In case you haven’t noticed, everything since 2020 has been a big, queasy blur. A pandemic came and never left, the world attempted to cope, entertainment as we know it reinvented itself, and suddenly time either slogs or sprints forward — there is no between. Often it feels like the only thing grounding us for more than a minute at a time is the escapism of music. Despite the industry’s unpredictable post-pandemic outlook, musicians from Boston and the surrounding cities raised the bar in every genre this year, from the brashest hip-hop to the lushest pop. We’re happy to report that these are the 22 homegrown songs that held us down — or hurtled us across the dance floor — when we needed it most in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On paper, Serge Alex\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> September single is about a crush living in your headspace \u201crent free.\u201d In practice, it\u2019s not a person who\u2019s gobbling up free real estate \u2014 it\u2019s Alex\u2019s liquid groove. As one of 2022\u2019s most unrelenting earworms, \u201cRENT FREE\u201d slips in one ear and refuses to exit the other, sloshing around your noggin until it syncs up with your heartbeat. As we noted in our original writeup,<\/a> a person must be pretty remarkable to lock in any kind of housing gratis in Boston. The replay factor of \u201cRENT FREE\u201d proves Alex\u2019s artistry is remarkable, indeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n