‘Tis the Szn to Recap: Dropping Links vol. 10
Recapping the recaps because what else would I be doing?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!!!! (when every company/media conglomerate/individual human recaps their year in a very consumable, fun, content-focused way).
With all of the resolution-focused, “new year, new me” excitement and focus for the incoming year, it begs the question: why do we crave looking back at content we were sick of when it was happening? Are we getting nostalgic at a faster rate than ever before because of our collective dwindling attention spans?
We’re not here to solve that sociological question, people. We’re here to CONSUME, BABY! Read on, you pervs!!!!
Kicking off with the overall niche-less, internet-specific recaps for those who may have just spent 2022 under a rock: Zillow has dropped their site stats, The Most-Viewed TikToks have been announced (but Elyse Meyers’ recap of the FYP trends we couldn’t escape is arguably more informative), Friday Beers have been recapping their top videos all week in preparation for 2023, the yearly Google Year in Search video has been released, and even internet O.G. Tumblr has released their stats. A smidge more highbrow-wise, we have the oft-reference TIME Magazine Top 100 Photos of the Year.
Meme-wise, we have so many options to consider: Buzzfeed’s 41 Most Defining Memes; Complex and Mashable both gave their lists, and even some traditional media got in the mix with Esquire and Vogue ranking memes as well.Quick self-promo that GIPHY has also released their Year in Review hehe.
Musically, the conversation about recaps usually revolves around Spotify Wrapped and everyone’s embarrassing personal listening habits. However, so many pubs have delivered their top songs of the year, I’m incapable of ignoring (nor commenting on, I have trash music taste). Quick links here for all of these options: Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Billboard, The L.A. Times, The New Yorker.
For the foodies, you have almost TOO much to consume (lol). CherryBombe has spoon fed us the Top Googled Recipes, The New York Times really takes the cake (hehe) with this list of their lists: NYT Top Restaurant Dishes of the Year, Best Cookbooks of the Year, Top NYC Dishes of the Year, but mainly calling out this super engaging, cute way they have formatted the Top Viewed Recipes in 2022. Bon Appetit has co-opted the Approval Matrix format for their faves (and least faves) of the year. (They also released the 10 Best Food Stories). The cherry on top is Eater’s Worst Dishes of 2022 which is arguably just as enjoyable to read through.
I’m a firm believer we’re in the golden age of TV, and recapping these were a joy, if not a bit stressful because it seems like everything is worth watching?Entertainment Weekly has come through with the The 33 Best Episodes of TV, The Everygirl has broken their faves down by streaming platform (helpful!), and CNET praised the top of the top, and finally, Rotten Tomatoes has done the work giving us the top 145 Shows of 2022 (omg).
Movies this year The New Yorker has this almost unsettling video from their film critic’s top picks, L.A. Times Top 5, Vulture threw their picks in the ring, Letterboxd, . To switch this list format up a bit, this artist illustrated a scene from his top 20 films of the year.
All of my fashion-focused people can rest assured, the trends, and microtrends, are recapped at a variety of locales. NYT gave us the 93 Most Stylish ‘People’ of 2022, Rent the Runway even threw their hat in the ring with the 2022 Rental Rewind, E News determined the Most Memorable Fashion Moments, as did Diet Prada, and Refinery29 gave us the Top Beauty Products of 2022. Something for everyone!
Homebodies, rejoice! You were covered this year by so many, including Domino's Design Awards of 2022. In terms of gathering inspiration, Architectural Digest has released their Top 12 Home Tours, as did House Beautiful, and Dezeen has dropped their Top 10 Home Interiors that are particularly drool-worthy.
Book content is close to my cold, dead, heart because I could not get enough of the ~ written word ~ this past year (quick goodreads flex), and these top lists really helped narrow my TBR. Build your 2023 list using these rankings! L.A. Times, Goodreads, The New Yorker, Wired, Mental Floss.
Aside from the typical recap-style content we’ve come to know, depend on, and love, the new cutie on the scene is the in/out lists. These, to me, are similar to my forever favorite ongoing Approval Matrix releases from NYMag, but a little simplified. Retail Therapy has a great in/out report for the fashion-focused, starterpacksofnyc dropped one, and Overheard New York has the NYC niche community handled. Jordan Firstman’s had me cackling, and even The Washington Post released an interactive In/Out List.
And there goes another year full of internet content rotting our brains all the way through! Looking forward to sharing more niche content with you all (hopefully on a more regular cadence) in 2022. Okay toodles!
THAT’S ALL FOLKS! Follow Dropping Links on Instagram and Twitter if you are into that sort of thing (plz be into it)