned to want to see the big hits, the tremendous violence. As I watch football live and on television, I am always looking for players to tackle without using their heads/helmets. Same for hockey; I’m concerned about soccer players heading balls. Now, we should add concern about hard hits to the chest.
I have already heard laughter and scorn over the new NFL Pro Bowl which will be flag football and tests of skill. I always thought the Pro Bowl was ludicrous, and was not planning to watch this new game. Silly, I thought but still better than risking injury in a meaningless game. The leagues, college conferences, high schools and yes, the fans are desperately holding on to a game that is too dangerous to continue in its current form. Will it require more deaths? How long will we be able to postpone the inevitable?

For the past couple of years, I did not post a Best of Films list, in great part because I felt that I hadn’t seen enough films due to not attending the Toronto International Film Festival. That changed in 2022 and I saw 14 films there, on top of the usual “regular” movies. Here is my list:
10 The Menu – for some reason, dark humor was very popular in film this year, and a very dark example is The Menu, written by Will Tracy (“Succession”) with Seth Reiss (“The Onion TV”) and directed by Mark Mylod (“Succession” and 6 episodes of “Game of Thrones”). A group of people go to a very exclusive restaurant; Nicholas Hoult (“X-Men” films) is a big foodie who desperately wants to eat and learn about the cooking. He brings a woman with him, not his girlfriend played by Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”) who isn’t really a big foodie and is the only person not impressed with the restaurant. The rest of the diners are a group of elites, or eclectic people, generally unpleasant, but the kitchen staff are all ruled by an insane chef, played with incredible panache by Ralph Fiennes. In short ordre, staff and guests start getting involved in dangerous games and violence and death.
9 Spirited – I don’t ordinarily watch comedies, especially starring Will Farrell, and for most of my life I generally avoided movie musicals, but having now appeared in several musicals in community theater, I appreciate musicals much more. One of my cast members suggested that I watch this film on Apple+. I like Ryan Reynolds too, mostly in the Deadpool movies. This film is a version of A Christmas Carol with Farrell the ghost of Christmas Present and Reynolds is a miserly person considered irredeemable by the afterlife. Farrell thinks he can be redeemed. Add a lovely romance involving Octavia Spenser and some very catchy songs. If this film could touch an old cynic like myself, it definitely belongs on this list.
8 All Quiet on the Western Front – I saw this film at TIFF and I was very interested in the first German language production of the World War I best seller. This film is a Netflix film and has gotten generally mediocre reviews, and perhaps me seeing this film on a big screen made it more memorable and the fact that the war changed very little in territory, just piling up bodies. Maybe this is the first time the venue impacted a rating, but this is worth watching, I think it’s good on a small screen, but try and see it on a large screen.
7 Nope – Jordan Peele has become the master of horror, and has done an amazing job of bringing social commentary into his horror movies. Daniel Kaluuya once again gives an outstanding performance. He can be a hero, a villain, he can do it all and he brings an “every Black man” spirit to this role , and KeKe Palmer has turned into a star. While he tried to keep the story under wraps, I correctly guessed that this was a UFO story, but I was still scared.
6. Sidney – the world lost Sidney Poitier in January and by September, already a great documentary was put together by Reggie Hudlin supported by the money, clout and 8 hours of interview footage filmed by Oprah Winfrey. I had the honor of being able to attend the World Premiere at TIFF with a star-studded introduction and question and answer session with the Executive Producer Oprah and other guests hosted by Gayle King. Long-time readers know my revulsion with Ms. Winfrey going way back before she became a billionaire (and I have even less respect for Ms. King). However, the Q&A also featured four of Mr. Poitier’s daughters, and the fact that the wives got along and the daughters are sisters to each other, showed the basic decency of an icon. The documentary unflinchingly covered Poitier’s indiscretion during hie first marriage with Dianne Carroll, being an icon, falling out of favor with a more militant Black Power movement, becoming a director late in his career. This is another streaming film, on Apple +, worth watching.
5 Everything Everywhere All at Once – I caught on to this film late, seeing it on video, but this time-travel, sci-fi Asian action and mis-mosh is quite inventive, well written and acted featuring a great starring role by Michelle Yeoh, a change of type of role from Jamie Lee Curtis under tons of makeup and body prosthetics, and the great feel good story of the year with the return of Ke Huy Quan, known as a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and The Goonies. This is a film that defies explanation a bit, but is a fine film (and Ms. Yeoh is primed for a potential Best Actress Oscar nomination and possibly winner).
4 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – can you make a sequel when the dynamic star of the original film? Of course, Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer and Marvel decided not to recast the Black Panther. Director Ryan Coogler made a film that was a testament to Mr. Boseman, and still had comics action. On top of that, the film showed more heart than most comic book films on top of providing a very Afro-centric story, cast, and crew.
3 Top Gun: Maverick – I was not a big fan of the 1986 original film and other than the Mission Impossible films, I’m not a big Tom Cruise fan, but this film was action-packed, had some heart fine performances by Jennifer Connelly, Miles Garrett, outstanding stunt flying work, and a star performance from Mr. Cruise. The aerodynamics of the movie, especially the end which could not have been possible in real life, but again, the story and a poignant cameo from the sick Val Kilmer.
2 The Batman – Yes, there have been many Batman movies and some have been great (The Dark Knight, Batman 1989) and some haven’t (The Dark Knight Rises, Batman vs. Superman, Original Justice League – although none of these films are bad). As always, there was controversy about the casting of the lead actor, and this time, there was a loud cry against Robert Pattinson, most know for being the brooding vampire in the Twilight films, but Pattinson has done some really good work in films like The Lighthouse and Tenet. On top of that, writer and director Matt Reeves made a different Batman film: first, Batman was on screen much more than Bruce Wayne; second, the movie focused on Batman as detective; and the great cast – Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, and Colin Farrell were in a film right out of the great film Se7en – dark, wet, gloomy, oppressive. It was a little long and had one too many endings, but it was memorable.
1 The Banshees of Inisherin –I am a big fan of writer/director Martin McDonagh, especially his first feature, the hilarious In Bruges which starred Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson. Since then, McDonagh directed Seven Psychopaths (which I don’t think worked very well), and the great Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri which were Oscar winning platform for Francis McDormand (Best Actress) and Sam Rockwell (Best Supporting Actor). When I heard that Farrell, Gleeson and McDonagh were reteaming, I had to see it, and it was more dark comedy around a pair of friends, who one day, one of them told the other that he no longer wanted to have anything to do with the other man. Confused, Padraic (Farrell) kept trying to find why Colm (Gleeson) wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Colm upped the severity of how much he wanted no further contact with Padraic. However, we gain a picture of the many characters residing in the town. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.
Honorary Mention: I saw two films at TIFF that have not yet been released in the U.S. hat I suggest people try and find it when they are showing in 2023. The first is a documentary called Black Ice, about Black hockey players in the minors and NHL. Unlike other films, this focused on racism in Canada by fans, coaches, and other players. In part produced by LeBron James, it was very good and to be shown sometime in the future. The other film is called Chevalier, the story of Joseph Bologne, son of a Black servant and a French plantation owner, but who was one of the finest violinists and composers in France, right before the revolution. Directed by Stephen Williams, one of the directors of HBO’s fine Watchmen series along with Westworld and Walking Dead. The U.S. release date is April 7, 2023.
So, there’s my list for the year. Feel free to reach out with your thoughts and opinions.

I used to compile these lists every year, but I have gotten out of the habit during the pandemic, but there have been more releases this year than in the pandemic years, so I am compiling this list. As before, it is based on what I listened to most this year. Generally, my list has a lot of names on it that have been on previous lists, and these artists generally have broken little if any new ground, which may be what we needed coming out of the long period….
10 Todd Rundgren – Space Force – a new rock release from Todd Rundgren is always a treat, something that he has not released in awhile, but touring has brought renewed interest in The Wizard A True Star. This is a record of collaborations with many artists like The Roots, Rivers Cuomo, Sparks, Neil Finn, Rick Nielsen, Adrian Belew and Thomas Dolby among others. With all of the guests, the record has an unevenness about it. Some of the songs are quite good; others, not so much, but the good outweighs the bad.
9 Bruce Springsteen – Only The Strong Survive: long time readers know that the Boss being on this list is no surprise, but for him to be this low on the list s unusual. This record is filled with covers of great soul songs written and performed by other people. There’s no E-Street Band, no BS originals, Bruce plays no guitar. The band he assembled is very slick and clean and these songs need some grit in the playing. And Bruce really doesn’t have the voice for a few of these songs, years of screaming has hewn his voice – great for rock, not smooth for soul. I appreciate Springsteen’s commitment to these old songs, but his bandmate Little Steven Van Sant and his band the Disciples of Soul have more energy and authenticity than this.
8 Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs – External Combustion – we lost Tom Petty 5 years ago and it was a stunning loss. However, Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell is still very much alive and this release definitely has the Petty vibe on it but with Campbell’s vocals and a personality of its own. This is a very solid release.
7 The Figgs – Chemical Shake: I admit that I am truly honored to be friends with Graham Parker, He is a great artist and friend, and one of the side benefits has been meeting members of The Figgs, who have backed up GP in the past. I have purchased several of their records and this year, they released a wonderfully tuneful rocking record called Chemical Shake From the first song – Hot Vice, it reaches out and entertains. Worthwhile to pick up and try out their back catalog also.
6 Pixies – Doggerel: I caught up with the Pixies long after they had broken up, mostly through the solo discs by Black Francis/Frank Black. It was then that I reached back into the original Pixie catalog. Since the bank reformed, the key thing is the writing of Black, which remains quirky, tuneful and rocking. This record is not a dramatic departure, but it is another great record from a great band.
5 Wilco – Cruel Country: a year with a Wilco album and it is almost guaranteed to appear on my Top of the Year list. I admit that I am not a fan of country music in general but R.E.M. and Wilco infuse enough rock to not sound like a traditional country record. It is only available via streaming as of now, but physically this record will be available in the new year. Worth listening to, no matter how you do it.
4 Arcade Fire – We: another of my favorite bands out with its first new music in awhile. An overall subdued disc compared with earlier music, maybe because of reported infidelity by band leader Wil Butler against his wife Regine Chassagne who had a baby over the pandemic. Still the songs are very poppy, just slower and more introspective.
3 Interpol – The Other Side of Make-Believe: the first record in four years is back to basics for this New York band. I have always enjoyed their atmospheric sound.
2 Florence + the Machine – Dance Fever: this is another tuneful set from Florence Welsh and her mates. Ms. Welsh as one might expect, came up with inward, coming up with songs questioning her relationship to performing and her public image. Poignant lyrics.
1 Elvis Costello and the Imposters – The Boy Named If: despite being one of my favorites, it says a lot that a record that was released in January, 2022 and it still gets played regularly by me. Following two terrific albums in the 21st Century: Look Now and Hey, Clockface, this record is even more of synthesis of all of the best aspects of Costello’s whole career without sounding old or derivative. It took the number 1 slot on my list for the year and dared every other release to knock it off the mountain. No one did.
So, there’s my rundown of my favorite records of the year. I will list the best films of the year in a future post.