Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Top 100 of 2022: Browning, Styles, Beach Music, Pop and Indie Artists Dominate

 It's the end of another year, and of course it's time to look back on anything and everything that had transpired over the past twelve months.   And that of course includes the music I listened to.


While 2022 started off like any other year, with indie and alternative artists taking their usual spots on the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100---from the onset, I knew it would be different.    Two of the local, aspiring artists that made an impact in 2021--ScreenAge and Oneiric, essentially split up, the former having the top song each of the last two years.  And while the two members of that band still performed in various capacities, there were no new releases from them in 2022.

Last year, there were only two songs that you could qualify as "Carolina Beach Music":  Deb Browning's "Stop Messin' With My Man" and The James Hunter Six's "I Can Change Your Mind".  That all changed by springtime when Ms. Browning's new song with a band called The Six Piece Suits, "Take Me By the Hand" hit the blog chart, prompting three of Deb's older songs to debut or return to the SNS 100.     "Take Me By the Hand" was the first beach music song from the region to hit #1 here.  


Deb Browning has the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves #1 Song of 2022 with "3 More Minutes".  She placed four songs on the Top 100.

It opened up the floodgates for beach music--Deb was followed in short order by Lesa Hudson, Rick Strickland, The Carolina Coast Band, The Main Event Band, just to name a few.  And then came "3 More Minutes".

The song, written and sung by Deb had a high debut and hit the Top Ten in its second week.   Following two weeks at #1 the song stayed in the Top 20 for 17 more weeks, garnering the "Song of the Summer" award, and is still in the 20's on the most recent SNS chart, buoyed by current #1 status on Mitch Harb's and Ray Scott's latest charts.

"3 More Minutes" is the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves number one song for 2022.

As it did much of the year beach music claimed half the Top 10, and a quarter of the Top 100---even more if you include reverse crossover songs from Zac Brown Band, Lizzo, Harry Styles, and Elton John & Britney Spears.     Deb Browning herself had four entries, including two with the Six Piece Suits.   "Take Me By the Hand" came in at #3, giving Ms. Browning two of the top three songs, duplicating ScreenAge's feat from a year ago.  The Rick Strickland Band's members placed five--Two from Lesa Hudson and three from Rick himself.  The Main Event Band, featuring Sharon Woodruff, had two songs as well.    And Starbuck's "You're the Reason" put the band--essentially original front man Bruce Blackman these days, on the Top 100 for the first time since 1976.

Pop artists scored well this year.    Three Billboard Number One songs--by Harry Styles, Lizzo, and Steve Lacy, made the list, and another...Kate Bush's 37-year-old "Running Up That Hill", which reached #3 on Billboard, helped by its inclusion in the Netflix show Stranger Things, also placed high on the list.  One other Billboard Top Ten, OneRepublic's "I Ain't Worried" (#6 Billboard) placed on the blog list.  Others who have had pop success in the past, including Sia, Ellie Goulding, and Halsey, also placed a song here.

For a while it looked like Styles would have the first dual year-end #1 since Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" in 2017, but, just as Glass Animals' "Heat Waves" and its record run on the Hot 100 beat out "As It Was", (despite that song's 15-week reign at the top, the longest by a solo artist with not featured vocalists,  the song fell victim to "3 More Minutes".   However, it's the first time since 1973 and Billboard and I agreed with the number two song of the year.   That year had "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce in the runner up spot.

The British indie movement which began last year continued with last year's breakout successes Anna Lavigne and Tim Izzard combining for ten songs on the list.   Ms. Lavigne placed four songs, including three from her most recent album Roses for the Ride.   And Izzard landed six songs in three different configurations: Three solo, two as part of the online band Orbis Max, and one as half of The Aziz Project duo.

But rock...of the indie, and alternative variety was still alive and well.    The Black Keys, for the second time in four years, placed two songs in the Top Ten, both from their first mainstream alternative album since 2019, Dropout Boogie.  Florence + the Machine, and Red Hot Chili Peppers logged their first entries in several years with new albums (in the Peppers' case, two).

Local and aspiring artists still contributed to the list.    While Steve Shouse hails from Kansas, he hit the list both with his solo "Back to 69" as well as his Internet outfit Einsteins Dad, which featured three of the New Jersey-based Hounds of Winter.    Staten Island twin-sister duo Hegazy had three songs, Queens artist David F. Porfirio, and Long Island trio   Øff Guard had one apiece.     New Jersey's Isn't It Always, Philadelphia's Joy Again (with two entries) and Massachusetts' Eavesdrop, also placed on the list, while the likes of other Jerseyans like Donna Missal and Sharon Van Etten were also included.    The Garden State did take a backseat to other regions in 2022.   Aside from Ms. Van Etten, Ms. Missal,Isn't It Always and members of Einsteins Dad, Ryan Chatelain made the list.   Both Chatelain and Jennifer Cintron, also on here, performed at Roselle Park's Arts Festival this year, along with ColorJoy which was the spin-off duo of ScreenAge which had performed the prior two years.

It was a rather quiet year for country music, with Sam Hunt and Zac Brown Band, helped by beach music airplay scoring here.   Two songs that made the 2021 list carried over into 2022: Anna Lavigne's 'Dance the Last Goodbye", whose four-week run of that song straddled both years; and Fleet Foxes "Featherweight".

Here is the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves Top 100 for 2022.


Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves Top 100 of 2022



1







 

Deb Browning - 

3 More Minutes




2





 

Harry Styles - 

As It Was



3




 

Deb Browning and

Six Piece Suits -

Take Me By The Hand


4




 

Carolina Coast Band ft 

Rhonda McDaniel - 

The Thing About You


5




 

The Black Keys - 

It Ain't Over


6





 

Lesa Hudson - 

Breathless



7




 

LP - Angels



8




 

Main Event Band ft 

Sharon Woodruff - 

Poor Side of Town


9




 

Curtis Harding - 

I Won't Let You Down


10




 

The Black Keys - 

Wild Child



11





 

My Morning Jacket - 

In Color



12




 


Train - AM Gold



13






 

Donna Missal -

(To Me) Your Face Is Love



14






 

Kate Bush - 

Running Up That Hill



15





 

Sia - 

Unstoppable



16





 

Lizzo - 

About Damn Time



17




 

Foals - 2am



18





 

Einstein's Dad - 

Here to Home



19






 

Juliet Callahan - 

Burning



20





 

David F. Porfirio - 

Dreamscape



21



 

Main Event Band ft 

Sharon Woodruff - 

Hello Stranger

22



 


Carolina Blue Dots - 

Cruzin' Down the Boulevard


23





 

Vance Joy - Clarity




24




 

Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and 

The Cornhole Prophets - 

In My '64

25





 

Tim Izzard - 

The Night I Played Ziggy's 

Guitar



26





 

Rick Strickland - Sandy




27




 

Florence + The Machine- 

My Love


28





 

Jerry Powell and 

The Carnival Band

ft. Dave Sandy - 

Merry-Go-Round


29




 

Maneskin - Supermodel



30



 

Tim Izzard - 

Glam Rock Star (Tribute)


31





 

Anna Lavigne - This Time




32





 

Lesa Hudson - 

Sunny Days




33





 

Steve Lacy - Bad Habit



34




 

Tim Izzard - 

Empty My Head


35




 

Anna Lavigne - Mindblown




36





 

SadGirl - 

Little Queenie


37






 

Carolina Dreamers -

Hey Girl Hey Boy




38




 

Fitz and the Tantrums - 

Sway


39




 

Portugal. The Man - 

What, Me Worry


40




 

The Tonez - 

Me and My Music


41






 

Starbuck -

You're the Reason



42





 

Red Hot Chili Peppers - 

Black Summer


43







 

Isn't It Always - Rock Star




44








 

Einstein's Dad - 

White Shoulders Lace and 

Leather



45





 

Parquet Courts - 

Watching Strangers Smile


46







 

Doyle Wood and 

Sylvia Johns Ritchie - 

Not Tonight

 (I Have a Heartache)

47






 

The War On Drugs - 

Change



48






 

Øff Guard - B.L.U.




49






 

My Chemical Romance - 

The Foundations of Decay


50





 

Ellie Goulding ft Big Sean - 

Easy Lover


51






 

Sam Hunt - 23




52






 

Metric - 

All Comes Crashing



53






 

Avi Wisnia - 

Catching Leaves



54





 

Jennifer Cintron - Run



55






 

The AZIZ Project - 

Thought I Was Falling 

In Love



56




 

Anna Lavigne -  

Lavender Days



57






 

Papercuts - A Dull Boy



58




 

Rick Strickland - 

You're the One For Me



59





 

Joy Again - 

Looking Out for You



60




 

Mitski - 

The Only Heartbreaker


61




 

Anna Lavigne - 

Dance the Last Goodbye



62





 

beabadoobee - Talk




63





 

Orbis Max with Tim Izzard - 

Elvis Has Left the Building



64





 

Babeheaven - Don't Wake Me




65





 

Band of Horses - Lights




66





 

Cat5 Band ft Tim Sidden -

Ain't Nothing Better


67





 

O.A.R. - In the Clouds



68




 

Orbis Max with Tim Izzard - 

Back of the Shelf


69






 

Hegazy - Oil and Water




70






 

Harry Styles - 

Late Night Talking



71





 

Deb Browning and 

Six Piece Suits -

It Don't Get Better Than This


72






 

King Tappa - 

Are You Feeling It?



73





 

OneRepublic - 

I Ain't Worried


74






 

Steve Shouse - Back to 69



75






 

Don Dixon  ft Dip Ferrell 

 and the

 True Tones - Young Love



76






 

Wayne Free - 

Tequila On Ice



77






 

Salt Luvs Pepper ft 

David Cornelius - 

Lovin' Arms


78






 

Terri Gore - 

Summer's Gonna Last



79






 

Halsey - So Good




80





 

Zac Brown Band - 

Old Love Song



81




 

Hegazy -

Maybe If We Try


82






 

Deb Browning - Dancin'




83



 

Rick Strickland - 

Dream Come True



84




 

Jimmy Eat World  -

Something Loud


85




 

Hegazy - 

Do You Want Me Now



86





 

Cuffed Up - Bonnie



87





 

The Palms - Fire



88





 

Eavesdrop - Alive



89




 

Gary Lowder and 

Smokin' Hot - 

Any Other Love

90





 

Fleet Foxes - 

Featherweight


91





 

Milky Chance - 

Synchronize


92




 

Santigold - 

High Priestess


93



 

Joy Again - 

What Lovers Do


94




 

St. Paul and 

the Broken Bones - 

Minotaur


95




 

Martin Stephenson 

and the Daintees - 

Harajuku Punks


96





 

Sharon Van Etten  - 

 Mistakes



97




 

Lord Huron - Mine Forever



98






 

Ryan Chatelain - Static




99





 

Elton John and 

Britney Spears -

Hold Me Closer


100




 

Heartless Bastards - 

You Never Know





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