|
Roger's Best of 2012 (#1 Tune & Album Posted!)
Member Since: 6/24/2008
Posts: 21,950
|
21. Black Keys – Little Black Submarines
23. Ed Sheeran – The A Team
24. Katy Perry – Part Of Me
25. Imagine Dragons – It’s Time
28. Silversun Pickups – Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
30. Phillip Phillips – Home
the black keys also great to see "18 Months & Until Now" on your top of albums
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
|
9/10
It's Time + Trojans + Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings) + The A Team + Part Of Me + Diamonds + Little Black Submarines + Home <3
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/11/2004
Posts: 28,320
|
21. Black Keys – Little Black Submarines
23. Ed Sheeran – The A Team
25. Imagine Dragons – It’s Time
26. Rihanna – Diamonds
27. John Mayer – Queen Of California
30. Phillip Phillips – Home
YES!!
|
|
|
Member Since: 2/11/2008
Posts: 10,964
|
Take A Walk, BAAB, Kill Your Heroes, Part Of Me, It's Time, Diamonds, Bloody Mary
CMM, Trojans, Home
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
|
Man you blow through this thing when I'm not paying attention. So glad that you are into Zeppelin now. Like Ben said, they have a nearly spotless resume. I don't think anyone has managed to achieve the heavy/light balance like they did.
I didn't even know Swedish House Mafia retired! Awful news. :-(
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
|
I love Born To Die
"18 Months" is the biggest letdown in the history of music for me . Still like that album, but this new Calvin is not even the shadow of that Calvin Harris in 2007 - 2009
but it's amazing that you saw him live!
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
|
Albums: LOVE The Shins album. Happy that it charted in a good position! I know the feeling, of when the early albums get the short end of the stick when it comes to ranking. It seems like, to speak in generalities, we underrate the Q1-Q2 albums, and overrate the Q4 albums. Not in all cases, of course, but just speaking for myself, certain albums I chart in the top 10 in a given year, that came out in November, drop down in my estimation a bit in the months following, and with the early albums, whether it comes up on shuffle or wherever else, you are like "hey! this is really good!" But that is simplifying it quite a bit haha.
And I love your LDR album write-up! I agree, I feel she got a rough deal. But yeah, she is clearly talented. She was really quite good on Bobby Womack's album from this year.
For the singles, I like Crew Love, Diamonds (you are right on the immediate thing. At first you are like, what? But as you continue hearing it, it just burrows into your brain, and you can't help but love it), and Little Black Submarine (yes!!!).I need to give the John Mayer album a shot, especially after hearing you say it's his best. I know that Don Was produced it, which intrigued me. I'll give it a shot!
Great stuff, as always.
|
|
|
ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 5/2/2000
Posts: 2,844
|
Love your writeup for Lana Del Rey. Pretty much a perfect reconciliation of the weird series of events she went through this year and your thoughts on her which I share almost completely. Meanwhile, The Shins: You nailed it. Need to check out the other albums!
The Black Keys got the short straw by putting out El Camino in December '11. Many of the songs on that album were among my most played in 2012. It came in at #12 (I think) on my chart last year, but in retrospect if I could have a do-over it'd be top 10, maybe even top 5. Finally, you also nailed it with Katy Perry. Love that song.
ALRIIIIIIGHT!
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
Posts: 14,726
|
For those just joining us or who haven’t been around in a bit, big updates found on page #3 (#20-11 albums and #40-21 songs).
For those who have been commenting – much appreciated! Now we’re really getting into the nitty gritty.
Roger’s Top 100 Tunes: Part 9
20. Adele – Skyfall
After asserting herself as the forefront of a pop renaissance in 2011, not only did “21” continue to impress in 2012, but Adele also went out of her way to give her fans new music. And could she pick any cooler of a movie? Skyfall was balls to the walls, total badass – and to contribute the Bond theme was a stroke of bloody genius. Many have already suggested that this track is the best Bond theme since the days of Shirley Bassey. It’s menacing, brooding, sleek, and the vocals are absolutely spot on. 73 different musicians/instruments doesn’t hurt for a hurdling finale to the track that sounds straight out of an Irish cathedral. Can Adele do any wrong?
19. The Black Keys – Gold On The Ceiling
The Black Keys hurdled towards the end of 2011 and released the thrashing rock epic, ‘El Camino’. This track, took the beginning of the year by it’s horns and made them it’s bitch. It sounds like Blind Melon for crying out loud. A true grinder, Dan Auerbach and the boys show that there is more room in the upper echelons of rock for big name bands beside the Foos, Green Day, Linkin Park, etc. Along with “Lonely Boy” and “Little Black Submarines”, they easily put out three of the best rock songs in recent memory.
18. Rihanna – Where Have You Been?
The Black Keys weren’t the only ones putting out their best work. Rihanna had yet another banner year (no surprise), coming off the monstrous success of “We Found Love”. Although much of ‘Talk That Talk’ kind of sputtered, “Where Have You Been” was the obvious choice for hit status, even though it was relegated as a 4th single. Nonetheless, she kept the dance party rolling with this filthy, grime fest of an anthem that builds into a tour de force of dub step and electronic riffs. Although it sounded a little to Will.I.Am for me initially, it turned out to have some serious legs and has stayed fresh throughout the end of the year. Who does she have to thank for this beauty of a track? This man…
17. Calvin Harris f. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing
Calvin Harris gave Rihanna’s already flourishing career new life yet again, but it doesn’t mean he didn’t do it big on his own this year as well. Already having placed two of four this year, here is #3 with “Sweet Nothing”, where he recruited Florence Welch for a second time after having already released the remix to “Spectrum”. What do you get when you combine the year’s best producer with one of music’s greatest voices? A collision course that resulted in a dance floor ready anthem for the ages.
16. Taylor Swift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I remember seeing a twitter post from a music journalist saying that they just heard the new Taylor Swift, and that it sounded like Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend”. Justifiably so, I was extremely worried. What did we get instead? A tongue ‘n cheek, sassy, and extremely well produced slice of pop that shows Taylor Swift is way ahead of her time, even if the meat of her lyrics wouldn’t suggest she is. Lines like “with some indie record that’s much cooler than mine”, and dropping “like ever” to divide up verses and making it work, it’s gotta be more challenging than she makes it seem, right? At first everyone rode this song off, but then, it stuck in our heads, and it was something everyone could sing along too.
15. Bruno Mars – Locked Out Of Heaven
From the bare bones lyrics of Taylor Swift’s track, to a soulful and whole hearted record – Bruno Mars released his best single ever with “Locked Out of Heaven”. It goes without saying, the influence from the Police is overwhelming here. And it works incredibly well. It doesn’t hurt that Bruno Mars has the swag, the vocal chops, and the charisma to pull it off. Although his last album “Doo Wops & Hooligans” was an overplayed collection of hits, their were some moments that suggested he could be on to something similar to the likes of Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, and/or Prince. His new album (still to come), and this single, is the end result. “Ya your sex takes me to paradise” … brilliant.
14. Muse – Madness
You know what else is brilliant? Exaggerating sounds for a chorus… MA-MA-MA-MA-MAD-MAD-MAD-MADNESS. How this song has come around to spending nearly 14 weeks at #1 on the Alternative chart, is beyond me, but I’m pretty damn happy that it has. While not everyone was on board with “Survival”, and maybe people were expecting another heavy hitter like “Uprising”, what we got was a slow, sprawling epic that took it’s time and demanded patience. The heavy guitar solo near the end of the track is the type of thing most Muse fans have come to expect from Bellamy and the boys, but it’s not the only thing they are capable of doing well. I put this track in the lot of “Undisclosed Desires”, “Hysteria”, and maybe to a lesser extent, “Invincible”. It may not be for everybody, but once you give it a chance, the pay off is huge.
13. The Killers – Runaways
Brandon Flowers & the boys from Vegas are no strangers to setting high expectations. When “Sams Town” was on the verge of release, they nearly turned everyone off with their Bruce Springsteen ambitions of conquering the world. And with “Battle Born”, the production roster was no cheap endeavour. So you can’t really blame fans for hoping that we would some day, some how, get yet another in the lines of “Somebody Told Me”, “Mr Brightside”, or a “When You Were Young”. But no, not quite, yet again. And maybe that expectation is unreasonable? That string of hits from “Somebody” all the way through to “When You Were Young/Read My Mind” – is a pretty exceptional swing of music. Often imitated, but never duplicated. Just refer to “Human”, “Spaceman”, and now “Runaways” – yet another in a line of songs from The Killers that are going to sound incredible live and fans will eat up, but at the end of the day, will constantly live in the shadow of the giants. But on it’s own, it’s a raucous, freeway-driven stadium anthem that suits these guys perfectly well.
12. Metric – Youth Without Youth
Metric have begun to cement themselves as Canada’s go to band. Behind the likes of Tragically Hip and Arcade Fire, they are reliable, consistent, and worthy of the recognition they deserve. With their last album, ‘Fantasies’, they finally started to make a dent in the American mainstream with a couple of top 20 singles. Then came “Youth Without Youth”, the Gary Glitter meets Muse’s “Uprising” thrasher of a single that nearly took them top 10. Emily Haines is a total sex bomb – she’s gorgeous, has occasionally awkward but still fairly good vocal chops, and she carries and embodies a tune better than Shirley Manson and Gwen Stefani do (yeah, I said it). This song came really hard, and demanded immediacy. While it’s lost some of it’s luster by the time of the year end show, for a couple of months, this song commanded attention and it got it (it was #1 for it’s first 8 consecutive weeks on Canadian Alternative! A new record).
11. Of Monsters & Men – Mountain Sound
This our first sign of the folk from Iceland who carved a beauty little niche out of Alternative radio this year. Of Monsters & Men will get their proper due with their album write up and the big song still to come, but “Mountain Sound” is in need of some proper recognition as well. To get a full command of this earthy, rich, and homegrown feeling track, look no further than YouTube for their performance of the track for KEXP at the Sasquatch festival. It’s the band members, a trumpet, a couple of guitars, and a makeshift drum – the whole thing is ethereal, and permeates the completely organic feel of this band. Their lyrical arrangements are so detailed, but they make it seem so simple in their delivery. “Through the woods we ran, deep into the mountain sound. Hold your horses now…”. Talk about a feel good story, amirite? And no band does the “la la la, woah oh oh” better than these guys.
It’ll be a couple of days yet, but the next update will be huge. I’m talking #10-3 albums and tunes huge. Keep an eye out for it!
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/2/2009
Posts: 7,105
|
Quote:
15. Calvin Harris – 18 Months
13. The Shins – Port Of Morrow
12. Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
|
Quote:
21. Black Keys – Little Black Submarines
22. Atlas Genius – Trojans
23. Ed Sheeran – The A Team
25. Imagine Dragons – It’s Time
27. John Mayer – Queen Of California
28. Silversun Pickups – Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
30. Phillip Phillips – Home
19. The Black Keys – Gold On The Ceiling
17. Calvin Harris f. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing
16. Taylor Swift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
14. Muse – Madness
12. Metric – Youth Without Youth
|
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
|
9/10
Mountain Sound + Youth Without Youth + Madness + Runaways + We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together + Locked Out Of Heaven + Gold On The Ceiling + Where Have You Been <333
|
|
|
ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
|
Roger! Hi! Miss you. Great countdown, as always!
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/16/2006
Posts: 9,960
|
Skyfall, Gold On The Ceiling, Madness, Mountain Sound
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/2/2008
Posts: 22,610
|
OMAM, Bruno, Killers, Muse Awesome awesome
|
|
|
Member Since: 12/22/2008
Posts: 14,438
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2008
Posts: 87,284
|
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
|
What a great set of music, once again! Love "Skyfall" (wow, didn't know 73 people played on it! You can certainly tell), "Gold On The Ceiling" "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "Locked out of Heaven," "Runaways," and "Youth Without Youth." Your write-ups continue to be great (love the Killers write-up, which is so true. Those run of hits are pretty untouchable), and i've learned something new from each new update. Really great stuff.
Looking forward to the MEGA UPDATE!
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/9/2009
Posts: 6,397
|
I need to catch up with the updates, Yeah many that including some of the people who I comment on their best of say the same thing when he look like Ron Weasely., well + showcase the prowess of Ed, fun knows how to be carefree and knowing what to do, Blunderbuss has prove the talents and musical endeavors of Jack a true vintage and modern day great, Led Zeppelin rocks, yeah feel ya about the G.O.O.D Music album. Adele has some great leftovers from 2011 to bring to 2012 and all that is still History, Don’t You Worry Child has a great dance song to rave to while the message is clear to your mind, Stubborn Love is another great song by them, Yeah I take walk to escape my troubles though will find me during the wall however, Weirdly enough I had some Doritos Tacos today that’s how epic the song is, Yeah I agree on Miss Atomic Bomb, & Kill Your Heroes rules.
Great features on 18 Months with the Example one being the winner, SHM does some great music shame they are calling quits, The Shin’s album rules, Born To Die is just epic album, The Lumineers are spreading their music around. LBS hits it right out the underground, Got Trojans in my head man they will make it big in 2013, 2012 was a good noticeable start. The songwriting of Ed and The A Team is just a clever use of words that you like to strangely follow and sing-along, Part of me is alright, I sometimes alone in my room do the foot stomping, thigh slapping(well actually it’s knee slapping for me) whne It’s Time comes along, Queen of Diamonds never slows down esp. in a great state like California, good work John,
One of the best songs of 2012 Bloody Mary is here, & like Crew Love.
Great take on Skyfall, Gold On The Ceiling is just a golden age of rock hits in their spin of things to make a recipe for success, man we dance to such sweet nothing, Locked out of Heaven Is an inspiration in all aspects, It’s Madness what Muse did, Fans of The Killers are true runaways, Youth without Youth is just good, & Mountain Sound is also.
Great work as always Bro. Can’t wait to tackle tour of force on the big update.
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
|
Talking about how much I like this set might spoil my own my list so I'll just use dancing bannanas to express myself.
:banana8:
How does banana sex make it through the censors?
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
|
Sweet Nothing is my least favorite single from Calvin Harris, but is still nice Metric
|
|
|
|
|