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Top Indie Songs of 2012: Pop and Electro (11-20)

What is this nonsense, you ask, posting yet another 11-20 list? How can I withold the Top Ten Indie Rock songs from you still? Relax, my pretties. You will find these indie pop gems just as satisfying as the coveted forthcoming indie rock songs. This year’s list has more pop and less electro. If that means anything to you, don’t worry, there’s plenty of electro too.

Sporegod by Zhectoid
Sporegod by Zhectoid

 

The Best Indie Pop of 2012

  1. Van She – Idea of Happiness
    From “Idea of Happiness” July, 2012

    Hey, were you a fan of Duran Duran at one point? How about New Order? “Idea of Happiness” is an example of the way new wave has been invented as electro. Much of it isn’t the hard-edged new wave of Blondie or the quirky new wave of the Talking Heads. Some of it was addictive pop rock that sounded a lot like Van She.

    Which is not to say that Van She is derivative. This electro album has a tropical theme, and not just because the album has songs called “Jamaica” and “Calypso.” Van She kept it electro, but seems to have found his sounds from the tropical instruments on his midi player.

    “Jamaica” is another great song on this album, arguably better even than “Idea of Happiness”. But since I burned up “Jamaica” when it was a single in 2011, “Idea of Happiness” is what makes it on the 2012 list.

    Get Idea of Happiness.

  2. Die Antwoord – Baby’s On Fire
    From the album Ten$ion, January 2012

    This South African rap-rave group is way over the top and that’s part of their charm. They bring big beats and big bling with a wink and a nod. Are they being artful? Ironic? Sincere? Who gives flying ninja? Just dance. If you like this, check out “I Fink U Freeky” on the Top Ten Dance Songs of 2012 playlist.

    Get Ten$ion.

  3. Sam Sparro – The Shallow End
    From the album Return to Paradise out Dec, 2012. 

    Frankly, most of Sam Sparro’s stuff is too diva house for my taste. It doesn’t bother me that the songs are gayer than a pink petticoat at the Pride parade (Mika, anyone?), it’s just a little too clean and pretty for my tastes. But “The Shallow End” has won me over.

    This one is catchy enough to cross over to my Top Dance Songs of 2012 list, but I think when it is competing against a bunch of bangers it doesn’t get a chance to shine as much as it does here.

    Have you ever been a part of a scene? A place where, if only there were clothes on the floor, you’d feel for certain you were tearing it up like you do in your room when no one’s watching? This infectious groove is a tribute to beautiful scenesters dressing up and looking pretty at the club. It has horns. It has woo-hoos. Not just team whoops but singular shouts and rising “Aaaahhhhs!” “The Shallow End” is a reminder of why disco is making a come-back.

    Get Return to Paradise.

  4. Future Screens – Don’t Stop

    Alas, I don’t have this track to give you, but you can stream all four songs off their 2012 self-titled release, and pay any damn price you please. Three cheers for Bandcamp!


    Get Future Screens.

  5. AlunaGeorge – Your Drums, Your Drums, Your Love
    Single released December, 2012

    I like AlunaGeorge, but I love this song. Due to a remix competition there were tons of remixes of this in 2012, but none of them have the odd little pitch-shifted robotic sample, so I’m sticking with the original.

    Lyrically, I also like the idea of the song. “You say that I’m going nowhere” she sings, and then “I’ve been trying to reach you for so long,” conflating the idea of moving towards your dreams with the idea of moving closer in a relationship. And so many can relate to the idea that it’s hard to move forward when the people you care about don’t believe in you. It’s a simple, poetic expression of a familiar feeling.

    Get the remixes of “Your Drums, Your Drums, Your Love.”

  6. Bago – Forget You
    From Sunday’s Best mixtape, August 2012

    Fans of Portishead, Hooverphonic, CocoRosie, and Lana Del Rey take note. I got your dark and sexy middle-of-the-night kiss off song right here. It’s good for fucking, and it’s good for “fuck you.”

    Bajo doesn’t have a major label release; you can get more of her songs on her Soundcloud.

  7. Noisettes – That Girl
    From Contact, September 2012

    If you find The Noisettes are only 17th on this list, it’s because I was disappointed that every song on their 2012 album Contact wasn’t an absolute classic, because that’s what I’ve come to expect after the release of Wild Young Hearts. Unfair, I know. Lots of keeper tracks here, but “That Girl” was the instant addiction.

    Get Contact.

  8. Shindu – Just Go
    From the May 2012 EP, Just Go

    Shindu doesn’t have an album with a major label, but check out the remixes and mixtapes on her Soundcloud.

  9. Alex Winston – Fire Ant
    From King Con, April 2012

    Almost as good as “Sister Wife,” Alex Winston’s single about the trials of being a Mormon wife. The single for that came out in 2012, but both are on her 2013 album King Con.

    Get King Con.

  10. Purity Ring – Fineshrine
    From the July 2012 album, Shrines

    Listening to this album reminds me of the crisp futuristic vibe from the first Ladytron album. Not that they sound similar, more that hearing it, I thought, these ladies know what the future sounds like. If you like this song, you will like the whole album. M83 fans, or anyone who likes slow electro with complex layers, will like this.

    Get Shrines.

There’s still the Top Ten Best Indie Pop Songs of 2012 to come, as well as The Top Ten Indie Rock Songs of 2012 and there’s hip-hop coming too. For the harder dance sounds, check out the Top 20 Dance Songs of 2012 Part I and Part II. And the Top 20 Indie Rock list has been kicked off for those who like it a little more crunchy. Plenty of downloads for everyone!

Gotta Hear This Music, Playlists

Top Ten Dance Songs of 2012

The Best Dance Songs of the Year

fanning my vagina for these hot dance songs

With joy I present the hottest dance songs of 2012. These have been tested on random samples of teenage girls, drag queens, and punk rock kittens. Well, actually just on me, but those folks all live in my heart. And deep within my heart, when they hear these tracks they dance.

Top Dance Songs of 2012

  1. Azealia Banks – 212
    From the June 2012 EP 1991
    This properly belongs on my hip-hop list, and you’ll find it there, but it deserves the top spot on my Best Dance Songs list. I tried to avoid duplication, but it truly deserves a high-ranking spot on both lists. I only DJed a few times in 2012, but every time I did, this was the song that people came up to me and asked who the artist was. The beat is positively primal and her fast simple rhyme scheme will have you trying to rap along. You’ll find Azealia is too fast for your tongue, so you may as well give in and let the rhythm move you.
  2. Brodinski (feat. Louisahhh!!!) – Nobody Rules The Streets
    Released June 12, 2012 on the single Bromance #3
    Those who turn their noses up at dance music often complain about the repetition. “Nobody Rules These Streets” is a perfect example of how repetition in dance music succeeds. Louisahhh!!! only has one sentence in this song, and she sings it many times, but I don’t think a single time is identical to any other time. With every measure, Brodinski brings takes the song somewhere new. This is the hottest drop of the year, for dark sexy moments where the ladies bend their legs and dip as low and slow as they can. Even though the song only has one line, “Nobody Rules These Streets” still tells a story: Louisahhh!!! is a big fish in a big, dirty, nasty pond.
    If you like this one, also check out “Tonight’s the Night” on the Top Dance Music of 2012 11-20 list.
  3. Lisa Mitchell – Neopolitan Dreams (Sound Remedy Remix)
    First posted May 24th, 2012 on Indie Shuffle
    You may have noticed that I don’t put a lot of dubstep on YNFB/FIF. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that I like it in small, exceptional doses. I prefer it to change the mood, not to set the mood for the whole night. Whether you’re hesitant to get on board with dubstep or a longtime fan, check out Sound Remedy’s remix, as it is truly exceptional. He somehow manages to take this light and pretty pop song and make it both dubstep and glitchy 8-bit. Positively a gorgeous remix that’s bringing something new and unique to the dubstep genre.
  4. Robert DeLong – Global Concepts
    From the October 2012 EP Global Concepts
    Robert DeLong is the electronic musician I am most excited about for 2013. He makes electro with percussion that gives a nod to the Jamaican sound popularized by artists like Diplo and MIA. Maybe it’s because of the unexpected two-step pulse, or maybe it’s because he uses, like, REAL drums. “Global Concepts” is filled out with effects that sound like a rain stick. As a bonus, DeLong’s lyrics aren’t the same crap you usually get with dance music. Sure, the refrain “Did I make you fucking dance” is as good an anthem as any, but the rest of the song is filled out with lines like “After I die, I’ll re-awake / redefine what was at stake / from the hindsight of a god.” And who uses words like “entropy” in a dance song? It’s nice touches like this that make Robert Delong one of my favorite discoveries of 2012.

    NPH and Grover like the Top Ten Dance Songs of 2012
    Five More: Bring It!

    Continue reading Top Ten Dance Songs of 2012 →

Gotta Hear This Music

It’s All Pinkerton’s Fault — Of Adorable Monsters and Lazy Women

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Meet my new friend Pinkerton. He’s 12 weeks old, with a bladder capacity of three hours, less when he’s excited. This can get in the way of getting you those Best of 2012 lists. But I always have an excuse, don’t I?

11 week old Maltese puppy
The source of my distraction

His name is Mr. Pinkerton Floyd, which is a reference to: Continue reading It’s All Pinkerton’s Fault — Of Adorable Monsters and Lazy Women →

All, Gotta Hear This Music, Playlists

Top Indie Songs 2012: Rock (Part I: 11-20)

These are not quite the top ten indie rock songs of 2012, but are still some of the best bands you shouldn’t miss out on hearing.

Note that I’ve used the phrase “indie rock” very loosely here. I’m only striving to make a distinction to break these up into the vaguest of genres. So you can look forward to a hip-hop list, a dance list, and an indie pop list. This mostly means rock, but they’re just as much defined by what they’re not: dance-y. These are the (second) best songs of 2012 with more grit than groove.

Top Indie Songs of 2012 comes with art!
“Talliff” by Matt Lyon via City of Vultures

 

As usual, to download the song, right-click on it and choose “Save as.” Also, please note the music player at the bottom right of the screen that enables you to preview all the songs on this page as a playlist.

  1. Little Jungles – Nothing Will Grow

    Hey, Little Jungles, what happened? Your Bandcamp said way back in January of 2012 that this song would be on the forthcoming album I Would Kill For Some Sunlight. And here it is January 2013 and that album appears to be still forthcoming. “Nothing Will Grow” indeed. Ah well get this song from Bandcamp, where you can name your price.

  2. Moonface – Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips

    I wish Spencer Krug would pick a band and stick with it. He’s all over the place, sometimes in Sunset Rubdown, last seen in Wolf Parade and now he’s the primary voice behind Moonface. Every year I think the gent has produced nothing new, I come to find he’s in some other project. Fortunately he has a distinctive voice and amazing lyrics, so I tend to realize it’s a Spencer Krug song the first time I hear it. This one sticks out for the line “Teary eyes and bloody lips make you look like Stevie Knicks.” I think that makes you look more like Tina Turner, but I guess that wouldn’t rhyme.

    Buy the Moonface album With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery
    Continue reading Top Indie Songs 2012: Rock (Part I: 11-20) →

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The Top Twenty Dance Songs of 2012: Part I

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I have three lists to get through here, the top dance songs, the top indie pop and the top rock songs, and I want to get those top tens to you as soon as possible. So no descriptions for most.

This is not a list of the best dance songs I discovered in 2012, I take care to determine that these songs actually first appeared in 2012. For remixes that can be tricky, so I’m giving credit to the first blog (as far as my research can show) to post the remix. It’s also a way for me to give a nod to the music blogs that helped make 2012 another fantastic year for music fans.

Want to put it in your pocket and take it home with you? Right-click on the song and select “save as” to download. But you knew that already, you crafty babies.

Top Dance Songs of 2012
Image via Freebx

image via Freebx

The Best Dance Songs of 2012 11 – 20

  1. Gotye – Somebody That I Used to Know (Hypercrush remix)

    First posted Feb 26th, 2012 on D Squared
    “Yeah let’s fuckin’ RAGE!”  Honestly I think this should have been in the top ten but I just found it last week and, erm, well the top ten list is already written. Your remix still rages, Hyper Crush.

  2. Carousel – Let’s Go Home (Sound Remedy Remix)

    First posted on Hilly Dilly Oct 21, 2012

    For a while, I skipped this song, because it starts out all slow and pretty—not what is called for when getting your dance on. But this is just the sign of a finely crafted dance song. Dance music has a lead-in to make it easier for the DJ to mix, Sound Remedy just chose to do this with a lovely opening rather than the naked bass, as weaker DJs do.But the song doesn’t show why it’s one of the best dance songs of 2012 until 1:49, when it drops some retro 80s-esque bliss on your ears.  At 4:20 you get a siren and a bit more flair, and the song explodes into a synth wet dream.

  3. Ruda Krishna – Tonight’s The Night

    Posted ONLY on Aerial Noise April 13th, 2012

  4. Ladyhawke – Black White and Blue (Treasure Fingers remix)

    Treasure Fingers actually posted this on their site April 4th 2012. The first blog to post it was  Panda Toes Mar 6th, 2012

  5. Childish Gambino – Heartbeat (Dino Roc and Chris Jones remix)

    First posted on White Folks Get Crunk March 2nd, 2012

    This is my second-favorite remix of “Heartbeat”, the best remix of is the Justin Faust remix from 2011.

Ready for more of the best dance songs of the year?

dance! Continue reading The Top Twenty Dance Songs of 2012: Part I →

All, Culture

Screenshots of Endless XKCD Click and Drag

Need a New Desktop Background?

XKCD, the greatest stick figure comic off all time, has today posted a ginormous one frame comic. You use your mouse to click and drag around the image…for what seems like forever. Not just left to right either: there’s a section that features the Super Mario Brothers, and if you go down the pipe it seems to go on forever yet again.

I saved some screenshots of the comic because I thought they would make nifty desktop backgrounds and I figured I’d share them with ya’ll. Remember, these are all just screenshots from one single frame comic. So nifty!

Not sure how hard it is to download images from this fancy newfangled gallery, but you can download all the XKCD screenshots as a zip file here.

Edit: This genius on Reddit posted a zoomable version of XKCD Click and Drag. Way to cheat it, hero. All the upvotes for you!

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Rules for Shows #5: Genre Affects Dress

tumblr_lhg94uD1Y81qz4cuyo1_500.jpg

When I was a tween I went to my first R&B show (I believe it was EnVogue). I had been to oodles of shows so I knew the uniform: comfy jeans, comfy shoes, clever T, and discernible lack of hat. But there was a secret I didn't know about EnVogue fans: they dress up for a show like they are going to the prom. They get their hair styled, they wear suits and not dresses, but actual gowns. Gowns I tell you. They complete the look with the perfect prom accessory, a limousine. Not just one couple or ten, but droves of them. Three R&B shows later I discovered maybe it wasn't just EnVogue after all. Some people get dressed up for shows.

 

I'm not saying you need to follow a dress code by genre system. I may wear a tutu at any time, and I support your right to do the same. But some people do like to fit in, and might like knowing this stuff. I'm just saying if you are going to a kind of show you've never been to before, it might help to ask a knowledgeable type what people are likely to wear. Because if you show up dressed for the Prince show at the Gwar show you are going to stand out, and ruin your fancy shoes.

Posted via email from Like Dancing About Architecture

All, Books, Writing, Publishing, Publishing:

“How Do I Get Published?” Tip #2

As a publishing industry professional, I’m often asked, “How do I get published?” Here’s my second post on what you can do now to help your chances of getting out of the slush pile and into the bookstores. This is focused on how to be published with traditional publishers, but these tips will help you with self-publishing too.

“How Do I Get Published?” See Your Name in Print #2:

Prove That Your Book Has Sales Potential

So You Want to Get Published...in a REAL book.

One way to convince a publisher to publish your book right now is to have solid data showing that there is an interest in buying it. The way most writers approach this is through tip #1, Establish Yourself As An Expert, but it’s not the only way. The way we’re looking at today is showing how similar books sold well.

Smart publishers will look at how well comps (industry term for competing titles in the same category) have done. A perfect pitch would mention one or two books on the same subject that have sold well. If the publisher can’t find comps that cover the same topic, they try to bring up several books that cover similar themes. In addition to comps with poor sales, a red flag is if there are fifty comps (too much competition) or if the big sellers have some exciting extra characteristic, like they’re written by a celebrity.

Continue reading “How Do I Get Published?” Tip #2 →

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Great Indie Lyricists #4: The Limousines

This is song #4 of a playlist for my LYLAS Kat. The subject is great indie lyricists.Each post focuses on the lyrics of one band and why those lyrics are worth delving into.

 

The Limousines – Very Busy People lyrics

Speaking of pop-bands-too-cute-to-believe-they’re-lyrically-strong, tell me I have played The Limousines for you before. I have, right? Right? I’ve been obsessed with this particular song for more than a year. Actually wrote about it once before. I just love every second of it. Kind of sick of playing it, actually. But more people need to hear it, so I’m gonna keep putting it out there.

The lyrics are a good part of what fueled my obsession. It’s definitely one to add to your shower songs repertoire, as well as your warbling, beer-swilling song list. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but I think what I love is how it perfectly captures the luxury of being American. The idle pleasures of the middle class are one of my literary obsessions, so maybe I’m biased. But the way the imagery in this song jumps playfully from excess to excess really tickles my fancy.

 

that Donnie Darko DVD

 has been repeating for a week
and we know every single word.

 

I’ve got an iPod like a pirate ship
I’ll sail the seas on fifty thousand
songs I’ve never heard

 

I love the specifics. It’s not “we watch a lot of movies for no reason,” he memorizes a particular one, just ‘cuz. It’s not, “and we download lots of mp3s.” Instead, he has this clever piracy line. And he doesn’t just have lots, he has lots he’s never bothered to listen to. This is the real luxury of the middle class: Excess everything, for no particular reason. While I really like the rest of this album, none of the other songs to the degree of obsessive ardor I have for “Very Busy People.” I just know you would love the whole CD. 

The Limousines – Very Busy People