Month: December 2012 Page 1 of 2

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Albums of 2012 [#10-1]

On 12/21/2012

In best albums 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, music

This is it, friends! This long journey to my Top 10 albums of 2012 has finally come to an end. I’d like to thank you for taking this trip with me and for reading the site all year long (like I know you did). Above all, I’d like to thank the artists, because without them and the music they so lovingly create this site wouldn’t exist. I feel privileged to get to hear all sorts of music nearly 365 days a year, and being able to write about it too is just icing on the cake. The ten albums and artits I’ve featured below made some of the most brilliant records I’ve heard over the last 12 months, and I’m happy to say that at some point in time I spent months absorbing the excellence that radiates from these releases. I also like to think that the ten albums below do a great job of covering the scope of breadth of music overall in 2012. There’s something for everyone here, and I swear I didn’t plan it that way. I hope you enjoy what’s presented below, and if you’re so inclined please give each one of these albums a thorough listen through at least once. I hope that you’ll hear the positively amazing things I did in each one of them. If you’re still catching up on the previous entries in this Top 50 Albums series, please follow these links for more:
#50-41
#40-31
#30-21
#20-11

And now, without further ado, here are my Top 10 Albums of 2012!

Pick Your Poison: Friday 12-21-12

By Faronheit

On 12/21/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Okay folks, here it is. The last Pick Your Poison of 2012. After this, the site is on vacation until January 7, 2013. I don’t know about you, but I need those couple weeks to enjoy the holidays and recharge a bit. While I’m gone, in case you haven’t already checked them out, please browse through my Top 50 Albums of 2012 and Top 50 Songs of 2012. They’re both dynamic and fun lists that I’m exceptionally proud of. I hope you’ll take a look, even if it is a passing glance. Other than that, I’d like to wish you a very happy and healthy holidays. Get loads of gifts if you haven’t already, and celebrate the new year in style. I’ve got a great feeling about 2013, even if many feel that particular number is “unlucky.” We’ll take it as it comes, and hope for the best. So here’s what’s good in this final edition of Pick Your Poison for 2012. I can recommend tracks from Arc Rev One, Dent May, ExDetectives, Husky Rescue, Moonlight Towers and The Reed Fags. In the Soundcloud section (located after the jump), don’t miss streaming songs from The Band in Heaven and The Deer Tracks. Be well, friends! There’s plenty more on the way next year!

Arc Rev One – The Storm of the I of the Storm

Dent May – 2099

ExDetectives – Chase It Away

Husky Rescue – Deep Forest Green

Linus Pauling Quartet – Assault on the Vault of the Ancient Bonglords

Master Shortie – Nobody Taught Me

Mist Glider – Glimmer

Moonlight Towers – Distant Wheels

Out For Hours – Driving

Peking Duk – The Way You Are (Sondrio Remix)

The Reed Fags – Molly

The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil (Pink Holy Days Version)

Theatre of Delays – Prime Time

SOUNDCLOUD

The Band in Heaven – High Low

The Deer Tracks – Bucket of Sunbeams

Heyerdahl – Mirage

Rebekah Delgado – Mad World (Tears for Fears cover)

This Town Needs Guns – I’ll Take the Minute Snake

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Albums of 2012 [#20-11]

By Faronheit

On 12/20/2012

In best albums 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, music

Here we are, rounding the final turn before the official finish line of this Top 50 list. Yes, the #20-11 albums are a very crucial part of this list, even if they’re not exactly the cream of the crop. I love these albums almost as much as the ones that will come after them, so if you’ve not yet heard any of these, of course I recommend that you check them out. As it has with previous parts of this list, there’s a wide stylistic range of artists and records in this set, including some hip hop, R&B, punk rock, post rock, psychedelia, synth pop and even a record or two so experimental it’s tough to slap a label on them. I hope you enjoy what’s below, but if you’d like to catch up on what’s been covered so far, look no further than the following links:
#50-41
#40-31
#30-21

You can find #20-11 right after the jump!

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 12-20-12

By Faronheit

On 12/20/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s snowing! Yes, here in Chicago, today was the first day of snowfall since the end of last winter. It actually set a record for the longest period of time without measurable snow in the area. Of course that snow drought would break just as meteorological winter arrives tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, is everyone excited for the apocalypse? Yep, if the world’s ending tomorrow, it’s been nice knowing you and we’ve had a great run. This could be the last edition of Pick Your Poison ever. And that makes me somewhat sad, actually. But it IS absolutely the 2nd to last Pick Your Poison of 2012. After tomorrow, there’s a 1-2 week hiatus in place so I can actually take some time to play with my Christmas presents and spread some cheer before New Years. Have no fear though, everything will be up and running again by mid-January. I’ve also got some more posts planned for you that aren’t necessarily Pick Your Poison related. Some extra Listmas duties to take care of, if you will. For now, please enjoy the songs below. Gold star tracks today come from Beard of Wolves, Bogan Via, The Capsules, Panoramic & True and Photo Ops. In the Soundcloud section (located after the jump), there’s streaming songs from Geographer (covering Kate Bush), Hundred Waters, Solar Year and more so check those out too!

Beard of Wolves – My Father Drives the Death Star

The Birthday Suit – Silent Night

Bogan Via – Gatsby

Campfires – Fortune Teller

The Capsules – Our Apocalypse

Erin McKeown – Santa is An Asshole (WAV)

Hawk and Dove – Things We Lost So Far

Johan Hedberg – Some Kind of Christmas

Kensy Krackshow – The End

Marching Band – And I’ve Never Seen

The Murder Barn – Just Like Christmas (Low cover)

Panoramic & True – Gunslinger

Photo Ops – It Makes Me Cry

Psymbionic – Space Monkey (Psymbionic Remix)

Tiga – Shoes (Mickey Moonlight Remix)

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Albums of 2012 [#30-21]

By Faronheit

On 12/19/2012

In best albums 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, music

As it so happens, today is the day we make it halfway through this wonderful list of my Top 50 Albums of 2012. In case you missed the first two parts, here’s #50-41, and here’s #40-31. So what can I tell you about this next set of 10 albums? Well, this collection features a bit of psychedelia, some indie pop, healthy slices of retro-sounding synth pop, some quieter balladry, and two punk inspired records that were produced by Steve Albini. Can you guess what they are before clicking through the jump (or scrolling down) to see them revealed? It can be a challenge, but I believe you can pull it off. Or just look below. These are some great records that if you haven’t heard them, you need to be checking them out as fast as possible. What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 12-19-12

By Faronheit

On 12/19/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

So long as we’re being honest this holiday season, I rather dislike Christmas music. I have nothing against the holiday itself, nor the decorations or anything else related to it save for the songs. To me, the words “timeless classic” just bother me to no end. I’ve been listening to these songs every single year since I was born, and I know all the words, and unless you’re totally doing a new twist on them, I don’t want to hear your rendition. If you’ve got an original Christmas song, good for you, but it’s exceptionally challenging to write a good song based around this holiday. Actually, holiday themed songs in general are bad, unless you’re talking about Valentines Day, because any love song will do. But I do hope someday I’ll hear some really amazing new Christmas songs that I can consider to be the “new classics” for the holiday. We can all learn the words to them, and then become tired of them 20 years later. Until that happens, I’ll stick with the non-holiday stuff. Don’t let that scare you away from some of the holiday-themed tracks below. I’ll even recommend a couple. Today’s Pick Your Poison delights include tracks from Dani Shay, David Bronson, E4RTH, Fitz & the Tantrums, Mitzi, Pascal Pinion and Sunglasses. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), please enjoy streaming songs from And So I Watch You From Afar, Jamaican Queens, Jonti, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s remix of Sky Ferreira, as well as something new from STRFKR.

Brothers – We Are Pushing On

Dani Shay – Let It Snow

David Bronson – Momentary

Digits – Last Trip (ft. Au Palais)

E4RTH – It’s the End of the World as We Know It (R.E.M. cover)

Fitz & the Tantrums – Santa Stole My Lady

Greg Boring – Fine Find Fined

Mitzi – All I Heard

ON AN ON – The Hunter (The Hood Internet Remix)

Pascal Pinon: Þerney (One Thing)

Poppy Ackroyd – Seven

Steelwells – Charles Brown (Christmas Time Is Here)

Sunglasses – Blessing

Unlike Pluto – Icicle Engineer

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Albums of 2012 [#40-31]

By Faronheit

On 12/18/2012

In best albums 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, music

Okay, we’ve made it to Day #2 of this Top 50 Albums countdown. Yesterday’s opening set of ten featured some incredible records from the likes of The Walkmen, Jack White, The Smashing Pumpkins and Hot Chip, among others. Go check that out and learn more if you’re interested. As this list gets closer and closer to #1 of course, the titles only get better. This set has got a lot of really interesting genres covered, including psychedelia, folk, R&B, garage rock and even a touch of hip hop. There’s one truly weird entry on here as well, because sometimes you can’t put a genre label on something great. Anyways, there’s lots to love and even more on the way tomorrow. Slip past the jump to check out all that’s going on today though with #40-31!

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 12-18-12

By Faronheit

On 12/18/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s one of the final new music release Tuesdays of the year, and if you thought things were thin before, just wait until you see this list. Artists releasing something new this week include Bell Gardens, Blur, Burial, Chief Keef and Mazzy Star. There’s a handful of reissues and deluxe editions that are out today too, and because I don’t usually include them, I will also not include them this time. I’ll be much more excited to tell you about new records once we get past this December lull and into the mid-January wake up from hibernation. Until then, please enjoy some fresh tracks as part of today’s Pick Your Poison. Don’t miss mp3s from Circle, Kate Nash (as remixed by CSS), Kid Flicks, Man the Change, Sophia Bastian and Work Drugs. In the Soundcloud section (located after the jump), stream new tracks from EELS, London Grammar and Sun Glitters, among other delights.

Circle – 1 2 3 Faux Leopard

Goldfish – Woman’s a Devil (Ducked Ape Remix)

The Heartbreaks – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Kate Nash – Death Proof (CSS Remix)

Kendrick Lamar – Bitch Dont Kill my Vibe (Moduloktopus ReTwerk Bootleg)

Kid Flicks – The Dirty Utopians

KYLE – Silver Platter

Man the Change – Val Killed Her

Maximum Hedrum – Keep in Touch (N.A.S.A. Art of Boogie Remix)

MVTH – Fuck

Slowwave – Paper Doll

Sophia Bastian – Breaking

Work Drugs – Young Lungs

The xx – Last Christmas (Wham! cover, Live on Radio One)

Younolovebunny – Attention

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Albums of 2012 [#50-41]

By Faronheit

On 12/17/2012

In best albums 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, music

Welcome, friends, to The Big List. Well, any list that’s part of Listmas is big, but only one deserves the title of Big List. The Top 50 Albums is the most coveted of all lists, and when ancient historians look back upon this period of music, it is these lists they will consult. Or human life will cease to exist. We’re dealing with an impending Mayan apocalypse, people! As you may be able to tell by the photo above, I am trying to make this year’s Listmas very “End of the World” themed, though honestly if we don’t survive you’ll never live to see what my Top 10 Albums of the year are. We’re doing this Top 50 list over the course of the entire week, and I’ll reveal 10 new albums a day until we hit #1. So strap yourselves in, turn off your TV or any other distracting items, and prepare to learn a lot more about some of my favorite albums of 2012. Let’s get this ball rolling!

Pick Your Poison: Monday 12-17-12

By Faronheit

On 12/17/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Ah, the week before Christmas. Do you have all your shopping done yet? If you’re like me, which I’m sure many of you are, the shopping doesn’t REALLY begin until this week. I don’t blame myself for procrastinating, rather I blame everyone I’m buying gifts for because they’re all so indecisive. I ask at the beginning of December what they want, and then they toss out a few ideas, change their mind, and finally settle on something during this last week. I’ve been burned enough times to know that the earlier I shop, the more likely it is I won’t get the right gift. And it is about getting the right gift for the right person. So once I’ve got all that squared away and am able to get an official commitment from friends and family, I’ll map out a shopping plan and get most if not all of my shopping taken care of in a single day. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Long lines and frustrated shoppers aren’t for me, save for one day or two a year, and I’d like to think that makes everyone a little saner. By the way, did you happen to catch my Top 50 Songs of 2012 as I unveiled them last week? In case you missed it, you can go here to check out all the fun, post by post. I’ve also created a Spotify playlist for the Top 50 Songs in order, not to mention an alphabetically ordered playlist of 50 songs I consider to be “Runners Up”. Together those 100 tracks add up to over 6 hours of music, every bit of which is excellent in some way, shape or form. You probably won’t be in love with every song like I am, but I do hope you’re able to discover something new and great that you may have missed earlier this year. Of course you could also miss something new and great by skipping a day of Pick Your Poison, so don’t do that either. Today’s highlights include tracks from The Antlers (as re-imagined by Brent Arnold), Blackfeet Braves, Laura Warshauer (doing a Christmas classic), Sin Fang and Ellie Herring’s remix of Social Studies. In the Soundcloud section (located after the jump), there’s a bunch of new and great songs from Marnie Stern, Parquet Courts, Wavves, Widowspeak and William Tyler.

A. Chal – Dirty Mouth

The Antlers ft. Brent Arnold – Empty Castles (No Windows Refracted)

Ash Reiter – I’ve Got Something I Can Laugh About

Blackfeet Braves- Vicious Cycle

Dog Bite – Forever, Until

My Gold Mask – Violet Eyes (Alex Zelenka Remix)

Harness Flux – Stockholders

Hayden – Old Dreams

Laura Warshauer – Deck the Halls

Passion Pit – Carried Away (The Golden Pony Remix)

Sin Fang – Young Boys

Social Studies – Terracur (Ellie Herring Remix)

Songs for Walter – Moon/Two Out of Ten

Swim – Ride (Turbo Turbo Remix)

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Songs of 2012 [#10-1]

By Faronheit

On 12/14/2012

In best songs 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, mp3, music

Here it is, friends. My Top 10 Songs of 2012. I’m so intensely excited to be telling you all about these tracks that meant so much to me this past year. I like to think that these songs encompass the full spectrum of emotions and beauty that I felt over the course of 2012, which was arguably the most difficult year of my adult life so far. So many people I know that died, so many that got married, so many that got sick, and so many that lost (and later found) jobs. It was a whirlwind of happiness, sadness, celebration and grief. At the start of every year, I consciously hope that everything will turn out for the best, and that it will be 12 months of a joyful high. That’s what we all want in our lives – a pure sense of contentedness. But as many will tell you, the highs seem that much higher when you’ve also experienced your fair share of lows. While I’m looking back on 2012 with a sense of disappointment and regret, the lights are most definitely burning brighter for 2013. With that belief and that hope, let me tell you in greater detail about 10 songs that held me close in the bad times, brought me higher in the good times, and made me feel like a champion even as my world was crumbling around me. These are my Top 10 Songs of 2012.

Pick Your Poison: Friday 12-14-12

By Faronheit

On 12/14/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

While most weekends of December can be considered holiday party weekends, I think this upcoming weekend takes the cake for having the most going on. You don’t have to be attending a holiday party, but hopefully you were invited to one. A popular choice is the Ugly Christmas Sweater party, where everyone breaks out their novelty knitted holiday sweaters and wears them for the one time each year. Personally I don’t own a Christmas sweater because I refuse to own a piece of clothing that’s only wearable 1-2 times a year. Hypothetically you could wear an ugly Christmas sweater as many times as you wanted to, but why would you? Well, unless you’re the sort of person that doesn’t find them ugly. There’s a market for them somewhere, I guess, otherwise people would stop making them. The point being, I hope you have fun at a party this weekend. In my opinion, you earned it. Now then, let’s take care of this Pick Your Poison business for Friday. I’ll recommend tracks from Bear Ceuse, Judy Kang, Midnight Spin, Monster Rally, They Might Be Giants, and Hugsnotdrugs’ remix of Crystal Castles. As for the Soundcloud section, I’m just going to go ahead and recommend every single track in there. It’s a really damn good set today. Have a great weekend!

Bear Ceuse – Entertain Me

Cloud Boat – I Left for a Reason (It Escapes Me Now)

Crystal Castles – Pale Flesh (Hugsnotdrugs Remix)

EEEK! – Tough Guys

Judy Kang – You

Midnight Spin – Lion Run

Monarchy – Disintegration ft. Dita Von Teese (Mighty Mouse Remix)

Monster Rally – The Wolf

OH!Hello – MURDA

Paradise – Psychic Returns (Piano Version)

Rhian Sheehan – Little Sines

The Sky Drops – Christmas Time Is Here

They Might Be Giants – Call You Mom

A Tribe Called Red – Trap Heat

Vaticans – Out of the Fold (Silent Rider Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 12-13-12

By Faronheit

On 12/13/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

How are you enjoying Listmas so far? I’ve been posting my Top 50 Songs of 2012 all week this week, and we’re nearing the finish line on that. It’s really good and fun stuff, and I invite you to check it out, especially if you’ve arrived on this page specifically to look at this post you’re reading now. Sure, there are some good songs in today’s Pick Your Poison, including ones from Benbrick, Brooms, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Record Summer, The Wonder Revolution and The Soft Moon’s remix of How to destroy angels_. Sure, there are some good audio streams too from The Night and Why? and Com Truise’s remix of Everything Everything. But the only place you’ll hear the absolute best songs of this year are in the posts directly adjacent to this one. So please check it out, I’m really proud of this list and think there’s so much in it to listen to and fall in love with. If you’re going to start somewhere, start here. Thanks!

The 1975 – You (Andrea Remix)

Ab-Soul – Only 1

Benbrick – What We Run To

Brooms – Barracuda Belly

China Rats – To Be Like I

How to destroy angels_ – Ice age (The Soft Moon Remix)

Jon DeRosa – O Holy Night

Minttu & Olli – Don Juhani

Oneohtrix Point Never – Blue Drive

Para One – When the Night (Amtrac Remix)

The Record Summer – Brighton

Two Door Cinema Club – Sleep Alone (Math Bishop Remix)

The Wonder Revolution – Invisible Until

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Songs of 2012 [#20-11]

By Faronheit

On 12/13/2012

In best songs 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, mp3, music

As we drift ever closer to the finale of these Top 50 Songs of 2012, let me tell you a bit about what these next ten songs have going on for themselves thematically speaking. There’s a couple R&B love songs, a couple synth pop love songs, about three songs that are unfiltered and angry as they get, and a couple mellower, more relaxed moments. The key thing they all have in common is passion, whether it be for another person, against another person or for life in general. Not everything in this set will likely please you, but if you can discover something new and enjoyable out of this set, I hope you’ll find it worthwhile anyways. For more, let me encourage you to check out the other songs that have been covered on this list so far. Click for:
#50-41
#40-31
#30-21

Listmas 2012: The Top 50 Songs of 2012 [#30-21]

By Faronheit

On 12/12/2012

In best songs 2012, listmas, listmas 2012, lists, mp3, music

Today’s set of ten as part of this Top 50 list cuts right through the middle, but this is the point where I think we really start to hit the meat and potatoes section. Not that the songs that came before it in #50-41 or #40-31 were bad by any means, but as the numbers get lower I get more excited to write about these songs. I genuinely hope you’re enjoying this list so far, and there’s two more days to go until we finally hit #1! For now, please enjoy my Top 50 Songs of 2012, #30-21.