They rushed to eulogize him, claimed that he was no longer relevant in the age of singles, and saw him as nothing more than an excuse to go on tour.
But even in 2022, the concept of the musical album has not disappeared from the field - perhaps even the opposite.
After years in which single songs were considered the correct and fastest way of communication between an artist and the audience, the great musicians of the time saw fit to record an album this year (and sometimes two. Hi Jack White, Hello Chili Peppers).
One that tells a complete story and that you have to hear in its entirety, or at least a few tracks from it, to understand the full picture.
True, there were also those whose expectation was as great as the disappointment (who said Arctic Monkeys?), but in quite a few cases, as you can see in this list, it seems that the most important and beloved musicians of the last decade have proven once again why they deserve their status.
These are the excellent albums that have been made this past year, which conclusively prove that there is still a need and value for a complete, complete and complex work even in a world of instant stimulation and gratification.
Taylor Swift - "Midnights"
Not that anyone needed further proof, but Taylor Swift's tenth (!) studio album may have convinced even the not-so-convinced witnesses that she is the biggest pop star in the world.
After two acoustic albums from 2020, which were recorded and released during the pandemic and made her accessible to an audience of indie folk fans (and also brought her together with Bon Iver and the members of the group Des National), "Midnights", released at the end of October, presented a more pop version of the singer, but it is not Face back to back.
As usual, Swift showcased her rare real writing abilities, in a world of pop stars who rely on material that others wrote for them, and once again provided a selection of songs that became instant hits (but not the kind that make you ashamed of your love for them).
Many consider the excellent "Anti Hero" to be the song of the album, but there are still quite a few flashes of brilliance here, on a record that broke every possible sales and listening record and finally marked Taylor as a once-in-a-generation sensation.
Notice "Bejeweled", "Question…?"
And the excellent "Karma", the beautiful "Snow On The Beach" (in which Lena Del Rey is a guest) and "Sweet Nothings", as it is called.
Harry Styles - "Harry's House"
This year's male equivalent to Taylor Swift is undoubtedly Harry Styles - at least in terms of huge success, hype and songwriting ability.
They are expressed especially in "As It Was".
The excellent single that preceded the release of the album became a favorite of the many radio stations, and there is no doubt that it will star at the top of many lists that will rank the songs of the past year (in some of them, it can be assumed, it will occupy the first place).
This year, Stiles also conquered those who have not yet been conquered by his lovable and charismatic personality, Photo: AP
Like Swift, this year Harry also conquered those who have not yet been conquered by his lovable and charismatic personality, his developed sense of fashion and his ambiguous sexuality.
And those who listened to his entire second solo album, "Harry's House", discovered that it was not an album that revolved around one song.
"Daylight" is a beautiful, bittersweet piece about a remote control relationship (search YouTube for the $300 music video directed by James Corden for the song. For nothing);
"Little Freak" and "Matilda" fulfill the "heartbreaking ballad" standard, "Grapejuice" is rhythmic but melancholic and feels like the morning of a hangover, and "Keep Driving" can also star in the lists of beautiful indie-pop songs of the year.
Nice Harry.
The Weekend - "Dawn FM"
It was released in the very first week of the year, but even then there were those who marked Abel McConnen Tespi's fifth album, The Weekend for You, as one of the best that 2022 will provide. And what do you know, it was.
After establishing himself as one of the most important voices in pop and R&B of the current generation, the musician whose tone of voice corresponds to that of one Michael Jackson released a slightly different album.
One of the best albums this year, The Weekend, photo: AP
Maybe "Shahar FM" included a little less hits than those provided by its predecessors, but in terms of depth and concept it is probably the most complete and interesting work of the Canadian musician.
Yes, this is more of the eighties and disco aesthetics that we are used to getting from The Weekend (the successful "Take My Breathe", "Sacrifice" which is very reminiscent of "Thriller" by the same Jackson mentioned here).
But the inclusion of Jim Carrey here as the narrator of the album turns this collection of songs into one that tells a story about a kind of psychedelic radio that raises existential questions about life, death and the afterlife.
Particularly beautiful here are the excellent "Less Than Zero" and "Phantom Regret" performed by Carey himself.
1975 - "Being Funny In A Foreign Language"
Mattie Healy, the frontman of the British band The 1975, grabbed some not-so-flattering headlines recently when, during a concert, he kissed a fan standing in the front row.
Somehow, as if the man really lived in 1975 and was unaware of the times he was operating in, Healy thought that asking her for ID beforehand to make sure she wasn't a minor would legitimize this rather strange act.
Well, watching the video documenting the act will cause revulsion, or at the very least a raised eyebrow, even among those of us who abhor puritanism under the guise of progressivism.
And this unnecessary live moment, which of course sparked a discussion on Twitter, almost forgot the fact that just before the end of the year, this excellent band released its fifth album, which is considered a highlight even in a year that included good albums by well-known or established bands.
"Being funny in a foreign language" by this quartet is considered by critics abroad to be their most cohesive and mature work. One that combines panic, youthful spirit and maturity in a coherent and convincing way, and can be serious and heartbreaking, just as it is cynical and clever.
Quite a few of the lines here are as brilliant and funny as they are painful and cheeky ("I seem to have gaslighted you. I didn't know there was a word for that"), all wrapped up in 1980s guitars, trumpets and strings.
What a beauty.
Beyonce - Renaissance
Full disclosure: "Renaissance", the seventh album of the Queen Mother Beyoncé, did not leave much of an impression on the writer of these lines.
When it came out during the summer, it was written about in the pages of this newspaper because it reveals the detachment in which she is who has been considered the elite of world pop for many years.
Words like "bloated with self-importance" were written, and it is understood that the mere fact that it is a 62-minute piece did not help listening to it.
In the end, we said, the feeling was that the musician who was once a trailblazer and one step ahead of all her colleagues was mainly trying to ride the messages of the time and be perceived as biting thanks to the multitude of curses and provocativeness that she felt forced, in contrast to the natural way she oozes chants like Cardi B, let's say.
But not only personal taste makes up this list, and to be honest - "Renaissance" took first place in several similar year summary lists of websites abroad. And this is the time to mention that the review of "Israel Hayom" also states that it is a "good album and well produced" , and even "a celebration of styles - from R&B, through disco, house, funk, soul, hip-hop and trap".
Even the half-compliment "experimental" was given here, and Beyoncé was admired for the fact that in her position she still wants to play on experimental grounds.
Is this a new incarnation of the excellent "Lemonade" from 2016 or the album that bore her name and was released three years earlier?
It seems not.
The Smile - "A Light For Attracting Attention"
In the absence of new Radiohead material since 2016, a new album by the two prominent members of the band (under a different name) has satisfied the hunger of at least some of the die-hard fans.
Some would argue that although it is not difficult to identify here the chordal and lyrical elements and moves that characterized Radiohead throughout its years of activity, the move of recording songs under a different name allowed vocalist Tom York and guitarist Johnny Greenwood to experiment and escape the burden of expectations that comes with every album of the esteemed British group .
There is something in this, because "A Light For Attracting Attention" definitely instilled a spirit of life and a sense of panic in both.
Hi Yeh Yahz - "Cool It Down"
13 years of hiatus between albums is no small matter.
Musicians grow up, as do their audiences, and sometimes a reunion with those who accompanied and defined your formative teens or twenties when you're both a bit more mature, tired and sober can mostly evoke longing for times you will never return to and disappointment with the present.
This could easily have been the case for "Calm Down", the comeback album by Keren O and her friends, who were considered one of the most prominent groups in the rock revival wave of the early 2000s.
But as anyone trying to age gracefully will discover, the approach is not to try to compete with your old self but to accept the change and adapt it gracefully to you.
And that's exactly what this New York group does, whose members are probably no longer the kick-ass twenty-somethings they were two decades ago when they wrote rock ballads with sweeping and exciting guitars in one bend like the iconic "Maps".
From the height of their age (not that old, you shouldn't exaggerate either), Yeh Yehz still sound alive, intimate, thoughtful and reconciled than ever before.
Nice for them.
Wet Leg - "Wet Leg"
But the fact that this year is no longer 2003 does not mean that fun 1920s cynicism and rock'n'roll attitude are a thing of the past.
And this is exactly what Rhian Tisdale and Hester Chambers, the British members of Wet Leg, who proudly carry the banner of a genre that has known better times, but it's still comforting to know that there are also those who haven't hit 40 and still base most of their music on guitars.
There's a reason why this refreshing duo's debut album is up for five different awards at the upcoming Grammys.
Beyond the fact that it represents the spirit of the times and presents two up-to-date and fearless women (even if sometimes they seem to suffer from a slight hatred of men), it is simply full of good songs (you don't even know you already know "Wet Dream"), with catchy hooks, references Cinematic ("Buffalo 66", for those who insist) is served with a sound that will also speak to the contemporary pop fan, but the kind that even the rock fan will not be able to ignore.
A beautiful album.
Bjork - "Fossora"
Not easy years have passed for the beloved Icelandic singer.
A combination of not being able to leave the house because of the epidemic (while organizing living room parties for herself so as not to lose her sanity. Sound familiar?) and the loss of her mother.
The feelings that arose in her in the face of social distance, isolation and grief are summed up by the acclaimed musician in an album that was influenced by the rave culture and deals with the re-exploration of its roots.
Some have defined "Fossora" as Björk's best album in a decade, and they wouldn't be wrong.
Kendrick Lamar - Mr.
Morale & The Big Steppers
Five years have passed since the last studio album of the hip-hop prophet of his generation, and it seems that the distance has taken its toll and created a lot of longing.
When Lamar's fifth album was released, it seemed that many on social media felt the need to praise the new collection of songs before they even listened to it, if only to signal to the rest of their friends on the feed how up-to-date and correct they are.
But in the case of Kendrick's new one, it seems that there was indeed reason to praise.
This is a concept album that traces the rapper's psychological treatment, and brings up topics such as childhood, trauma (personal and generational), infidelity and celebrity worship.
Musically - this is Lamar's familiar and unique flow, wrapped in layers of funk, disco and soul.
Sometimes there is truth in hype.
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