The 2022 Year-End Alternative Chart Rankdown (REVEALING)

[DadJokes]

Congrats to Tek It! If my #1 couldn't win, I'm thrilled that they winner was a song with a unique sound and a shot of creativity into the alt scene.

Thanks to all our co-hosts! This was a great part one to the 2023 rock trilogy!

[Steel Sponge]

Can't argue at all with the #1 here. Congrats to Cafune, and like I would say, good game.

[wrip]

IIIIIIIIII WATCH THE MOOOOOOOONNNN

[Leo ✔]

Where did you learn what it means to reciprocate?

Is such a starting killer line

[Red]

STATS AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW!

SPOILER: Click to show

{RANKDOWN CLOSENESS}rowellfarm490 - 6.56
singingrulebritannia - 9.04
BB🌕 - 9.3
Daryl the Beryl - 10.18
Red - 10.26
fearlessarrow - 10.36
@trilogy - 10.56
wrip - 10.84
HamedM1 💔 - 10.88
Mayman - 11.22
lyhom - 11.28
willapted33 - 11.42
emerald - 11.58
Gonza'90 - 11.62
narp - 12.54
Geometrical - 12.58
BlurryKyle - 12.96
MoD - 13.3
aerodynamite - 13.86
samo🦕 - 13.88
janinho - 13.96
American Idiot - 13.98
maine - 14
Beno - 14.64
Leaf - 15.24
razorshark - 15.82
DadJokes - 16.2
Lordef†ones - 16.44
wheatsquares33 - 17.28
Steel Sponge - 17.36
SHOOTER - 17.84
macattack - 17.86
Walking Contradiction - 17.92
OCDave - 18.14
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 18.6
Doc Indie Party Rock - 19.58
gooberdude - 19.72
Leo ✔ - 19.92
khan - 20.7
CarnoTorrential - 21.24
bbfan97 - 25.12
Fire - 25.28
Az Paynter 25.4
.indulgecountry - 32.24
zaclord 🌈 - 32.5
alexcuse - 35.1
🌺CountryLineDancer - 38.08

SPOILER: Click to show

{YEAR-END CLOSENESS}Fire - 27.54
DadJokes - 28.4
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 29.54
macattack - 29.84
Daryl the Beryl - 30.78
CarnoTorrential - 30.98
alexcuse - 31.02
wrip - 31.24
OCDave - 31.3
Geometrical - 31.42
BlurryKyle - 31.46
khan - 31.6
aerodynamite - 31.62
@trilogy - 31.7
Red - 31.82
🌺CountryLineDancer - 31.86
rowellfarm490 - 31.94
emerald - 32.12
janinho - 32.2
willapted33 - 32.24
zaclord 🌈 - 32.34
singingrulebritannia - 32.36
maine - 32.48
Leaf - 32.66
American Idiot - 32.76
Gonza'90 - 32.86
lyhom - 33.02
Steel Sponge - 33.12
narp - 33.14
wheatsquares33 - 33.36
fearlessarrow - 33.36
Leo ✔ - 33.38
SHOOTER - 33.48
BB🌕 - 33.48
Mayman - 33.48
MoD - 33.72
gooberdude - 34.12
Doc Indie Party Rock - 34.24
Lordef†ones - 34.24
bbfan97 - 34.32
.indulgecountry - 34.34
HamedM1 💔 - 34.64
Beno - 34.78
razorshark - 34.88
samo🦕 - 34.94
Walking Contradiction - 35.34
Az Paynter 35.88

SPOILER: Click to show

{PERFECT RANKINGS}lyhom - 9
singingrulebritannia - 8
American Idiot - 7
Daryl the Beryl - 7
bbfan97 - 7
Beno - 6
Red - 5
Walking Contradiction - 5
emerald - 5
alexcuse - 5
BlurryKyle - 4
Lordef†ones - 4
HamedM1 💔 - 4
Geometrical - 4
willapted33 - 4
Leaf - 4
🌺CountryLineDancer - 4
narp - 3
macattack - 3
janinho - 3
Gonza'90 - 3
SHOOTER - 3
CarnoTorrential - 3
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 3
fearlessarrow - 3
samo🦕 - 3
.indulgecountry - 3
razorshark - 2
wheatsquares33 - 2
Steel Sponge - 2
Leo ✔ - 2
wrip - 2
Fire - 2
rowellfarm490 - 2
BB🌕 - 2
Mayman - 2
gooberdude - 2
Az Paynter - 2
zaclord 🌈 - 2
@trilogy - 1
Doc Indie Party Rock - 1
maine - 1
MoD - 1
DadJokes - 1
OCDave - 0
aerodynamite - 0
khan - 0

---

And that is that! As always, I'd like to thank all of you who submitted lists, posted in-thread, and helped to make this rankdown another successful one at the end of the year. Yes, even you. You in the back. You know who you are. I'd also like to especially thank my two co-hosts, lyhom and razorshark, who were invaluable in helping out and, perhaps more importantly, helping to keep me sane as this rankdown tried its damndest to make me insane.

Unlike the last time I hosted a rock chart rankdown, I'm not going to say that this was the last one I'll ever host...but I will say that it's probably going to be a while before you see me helm one of these again. This rankdown reminded me just how stressful it was to host one of these at year-end time, and, to be honest, even though I had a blast hosting one of these again, I'm also kind of glad it's over. I've long thought about making my last-ever rankdown host gig a current year Hot 100 rankdown, but, after this, I'm not so sure...but who knows? The 2023 version is almost a year away. We'll see what happens.

I love you all, and I'll see you again soon.

[willapted33]

amazing winner, nice to see after my #1 usually falls just short in alt rankdowns

great job hosting red, lyhom & razor!

[singingrulebritannia]

still kicking myself for not being able to say I was 3 years early on Tek It lol (I charted Want Me Out instead)

[narp]

I knew this would happen. Not too sad though. Tek It is still a great song. Can’t wait to see what they do next. Pretty promising debut.

Thanks to everyone who made it happen this year!

[razorshark]

Red and Lyhom can hang their hats and kick their feet up with pride now.  Ngl I was fumbling trying to keep up with them at times but they stayed incredibly patient with me throughout this and were able to put some much needed rankdown hosting knowledge into my head.  Interesting stat, if I host one of the upcoming 2000s AAA charts, then my first 4 times hosting rock rankdowns here will all be charts from different decades (and my first 3 were all different formats).

Thanks to everyone who submitted or followed along, this would suck without all of you.  I have a project cooking with Naomi that should open soon, I also have Rock Band 3 loaded and pretty much ready to go as soon as I have free time, and I'll hopefully get one of these Retro AAA lists soon as well.

[Lordef†ones]

Tek It is an absolute banger. I need more Cafuné

[Mayman]

Great winner! Thanks for hosting!!

[gooberdude]

Jan 30, 2023 21:31:29 GMT -5 razorshark said:

Jan 30, 2023 21:29:49 GMT -5 Red said:

Cracker Island

gooberdude - 61
zaclord 🌈 - 72
🌺CountryLineDancer - 79
Doc Indie Party Rock - 89

hi yes that is me
i am the white boy

[Leaf]

not gonna lie Tek It was a slightly disappointing first listen considering how well it did in STM, but it could have been a lot worse I guess. Thanks so much lyhom razorshark and Red for hosting!

[lyhom]

oh yeah I should probably make a goodbye post too lol

anyways yeah! I had a fun time being a part of this and hosting a rock chart rd for the first time since 2019 (I think?), I forgot how fun watching the results change in real time were. also ended up learning something new about rankdown hosting from this, so I'm greatful for that

I know I said that in the rankdown planning thread that I wanted to host 2022 non us hits, but I didn't know that leo also wanted to host it and said so in the pulse server before me. I haven't heard anything about it in a while, but I assume that he still wants to do it so if my next rankdown might be a list of my 2022 favourites instead. 

also I'm finally getting to work on correcting the graphics for the 85-71 set for the songs that changed with the mistakes that were caught, but as a reminder, here's how that set changed (with the changes in bold):

85 Milky Chance - Colorado 1321 23.138
84 Marcus Mumford - Grace 1406 20.836
83 Muse - Compliance 1408 25.055
82 Jelly Roll - Dead Man Walking 1488 19.603
81 Giovannie and the Hired Guns - Ramon Ayala 1518 24.027
80 The Lumineers - Where We Are 1542 19.160
79 Weezer - A Little Bit of Love 1656 21.505
78 YUNGBLUD - Fleabag 1660 19.504
77 Milky Chance - Synchronize 1674 16.539
76 Bring Me the Horizon - Die4U 1686 22.446
75 Bastille - Shut Off the Lights 1719 21.855
74 Palaye Royale - Broken 1745 21.444
73 Coldplay - People of the Pride 1769 21.314
72 Panic! At the Disco - Viva Las Vengeance 1775 24.471
70 Glass Animals - I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance) 1821 20.585

thank you guys for sending!

[maine]

Great winner. I wasn't super into The War on Drugs' era this go round, so I'm happy "Tek It" took home the W.

Thanks for hosting Red, lyhom, and razor!

[Beno]

Seventeen Going Under is such a killer track, I’m so glad that it went viral this year. I’m not too sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not but it’s easily the best thing Sam has done imo

Tek It is still a really cool winner though! I got into it a little bit late but I had it on repeat for the last few months of the year.

Congrats Red, lyhom and Razor for hosting a great rankdown! A 100 song list is a massive undertaking and you guys did exceptionally well :)

[macattack]

#10. Turnstile - "Mystery"
Honestly it's kind of neat that a song like this did this well, both on Pulse and on the chart. I think it left some ideas on the table, but I still like what we got. 

#9. My Chemical Romance - "The Foundations Of Decay"
This song is epic. I wish the production was better, but god what was on display here was masterful. If this is merely a sample of what's to come, we're in for something spectacular from MCR. 

#8. Bob Moses - "Love Brand New"
Remember how I said Alternative fed electronica fans well in 2022? This is Exhibit A. Bob Moses put together something masterful here. This is just about a perfect merger of electronica and alternative rock as you can get. You can dance to it. You can headbang to it. The production is sleek. The drums hit hard. And yet it maintains a reflective aura all the same. 

#7. Wolf Alice - "Smile"
This is a banger. Sassy, strong, yet melodic. And they pull from the Layne Staley harmonic playbook one more time. It's hard to argue against this one. 

#6. The Killers - "boy"
I wish I had this song when I was a boy myself. Now, it feels like this came along too late for me personally. I just hope the current and next generation listens to this and takes the words of wisdom to heart. "Don't overthink it, boy." Also, the second verse is one of the most transcendent things I've been fortunate enough to hear this decade. It's just a beautiful, glistening listen from start to finish, a true anthem. I hope TK8 lives up to its lead single, because this is the most I've ever loved a song by The Killers. 

(I'm not mad that it went out here. My #1 going out in the top 10 is pretty damn good IMO)

#5. Florence + The Machine - "My Love"
Honestly I was let down by this single and her latest album in general. Something just failed to click. She placed a lot of emphasis on her voice, but forgot the hooks and music part of it, I feel. Or maybe it's because of the Glass Animals production. I dunno. 

#4. Gorillaz f/Thundercat - "Cracker Island"
Good return to form. I've enjoyed all of the promo singles so far, this might be the most complete Gorillaz album I've heard in a long while. And it started with this nifty banger. Again, electronic music fans ate good this year. 

#3. Sam Fender - "Seventeen Going Under"
Sam Fender has been taking the core concepts of Bruce Springsteen's famous rock anthems and has been beating The Boss at his own game. This song is perhaps the greatest indication of that. He isn't just expanding on The Boss' sound, but making it his own at this point. Listen to the mournful sax in "Spit of You" if this song isn't enough to convince you on its own. He's got a gift. 

(also alexcuse needs professional help, he hurt us like we're nothing)

#2. The War on Drugs f/Lucius - "I Don't Live Here Anymore" 
I am still shocked that this became a minor hit on Alternative. But this is why I love the format. Sometimes these staples of other formats just march in and give you a little taste of magic that stick with you long after they return to where they came from. The War on Drugs came in from AAA and gave us a nostalgic anthem that, much like "Seventeen Going Under", takes the Springsteen sound and revolutionizes it. The technical skill on this song as well as the overall songwriting is just at another level. 

#1. Cafune - "Tek It"
I don't feel that this is #1 worthy but this is by no means a bad pick. It's a good tune, and the lyrics hit hard. It's extremely well produced too. I enjoy it. 

Thanks to all of the hosts for doing a magnificent job hosting this year! This was a lot of fun yet again. 

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

Le's see how this turns out?

10. TURNSTILE - Mystery
I feel like this band has been around and some PULSERS already dig them. I liked this jam. I really got a Third Eye Blind vibe here. Early stuff like the "The Graduate". If I put a song in my top 20 I don't mind it being in the top 10.

9. My Chemical Romance - The Foundations of Decay'
Not their best song. Not by a long shot, but a great comeback emo rocker. BTW my fav? you guessed it "Welcome To The Black Parade".

8. Bob Moses - Love Brand New
aw man I thought this was gonna be Gorilla Zombies when you said the lowest ranker was eons away fro everyone else. Anyway this is passable. Far from anything that would adreanlize me, but I dug the background beat.

7. Wolf Alice - Smile
This one is decent. I like the heavy aspects about it. This is a perfect example of how Alternative rock chicks vocal deliveries differ from hard rock chicks.

6. The Killers - Boy
This was an easy #1 song for me to pick. It's so aesthetic and melodic you literally feel yourself levetating on a cloud. It's perfect for me at every level. Up to the ode to Erasure "A Little Respect" melody. All you #2s and #'3s comon' you know deep inside you wanted to slot this one at #1.

5. Florence +the Machine - My Love
I feel "Ship To Wreck" was a one time deal. This one is alright. Not as epic as "What The Water Gave Me" either, but I guess you all really like it.

4. Gorillaz and Thundercat - Crazy Island
geez it's about time. I just don't find the appeal of this band or group. I really don't know anything about them except they went from Gorillaz toons to Zombie toons and I really don't like the vocals. Just like some of you with Lyrics hang yups I have a huge issue with vocals I find unappealing. That will usually kill a song from the first preview. That being said this would be sooooooo much better with just the music and maybe some funkadelic vocals styles like Zapp, because it does jam at times.

3. Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under
Dig his vocals and accents much more than the actual song. I feel I can give this a higher rank on AAA.

2. The War on Drugs feat. Lucious - I don't Live here Anymore
This made my top 50 beause of that 80's guitar hook. You can try to deny it, but it's there. Those of you who can't pick point it. It's the intro hook from Quarterflash - Take Me To Heart. One of my absolute favs. Unfortunaltely the rest of this song didn't know how to grow on that amazing hook and stay s in mid level.

one click and you hear what I'm talking about.


1. Cafuné - Tek It
I dug this one. More uptempo. easily made my top 40. reminds me of the Spanish Acts on Elefant Records label. You should check em out. Some of you would probably dig that labels style. acts like AIKO EL GRUPO, and LISASINSON.



Red
lyhom
razorshark

thanks to our three hosts a nice ride thorough the best and worst to 2022. As bad as 2022 was it mostly those TIKTOK poppy travesties that were to blame. Most of our own top 40 featuered a rainbow for our 2023 horizon. let's hope it gets better.

[Optical Apex]

Lucius definitely improved alot from "Born Again Teen" for sure.

[Fire]

when i read turnstille's name when making my list my brain somehow processed it as bastille so imagine the shock i had when listening to the track for the first time 😭

definitely not complaining about a tek it win, it was my favorite discovery here, great song!

thanks red, razor, and lyhom for hosting, you three killed it!!

[khan]

Wow it's nuts how, despite how poorly I was doing for most of the rankdown, the final top ten songs were all in my personal top twenty. Really good set of songs there! You have all regained my respect for now /s But for real the top of this list was actually pretty hard to compile. I woulda been fine with any of these top ten winning, and y'all picked a good one.

(Also I definitely got more than zero perfect ranks, since I at least got Seventeen Going Under.)

Let's not ignore Lucius's part in making I Don't Live Here Anymore such a masterpiece! Those angelic backing vocals add so much depth to the mix that, when it's added to the ethereal instrumental, it's as if I'm really floating on a cloud of my own consciousness. Yet I don't find myself wishing they had a bigger part, the backing vocals are truly beautiful, but they are used a perfect amount to make them special. If the latter half of the song didn't run on so long, it'd be a #1 contender for sure.

I'm surprised to see a lot of people here calling Tek It innovative or creative or fresh. I get the opposite vibe from it. The tune is quite the standard pop-leaning alt-rock song about a breakup. What it has going for it is that it's EXTRAORDINARILY competent. Every single note from every single instrument is utilized perfectly. It's balanced on the precise pinpoint between tight and catchy but also authentic. It's like you gave Gordon Ramsay a million-dollar budget to make a cup of vanilla ice cream.

And speaking of extraordinary competence, thanks to the triple hosts for triple hosting!