My 50 Favourite Songs of 2012: Part 1

Let’s have a bit of nostalgia first. Here are my top ten songs from years gone by …

2008

10. Duffy – Warwick Avenue

9. British Sea Power – No Lucifer

8. Elbow – The Bones Of You

7. Adam Green – Morning After Midnight

6. Portishead – The Rip

5. Everything Everything ­ – Suffragette Suffragette

4. MGMT – Time To Pretend

3. Santogold – Lights Out

2. Magnetic Fields – California Girls

1. Fake Blood – Mars

2009

10. Madonna feat. Lil Wayne – Revolver

9. Bat For Lashes – Daniel

8. Everything Everything – My Keys, Your Boyfriend

7. La Roux – In For The Kill

6. Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension

5. Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers

4. Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

3. V V Brown – Shark In The Water

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero

1. Girls – Lust For Life

2010

10. The Besnard Lakes – Chicago Train

9. Yeasayer – I Remember

8. Broken Bells – The High Road

7. John Grant – Outer Space

6. Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill

5. Xiu Xiu – Chocolate Makes You Happy

4. Band Of Horses – Blue Beard

3. Robyn – Dancing On My Own

2. Beach House – Zebra

1. Everything Everything – Weights

2011

10. Azealia Banks – 212

9. Junior Boys – Banana Ripple

8. PJ Harvey – On Battleship Hill

7. Joe Goddard – Gabriel

6. Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks

5. Metronomy – Corinne

4. Nicola Roberts – Beat Of My Drum

3. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream

2. Elbow – lippy kids

1. Bon Iver – Beth/Rest

And so to 2012. Chances are if you made super sad folk music or out-there hip-hop or if you’re a woman who listens to a lot of Kate Bush and I heard about it, then you’re probably on the list. It was as fragmented and hub-bub a year as I can ever remember. Another year where the brilliant singles were never the best tracks on the album, another year where the women seemed to outstrip the men (if you’re bothered about that kind of thing), another year where unstoppable pop juggernauts could un-cool your scrobbling list in a matter of days, and if nothing ever tops that top ten from last year (look at it!) then the list this year manages to blow every other one out of the water in one department at least: lyrics. Beautiful, strange, forward-looking, painful, funny and effervescent writing everywhere you listened. 2012 was like having your bookshelves set to music…

‘It starts like this: a kiss is a kiss….’

‘She may contain the urge to run away, but hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks…’

 ‘We held our breath to see our names are written on the wreck of '86. That was the year I knew the panic was over…’

‘You gave me my very first gun…’

'Then she starts to cry, mascara running down her little Bambi eyes: "Lana, how I hate those guys"...'

‘My sister asked, ‘Are we prayin’ for him to pass?’ And no one dared speak out loud, but we all knew, and pushed the paperwork through…’

'The Last Post sounds, just like a love song for the way I feel about you; 

paradise not lost, it's in you ...'

‘Before the full weight was on our shoulders, before the twilight’s cover, before I knew time was such a swindler. Oh my dear friend, everything falls to death…’

Wonderful stuff. I’m posting the first half of the top 50 for now; the top 25 is still subject to painful reshuffling (rest assured the Top 3 are carved in marble). But it’s coming very soon. I hope you find something here to love for a very long time. And right here is a Spotify list for your convenience. Merry Christmas, 2012.

 Susanne Sundfør

50. Ellie Goulding – Anything Could Happen

49. Amadou & Mariam – Chérie

48. Susanne Sundfør – White Foxes

47. Andrew Bird – Desperation Breeds…

46. Hannah Cohen – Boy + Angel

Jesca Hoop

45. Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

44. Miike Snow – Paddling Out

43. alt-J – Breezeblocks

42. Jesca Hoop – DNR

41. The Walkmen – The Witch

Sigur Ros

40. Simian Mobile Disco – Seraphim

39. Laura Gibson – Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed

38. Bowerbirds – Tuck the Darkness In

37. Sigur Ros – Varúð

36. Django Django – Hail Bop

Sky Ferreira 

35. Cat Power – Ruin

34. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe

33. Sky Ferreira – Everything Is Embarrassing

32. Azealia Banks – Luxury

31. Lana Del Rey – This Is What Makes Us Girls

THEESatisfaction

30. Blur – Under the Westway

29. The Irrepressibles – Arrow

28. Nite Jewel – One Second of Love

27. The Heartbreaks – Winter Gardens

26. THEESatisfaction – QueenS

See you soon for the Top 25....