2022 Lists

A list is good, so here are my 2022 Best of Lists. I’m sure some will disagree, and that’s fair ok, but also remember: I don’t fucking care 🙂

BEST ALBUMS OF 2022
Rob Baird – Anthems
Ball Park Music – Weirder & Weirder
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Zach Bryan – American Heartbreak
Camila Cabello – Familia
CAAMP – Lavender Days
Camp Cope – Running With the Hurricane
Steve Earle & The Dukes – Jerry Jeff
Gang of Youths – Angel In Realtime
Joshua Hedley – Neon Blue
King Stingray – King Stingray
Nikki Lane – Denim & Diamonds
Midnight Oil – Resist
Miranda Lambert – Palomino
Miko Marks & the Resurrectors – Feel Like Going Home
Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time
Emily Nenni – On the Ranch
Ian Noe – River Fools & Mountain Saint
North Mississippi Allstars – Set Sail
Thelma Plum – Meanjin
Amanda Shires – Take It Like a Man
Spacey Jane – Here Comes Everybody
Bruce Springsteen – Only The Strong Survive
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Hailey Whitters – Raised
Lainey Wilson – Bell Bottom Country
Various Artists – Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver
Various Artists – Summer of Soul, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

BEST REDISCOVERED ALBUMS OF 2022
The Marshall Tucker Band – Self-titled

BEST SONGS OF 2022
Zach Bryan – Heavy Eyes
Ethel Cain – American Teenager
Kasey Chambers – Lose Yourself (Live)
Lachlan Edwards – Been Tryin’
Vance Joy – Clarity
Miko Marks & the Resurrectors – Feel Like Going Home
Austin Mackay – Dancing Through The Fire
Tate McRae – She’s All I Wanna Be
Jonathan Peyton – Now or Never
Thelma Plum – Backseat Of My Mind
Rihanna – Lift Me Up
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
Taylor Swift – Carolina
Hailey Whitters – Everything She Ain’t

BEST GIGS OF 2022
Austin Mackay, Lachlan Edwards, Jack Willis, The Vanguard, March 3
Bluesfest, April
Mundi Mundi Bash, April
Ian Moss & Troy Cassar-Daley, The Tivoli, Brisbane, Aug 6
Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Mahalia Barnes, The Maldives, Sept
Midnight Oil, The Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Oct 3
Melody Moko, Alice Springs, Oct 8
Austin Mackay, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, Oct 20
Steph Strings, Harbord Hotel, Dec 1
And any gig that happened anywhere

BEST TV SHOWS OF 2022
Wolf Like Me – Stan
Inventing Anna – Netflix
Trigger Point – Stan
Drive to Survive: Season 4 – Netflix
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – HBO
Billy The Kid – Stan
Anatomy of a Scandal – Netflix
Hacks: Season 2 – Stan
The Offer – Paramount+
Only Murders in the Building: Season 2 – Disney
East New York – Fox
The White Lotus – Fox
The Crown – Netflix
Welcome to Wrexham – Disney +
Still We Rise – ABC

BEST REDISCOVERED TV SHOWS TO BINGE WATCH OF 2022
The West Wing

BEST FILMS OF 2022
Being the Ricardos – Amazon Prime
Belfast
Here Out West
Shane
Shania Twain: Not Just A Girl
She Said
The Tender Bar – Amazon Prime
Top Gun: Maverick
Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall
Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow
Where the Crawdads Sing

BEST REDISCOVERED FILMS OF 2022
To Kill a Mockingbird
12 Angry Men

BEST AWARDS SPEECH OF 2022
1. 2022 Academy Awards: Troy Kotsur, Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Coda. Delivering his speech in sign language was just one of those Oscar moments.

2. 2022 Governers Awards: Michael J. Fox acceptance speech after being awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was all class and humility wrapped into one.

WORST AWARDS MOMENT OF 2022
1. As Daniel Kaluuya & H.E.R., both black, walked out to present the 1st award of the evening at the 2022 Academy Awards, Most Original Song, the show producer’s best thought was to play Toto’s ‘Africa.’ And this is a Hollywood who thinks racial prejudice is “a thing of the past.” The look on Kaluuya’s face said it all.

2. 2022 Academy Awards: Will Smith.

3. The 2022 ARIA Awards. Please, for the love of god, make it stop.

BEST SPORTING MOMENTS OF 2022
1. Scott Boland, on debut, demolishes England in the Boxing Day test with 6-7 from four overs.

2. Usman Khawaja: Out of the Australian test team for 2 years, he scored a gritty & beautifully played 137 at the SCG. 2 days later, he did it again with 101 not out.

3. Ash Barty wins the Australian Open. On every level, a class act.

4. Men’s Australian Open final. Nadal comes back from 2 sets down and, over 5 hours, produces one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history. And his 21st grand slam. At 35.

5. Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show – with a lineup that was hip hop royalty – Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent it deserved the reaction it got. Twenty-four hours later, the official N.F.L. link to the performance had hit 25 million views and counting, proving the cultural significance of Hip Hop. It was supreme.

6. Cameron Smith became the first Australian golfer in 29 years to win 150th British Open at St Andrews after a stunning final round.

7. The Socceroos beat Denmark and landed themselves into the Quarterfinals of the World Cup. The void between cattle was huge, but sometimes a bridge too far is anything but. They were gone a week later, but it didn’t matter.

WORST SPORTING MOMENTS OF 2022
1. Novak Djokovic – he was eventually refused entry to Australia, and he is a super knob, but that he was allowed even to land was all on Tennis Australia.

2. Men’s Australian Open final Medvedev: In Australia, we will accept anyone. But act like an entitled dick well…yeah…nah. Clearly, he didn’t see or read the “no dickheads allowed” policy.

3. NRL Grandfinal. It promised so much, but in the end, it was a fucking car crash.

4. Rugby Union. The rules. The Scrum. The T.M.O…should I go on?Wallabies v England, July 9, Suncorp Stadium.The T.M.O. Joy Neville overruled a 50/20 kick. On-field Ref after watching the replay on big screen:
Ref: “are you sure?”
T.M.O: “Yes ”
Ref: “Really sure?”
T.M.O: “Yes definitely”
Everyone else: “She’s got no fucking idea.”

5. Manly Sea Eagles rainbow jumper disaster. Seven players refused to wear it (because apparently, god doesn’t like inclusiveness), it derailed a season and coach Des Hasler was sacked in the fallout.

6. Greg Norman – the relevance of this man is well beyond the past due date.

DUMBEST PERSON ON TWITTER
Elon Musk

QUOTE OF 2022
“I can guarantee one thing … if it was Jack, I know Dane Gagai wouldn’t be punching him in the head.” – Canberra Raiders Coach Ricky on Jack Wighton not being picked for SOO 3.

KNOBS OF 2020:
Alan Joyce
Will Smith
Donald Trump
Kanye West

BIGGEST “CONSULT A PUBLICIST BEFORE OPENING YOUR MOUTH OR DOING ANYTHING” MOMENTS OF 2022

1. Qantas C.E.O. Alan Joyce lays the blame on those travelling for the crippling airport delays in April. Of course, it had nothing to do with the thousands of layoffs he ratified while earning a salary of 23 Million a year.

2. Anything that Kanye West said. The message should be simple – Stop fucking talking.

THINGS I NEVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN :
1. Kanye West
2. Positive Covid test

THANK YOU & FAREWELL
Shinzo Abe
Chris Bailey
Basia Bonkowski
James Caan
Irene Cara
Uncle Jack Charles
Robbie Coltrane
Warren Costello
Judith Durham
Paul Green
Taylor Hawkins
Caroline Jones
Naomi Judd
Ray Liotta
Loretta Lynn
Rod Marsh
Christine McVie
Meatloaf (Marvin Lee Aday)
Olivia Newton-John
Sidney Poitier
Queen Elizabeth II
Johnny Raper
Archie Roach
Aunty Rosie
Bobby Rydell
George Shapiro
Paul Sorvino
Ronnie Spector
Andrew Symonds
Desmond Tetu
Margaret Urlich
Jean-Marc Vallée
Shane Warne
Glenn Wheatley
Betty White
Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold