We don't have a lot of traditions that have held out over the near decade A-to-J has been around, but the one that has is our yearly "Favorite Song" article. Just as in years past, several A-to-J members pick their favorite song of the year and let you know why it's something worth checking out. You, the reader, can check them all out of course, but maybe you can also let us know what you think about our choices and how yours compare. These articles are always an eclectic mix owing to the varied membership of A-to-J Connections, and this year's grouping is no different! 2022 was arguably something of an odd year (aren't they all?) but there's always great music if you know where to look! Without further ado we will jump into our favorite songs that dropped in 2022! So sit back, relax, and check out our favorite songs of 2022, and maybe discover some new artists and/or music too! Here's to a rocking 2023 and beyond!
Manuel - General Manager / Editor-In-Chief
This was one of the hardest choices I've made regarding my fav song of the year. I initially thought I'd go with Jay Chou's "Greatest Works of Art" and spent half the year thinking that would be my choice. Then Namewee did a song with Sora Aoi and I REALLY wanted to pick that one as it was great, nostalgic, and would complete three years of choosing Namewee songs as my favorite. Then I went back and listened to songs I had meant to check out but missed and came across Psycho le Cemu's 20th Anniversary single "Mou Ichido, Kuchiduke wo".
I used to love PLC back in the day and they were one of the bands that got me into Visual Kei and Japanese music in general. For years I'd call them my favorite band (what does that term even mean really?) and collected as much media and merch as I could over the years from both them and their spin-off groups like DACCO, Mix Speaker's,Inc., etc. I was excited when they reformed several years ago, but that excitement died a little when I heard their newer material. For some reason it felt a bit off to me and didn't really capture the PLC energy of old. That's probably why I put this song, released back in October, on a list of things I wanted to check out when I had time to properly absorb it but never cared enough to actually do so. My mistake. "Mou Ichido, Kuchiduke wo" DOES capture that old PLC energy of old and both it and the MV has a sense of nostalgia that I guess is probably a bit lost on those who didn't listen to them back in the early 2000s. Maybe it'll still resonate with those new to the group, but look at the comments on the video it's clear that I'm not the only one who feels this way. The song itself is great too though, everyone is on point especially seek's bass playing and Daishi's vocals, so it's not purely the aforementioned nostalgia talking here. Here's hoping they have another twenty years in them and that songs like this fill their future catalog. "Mou Ichido, Kuchiduke wo" - Psycho le CémuIvan: Photographer / Correspondent
My favorite song for 2022 is “Yofukashi no Uta” by the band Creepy Nuts which was used as the ending song for the anime Call of the Night.
The song has the same title as the anime: “Call of the Night”. The lyrics really capture the feeling of freedom you get when you hang out all night which is the backdrop of the show. One of my favorite anime of the year and highly recommended. "Yofukashi no Uta" - Creepy NutsJ.D.: UPZ Mod / Staff Writer
If you’ve heard me talk as the usually disembodied voice on our Ultra Podcast Z, you know I love two things: River City Girls and DEMONDICE. [Check out our interview with her btw!] So, what happens when you put the two together? You get my favorite song of the year: “Mean Street” by Megan McDuffie, DEMONDICE and AO.
Serving as the credits song for River City Girls Zero (aka Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka), the song combines the best of DEMONDICE’s rapid, wordplay filled delivery (including a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference) with a 90s throwback beat and Megan McDuffie’s vocals the hook. The result is an ultra catchy song that somehow tops the already amazing credits song for the original River City Girls “Can’t Quit The RCG”. Seriously, just play the games, listen to the music from them and DEMONDICE too. See you all next year. "Mean Street" - DEMONDICE x Megan McDuffee x AOJanette: Manga/Anime Project Leader / Staff Writer
Every year it seems I get to write that Hikaru Utada keeps dropping bangers, and 2022 is no exception. This year saw them drop BAD MODE, a new album taking a much more experimental route than 2018’s Hatsukoi or 2016’s Fantome. While several of the tracks, such as Pink Blood, One Last Kiss, and Face My Fears, have been previously released, the album eponymous track and others are new. You may think I’d pick the title track as my favorite Japanese release of the year, but it’s the nearly 12 minute, slow techno pop track, Somewhere Near Marseilles, that I truly think is stunning. It’s got the kind of vibe that sounds like you’re attending a chill dance party being held at a beach. The vocals have a floaty and ethereal quality to them, reinforced by the dreamy synths. The percussion feels like it’s the only thing tethering you to the ground at times. And despite clocking in at 11:55, there’s enough going on in the track to keep you listening on until the end. 2023 will mark both Hikki’s 40th birthday and 25th anniversary as a performer, and BAD MODE has shown not only do they show no signs of slowing down or resting on their laurels, they also have no shortage of surprises up their sleeves.
"Somewhere Near Marseilles" - Utada HikaruPleiades: Streaming Host
Preface: my dopamine receptors are terminally fucked.
Working a desk job made me into a content junkie—binging multi-hour playlists for comic book lore, podcasts, and creepypastas that I’m desperate enough to bookmark speedrun progression docs for games I have never nor will ever play (it’s wild how busted Stewie is in the Family Guy PS2 game). Hell, I spent so many years inhaling anime that everything from the art to the story and even intros/endings started sounding like noise. Then, like every other aniboomer, I caved to my friends+fam telling me to watch Chainsaw Man and oh my god I think Kickback’s gonna stick as one of my all-time favorite intro themes. Did it help that it was a fun watch? Probs, but it took me 4 episodes of bingeing (10 out ATM) for me to even notice the Tarantino movie references. First time I ever watched Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were in my high school’s Independent Film Club (hosted by the token cool teacher who played in a band and drove to school on a chopper) so they have massive sentimental value to me. Thing is, NONE of that popped into my head any of the thousands of times I sang along to Kickback while doing laundry or sorting my reaction image folder. It was this instead: "Kickback from Chainsaw Man but it's salsa"
Is it unofficial? Yes. Did I play it on loop for a week? Also yes. Did I bookmark it to show the homies next time we met up? Absolutely.
Their exact words, smiling: “I hate how well this fits.” A good song is a good song on its own, but it’s rare when a song can transform into something new that’s still as-good (if not better) and pull something out of you that the original didn’t. There’s no shortage of anime mashups out there and (of course) I’ve heard more than enough of them to know it’s not that easy to match timing or keep everything from falling apart at the second verse. Even better, the mashup’s made me go back and appreciate the original mix more than I would’ve otherwise. I know I’m not alone either:
Rose: Staff Writer
You know it’s robots. The relatively new narrative pop duo YOASOBI performed their chart-topping opening song for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury in front of the life-sized guy himself at Yokohama’s Gundam Factory in one of the coolest live performances of the year. “Shukufuku” (a.k.a. “The Blessing”) is an immediately catchy electropop song inspired by Cradle Star, a short story which serves as a bridge between the Gundam franchise’s latest offering and its prequel episode. The lyrics, which you can hear in English if you prefer, were written from the perspective of the titular Gundam Aerial to its pilot (and the internet’s favorite neurotic tanuki) Suletta Mercury (or Ericht Samaya, depending on who you ask).
"Shukufuku" - YOASOBITeepu: Project Leader / Staff Writer
Here is the resident Hello! Project guy here to tell you what his favorite H!P song of 2022 was. This year was filled with a bunch of fun songs, including the debut of a fantastic new group. Despite all this, the song that stood out the most to me would be Juice=Juice’s "Zenbu Kakete Go!!" (全部賭けてGO!!). ANGERME had some bops too, but I’ve always been a sucker for Juice=Juice’s very fresh style that just truly uplifts my spirit. This one had a good flow, a nice tune and felt like it best utilized the vocal talents of each individual member, including the newer ones. I will mention, it’s not the most exciting music video to come out of H!P, but that doesn’t change the quality of the song. Despite being one of the last songs of 2022 to release out of Hello! Project, it still makes it as my favorite. Here’s to looking forward to another exciting years of songs in 2023!
"Zenbu Kakete Go!!" - Juice=JuiceTom: Correspondent
My personal favorite song of the year is ハッピーバースデー (Happy Birthday) by gulu gulu (ぐるぐる). Leave it to a Visual Kei band to title a song “Happy Birthday” and have it be such a depressing song. The Japanese lyrics are sung in a way that you can feel the sadness even without understanding the words. Then that is paired with a gravelly and sort of eerie style for the English lyrics. That’s what I always love most about many VK bands, the mixing of highs and lows makes a song more engaging and fun than a song that is just 100% heavy or 100% sad in my opinion. The instrumentals in this song are pretty metal too, so this is a song I can blast when I want some energizing music.
But it’s also a song I can blast on repeat when I’m feeling very sad and want a song for some catharsis. 「生まれなけりゃ何もしることもなかったね知らないままでいたほうが報われますか？」This part of the song, according to apple translate, is something like, “If I hadn’t been born, I wouldn’t know anything. Is it better to stay unaware?” Definitely not a typical happy birthday song. "Happy Birthday" - guru guruWarren: Streaming Host / Staff Writer
Muahahaha! It’s that time of the year again for our yearly list of favorite songs of the year. Some may know me as the headbanging fistfull of metal guy but my favorite song of 2022 is nowhere near the spectrum of killer steel. So what is my pick this year? Well let me give it to ya! Badman’s favorite song of 2022 goes to "Koi no Yukue" by Akase Akari.
For all you cultured weebs, this is the ending theme to My Dress-Up Darling. I absolutely fell in love with this song as soon as the credits of the first episode rolled in. "Koi no Yukue" is a whimsical bubbly song. It has a soft pop melody that keeps the head bopping and the body swaying. I can’t forget about the highlight of the song: Akari. Her cute soft voice beautifully sets the song’s warm tone. Not only did she knock this song out, her cosplay of Marin is SPOT ON! By all means. Get your ass up and listen to Koi no Yukue! "Koi no Yukue" - Akase AkariWinfield: Staff Writer
As someone whose music library primarily consists of Hello! Project idol songs, I have to choose a song for this year from them, right? It was a tough choice, but I have to give the thumbs-up to Juice=Juice’s song "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe", part of the 16th single, "Zenbu Kakete GO!! / Eeny Meeny Miny Moe ~Koi no Rival Sengen~". It was released on November 23, 2022 and it is the debut single for the group’s two newest members, Ishiyama Sakura and Endo Akari.
One of the things that I really like is the MV production and the story to go along with the song. The opening skit is really cute, and the subsequent story scenes too. I really like the vocals in the song. The chorus is really catchy and the choreography is cute to go along with the theme of the MV and song. The new members are a really good addition to the group as they bring in good vocal ability that the group is known for in Hello! Project. Please check it out and since you’re on the same page, the other song in the single (Zenbu Kakete GO!!) is also really good! "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe ~Koi no Rival Sengen~" - Juice=Juice
Here we are once again at the end of another "Favorite Songs of The Year" article. We hope you enjoyed our individual favorite songs of the year, and we also hope that everyone had the best year of music possible and that we're all able to move more and more towards something resembling full normalcy before 2020. We're heading into 2023 and we think it can only get better from here. We've said that several years in a row but we think we got it right this time! We'll keep our fingers crossed on that and hopefully the music will be good whatever the world throws at us next! Thanks again for letting us show you what we love, and here's hoping that we can continue bring you more great content throughout 2023 and beyond!
-Manuel and the rest of the A-to-J Team! |
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