That's an issue for the final "best of" list I'll be rolling out over the next few weeks. There's still nearly a month and a half to go int the year, but barring any major surprises, both my top song and album lists will remain unchanged. This year was so great, so wide and varied and deep in its offerings, that I managed to put together 50 songs I thoroughly enjoyed, as well as
But before that gets rolling: there were more than 50 songs released in 2012, so (I think you're following by now) not every one could make the list. That's not to say there weren't some tracks still worthy of recognition, though, so I thought "why not?" and threw together this best-of-the-rest troupe.
So here are 15 honorable mentions, organized alphabetically by artist, that made an impression but just weren't quite enough to make the top 50.
...and you will know us by the trail of dead - time and again
In comparison to the album that precedes it, this closer is almost light-hearted. The lyrics are still a bit caustic, but they're sung smoothly. It's almost a little jarring to hear that bouncy beat come at the tail end of a succession of songs (starting with the also-very-good "Catatonic) that feel far more urgent than this comparatively laid-back shuffle. But it's catchy to boot, and that gives the track an added level of memorability.
alabama shakes - rise to the sun
Brittany Howard asks a question in this song that remains one of my favorite lyrics of the year: "I feel so homesick / where is my home: / where I belong or where I was born?" It's a fair question, if you've ever contemplated leaving the home and family you knew to start out on your own (as I was finally able to do earlier this year). It's a lyric tossed into a song that sounds like it's about routine, but it's a question that implies a sort of discontent with the status quo and an eagerness to find out if the grass is really greener.
cloud nothings - fall in
I'd thought I'd left my punk phase behind in high school, preferring nuance, moodiness and reverb as I got older...but then "Attack On Memory" came along, and I felt like part of that was still alive somewhere in there. "Fall In" is a song that allows you to catch your breath in its repetitive chorus, only to go nuts in the intermediaries; especially from about the 2:00 mark on through the end of the song. It's one wild thrash of kinetic energy that caps off a pretty straightforward song.
divine fits - like ice cream
I was intrigued when I heard that Spoon and Wolf Parade (or parts of them) were combining to form some sort of supergroup. The results were interesting, and more Spoon than Wolf Parade, but didn't produce the string of hits that I'd hoped for. No "I Turn My Camera On" or "Shine a Light." But "Like Ice Cream" is about as good as it gets on the album, and it's really not bad. It's definitely a Spoon-y track that plays from channel to channel in your earphones and keeps your interest.
icona pop - top rated
I did say wide and varied at the top, and things take a turn here. Icona Pop is this upstart Swedish electropop/dance duo that caught a lot of ears when they released "I Love It" earlier in the summer. Their inaugural EP, "The Iconic," hints at some intriguing things for 2013, even if it falters at points along its brief journey. "Top Rated" never loses its exuberance, though, even as its lyrics talk down to you. The basic message is "haters gonna hate," but said in a much more ebullient way than that phrase could ever convey.
kishi bashi - bright whites
I think of some combination of Massive Attack and Balam Acab when the first notes of this song come across...which is funny, because that's not the song's style at all. It's happy, airy, with plenty of falsetto and pleasantly strummed strings and a bopping rhythm section.
local natives - breakers
I think, of the albums I'm anticipating to come out sometime in 2013, this potential release from Local Natives is well up the list. That wasn't the case before I heard this track, though. It's a more serious-sounding take on typical Local Natives flair, leaving a little of the pop sensibility behind (though not all of it; they sprinkle in some trademark harmonies). It's a glimpse of potential that a "Gorilla Manor" follow-up could be a big step forward.
lower dens - lamb
This song exists for its crescendo, pure and simple. The build-up is muddled in between strokes of elegance, and Jana Hunter is mostly unintelligible throughout, but the release makes it all worth it. It's a gorgeous moment that happens to marry cacophony with beauty. It's a shame it's so brief, because the energy just doesn't bleed into the rest of the song. Still...its placement here is worth it.
ms mr - hurricane
A paranoid song, perfectly summarized by this string of its lyrics: "I jumped the gun / so sure you'd split and run / Ready for the worst / before the damage was done / The storm never came / or it never was." It's pretty at points, but after listening, you can't help but feel more haunted than anything else.
passion pit - hideaway
The intro of this song is a heavily distorted and mutilated playing of the chorus's melody, which you'd never know if you were listening for the first time. It just sounds like noise on the surface before the synths drop by to say hello. But it's symbolic; on an album scarred with personal struggles, distorting what is regularly a pumping, hopeful choral melody to a point almost beyond recognition speaks volumes about reassurance versus hopelessness before uttering a single word.
sigur ros - rembihnutur
Songs don't always have to be tinged with sadness to stick with you. Sure, their notes can come across as a bit heartbroken sometimes, but what Sigur Ros seem to do so well is make every bit of their hybrid Icelandic/gibberish lyrics seem like they're always saying something reassuring. I've never once understood what Jonsi Birgisson has tried to tell me, but I've never cared, because it always sounds so wonderful.
the men - open your heart
"There are no mirrors here / do what you want / be who you want to be," Mark Perro tells us, and even though that's a helpful platitude, the force of the drums and the buzzed guitars give off a kind of "do it or else" vibe. As if "do your thing" were an order more than a statement of permission.
the mountain goats - transcendental youth
John Darnielle is a music-making force. The guy cranks out songs with heartfelt lyrics, sometimes-toe-tapping melodies and relatable messages that might make every band but They Might Be Giants nervous. And here, on the title track closer of his latest as the leader of the Mountain Goats, Darnielle is at his best: complex in structure with a piecemeal orchestral backing sound befitting the album that preceded it.
the shins - no way down
A lot of people, myself included, were caught off guard by this latest Shins album. To be fair, there wasn't much of a pattern established in the jump from "Chutes Too Narrow" to "Wincing the Night Away," but this album's merger of old-school Shins songwriting (even though James Mercer is all that's left of the original incarnation) with current production values makes for a really interesting listen, and this song, the album's shortest, is one of its strongest.
the xx - sunset
No group today, you might argue, has a more sultry sound than the xx, with trading vocals a standard practice and Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim's equally smoky vocals singing songs of sex and broken relationships to each other - or so it feels - a staple. You never feel uncomfortable or as though you're third-party to some uncomfortable moment, as each song coaxes you more into trying to feel the depth of every relationship it creates and destroys in mere minutes. Everyone's been where they've been, so no one's above or below it all. Such is "Sunset."
