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Against all odds, we’ve reached a whole one dozen American months of the Noots Letter! Before I get to the sappy crap, let’s revisit this wildly tumultuous past year:1
Unless you are a tween or a Disney adult, you didn’t know who Olivia Rodrigo was until January 8. Following the success of the online Ratatouille musical, Abigail Barlow publicly started writing a Bridgerton adaptation on January 10. Silhouettes and Sea Shanties became a thing (because we’re in plague times again, probably). SOPHIE was missed. On February 7, Jazmine Sullivan sang the National Anthem and The Weeknd performed a Super Bowl halftime show that perfectly summed up how it feels to open a coffee shop at 6 AM when you’re still drunk. Cardi B released “Up”, to which Mya Nicole invented the dance of all dances. Èsco Upp brought new life to Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten”, mastered best by these mall visitors. On February 22, Daft Punk retired their helmets after 28 years.
At this year’s controversial Grammy Awards, Harry Styles was hot and Beyoncé made history. On March 18, Billie Eilish got 23 million+ likes when she posted this photo, which I promptly brought to the hair salon. Justin Bieber fed us “Peaches”. Lil Nas X made music (and marketing) history after dropping “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” on March 25. In April, on top of highly anticipated studio album Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast released her first memoir Crying in H Mart. Rapper DMX passed away on April 9. At the Oscars, Soul brought home the Best Original Score award thanks to Trent Rezor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste.
Sarah Kinsley made the piano intro of the year with “The King” on May 10. With “Build A B*tch” on May 13, Bella Poarch joined Addison Rae as the next top TikToker to materialize a music career. People over the age of 8 discovered The Backyardigans. Ariana Grande married some guy on May 15. On May 18, City Girls’ “Twerkulator” was officially released after being leaked months prior. Middle school icons The Linda Lindas invented feminism with “Racist, Sexist Boy”, and Little Simz delivered "Venom". BTS shared the biggest song of the year. Måneskin won Eurovision on May 22. And at the end of the month, Bo Burnham finally went outside.
On June 4, Liz Phair released her first album in 11 years and millennials said, Why can’t I breathe? (this is my attempt at a Buzzfeed headline!). Lorde sneak-previewed her butt with Solar Power, which was honestly quite slandered but someone’s going to look back on it in a few years and realize it was absolutely ahead of its time. Foo Fighters kicked off live music in NYC by reopening Madison Square Garden on June 20. Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator released two of the year’s biggest albums. Joni Mitchell celebrated 50 years of Blue.
In July, a cat accidentally became the hottest “boy” on the internet thanks to June Banoon and Felix Gabriel. Caroline Polachek gave us “bunny is a rider” and bbno$ dropped “edamame”. A deconstructed version Mika’s “Grace Kelly” circulated in late July. The summer featured a resurgence of disco tracks, with "Rasputin" and a remix of The Bee Gees’ “More Than A Woman”. Everyone discovered the piano outro to “Chiquitita”, so ABBA joined TikTok in August. Somewhere in there was Donda and Drake and beef blah blah blah. You either fell in love with JVKE or said FU with Gayle. Kacey Musgraves teased Star-Crossed. Aaliyah’s music finally hit streaming services.
Then came a busy September, lord have mercy. At the VMAs, Megan Fox wore this, as if this from the BBAs wasn’t enough to steal my sick little Jennifer’s Body-loving heart (MGK is in the photos only because this newsletter is about music and he apparently does music but really I was just trying to find an excuse to include Megan). On September 13, the Met Gala was just a very expensive meme. Shawn Mendes brought Cher, Rihanna brought A$AP Rocky, Frank Ocean brought a green baby. Keke Palmer ran into Megan Thee Stallion on the red carpet, and then it was remixed. We were obsessed with PinkPatheress’s “Just For Me” and showed off our best friends with Coi Leray’s “Twinnem”. Cody Fry released “Eleanor Rigby” with an 80-piece orchestra and 400 person choir. Baby Keem came to the scene. Willow Smith and THE ANXIETY caught a vibe while the rest of the country caught the Delta variant.
In October, Mitski announced a 2022 tour that sold out immediately. Emmy Meli sang “I Am Woman” and Amaarae & Kali Uchis said you’re such a hottie with “Sad Girls Luv Money”. On Halloween, sad girls everywhere became even sadder after seeing this photo. I’ve said it and I’ll say it again: Phoebe Bridgers could have written Normal People, but Sally Rooney couldn’t have even dreamed up the relationship between Phoebe and Paul Mescal.
November was a big month for Broadway fans with the announcement of Ariana Grande & Cynthia Eriva as leading ladies in the Wicked film. Lady Gaga became film royalty with November 9’s House of Gucci premiere. Avril Lavigne made a comeback with Travis Barker in “Bite Me”. Dreya Mac’s dance and verse on “Own Brand Freestyle” caught on. On November 12, half the country was crying/screaming at “All Too Well” (Taylor’s Version), and the other half was sweating/swooning at Silk Sonic. Adele released 30 and announced her Las Vegas Residency shortly thereafter. The Beatles documentary hit Disney+ and Tick Tick Boom hit Netflix. Performers mourned the passing of musical theatre icon Stephen Sondheim on November 26.
On December 3, SZA released “I Hate U”, giving everyone a new song to sing about their exes. The phrase Bing Bong went viral thanks to a video by Sidetalk NYC and Coney Island icon TJ, and it made its way to the official NBA, the red carpet, and even to Joe Byron himself. Alana Haim got Oscar buzz. LCD Soundsystem’s sold-out week of shows in Brooklyn became am Omicron (Omarion) superspreader event. For the holidays, Frank Ocean shared “Blonded Xmas”. Patti Smith was given a key to New York City on December 28. Finally, @atalkingfish outdid DJ Earworm by posting a mashup featuring all of 2021’s most viral sounds.
You can explore all this and more with the TikTok 2021 Music Report. If that somehow isn’t enough, there’s an INCREDIBLE document by Paige Skinner that tracks one major event from every day of 2021. I pray for the future students in AP US History who have to write DBQs about any singular week of these past two years.
Looking into 2022, I anticipate musicians leaning further into irony. So many of this year’s viral hits have revolved around the unexpected and a growing preference for humor over heartbreak. As TikTok overtakes Google as the world’s most popular website, creators know what makes a soundbite successful. And quite often, bits become hits! For instance, this SpongeBob collaboration sounds straight out of Blonde. Magdalena Bay went from absurdist vintage camcorder videos to producing one of the best synthpop albums of the year. And my favorite character arc of 2021 came from XOBrooklynne, a 17 year-old creator who is known for her makeup looks and princess dresses. She spent months crafting and launching a completely fake music career, which she popularized with the help of vitriolic onslaught of commenters, who thought it was cringe. With “My Crown” (article by @raynecorp), she provided commentary on internet-personalities-turned-singers and turned the tables on audiences who were quick to pass judgment.
Anyways, if you’re still here: I started writing this so that I could openly brag about my music taste (just kidding, kind of). Because I hate disappointing other people, I kept sending it. It has since turned into the most exciting pursuit of this past year. Even in stagnant spring months, on hungover summer days, and throughout this dreary winter, there has always been something new to look forward to. Some album to anticipate. Some track to discover. Some artist to become the next favorite.
I never really anticipate anyone paying any attention to what I have to say, so when you do reply with a related recommendation, or DM me about potential topics, or come up to me at parties saying “Why are you cyberbullying people with Apple Music”, it means the world. Whether you subscribed yesterday or I forced you onto the list back in January, whether you’re my best friend or total stranger (you’re now my best friend suck it up), whether you’ve never read it before or you’ve chuckled after clicking on every link: if you’ve gained just one single song from this year of tens of thousands of recommendations, I am happy.
At the end of the day, we’re all a bunch of dummies leading inconsequential lives on a floating rock, but you’ve chosen to enrich your days with tens of thousands of hours of words and melodies by total strangers. To me, that is the coolest.
Thanks for listening.
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the millennium can have a beer now - 44+ hours later, here she is. I can’t wait to start a new one tomorrow / what should I call it
THE BRACKET 2021 - I posted this ranking on Instagram of my 64 favorite songs from this year if you want them!
to look forward to - Very short atm, but stepping into 2022 with this soon to be lengthy list
newyearseve - Literally just songs about New Years Eve to get you in the mood in case you’re stuck at home alone due to Covid :/
Natalie’s 2021 Wrapped - Don’t think I included this last month, but I am so into this past year’s roster wow music is great lol
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For the most anticipated albums of 2022, check out this list.
Tierra Whack, Rap? / Pop? / R&B?: Three years after Whack World’s success, she’s back with three EPs that are equal parts profound, silly, and unpredictable.
Moses Sumney, Live From Blackalachia: All time favorite musician-turned-multimedia-artist Moses Sumney stuns with this film of transcendent live performances, shot over two days in Western NC.
Quinn Christopherson, I Am Bubblegum: A brief but reflective EP from NPR’s 2019 Tiny Desk Concert winner examining youth, identity, masculinity, and nostalgia.
There’s a months of the year song on TikTok created by @4waykiss that features “February” by Beach Bunny, “July” by Sir Chloe, “The First Day in August” by Carole King, and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day, among others. Please ensure this gets stuck in your head before you read.