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Song of the Day #5,288: ‘Count Me Out’ – Kendrick Lamar

Guest blogger Daniel continues his countdown of the year’s top albums…

Best Albums of 2022 – #5
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar

I vividly remember when this album dropped because it was the same day my family was going on a cruise. I thought to myself: “How will I be able to download this album on Apple Music in the middle of the ocean?” How could something I love so much cause me such an inconvenience?

All was good as luckily my parents had splurged in paying for some minutes of wi-fi in the interest of not ruining their respective Wordle streaks. Luckily, in this sacred time I was able to download the album and prepared myself emotionally for the journey I was about to go on both nautically and musically.

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Song of the Day #5,286: ‘Hollywood Bass Player’ – Josh Rouse

I thought the Random iTunes Fairy might serve up a little holiday spirit on Christmas Eve, but she went with this charming little number by Josh Rouse instead.

It’s the tale of a young man who plays bass in New York, France, and eventually Los Angeles. More of a sketch than a tale, really.

At any rate, I hope it’s festive enough to put those of you who celebrate Christmas in a nice mood heading into the big day.

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Song of the Day #5,285: ‘Daydreaming’ – Harry Styles

Guest blogger Daniel continues his countdown of the year’s top albums…

Best Albums of 2022 – #6
Harry’s House – Harry Styles

Much like the general population, I didn’t think much of Harry Styles when he was one of the five members of the wildly popular boy band One Direction. I mean, it’s easy in retrospect to hear how he stands out from the rest on almost every one of their tracks.

However, it wasn’t until ‘Sign of the Times’ that I perked up my ears and truly listened. This breakout single immediately established that Styles wasn’t going to be conforming to any of the conventions of mainstream pop radio that he had already been casually dominating with 1D. Rather, his journey as a solo artist would be one centered on the art.

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Song of the Day #5,284: ‘Feel the Fiyaaaah’ – Metro Boomin

Guest blogger Daniel continues his countdown of the year’s top albums…

Best Albums of 2022 – #7
Heroes & Villains – Metro Boomin

It’s almost impossible to tie my feelings on this album apart from its unparalleled rollout. In announcing the title and themes of the record, Boomin was able to recruit Morgan Freeman and Lakeith Stanfield for its reveal video. Of course, I was already hooked.

Few people have made as much of an impact on the rap industry in the past decade as Metro who has been an unsung hero on many of the biggest rap records that casual fans have probably heard passively.

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