Songs of 2012: Apocalypse, Whu?

A few weeks ago, some believed that the Mayan Long Count Calendar would represent an end to the human race, with large beastly demigods destroying the planet Earth and its inhabitants. Thankfully, not true. However, what if the end was nigh? Would you have been pleased that the songs of 2012 made you dance with joy before being eaten by Quetzalcoatl? Would you kick rocks and wait impatiently for doom knowing that you would never-ever have to listen to Mumford and Sons one more time? Or would you moon over the albums that you would miss in 2013 as the moon plummeted toward us? Our mightee verdicts are below:

 2012 brought us great songs from the past…

Peter Gabriel – Courage The 25^th anniversary of So, a touchstone for many, helped us to remember true genius in music and video and unearthed this great demo.

R.E.M. – Oddfellows Local 151 (Live) Another anniversary, this time for Stipe and Co.’s last album for IRS. B-sides and demos were not included, but a fine live album was.

The Sultans of Ping F.C. – Where’s Me Jumper The theme for Chris O’Dowd’s amazing Moone Boy sitcom has a new life of its own.

The Decemberists – Leslie Ann Levine A fine live album from a great band. “Now who wants to learn a song about press gangs and infanticide?”

2012 made us think of the future…

Atoms for Peace – What The Eyeballs Did It would be a shame to be headed for the end of the world without hearing the rest of this album.

Foals – Inhaler A different take for the Foals. Looking forward to hearing the other tracks.

Yo La Tengo – Stupid Things It’s just not a great year without a bit of drone, some covers and Georgia.

2012 brought us great music to live in the present…

Aimee Mann – Labrador As Aimee Mann gets older, her albums get even better. I think she’s getting taller, too.

DIIV – Geist This band and Django Django won a place in my heart this year with great and simple songs.

Django Django – Life’s a Beach See above.

David Byrne & St. Vincent – The One Who Broke Your Heart This album was kind of an underdog this year. I encourage everyone to enjoy it with repeat listenings.

The Allah-Las – Seven Point Five Garage rock produced by Nick Waterhouse (who released a great album this year, too) for that “natural” sound.

Bob Mould – Angels Rearrange Return to form? He never left.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Jeremy A Magnetic Fields cover that may best the original.

The Secret History – Sergio A new album this year, Michael?

Savages – I Am Here (Live in Bristol, Thekla) A few singles and a live EP. We are truly ready for a full-length recording.

And finally, the catchiest thing you needed to hear in 2012 (with accompanying video)…

Tangerine Kitty – Dumb Ways to Die

Have a great year and get ready to hear more from Thee Mightee Kittens in 2013!

I love you, listen to this…also.

Have you had a chance to hear these songs yet? You are such a liar. I can’t believe you have turned my blog into a house of lies.

Paul Weller – That Dangerous Age

Real Estate – Blue Lebaron

The Decemberists – One Engine

Dirty Projectors – Gun Has No Trigger

Also, please support one of my favorite bands, The Secret History. They have a new single, “Sergio”, up at their bandcamp site here. Listen, enjoy, swoon…

The World That Never Was

The current season of Dr. Who has finished on BBC America. And not to say bad about David Tennant’s run, but this season was much better written and acted by all involved. And the ending? Well, maybe it was the beginning…

The Secret History – Love Theme (from The World That Never Was)

Bela Lugosi’s Dead (and I don’t feel so hot myself)

This week brought us the latest from the Secret History – The World that Never Was. I have been trying to decide how to describe this effort – an evolution/revolution, a maturity, a rebirth, an undead-filled travelogue set to music and played in the darkest hours  – and neither seems to provide an adequate adjective for this amazing record.

Picking up where the darkly shining Desolation Town EP left off, the songs are more fully realized and the indie-pop hooks are equally abundant. Lisa Ronson and Erin Dermody are in fine voice, and we are treated to lead vocals by Michael Grace, Jr. on two pieces. The music is an equal partner in the songs, augmenting them with some great rhythms and soloing.

It’s hard to pick which song is my favorite, so I chose to add Count Backwards (Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Dies) to this post as a sample track. It fires on all cylinders, especially the choruses and the cathartic end piece.

I recommend that you purchase this document of indie-pop’s new vanguard at your local record shop or download it online. There’s a full album stream up at Spinner, too.

The Secret History: Count Backwards (Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Dies)