Some Thoughts on the Music of 2012 

Looking through my iTunes and Spotify playlists, I've been starting to cobble together some thoughts on the best (or at least most interesting music) in 2012. This is just a sampling of this year. It's been a pretty good one, with at least a couple big albums left. (These links go through Amazon, so if you buy any of them there, I make like 4 cents. Just sayin'.)

The Heist -- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
This album caught me by surprise. It's most notable song is the marriage equality anthem "Same Love", which is a) awesome, and b) a surprisingly coherent argument for marriage equality (or at least pointing out that there's no reason to be against it. But this album also has two ridiculously fun songs in "Can't Hold Us" and "Thrift Shop".

Delta Spirit -- Delta Spirit
Every time Delta Spirit put out an album, I remember how great they are. Then I see them live and really remember how great they are. Awesomely fun live band, and this album is full of great songs. It moves a bit more into the straight rock area, out of the folk-rock world, but for the most part, it works. The best example is "Empty House".

"Myth" -- Beach House
This song won me over the first time I heard it. I'm not sure why, but it just gets in your head and never leaves.

Correct Behavior -- Eternal Summers
Somehow, I'd never head of this band. Then I think I heard a couple of tracks on KEXP and NPR, and I had to seek them out. Some rock, female lead singer, and a driving beat. Always works for me. Always. "Millions" and "Wonder" lead off the album and are two of the best songs of the year.

Shut Down the Streets -- A.C. Newman
Probably the premier writer of good pop/rock music (like The Beach Boys and Beatles used to make), this new album draws even closer to that sound. It sounds like that album from the 70s that you pull out and listen to and wonder why bands don't sound this good any more. Backing vocals by Neko Case on a bunch of songs just make it sound all that much better. "I'm Not Talking" is a brooding 70s-style song, with "Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns" a much more typical A.C. Newman/New Pornographers track.