A Year in Music - 2012

With no rhyme or reason, I get to tell you of my top music pics of the past year - both album and song.

As with the other similar entries over the previous years, I don't hold myself to a number of songs or disks, as sometimes you just can't get a good 5 or 10 out of the bunch....and I'm not just listing to list.

In reality, I should keep a running list of things I've heard / seen during the year, but I don't. Looking through my iTunes doesn't necessarily help if I haven't purchased it.

And while I almost never listen to radio, it was hard to escape Sia and some DJ (?), whose name I don't remember and too lazy to look up, with their "Titanium" song, which I liked.

There is no real order to my actual choices, and some you've seen in the My Music Monday selections - but not all of them.

As it turns out, I have one album of the year with no runners-up and I have six individual songs, not really "singles"  ....again, in no real particular order.

SONGS


While technically Gotye's song was released in July of 2011, it didn't really get noticed until 2012 in the U.S.  You can say it was overplayed (it was) and there were too many mixes and remixes (there were), but you know, when it comes down to it, the original version has not bored me. 2,491,073 plays this year alone (ok, I'm totally making up that number estimating!) and I still like it.


Aimee Mann had some fun videos from her Charmer disk this year, and actually released her strongest album in a few tries. But it was a non-video track that really scored for me on this disk - a duet with the Shins' lead singer, James Mercer.


Perfume Genius' "Hood" is actually one of my favourite songs of this year.  Less than two minutes in length, it's simply put together, a little raw and yet keeps me coming back to it.  The video is interesting, but not as interesting as the song - and that's really what it's about, no?


I'd never heard of the Presets (before or since) and while the video is nice, it is the song I like. Save for the internets, I've only heard it one other place - once.  ...and that was a few weeks ago when I was working out with my cousin.


If you're looking something different from the Killers, this isn't the song - but it's not bad in that niche they've carved out. It's still good for working out - not that I've been able to lift of spin without too much pain, but IF I could...this goes on my iPod shuffle.


Shawn Colvin had a very very spotty disk that was released in June. Oddly enough her strongest song was not written by her, or even on her own album. Colvin participated in a tribute to Guy Clark and recorded his "All She Wants is You".  Actually, it's her strongest recording in almost a decade!


ALBUM

I purchased a few disks over this year, but you know, I hate to say it, I don't listen to full albums the way I used to. That art form is waning and to that degree, I miss either longer drives in which do listen in that fashion or just vinyl albums.  Or both.

Aimee Mann wins for her release of Charmer back in September.

While I gave it an ok review back then, the disk continued to grow on me.  Yes, there are a few songs to skip over, but the disk works as a cohesive piece - even with the weaker links, but I'm still liking the title track, the song referenced above as well as "Soon Enough", "Crazytown", and "Gamma Ray".

That is what I have for 2012 in terms of music.  Hopefully there will be good music selections headed our way in 2013.