Tag Archives: best of 2012

(31) Days of Good: 12.31.12

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(31) Days of Good: 2012 has come to an end.  Between the huge amount of good music this year and a much needed vacation, I have once again failed to recognize everything 2012 had to offer.  Thanks to Spotify though, you can at least take a look at the 500+ tracks I believe to be the year’s best.  But before I close things out, I still need to talk about one more artist and track.  Frank Ocean’s channel Orange was my biggest surprise of the year.  I hate most RnB, but Ocean isn’t your typical RnB artist.  His lyrics are smart and his production is top notch.  He really is a one-of-a-kind artist, with huge crossover appeal.  Heck, even my wife like’s him, and she hates RnB more than I do.  So without further ado, my biggest surprise of 2012, followed by the (31) Days of Good: 2012 Spotify playlist.  Enjoy and Happy New Year.

 

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♩Frank Ocean – Lost [from channel Ocean]

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(31) Days of Good: 2012

(31) Days of Good: 12.29.12

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“‘Dreams So Real,’ which is one of the darkest, greatest things Metric has ever created. It’s one of the boldest musical choices on the album, fit with stripped down instrumentals and deceptively complex composition. This stripped down background works so well because Haines’s words are so honest. ‘Have I ever really helped anyone but myself?’ she asks.” (via Surviving the Golden Age)

Metric – Dreams So Real [from Synthetica] (stream on soundcloud)
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“‘Now that you’ve grown so wise / Use that head and stop to think a little / Just cause you’re crazy doesn’t mean you’re free,” sings frontman Torquil Campbell on the opening track and first single, “The Theory of Relativity.’ The track, which bumps and throbs to an ‘80s bass line and synth, creates a separation between the watered-down radio hits that have become synonymous with recent pop.” (via Paste)

Stars – The Theory of Relativity [from The North]
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(31) Days of Good: 12.28.12

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“A standout on one of the year’s best debuts, ‘Doused’ is an intricate rock song that manages to sound different from just about anything else out there. With a guitar riff that hauntingly pervades the whole song and vocals that are only partly discernable, DIIV has created a benchmark for their future recordings, a lofty standard that their next songs will be measured against.” (words by Mark Steinbach, via Surviving the Golden Age)

DIIV – Doused [from Oshin]
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lower_dens_nootropics“With a bassline–percussion duet chugging the song along throughout each its five minutes, “Brains” gives us one of the best and most subtle crescendoes since Of Montreal’s ‘The Past Is a Grotesque Animal’.”(via I Guess I’m Floating)

Lower Dens – Brains [from Nootropics]
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“…not only is Nocturne one of the most consistently excellent pop records I’ve heard this year, it’s also a remarkably mature statement for an artist whose first album was recorded in his Blacksburg dorm room in 2010. This is Jack Tatum’s Platonic pop record, and if it doesn’t meet the expectations of critics, for lack of soupy textures or the rough edges of home recording or whatever, it’s because he exceeded them.” (via Tiny Mix Tapes)

Wild Nothing – Paradise [from Nocturne]
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(31) Days of Good: 12.18.12

A rather eclectic day of good today, featuring Danish indie band Alcoholic Faith Mission; British alt-rock trio Animal Kingdom; Brooklyn indie folksters Here We Go Magic; Swedish punk outfit Holograms; producer, DJ, and electronic avant-pop artist Matthew Dear; and the Cincinnati indie rock group Pomegranates.  Enjoy.

 

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Alcoholic Faith Mission – Running With Insanity [from Ask Me This]
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Animal Kingdom – Strange Attractor [from The Looking Away]
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Here We Go Magic – How Do I Know [from A Different Ship]
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Holograms – Chasing My Mind [from Holograms]
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Matthew Dear – In the Middle (I Met You There) (feat. Johnny Pierce) [from Headcage EP]
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Pomegranates – Pass Away [from Heaven]
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(31) Days of Good: 12.17.12

As far as i’m concerned, these tracks represent some of the most beautiful music of the year.  Enjoy.

 

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Lost In The Trees – Golden Eyelids [from A Church That Fits Our Needs]
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♩Simone White – Big Dreams and the Headlines [from Silver Silver]
Stream at simonewhite.com
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♩Soap&Skin – Wonder [from Narrow]

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♩Yann Tiersen – Another Shore [from Skyline]

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