It would be lovely to write a wholly positive intro this year, but life hasn't gotten any easier for a lot of people in 2022. Certainly not for those in war-ravaged Ukraine, flooded Pakistan or any number of any countries blighted by conflict or climate change. Closer to home, those in power were too engaged in rolling psychodrama to do much to help the ever-increasing chunk of the populace no longer able to afford even basics like food, heating or fuel. Meanwhile, inspirational figures seemed to be dying at such a rate that we barely had time to mourn each one before the next sad news broke.
Even closer to home, my mum has been in hospital since a week before Christmas after a suspected stroke. It turns out it probably wasn't a stroke after all, but her mobility isn't great and she's going to need to spend some time in a care home. The future remains uncertain, but it's possible she won't be able to return to the house she's lived in for 46 years - the place where I grew up, and where she spent the bulk of her marriage to my late father.
We also had to say goodbye to Henry, our excellent feline companion for the last fifteen years and very much a part of our family.
There were things to celebrate this year, however, principally getting to see a host of folks we hadn't been able to since the heady days of 2019 (or even earlier). It was great to attend my cousin Heidi's 50th birthday celebrations and spend some time with that side of the family in Stokenchurch. In terms of friends, if there was some sort of prize beyond the pleasure of my company, it would go to Wayne - after not seeing each other for maybe eight years, we got to hang out three times in '22, for drinks in Brighton, our gig in Southampton and then again in Brighton at the Afghan Whigs show (the latter also with Rachel - thanks again for the lift home!). That Southampton show was a good one for catching up with old friends, notably Gilamonsters rock god Steeny, Rich & Geraldine, Phil, Ben and Cov John. Speaking of the Gilas, Jimmy was good enough to put me up for a couple of nights when I headed up to London for the Friday and Saturday of the Static Shock Weekend - and while in town, I also caught up with Simon, Linzi and family in a rare moment of not having my head blasted by hardcore. That wasn't my last trip to the smoke either, landing back there a month or so later for Lexy's birthday bash, where (along with the birthday girl) I got to hang with Caroline, Jo, Graham and Mik.
Back to Soton, or at least its satellite towns, we drove over to Totton for a lovely summer afternoon with Clare, Sarah and the Canning-Edwards clan. Didn't get to see the K! lot this year, but did bump into Nick and Emily at the Elder/Pallbearer show in Brighton. We caught up with Mark and Jess when they rented a place in Hangleton. Longer trips were made by Adam and Di (over from Australia for the first time since the pandemic) and Vi (same, but Canada). Obviously we also got to see plenty of local friends (too many to mention), and spent a weekend camping (well, yurting) with some of them in the summer. That was pretty much it for holidays this year, although we did have a couple of nights in Forest Row before picking up our new cat from a nearby shelter.
It was a year of two halves for the band. We recorded a new EP, but that Southampton show was our last with drummer Ash. By the autumn, we'd welcomed his replacement Tim, and played a bunch of shows in Brighton and Lewes with old friends Human Interest and Horseflies, and various new friends including Mules, Thee Headshrinkers and Bitterman.
Things to look forward to in '23 (in rough chronological order): another gig with Bitterman, this time in Portsmouth; our first foreign holiday in five years; a school reunion; the last ever TST weekender; the Help She Can't Swim reunion.
Oh, I also listened to some music in 2022...
ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
My attempt to post a track a day on Facebook this year fell at the final hurdle. When my mum went into hospital, it felt like a trivial thing to continue with (I wasn't even sure whether to do all of this). But that exercise did reinforce that I've got a pretty varied listening diet... not that you'd necessarily know it from this list, much of which could be described as "noisy guitar music". There are a couple of perhaps surprisingly mainstream choices (relatively speaking - there's no Harry Styles), and as always there were plenty of absolute belters that wouldn't fit into a Top 20. But I try and be honest, and these are the records that meant the most to me this year...
20. Vacuous - Dreams Of Dysphoria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bixzBn7hmLw
19. Bad Breeding - Human Capital
https://badbreeding.bandcamp.com/album/human-capital
18. Cult Of Luna - The Long Road North
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAE5jb_iLRw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCRnnm0eJc8
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