2012: The Top 100 Best Songs: Part III (#41--#60)

Part III...



41. Ruin (Cat Power):

Chan Marshall returns with a more inebriated take on heartbreak and the slurred vocal work propels her art to an even higher purpose.





42. Jasmine (Jai Paul):

combining the best elements of The Weeknd and D’angelo, Jai Paul presents a delicious slice of urban R&B…music that gets heads and mid-sections moving.






43. Everything Is Embarrassing (Sky Ferreira):

a modern, lush take opn the groove-laden 1980s, suffused with modern techniques and chops. A real winning effort.






44. Hov Lane (Nicki Minaj):

though she hovers imperiously as a sideshow on other people’s albums, Minaj rarely is a huge force on her own work. Here though, the bad bitch label finally fits snugly. It’s shade on Lil Kim too.





45. Do My Thing (Estelle feat. Janelle Monae):

a disappointing album by the Brit but you know whenever Janelle Monae crashes a party she’s gonna rock the hell out of it and that’s the case with this track.






46. Floating Spit (Perfume Genius):

taking a page literally out of Bon Iver’s page, Hadreas goes all soft and 1980s with this tender ballad full of rich, reflective references.





47. Sweet Life (Frank Ocean):

the soulful Sweet Life (‘why see the world/ when you’ve got the beach…’) achieves a stunning, complex thing with its piano-drenched composition. What sells it so convincingly though is Ocean’s gorgeous vocal work as it expands to heights his Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape didn’t hint at last year.





48. Only in My Dreams (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti):

the pervasive guitars and the fairy dust spread to cover the flinty vocals, all copulate into a wonderful marriage convenience.





49. Chasin’ Papers (Curren$y feat. Pharrell):

sampling Cat Stevens’ Wild World, Curren$y grabs Pharrell for a predictable yet silky smooth ride…the type where groupies reign supreme.





50. Roman Holiday (Nicki Minaj):

as she continues to delve deeper into an alto ego, Minaj remains hit or miss but here on the title track she finds a seamless middle-ground.






51. Hit & Run (King Tuff):

those 1970s guitar riffs are delightful on the ears!






52. Atlas (Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny) :

a stunning, schizophrenic ballad that perfectly captures the rollicking fun Houghton has wrapped up inside.





53. Soul Killing (The Ting Tings):

veering dangerously close into Robyn territory, The Ting Tings dish out an infectious electro-pop number that works on the whimsical level.






54. Big Mistake (Anthony Green):

a track either about sleeping pills or some cool hallucinatory drug, Green is plush into that happy, hippy vibe derived by any such sedative and he sure sounds at peace.





55. How Many Drinks (Miguel):

a stuttering bluesy offering that lays it heavy on the charm and alcohol, Miguel smartly overdubs the vocals while piling on layers of heavy bass…all in a mighty effort to pick up a call girl.





56. Amanita (Animal Collective):

drops guitars and a wailing Tare…a combination that always wins. No electronic odes to their families or teenage lives here, just sonic explorations of a current state of mind.





57. Blue Jeans (Lana del Rey):

the way del Rey sweeps her lips over her words reminds one immediately of Fiona Apple and Blue Jeans is the best of her pouty insistence.






58. L8TR (Azealia Banks):

(‘if it ain’t about a dollar/ I’m a holla at cha later’) her love-for-money grab, replete with fantastic verses that cut harder than any other female rapper now.





59. & It Was U (How To Dress Well):

a stunning retro early 90s pop-funk fusion that shows the real potency of the band: merging different styles into one impressive groove.





60. Bitter Tears (Rufus Wainright):

a stunning textbook for all male pop vocalists to follow, to see how melody can be manipulated with sound to form one huge heart-felt crest.

2012: The Top 100 Best Songs: Part II (#61--#80)

Part two...


61. Losing You (Solange Knowles):

penned by the genius Devonte Hynes, “Losing You” is at once playful yet modern in the way Solange phrases it. It reminds one instantly of Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”…just much better.




62. Sidewalk Safari (Chairlift):

a brilliant pop gem, peppered with lovely reverb on chorus. The duo uses many studio tricks here, including a looping spoken-word section that all works wondrously.




63. Unless You Speak from Your Heart (Porcelain Raft):

a brilliant chillwave track that juxtaposes its flourishes with a captivating chorus.




64. The Neighborhood (Female Robbery):

the strains of trip-hop can be heard within the mix of paranoia and fear. The backing vocals mix in at just the right level.





65. Vowels=Space & Time (Grimes):

when she brings fierceness to vocals to match her beats then that’s when she can trip out into a whole other galaxy…taking us on the ride of a lifetime in her own interpretation of R&B.





66. Weekend In The Dust (David Byrne & St. Vincent):

two critical faves getting together to rock the house isn’t new but the mixture here is remarkable fresh and inviting.






67. Thinking ‘bout You (Frank Ocean):

when he croons, ‘do you think about me still/ or do you not think so far ahead?, it achieves a tender affect. Like The Weeknd, Ocean is leading the new wave R&B school of young men who are looking past R. Kelly-esque frankness to connect to something far more significant: love.






68. Heartbeat (Childish Gambino):

crunching on Kanye West-like synths and reflections on a relationship and its cultural significance, Bambino proves that he’s slowly growing up.





69. Apple of My Eye (Big Boi):

a somewhat subdued affair but beneath its silkiness lies real skill.






70. I Ain’t The Same (Alabama Shakes):

Brittany Howard could wrench soul from an empty bottle or even one she’s just drained to drown her sorrows in. Simply, she’s untouchable.





71. Manic (Azari & III):

a retro yet totally slamming camp classic, both guys know how to hold the groovy notes at just the right intervals to snap their fierceness into it.





72. Mutual Core (Bjork):

crunching happily away with her apps and voila; a masterpiece!





73. Come to the City (The War on Drugs):

seamless work of art.






74. Liquorice (Azealia Banks):

the vanity track from her EP, it’ll be the track that will give the likes of Missy Elliott nightmares because now they’ll have to dig deeper.





75. Call Me (Kimbra):

a jazzy texture sprinkles throughout Kimbra’s delivery of a standard pop tune. The genius move was to fizzle out the lyrics as well and the result is utterly beautiful.





76. Green (Paul Weller):

surprisingly funky and soulful at the same time, Weller dyes the grays behind his ears and gets to shaking up his middle-aged booty and invites us to as well.





77. Destiny (John Talabot feat. Pional):

Spanish dance producer Talabot clearly believes in the laws of delayed gratification because he presents this track with a slow build into one big great climax.






78. Bodies (Pale Seas):

the heavy guitars flood the senses amid nostalgia…bringing one back to a more innocent time but it’s a modern complexity present.





79. Untitled (Killer Mike feat. Scar):

from the first beat hits, you know a treat awaits you as Killer Mike sets up a lush vanity fair project which Scar adds some lovely soul touches. .





80. Port of Morrow (The Shins):

a quiet, guitar-crunching return from the band. Employing a haze-induced vocal makes wonders occur as well as the dreamy soundscapes.

2012: The Top 100 Best Songs: Part I (#81--#100)

It's been an interesting year for singles but even more so for non-singles. This list is for all album tracks because as we all know, sometimes the best songs aren't the singles--thank you Frank Ocean.

Here the countdown begins with the first 20 songs:






81. Hot Knife (Fiona Apple):

‘he excites me’ yells Apple over a piano-laced riff and you get excited because it, especially when her sister Maude joins her on the sublime vocal workout that is the chorus.




82. Survival Tactics (Joey Badass feat. Capt. Steez):

the kid is only 17 but yet cutting teeth hard on mean riffs and the project life. Imagine the next ten years.




83. Authentic Pyrrhic Remission (Of Montreal):

through his constant questioning of identity though, Barnes never fails to connect to this weird, cool space.



84. The Full Retard (El-P):

the stand-out on his new album swerves unpredictable from a gorgeous groove into some astute lyricism and a weird spoken word section and a sample from late friend Camu Tao.




85. Bang (Rye Rye feat. M.I.A):

her style grates but Rye Rye hits the mark here even with the curious phrase “come catch up”. M.I.A wisely puts in a subtle supporting role.




86. Do The Trick (Dr. Dog):

breaching Vampire Weekend territory, the band pummels out this romper so easily that it makes one wonder how come they hadn’t strayed down this path before.




87. King of the World (First Aid Kit):

a vivid, lush folk masterpiece replete with flute and stunning lines that highlight loss and wanton emptiness that afflicts so many singers.




88.

Rosie Oh (Animal Collective): our favourite indie band returns with a trippy, water-logged dash of brilliance that reminds of their fantastic previous project.



89. Smear the Queen (Xiu Xiu):

Jaime Stewart sings about ‘the horror, the horror’, in a tale of gay bashing yet, keeping in mind his twisted sense of pain, he also retells the discovery of finding his hands in someone else’s stretch-pants. It’s kinky but that’s what he does best




90. Petition (Tennis):

the bounciness of the tune shows much variety from Tennis and the celebrated style continues right up to the end with flourish. Good stuff.




91. Do Ya Thing (Gorillaz feat. James Murphy & Andre 3000):

that this trio actually recording a track was the stuff of dreams already but here the reality is even better than any fan could have hoped for.




92. You Know You Like It (AlunaGeorge):

while The Weeknd has been busy reinventing 90s R&B, George becomes his female counterpart with this heavy Mary J. Blige-ish effort that grooves for days.




93. The Hours (Beach House):

with the band ones know what to expect as well as what you’ll get and The Hours is no different: a lovely, psychedelic reel of greatness.




94. Towers (Bon Iver):

continuing his pastoral glee, Vernon turns his fiddling passion into a smooth flow juxtaposed to that trademark falsetto and peppers crashing horns everywhere.




95. I’m Not Talking (A.C. Wonder):

the heavy sentiment wrapped into pop perfection and infectious beats remains his trademark and yet again we have a winner.




96. U & Me & Everyone We Know (Jean Grae):

an unusual turn for the rapper but she pulls it off with the weariness and sheer poetry of her lyrics. From the school of hard-knocks yet she rises.



97. Born To Lose (Sleigh Bells):

the distorted, loud guitar riffs are back and this time Sleigh Bells have taken a delicious turn with Born to Lose, incorporating a host of motor sounds to the mix. Alexis Krauss seamlessly works her vocals into the frame instead of dividing attention.



98. I Am What I Am (Spiritualzed):

a swirling mess of thunderous guitars and lyrical bravado that’s lacking for the rest of the album all turn up here for one big, grand statement.



99. Ave Maria (Imani Coppola):

laid back but the crunchy guitars absolutely sell the song, no matter the simplicity involved of this black chick wondering if her lover is gay or European.



100. Time (Nomad Carlos):

one of the new local hip/hop artists emerging into the mainstream, Carlos goes retro and still finds at interesting combination of grooves and lyrical content.