I'm fascinated by the creative process and to music in particular. There are only so many notes and so many words to compose songs and only so many instruments on which to play them, and yet, each year there are millions of new songs. I've been blessed to have transitioned from one job to another this year, but both have allowed me time to listen to other people's creative work while I do mine. Here is the music I heard and liked the most this year...
Top Ten Albums of 2012 (alphabetical order)
Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself / Hands of Glory
Bill Fay - Life is People
Electric Guest - Mondo
Macklemore - The Heist
Sean Rowe - The Salesman and the Shark
The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter
The Walkmen - Heaven
The Whigs - Enjoy the Company
Tiny Victories - Those of Us Still Alive
Favorite New Band Discoveries That Aren't New Bands:
Morcheeba - despite the name, not a reggae band
Bill Fay - read this guy's story, it's great
Peter Broderick - peaceful, beautiful music
The Rest of the Best
Allo Darlin' - Europe
Audra Mae & The Almight Sound - s/t
Bad Books - II
Bahamas - Barchords
Cardinal - Hymns
Chad Valley - Equatorical Ultravox EP
Cody Chesnutt - Landing on a Hundred
Communist Daughter - Lions & Lambs EP
Dan Deacon - America
Dana Buoy - Summer Bodies
Diamond Rings - Free Dimensional
Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Here
Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?
Family of the Year - Loma
Field Report - s/t
Gold Motel - s/t
Gotye - Making Mirrors (minus that one song I used to know)
Harlan - Native Son EP
Jack Robert Hardman - s/t
Japandroids - Celebration Rock
Jason Lytle - Dept. of Disappearance
Johnny Flynn - A Bag of Hammers
Jonathan Boulet - We Keep the Best...
Jones Street Station - The Understanding EP
Jukebox the Ghost - Safe Travels
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine Jubilee Edition
Kishi Bashi - 151a
Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough?
Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams
Max and the Moon - The Way I See EP
Menomena - Moms
Mogwai - A Wrenched Virile Lore
Mumford & Sons - Babel
Mystery Jets - Radlands
Of Monsters and Men - My Head is An Animal
OMBRE - Believe You Me
Patrick Watson - Adventures in Your Own Backyard
Passion Pit - Gossamer
Paul Banks - Banks
Peter Broderick - It Starts Hear
Port St. Willow - Holiday
Richard Walters - Regret Less
Sam Billen - Places
Sam Lee - Ground of Its Own
School of Seven Bells - Put Your Sad Down
Sea Wolf - Old World Romance
SoloS - Beast of Both Worlds
Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Sun Kil Moon - Among the Leaves
Tame Impala - Lonerism
The Amazing - Gentle Stream
The Antlers - Undersea
The Lumineers - s/t
The Maccabees - Given to the Wild
The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth
The Plastics Revolution - King Bono cs Lost Flight Simulators
Toro Y Moi - June 2009
Wanderlist - Record Time
Woods - Bend Beyond
Yuna - s/t
Top Songs of 2012
Deadmau5 -The Veldt
Patrick Watson - Lighthouse
Perfume Genius - Normal Song
Field Report - Fergus Falls
Bahamas - Okay Alright I'm Alive
Jones Street Station - Grace
The Walkmen - We Can't Be Beat
Cody Chesnutt - Till I Met Thee
Bill Fay - This World
Atom for Peace - Default
SoloS - All My Tribulations
The Raveonettes - Into the Night
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Man on Fire
Spiritualized - Hey Jane
King Charles - The Brightest Lights
Max and the Moon - Out of My Head
Imagine Dragons - On Top of the World
Passion Pit - Carried Away
Django Django - Default
The New Division - Start Over
Electric Guest - This Head I Hold
Kishi Bashi - Bright Whites
Tiny Victories - Gravitron
Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound - Jebediah Moonshine's Friday Night Shack Party
Zeus - Are You Gonna Waste My Time?
The Avett Brothers - Live and Die
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
Alabama Shakes - Hold On
Black Prarie - Rock of Ages
Johnny Flynn - I Don't Wanna Go
Sean Rowe - Horses
The Lumineers - Big Parade
King Tuff - Anthem
Japandroids - Continuous Thunder
Frank Ocean - Thinkin Bout You
Macklemore - Same Love