Monday, December 31, 2012

2012: Top Songs

1. Ladyhawke- Black White & Blue
Did people loose interest in Ladyhawke this year? I must have missed the memo because this song is tremendous. Was there another single so strong, so immediate and demanding of attention as this released this year? If so, I haven't heard it yet.

2. Underworld- Caliban's Dream
As luck would have it the London Olympic Games placed the world's spotlight on many of the musicians who provided the soundtrack to my formative years. While the prospect Underworld scoring the Opening Ceremonies was exciting, the execution exceeded my expectations and cemented one of this year's most concrete collective memories.

3. Meiko- Leave The Lights On
This Is My Jam has been my go to music destination on the web since I joined back in January and the site's social nature has help expose me to all sorts of great music I might not have heard otherwise.  Of everything I have listened to, nothing hit me like the New Order-tinged "Leave The Lights On" which @april jammed back in the spring.

4. The Killers- Runaways
This might be the weakest lead single from The Killers to date, yet it still spins endlessly in my mind half a year later.

5. The Chemical Brothers- Theme For Velodrome
The second London Games track to make an appearance on this list find the brothers chemical Ed & Tom channeling Kraftwerk on this bicycling inspired track (who would have thought to make that connection) to great effect.

6. Saint Etienne- Tonight
Not that there was anything wrong with their post-Too Young To Die efforts, but Saint Etienne finally got down to the business of making brilliant pop this year.  This is just one of the high points.

7. Van She- Jamaica
The Austrialian electropop group have been creating underground buzz over the past few years but took a huge leap forward with this tropically flavored single.

8. School Of Seven Bells- Lafaye
The dreampop of my dreams.

9. Scissor Sisters- Let's Have A Kiki
One of the two self-produced tracks on the all-over-the-place Magic Hour had all of the charm you could want from a Scissor Sisters jam. Popservations has the track's history.

10. Soulsavers featuring Dave Gahan- Longest Day
Let's hope there is something near the emotional honesty of "Longest Day" on DM's upcoming long-player.