It's a song that sounds distinctly Passion Pit for the first few seconds, before bringing in some massive kick drums and cymbals and sounding distinctly un-Passion Pit, except for the signature synths over the top. The rhythm here is propulsive. "Take a Walk" introduces what might be the most straightforward lyrical song that Passion Pit has written, a song about immigrants following the American Dream™, straight into losing your money in the stock market, feigning that you still have that money, and refusing to accept any help the system might offer.
Certainly a timely (and timeless) message and it's a sad story that undercuts a song that is destined to end up on loads of workout mixes for the next couple of years.
Passion Pit (as an extension of Michael Angelakos) might be the band that most easily tiptoes the line between straight up dance music and rock, and "Take a Walk" might be the best example of that.
Back in early June, I was probably in my car driving around to do errands on a weekend, when I listened to my normal weekend listening: KEXP's Music That Matters podcast. This particular podcast was a summer pop podcast, with a bunch of great tracks—Allo Darlin', Langhorne Slim (who nearly made this list), and one song from a band I'd not heard of before: Eternal Summers.
It's such a perfect little garage pop song, coming in at under 3 minutes. Drums and bass kicking up a quick beat, a guitar ripping off a repetitive riff that sticks in your head, and a cello (or violin?) augmenting the sound in the chorus and bridge. Topping it off is Nicole Yun's vocals that just float on top of the song.
I'm a sucker for perfect pop songs. This is a pretty perfect pop song.
It's March, and you show up early to a concert, not knowing the opening band. You're shocked to see the place much fuller than you'd expect, and with a bunch of folks obviously way, way into the band. The band on stage is not one you'd necessarily be into, nor would you expect to see them opening for the band you're there to see (the Kaiser Chiefs). They've got glow in the dark facepaint, and a heavy dose of synths, and a fanbase that probably knows Bieber more than Kaiser.
But … each song you hear is catchier than the last. You find yourself tapping along to each song, then swaying along, then bouncing along.
Pretty soon, you're texting your tardy fellow concert goers that they should try to get there soon, because the band on stage is pretty good.
The band finishes up the set with "Anna Sun", one of the absolute catchiest songs you'll ever hear, a song that does pretty much everything exactly right. Infectious melody and chorus, shimmery guitars, driving drum beat and bass, all building to a big sing along chorus.
Finally, you then spend the next few weeks playing the song over and over again on Spotify and embarrassingly telling everyone you've heard the song of the year.
Turns out it was the seventh best song of the year. But it's still pretty awesome.
You'll often hear about Bruce Springsteen as the hardest working man in show business (which was probably inherited from James Brown). In a few years, I think that mantle might be passed onto Delta Spirit.
Delta Spirit tours, and they tour relentlessly. This year, they were touring on their newest album (their third, which was, oddly, self-titled). We saw them three times in Boston this year. And each and every time, they seemingly played with as much energy as if it was the only show of the tour. Google around for Delta Spirit live review. You'll find lots of links like this one. No one goes home not getting their money's worth.
Setting aside their ridiculously good live performances, their on-disc (on bit? on byte?) performances are stellar. And no song, I think, represents the storytelling, lyricism, and musicianship of Delta Spirit than "Empty House". Starting with the guitars fading in, heading right into the beginning of the this quintessentially Springsteenian song about a working man caught up in the world of not having money and maybe scraping by on the less legal side. Then the drums kick in, and the song hits a higher gear.
This song really captures Delta Spirit's essence, including Matthew Vasquez's singing (and a bit of his lyrical screaming), and you can tell that they would really just kick your ass playing this live.
So, if I told you the best American folk pop song of the year, wasn't by The Lumineers, but was instead by two college-aged Swedish sisters, would you believe me?
You should believe me, because First Aid Kit's The Lion's Roar isn't just a great folk/pop album, it's a great album period. And, the sort of break out song is "Emmylou", which is just this amazing song that gets into your head and doesn't leave. Harmonies, slide guitar, the wonderfully reverential chorus.
I think I listened to this song on Spotify a few hundred times before I said "man, I really like this song." It wasn't that I had to convince myself I liked "Emmylou", it's that it sounds like it's a song that's been around for 30 years, and you're sure you've heard it before. That's the sign of a perfect song.
I wasn't sure a sound could get more sparse than The xx's debut album and still be considered music.
Then, Coexist came out this year, and I found out I was wrong. There's so little energy here, that on many songs, you might wonder if the band went to sleep and just left a beat echoing. Which isn't to say it's bad, it's not; The xx make really great Sunday morning music, and make really great songs for someone else to come along and remix into something danceable.
That sparseness, that minimal instrumentation, though, is what makes "Angels" so heavy. These aren't just lyrics being sung, they're words pouring out of someone's heart. It's a song that, I can imagine, might be uncomfortable to actually see live. This isn't a sing-along, it's a confession.
Every year there are a few songs that I end up leaving off the top 10 list for one reason or another. Maybe it's the best song off of a great album, but it's just not quite my favorite. Maybe it's awesome, but didn't actually come out this year, so it would be cheating to add it. Maybe it's a song that I don't think is quite good enough to make the list, but I wanted to mention it for some personal or emotional reason. Or Maybe I'm just not discerning enough to really leave the song out of my list, so I use this as a cop out.
I've got five songs here that fit those reasons.
Regina Spektor - "All the Rowboats"
Regina Spektor's What We Saw From the Cheap Seats is really a great album. Loads of great piano-driven songs, often quite haunting.
"All the Rowboats" is the most haunting. It's a song superficially about the fine art in a museum, which shouldn't be the topic of a haunting song. But it is. Musically, it's got almost a horror movie feel to it, both with the piano and the drums (which I think are a combination of real drums and a drum machine and a voice).
I think "All the Rowboats" is probably also a precursor to a thread that winds through a lot of the music on this list in 2012: songs with interesting percussion. Keep that in mind as you listen to …
Fanfarlo - "Shiny Things"
Fanfarlo's sophomore album sounds very different on the surface from their first effort (which is an album that has only gotten better, I think). But it's really not that different. They're still singing these songs that are (mostly) about isolation and loneliness and none of those songs feel like they're about that.
Rooms Filled With Light replaced Reservoir's strings and woodwinds with more brass and synths and lots of really great little percussive touches. On "Shiny Things", it's the little wood block bits that punctuate the verses, followed by the build from this really quiet shimmery sound to when you hit the chorus, the big drum kicks that sort of drive the song home.
I was lucky enough to see Fanfarlo live a couple of times this year. You should do the same, if you get the chance.
The Lumineers - "Stubborn Love"
Every year, there's some folk-pop group that kind of blows up. Fleet Foxes. Mumford and Sons. Avett Brothers. The Lumineers.
I think their self-titled album had been out for a couple months when Amazon threw it up in a 99 cent album sale. I'd heard "Ho Hey" on an NPR or KEXP podcast, and figured "for 99 cents, what do I have to lose?"
It's a good album. It's got two great songs, "Ho Hey" and this one.
This reminds me a lot of Bon Iver from For Emma, Forever Ago. I'm not doing a great job of selling why this song made me so happy. I think it pushes all the little buttons that trigger the synapses in my brain to say "wow, I like this!" Strings, the call and response, sing-along chorus, it's just a fun song.
Nada Surf - "Teenage Dreams"
It wasn't until I'd seen this live a couple of times that it clicked. I don't think there's ever been a more upbeat, optimistic song, but you don't quite get that until you see Nada Surf play this, and they're happy and the crowd is happy, and you sort of go "Ok, I'm all in. You win."
Stephen Thompson of NPR put this album in his top 10 and I think he summarizes the band with the simple words that Nada Surf "may well be the world's least cynical band."
That pretty much sums it up.
This might be the world's least cynical song.
Tegan and Sara - "Closer"
The album doesn't come out for another month, which is why this is a cheat. Technically, this probably should be on the 2013 list, but whatever, it's my site.
This could easily have been a Robyn song, which I mean very much as a compliment. It's not a subtle song, at least lyrically. It's sort of a subtle song in that it sounds a bit like a song you would have heard in an '80s movie (when the nerds are restoring a rundown house, let's say).
This is the song that'll be pretty much running across all age groups and genres in the next few weeks. You'll hear it on the folky and alternative stations, due to Tegan and Sara's roots. You'll hear it right after Katy Perry. It'll be ubiquitous, and that'll be ok.
(I'm a few days late getting this going, so they'll probably be a couple of posts a day until I get caught up.)
Here we are, year six of my annual listing of my favorite songs of the year. Year S-I-X. I'm shocked I've made it this far, and shocked that anyone still reads it.
As with last year, both for my convenience (to not have to upload a bunch of music or find links to songs) and to make enough money to buy a postage stamp, I'm going to use Amazon's little MP3 clips player. If you like the song, click through, and a) listen to the song, or b) buy it.
The rules, as they are every year:
The song had to have been released on an album in 2012
One song per artist
That way, I don't end up with a list of three artists and it's boring for everyone.
Since I think it's a nice way for you to determine if you should bother to read the rest of my list, here are the links (and concise versions of) the previous year's lists.
Pig's Nose. Great name. It's a blended whisky (like the recently mention Johnnie Walker). It's got some weird flavors, and sort of a really heavy alcohol overtone. I may not have been in the right environment/mood to drink this, but I was very underwhelmed.
Still, who wouldn't want to say "Give me a Pig's Nose"?
A Bowmore 12 was the first Scotch I had where I "got" it. It's got a strong flavor, lots of peat and smoke and salt, and if you're not prepared, that might throw you off.
But, as you taste it, it's got all these other flavors. There's definitely some chocolate, and there's the fruitiness, and the medicinal flavors you get from a great Islay. This is one of my favorites from the whole calendar thus far. If you're looking to get my a Christmas (or New Year's, or December 28th) gift, this would be a winner.
It's a Highland whisky. The jury is out. I think I'd need to sip another few drams of this before I have any idea if I like it. It was not, on first drink, an easy Scotch to love.
As we near the last week of whiskies, we get a couple of you're more standard, accessible whiskies. We also get some more quick reviews, since I'm a few days behind.
Johnnie Walker is a blended whisky, and the Gold Label Reserve is sort of the midpoint of the Johnnie Walker offerings; it's more upscale than the Black Label, but not as high end as the Platinum or Blue Label. It's really very easy to drink. As Scotches go, this felt more like an Irish whiskey (really, it was almost as sweet as Jameson's).
Not something I'd drink regularly (I've really become a single-malt guy), but something I could see going to for a drink on a night out at a bar or something.
Ah, Wild Turkey. Reminds me of Saturday's and walking over to the stadium to watch some college football (where, coincidentally, our mascot was a turkey-esque bird).
There's some anise/liquorice flavor to this rye. I don't think I'm experienced enough drinking ryes to really tell them apart. I think I liked the Pikesville rye better. But this was good, and I'd love to have a bottle while tailgating.
