Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Wednesday, January 18, 2023

The biggest trends 
of 2022

As we move into 2023, it’s important 
to reflect on our experiences and 
discoveries during 2022, to continue 
the things we like and scrap the 
things we don’t. The most important 
reflections, of course, are those about 
fashion. It’s clear that 2022 was a 
year of fashion successes or, more 
controversially, “fashion fails.” Our 
style writers reflect on which trends 
are coming with us into the new year 
and which ones we’re leaving behind. 
— CC Meade, Style Beat Editor and 
Kaya Ginsky, Senior Arts Editor

Corset Comeback
2022 or 1830? 2022 is The Year 
of the Corset Comeback. We’ve 
all heard the age-old aphorism 
“history repeats itself,” but I 
didn’t really believe it until this 
past year. With the exception 
of the pandemic, I hadn’t seen 
anything from history make an 
appearance in my modern life 
— until the return of the corset. 
Corsets 
have 
been 
featured 
this past year in everything 
from Urban Outfitters to frat 
outfits to Broadway musicals 
like “Six.” Corsets, which were 
first worn and became popular 
in 1830, were originally made of 
whalebone and steel and were 
used to provide shape to the torso. 
Though corsets were used in the 
past as a wardrobe tool to alter 
both men’s and women’s body 
shapes, corsets are now a vital 
piece of a going-out fit. They can 
range in color and style, but they 
maintain somewhat of a similar 
shape, accentuating the waist and 
natural curves in people’s bodies. 
Though 2022 was the year corsets 
made an official comeback, rising 

from their 19th-century coffin, 
I expect them to absolutely stick 
around for 2023. 

Birk Bostons or Barefoot
The 
18th-century 
German 
shoe brand, Birkenstock, came 
to America as a sandal in the 
’60s, as hippies who preferred 
barefoot living sought untailored, 
comfortable ware. Since then, 
Birkenstocks grew beyond the 
hippie crowd to anyone looking 
for a durable, largely natural shoe. 
As Seventeen article “6 VSCO 
Girl Shoes” (referencing the 2019 
casual, preppy wave), says, two-
strap Birkenstocks have a “Cali 
vibe.” This year, we switched 
coasts to the Boston clog. Bostons 
have more heartiness and cover 
for the East Coast, with a suede top 
and classic cork sole. With “ugly 
shoes” trending and chunky clogs 
showing up in every type of outfit, 
fashion ‘it girls’ Kaia Gerber and 
Kendall Jenner tipped social media 
into a Boston craze by merely 
wearing the shoe. This fall, the 
hot gender-neutral shoe sold out in 
most natural tones, especially the 
coveted taupe. The clogs became 
a commodity for online resellers, 
with some pairs selling for over 
$300. These shoes can be worn 
with any outfit: long skirts, ripped 
jeans, chunky knits — but they go 
best with pajamas. If you have not 
broken in the backless Bostons over 
many years, your foot slips out the 
back, leaving you shoeless as a real, 
dogs-out hippie. 

Names, Images and Likenesses
In June 2021, the NCAA instated 
a rule allowing “college athletes 
to benefit from name, image 
and likeness opportunities.” 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

The best TV shows of 2022

Every year, the television genre 
manages to surf some major highs 
and lows. Here on the TV beat, we’ve 
borne witness to our fair share of 
flops, but we’re choosing to focus on 
the positive. From Jennifer Coolidge 
running around a boat to Jenna 
Ortega becoming a TikTok trend, 
these eleven shows have made an 
indelible impact on the culture as we 
tuned in week after week, hungry for 
more. And so, without further ado, we 
pronounce the best TV shows of 2022.
— Annabel Curran, Senior Arts 
Editor, and Serena Irani, TV Beat Editor

“The White Lotus,” Season Two
Just when you thought television 
had 
played 
out 
rich 
people 
being miserable with shows like 
“Succession” and “Gossip Girl,” “The 
White Lotus” is here to introduce a 
new sub-genre: rich people being 
miserable on vacation. Season one 
introduced viewers to the show’s 
outlandish, yet believable, look 
into the perspectives of the rich 
vacationers and the hotel staff that 
tend to their needs. Season two was 
an escalation of the first season’s 
antics in scale of spectacle rather 
than in depth of messaging, which 
viewers can piece together from 
the very start. In the first episode 
this season, we learn that multiple 
bodies have been found at the hotel, 
rather than the single dead body we 
learn about at the start of season one. 
The formula certainly works: The 
opening murders paint the usual 
network drama fare of extramarital 
affairs and complicated budding 
relationships with an added element 
of mystery, as viewers try to figure 
out which plotline(s) end in death.
Despite this season’s heightened 
shitshow, we still learn many of 

the same things — the privileged 
comments 
rich 
people 
make 
among themselves, the boundaries 
the rich ignore, the maneuvers 
workers make to advance their 
own interests and the systemic 
inequality that makes selfishness 
have varying consequences on 
others. With a stunning Sicilian 
backdrop and murder in the air, 
“The White Lotus” season two 
makes class commentary look 
sexy and intriguing — a conflicting 
sentiment, to be sure. You’ve just got 
to experience this one for yourself.

“Never Have I Ever,” Season 
Three
Everyone 
loves 
a 
strong 
protagonist. We love to root for 
people who are morally centered, 
confident and have it all together. 
But the one thing I love more than 
a strong character is a messy one. 
That’s where Devi Vishwakumar 
(Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, “Turning 
Red”) comes in. Devi is a teenager 
who is struggling to navigate 
through the grief of losing her father 
while at the same time facing the 
trials and tribulations of being in 
high school. The first two seasons 
of this show had my brother and 
me literally pleading with Devi to 
stop her self-sabotaging antics and 
cringe humor, but the third season 
had me — for the first time in my life 
— applauding Mindy Kaling (“The 
Mindy Project”).
“Never Have I Ever” excelled 
in many categories, most notably 
diversity. Ramakrishnan and her 
on-screen family, which includes the 
likes of Poorna Jagannathan (“The 
Night Of”) and Richa Moorjani 
(“Hot 
Mess 
Holiday”) 
made 
leaps and bounds for South Asian 
representation in TV. Devi wasn’t 
placed into previously established 
stereotypes of brown girls and 
instead created an entirely new 

category for herself — insufferable 
but ultimately lovable. Season three 
of “Never Have I Ever” gets deep 
with exploration into relationship 
dynamics and vulnerability, and 
reconciling 
that 
with 
previous 
trauma. Devi and her friends still 
found themselves in embarrassingly 
cringey situations and still cracked a 
joke or two that had my head in my 
hands, but the show ultimately told a 
beautiful coming-of-age story.

“House of the Dragon”
After the destructive fire that 
was the eighth season of “Game 
of Thrones” comes the simmering 
prequel 
series 
“House 
of 
the 
Dragon.” Fans of the original series 
will be happy to know that this 
show still has all of the components 
that defined “Game of Thrones” at 
its peak: incest, gore, convoluted 
family drama, dragons (obviously) 
and murder. However, “House of the 
Dragon” goes above and beyond. It is 
a phoenix rising from the ashes of its 
predecessor: smarter, more nuanced 
and impeccably designed. Best of all, 
it actually has women characters 
written by women. 
Emma 
D’Arcy 
(“Foresight”) 
and Olivia Cooke (“Slow Horses”) 
are truly captivating as Princess 
Rhaenyra Targaryen and Queen 
Alicent Hightower, respectively. 
The central story follows their 
female friendship as it drastically 
changes based on the constraints 
of their patriarchal society and 
new experiences as mothers. As 
they slowly turn into enemies, the 
political waters become murky, 
making it difficult to decide which 
side is in the wrong. More contained 
than “Game of Thrones,” “House 
of the Dragon” is able to better 
spend time developing detailed 
and layered characters competing 
for the Iron Throne — and it works 
wonderfully. As someone who 

was underwhelmed by “Game of 
Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” 
finally provided what I was longing 
for in the story of Westeros. Until 
the release of season two, you will 
find me talking about this show 
with everyone I know.

“Heartstopper”
Hi. (Hi).
It’s not often that I watch a show 
and want to watch it again. And 
again. And again. OK, I’ll say it; I’ve 
seen “Heartstopper” nine times (and 
counting). 
Something about Netflix’s smash 
hit had me coming back for more, 
just to freak out over Nick (Kit 
Connor, “Rocketman”) and Charlie 
(Joe Locke, debut) falling in love for 
the millionth time. I mean, “I love 
liking you?” I think I’m justified. 
With a diverse cast of complex 
characters, 
“Heartstopper” 
provides representation for people 
of different races, sexualities and 
genders without ever coming across 
as forced or stereotypical (looking 
at you, “Glee”). It also provides a 
well-written 
bisexual 
character 
in the form of a sweet 16-year-old 
boy instead of an attractive woman 
in her mid-20s, usually played by 
Megan Fox or Olivia Wilde. No 
disrespect, but let’s switch it up 
Hollywood. Please.
With stellar performances by 
Connor and Locke as the show’s 
leads and a surprise feature of 
Olivia Colman (“Fleabag”) as Nick’s 
mother, “Heartstopper” successfully 
combines the comedic elements of 
a teen rom-com with the heavier 
topics that often come with a 
coming-out storyline. 
What the show does best, 
however, is provide a sense of 
comfort for people not often shown 
proper support from the media. 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Design by Grace Filbin.

Design by Grace Filbin.

2022 was full of stellar albums 
across every genre and soundscape. 
Below find the Music Beat’s top albums 
of the year for every music taste.
— Claire Sudol, Music Beat Editor, 
and Jack Moeser, Senior Arts Editor

Dragon New Warm Mountain I 
Believe in You by Big Thief 
A double LP can often feel, 
commercially 
speaking, 
like 
a victory lap — the band has 
grown to the place where it can 
confidently release an hour and 
a half of music and not have 
some agent yelling at them. But 
Big Thief doesn’t do anything 
commercially, and Dragon New 
Warm Mountain I Believe In You 
does not feel like them resting 
on their laurels in the slightest. 
They’re 
growing, 
pushing 
themselves and reaching out 
across vast landscapes, physical 
and emotional. There’s a life lived 
across this album, or many lives, 
from grandmas to roses drying 
out, with phone calls, TV shows 
and 
apocalypses 
interspersed. 
The band, consisting of lead 
songwriter Adrianne Lenker and 
creative partners Buck Meek, 
James 
Krivchenia 
and 
Max 
Oleartchik, taps into itself deeply 
on this album by tapping into a 
universality. By creating such a 
collection of songs, each with its 
own contained magic, Big Thief 
shows us the many universes each 
of us holds, and how these can 
come together.

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers by 
Kendrick Lamar
The five-year hiatus that spanned 
the gap between Kendrick Lamar’s 
two most recent solo releases 
was filled with grief, joy and 
introspection. 
Few 
experienced 
these sensations more than Lamar 
himself. Having solidified himself 
as one of the greatest rappers of his 
generation with 2015’s To Pimp a 
Butterfly and 2017’s DAMN., Lamar 
opted for reclusion and welcomed 
two children with his partner, 
Whitney Alford. Five years later, he 
gifted the product of his hermitage 
to the world. 
Whereas To Pimp a Butterfly 
scorns the condition of the Black 
man in America and DAMN. 
takes a deeper look at American 
culture, Lamar undertakes the 
most difficult subject of study yet 
for his fifth album, Mr. Morale & 
the Big Steppers: himself. The focus 
of much of the album is Lamar’s 
relationships with those close to 
him, from relatives to friends to 
significant others. Lamar then 
translates the example of these 
relationships to whatever conflict 
is being described to a much larger 
societal paradigm. 
This 
formula 
is 
followed 
masterfully on several occasions. 
“We Cry Together,” a rhythmic 
dramatization of a spat between 
a couple, serves as an indictment 
of Millennial relationships while 
simultaneously telling its own 
narrative. “Auntie Diaries” features 
Lamar detailing the story of his 
transgender uncle while attacking 
the normalization of homophobia 
and transphobia in the Black 

community. Most heartbreakingly, 
“Mother I Sober” chronicles the 
legacy of child sexual abuse both 
in his family and in his community 
and closes with the motif of 
Lamar “breaking the cycle” of 
generational 
trauma 
that 
has 
plagued his bloodline. Few albums 
this year, if any, synthesize complex 
emotions into transmittable sound 
waves as elegantly as Lamar did 
this past May, and he continues to 
pad his resume even as he departs 
Top Dawg. 

Household Name by Momma
Household Name is poised to 
make indie rock four-piece Momma 
precisely that. Fraught with ’90s 
rock sounds, Momma is akin to 
the likes of Veruca Salt and The 
Breeders — each track is filled to the 
brim with grungy electric guitars, 
gritty female vocals and piercing 
bass and drum lines. The front end 
of the album is jam-packed with 
hits: “Rip Off” opens with a growing 
hum of distortion, and percussion 
that sizzles like a rattlesnake, 
pacing itself at a slow groove while 
beefy guitar and airy voices move 
in a swirling tandem. The dynamic 
fluctuations of loud and quiet in 
both “Medicine” and “Rockstar” are 
almost Pixies-esque — totally in your 
face in one moment and reduced to a 
charged lull in another. This deft use 
of dynamics leaves listeners with 
bated breath in anticipation of the 
next line, next song, next album. 
It would be remiss not to mention 
“Tall Home” when talking about 
Household Name — the guitar line 
repeats itself endlessly in a dense 
tone that any guitarist could aspire 

to recreate. My top pick from the 
album, “Tall Home” is an earworm 
that just won’t go away, digging its 
way deeper, nestling against your 
eardrums. 
On Household Name, Momma 
references an imminent rise to 
stardom that was perhaps only 
achievable in the ’90s, but among 
the plethora of artists who find 
themselves in the pop-punk revival, 
Momma stands at the head of the 
pack. While pop-punk bravado 
can come off as a schtick in other 
bands, the angst-ridden sincerity 
and pleasantly insouciant attitude 
of Household Name make it so 
enticing. 
My advice is to listen long and 
hard. There are surely stars to be 
found here. 

Midnights by Taylor Swift 
Taylor Swift just can’t stop 
keeping us on our toes. Midnights, 
the record-breaking album of 2022, 
introduced the world to a new, more 
mature version of Swift, quickly 
becoming a fan favorite. The album 
sounds like 1989 grew up and 
became a blossoming masterpiece. 
Filled with introspective lyrics 
backed by Jack Antonoff and Aaron 
Dessner’s 
signature 
production 
style, Midnights is just as profound 
as it is catchy. Emotional tracks 
like “Labyrinth,” “Bigger Than 
the Whole Sky” and “Would’ve, 
Could’ve, Should’ve” are balanced 
by the bounciness of songs like 
“Karma” and “Bejeweled.” The 
main album, along with its bonus 
tracks, creates a storyline of Swift’s 
career and how she spends her 
restless nights thinking about all 

the things that have happened to 
her over her nearly 20-year career. 
If you’re a casual fan of Swift, the 
album features plenty of fun, made-
for-radio songs that will certainly 
stick in your head for the whole 
day. If you’re a Swiftie through and 
through, this album is a look into 
Swift’s mind, taking her relationship 
with her fans to a much deeper level. 

The Forever Story by JID
After four long years since rapper 
JID’s last solo project DiCaprio 
2, he made the wait worthwhile 
with The Forever Story, a boldly 
captivating release that showcases 
an undeniable amount of skill and 
personality. 
There is never a dull moment 
on The Forever Story, and any 
listener would be able to tell every 
fine detail within each song was 
carefully thought through. Nearly 
every element that made DiCaprio 
2 so good has been improved upon 
even more, from the kooky, eclectic 
production (like on the multi-
phased “Raydar” and the poignant 
and beautiful “Lauder Too”), to 
the sharp and witty bars that flow 
out of JID’s mouth with lightning 
speed and grace (the frenetic “Can’t 
Punk Me” is just one example, a 
hard-hitting track detailing JID’s 
humble beginnings in which he 
describes himself as a poor boy 
on the streets, fully-loaded, “ribs 
showin’,” doing whatever it’d take 
to survive). Additionally, “Surround 
Sound” 
contains 
arguably 
the 
most infectious chorus of any song 
in 2022, another testament to 
JID’s penmanship and creativity, 
enforcing it further when the beat of 

the song switches to a braggadocious 
outro full of clever bars (“.40 on his 
side, boy, you Mike Alstott, he on the 
block violent”). If The Forever Story 
hasn’t already solidified JID’s place 
in the mainstream rap industry, 
then I don’t know what will. 

Dawn FM by The Weeknd
When 
pop 
superstar 
Abel 
Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) abruptly 
released Dawn FM early last 
year, it was difficult to see what 
his creative vision was. Whereas 
After Hours, his previous album, 
was a catchy and straightforward 
assemblage 
of 
enjoyable 
and 
tastefully 
retro-futuristic 
pop 
tracks, Dawn FM leans heavily 
into concept and takes risks, 
from Tesfaye’s off-putting British 
accent on “Gasoline” to several 
spoken-word interludes by actor 
Jim Carrey throughout the album. 
While the idea of masquerading 
an album as a radio show has been 
executed countless times, Dawn 
FM 
balances 
its 
lighthearted 
nature 
with 
thought-provoking 
introspection in a way that no other 
radio-themed album ever has. 
Furthermore, the album features 
an outstanding collection of diverse 
dance tracks, from “Sacrifice,” 
which 
features 
an 
energetic 
rock-guitar riff, to “Out of Time,” 
which takes direct influence from 
Japanese city pop. While Dawn FM 
is clearly a very personal statement 
by Tesfaye, it’s strengthened by its 
features from Tyler, the Creator 
and Lil Wayne, which add variety 
to an already unpredictable album. 

The music beat’s picks for best albums of the year

 DAILY MUSIC WRITERS

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 DAILY STYLE WRITERS

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