The Best Music and Books of 2022
It’s that time of the year when everything slows down, my email inbox feels dormant, and I finally have some time to reflect upon the year that’s coming to an end. I’m a big list maker year-round, and I always love reading year-end best of lists from the people I trust. I’m never disappointed by perennial music favorites like Matador Records and BBC 6 Music, and this year—my first as a published author—I spent more time looking at book lists. I’m thrilled to see that The Root, Forbes, and Rough Trade included My Life in the Sunshine on theirs.
Below is a picture of my favorite books I read (or at least started) in 2022. This also happens to be every book I read (or at least started), except for Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, which didn’t make the photo because I forgot that it was sitting on the couch. As the title would suggest, it’s a great book that I highly recommend.
It’s been a great year, and I’d like to thank everyone who bought my book / sold my book / attended an event / hosted an event / liked an Instagram post… you get the point… Thank you! This isn’t a list, but here’s a picture of each of the 23 people who were kind enough to join me “in conversation” in 2022.
Favorite moment: My wife AJ filling in at the last minute in London and doing an incredible job.
2nd favorite moment: Wyatt Cenac surrounding me with stools after I said I’d be more comfortable behind a drum kit.
Best question: an audience member in New Orleans lightening the mood by asking: “Favorite vegetable and favorite Radiohead album.” (Spinach and The Bends, obvs.).
2nd best question: The kid in Chapel Hill, NC who asked with great confidence, “What’s your salary?!”
In October I spent two days in one of my favorite cities, Portland, Oregon, doing book stuff. When I taped a LiveWire Radio segment in front of a large audience, I worried that I was going to be a wet blanket after the two comedians who went on before me. Turns out the hosts and I had a great time talking about Sugar Ray and my one night job as a drum tech in Portland in 1995. The 12-minute segment just aired (I’m on around 29 min). NPR’s Oregon Public Broadcasting also published a short video trailer and an interview this week.
I listened to a lot of music in 2022 and Seattle’s KEXP just published my recap of a year that produced great albums by Sudan Archives, Duval Timothy, Upchuck, Plosivs, and many others.
To commemorate the end of the book tour (part 1), I’ve printed a limited run of tour T-shirts (no, this is not a joke—these really exist). I've talked a lot about how much publishing a book feels like being in a band. What better way to double down than with a limited edition My Life in the Sunshine tour shirt? They’re available in sizes S-2XL, and my printer assures me that they’re “NPR nice.”
2023 is shaping up nicely with events in Moscow (Idaho), Newport Beach, my first Manhattan event, and a week-long driving tour of the American south. Details and updates can always be found HERE.
My memoir My Life in the Sunshine is out now. I’d love it if you picked up a copy at your local independent bookstore. It’s also available at all the big places, and for your Kindle as well. There’s an audiobook that I spent 20 hours of my life reading (it’ll only take 7 hours to listen). You can listen to the 5-minute intro for free on Spotify.
Happy holidays!
Nabil Ayers / Brooklyn (via Palm Springs)