Every year for the past several, I've made a mix CD with different songs that I loved from the year. Sometimes it's a song that is emotionally significant; sometimes just a song that represents a great album, or one that is a striking artistic achievement. I'll admit that I felt somewhat disconnected to music this year with so much going on in my personal and professional life, so many of the songs come from albums released in the later part of the year. I noticed a few trends--Emily will love to hear this, but perhaps this is the year I learned to stop worrying and love the synthesizer. Several great synth-pop hits on this list for sure. Besides that, there was a lot of great hip-hop that I didn't get much of a chance to listen to, but will be sure to be looking further into (Chance the Rapper, Earl Sweatshirt). Here's the list in the CD order; my favorite song first, and then the rest are in no particular order--I tried to vary upbeat/slow to provide some variety.
1. CHVRCHES-"The Mother We Share": I love this song. It's so damn catchy, makes great use of electronic music elements while also being very earnest and endearing. Plus, they're Scottish, and it seems that my ancestral national produces music that I love (see: Frightened Rabbit, Belle & Sebastian). I liked the whole album pretty well, but the lead-off track was so very good, it just had to top my list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mTRvJ9fugM
2. Rhye-"Open": This reminds me of an album that I love by the band The XX. It's very intimate and evocative of delicate moments. Milosh, the lead singer, identifies as male, but frankly is so soulful that he is surely set to inherit the mantel of singers like Sade and some great R&B singers of the 60's and 70's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sng_CdAAw8M
3. Frightened Rabbit-"Holy": My favorite album of the year is by one of my favorite artists, the sad Scottish bastard sound that I love so, Frightened Rabbit. Holy is a great song that drives and has surely exorcised plenty of frustrations with religion for many a hipster here and abroad. There wasn't a lyric I liked more this year than "You're acting all holy/me, I'm just full of holes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2GkM9FWvag
4. Kurt Vile-"Never Run Away": Emily and I listened to this song in particular, and the whole album, a ton this year. It's sweet and a bit slacker-y, just like most of Vile's music. I like his whole style--amazing guitar playing couched in songs that meander and are still very charitable. He's a touring musician with a family at home that he loves and misses--it comes across in his songs. Emily has it set to wake up to, so I will admit that I like the song a little less when associating it with waking up in the morning :-/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq5sb6_W4LU
5. Bastille-"Pompeii": Credit where credit is due; Joe Kenderes told me about this song and I dug it immediately. Very fun and upbeat. Joe and I have a never-ending game of one-upsmanship about naming the artist/tune quicker whenever we are in a public place together (which is increasingly less so, as he and his awesome family live in IL). He got me on this one--I didn't know it and now it's one of my favorites of the year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90Cw4l-8NY
6. Neko Case-"Night Still Comes": I didn't dig Neko's album from this year at first, but it has grown on me. She has been much more personal on this record, and this song is emblematic of that trend. The way she sings "You never held it at the right angle" in this song is so incredibly soulful and powerful. See her live when she comes your way--there's no voice like hers in popular music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhnFl3Y2FVI
7. Daft Punk-"Get Lucky" (feat. Pharrell Williams): This song was so ubiquitous that it would be easy to forget how good it is. It's the last fast song played at our wedding, and got everyone onto the dance floor. These French guys know how to write some good songs! The best song that Pharrell sung on all year (yes, I'm looking at YOU "Blurred Lines"). (the CD includes a longer version of this song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NV6Rdv1a3I
8. James Blake-"Retrograde": Robin Hilton of NPR Music referred to James Blake as a musical Rosetta Stone, and that comparison was so very apt. Soul/Electronic/Indie, his music is a blend of so many influences, and defines a genre all it's own. Listen with headphones and you'll get even more nuance. His music always gives back to me over multiple listens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6PcFFUm5I
9. Barrence Whitfield & The Savages-"The Corner Man": I saw this band perform on "Later...with Jools Holland," a BBC music series that I discovered on the Palladia Station. It has nearly made getting cable worth it--lots of good discoveries. I loved the energy Whitfield brought as the lead singer of his group-and after learning more, it seems he's been a bit of an undiscovered gem for many years. This album came out on Bloodshot Records this year, though recorded in 2010. I love this straightforward, blues-based rock; not heard to often on the radio anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx_iwtAQBz4
10. The Lone Bellow-"You Never Need Nobody": I'm always a sucker for earnest folk and singer/songwriter music; and this group does it pretty damn well--especially with those harmonies! It didn't hurt that Kanene Pipkin, the female member of the trio, went to W&M and was connected with many of my friends. I read about every performance and the album from the Facebook community before I had ever heard any of the songs--and I was so glad to have the connections!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsnrzr0Bm80
11. Telekinesis-"Power Lines": I don't understand why this group isn't huge--I love everything they write. They remind me of the New Pornographers with their precise power-pop instrumentation and skillful execution. Highly recommended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZoXS8I8neI
12. Janelle Monae-"Electric Lady" (feat. Solange): It was just a dart throw to see which song from this album I'd include. I love Janelle Monae-she's so talented and seems so happy to be making music. Besides that, she has spoken out so clearly about how women are portrayed in media and the example she wants to set for young women. Saw her perform recently again on Later...with Jools Holland and she just owned the stage. It made me love this song--it's clearly a song that Prince could have written, which is a compliment!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOui_ftQkVE
13. Okkervil River-"It Was My Season": I love Okkervil River, so I had to include a song from their new album, The Silver Gymnasium. This was also a bit of a dart-throw; I like most of the songs on the album and this one just has the benefit of being the one I listen to the most. Will Sheff has the strongest stage presence of any lead singer I've seen live in the past decade. I hope their next effort will be more experimental and push some boundaries that I know they have the ability to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjLP1n3h7Vc
14. The Head and the Heart-"Homecoming Heroes": This band makes such sweet, endearing music that I wanted to include the opening song from this year's album. See, these folksy singer/songwriter groups get me every time! This also has great production--the whole album, "Let's Be Still" is wonderful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUFw85OHL68
15. Superchunk-"Me & You & Jackie Mittoo": This is a great, short, power-pop song by an awesome band. I got into them a few years ago with their album "Majesty Shredding" and this years album is pretty great, too. This song is just a funny, pithy way of capturing everything I love about Superchunk in one small minichunk (sorry, I had to). They are also pioneering record company owners; creators of Merge Records, one of the best independent music labels still going.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUxkZreYiQs
16. Savages-"Husbands": This band is intense. Like, damn...intense. Their songs are about alienation, technology, and general dissatisfaction with society today. Their album is called "Silence Yourself"...seriously! They have been known to shout at and intimidate people who use cell phones during their sets. If this is where punk rock has gone in the modern era, I'm pretty happy--very interesting songs with good musicianship (the rhythm section and guitars are always driving and swirling at the same time). Not for everyone, but I dug it this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmJ_mcvRQsI
17. Parquet Courts-"Stoned and Starving": If Savages are the intense, glowering older sister, then Parquet Courts are the stoned, slacker, younger brother. This song cracks me up and is completely catchy--try singing along after a few listens--it's also sneakily well played, with the end of each verse coming in a beat early. They remind me of a new (and better) version of Cake, with a little more jangly sound than opting for slick production.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_X6FaHq9jQ
18. Frightened Rabbit-"The Woodpile": I loved this album so much I had to include two songs. Scott's voice is too great, with it's slight Scottish accent and clear passion. I love how each verse of this song builds into a pre-chorus and then a soaring chorus. Like it was crafted just for my sensibility.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY4j8Ow-CTs
19. Kendrick Lamar-"Swimming Pools (Drank)": Technically this song came out last year, in December. But I missed it until Christmas time when I had already made my "Best of 2012" mix. I promised then that I'd include it, and have found myself re-discovering it this year again. Kendrick Lamar is an incredibly self-aware hip-hop artist--he uses this song to introduce his "conscience" as a co-narrator. From Compton, LA, he at first appears like another hip-hop artist in the gansta rap vein, but he's also making commentary on growing up around that lifestyle. I like his music, and think there's a lot of depth here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ejyHzz3XE
20. Killer Mike & El-P-"Run the Jewels": I liked this whole album this year, it was very intense and in-your-face from two of the best hip-hop artists that are making music today. Not everyone will love their direct and, sometimes aggressive, flow, but I have come to appreciate Killer Mike for his point of view. His, "Reagan" was in my best of 2012, and this continues to show he makes great music. (I should have probably included the song "Banana Clipper" since that is the only video I could find, but I liked "Run the Jewels" more).
http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/run-the-jewels-banana-clipper-video.21753.html
