(All week, we’re counting down our favorite songs of 2012. If you missed any previous entries, you can catch up here. Enjoy the music).
40. Spider Bags – “Friday Night”
Whenever I listen to this song, I make sure that I have a beer handy. So I can spill it on myself. -LVL
39. Grizzly Bear – “Sleeping Ute”
When I first heard this track, I needed to confirm I was in fact listening to Grizzly Bear. -PTL
38. Schoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar – “Blessed”
Two of our favorite hip-hop artists (and tour mates) join forces on this minimalist track where Schoolboy’s slow flow sets the table for Lamar’s breakneck guest verse. We all blessed. -KLM
37. Tame Impala – “Apocalypse Dreams”
Wait, this is only track three? Woah. -PTL
36. Killer Mike feat. Bun B, T.I. & Trouble – “Big Beast”
I lived in Atlanta for many years, and I hate virtually everything about that city. I say “virtually” because of T.I.’s verse on this track. -LVL
35. Spiritualized – “Hey Jane”
“Hey Jane” could have simply been a three minute pop song. But Jason Pierce and Co. had the chutzpah to resuscitate the song after a fake-out ending, rendering a triumphant extended outro that can be read as allegorical to the rest of the album. -AH
34. Liars – “No. 1 Against the Rush”
The lead single off Liars’ more subdued and krautrockish album WIXIW offers a step away from deranged guitar-based art-rock into a world of more ethereal quality. Despite a driving bass line, the vague lyrics and subtle experimentation still create a disorienting effect. -AH
33. The Tallest Man on Earth – “1904″
Some songs are just too beautiful for words. -LVL
32. Lower Dens – “Alphabet Song”
There’s a lot riding on an album’s opening track. It’s got to leave a mark – a good, splotchy hickey that’ll have you sporting turtlenecks for days. “Alphabet Song” just leaves a permanent tattoo on your soul, so at least you don’t need the turtleneck. -TH
31. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Only In My Dreams”
“Only In My Dreams” is Ariel Pink through and through: delightful, hard to pin down, and a little bit surreal. This is the song that commands you to share it with your unabashedly top 40-loving friend who finds your taste endearingly strange. And yeah, they like it. -TH
Check back tomorrow for #30-21.