And through all of the madness, I was buoyed, energized, encouraged, commiserated, lamented, awed and grooved by arguably the best musical year of my lifetime (or, at least, since I've come to care about music so much). It was something desperately needed, only I didn't know how badly I needed it until I was able to look back on my library and the journey it had soundtracked this year.
As I like to do when the year is wrapping up, I've managed to compile a ranked list of 50 songs and 20 albums that I feel pretty comfortable with. I've never been able to rank so many before and still feel like every inclusion is deserving and a song I could listen to and enjoy on repeat. These are my favorite songs, not necessarily ones I consider the "best" because I'm no expert in these things, and through it, hopefully you'll be able to experience some of the journey I went on in 2012. Listening to music can be a very personal experience, and I hope you won't mind if I invite you to share in it with me.
This is the first of five installments of songs that will be written up weekly, preceding my ranked album list sometime next month. If songs come out between now and year's end that could merit inclusion, I'll make note in a different post, but this list will stay as-is.
So. Shall we?
UPDATE: this countdown is now a Spotify playlist (at least, the songs that Spotify has)
50. Marina & the Diamonds - Primadonna
The first song in any list, regardless of whether it's ranked, alphabetical or random, is always an attention-grabber. It typically gets the most looks. It should, in theory, set the mood for the rest of the list to follow. If that were the case here, you'd be in for an interesting list, but this glam-poppy wonder is one-of-a-kind both on this list and in my library. It's way more commercial than the music I typically listen to, but I can't ignore its aggressive, fuzzy beat and Marina Diamandis's varying vocal characters. On "Electra Heart," after all, she set out to create a persona. The persona is fully realized here, on the album's second track, at the same time sincere and a parody of itself. Somehow, you leave the song feeling a little bad for this admittedly spoiled brat living in the song's lyrics, and that's nothing short of a big accomplishment in a world that's teaching us to hate everything privileged.49. Frank Ocean - Lost
It seems weird to think that Frank Ocean used to be part of Odd Future, a young rap collective that made its name through shocking (to put it kindly) lyrics and videos. Especially after the release of "Channel Orange" (also stylized "channel ORANGE"), which Ocean admitted was part love story, part coming-out. It's a beautifully heartfelt album, highlighted by a number of songs, but none stands out to me quite like "Lost," with its excellent synth chorus hook and its whirlwind lyrics that could either be about dealing with a woman at home who's growing increasingly tired of travel life and constant absences or an affair, I'm still not entirely sure. What I do know is it's brilliantly sung, and that chorus is far too good to deny.48. Tanlines - All of Me
The first unapologetically happy song on the list makes clear a developing trend: I like killer choruses. It's immediately catching and has an excellently toe-tappable beat, all of which usually makes for a really good song. And here we have no exception. Tanlines do this every so often on this year's "Mixed Emotions," but they don't do it better than on "All of Me."47. Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams
Psych rock as a genre has always been very hit-or-miss for me. I'm often left pretty unsure if I like a certain song, because most times I feel like I'm just missing something from the experience. It just doesn't hit me. Tame Impala's "Lonerism" is really the first full album where I feel like I get it. Even though it gets a little strange at points - I mean, it is psych rock - it's generally full of great sound. Which brings me to this track! Next to "Elephant," this is probably the most accessible of the tracks on "Lonerism," catchy enough to be widely relatable but still maintaining that ethereal fuzz that speaks to different dimensions of experience. As the lyrics overlap toward the end of the song leading to a beat drop and explosion, probably something not unlike some sort of supernova in space, you finally can let the song wash over you and coat your ears as it gently brings you down through the end.46. Father John Misty - Everyman Needs a Companion
Purposefully spelled "Everyman,"(the Youtube video has it wrong) the former Fleet Foxes drummer's most heart-on-its-sleeve song hits all the right notes. It's romantic, vulnerable and sweet. It would be nearly saccharine if J. Tillman didn't manage to keep some small bit of an edge in his voice as he sings, not that he really cares much about appearances. The John the Baptist/Jesus/Joseph Campbell/Rolling Stones namedrops and allegories are a nice touch (FJM makes a habit of this on the album) in a song filled with nice touches. It takes its time, plays it slow, so you know it's sincere.45. The Tallest Man On Earth - Leading Me Now
Everybody's favorite Swedish American folk singer came out with another album chock-full of solid pastoral tunes in the vein of 2010's "The Wild Hunt," on the whole maybe a bit weaker than its predecessor but still very strong and among the top class of the current folk scene. It's a hopeful tune, one that speaks to reliance and dependence on one another, and as Kristian Matsson sings "We will end up somehow / With a peaceful mind / And you're leading me now," you can tell he's confident in both himself and whoever he's talking to. And that just makes me feel good.44. The Shins - The Rifle's Spiral
The kickoff to James Mercer As The Shins' first album since 2007's "Wincing the Night Away" sets the tone for what is, to me, an album that combines old school Shins songwriting with cleaner and higher production values. I don't know if that completely robs the Shins of their rustic appeal - or what they had left of it - but it works. What makes the song a bit harrowing is that Mercer wrote it with suicide bombers in mind, which tints the song with an unmistakably darker hue.43. Kishi Bashi - Manchester
Patience is its own reward. Sometimes, some of the most beautiful moments of a song don't come until the majority of it has passed, after minutes of slow build-up and gears wound progressively tighter (it even sounds like you can hear something being wound in the background of the song). Originally released on an EP last year and given proper slotting onto Kaoru Ishibashi's debut LP "151a" this year, "Manchester" gets progressively beefier in sound, with backing vocals swooping in to harmonize with themselves as strings play us through to the song's climax. "Will you be mine? / I haven't felt this alive in a long time," he sings as the music begins to swell, and his voice starts to rise in reflex. Everything cashes out about three and a half minutes in, a relatively calm release compared to some songs we'll hear later in this list, but one that still feels cathartic without being overblown and ruining the gentle nature of the build-up that preceded it.42. Conveyor - Right Sleep
I happened upon this song through NPR's All Songs Considered podcast, and am still struck by how it's divided into two seemingly completely different songs. We're treated with a banjo intro (you don't hear much of that outside the bluegrass scene, do you?) before a galloping drum beat kicks in and starts taking us on something that feels a bit like a dream cycle. At times, the vocals drop back into slow, hazy harmonies above a kick drum before coming back down to earth and romping along once more. And then, everything is coated in molasses at about two minutes in. Things get, well, sleepy. It's pulled off smoothly and makes an otherwise nice-but-not-that-much-different song a completely different experience. It's wordless for nearly three and a half minutes through until the end, but it's compositionally dense and interesting enough to easily hold your ears throughout.41. Wye Oak - Spiral
Next week: Nos. 40-31
