Guys, 2012 was a long year. It was also one full of some great music (and some really bad music). Because yeah, there was [name of song in my top 5 that I don't want to type until you see it at the end here] and [same], but we also had the inescapable “Gangnam Style,” “Call Me Maybe,” and the year’s biggest musical manslaughter, “Moves Like Jagger.” But while Adam Levine put about as much thought into his music as there was fabric in his shirts (explanation: his shirts look like they are very thin and are made with very little fabric), there were some great musicians making some great music.
It was the year the guitar returned, with Cloud Nothings, The Men, PUJOL, and many more dusting off those rarely used distortion pedals, and to great results. That said, my list still features a prominent amount of folky guitar tunes because I am a suburban white male. Thems the breaks.
A few notes before I get to my list:
- I like sad white guys with guitars music, as I said, so it’s mostly that
– Standard rule: One song per artist (otherwise this whole list would’ve been Japandroids, Mountain Goats, and Bahamas)
– At the bottom of the list is an embedded Spotify playlist of all the songs available there, those not available have links to places where they are
– Sometime next week, my Top 20 albums list will be coming too
Here’s a fun fact: A song each from the first five albums of 2012 I listened to (according to my running 2012 playlist on Spotify) made this list. And one more thing before I get to it all: This is some full-on nepotism but two of my favorite songs this year were written by friends of mine. My buddy Luke’s “Shawn’s Farewell Song” is my most-listened-to track this year, and my friend Drew’s “Old Gray Bones,” on which I play the worst drums ever recorded, would have made the top 20 here even if I didn’t know him, I swear.
And now, without further ado, are my top 75 songs/tracks/jams of 2012. Feel free to complain about how boring and white my list is in the comments.
75. John Wesley Harding and the English UK – Making Love To Bob Dylan
74. School Of Seven Bells – Low Times
73. The Maccabees – Ayla
72. Leonard Cohen – Darkness
71. Arctic Splash – Denim Tuxedo
70. Line & Circle – Roman Ruins
69. Morgan Page (feat. Tegan and Sara) – Body Work
68. Icona Pop – I Love It – feat. Charli XCX
67. Glen Hansard – High Hope
66. Zulu Winter – We Should Be Swimming
65. The Antlers – Drift Dive
64. Crocodiles – Electric Death Song
63. Pujol – DIY2KA
62. Dum Dum Girls – Lord Knows
61. Fionn Regan – Salt & Cloves
60. Band of Horses – Slow Cruel Hands Of Time
59. Heyward Howkins – Cocaine Bill
58. The Men – Open Your Heart
57. Michael Kiwanuka – I’ll Get Along
56. The Walkmen – Heaven
55. Bad Books – The After Party
54. Jens Lekman – Every Little Hair Knows Your Name
53. The Lumineers – Stubborn Love
52. Dirty Projectors – About to Die
51. Devin – Masochist
50. Eternal Summers – You Kill
49. Sun Airway – Close
48. River City Extension – Glastonbury
47. The Tallest Man On Earth – Wind and Walls
46. Bleeding Rainbow – Pink Ruff
45. Low Cut Connie – Boozophilia
44. Hoots & Hellmouth – I Don’t Mind Your Cussing
43. Robert Pollard – Pontius Pilate Heart
42. Craig Finn – Balcony
41. Advance Base – Riot Grrrls
40. The Spinto Band – Muesli
39. Keaton Henson – You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are
38. Delta Spirit – Time Bomb
37. Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
36. Passion Pit – Carried Away
35. Titus Andronicus – Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With The Flood Of Detritus
34. The Killers – Flesh And Bone
33. Frank Ocean – Thinkin Bout You
32. Dr. Dog – Lonesome
31. Benjamin Gibbard – Bigger Than Love
30. Cursive – Eulogy for No Name
29. Nothing – Downward Years to Come
28. Hospitality – Friends of Friends
27. The Soft Pack – Bobby Brown
26. Strand of Oaks – Diamond Drill
25. Sun Kil Moon – I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was the Greatest Night of My Life
24. Grizzly Bear – Yet Again
23. Cat Power – Ruin
22. Heartless Bastards – Parted Ways
21. Desaparecidos – MariKKKopa
20. Sea Of Bees – Gone
19. Cloud Nothings – Stay Useless
18. Santigold – The Riot’s Gone
17. Justin Townes Earle – Am I That Lonely Tonight?
16. Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?
15. Sharon Van Etten – Leonard
14. Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
13. The Magnetic Fields – Andrew in Drag
12. Bat For Lashes – Laura
11. We Are Augustines – Ballad of a Patient Man (released this year on an iTunes Session)
10. Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built
9. La Sera – I Can’t Keep You in My Mind
8. King Tuff – Wild Desire
7. Bloc Party – V.A.L.I.S.
6. Paul Banks – Young Again
5. Fiona Apple – Anything We Want
4. Bahamas – Your Sweet Touch
3. The Shins – Simple Song
2. The Mountain Goats – Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1
1. Now, Now – School Friends
