Top Songs of 2012 (10-1)

10. "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" - Tame Impala
If you're like me, you got on the Tame Impala train this year, and for the longest time, I definitely underestimated their song-writing abilities. Their 2012 sophomore album Lonerism was an extravagant trip through psychedelic pop music that left my brain in a cloud of pink mist. The single from their album "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" has some of the smoothest transitions between chorus and verse that I've heard, and sometimes you can't even notice them if you aren't paying too much attention to it. On the surface, it seems like a very simple pop song, but delving deeper into the track, you start to notice more subtle details that make the track so great. The track has the lightness to make you feel floating, but yet the density to make you feel grounded at the same time, and that's what is so attractive about this song.

9. "M.A.A.D City (Feat. MC Eiht)" - Kendrick Lamar
Imagine how you would feel if people were proclaiming you to be the next Tupac. These proclamations are what Kendrick Lamar has to face all the time. But honestly, I think that's really stupid to say an up and coming rapper is the next whoever. They represent themselves, not previous rappers. Although these proclamations are kind of flawed to begin with, he does deserve these types of proclamations. He'd definitely proved himself to be the best rapper out there with his 2012 release of good kid, m.A.A.d city. The album itself is a modern rap masterpiece. Good kid documents Kendrick's life while growing up in the most dangerous city in America; Compton. But the self titled track on the album was the most striking to me. The track starts with the haunting lines of "If Pirus and Crips all got along, they'd probably gun me down by the end of the song". And then Kendrick continues to confess who he thought murdered his cousin, describe an instant where he saw someone get shot in the head, and how his mother would tell him and his family to duck whenever they were in a public place. Then for the second half of the song, the beat switches to a total west side beat, while Kendrick says Compton made "me an Angel on Angel Dust" (m.A.A.d). This in reference to his first blunt being laced with cocaine. Wow, if you're looking for a real MC, look no further. Kendrick really is "Compton's human sacrifice".

8. "Flowermouth (The Leech)" - Code Orange Kids
America is a great place for aggressive music. There are a lot of things to be pissed off about for one, and there's also a great community for the scene to flourish in. Code Orange Kids are four recently high-school graduated Pittsburghians that have been together for a few years. What's really interesting about the band, is that they blew up. This summer, my band played with the Ohio screamo band CityCop and we all got to know each other pretty well. They told us about how there was a high school graduation party that they played, and that an unknown band called Code Orange Kids were to open the show. This was probably two years ago. Now flash forward to 2012. Code Orange Kids just released their first full length which was recorded by Kurt Ballou of Converge and was released on Deathwish Records (one of the biggest modern hardcore label in America), they just finished up a huge tour with Gaza and Full of Hell, and their name is about everywhere on tumblr. All this, while at the age of 19. That's impressive. But I've had a soft spot for the band because they were originally the band that got me into hardcore, and their first track off their album Love is Love // Return to Dust further reminded me why I fell in love with the band to begin with.

7. "Midwest Living" - Dowsing
What's not to love about the band Dowsing? They're all the coolest dudes (and girl), They crank out club bangers like none other, and they originate from one of my favorite cities, Chicago. They've only been a band  for about two years, and since then they've released an EP and a full length on the midwestern emo label Count Your Lucky Stars. The full length, It's Still Pretty Terrible, was one of my favorite albums of the years, combining elements of modern emo and 90's pop-rock and produced by none other than Chris French (formally the guitarist of Joie De Vivre who also released an amazing album this year). Fun fact, French joined Dowsing for about a month and then quit, but it's alright, Dowsing seemed like a better four piece band anyway. The lead single off their album, "Midwest Living", quite possibly is the catchiest song of the year; with everything from Marcus killing it on the drums, to Delia's mad keyboard skills, to Erik's shout-a-long chorus.

6. "You Have to Ride the Wave f/ Danny Brown, Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire" - Heems
Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love Danny Brown. Anything he touches is gold. Literally anything! It was really hard to choose from his 2012 singles that he came out with, but I went with my gut and picked the song that stuck with me the entire year. This track comes off of Heems solo mixtape (as you may have heard, Das Racist has called it quits, but both Heems and Kool A.D. released solo mixtapes this year, so I don't think they will be slowing down anytime soon). It starts with a 30 second, nearly incomprehensible sound clip of a foreign woman explaining how to survive in the place she's native to, and then the beat drops and Danny Brown lays down the best verse I've ever heard from him (which is really impressive). His raps about an asian orgy, Louis C.K., Mortal Kombat, and watching Teen Titans while receiving a bj. Then the baton is handed off to Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire who has one of the craziest word play this year. "Some rotten chicken to insert enemas to my friends, makin' my inner enemy into my insecurities."...yeah. And then to cap it all off, Heems gives the final blow with his verse. A great example of a great rap collaborative.

5. "Northern Lights" - Kate Boy
Since when did dance music become so soulless, so shallow, so watered-down, and so dumb? Our obsession with technology has taken over and desensitized everyone in order to get immediate enjoyment. This whole new fad of immediate enjoyment is quite annoying, because nothing is sacred anymore. And now every dance song that plays on the radio has a pulse, but no heart behind it. Luckily, once in a blue moon, a dance song comes along to reassure me that the whole genre hasn't gone to shit. "Northern Lights" by the Swedish/Australian band Kate Boy was the first song anyone has ever heard by the group, and everyone instantly fell in love with it. For one, the song makes it really easy to fall in love with. The production on this track is like gold, the darkness of the track itself is quite attractive, and the vocalist has a voice that shows obvious strength and longing. With their very first single, Kate Boy show a promising future, but hopefully it's not a beginner's luck sort of deal. "Northern Lights" is a song from the future, with alien synth sounds and melancholic feels to it, but also with this song, Kate Boy assures us that even though the future is surrounded by technology, they want us to know that the future is still human.

4. "Climax" - Usher
I think we can safely say that Usher has one of the best voices in American pop music history. He once was the king of R&B, with songs like "Confessions" and "Burn". There was a little bump in his career where he released songs like "OMG" that kinda made me want to throw up or stab my ears. But earlier this year, I was surprised when I happened to listen to this track, and upon my first listen, I played it over again at least seven more times. The song definitely wouldn't be what it is without the amazing production provided by Diplo, who creates somewhat of a post-dubstep instrumental, that focuses on building through the verse and then immediately dropping back down in the chorus to let Usher's falsetto shine through. One thing I love about this track, is that it's basically an open letter to mainstream music telling them to get their shit together. It proves that in this day and age where all popular music is made through a computer, that you can still have an amazing love song with a sound that even Skrillex fans can appeal to. Unluckily, Usher's other material that was released this year wasn't nearly as impressive as "Climax". But nonetheless, if 2012 had a metaphorical time-capsule of things to remember the year by, no doubt in my mind "Climax" would be a perfect candidate.

3. "Laura" - Bat For Lashes
The song "Laura" is based on a true story, and true stories make the best songs. It describes the life of a party girl, appropriately named Laura. She lives a life of glamour and good times, but is crushed by the live fast die young lifestyle. Laura eventually pours her heart out to Natasha after a long night of partying. I think there are a lot of people in the world, specifically America, who can relate this. Living in a college town, all I hear about constantly is how "we should get fucked up tonight". This is the thing that upsets me the most about this mindset. Don't get me wrong, it's fun and exciting to party, but people are completely missing the point of it. The point isn't to get so drunk you can hardly speak, but to bring people together and meet new people and share each other's stories. Laura is a person who has these motives mixed up, and I feel Natasha wrote this song to let her know there's more to all of this ("you're more than a superstar"). "Laura" is like the one special moment in the night you have with another person that you remember for the rest of your life. Almost like a turn of fate or a rite of passage. It's one heart going out to another, not to mention one hell of a piano ballad.

2. "Thinkin' Bout You" - Frank Ocean
Channel Orange is a modern day masterpiece. I'm just going to get that out of the way. Frank Ocean slowly became one of my all time favorite song writer over the year. The first time I listened to it, I was very underwhelmed and didn't find what was so special about the album. But then I listened to it every night before I went to sleep over the summer, and with every time I listen to the album now, I love it more and more. "Thinkin' Bout You" is the prologue to this masterpiece; with it's heart-stopping string opening and beautiful falsetto chorus. Earlier this year, Ocean got a lot of buzz for posting on the internet about how his first love was a man. And just now when I Googled an image of him, one of the first results is "Frank Ocean gay". I was also talking to one of my brother's friends about Frank Ocean and he said he doesn't listen to him, insinuating, but not ever saying, it was because he had relations with a man. This really needs to stop. To not listen to a person's art because of their sexual orientation? Who gives a fuck! The music is fucking beautiful! Homophobia is a very real thing in America, and slowly it's starting to become a better handled problem. But "Thinkin' Bout You" breaks barriers. I'm assuming he wrote the song about the man he fell in love with, but I wasn't even able to tell when I listened. It's a song about anyone's universal lover, and it's stronger than any force imaginable.

Top Songs of 2012 (20-11)

20. "Fineshrine" - Purity Ring
Purity Ring was one of the most mysterious acts to come out this year to me. At first, I just assumed they were some indie-pop act that fell in with the rest. But then I actually downloaded their album, and realized how heavily hip-hop influenced (and even a little dubstep) the album is. Also, there were songs with titles like "Crawlersout" and "Belispeak", but the way the singer delivers these abstract lyrics so easily and comfortably, it's almost like these songs titles are common nomenclature in Purity Ring world. I also saw a video of these guys performing at Pitchfork Fest and their stage set up and instrumentation was almost like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. The one stand out track from the break out album was "Fineshrine" where the song explains loving someone so much that you physically make room in their chest cavity to move in with their heart...brutal.




19. "Don't Die" - Killer Mike
"Fuck the Police." It's a saying that gets thrown around a lot, and was made popular by none other than Public Enemy. But lately, there really hasn't been much say to police brutality in the past years. The Police (not the band) have a history of abusing their badge, and no one objects to it; out of fear. Luckily, Atlanta's very own Killer Mike comes along and has a bone to pick with the men in uniform. "Don't Die" consists of a beginning audio clip of an african american woman explaining how the media only cares about police brutality when it pertains to white victims. Then once Killer Mike get's on the track, the song is part narration of Killer Mike's experience with police brutality, while the last third of the song, he ties everything together and shares his true feelings towards cops. This song couldn't have been pulled off without Mike's brilliant match up with producer/MC El-P. Give the song a listen, and think twice about the people that society points out as "heroes".




18. "Heavy to the Touch (think about tonight, forget about tomorrow)" - Dads
Dads had an amazing year this year. They had an amazing full length debut, which many people have pointed out to be one of the best albums of the year (including me), they had some 70 day long tour across the country, including tour mates Have Mercy and Koji, and they have been pointed out to be one of the leading acts in the emo revival scene. If you haven't heard of them I strongly suggest checking them out. The most striking song on the album was the last track "Heavy to the Touch" which was nothing short of an anthem. The song weaves in and out through an opening guitar lick that feels physically heavy. My personal favorite moments were when John sings falsetto. The track is definitely evidence that Dads have a very promising future.




17. "Every Single Night" - Fiona Apple
There are two kinds of spaces in art; positive and negative, or foreground and background. Most music focuses on the first of the two, mostly because it's just easy to do. It takes a great deal of talent to focus and zone in on the latter. "Every Single Night" will probably be the closest to achieving that. On the surface, there is almost nothing happening in the song. The only voice in the foreground is that of Fiona's, which covers all ranges of pitch and emotion ("I just want to feel everything"). The instruments in the background try to be as minimal as possible. And there is little to no percussion. The result? One of the biggest payoffs your senses will ever thank you with. Us as humans now are so used to experiencing everything at once that it's rare to stumble upon a song like "Every Single Night" that is so close to nothing, it's breathtaking.




16. "Pineal Gland" - Ab-Soul
The rap game right now is so vast that it may seem impossible to stand out. The rappers out there right now are also really good, and this is because the increase in caliber from producers encouraged MC's to also step up their game. An aspect that really helps you stand out in the crowd is mysteriousness, and Ab-Soul is the primary candidate. Soul's greatest track this year "Pineal Gland" perfectly mixes brag-adociousness and paranoia. Going from "Play the fool, you jealous dudes are just a plate of food. Tell the truth i'm the coldest cat, sabortooth" almost directly to "Enjoy your mind trip but don't trip on your mind, no man is safe from the war going on outside". There's definitely something important that Ab-Soul wants us to take from this track. Never underestimate how powerful the brain is, because remember; you have three eyes.




15. "Movie Star" - Swearin'
Sometimes, things are just too complicated, and you just need a call out to something simple, something to just forget everything and enjoy being in the moment. Swearin', from New York, are the answer to your call. Now, i'm not saying simple in a negative connotation. Simple is most definitely better in most cases, and Swearin' have it down to an art. Plus the self-titled release they had this year had the best guitar tones I've heard all year. The last track, "Movie Star", is definitely the most charming of all on the release. The song starts with loud and abrasive guitars that definitely could be heard in the whole Brooklyn neighborhood when the song was recorded. Then, at the chorus, the volume control gets turned down quite a bit so that Allison's voice can get the spotlight. To me, Swearin' will go down in my books as one of the unnoticed greats that were around in the wrong time period. I think they match bands like Weezer and The Lemonheads in terms of song-writing, but sadly won't get the same attention. Hopefully I'm wrong about that, but for the mean time, we can all jam together.




14. "Love in Vain" - Drop Out Venus
There's kind of a reoccurring theme going on here, and that's simplicity. I want to reiterate that we live in a time (at least in american culture) where everything has to be oversized, over the top, and unnecessary. But whenever something comes along that feels completely genuine, striped down, and simple, it's a breath of fresh air. This is where "Love in Vain" comes in. The track is extremely simple, about as simple as you can make a song. It only has about four chords at the most, and not very mentally exhausting lyrics. The track is very special, it's almost like when you come across the things in life that are so beautiful it makes you want to cry (or maybe that's just me). The song features definitely out of tune guitars, and poorly mixed drums. But right at the center, is the female vocalist's piercing-yet-calming beautiful voice cutting through all of it, even as everything around her is spiraling into insanity.




13. "Dead as Dreams" - Radiator Hospital
Being a teenager is a point in everyone's life that is the most intriguing. You have the knowledge that most adults have, but yet aren't taken seriously at all. This frustration, along with obvious changes in hormones, causes what can be called as "angst", and this thing called angst is the source of some of the greatest songs ever. Take "Dead as Dreams" for example. Every line in this song could come from a wide-eyed, ambitious teenager who acknowledges their naive nature and embrace it, with lines like, "I wanna be the poster boy hanging on your wall" and "I wanna die in your arms". This song is fueled by an unstoppable force caused by heartache, pain, and also love, if I could be anymore trite. But that's the thing when it comes to "Dead as Dreams", It's okay to be trite, as long as it's how you feel.




12. "Y'all Boots Hats? (Die Angry)" - Glocca Morra
"Glocca Morra saved twinkle", read one of the reviews of the bands first full length debut. I find this statement to be pretty funny, because sadly it's true. The music that has been termed "twinkle" is doomed to not progress ever outside what has been laid out in front of modern "twinkle" bands, from bands who originated it like American Football and Cap'n Jazz. Even the term "twinkle" was started as a joke, the origins of the term didn't even take it seriously. But there is no doubt that "twinkle" has captivated bands across the midwest to make half-baked, passive-aggressive lyrics about girls with a complex guitar melody over it. So in a sense, Glocca Morra did save twinkle. I really like their take on the emo genre, it's much less pretentious and more...fun! The first track off their full length Just Married is the best way they could've started off the album; aggressive, loud, and a little drunk.

Top Songs of 2012 (30-21)

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a safe and warm winter break, as I write this with that terrible blizzard going on outside. 2012 has been a great year for music and I'm excited to list my favorite songs from the year, and then my top albums shortly following that. So here we go!

30. "Clique" - Kanye West, Jay-Z, Big Sean
This year's collaborative, fronted by the all powerful Kanye West, was entitled "G.O.O.D. Music", and it was exactly what you'd think. Good music. Not bad, and not incredible, just good. They were songs that you could ride too, and songs that were great for background music. But also, at the same time, there was an aspect about Cruel Summer that had this undeniable abrasiveness to it. I think this is because of the roster on some of the standout tracks. Of course there's the big hit this summer "Mercy", and Kanye's solo track "Cold". But easily, the most memorable, and most promising track definitely was "Clique". Yes, the chorus is a little half-baked, but the verses on this thing are something similar to the track "Monster" that came out two years ago on Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Clique is great because it's the perfect song that rappers like Kanye and Jay-Z could make at this point in time. Nothing too over-the-top, and nothing amateur.

29. "Bad Girls" - M.I.A                                                                      M.I.A has had a very interesting career thus far. She's notably known for being an electronic artist from Sri Lanka, but is also pointed out to be a political voice, beef starter, and controversial finger flipper on the most televised event of the year. Her last album received very mixed reviews, which is something almost unheard of with her previous two albums before that. So now Maya, in 2012, is pregnant with her second child (the child may or may not have already been delivered, i'm too lazy to check). She promised an album this year but that failed to meet everyone's expectations. But what we did get was her nearly-radio hit single Bad Girls which is exactly the song you'd want to hear from her. The very eastern beat is another added spice to this treat of a track. Sadly, this song lost a lot of momentum when it was released, but I definitely didn't forget about it. 

28. "Younger Us" - Japandroids
Japandroids never cease to amaze me. When they made their first debut Post-Nothing, I was instantly a fan. Japandroids are a perfect example of an indie/emo crossover that crank out rock anthems like there's no tomorrow. This year's follow up to their previously mentioned album, which was entitled Celebration Rock was a very fitting title for the collection of songs. The one track that really stuck out to me was "Younger Us" which is everything I want from a Japandroids song; Ambitious, nostalgic, but yet absent of pretentiousness. "Younger Us" had an undeniable sense of awareness, which to me came across as charming, with lyrics like, "Remember saying things like 'we'll sleep when we're dead' and thinking this feeling was never gonna end." What's not to love about this song which is fueled by it.



27. "Yet Again" - Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear is a very interesting band, almost unlike any band I've heard. They tend to write some of the most structurally complex songs I've heard. And that's what is so attractive about Grizzly Bear, to me. Each song is like a puzzle to unravel. Their 2009 album Veckatimest had some songs that were a perfect example of this, with tracks like "Southern Point" and "Ready, Able". But one other aspect of Grizzly Bear that is equally attractive is that whenever they write a song that is meant to be as direct and straight forward as possible, it's breathtaking. "Yet Again" is one of those songs. The track consists of a very persistent drum beat with rolling guitar chords, and Ed Droste's voice melting over all of this. At first, it may seem a lot to digest, but at the same time, it's so simple that it's brilliant.



 26. "Gem" - The Act of Estimating as Worthless
This band is definitely something that went unnoticed in 2012, and I find that really disappointing. I thoroughly enjoyed their release Amongst These Splintered Minds//Leaden Thoughts Sing Softly mostly because of the unique instrumentation used throughout and it's striking resemblance to artists like Kimya Dawson. But easily the one track that left me with goosebumps was the last track on the album, "Gem". Zoe and Matt may not have an aurally striking voice, but the main effect comes from how genuine their presence is. It's enough to be more moved than anything by someone by the likes of Adele or whoever else is popular at the moment. Please do these guys a favor and check them out, it will definitely be worth it.


 25. "Trilogy 6 (Forgetting)" - Loma Prieta
I had the pleasure of seeing Loma Prieta in a venue only a few miles from my house for a measly $5, and I can definitely say it was one of the best five dollars I've spent. They played alongside Punch, whom they were touring with at the time. Loma Prieta's set was nothing but pure chaos and intensity. There was so much power and so much energy in their songs that it filled the entire room and could swing the venue's doors open off its hinges. Off of their full length they released this year, I.V., which was released on Death Wish, yields three songs that were a part of a trilogy. The last of which, is the song I chose as one of my top songs; mostly because it captures everything I love about the band, and also has one of my favorite riffs whilst the screaming of "SO STAY THE FUCK AWAY" was being drilled into your ears, it was barely audible through the crushing distortion and raw energy.




24. "Seven Stars" - Air
Air has always been a very interesting group to me. I'm not an avid listener of them but I get excited whenever I see their name, because I know it will be difficult for them to disappoint. The album that this track comes off serves as a soundtrack for the legendary silent film Le Voyage dans la lune which was filmed in 1902. The album itself was without its charm when played without the film, but the single "Seven Stars" was something special. The track opens with really eerie and dark timpani, and then slowly making way for a very machine-like drum pattern. Then halfway through the song, a man's voice starts making a countdown to liftoff, and once he hits zero, for a split second I swore that time stopped the first time I heard the track. Then the last half of the song features vocals from Beach House's Victoria Legrand. The track encompasses the sound of something that is enticing to all; adventure.




23. "Whippoorwill Lane" - Suns
The Connecticut scene is something that is brewing and about to get big. Some acts that tie into the scene are along the lines of The World Is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die, Midi & the Modern Dance, Fugue (both of which have lately ceased to exist), and ofcourse Suns. The band recently added the great guitarist Peter Katz from Fugue which I mentioned earlier. Suns released their first proper album this year titled The Engine Room which didn't click with me until I saw them live, and then it all fit into place. "Whippoorwill Lane" is a track off that album that I think can stand on its own. The track opens with a melody reminiscent of the vocal line of "Pink Triangle" by Weezer, but played in a single note melody on the guitar. This melody acts as a motive in the structure of the song. Just give it a listen yourself and you can see what i'm trying to say, and also see why it's one of the best tracks this year.

22. "Only in My Dreams" - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
I'm going to say this right away if you don't already know, I'm a sucker for pop songs. And I know the instant I hear a pop song, I can tell if it is great or not. "Only in My Dreams" is great. It's a song that the Beach Boys would hit themselves for not writing. Unfortunately for me, the rest of Mature Themes did not math the same caliber as the songwriting on this track, but most people just play that off as, "Oh it's still cool bcuz it's ariel pink lol". But anyways, "Only in My Dreams" is one of those songs that come along and can consume your whole life for a week. It's something like an exorcism when all you can do is just play the song over and over. Is it an infection? A psychological disorder? No, it's just a perfect pop song.

Conor Oberst's band Desaparecidos to tour with Joyce Manor this February

Desaparecidos, most notably known for being led by popular folk singer-songwriter Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes), are hitting the east coast in February. Also, surprisingly, they're touring with up and coming punk band Joyce Manor. This will definitely be a tour to catch if you can. To check the dates and buy tickets click here

New My Bloody Valentine album sometime this year

(I know this is kind of late news but) The legendary shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine will be releasing a full-length album that will be the first new material since their 1991 album Loveless. The album will be posted on Kevin Shields' website sometime within the year.

Stream the new Brian Eno album Lux

The legendary ambient artist/producer Brian Eno has another solo album that will be released on November 13th. This will be his first entirely solo album since his 2005 album Another Day On Earth. Right now you can head over and listen to the whole 75-minute album over at SPIN. 

Stream the new Bat For Lashes album "The Haunted Man"

Stream the new LP from singer/songwriter Bat For Lashes. I'm listening to it right now and i'm only three songs in, but it's very good and worth a listen. NPR stream is here

Die Antwoord drops another crazy video

The South African rap group Die Antwoord has released yet another spectacle of a music video. It includes a hi-jacked tour gone hayware, colored contacts, and Lady Gaga making an unforgettable trip to the gynecologist, then getting chased and eaten by a lion directly afterwards.

Unreleased American Football Material

Guitarist Steve Holmes of the 90's emo gods American Football sent seven cassettes full of unreleased AF treasures to Polyvinyl Record Company, who state that they plan on digitalizing all of the material and (we assume) will release it. When this will happen has yet to be determined though.

BAND OF THE WEEK: Donovan Wolfington

Donovan Wolfington is a moderately new band from New Orleans, LA. They like to play fun, energetic, and emotional music (otherwise deemed as emo). They plan on releasing their first proper full length album sometime this year and has just released a single from it this week. Listen to the new single here. Go and support these guys! Like their facebook page.

New Code Orange Kids Video

Titled "Flowermouth (The Leech)". Off the new album Love Is Love // Return to Dust coming soon from Deathwish Inc. Records. Produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge.

Code Orange Kids, from Pittsburgh  PA,  is one of the youngest and most exciting new hardcore band to emerge from the scene of aggressive music. Combining elements of hardcore and thrash metal, their unique sound keeps each listen a new one.

Hear a new 13 minute song about a Christmas Unicorn by Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is planning on releasing a 52 song box set dedicated to the spirit of Christmas (or lack thereof according to his statement on the matter). The first single is a 13 minute song titled "Christmas Unicorn" That I strongly suggest you check out. Listen at his bandcamp.

Radio Playlist 10/15/12

1. "If Your Song Title Has the Word "Beach" In It, I'm Not Listening To It" - Dads
2. "I Feel Fine by Everyone Everywhere" - Everyone Everywhere
3. "Pears" - Grown Ups
4. "Leather Jacket" - Joyce Manor
5. "Toothless" - Caw! Caw!
6. "Write it Right"  - Into It. Over It.
7. "I Know I Know I Know" - Tegan and Sara
8. "A Favor House Atlantic" - Coheed and Cambria
9. "To Be Frank I'd Rather Be Foley" - Halfway to Holland
10. "Morning Mutes" - Hightide Hotel
11. "We Looked Like Giants" - Death Cab For Cutie
12. "Year of the Rabbit" - Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)
13. "Sunday Morning, At A Funeral" - La Dispute
14. "Mace Spray" - The Jezabels
15. "Roy Sullivan, by Lightning Lov" - I Hate Myself
16. "Just Like Heaven" - The Cure