“TV and the Internet are good because they keep stupid people from spending too much time out in public,” is a quote attributed to the deservedly decorated writer Douglas Coupland. His point is nuance-free, obvious and right—but only technically. TV and the Internet are good because they're great; they make living worth living, in a multitude of ways.
Our picks from the best items that entered the cultural whirlpool in 2022 are crowned for the manner and intensity with which they impacted the daily process of arise-work-consume-consumeconsume-sleep-repeat. Everything except the best isn't ranked. Subjectivity comes with a price.
Now, let's celebrate the fact that we survived Covid-19, Elon Musk and all of this year's virological attacks by toasting to the members of its cultural upper echelon.
MUSIC
BEST OF THE BEST Kendrick Lamar:
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Every now and then, a peerless, alienating, feathers-ripping album is birthed. Lamar's fifth is that album. Most formidable is its bruising self-awareness that, on stand-outs such as ‘N95’, ‘Rich Spirit’ and ‘We Cry Together’, splits the difference between self-flagellation and cry for help from a hoarse, bloodcoughing throat.
Rosalia: Motamami
Featuring Rosalía's velvety, effortlessly expressive yet powerful voice, Motomami is a boiling-point brew of reggaeton, bachata and flamenco, seamlessly engineered to be deployed as heritagecelebrating hymns and bubbling molotov cocktails ready to ignite the best parties.
Alexisonfire: Otherness
The leaders of the sound's darker, more bracing incarnations quietly reformed after their
