2022 Year in Review: The Best of Aesthetic Arrest!

Our Top Reading, Listening, Looking, Viewing and Tasting Recommendations for the Year

On Friday of last week we just celebrated a milestone here at The Epicurean Vagabonds . . . our 25th Aesthetic Arrest podcast!

Aesthetic Arrest began as a written article each Friday, a weekly round-up collecting our favorite links and aesthetic recommendations for the week. It has since morphed into a podcast, which has become one of the most popular features of our Substack! (With over 1,300 downloads to date!)

Every week, we each choose our favorite reading (books or articles), listening (music), looking (visual art), viewing (TV, film, documentaries) and tasting (cuisine) recommendations, which you can then hear us rave about on the podcast. And below are our very top picks for the year, along with links to the podcast or article where they first appeared.

We also want to officially welcome all of our new subscribers over the last few weeks! Here’s an opportunity to catch up on some of our favorite recommendations and podcasts that you might missed!

Cheers to that!

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Ryan and Ryan’s Top Reading, Listening, Looking, Viewing and Tasting Recommendations for 2022!

[Note: Not all of these choices were necessarily first published/released in 2022. We’ve simply listed what we were enjoying this year! Something old, something new, something baroque, something blues . . .]

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READING:

Ryan Wildstar's Top 5 Reading Recommendations for 2022:

1. Agent Running in the Field by John Le Carré

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/13/22)

2. The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Remnants of Rome)

3. The Songs of Mihyar the Damascene by Adonis

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine)

4. Kindred by Octavia Butler 

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest: The Goddess Inanna, Moms Mabley, Octavia Butler, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Basic Bitch Pasta)

5. Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Uhura, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nigerian Funk & The Best Balkan Pizza!)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Uhura, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nigerian Funk & The Best Balkan Pizza

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to The Works of Jan Morris, including Europe: An Intimate Journey, Conundrum and The World: Life and Travel 1950-2000! (all of which we discussed here: Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Jan Morris, Nik Turner, Harmonia Rosales, Miriam Margolyes, Alan Cumming & Koshersoul)

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Ryan Elston's Top 5 Reading Recommendations for 2022:

1. The Last Gift of the Master Artists by Ben Okri

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Bebop, Ben Okri, Ulysses, Romare Bearden & The Rhône)

2. The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Breaking Bread, Pre-Raphaelite Painters, Scott Joplin, Fiddler on the Roof & The Story of Art Without Men)

3. The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine)

4. Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History by Lea Ypi

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/20/22)

5. Gold by Rumi (translated by Haleh Liza Gafori)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Rumi, Somi, Sushi & Mishima)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Rumi, Somi, Sushi & Mishima

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong! (which we discussed on Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Art Nouveau, Linguine alle Vongole, Béla Bartók & Betty White)

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For ALL of our 2022 reading recommendations (plus links to purchase), check out our full list at Bookshop.org: Aesthetic Arrest: Ryan & Ryan’s Weekly Book Recommendations

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LISTENING:

Ryan Wildstar’s Top 5 Listening Recommendations for 2022:

1. Sun’s Signature: Sun’s Signature (EP)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/24/22)

2. Cymande: Cymande (1972)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Caribbean Theme)

3. KG Westman & Zaعfaran: KG Westman & Zaعfaran

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Infamous Decadents, World Fusion, Queer TV & Melon Gazpacho)

4. Florence + The Machine: Dance Fever

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/3/22)

5. Moonlight Benjamin: Siltane

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Buddy Guy & Moonlight Benjamin, Yu Hua & Pessoa, Fried Pizza & Fresh Bread)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Buddy Guy & Moonlight Benjamin, Yu Hua & Pessoa, Fried Pizza & Fresh Bread

Honorable Mention(s): A three-way tie between Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Cool It Down, Suede: Autofiction & Samara Joy: Linger Awhile! We discussed these albums here, here and here!)

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Ryan Elston's Top 5 Listening Recommendations for 2022:

1. Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita: Echo

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/3/22)

2. The Comet is Coming: Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Suede, Mina Loy, Classic Italian Cuisine, Cunk on Earth & The Comet Is Coming)

3. Maya Youssef: Finding Home

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine)

4. Samuel Mariño: Sopranista

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/11/22)

5. Tie between Lady Blackbird: Black Acid Soul (Deluxe) (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Supernova Era, SRSQ, Sérusier, Billy Tipton & Lady Blackbird) and Connie Han: Secrets of Inanna (Click here to listen to our discussion from from Aesthetic Arrest: The Goddess Inanna, Moms Mabley, Octavia Butler, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Basic Bitch Pasta)

   Aesthetic Arrest: The Goddess Inanna, Moms Mabley, Octavia Butler, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Basic Bitch Pasta

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to the transcendentally beautiful, aesthetically arresting, Dead Can Dance concert we attended in Skopje, North Macedonia! (which we both wrote about here: Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/27/22)

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For ALL of our 2022 listening recommendations, check out our full list here: The Epicurean Vagabonds: Our Favorite New Music of 2022

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LOOKING (Visual Art):

Ryan Wildstar’s Top 5 Looking Recommendations for 2022:

Friendship by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis

1. The Art of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Jan Morris, Nik Turner, Harmonia Rosales, Miriam Margolyes, Alan Cumming & Koshersoul)

2. The Art of Gian Lorenzo Bernini

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Ryan & Ryan's Roman Holiday!)

3. The Art of Bridget Bate Tichenor

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/13/22)

4. The Art of Evelyn Paul

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest: The Goddess Inanna, Moms Mabley, Octavia Butler, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Basic Bitch Pasta)

5. The Art of Sara Rahmani

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to The Art of the Mystic Birdwoman (aka Daniela Hoyos)! We mentioned her in Ryan and Ryan’s Holiday Gift Guide 2022 (check out the link to where you can purchase her work), but we also both discussed her beautiful art here: Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Agatha Christie, BBC Proms, Gourmet Gratins, Eno & The Mystic Birdwoman.

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Ryan Elston's Top 5 Looking Recommendations for 2022:

honeiee

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee)

1. The Art of Harmonia Rosales

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Jan Morris, Nik Turner, Harmonia Rosales, Miriam Margolyes, Alan Cumming & Koshersoul)

2. The Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/20/22)

3. The Art of Rember Yahuarcani

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/24/22)

4. The Art of Andres Barrioquinto

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Surrealist Tendencies)

5. The Art of Rithika Merchant

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: David Bowie, Dionne Warwick, Fran Lebowitz, Peggy Lee & Our Favorite Romanian Restaurants)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: David Bowie, Dionne Warwick, Fran Lebowitz, Peggy Lee & Our Favorite Romanian Restaurants

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to The Capitoline Museums in Rome! (Which we discussed visiting here: Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Remnants of Rome.)

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For more visual art recommendations, check out our Mid-Week Libations, posted each Wednesday!

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VIEWING: FILMS/DOCUMENTARIES: (Mostly documentaries!)

Ryan Wildstar’s Top 5 Viewing Recommendations for 2022: Films/Documentaries

1. Three Thousand Years of Longing (directed by George Miller, starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Bebop, Ben Okri, Ulysses, Romare Bearden & The Rhône)

2. Moonage Daydream (directed by Brett Morgen)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: David Bowie, Dionne Warwick, Fran Lebowitz, Peggy Lee & Our Favorite Romanian Restaurants)

3. Sidney: The Life and Legacy of Sidney Poitier (directed by Reginald Hudlin)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Sidney Poitier, Pharoah Sanders, Samara Joy, Skunder Boghossian & Green Chicken Korma)

4. Woman in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA (directed by Todd Thompson)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Uhura, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nigerian Funk & The Best Balkan Pizza)

5. Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (directed by Ryan White)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/24/22)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/24/22

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to Mission: Joy – Finding Happiness in Troubled Times, a wonderful documentary about the friendship between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu! (which we discussed here: Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/3/22)

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Ryan Elston's Top 5 Viewing Recommendations for 2022: Films/Documentaries

1. Wildhood (directed by Bretten Hannam)

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/13/22)

2. No Ordinary Man - documentary on the life of Billy Tipton (directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Supernova Era, SRSQ, Sérusier, Billy Tipton & Lady Blackbird)

3. George Carlin’s American Dream (directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio)

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/27/22)

4. Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over (directed by David Heilbroner and Dave Wooley)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: David Bowie, Dionne Warwick, Fran Lebowitz, Peggy Lee & Our Favorite Romanian Restaurants)

5. Louis Armstrong's Black and Blues (directed by Sacha Jenkins)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Jan Morris, Nik Turner, Harmonia Rosales, Miriam Margolyes, Alan Cumming & Koshersoul)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Jan Morris, Nik Turner, Harmonia Rosales, Miriam Margolyes, Alan Cumming & Koshersoul

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to a classic film which I saw for the first time this year: Paris Blues (1961), starring Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Louis Armstrong! (which we discussed here: Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Sidney Poitier, Pharoah Sanders, Samara Joy, Skunder Boghossian & Green Chicken Korma)

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VIEWING: TV SERIES

Ryan Wildstar’s Top 5 Viewing Recommendations for 2022: TV Series

1. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/13/22)

2. Better Things

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/6/22)

3. The Kids in the Hall (new season!)

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/27/22)

4. Gentleman Jack

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/20/22)

5. Queer Eye: Brazil

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Infamous Decadents, World Fusion, Queer TV & Melon Gazpacho)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Infamous Decadents, World Fusion, Queer TV & Melon Gazpacho

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to American Masters on PBS, which provided some of our favorite documentary viewing this year! (discussed here: Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine AND here: Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/3/22)

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Ryan Elston's Top 5 Viewing Recommendations for 2022: TV Series

1. Queen Sugar

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Gimme Shelter, Queen Sugar, Street Food & A Sidecar)

2. Sort Of

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Breaking Bread, Pre-Raphaelite Painters, Scott Joplin, Fiddler on the Roof & The Story of Art Without Men)

3. Pachinko

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/13/22)

4. Dark Winds

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Rumi, Somi, Sushi & Mishima)

5. Cunk on Earth

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Suede, Mina Loy, Classic Italian Cuisine, Cunk on Earth & The Comet Is Coming)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Suede, Mina Loy, Classic Italian Cuisine, Cunk on Earth & The Comet Is Coming

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to We’re Here (mentioned on last week’s Mid-Week Libation (12.7.22), which we haven’t talked about yet on Aesthetic Arrest, but which we will definitely be discussing soon on an upcoming podcast! Stay tuned!

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For more viewing recommendations, check out Ryan & Ryan’s 101 Favorite TV Series of the Last Five Years (click here for part one, part two, part three and part four), with a huge list of our favorite shows!

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TASTING:

Ryan Wildstar’s Top 5 Tasting Recommendations for 2022:

piccolacuccagna

A post shared by La Piccola Cuccagna (@piccolacuccagna)

1. Ragù di lepre (Hare Ragù) & Fried Calamari at La Piccola Cuccagna (Rome, Italy)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Ryan & Ryan's Roman Holiday!)

2. ‘Nduja Pizza at Matto Napoletano (Skopje, North Macedonia)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Uhura, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nigerian Funk & The Best Balkan Pizza)

3. Salt Restaurant (Tirana, Albania)

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 5/20/22)

4. Arabesque Restaurant (Tirana, Albania)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Adonis, Lizzo, Christine McVie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Māori Art & Syrian Cuisine)

5. Gostilnica Barik Restaurant (Skopje, North Macedonia)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Caribbean Theme)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Caribbean Theme

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to one of our very favorite cookbooks, Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day by Alexander Smalls, JJ Johnson and Veronica Chambers! (which we discussed here: Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/24/22)

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Ryan Elston's Top 5 Tasting Recommendations for 2022:

1. Ryan Wildstar’s Gratin Dauphinois [for Ryan Wildstar’s recipe click here!]

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Agatha Christie, BBC Proms, Gourmet Gratins, Eno & The Mystic Birdwoman)

2. Cacio e Pepe at La Piccola Cuccagna (Rome, Italy)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Ryan & Ryan's Roman Holiday!)

3. Era Restaurant (Tirana, Alabania)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Breaking Bread, Pre-Raphaelite Painters, Scott Joplin, Fiddler on the Roof & The Story of Art Without Men)

4. Fried Zucchini Chips (Skopje, North Macedonia)

   (Click here to read my recommendation from Aesthetic Arrest: Weekly Cultural Highlights 6/3/22)

5. Ravioli all’Arancia (Ravioli with orange cream) at Il Giardino Romano (Rome, Italy)

   (Click here to listen to our discussion from Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Remnants of Rome)

   Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Remnants of Rome

Honorable Mention: Shout-out to Basic Bitch Pasta! (which we discussed here: Aesthetic Arrest: The Goddess Inanna, Moms Mabley, Octavia Butler, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Basic Bitch Pasta)

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For more tasting recommendations, check out our list of cookbooks at Bookshop.org: Eat Like An Epicurean: Our Favorite Cookbooks!

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We’re always looking for new recommendations! What are your favorite reading, listening, looking, viewing and tasting recommendations for 2022? Let us know in the comments!