A quick recap, heading into the number one song of 2012. Or, at least, my number one song of 2012.
Last Whisky Reviews - Glenfarclas 30 / Glendronach 15 / Master of Malt 50
More quick (i.e. just a couple of sentences) reviews of the last three whiskies in the advent calendar.
It really was quite the experience to go through a whisky (or, sometimes, a whiskey) a day. It was a fantastic gift from my girlfriend. I tried a bunch of whiskies I wouldn't have otherwise, and certainly refined my whisky palette (or at least I hope I did).
But you won't be able to tell from these reviews, because these are for speed, not for thoroughness. Sorry, but football's on.
Glenfarclas 30 Year
Awesome, awesome, awesome. A bunch of us splurged on a Macallan 30 year at work ($80 gets you two drams). I think I liked this better. It's sweet, but not overly sweet. Vanilla, some fruitiness, and great flavor as you sip. And just enough smoke to make it feel like a scotch.
I loved it.
Glendronach 15 Year Revival
This was good, but might have been too sweet for me. Like a lot of whiskies aged in sherry or other wine casks, if they're not balanced with other flavors, they can run on the sweet side.
I would love to try this again; it might be a drink that takes more than one dram to discover.
Master of Malt 50 Year Speyside
The first Scotch I've ever drank that's older than I am. It's a speyside, which means it's bright and citrusy, but it's just really nicely balanced. It's got a bit of everything, including some smoke to temper the bright notes. Another great, great drink.
And that concludes the whole calendar.
I'm looking forward to trying some more whiskies in 2013.
Top 10 of 2012: #2 A.C. Newman - I'm Not Talking
A.C. Newman - "I'm Not Talking"
Shut Down The Streets is an album that takes a while to grow on you. The big A.C. Newman/New Pornographers song is "Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns". The rest of the album is, I'd say, more mellow than his previous albums. It's '70s AM radio stuff, done modern. And it's really, really great.
The whole album is about birth and death and loss and all of those experiences you have as you start to get older. "I'm Not Taking" is just a quiet song, long by Newman's standards (coming in at a robust four and a half minutes), but exquisitely crafted. I'm guessing there's 7 or 8 different instruments, just on this song, some only used to punctuate a few measures, like the sharp tambourine that is very much in the front of the mix.
It's already a pretty, melancholy song when the song hits its third minute and we get the call and response
No, I've never been close, I've never been close … but I've never been far away
You'll be hooked. I was. There's probably no better pop craftsman than A.C. Newman (between his solo albums and the New Pornographers), and this him at the top of his game.
Top 10 of 2012: #3 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Thrift Shop"
This is kind of the year of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, eh? They blow up behind "Same Love", which I've mentioned before, a strong argument for marriage equality and one of the two biggest songs of the year touching on similar topics (the other being Frank Ocean's "Bad Religion").
They rattle off a huge banger of song in "Can't Hold Us", which could just have easily been sitting in this same spot. "Can't Hold Us" fits the mold of Outkast's "B.O.B" with that beat that just pushes and pushes, filled with stomps, and handclaps, and a bit of piano, and it never stops. Throw it on the end of your runs and you'll finish strong.
But we're not talking about either of those songs, we're talking about "Thrift Shop", which has a great beat that, I guarantee you, will have you bobbing your head. Macklemore's flow is solid, changing pace and cadence, never seeming out of place. All leading into the hook, which you can't sing out loud in public, but you know you sing it out loud in your car.
It's not as deep as "Same Love", or as bouncy as "Can't Hold Us", but I've been singing about popping tags all fall.
Top 10 of 2012: #4 Fiona Apple - Werewolf
Fiona Apple - "Werewolf"
I could liken you to a werewolf the way you left me for dead
But I admit that I provided a full moon
And she's back.
"Werewolf" starts out with just a few piano keys, laid under those lyrics, leading into another couplet about a shark and a bleeding wound. As usual, Fiona Apple has a way to layer contrasting sounds and ideas together into her special sort of genius, which seems to take her seven years or so to wrangle.
It's such a simple song, just piano and sparse drums, laid under this wonderful violent imagery of how powerful (and dangerous) a relationship can be—werewolves, lava, sharks, chemical reactions. All wonderful metaphors, and then the stomach punch—the recognition that it's the fault of both parties. The only way to end the destructive part of the relationship is to simple avoid each other. Take one for the team.
The song is capped off with the voices of screaming children leading into (and underlaying) the final verse. I'm sure the children are just playing, but it eerily sounds like they might be being chased by a werewolf. On this album, Fiona Apple has done a lot with minimal instrumentation. Here, a piano, drums, and some children playing are all that is necessary to build a phenomenal song.
On a side note, this could easily have been "Hot Knife" off the same album, which is just a ridiculously good song that is basically nothing but vocal tracks layered on top of more vocal tracks, all with big huge tympanis banging in the background. Another day, that track would be here.
Top 10 of 2012: #5 Passion Pit - Take a Walk
Passion Pit - "Take a Walk"
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.
Top 10 of 2012: #6 Eternal Summers - Millions
Eternal Summers - "Millions"
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.
Top 10 of 2012: #7 Walk the Moon - Anna Sun
Walk the Moon - "Anna Sun"
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.
Top 10 of 2012: #8 Delta Spirit - Empty House
Delta Spirit - "Empty House"
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.
Top 10 of 2012: #9 First Aid Kit - Emmylou
First Aid Kit - "Emmylou"
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.