Favorite Songs of 2012

For me 2012 was the most highly anticipated year in terms of new music in recent memory.  New albums from my all-time favorite band Smashing Pumpkins, three of my favorite artists – Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Cat Power, as well as the release of the MTV unplugged album from Florence + The Machine, and even albums from new and old favorites such as Ben Folds Five, The Shins, and Mumford & Sons.  Heck, even Bob Dylan got into the act with a new album.  And even with all of that my two favorite albums of the year were by artists I hadn’t even heard of before 2012 – My Head Is an Animal, the debut album from Of Monsters and Men and the self-titled debut album from The Lumineers.

Note that I still haven’t had a chance to give the Smashing Pumpkins album the listen it deserves (so no songs below); I’m afraid that any new music from the band will ruin my teenage memories of the songs I loved.  I’ll try to do that in 2013 because while 2012 was an awesome year for new music, as of right now the only thing on the horizon that excites me for 2013 is the potential new album from Pearl Jam.

So with all of that as an introduction, to close out the year I’d like to present my favorite new music of 2012.  Many of the blogs I read are where I go to get recommendations for anything from music to movies to books, so consider this my gift to you.  I couldn’t decide between a top ten list and a more exclusive top five list, so of course I settled for a top seven (we’ll call it the baker’s half-dozen). 

Looking for something to do with that new i-Tunes gift card that you recently received as a gift?  Here are my favorite new songs of 2012: 

7) “Manhattan” by Cat Power – I still prefer the simpler piano and voice Cat Power, so Sun might not be my favorite of her albums, but I do really enjoy this song.

6) “Small Town Moon” by Regina Spektor – all of her music is fun, including this one, the best off What We Saw from the Cheap Seats.

5) “Laura” by Bat for Lashes – it sounds a little cliché, but this song is just haunting and beautiful.

4) ”Something Good” by Alt-J – their debut album (An Awesome Wave) is a darling of the alternative crowd and is definitely unique, but for whatever reason my favorite songs on the album are the less popular ones (at least in terms of i-Tunes popularity), with this one being the stand out.

3) “Werewolf” by Fiona Apple – everything Miss Apple produces takes time for me to warm up to, and then each album succeeds in replacing the previous as my favorite.  I have a suspicion that The Idler Wheel Is Wiser . . . (the full title is 23 words long – yes, seriously) will also be a challenge, but at the very least Fiona has wowed me with this song.

2) “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men – the whole album is incredible and I could pick several songs for this list, but if I’m being honest my favorite is still “Little Talks”, even if it’s verging on being overplayed (movie trailers, commercials, etc., etc.)  I thought this would end up as my favorite album of the year until . . .

1) “Stubborn Love” by The Lumineers – I love this album and the only danger is that I will tire of it on the one thousandth listen.  The band’s hit “Ho Hey” is everywhere and it’s fantastic, but my two favorites are “Submarines” and this one, my favorite new song of the year.