2022
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A Few Songs I Loved In 2022
[open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7IVIEJGkqdLIQvbHw6v0Yn?si=af518aadbd804345) Spotify tells me that the album I listened to most this year was Iron Maiden's Senjutsu. That doesn't really surprise me, though the album came out in 2021 and I do usually try to spend a significant amount of time with new music every year. I love Iron Maiden and Senjutsu (which I really do think could have been great if 4 tracks had been dropped — ask nicely and I'll tell you which ones) got me through a winter that felt VERY long.
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What I Read In 2022
Pictured: Some books I almost certainly did not read. One year ago, I finished an M.A in English. I'm proud of having earned the degree, but I think it would be fair to say that I struggled with how little I was reading outside of what was assigned. I read plenty for my classes, but I did not do enough reading for myself. The pandemic made this particularly difficult. I have often relied on the reading I do as a core part of care for my mental health, something to give me a boost when the world around me is not what I want it to be.
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Iron Maiden's A Matter of Life and Death
Iron Maiden have never made a perfect record. The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), and Powerslave (1984) all routinely end up on lists of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time, but I think it would be fair to say that the highs that lift those albums to the top of those lists are matched by some real lows. The Number of the Beast is remembered for the title track and "Hallowed Be Thy Name," but it also has "Invaders," "Gangland," and "22 Acacia Avenue.