Guys, 2012 was a long year. It was also one full of some great music (and some really bad music). Because yeah, there was [name of song in my top 5 that I don't want to type until you see it at the end here] and [same], but we also had the inescapable “Gangnam Style,” “Call Me Maybe,” and the year’s biggest musical manslaughter, “Moves Like Jagger.” But while Adam Levine put about as much thought into his music as there was fabric in his shirts (explanation: his shirts look like they are very thin and are made with very little fabric), there were some great musicians making some great music.

It was the year the guitar returned, with Cloud Nothings, The Men, PUJOL, and many more dusting off those rarely used distortion pedals, and to great results. That said, my list still features a prominent amount of folky guitar tunes because I am a suburban white male. Thems the breaks.

A few notes before I get to my list:

- I like sad white guys with guitars music, as I said, so it’s mostly that
- Standard rule: One song per artist (otherwise this whole list would’ve been Japandroids, Mountain Goats, and Bahamas)
- At the bottom of the list is an embedded Spotify playlist of all the songs available there, those not available have links to places where they are
- Sometime next week, my Top 20 albums list will be coming too

Here’s a fun fact: A song each from the first five albums of 2012 I listened to (according to my running 2012 playlist on Spotify) made this list. And one more thing before I get to it all: This is some full-on nepotism but two of my favorite songs this year were written by friends of mine. My buddy Luke’s “Shawn’s Farewell Song” is my most-listened-to track this year, and my friend Drew’s “Old Gray Bones,” on which I play the worst drums ever recorded, would have made the top 20 here even if I didn’t know him, I swear.

And now, without further ado, are my top 75 songs/tracks/jams of 2012. Feel free to complain about how boring and white my list is in the comments.

75. John Wesley Harding and the English UK – Making Love To Bob Dylan
74. School Of Seven Bells – Low Times
73. The Maccabees – Ayla
72. Leonard Cohen – Darkness
71. Arctic Splash – Denim Tuxedo
70. Line & Circle – Roman Ruins
69. Morgan Page (feat. Tegan and Sara) – Body Work
68. Icona Pop – I Love It – feat. Charli XCX
67. Glen Hansard – High Hope
66. Zulu Winter – We Should Be Swimming
65. The Antlers – Drift Dive
64. Crocodiles – Electric Death Song
63. Pujol – DIY2KA
62. Dum Dum Girls – Lord Knows
61. Fionn Regan – Salt & Cloves
60. Band of Horses – Slow Cruel Hands Of Time
59. Heyward Howkins – Cocaine Bill
58. The Men – Open Your Heart
57. Michael Kiwanuka – I’ll Get Along
56. The Walkmen – Heaven
55. Bad Books – The After Party
54. Jens Lekman – Every Little Hair Knows Your Name
53. The Lumineers – Stubborn Love
52. Dirty Projectors – About to Die
51. Devin – Masochist
50. Eternal Summers – You Kill
49. Sun Airway – Close
48. River City Extension – Glastonbury
47. The Tallest Man On Earth – Wind and Walls
46. Bleeding Rainbow – Pink Ruff
45. Low Cut Connie – Boozophilia
44. Hoots & Hellmouth – I Don’t Mind Your Cussing
43. Robert Pollard – Pontius Pilate Heart
42. Craig Finn – Balcony
41. Advance Base – Riot Grrrls
40. The Spinto Band – Muesli
39. Keaton Henson – You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are
38. Delta Spirit – Time Bomb
37. Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
36. Passion Pit – Carried Away
35. Titus Andronicus – Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With The Flood Of Detritus
34. The Killers – Flesh And Bone
33. Frank Ocean – Thinkin Bout You
32. Dr. Dog – Lonesome
31. Benjamin Gibbard – Bigger Than Love
30. Cursive – Eulogy for No Name
29. Nothing – Downward Years to Come
28. Hospitality – Friends of Friends
27. The Soft Pack – Bobby Brown
26. Strand of Oaks – Diamond Drill
25. Sun Kil Moon – I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was the Greatest Night of My Life
24. Grizzly Bear – Yet Again
23. Cat Power – Ruin
22. Heartless Bastards – Parted Ways
21. Desaparecidos – MariKKKopa
20. Sea Of Bees – Gone
19. Cloud Nothings – Stay Useless
18. Santigold – The Riot’s Gone
17. Justin Townes Earle – Am I That Lonely Tonight?
16. Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?
15. Sharon Van Etten – Leonard
14. Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
13. The Magnetic Fields – Andrew in Drag
12. Bat For Lashes – Laura
11. We Are Augustines – Ballad of a Patient Man (released this year on an iTunes Session)
10. Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built
9. La Sera – I Can’t Keep You in My Mind
8. King Tuff – Wild Desire
7. Bloc Party – V.A.L.I.S.
6. Paul Banks – Young Again
5. Fiona Apple – Anything We Want
4. Bahamas – Your Sweet Touch
3. The Shins – Simple Song
2. The Mountain Goats – Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1
1. Now, Now – School Friends

Below are seven great songs by Jewish people, and a full playlist of great tunes can be found here. Stay tuned for my post next week about great Jewish film characters, because Easter is kinda lame.

Leonard Cohen – “The Stranger Song”

Amy Winehouse – “You Know I’m No Good”

Eef Barzelay (Clem Snide) – “Faithfully”

Beastie Boys – “So What’cha Want?”

Regina Spektor – “Us”

Serge Gainsbourg – “Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus”

David Lee Roth – “Just A Gigolo”

WHO DID I MISS?

99% of all movies have the same plot line. It’s true. Somebody or something wants somebody or something. I challenge you to challenge me. So it is no secret that shit get regurgitated. Mmmmmmmm, my mouth waters thinking about that. In 2006, Michael Rapaport stared in a movie known as Special. In 2008 Marvel Comics released the Kick-Ass comic series and eventually in 2010 the masses were introduced to the film adaptation. Now I never read the comics and probably never will, but all that is mentioned about Kick-Ass is solely based on the movie.

1. Life Sucks. Comics are Cool Though. Am I Right Guys?

Chew it over and spit it out, both of these dudes are the same dudes. Aside from a few cameos, who the hell is Aaron Johnson? I’m sure his career will pick up and we’ll all say “Oh, it’s that dude from Kick-Ass”. Just like when the Woman in Black came out and we found out that Harry Potter was the main character. Michael Rapaport on the other hand is a huge star, not really though… He has done some voice overs for video games and is sort of well known.

Rapaport was along side Tom Jane in Deep Blue Sea. Mmmmmm Tom Jane. My mouth waters thinking about him. Each character in their respective roles of point, both love comics so they become real life superheroes, based on influence and misfortune in their lives. One’s origin is a single meter maid who has it rough and is depressed with his life; overall a defeated ordinary older man. The other is a teenage boy with a dead mom who isn’t popular in school.

2. I Love a Man in Uniform.

I personally think the square on Kick-Ass’s face makes him look like a total wiener. There is no wiener on Special’s face however. Bad word play. When it comes down to it, I’ll let you decide which costume is cooler. Kick-Ass has nightsticks and eventually a jetpack. Special has a hood. Later in the future he does get a badass eyepiece though.

Rapaport’s suit looks way more resilient. I mean really, he gets hit by a car and shit. Yes, I know that scene has greater meaning than the badassary of his suit. Kick-Ass is more hero in that he conceals his identity well. Spcecial isn’t too concerned with that. He just wants to do good stuff! Kick-Ass thought about getting a cape, that’s just dumb. Special represents himself, the same way Batman or Spider-Man does. Johnson falls short. Ha, Johnson falls short. Penis innuendo.

3.What Really Matters: the Powers.

Although Special doesn’t really have any powers, he kicks Kick-Ass’s ass in this department. Kick-Ass can take a beating because he was hit by a car and didn’t get back up right away like Rapaport does when a car hits him. That’s the only power he has. Special, can do a whole bunch. He can fly, disappear, read minds, walk threw walls, float in air, and time travel.

4. The Dame.

Maybe it’s just me but other than these two movies, neither Lyndsy Fonseca of Kick-Ass or Alexandra Holden of Special are familiar faces. Both of these women are sexable however, as all superhero dames are. But which one is more sexable? That’s the question. And by sexable I mean good actress, role suiting, and plot importance of course. They both serve their curve in each movie, one gets kidnapped, and the other rings out groceries. One gets sexed, the other gets robbed. Both are moral support for the hero.

5. The Baddies.

The tangled interrelation of the villains to Kick-Ass’s allies is smart and intriguing. All of it boils down to father issues, mother issues, and broken families. Red Mist is a product of his father. Kick-Ass is a product of his imagination. Not to say that Hit-Girl is a villain but, she is the product of her father. What I like about Special is that both the hero and the villains are the product of the same thing. A dream.

6. To Friend an Ally

So every hero needs a confidant. Kick-Ass chooses not to go by this route but he keeps his friends close. He spends much of his non hero time with them talking about things relevant to his alter ego to pool information about things he cares about regarding Kick-Ass and his love life. Special on the other hand, who also keeps around two friends, shares his alter identity. Kick-Ass spends time around the kid from Sex Drive, Clark Duke, who has an awesome name. While Josh Peck hangs out Rapaport. If you see this movie, you get to watch Peck make a hysterical sad face. It’s priceless.

7. Comics and Comics

In both cases, people influenced by the glory of comics wrote these stories. The fantasy of turning your life around in an instant as if the lottery was won serves as the same theme. Both characters see the misery that life can be. Both make separate attempts at what they view as their calling.

Springsteen has incorporated female characters to his songwriting ever since his debut album in 1973, when we were first introduced to Mary. At that time, she was the Queen of Arkansas, but has really evolved into his most beloved inamorata. Although he’s referenced Mary most frequently, the rest of his celebrated squeezes are just as significant. Below, these women (or men. There has long been contention that Terry from “Backstreets” is actually a male, which would make it the most heart-wrenching tale of a bromance in the history of bros or romance) make up Springsteen’s most storied lovers. So to make it irrefutable, based on the corresponding songs and their detailed, feminine lyrics, I pose this question:

Women who didn’t make the cut: Terry, Sherry, Maria, Kate, Crazy Janey, Gloria, Mary Lou, Cherry, Leah, the barefoot girl, Theresa, Doreen (Sorry, Pop), Fish Lady, and Dirty Annie.

If you think everything I just said is a bunch of hokey bullshit, well allow myself to describe it in a different way. Shit happens inside of your head. Your dreams come from some compartment in that fucked up head of yours. Your worries are the creepy crawlies off to the left. On the right, is the gallery of people you hope you’ll never see again.The spatial awareness you need for your weird sexual fantasies is around the top, near the God source.

It’s only a matter of time before all of these complicated thoughts and energies begin to coalesce outside of the skull. Eventually they’ll become visible in the mirror. The next step will be manifestation in the real world; when your friends, family and enemies start looking above you to the things sitting on and escaping from your head.

So what was it that made I Melt With You awesome? Why should you see it?

1. Sasha Grey Is In It.

Any sexually sound heterosexual male who doesn’t know crap about movies or what it really takes to make a good one, still appreciated The Black Swan. That movie had something in it for every member of the family. It had the Mila Kunis/Natalie Portman sex extravaganza for the dads and the Mila Kunis/Natalie Portman sex extravaganza for the moms. And who could forget the best part of the movie for the kids when there was that Mila Kunis/Natalie Portman sex extravaganza?

Sasha Grey is a do it all and them some sort of porn star if you know what I mean. She made her debut acting career on her feet and not her knees in The Girlfriend Experience. Since then her loins have ached for something new, to be a real boy, and make money with her clothes on. Fortunately that slips her mind in this film. It’s pretty cool.

2. Jeremy Piven Being High.

Let Smoking Aces be where I stand in mentioning that when need be, Jeremy Piven pulls off doing drugs well. That’s what his character did in that movie. But he didn’t look at all as trashed or sad in that, even by the end, as he does in I Melt With You. Being the under rated actor I consider him to be, I should mention his other role that is weirdly similar to I Melt With You. Everyone forgot about the morbid dark comedy of 1998, Very Bad Things. Like this movie and The Hangover, a bunch of friends get together, get high, and shit get shitty. Jeremy Piven is high in both roles like a champ, being sad and dealing with death.

3. The Colors.

12 Angry Men started with a wide shot and space but the longer they spent in the room and the closer to the end of the film the cameras closed in. I Melt With You did the same thing. To say this movie started out happy as the deep saturated colors suggest, would be foolish. But as the movie slipped further into despair, all color disappeared.

The opening shot fades in and tilts down on Thomas Jane in a classroom lecturing. Three students to the right of the glass are wearing equally pungent colors. The second half of the movie appears to be a world drained of all color. Reflecting every emotion the characters are feeling.

4. The Symbolism and Beauty in the Cut Aways.

Not nearly as drastic as Tree of Life but this movie made a point to cut away to different objects or monuments of beauty to either reflect emotion of a scene’s greater point or to act as foreshadowing. These pieces as well as the Mise en scène capture you as the audience. To go into greater detail would spoil the movie. But what I will say is that the character’s lives are unfolding in a beautiful place, the mundane object around their place are each shot so well, they should be placed on a canvas and lastly the balloon shots in this movie speak for miles.

5. The Music & Sound.

Every song that plays is relevant. Subtle background sounds consume the setting and create the perfect vibe for this movie. The soundtrack is worth at least downloading. The movie opens with a series words flashing. The sound pulsating in the background along with the meaning behind each of these words, put the audience in the best state of mind to watch this film.

01. All Going Out Together – Big Dipper
02. Blue Thunder – Galaxie 500
03. Skyscraper – Julian Plenti
04. Hey Man, Nice Shot – Filter
05. Maggot Brain – Funkadelic
06. Do The Dog – The Specials
07. Just Like Honey – The Jesus and Mary Chain
08. Kundalini Express – Love And Rockets
09. Caribou – The Pixies
10. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything – Bauhaus
11. I Melt With You 2011 – Modern English
12. Dog Eat Dog – Adam and the Ants
13. The Lawn – Deep Six
14. Here – tomandandy

6. The First and Last Lines of the Movie.

What better way to complement Thomas Jane then by showing a screen shot of him coked out driving fast? I could have showed a shot from him in Mortal Kombat, which he wasn’t in. The beginning of the movie he states to his class “Words are tools. You use the words to create. To create. But that doesn’t necessarily mean to build. It means sometimes we use words to chip away at ourselves.” Foreshadowing. At the end of the movie he simply states, “I miss my friends”. And then he… The dialogue in this movie is well written and heavy. Each character is portrayed perfectly.

 7. Your Dick, It Will Shit.

As adult film physically excite you, Saw movies make you want to vomit, or Lord of the Rings movies put you to sleep, this movie will make you want to die. Here are four tortured souls, watch as they self-destruct. Did you enjoy your college years? Are you happy with who you are or where you are going? Not any more. Anything you have ever been sad about will come up while watching this movie. Each character represents at least one major heartache each of us has experienced at least once. Love. Lack of. Career failure. Money. Family. Regret. Aging. Lets hope our lives don’t turn out the way theirs does.

The Shins – Port Of Morrow

Suggested Tracks: “September,” “The Rifle’s Spiral,” “Fall of ’82″

This is the comeback album The Strokes wish they could have made.

Bahamas – Barchords

Suggested Tracks: “Be My Witness,” “Lost In The Light,” “Caught Me Thinkin”

Canadian guy makes a record that sounds like M. Ward fell out of his static-filled radio and ended up on a beach.

Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory

Suggested Tracks: “No Future/No Past,” “Fall In,” “Stay Useless”

This is what Tokyo Police Club would sounds like if they broke their synth and were pretty angry about it.

Sharon Van Etten – Tramp

Suggested Tracks: “Serpents,” “Give Out,” “Leonard”

Sharon falls in/out of love … convincingly, with guidance from The National’s Aaron Dessner.

The Men – Open Your Heart

Suggested Tracks: “Animal,” “Open Your Heart,” “Candy”

After listening to a ton of jangle-pop, The Men found all the guitars everyone in indie rock had been ignoring for years.

Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball

Suggested Tracks:”Wrecking Ball,” “Death To My Hometown,” “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “We Are Alive”

Bruce Springsteen (maybe you’ve heard of him) makes his best record since the 80s, and it’s (mostly) devoid of filler.

Delta Spirit – Delta Spirit

Suggested Tracks: “Time Bomb,” “Empty House,” “Idaho,” “Money Saves”

As of yet, it’s far behind their stellar History From Below, but for a band that claims to have finally found their sound, it’s a good mix of new and old.

The knife work is meticulous. These artists will set aside days, weeks and months to create ideas and images that could have been done in hours using another medium. The pieces will be created with/through phone books, antique livres, custom made 図書, and fresh off the press bücher. The art will spring forth from the stories inside the literature, and other times you’ll be staring at something that resembles the colorful meanderings of a child, i.e. butterflies.

For the manlier folk out there, there are some skulls, gun fights and sea monsters.

These are the covers that have always provoked thoughts and memories. I picture most, if not all, on my walls one day.

Our Endless Numbered Days (Iron and Wine)

The College Dropout (Kanye West)

Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)

All We Grow (S. Carey)

Sad Clown Bad Summer (Atmosphere)

The Heart of Saturday Night (Tom Waits)

Stay What You Are (Saves the Day)

“Easy Lover” – Philip Bailey / Phil Collins

“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” – Stevie Nicks / Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“Where The Wild Roses Grow” – Nick Cave / Kylie Minogue

“Rosyln” – St. Vincent / Bon Iver

“Think You Can Wait” – The National feat. Sharon Van Etten

“Knotty Pine” – David Byrne / Dirty Projectors

“Carpetbaggers” – Jenny Lewis / Elvis Costello