Yup, it's the one you've all been waiting for (and can probably predict already). As I mentioned last year my album consumption has been pretty paltry and I pick up so much in January there's little or no point in doing an album countdown now, so onward with the singles.

 

Last year's countdown: http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=137449

 

See, I told you I was right about "Spectrum".

50 KAISER CHIEFS PINBALL WIZARD

49 MAXÏMO PARK THE NATIONAL HEALTH

48 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN

47 FUN. WE ARE YOUNG

46 THE VACCINES I ALWAYS KNEW

 

 

“Don’t see no lights a flashin’, plays by sense of smell”

 

Kaiser Chiefs are, in effect, a spent force. Last year's "The Future Is Medieval" was a duff attempt at a comeback so they must have been thanking their lucky stars that they were deemed still relevant enough to perform the biggest gig any British band is likely to ever get. They managed to make a better fist of another band's song than most of the artists who performed did of their own (hi George Michael) and "Pinball Wizard" also adds another appropriately frantic string to their bow when it comes to their own gigs - their appearance at Leeds was the third time I'd seen them and safe to say that's one area where they have lost none of their impact.

 

 

“England is sick and I’m a casualty”

 

The title track on Maxïmo Park's fourth album is another song that probably wouldn't be here were it not for me seeing it live. First single "Hips and Lips" is probably a better song, but "The National Health" appears here because of the sheer impact it had on me as a gig opener last month. Nothing quite prepares you for Paul Smith's sheer energy on stage so it's only natural it's the song that left the biggest impact on me (moshpit-ridden "Apply Some Pressure" aside).

 

 

“From the shotgun shack to the Superdome”

 

Springsteen's Wrecking Ball album didn't actually wind up being the masterpiece it wanted to be (or that some early reviews had it pegged as) but it's not for want of trying from the lead single. While some of The Boss' more ponderous songs were let down by overindulgent production, it suits "We Take Care Of Our Own" and its "Born In The USA Part 2" message sounds as damningly relevant today as it did thirty years ago.

 

 

“Give me a second, I need to get my story straight”

 

The only band in this first batch of five I haven't seen live this year, I still insist than "We Are Young"'s greatest asset is its taut and tense opening verse. Of course after that it jumps into anthemic territory with aplomb, and a new indie disco drunken wail-a-long has been born.

 

 

“Let’s go to bed before you say how you feel”

 

I remember saying around the time of "No Hope" being released that I wasn't worried that I wasn't a big fan, because last year the Vaccines followed it with two of the year's best singles. They almost did it again this time, although "I Always Knew" doesn't seem to have hit the sweet spot with fans in the same way as "Nørgaard". A shame, as it's a nice little departure for the band with haunting vocals and lyrics seemingly stolen from Lana Del Rey.

 

 

I like The Vaccines, but I Always Knew is f***ing shit.

I like The Vaccines, but I Always Knew is f***ing shit.

Attention seeking comment is attention seeking.

 

 

45 HOWLER BACK OF YOUR NECK

44 WINGS DENIED CLOCKWORK

43 CARLY RAE JEPSEN CALL ME MAYBE

42 LOSTPROPHETS BRING 'EM DOWN

41 WE ARE THE IN CROWD ON YOUR OWN

 

 

“You think we’re Bonnie and Clyde, but both of them f***in’ died”

 

Howler can blame their excellent début America Give Up's disappointing sales at least partly down to myself - despite thinking it was excellent when I gave it a Spotify early in the year my slender budget meant I only bothered to download its lead single. I reassured myself after seeing them at Leeds with the fact that "Back of Your Neck" is easily the best thing they've put their name to, effortlessly cool and surfy while possessing a "woo-ooh" hook that refuses to leave my head even ten months on.

 

 

“Relentlessly ticking through the heartbeat of life”

 

Probably the least known track here (although not the biggest curveball), Wings Denied excel in the kind of technically proficient metal Buzzjack will run screaming from. A shame, as they don't fall into the old metal trap of being heavy for heavy's sake and "Clockwork" is almost hummable.

 

 

“Where you think you’re going, baby?”

 

Yup, I went there. Although not my favourite #1 of the year, "Call Me Maybe" is as cleverly written as any and possibly the best pure pop song to emerge in years. Also responsible for the best "yes, this is dog" meme yet. Google it now.

 

 

“Won every time but who’s keeping score?”

 

Lostprophet's Weapons is not a great record, particularly in comparison to 2010's fantastic The Betrayed. That said, the band's single choices have been immaculate in picking out its highlights and, in a year when You Me At Six have scored their biggest solo hit by sounding distinctly Lostprophets-y, this should have been huge.

 

 

“Take another step and I’ll lose it”

 

Seemingly only existing to plug the gap between Paramore albums, We Are The In Crowd did an excellent job of doing so. The only iTunes Single of the Week I've bothered with, but better than half the songs I've paid for in 2012.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/D9Urs.jpg

Back Of Your Neck is such a standout track, the contrast of some vocals of that sort to the hook is lovely. I did get the feeling that it would be by far and away their best track though - anything else of theirs worth it?

 

And.. there's nothing else here I know so far, bar the two supa-obvious ones.

Attention seeking comment is attention seeking.

 

How is it attention seeking. I'm just giving my opinion on the songs. I don't really understand how my opinion bothers you?

It took a while to click but I now think 'I Always Knew' is the best thing on The Vaccines second album, 'No Hope' I could take or leave and 'Teenage Icon' got boring after a while. Don't think they're anywhere near the best songs on the album but probably the best two to sell it unfortunately.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with 'We Are Young', thought it would be something I went off almost as quickly as I loved it, but I do find it a bit annoying now.

 

'Back of Your Neck' the best thing on 'America Give Up', should feature in my top 100.

 

'Cal; Me Maybe' ridiculously catchy, VERY surprised I never ended up hating it.

It took a while to click but I now think 'I Always Knew' is the best thing on The Vaccines second album, 'No Hope' I could take or leave and 'Teenage Icon' got boring after a while. Don't think they're anywhere near the best songs on the album but probably the best two to sell it unfortunately.

 

No it isn't. No Hope is better than that trash and even then I have to be in the right mood to listen to No Hope. Teenage Icon is amzing though. :wub:

 

I think that we can conclude that their first album is better than their current one.

You're in a very presumptuous mood. I rather like "I Always Knew" as it's just a slightly different tone to the rest of their output, "Bad Mood" is fantastic in small doses as well.

'Cal; Me Maybe' ridiculously catchy, VERY surprised I never ended up hating it.

omg YES. I was indifferent to it for the first 8 months after it got released but now it's kind of AMAZING. SO catchy.

Back Of Your Neck is such a standout track, the contrast of some vocals of that sort to the hook is lovely. I did get the feeling that it would be by far and away their best track though - anything else of theirs worth it?

 

From my faint memory of the album, "Beach Sluts" is pretty great.

40 THE VACCINES TEENAGE ICON

39 THE BLACK KEYS LITTLE BLACK SUBMARINES

38 YOU ME AT SIX THE SWARM

37 IMAGINE DRAGONS IT'S TIME

36 THE KILLERS THE WAY IT WAS

 

 

“I’m not magnetic or difficult, I’m suburban and typical”

 

Hopefully this is the Vaccines track we can all agree on. Hovering perilously close to overplay (as its equivalent "If You Wanna" did last year), I've come back around to "Teenage Icon" recently on account of its deliciously self-deprecating lyrics. The band's going to need more than a couple of sharp lines if they want to be remember in five years' time, but this is the song that makes you think they might manage it.

 

 

“Operator please, patch me back to my mind”

 

Unfortunately "Little Black Submarines" couldn't quite repeat the trick of its two predecessors (one of which I inexplicably left out of my 2011 countdown) and enter full-on ubiquity but it's not through lack of trying. The lyrical tale of a love gone AWOL isn't exactly out of the band's comfort zone, but what initially seems to be a slight album track akin to Muse's "Soldier's Poem" decides to go apeshit exactly halfway through and is all the better for it.

 

 

“I cannot bear to watch it burn”

 

While I've already mentioned that YMA6 seem to be veering towards Lostprophets impersonations recently, that's not to say they're not truly excellent. While many British bands seem to be stagnating (Bullet, I'm looking at you), they stand out by appearing to be on the cusp of something huge.

 

 

“The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell”

 

Oddly, the only one of my BJSC entries from this year not to make my top 50 is by far the most successful. In truth "Radioactive" wouldn't have even been in the contest had "It's Time" not already been used.

 

 

“Did you forget all about those golden nights?”

 

Even by The Killers’ high standards, Battle Born is a fairly blustery record. That’s no bad thing when the band pulls it off, and they often do so with aplomb. However, the album’s finest moments came when Brandon Flowers cut out the bullshit about soldiers, dancers and men who may or may not look like Jesus and aimed straight for the heart. “The Way It Was” is unquestionably one of the moments, a song of affecting poignancy sung by a man whose voice suits sounding vulnerable rather well.

 

 

"It's Time" :wub: I like how my entry has made it in over your own - I've come to love "Radioactive" almost as much though. "Teenage Icon" is great too, the first single from The Vaccines that I've really enjoyed.

35 NO DOUBT SETTLE DOWN

34 TENACIOUS D RIZE OF THE FENIX

33 THE HEAVY WHAT MAKES A GOOD MAN?

32 SLEIGH BELLS TRUE SHRED GUITAR

31 SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA & KNIFE PARTY ANTIDOTE

 

 

“Been around the block before, doesn’t matter anymore”

 

No Doubt aren't a band I wasn't old enough to pay attention to before their hiatus, but hype about their comeback was considerable enough (across the pond at least) for me to check out their comeback single. I'm rather glad I did, as its nagging melody has occupied my head ever since first listen when I'm sure that otherwise something far more annoying would have done.

 

 

“What will we do about all the fans who have the D tattoo?”

 

While I didn't bother with No Doubt's comeback album on account of some fairly poor reactions, my disappointment with Tenacious D's was doubled as I had read some rather complimentary things before I got my hands on it. Easily the album's standout is its lead single, first song and title track which goes with the "throw everything at the wall and hope for the best" approach and actually pulls it off.

 

 

“Indelible is what I need to spread the word”

 

The second of my BJSC flops to appear, I worry for The Heavy if they couldn't even catch a break with the soulful hooks of "What Makes A Good Man?" and its appearance on at least one major TV advert. Oh well, the world's loss.

 

 

“If you’ve seen what I’ve seen, bury me”

 

Sleigh Bells surprised some this year by releasing an album mainly consisting of songs reaching more than three minutes, so it's odd that the most powerful song on the album was the intro, which barely reached two despite starting with a crowd sample. "True Shred Guitar" is, as well as being the name of my blog, as close as the band have got to encapsulating their insane live shows.

 

 

“There’s a glitch in my system rushing through my whole existence”

 

Sadly neglected in a year when SHM released arguably the dance tracks of the summer and winter, "Antidote" appeals to me because it keeps the spiky edges that never seen to make it onto big dance hits unless they're released by superstars. Simple and devastatingly effective.

 

 

I liked Antidote and it was my New Year anthem for 2012, but my love for the song wore off too quickly. :(

 

I hope that the other two Swedish House Mafia songs form 2012 make it in this countdown though, they are both in my Top 20 songs of 2012. :wub:

Edited December 15, 201212 yr by ★ G R I E F ★

30 LINKIN PARK IN MY REMAINS

29 JAPANDROIDS THE HOUSE THAT HEAVEN BUILT

28 G.O.O.D MUSIC MERCY

27 SKRILLEX AND THE DOORS BREAKN' A SWEAT

26 LANA DEL REY NATIONAL ANTHEM

 

 

“Like an army, falling one by one by one”

 

Another Linkin Park album, another decline in sales and another collective "meh" from critics. Living Things was actually a very different beast from its predecessor, and its more refined and focused approach was epitomised by the stadium-sized "In My Remains". Not a big departure from lead single "Burn It Down" but it is elevated above its better known brother by a middle eight as anthemic (and sort of meaningless) as any in the band's discography.

 

 

“Tell them all they’re in love with my shadow”

 

Celebration Rock has figured in many year end best of lists but, like Howler, Japandroids fell foul of my bank account and I have only yet invested in the album's lead single. Probably the most anthemic (that word again) song to ever be saddled with the term "noise rock".

 

 

“Most rappers’ taste level ain’t at my waist level”

 

Frankly, "Mercy" is not a vintage moment for the rappers at the helm of any of its verses. It is instead a testament to the ability of Kanye West as a producer to elevate a run-of-the-mill track to future classic status. Minimalist beats in a maximalist setting, interspersed with perfectly picked and manipulated samples, are what he does better than anyone.

 

 

“I can envision maybe one person with, um, a lot of machines”

 

By the time summer had been and gone, everyone seemed to have gone crazy for "Bangarang" and forgotten about the song that preceded it - for me Skrillex's best moment to date. Its key is, unsurprisingly, its drop but this is the first Skrillex drop that actually sounds like an old fashioned hook. He may not have had as vintage a year as was predicted but "Breakn' a Sweat" justifies it on its own.

 

 

“So before we go out, what’s your address?”

 

Because when Lana implores you to tell her she's your national anthem, you'll fucking do it.

 

 

Skrillex makes me sad :(

25 GREEN DAY STAY THE NIGHT

24 BLACKLISTED ME REPROBATE ROMANCE

23 B.o.B SO GOOD

22 THE BLACK KEYS GOLD ON THE CEILING

21 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM HERE COMES MY MAN

 

 

“D’you wanna share a ride and get the f*** out of this joint?”

 

When I can be bothered I'll probably write a detailed analysis of Green Day's trilogy of new albums, but for now I'll rewind back to September and to the highlight of ¡Uno!. Innovative it is not but the band still packs a punch and, aided with a clever lyrical sketch subverting the usual tale of the one that got away, "Stay the Night" pushes all the right buttons. It even comes with a "woah-oh" moment already built in for those summer stadium shows.

 

 

“Listen when you feel your heart skip a beat”

 

Yet another BJSC flop, if We Are The In Crowd benefited from a lack of Paramore in 2012 then Blacklisted Me capitalised on Evanescence's absence to worm their way into my heart. "Reprobate Romance" is simple, trashy goth rock-inflected pop at its best.

 

 

“Spin the globe, wherever it lands – that’s where we’ll go”

 

Frankly, "Mercy" is not a vintage moment for the rappers at the helm of any of its verses. It is instead a testament to the ability of Kanye West as a producer to elevate a run-of-the-mill track to future classic status. Minimalist beats in a maximalist setting, interspersed with perfectly picked and manipulated samples, are what he does better than anyone.

 

 

“Roar at the door, my mind can’t take much more”

 

"Lonely Boy" was a fairly instant hit for me at the end of last year but the Black Keys' follow up was struggling to achieve the same levels of CharlieLove™ until summer came around and it became the inescapable sound of festival season. In retrospect that seems mad, the titanic riff on the bridge is exactly the kind of thing that usually snags my ear.

 

 

“Never mind what you like, I’ll take it out in the streets or someone else to admire”

 

Another follow up to a rock radio staple, "Here Comes My Man" was far more instant for me. Brian Fallon's voice has this year sounded a little more scorched than in the past and it suits the desperate and exhausted tone here.

 

 

Your music taste is so obvious but I love most of these songs. :D (apart from B.O.B., urgh :puke:)

http://www.hiphoplead.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kanye-West41-359x270.jpg http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/assets_c/2012/05/BoB-grill-thumb-473xauto-9625.jpg

 

20 G.O.O.D MUSIC TO THE WORLD

 

“Mitt Romney don’t pay no tax”

 

19 B.o.B feat. MORGAN FREEMAN BOMBS AWAY

 

“So in the final analysis, could it be that we are fighting a war that can’t be won?”

 

 

Two hip-hop albums I found slightly underwhelming this year were both led off by absolutely massive opening tracks. For Kanye it's arguably been a case of too many cooks this decade - "solo" effort Dark Twisted Fantasy was sublime, last year's Watch The Throne with his best mate was impressive but his attempt to bring his entire label's roster on board was a rather disappointing affair that was saved by a scorching opening. "To The World" can throw you on first listen - with only crooner R Kelly in support you wouldn't expect Kanye to wait until the song was over halfway finished before unleashing his sole verse. But Kelly's star turn is partly what makes the track, his voice still recognisable after all these years but distorted by Kanye until it resembles a computerised yelp.

 

Bobby Ray Simmonds didn't dare do the same to Hollywood royalty on "Bombs Away". In terms of surprising hip-hop moments in 2012 this surely takes the proverbial biscuit - many rappers are known for being in touch with their religious side but few would have thought to ask God himself to record a voiceover track for their album. Even fewer would have still been able to wrestle the limelight away from the Almighty, but B.o.B does exactly that with a barrage of memorable lines including the brilliant "I ain't too big on duality / but you think you know me? / you ain't seen the half of me!". Add in a stadium-sized drum fill leading to an equally stadium-sized chorus and BANG, career highlight.