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
20. Purity Ring – Fineshrine
To me, “Fineshrine” takes all of the best things about Purity Ring and condenses them into a single song. The lyrics are extremely body-centric, a running theme across the band’s debut Shrines, and the beats are warped, chopped and screwed hip hop style. It’s not the most fun song in the world, and it’s a bit slow, but it’s a very compelling and strikingly catchy track that kind of sneaks up on you when you least expect it.
[Spotify] [MP3] [Soundcloud] [YouTube]
19. Kendrick Lamar – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe
I could have chosen any number of tracks from Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city for this list, but none actually spoke to me more than “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” I suppose I relate to the track quite well, as it centers around an introvert who’s worried that the haters and critics out there might prevent him from making uncompromising art that’s true to himself. When you let others affect the way you create, it kills the independent spirit. It’s a far cry from most tracks about “haters,” which often come off as childish and narcissistic.
[Spotify] [YouTube]
18. Chromatics – Kill for Love
It starts with the twinkling of some synths, then Ruth Radelet comes in on vocals. “Everybody’s got a secret to hide. Everyone is slipping backwards,” she sings in a very sobering yet mysterious way. It pulls you in to a tale of pills, murder and the subsequent getaway. Bono sang of pride in the name of love. This is murder in the name of love, and rarely has it sounded so attractive, compelling and catchy.
[Spotify] [MP3] [Soundcloud] [YouTube]
17. Death Grips – I’ve Seen Footage
Virtually every song from Death Grips is a white knuckle ride through the most dangerous territory imagineable. One of the absolute thrills in listening to them is how vaguely threatening everything can sound, even when it’s as simple as viewing a video. Then again, certain videos have been known to terrorize individuals, to the point where you wish you hadn’t seen said footage. This song makes it sound like it’s made of pure nightmare, which only makes it more compelling.
[Spotify] [MP3] [Soundcloud] [YouTube]
16. Miguel – Adorn
If you want to hear a real, honest to goodness love song this year, “Adorn” is pretty much what you have to go for. It so ably captures the excitement felt for somebody in the midst of a budding relationship that it makes you either appreciate what you have that much more, or yearn for something similar. Miguel’s vocals soar, and his falsetto strikes at just the right time. It’s not a fancy song, nor is it tremendously original, but in the right hands (as it is here) it doesn’t need to be.
[Spotify] [Soundcloud] [YouTube]
15. Sleigh Bells – Demons
One of the most interesting things about Sleigh Bells’ second record Reign of Terror was how it turned a no-nonsense party band into something deeper, darker and more metal-inspired. “Demons” in particular is an homage to heavy metal, without actually falling into the tropes and miserabilia that tends to define the genre. Is there such a thing as pop-metal? If there is, this song fits that definition to a T, and that’s awesome.
[Spotify] [YouTube]
14. Jessie Ware – Wildest Moments
Here’s another unabashed R&B love song, like a couple others on this list, but with a slight Jessie Ware twist. It’s a beautiful song from an instrumental perspective, and Ware’s vocals command every second of it like she’s got something to lose. Of course in effect she does, as the screws get turned a bit in the chorus, moving from, “We could be the greatest,” to “We could be the worst of all.” Sometimes you hope for the best, and everything goes horribly wrong. Thankfully, this song fulfills every promise it makes.
[Spotify] [YouTube]
13. Chairlift – Met Before
First and foremost: have you seen the interactive music video for this song yet? It may be my favorite video of 2012. Fun, fantastic and endlessly creative, just like the song itself. As with many songs on Chairlift’s Something, “Met Before” is a bouncy synth pop track. It feels like it belongs in the ’80s, and one of the best/most exciting things about it is how it utterly refuses to hold anything back, soaring to anthem status even as it may be too timid for that anyways. It succeeds on its own terms, which is all you can ask of it.
[Spotify] [Soundcloud] [YouTube]
12. Spiritualized – Hey Jane
Clocking in at almost nine minutes, this is the second longest song you’ll find on this Top 50 list. What “Hey Jane” is able to accomplish over that lengthy period of time is nothing short of impressive, holding a strong tempo and containing multiple interesting shifts and curveballs on its way to a gospel-like finish in true Spiritualized style. Why this song is so good rests largely on the shoulders of Jason Pierce, who brings an emotional center to the track, through which the instruments then follow along to add another layer of complexity that refuses to hold back.
[Spotify] [Soundcloud] [YouTube]
11. Cloud Nothings – Wasted Days
By complete coincidence, this song is three seconds shorter than “Hey Jane,” meaning it’s almost nine minutes as well. But let me tell you what makes “Wasted Days” just a little bit more compelling of a track. It’s a bracing and briskly paced punk rock track from the start. A few minutes in, the verses and the hooky chorus make their graceful exit to make way for an intense instrumental complete with noodling guitar solos and build-ups towards something bigger. When Dylan Baldi’s vocals finally return at the end, he screams the previously familiar refrain, “I thought I would be more than this,” with such intensity you expect this train to fully come off the tracks. Somehow it holds together, and makes for one of the most cathartic listening experiences you can have in 2012. Leave your rage here.
[Spotify] [Soundcloud (Live Version)] [YouTube]
