2012 Ultimate Mix Tape

Hey, everybody! It's that time of year again! The time to list my favorite 12 (13, "14") songs of the year, the 12 (13, "14") songs I will take from 2012 with me for the rest of my days! Enjoy! Maybe?

1. "You & Me", Sara Watkins. If there was a catchier tune that cried out for a sing-along more than this one in 2012, well, I didn't hear it because it's not out there. Listen.

2. "Cold Shoulders", Gold Motel. This Song = Rock 'n' Roll. Listen.

3. "Demons Don't Get Me Down", Lindi Ortega. If I've said it once, I've said it 46,000 times, if you claim not to like country music it is likely because you're not listening to the proper country music. Which is to say, you're not listening to Lindi Ortega. Listen.

4. "I Found A Way", First Aid Kit. Like getting carried away by a beautifully bitter breeze. Listen.

5. "Sweet Spot", Tift Merritt. My favorite song of 2012, hands down. Listen.

6. "The House That Heaven Built", Japandroids. Let yourself go and soar as high as this song dares to take you. Listen.

7. "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy", Passion Pit. If Springsteen had hailed from 00's Brooklyn instead of 70's Jersey Shore and worn sweaters instead of work shirts. Listen.

8. "Into the Night", The Raveonettes. ........sigh........ Listen.

9. "Silence", The Ting Tings. An ode to the beauty of silence tucked away inside a rip-roaringly gorgeous melodic ode to noise. Listen.

10. "Looking Hot", No Doubt. Maybe if you graduated high school the same year you fell in love with Gwen & the boys you would understand why listening to Ms. Stefani proclaim her 40-something hotness (you go, girl!) to a song straight outta '96 is so nostalgically ass-shaking. Listen.

11. "Tomorrow", Niki & The Dove. The powerhouse gauntler-thrower-downer off my 2nd favorite album of 2012. Favorite non-Tift Merritt lyric of the year: "I'm gonna let you show me what it means to breath fire." Oh, hell yes. OH, HELL YES. Listen.

12. "Crescendo", Little Boots. Not even officially released yet, supposedly (hopefully) set for her eternally-forthcoming second album, it would not be right for me to resist including this on the year-end mix tape because it grabbed me and moved me that much. The refrain is just me, for better or (mostly) worse, through and through. When I catch those crescendoes, man, I have trouble letting go. Listen.

Special Mention: "Call Me Maybe", Carly Rae Jepsen. Yeah. That's right. You read it. I meant it. If you don't admit to liking this song (or saying you only like it "ironically") then your heart is just a cold, dark, sad place. (You know where to listen to this one.)

Note: I am not including "For My Heart" by the Divine Fits because to do so would simply make me that much more depressed about the Handsome Furs' break-up. I would like to think originally Dan wrote it with Alexei, but I know that in all likelihood he wrote it about Alexei. And that crushes my soul into oblivion.