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Photo: Carlijn Jacobs
Features/Lists/Music
Dig in, whether you're hearing these songs for the first time or the hundredth.
by Slant Staff
No use keeping you all in suspense: The top two songs on our songs of the year list will surprise absolutely no one. Released as the lead singles from two of the biggest albums of the year by two of the biggest pop stars in the world, they ruled the charts, impressed critics, and set social media alight. And hey, when the masses are right, they're right. See, internet? Maybe we're not as contrarian as you think we are.
We would be remiss, however, if we didn't endeavor to catch you up on a few things you might have missed while queuing up Midnights or Renassiance for the nth time. Of course, you'll find some bona fide hits here, from Rosalía's disorienting "Saoko" to Zach Bryan's boldly understated "Something in the Orange" to Drake's pumping yet ethereal "Sticky."
But you'll also find hidden gems from artists who span a similarly broad swath of genres: Sudan Archives, the one-woman band who managed to pack seemingly the entire history of R&B into a dizzying five minutes; Ethel Cain, the Southern Baptist-raised trans woman who somehow fit a fist-raising heartland anthem into a gothic horror opera; and the xx's Oliver Sim and the Hold Steady's Craig Finn, who stepped out from the yokes of their road-tested bands to deliver their most graceful and vulnerable compositions to date. So dig in, whether you're hearing these songs for the first time or the hundredth. Jeremy Winograd
[Editor's Note: Listen to the entire list on Spotify.]
50. Maggie Rogers, "Anywhere with You"
Like Beth Orton before her, singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers infuses her folk-rock with only the subtlest shades of electronica, employing electro-pop noodling throughout her sophomore effort, Surrender, to highlight rather than obscure her lilting voice and often gut-wrenching songwriting. Case in point: "Anywhere with You," whose briefly diced-up vocal samples evoke the sound of a pop song devoured by the wind during a car ride. Echoes of the Pretenders's "I'll Stand by You" in Rogers's discovery of the kind of love that makes one brave enough to face the unknown together: "Cruising 95 like we got nothing to lose/I'm praying to the headlights like I prayed to you/Before I found you." Sal Cinquemani
49. Catherine Moan & Primer, "My Heart"
Drawing inspiration from the exuberant synth-pop of the '80s, the deceptively upbeat "My Heart" pulses with a sorrowful nostalgia that belies its glittery production. Exploring an unhealthy relationship dynamic, Primer, backed by Catherine Moan's exultant warble, sings with a curious lilt that's at once affected and authentic, her pop-diva caroling both obfuscating and crystallizing the song's emotions. "And still I give you everything, I don't know what is wrong with me, it's just something I do," she belts out before the track erupts into the sugary sadness of a refrain. Far removed from the cynical, nostalgia-driven cash grabs that have come to dominate pop culture, the song overflows with an exhilarating giddiness that makes for one of the year's most sweetly cathartic experiences. Fred Barrett
48. FKA twigs, "Ride the Dragon"
"Ride the Dragon" is the freewheeling progeny of FKA twigs's sultry, skittering early EPs. Whereas we may expect a seductive line such as "If you really wanna kiss me, do it quickly" to be delivered legato, like on 2014's "Hours," here it's sped up so as to indicate just how much of a hurry the singer is in. The framing device of Caprisongs is built into the song, which opens with a spoken introduction about twigs's artistic motivation before launching abruptly into its characteristically wonky hook and winking come-ons. Mason
47. Chat Pile, "Why"
A photograph of the Oklahoma County Detention Center is pictured on the cover of Chat Pile's God's Country, and that harsh industrialism looms large over the album and takes on an especially dystopian dimension when paired with Luther Manhole's crushing guitar riffs and menacing arpeggiated leads, both of which feature prominently on "Why." "Why do people have to live outside?" asks singer Raygun Busch, in a simple, straightforward, even prosaic indictment of homelessness. "There are people that are made to live outside," he continues, punctuating the blunt verse with an accusatory "Why?"—his tone growing increasingly unhinged and desperate. As the song draws to a close, the band delivers a pulverizing breakdown finish, and Busch laments the "Real American horror story" that the unhoused are forced to live through. Why indeed. Barrett
46. Tomberlin, "Tap"
Tomberlin's "Tap" uses its titular, introductory smash of the "like" button to incite a roundelay of stunning drum sounds that would be cause by themselves for placement on this list. Throughout its exquisite four-and-a-half minutes, a casual shuffle of a hand-drummed beat persists, underlaid at first by distant stomping, eventually supplemented by the gentle rattle of what sounds like glimmering beads. That the song also unfolds as a knotty manifesto about the imprisoning nature of social media, the simultaneous mystery and claustrophobia of the city, and the sometimes unbearable intimacy of art is something of a marvel. Charles Lyons-Burt
45. Yeule, "Bites on My Neck"
The music on Yeule's 2019 album Serotonin II was largely cloaked in atmospheric, almost heavenly haze. But on the titanic "Bites on My Neck", the Singaporean artist takes a less distanced approach, fully embodying their hybrid morbid-sweet-liberated persona with menacingly sensual lyrics: "You know that I could have loved you with my bare hands/You know that I could have killed you with my bare hands." After the verses come alive with electronic glitches provided by hyperpop forefather Danny L Harle, the chorus's towering electric guitars capture both sides of the double-edged sword of passion. Eric Mason
44. Lee Bains & the Glory Fires, "Rednecks"
Lee Bains surveys a tapestry of common folks going about their day in Birmingham, Alabama—from the cleaning lady waiting at the bus stop, to the weary warehouse shift worker lighting up a blunt, to the weird-looking kids outside a punk show—and being met with invective and bigotry. In response, he cries out for class consciousness: "Don't call them trash, buddy, they're my kinfolk/You ain't no better than them or anybody else." A rousing coda colored by twangy guitar licks and Bains's soulful exhortations underscores the righteousness of his open-hearted and open-minded words. Winograd
43. Black Country, New Road, "The Place Where He Inserted the Blade"
The emotional apex of one of 2022's most self-evidently masterful albums, Black Country, New Road's Ants from Up There, "The Place Where He Inserted the Blade" rumbles with desperation. Lead singer Isaac Wood's guttural vocals are theatrical, not like an aria, but like the most moving of monologues. Equally dramatic is the instrumentation, a gradual accumulation of keys, strings, and horns encircling an impassioned Wood as he sings, "I'll praise the Lord, burn my house/I get lost, I freak out/You come home and hold me tight/As if it never happened at all." Mason
42. Bad Bunny, "Tití Me Preguntó"
On the infectious "Tití Me Preguntó," Bad Bunny answers his auntie's question about whether he has a girlfriend by enumerating just how many women he has at his beck and call, but his monotonous boasts are cleverly scored by a churning, almost robotic percussive shuffle that indicates that all of the anonymous fucking is starting to bore him. Indeed, he stages a heel turn by the song's end, declaring that he can never fall in love and doesn't want to be a mindless lothario anymore. Lyons-Burt
41. Alvvays, "After the Earthquake"
"After the Earthquake" is prime power-pop jangle, blasting out of the gate like Reckoning-era R.E.M. before, suddenly, everything drops out and we're left with just muted electric piano and Molly Rankin's gentle cooing. It's a brief but profound moment of clarity amid a torrent of chaos and noise—a balance of fire and zen on Rankin's part that the rest of us can only aspire to. Winograd
40. Kane Brown, "Grand"
There's a hairline fracture just below the surface of Kane Brown's crystalline club-pop banger "Grand." "The voices in my head used to make me wanna break down/Had me hella weighed down," he sings at the start of the second verse, recasting the song and its good-life parochialisms as an act of willful liberation, a psychological reflection of the stigmatism a half-Black country chart-topper had to struggle against just to embrace the full spectrum of his musical savvy. Sam C. Mac
39. Gunna, "Poochie Gown"
For Gunna's "Poochie Gown," superstar beat maker Metro Boomin—along with co-conspirators Southside and Allen Ritter—lift the quivering mandolin filigrees from 2Pac's "Life of an Outlaw" and refashion them as chilling paranoiac accents amid a menacing atmosphere and thunderous 808s. The Atlanta rapper weaves through the exemplary sonic scenery with more nimbleness than we've come to expect from someone known for his slurry phrasing and floating disposition. While it's strangely tense and propulsive, "Poochie Gown" is also genuinely funny, both in its phonetic spelling of Italian designer Emilio Pucci (which links back to mentor Young Thug's classic mixtape track "Givenchy") and because Gunna makes sure to sneak in a totally leftfield and unprovoked Freddie Gibbs diss. Lyons-Burt
38. Cardi B featuring Kanye West and Lil Durk, "Hot Shit"
Cardi B's "Hot Shit" offers an abundance of her characteristic braggadocio—"Either way you slice it, bottom line, I'm the top bitch/New Chanel, I rock it twice and it ain't even out yet"—all while referencing pro wrestling finishing moves, Marcia Griffiths's "Electric Slide," and 2Pac's famous bathtub photoshoot. Unsurprisingly, guests Lil Durk and Kanye West deliver as well, the former's in-your-face energy, and the latter's laidback, melodic flow complementing the filthy, bass-heavy trap beat. But even among her gifted collaborators, Cardi's boastful delivery reigns supreme. Barrett
37. Kehlani, "Wish I Never"
A delight of mixed metaphors—describing romance with cars, card games, and war—Kehlani's "Wish I Never" expresses a regret for getting involved with a trifling former lover. Yet as its narrator looks back, it slyly gives over to its own forward motion with each passing, cherubically sung verse. There's an inexplicability to the power of this sneaky, slender R&B number, akin perhaps to the bewilderment that Kehlani—and by extension us—feel about why we got with a partner in the first place. Lyons-Burt
36. Nilüfer Yanya, "Midnight Sun"
The verses of Nilüfer Yanya's "Midnight Sun" are meant to throw the listener off balance, but its triumphant chorus offers relief, tracking the shift from the destabilizing effects of isolation to the comfort of connection. And still, Yanya doesn't give us the satisfaction of a rosy outlook, instead opting for slyly profound pessimism: "Love is raised by common thieves/Hiding diamonds up their sleeves/Always I did it for you." While the song's underlying intensity is unleashed on the final chorus, with walls of noise enveloping the singer's tender falsetto, she doesn't let her guard down, her skepticism remaining as insistent as her ardent love. Mason
35. Jack White featuring Q-Tip, "Hi-De-Ho"
The weirder Jack White gets, the better. On Fear of the Dawn, he remains committed to ensuring that even his most outlandish ideas are synthesized into effective earworms. "Hi-De-Ho," for instance, assembles a Cab Calloway sample, guest verses by Q-Tip, and a meditative acoustic interlude and somehow manages to make it cohere, thanks in large part to its infectious bassline. Winograd
34. Destroyer, "June"
At their best, Dan Bejar and company twist familiar elements into something unexpected. "June" sounds like an extended dance remix of an '80s pop hit as imagined by a deranged street corner preacher who has somehow found himself DJing at a nightclub. Bejar decries "fucking idiots someone made in the snow," croons his way through a heavenly breakdown with some of his signature self-aware wordplay (hilariously, an absurdly literal rhyme of "moon" and "June" is involved), and eventually breaks into a pitch-shifted spoken rant as the band's silky and controlled groove grows increasingly frenzied. Winograd
33. Black Sherif, "Kwaku the Traveller"
"Of course I fucked up/Who never fucked up?/Hands in the air/No hands?" Ghanaian drill artist Black Sherif quips on "Kwaku the Traveller." In a period where we've become aware of the amount of awful behavior committed by celebrities but have no consensus about how to enforce accountability, Black Sherif's tale of a man trying to take responsibility for his actions while still mythologizing himself strikes a potent nerve. Steve Erickson
32. Hercules & Love Affair featuring Anohni, "One"
Andy Butler and Anohni's "One" is the pièce de résistance of Hercules & Love Affair's In Amber. It's a doom-y kind of house music—forceful yet ethereal, done up with flighty woodwinds, a stomping drumbeat, and the insistent ringing of a triangle. Anohni's theatrical, commanding, and singular vocal articulates every syllable of the enigmatic yet evocative lyrics—"Mouth and volcano, one…feeding upon my own flesh"—whose confounding nature only teases us to return to the song over and over. Lyons-Burt
31. M.I.A. "Zoo Girl"
M.I.A.'s "Zoo Girl," which leaked online last year as a sedated demo, came out in full force once properly released on Mata. The explosive track sees M.I.A. embracing her status as a self-described "zoo girl straight out the wild, wild East," before building to an eventual battle cry against all who still doubt her: "Imma start a revolution." With her flippant attitude and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, M.I.A. turns what could be a bloody insurrection into one of the more buoyant pop anthems of the year. Paul Attard
30. Imperial Triumphant, "Merkurius Gilded"
New York death metal outfit Imperial Triumphant dug their heels into the Art Deco-draped apocalyptica with which they made their name on Spirit of Ecstasy, taking their metal metropolitanism to new heights on tracks like the towering opus "Merkurius Gilded." Blending cinematic strings with ferocious blast beats and ghostly choir voices, the song serves as an ambiguous ode to urban development, and all the good and bad that it's brought with it. "Currency flows through electric streets, feeding the avenues opportunity," sings Zachary Ezrin, a menacing cacophony blossoming around him. Iconic smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G and his son, guitarist Max Gorelick, make an appearance during the particularly chaotic middle section, their rapturous chops lending the track an air of twisted, Jazz Age decadence. If there was ever a band that could pull off a stunt like this without resorting to cheap irony, it's Imperial Triumphant. Barrett
29. Drive-By Truckers, "Every Single Storied Flameout"
On "Every Single Storied Flameout," Mike Cooley faces down his own reckoning as he wonders if he even has the right to warn his teenage son against going down the same path. "All those well-intentioned lies that I myself romanticized," he ponders before realizing, "If I'd been my example I'd be worse." It's ironic, then, that a song about fatherhood, responsibility, and the empty and damaging promises spun by generations of guitar slingers is one of the most invigorating blasts of rock 'n' roll that the Drive-By Truckers have ever made. No matter how convincingly Cooley begs for resistance, the band's pummeling guitar attack, anchored by the subtly brilliant drumming of Brad Morgan and topped off with a triumphant horn section, will have you believing the same lies all over again. Winograd
28. Björk, "Atopos"
Björk has described her 10th album, Fossora, as being "about bass, heavy bottom-end…and punchy sub." But despite the suggestion that she might be returning to dance music, or something like it, the closest thing to clubby here is the adoption of gabber, the percussive hardcore techno subgenre defined by its furious assault of distorted kickdrums. You hear the influence on the album's opening track, "Atopos," which features Kasimyn of Indonesian electronic duo Gabber Modus Operandi. Björk and her collaborator curiously tweak gabber's typical breakneck tempo so that it almost resembles reggaeton, at least until a final intense stretch that speed-ramps the song's beat and ping-pongs it against a drunk-sounding sextet of bass clarinets. Mac
27. Bigbang, "Still Life"
Bigbang's "Still Life" is a ravishingly sullen, impeccably melodic slab of orchestral soft rock that pays some lip service to an imagined relationship—"I miss the boy and girl who cried and laughed"—but doesn't do much else to disguise just how much the song is actually about the boy band itself, its members licking their emotional wounds after a 2019 scandal that resulted in the ouster of one of the quintet's original founders. "Four seasons with no reason," sneers G-Dragon, which may leave you wondering if he and his three cohorts are those seasons in question. Leave that to the biographers to sort out, and instead appreciate that however personal "Still Life" feels, it's always forthcoming with its attempts at catharsis. The song's cacophony of strutting electric guitar, grandly dramatic piano, crashing drums, and a euphoric singalong all coalesce and gradually build out into something that's about as close as 2022 came to a platonic ideal of stadium-filling pop. Mac
26. ODESZA featuring Bettye LaVette, "The Last Goodbye"
A soul sample-driven electronic anthem in the mold of Moby's watershed 1999 album Play, ODESZA's sprawling "The Last Goodbye" pairs vocals from Betty LaVette's swooning R&B hit "Let Me Down Easy" with a concoction of funk bass, lush strings, and electro hiccups. LaVette's voice is given space to flex, but it's also chopped up and processed throughout the six-minute track, imbuing the singer's heartfelt performance with a haunting, otherworldly quality. Cinquemani
25. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Wolf"
A balance between defiance and hope infuses Yeah Yeah Yeahs's Cool It Down, the band's first album in nine years. "I'm hungry…I'm lost and lonely," Karen O sneers over a dark, strutting beat on the simultaneously gritty and sleek "Wolf." The song, which climaxes with a towering synth riff that takes full possession of your brain, is about trying to hold onto salvation from a brutish world that she's already found, rather than reveling in that brutality: "Don't leave me now/Don't break this spell/In heaven lost my taste for hell." Winograd
24. Taylor Swift, "Would've, Could've, Should've"
On much of Midnights, Taylor Swift turns her negative emotions toward herself. But "Would've, Could've, Should've," from the deluxe 3am Edition, finds the monster in someone else. Revising her 2010 song "Dear John," she directs her anger at a man who took advantage of her youth and naïveté. "Would've, Could've, Should've" rages openly, with steadily building guitars and synthesizers as Swift demands, "Give me back my childhood." Erickson
23. Carly Rae Jepsen, "Western Wind"
Carly Rae Jepsen's "Western Wind" rides in on a groove of chill keys and conga drums, as the singer enjoys little bursts of energy from her half-recollected memories of a love affair. Like "Call Me Maybe" and "Run Away with Me" before it, "Western Wind" is meant to be felt rather than fully understood, and Jepsen articulates that feeling with the music: Just as things seem to be winding down, Rostam Batmanglij's billowing electric guitar blows through, and with it the song finds its second wind. Mac
22. Lil Uzi Vert, "Cigarette"
Continuing where 2017's "Neon Guts," left off, "Cigarette" is perhaps the first Lil Uzi Vert song that one could call a cool-down jam. The usually hyperactive MC seems to be floating back down to Earth in slow motion, rapping unhurriedly and backed by drums that have some give to them, as dazed voices comfortingly swirl in the background. He seamlessly flows between English and patois—"Just like the river, my neck, it's gon' pond up (Pon di river)"—proceeding to interpolate Elephant Man's "Pon de River, Pon de Bank." Lyons-Burt
21. Drake, "Sticky"
It was perhaps inevitable that Drake would one day helm a song written around a cheeky double entendre involving the word "sticky," but at least when he finally did so on Honestly, Nevermind, he did it with the charisma and forceful determination of this track. Like no other summer smash from 2022, "Sticky" feels like a massive genre-crossing event transpiring in real time, with one of the world's biggest pop stars gleefully living up to his illustrious title over only the slickest of Baltimore club beats. Attard
20. Craig Finn, "Messing with the Settings"
Craig Finn is one of the most skillful storytellers in rock music, but he's never penned a narrative that feels as profoundly, heartbreakingly real as "Messing with the Settings." There's no Catholic allegory, no killer parties to recount. Finn conversationally recites, rather than sings, the verses, recounting a few random memories of a down-on-their-luck friend that he'd probably rather forget. Like most of Finn's songs, it's largely fiction, but this is one instance where the little details are so specific, the characters so finely drawn, and Finn's delivery so disarmingly free of affect, that one could easily be fooled into thinking otherwise. "Rachel did her best with the deal she'd been dealt/And that's what I've got for a eulogy," Finn offers, and when the angelic voices of Cassandra Jenkins and Annie Nero enter the mix shortly thereafter to sing Rachel into the afterlife, the deep feeling of loss doesn't seem remotely faked. Winograd
19. Rosalía, "Saoko"
On Motomami's more confrontational tracks, Rosalía dabbles with the abrasive sounds characteristic of PC Music artists like Sophie and Charli XCX. But despite this maximalist sonic approach, tracks like the irreverent "Saoko" belie the singer's introspective and even melancholy lyrical focus. The song finds Rosalía confronting the changes that she's undergone in the past several years since her rise to fame, deliciously reveling in their contradictions and possibilities: "Cuando pone' perla' en el collar de Vivienne/E' diferente, ya no son perla'." Thomas Bedenbaugh
18. Bladee & Ecco2k, "5 Star Crest (4 Vattenrum)"
Clocking in at nearly nine minutes, Bladee & Ecco2k's "5 Star Crest (4 Vattenrum)" is a kaleidoscopic crash course in everything Drain Gang. The shimmering five-part odyssey finds our two Eurydice-like leads praising natural beauty in a world consumed by ego, while paying tribute to Vattenrum, a Drain Gang associate who passed away in 2019. Throughout this progressive cloud-rap epic, they both directly reference church cantatas, the Noble Truths of Buddhism, and the Mahabharata, before closing on two separate mantras: "Death is beautiful," as cooed by a blissed-out Bladee, and "I love you," as murmured shortly after by a bashful Ecco2k. Attard
17. Big Thief, "Simulation Swarm"
On the cusp of indie stardom, Big Thief turned inward and dragged an 8-track recorder to a cabin in the woods for a jam session. "Simulation Swarm" is the most immediately accessible song on their double album, New Warm Dragon I Believe in You. Acoustic guitars and drums establish a steady groove. Adrianne Lenker's lyrics are cryptic and deeply personal, but the yearning to embrace the brother, given up for adoption by her mother, she's never met courses through her performance and ripples to the surface. Erickson
16. Alex G, "Miracles"
This stripped-down take on faith, fatherhood, and life as an artist feels like a respite from the serpentine experimentalism of Alex G's God Save the Animals. "You and me, we got better pills than ecstasy," he sings, referring to "miracles and crosses." The song's belief in love, forgiveness, and empathy is deeply affecting: A lyric like "Baby, I pray for the children and the sinners and the animals too, and I pray for you" is a powerful sentiment in a world where empathy often seems to be in short supply. Barrett
15. Zach Bryan, "Something in the Orange"
Although country singer Zach Bryan released almost three hours of new music this year, including the two-hour American Heartbreak and the EP Summertime Blues, he's best taken in small doses. But that's not a slight. The percussion-free "Something in the Orange" shrugs off obvious genre signifiers, stripping heartbreak down to the essentials: staring at headlights that turn into a sunset as the singer faces an even lonelier future—one that seems unimaginable in the moment. Erickson
14. Caroline Polachek, "Billions"
The successor to "Bunny Is a Rider," her slinky ode to independence from last year, is an understated exhibit of Caroline Polachek's vocal prowess and increasingly brilliant, if oblique, lyricism. The singer-songwriter renders modern romance with a painterly touch and a timbre that captures the thrill of lust, singing of "Sexting sonnets…tangled in cables." Then the song makes its boldest and most unexpected move, swapping out its Danny L Harle-assisted alt-R&B instrumentation for a choral outro. Much like the giggling baby on "Bunny Is a Rider" and the lyrics about loss of innocence on Polachek's most recent single, "Sunset," the youth choir here brings a purity and naïveté that do not undermine, but rather underscore her desire. Mason
13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs featuring Perfume Genius, "Spitting Off the Edge of the World"
"Spitting Off the Edge of the World" at first sounds almost like Yeah Yeah Yeahs's version of doom metal, unfurling at an agonizingly slow crawl with a crushing, dissonant synth drone. But then Karen O offers a harsh whisper of "And the kids cry out…" before launching into a fist-raising chorus. "Never had no chance/Nowhere to hide," she sings, ostensibly lamenting the seemingly insurmountable nature of the various crises the modern world faces, but doing so with Gen-Z-inspired defiance and even hopefulness rather than Gen-X doomerism. Winograd
12. Soccer Mommy, "Shotgun"
Soccer Mommy's gossamer indie rock and Oneohtrix Point Never's cinematic electronic music are at first glance an incongruous pairing, but "Shotgun" proves their collaboration to be effortlessly dreamy. Likening her eager devotion to a loaded weapon, the singer transforms an image that threatens violence into a vision of endearment. While the verses are portentous and deceptively calm, with a guitar riff that slinks like a tuxedo-clad figure in a Bob Fosse routine, the chorus fires off into a gauzy, deeply layered earworm that invites—no, demands—infinite listens. Mason
11. Mitski, "Love Me More"
"Love Me More" feels like an assemblage of Mitski's best songwriting tricks: Combine the yearning repetition of "I Bet on Losing Dogs" ("My baby, my baby/You're my baby, say it to me"), the indelible synths of "Why Didn't You Stop Me" and "Nobody," and the climactic catharsis of "Your Best American Girl," "Geyser," and "Carry Me Out"—any number of her best songs, really—and you get pop that's rich in desire. Mitski has continued to grow as a vocalist, and her performance lands somewhere between the rawness of the indie rocker we know her to be and the bravado of a Broadway diva. Mason
10. The Beths, "Expert in a Dying Field"
The Beths's Expert in a Dying Field is bookended by songs that serve as a woozy, insomniatic recollection of good times long gone, as if half-remembered from a dream. But singer Liz Stokes doesn't sound bitter. On the album's title track, her voice glides smoothly into her upper register, producing an oddly soothing effect as she ruminates, "And I can close the door on us/But the room still exists." She can't just lock those painful, messy parts of herself away, as they'll always be there. Winograd
9. Lil Baby, "Right On"
Over a typically spectral and epic-sounding ATL Jacob beat, Lil Baby spits a run-on-sentence equivalent of a rap song, rushing through the track's hook to get straight back into the next verse of rude, charismatic bragging. If it's not the most lyrical of Baby's songs, it's one of the most formally satisfying—a tight-as-a-drum flex that, divorced of the streaming era bloat that a full-length rap album seems to necessitate, proves just how breathlessly captivating his rhyme schemes and preening vocals can be at their most concise and unencumbered. Mac
8. Ethel Cain, "American Teenager"
On its surface, Ethel Cain's "American Teenager" is a swaggering, anthemic pop song, with huge drums and vocals drowned in reverb, that could play alongside Taylor Swift on Top 40 radio. But the contrast between the song's lyrics (in which girls get drunk to attend church services they don't believe in and jocks join the army only to return home in a coffin), melody, and production creates dissonance. It's a corrosive bop. Erickson
7. Sudan Archives, "Home Maker"
"Home Maker" begins by cycling through a number of different drumbeats before it locates its preferred tempo, which is brisker than devotees of Sudan Archives have come to expect from the American artist. The lyrics find Archives, née Brittney Parks, trying to make a partner feel comfortable at home while impressing upon them her status as the "baddest bitch," but her tone quickly shifts into pleading desperation. "Don't you feel at home when I wait on you?…Now that we're alone, don't you feel better?" she chant-sings as handclaps sound off like an anxious twitch. When Parks's signature violin finally swoops in at the tail-end of the track, it feels like the Sudan Archives that fans have known all along—and we finally feel at home. Lyons-Burt
6. Hikaru Utada, "Somewhere Near Marseilles"
How far away from London is Paris? About 200 miles, give or take. Yet, on the groovy and globe-trotting "Somewhere Near Marseilles," Hikaru Utada and producer Floating Points prove that the distance between these two cultural capitals—and, by proxy, between two lost souls longing for human connection—is all but negligible. Especially when meeting halfway, perhaps "somewhere near Marseilles," becomes an available option. Attard
5. Jnr Choi, "To the Moon"
One of the few U.K. hip-hop songs ever to become a major hit in the U.S. (no doubt helped by a remix featuring Gunna), "To the Moon" lives up to its name, floating by on hazy percussion and a sample of Sam Tompkins covering Bruno Mars's "Talking to the Moon." Tompkins's extended, warbly "oooo" matches up perfectly with the track's stuttering drums to create an uncanny ambience. Out of the three versions, the drill remix (featuring Fivio Foreign, G Herbo, M24, and Russ Millions) stands out, balancing posse-cut energy with the original's spaciness. Erickson
4. Lil Yachty, "Poland"
Harkening back to the rapper's early days, Lil Yachty's unlikely viral hit "Poland" evokes the simple and addictive cloud rap that first earned him a cult following. The immediacy of the not-quite-90-second track, coupled with the now-iconic vibrato yodel on the hook, is infectious and mysterious in equal measure, the inscrutability heightened by its fleeting, temporary aura. The tune sticks around for exactly one verse and two hooks before retreating back into the ether it spawned from, but the sparse allure of Yachty's romantic cough-syrup psychedelia is the stuff that the repeat function was designed for. Barrett
3. Oliver Sim, "Hideous"
Oliver Sim's solo debut, Hideous Bastard, marks a second coming out for the openly gay singer-songwriter: When the single "Hideous" dropped back in May, the xx singer-bassist revealed that he's been HIV-positive for 14 years. "Radical honesty might set me free," he sings on the track. "Been living with HIV since 17." His rich, emotive voice and anguished vulnerability are complemented by a stripped-down arrangement of whining synth tones and warm strings and a stirring bridge in which Bronski Beat's Jimmy Somerville serves as a guardian angel. Erickson
2. Taylor Swift, "Anti-Hero"
On what sounds most like a pop radio hit than anything Taylor Swift has released in years, producer Jack Antonoff creates a purposeful contrast between the song's verses and chorus, which opens with one of the singer-songwriter's most memorable and meme-able lines: "It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me." Antonoff downplays the verses, which admittedly scan like undergrad poetry, and punches up the chorus, leaning into what Swift does best: pop hooks that ooze pathos and bathos in equal measure. Jonathan Keefe
1. Beyoncé, "Break My Soul"
Beyoncé's "Break My Soul" marks, if not a cultural reset—a term that's been rendered meaningless in its ubiquity—at least a musical shift for the R&B icon. The song samples liberally from both Robin S.'s 1993 hit "Show Me Love" and Big Freedia's "Explode," following in the tradition of '90s house music with a driving kick drum, bouncy keyboards, and gospel flourishes. Lyrically, the song finds Beyoncé revisiting the familiar theme of self-empowerment—"Motivation/I done found me a new foundation/And I'm taking my new salvation/And imma build my own foundation"—as Big Freedia hypes, "Release your anger/Release your mind," throughout. Emblematic of early house music's sampladelic pedigree, "Break My Soul" serves as literal and figurative fashion plate, as evidenced by myriad mash-ups like the clever "Queens Remix," featuring Madonna's "Vogue." Cinquemani
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LCS 2022 Power Rankings
NA Power Rankings 2022 ahead of the LCS Spring Split
Now that the off-season is over, here's our LCS Power Rankings for 2022! Teams have worked hard during the break to secure the best players, as this is looking to be one of the most competitive seasons in recent history! With the LCS Lock-In tournament on its way and many more league of legends tournaments to come, it is time to rank the teams based on the rosters they put together!
Want to know which are the best LoL players? Check out our website for all the guides, strategies and tips about the League and how to get into LCS betting!
10. CLG
(Key Player: Palafox & Poome – Mid & Support)
Counter Logic Gaming comes into 2022 scrapping everything they did from last year. Gone are the two imports Broxah and Finn and all the other players. This year, CLG changed its strategy, with a clear intention of getting and developing young talent, while building a cohesive team around the players with the highest potential.
As a result, CLG picked up Academy players from other organizations that have already been on stage for a while. Jenkins played for Team Liquid when Alphari was benched, Contractz has been around for many years now, and Palafox is finally getting a chance to be the starting mid laner. Paired with the duo bot lane from 100Thieves Academy, Luger and Poome might be the spark that CLG needs to make a strong result.
CLG will be an interesting team to watch because there are basically no expectations on them. They can't really do worse than last year, and with a new wave of players, it should only get better. With that being said, however, the overall competition increased a lot in LCS this year and I'm afraid CLG will still finish at the end of the pack.
Potential Finish for Counter Logic Gaming: 10th-7th
9. Dignitas
(Key Player: FakeGod & River – Top & Jungle)
Dignitas and CLG kind of swapped their identity during this off-season. From developing the homegrown talents, Dignitas decided to pick up some imports from overseas: the first is River, former PSG Talon jungler, while the second is Blue, former SK Gaming mid laner.
Out of the two, the one that raised the most questions is Blue, who didn't make a strong impression in the LEC last year. In EU, he was still a below-average mid laner: how will he fare against the NA mids will decide how well can Dignitas perform. If he's not able to deliver, it will be down to ADC Neo and River to drag this Dignitas roster. I doubt top lane FakeGod and support Biofrost, who returns to pro play in 2022, will make a strong enough impact to bring the team up a notch.
Potential Finish for Dignitas: 10th-6th
8. FlyQuest
(Key Player: toucouille – Mid)
FlyQuest seemed to have a good direction to continue their work coming into 2022. They locked their top and jungle, Kumo and Josedeodo, from last year and looked to find strong talents for the rest of the map. In one way or the other, they did find a solid set up.
In bot lane, they picked up aphromoo, reuniting him with his former Dignitas partner Johnsun. Both had a decent stint back in 2020 on DIG and FlyQuest are hoping that they can deliver once again on this roster. With a weakside player like Kumo, it is almost guaranteed that FlyQuest will want to play through bot in order to win.
The other big addition to the team is toucouille. The french mid laner previously played in the LFL with GameWard, earning the 2021 Spring Split MVP title. His value spiked through the roof and FlyQuest decided to give it a shot for this year. If he's able to make the exploit FlyQuest is hoping for, then we might be looking at a potential playoff team. Otherwise, the team might hover around the 7th-8th spot.
Potential Finish for FlyQuest: 9th-5th
7. Immortals
(Key Player: PowerofEvil – Mid)
Immortals put together a decent team with players of known value, yet they are were one of the hardest to put into these LCS Power Rankings. Why? Because we don't know whether these veterans have more up their sleeve, or they've already reached their potential in these years. Players like PowerofEvil, Xerxe and Wildturtle have been in the LCS for quite some time, especially WildTurtle who started playing in the LCS back in Season 3. PowerofEvil will surely be the core player of the roster, but with how the competition is shaping up, I don't think he will be a top 3 mid laner throughout the whole year.
Image Credits | Immortals
Top laner Revenge and Support Destiny might be the two exceptions who can still improve, but even then they don't give the impression to become top-tier players in the league. Nonetheless, Immortals do have a solid team and will be consistent enough to become potential playoff contenders and finish in the top 6, but I'm afraid that is going to be their limit.
6. Golden Guardians
(Key Player: Ablazeolive – Olleh – Mid & Support)
This is, to me, the most exciting roster of the mid-bottom pack. Golden Guardians managed to create a very interesting team, with strong players that can make the breakthrough this 2022. Licorice returned to its form after joining GGs last year and Ablazeolive is coming into his own after playing in the LCS for some time. He might not be the best, but he still has room for improvement.
With that being said, the player that intrigues me the most on this roster is Olleh. After an extended break, he's returning to pro play and he's eager to show himself. He might have stopped playing competitive last year, but his soloQ performance since then has skyrocketed. In 2021 Olleh reached the top of the Korean SoloQ ladder, peaking at rank number 3 and always being in the higher part of the Challenger standings.
Image Credits | Golden Guardians
This means that mechanically speaking, Olleh is in the best shape possible. We'll have to see whether he can transition those results in the LCS.
Potential Finish for Golden Guardians: 7th-4th
5. TeamSoloMid
(Key Player: Spica & Keaiduo – Jungle & Mid)
TSM made its own headlines during the off season, primarily linked to the drama between TSM's owner Reginald and former TSM ADC Doublelift. Aside from the situation between those two, SwordArt, PowerofEvil, Lost and Bjergsen's departure also meant that TSM had to rebuild its roster and staff again for 2022.
From last year's roster, only top laner Huni and jungler Spica will be staying with TSM. Huni has seemingly found a more consistent level of play, especially when he's on weakside duty. Spica, with Bjergsen gone, is looking to replace him as the face of the organization, especially considering he's one of, if not, the best homegrown jungler. In the ADC role, TSM picked up Tactical from TL.
To complete the roster, TSM made a very bold move by picking up two Chinese imports. Mid laner Keaiduo and support Shenyi will be playing as the starters in 2022, but the question mark is how well will these two perform in a completely different environment. Keaiduo was a rising talent in the LDL, the Chinese secondary League, while Shenyi played for FunPlusPhoenix's Academy team. Being in the academy team of top teams in the LPL obviously means something, but their players have still to prove everything.
TSM has so many question marks regarding their roster: depending on how all the variables play out, it can make or break the team this year. If everything goes well, we might be looking at a top-tier team fighting for the Championship at the end of the year. If it doesn't, TSM might only be a mid to bottom-tier team, fighting for the last few spots in playoffs.
Potential Finish for TeamSoloMid: 7th-2nd
4. Evil Geniuses
(Key Player: Inspired & Danny – Jungle & ADC)
Evil Geniuses got arguably the best deal of the whole off season: the number one LEC jungler Inspired. No matter how you look at it, Inspired's addition immediately pushes the team up a notch. An MVP jungler is definitely a player you want to build your future around and Evil Geniuses will likely do everything they can to make him stay. As a consequence, it will be vital for EG to make a strong result in 2022: the roster, however, has some question marks.
Starting from the top lane, we have Impact who has been on a declining trajectory in the last few splits. He still has a lot of consistency but he's not the best top laner in the LCS anymore. Aside from that, this will likely be his last season, as he needs to go back to Korea for military duty.
In the mid lane, EG brought up jojopyun, a homegrown prospect that a lot of people have been talking about. There's a little skepticism about his level of play, but if EG opted to go for him, they must have something planned out. The potential for the Canadian mid, however, can be something NA hasn't seen in years. We'll see if he can make that happen.
In the bot lane, we have Danny and Vulcan who are looking to establish themselves as a top-tier bot lane this year. Danny comes from a strong season in 2021, as he earned the Rookie of the Year award and skyrocketed in the LCS adc rankings. Vulcan, instead, left Cloud9, but that wasn't due to his performances: he was still a pretty solid support and he can still deliver in the upcoming LCS season.
Potential Finish for Evil Geniuses: 5th-1st
3. 100Thieves
(Key Player: Closer & Abbeddagge – Jungle & Mid)
100Thieves won the 2021 LCS Summer Split and had a relatively strong showing at Worlds 2021. They were the only team to not make big changes to its roster, essentially adding top laner Tenacity to the roster. The player will be splitting its game time with the other top laner Ssumday, so we still don't know who will be the starter.
Nonetheless, 100Thieves comes into 2022 with a huge advantage that no other organization has: chemistry. Since no changes were made, 100Thieves only needs to polish some minor details and they will be ready to go at it again. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them at the top of the LCS standings in the beginning, since all the other teams will need to work more on their flaws. Having said that, I think there are arguably two teams with a slightly higher potential than 100T this year and they suffer the competition when it really matters. Nevertheless, expect them to be consistently at the top throughout the season.
Potential Finish for 100Thieves: 4th-1st
2. Cloud9
(Key Player: Summit & Fudge – Top & Mid)
This is going to be the most controversial team in the LCS Power Rankings and putting them in 2nd place might have been a little too optimistic on my side. I must say, however, that I rate LS quite highly and think that he has been given all the tools needed to make it work.
Not only he has his squad of coaching staff with him, but he was even able to get two Korean imports in top laner Summit and ADC Berserker. The first had a strong season with Liiv Sandbox in the LCK; the second was previously the academy marksman from T1, as he will become one of the best ADC in LCS. To put it simply, they have the background to make a strong start on this Cloud9 roster. It's just a pity that we won't see Zven on the roster, as he's set to play for Cloud9's academy.
Image Credits | Travis Gafford
Speaking of bot lane, Cloud9 picked up two prospects for the support role: Winsome and Isles. They are two young players that Cloud9 have decided to go for instead of the more established Vulcan: the organization must have seen something that we don't know of yet.
Fudge has a little question mark on how he will transition to the mid lane position, but rumors say that he had no problems and can definitely become a decent player for the position. With all the chemistry he has with LS and his coaching staff, he shouldn't have big issues adapting, making Cloud9 one of the best lcs teams for this upcoming season.
Potential Finish for Cloud9: 4th-1st
1. Team Liquid
(Key Player: Bjergsen & Hans Sama – Mid & ADC)
To finish off our LCS Power Rankings, we have Team Liquid as the top team to beat in 2022. With the insane amount of resources they spent during the off-season, you should be expecting them to be consistently top 3 in the league. Not only they imported Bwipo from Fnatic and Hans Sama from Rogue, but they also locked the returning Bjergsen, as the starting mid laner. Just based on this trio alone, Team Liquid has a top 3 finish almost in the bags.
Image Credits | Team Liquid
Add a consistent veteran like Santorin and LCS' best support player CoreJJ and you have one of the most complete rosters in the league. No matter how you look at it, Team Liquid has top-tier players in every position. The only thing that might hold Team Liquid back during the first part of the season will be the synergy and that might mess up some of the early results. Once that is also fixed, however, we will be looking at the strongest team in the LCS, hoping that this will be the time Team Liquid finally delivers on the international stage.
Potential Finish for Team Liquid: 3rd-1st
EsportsBets.com > League of Legends Betting > LCS Power Rankings 2022
1 NA Power Rankings 2022 ahead of the LCS Spring Split
1.1 10. CLG
1.2 9. Dignitas
1.3 8. FlyQuest
1.4 7. Immortals
1.5 6. Golden Guardians
1.6 5. TeamSoloMid
1.7 4. Evil Geniuses
1.8 3. 100Thieves
1.9 2. Cloud9
1.10 1. Team Liquid
Exclusive Limited Promotion

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Kim Pham Video Death Leads To Arrest: She Died Over A Photobomb?
Patrick Frye
Following Kim Pham's death, police officers have been trying to find the night club killers who became angry after an apparent photobomb from the woman disrupted their Kodak moment.
As recently reported by The Inquisitr, Kim Pham's beating put her in the hospital and, although she was on life support, she was considered to be effectively brain dead. The doctors believed there was very little hope and she was being kept alive for organ donation.
While police had several suspects almost immediately due to all of the witnesses at the scene recording the night club attack on their phones, they still didn't know what triggered such hate for certain. One friend has claimed to investigators that a woman became furious when Kim Pham and her friends cut in front of them just as they were taking a photo. This led to an argument which quickly escalated when this group of five beat Pham to the ground and began kicking her.
Kim Pham was an aspiring TV personality who helped raise support for tsunami victims in Japan and was very active on social media. She once wrote about the power of photos in people's lives:
'We are taught that with photos, we select the ones where smiles are fresh and forward — the good is often highlighted. As for your own life, don't forget that sometimes the most beautiful lessons in life stem from the unconventional. The elevated focus on showing everyone how much of a superstar you are on social media is quite unnecessary. The greatest harm we can do to ourselves is to not take the chance."
Police officials asked witnesses to hand over any cell phone video footage and that's apparently how they tracked down one suspect:
"People have come forward that have provided us with videos and have come in. And provided statements that have given detectives enough information to believe that this person was involved in at least the physical part of this altercation…. Based on the info we have received, I can tell you we currently have one female in custody; she's a female in her 20's, she is a Santa Ana resident."
The female suspect was booked with a charge of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. The remaining suspected killers of Kim Pham are listed as being two Hispanic males and two Hispanic females between the ages of 20 and 25. A $5,000 award has been offered to anyone who can provide more information that helps find the remaining suspects.
Friends of the family have been posting posters around the area asking people to help in the search. One person set up a donation page, but Kim Pham's family says they don't need any money and will return whatever is sent.


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Everyone needs support, including West Side Community House, and to be truly strong, we need to be connected to our community. The partnerships we forged over a hundred years ago are still strong today, and we continue to form new partnerships to collaborate with people and organizations in our community that share our goal to make our community safer, healthier, and happier for all of its residents and to inspire hope for a brighter future.
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Angelos supports Puerto Rico bid
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, still vehemently opposed to baseball in the Washington area, is lending his support to a late entry bid for the Montreal Expos from Puerto Rico.
The new bid, backed by several unnamed Puerto Rican businessman and fronted by a Miami lawyer, is not connected to the one from San Juan promoter Antonio Munoz that has weakened considerably in recent months. The latest entry calls for a 42,000-seat stadium in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and Angelos, according to several industry sources, has helped the new group get an audience with Major League Baseball officials.
"Mr. Angelos has been very helpful to them," said a source familiar with the bid, submitted less than two weeks ago.
Scott Shapiro, a Coral Gables, Fla., attorney representing the new group, declined to comment on his relationship with Angelos. But he did say the pair have "similar interests" and called the Orioles owner's love for baseball "unparalleled." And when questioned about the Washington and Northern Virginia bids for the Expos, Shapiro's response was eerily similar to Angelos' talking points.
"I don't have anything against the Washington area, but you put the team there and you have the unfortunate consequence of splitting up the broadcast market and creating two mediocre teams that can't compete," Shapiro said. "I think that does a real disservice to the fans in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia."
Shapiro even cited a Deloitte & Touche study commissioned by Angelos in 1995 and later updated in 2000 that showed 25 percent of the Orioles' fan base coming from Greater Washington.
Angelos was unavailable for comment yesterday. In recent weeks, he appeared more resigned to the likelihood of the Expos moving to Greater Washington, which is being tabbed as the front-runner in the race. But the latest moves indicate Angelos' opposition remains steadfast.
The new Puerto Rico bid also arrives as MLB commissioner Bud Selig and president Bob DuPuy are scheduled to meet tomorrow in Milwaukee to discuss the Expos' relocation options. Last week, DuPuy said a decision will not arrive in time for next month's All-Star Game, a fact already assumed for many weeks.
Baseball's experiment in San Juan has wilted quickly. After several strong crowds last year, the repeat engagement this year has produced an average attendance of 11,842, with actual headcounts estimated to be much smaller.
"This is still a virgin marketplace," Shapiro said. "The Expos simply have not been as good this year, and I think it's asking a lot of the fans there to go out and support what has become an inferior product. If Puerto Rico truly had a team to call its own, the result would be far more impactful."


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You are here » Home » Media » News » 2014 News Page » January 2014 » 06/01/14 Andy Holden
andy holden 1948-2014
The athletics world was saddened to learn of the untimely passing of distance runner Andy Holden at the weekend, aged 65.
In an individual sport, Holden was the consummate team player - a loyal member of the Birmingham University team and a stalwart of Tipton Harriers for decades. In 1969 he won the English National Junior Cross Country title at Parliament Hill, ahead of Dave Bedford. 20 years later, he won the National Veteran's Cross Country title in Newcastle.
In between he set a British record for the 3000 metres steeplechase (8.26.4) and also enjoyed a fine marathon career, with a best of 2:15.18 for third place at the AAA Championship Marathon in Milton Keynes in May 1980, one year before the first London Marathon.
Andy qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 1970, the European Championships in 1971 and the Olympic Games in 1972. Uniquely, he competed for Great Britain on the track (indoors and out), cross-country, road and fell running. He raced internationally as a junior, senior and veteran. His range of distances extended right through to ultras, notably a course record at the 36 mile Two Bridges race in Scotland.
He was widely admired as an athlete for his team loyalty, his racing determination, his good company in the bar post-race and also for his work for charity, notably 'Crisis at Christmas'.
Outside his own running (he competed through to v55 age group), he worked as a dentist in various practices in the Midlands. He also opened a running store in Birmingham in the 1980's and occupied a number of administrative posts at club and area level.
In recent years he also coached several generations of young athletes, including his sons Joe and Tom, who went on to run 3.58 and 3.48 respectively for 1500 metres.
His contribution to our sport was immense. We mourn his passing. He will be greatly missed but we also salute an outstanding life in athletics.


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HP's New Direction: Five Critical Lessons For Your Business
After a string of stunning announcements yesterday, it's fair to say Hewlett-Packard is undergoing the most dramatic changes in the company's history.
After a string of stunning announcements yesterday, it's fair to say Hewlett-Packard is undergoing the most dramatic changes in the company's history. So, what can small MSPs and IT service providers learn from a $120 billion technology company's missteps? Plenty. Here are five lessons involving distractions, focus, vision, execution and differentiation.
1. Distractions
Clearly, Hewlett-Packard became obsessed with Apple. Acquiring Palm for $1.2 billion (ouch) in a bid to make WebOS a viable alternative to Apple iOS and Google Android was, um, reckless.
Lesson for MSPs: Your rivals may succeed in a fast-growing market. But that doesn't mean you should chase the same, shiny market opportunity. Don't move into a new market unless you truly have expertise in that market. Plus, make sure you can really compete with entrenched rivals.
Oracle Channel Chief Judson Althoff recently told me that the secret to Oracle's success is focus. "Each day," Althoff said, "we wake up and think about enterprise customers. That's it."
Over at HP, CEO Leo Apotheker earlier this year told partners that HP was going to launch a cloud to compete with Apple iTunes and Amazon.com, while building out a software and services business, cashing in on the consumerization of IT, and innovating in the print market.
And over at Microsoft, CEO Steve Ballmer spends his day worried about search (Bing vs. Google), mobile (Windows Phone 7 vs. Apple, Android), games (Xbox vs Sony), enterprise (Microsoft vs. everyone).
Oracle has remained dominant for more than 20 years because CEO Larry Ellison has provided consistent focus. I'm not saying I agree with all of Ellison's business tactics. But it's hard to argue with the results.
Lesson for MSPs: Pick two or three things you're really good at and bet the company on those skills or services. Scrap everything else.
3. Vision
How do you take a focus and extend it into a long-term vision? Six months ago at HP, the vision was to offer WebOS on all HP tablets and PCs, providing the world with a mobile operating system that linked into HP cloud services. Today that vision is dead; HP has killed its WebOS hardware business. Meanwhile, Apple has pieced together multiple trends (digital content, mobility, wireless, the cloud) and become dominant with the iPad, iPhone, iTunes… and maybe even iCloud.
Translation: HP's "vision" for most of 2011 was based on market trends that Apple identified five to 10 years ago. That's not vision; it's reaction.
Lesson for MSPs: Again, avoid the temptation to "envy" the successful MSP down the road. Try to take three or four different market trends and weave them into a branded service that you control. An example: Hosted VoIP tied to soft phones and mobile device management.
Not sure how to spot the next trends? Take a walk over to your help desk and listen to incoming customer inquiries. They're telling you where the market is going — and sharing business pain points — without you even asking.
4. Execution
Hewlett-Packard has been discussing a cloud strategy for almost a year now. Can anybody explain it to me? And can anybody clearly explain which cloud services HP currently offers, and which cloud services HP will soon offer?
Lesson for MSPs: Keep it simple. Tell your customers about the three to five things you're going to do for them, and then offer measurable statistics to show you're delivering on those promises.
HP is trying to sell off its $40 billion PC business because margins are shrinking. Yet, Lenovo just announced earnings results that beat expectations, and Apple continues to charged a premium for MacBooks and more. Question: What exactly makes HP's PCs and laptops different? Answer: I'm not sure.
Lesson for MSPs: Anybody can sell cloud storage and remote management. But steal a page from Rackspace. What do they stand for? Sure, their cloud services are popular. But their brand is built around Fanatical Support. Find that similarly unique capability in your business. Simply reselling cloud services is similar to HP simply building PCs: You'll never get rich from it.
Speaking About Focus…
Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. But before I do… I have a confession: HP's change of direction was a timely reminder for me as well. Our websites became popular because IT channel though leaders visit us to (A) read unique views and (B) contribute to an engaging conversation and (C) drive the industry forward. And on the sales side of the house, we've succeeded because (A) we listen to customers and (B) we rapidly respond to those needs with (C) unique offerings. That basically reinforces where Nine Lives Media Inc. will continue to focus its efforts. But sometimes writing down that information helps to keep me focused.
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Gerson	August 19, 2011 @ 4:22 pm
that's so on point Joe:
There's so much HP could have done if they re-focused on Enterprise – maybe work more closely on Microsoft with Win8 and Tablets, better PCs with best of breed remote management and remote imaging – also less models and consolidation of the line is needed –
We're an HP Reseller and it's tough to assert ourselves with new models as they come out and the dizzying amount of models. Apple pretty much sells about 5 different laptops and 4 different desktops – that's something I can get my head around.
Also Lenove and Acer are much more involved with the channel on their hardware products – offering demo equipment and sales support. HP on the other hand has been going down for years. If they had re-engaged the channel and seriously slimmed down their consumer offerings – they would be doing a whole lot better with their PSG division. I think this is all clearly the fault of their leadership.
Joe Panettieri	August 19, 2011 @ 4:36 pm
Gerson,
Thanks for sharing your real-world experiences. Sometimes IT vendors over-think there product portfolios. As you point out, Apple has a very simple, strongly-branded notebook lineup — MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro. Notice the lack of model numbers. The lack of consumer vs. corporate. Just beginner, advanced and ultra mobile.
On the channel side, I don't have a feel for how local HP, Lenovo and Acer channel reps treat their partners. But I do know this: When I went to the Lenovo Partner Conference this year the message was clear and concise. Lenovo said:
1. We will innovate — and I agree, I think their products are innovative.
2. We will never buy a big IT services organization because we don't want to compete with the channel.
In stark contrast, I think HP does a lot of great things for the channel but the message changes constantly.
1. At the 2010 HP partner conference, Mark Hurd told partners to sell more PCs faster.
2. At the 2011 HP partner conference, Leo Apotheker told partners that WebOS would be strategic to the mobile cloud. And he said HP would compete against iTunes and Amazon Web Services.
What will HP possibly say to offer a consistent message at the 2012 partner conference? Again, I know HP has its strengths. The company has worked hard to find SMB solutions (example: Axcient storage) for its channel partners.
But the message from HP's CEO office needs consistency. You can't change direction every 12 months…
Mitchell Cipriano	August 19, 2011 @ 6:22 pm
As always your points are on the mark and give your readers something to not only think about, but act upon. In particular, your points of focus and envy are critical. Working with a number of companies over the years, I think focus has always been a major problem and I never could really understand why, but you helped me understand, that the problem comes from the distraction of the success we see other companies having. We think that if they can do it, we can too. When what we should be thinking is how can we do what we do better for our customers.
Mitchell Cipriano
http://www.demandbydesign.com
Mitchell,
Thanks for your continued readership, and all the insights you always share. Yes, envy can be dangerous. Sorry if this sounds sinful, but it can also be a great motivator.
For instance: I used to envy bloggers when I worked for print magazines. But I ultimately dove head-first into blogging. The big thing people forget: If you're going to try and master a new skill, can you do it in a unique way?
For instance: I envied All About Microsoft Blogger Mary Jo Foley. She's the best in the business. But I didn't launch a Microsoft blog… Instead, I found a business partner who built brands around IT channel blogs…
Sorry for the rant. But a lot of what I blog about has personal meaning to me.
Amy Wohl	August 20, 2011 @ 1:47 pm
Great article. I'm going to link it to my blog, Amy Wohl's Opinions, http://amys.typepad.com/amy_wohls_opinions_on_saa/2011/08/what-is-hp-thinking.html
where we wrote about HP yesterday.
What especially intrigues me is that you honed in on distractions and focus which is often the undoing of much smaller firms. Big companies think they can (and should) do everything. HP is proving them wrong.
Marco Alcala	August 21, 2011 @ 4:36 am
Excellent advice, Joe. Mspmentor.net is the one blog that is custom tailored for our business.
Marco Alcala
http://www.alcalaconsulting.com
JoJo	August 22, 2011 @ 12:36 pm
Am I the only one who wonders why Judson Althoff, Channel Chief at Oracle is quoted as focusing solely on the customers OUTSIDE the channel?
Amy@5: Thanks for your link; I'll check out your blog.
Marco@6: Thanks for your thoughts on MSPmentor.net. We've got strong followings on TheVARguy.com and TalkinCloud.com as well; hope you find them of value. And if not we're always open to constructive criticism and ideas for improvement, joe [at] NineLivesMediaInc [dot] com.
JoJo@7: I welcome the constructive criticism. That quote was part of an extensive interview about the Oracle PartnerNetwork Specialized partner program (OPN Specialized). Details on our sister site, TheVARguy.com
Hayden Kirk	August 23, 2011 @ 11:17 am
Exactly how we operate and we have great success. We focus on a few things instead of trying to do everything, like most IT companies. We use to do everything. Do one thing excellent instead of many things average.
Silviu Stochita	August 24, 2011 @ 5:06 am
I have a comment related to point 2)
I would say that what Judson Althoff said is supported by Oracle actions especially.Look what they have done in database area and nnot only – ADF , Identity Management, they also have some results with VMs
Joe Panettieri	August 24, 2011 @ 12:38 pm
Hayden@9: Yes, definitely achieve excellence in one area. But you also need to somehow hedge your bets in case profits in that one area dry up. For instance, look at the TomTom GPS system — great solution but their market is shrinking because of GPS built into smart phones, etc.
Silviu@10: Oracle announced some key virtualization moves in recent hours; update soon on our sister site, The VAR Guy.
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