The Top 15 of 2012

These are not necessarily songs released in 2012, but rather they are tunes that I discovered this year, and they have all made the cut into the exclusive list of my top 15. They are in no particular order.

1.     Butch Walker – Synthesizers

Butch really got a strong foothold in the rotation this year, and this is the song that kicked it all off.  The kick ass video where Matthew McConaughey reprises his “Dazed and Confused” role fits the song perfectly.  If you haven’t seen the video, YouTube that shit already. 

2.     Alabama Shakes – Hold On

Listen to this tune and if you guessed that the lead singer is a large, black woman then you win a prize.  This song is easily one of the best of the year and easily fits into any playlist you make, unless of course you’re making a “Best of Beyonce” playlist, then, maybe not so much.

3.     The Lumineers – Stubborn Love

I could have gone with almost any song off of this record, but I chose this one because it’s not quite as shiny and overexposed as “Ho Hey” and it has a little more heart than “Big Parade”.  Plus, there’s a great line that goes “The opposite of love is indifference”.

4.     The Head and the Heart – Lost in My Mind

These guys are my pick for album of the year and this is the best song on that album.  Enough said.

5.     Ben Howard – Keep Your Head Up

A little wine, a fire and some Ben Howard and you’ll be closing deals like a car salesman at the end of the quarter.  He just has that voice that strikes a nerve with the XX chromosome crowd.

6.     Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – Home

Of all the songs that rhyme Arkansas with Ma and Pa this is probably my favorite.  If you haven’t seen the documentary “Big Easy Express” put it into your Netflix queue or look for it on-demand.  It’s a great look at these guys, Mumford & Sons and Old Crow Medicine Show as they toured by train across the US.

7.     Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

If you saw an overweight, middle-aged bearded guy in Northern Virginia losing his shit in the car, there’s a good chance that it was me listening to this song.  This tune makes me want to dance awkwardly like a 40-year-old white woman with no rhythm.

8.     Walk The Moon – Anna Sun

If you love songs about houses falling apart then this song is for you!  Upbeat, poppy alternative tune that will instantly add 10 MPH to whatever speed you’re driving at the time.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go rattle a ghost town.

9.     Jack White – Sixteen Saltines

Mr. White put out one of my favorite albums of 2012, and this track was a standout.  Personally, I would have called this song Sixteen Ritz, because I’m not a huge Saltines fan, but I guess that’s why he’s where he is and I am where I am.

10.  The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten

This probably won’t do a great job of selling the song, but it reminds me of a hybrid of The Goo Goo Dolls and Social Distortion.  They are like Bender in “The Breakfast Club”, bad boys on the outside, hearts of gold on the inside. 

11.  Manchester Orchestra – Pensacola

I discovered M.O. on an episode of the “Hoppus on Music” show.  They have a strong intensity to a lot of their music, but this song has bit more of a commercial vibe to it.  I wasn’t going to include it in my top 15, but the fact that I’m a little excited every time it comes on the iPod tells me it’s a keeper.

12.  Dawes – A Little Bit of Everything

These guys should pay me money for the way I fellate their egos with my praise.  This is a slower jam that has a Jackson Browne feel to me for some reason.  Next time I see these guys live I will proudly hoist my cell phone in the air when they play this tune.  “…so pile on those mashed potatoes and an extra chicken wing, I’m having a bit of everything.”

13.  Blitzen Trapper - Fletcher

This song has a jam band feel without all of the jam.  I pretty much dig any tune that references drinking whiskey from a jar, so this one makes the cut on that line alone.  

14.  Bronze Radio Return – Stone’s Throw Away

Such a sweet song.  If I were 15, I’d slow dance the shit out of this one with the girl du jour. 

15.  The Avett Brothers – Murder in the City(Live)

This is the “Rudy” of songs.  Even the manliest men might tear up a bit at the end.  “…make sure my daughter knows I loved her, make sure her mother knows the same, always remember there is nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name…”.