For your new year’s eve listening pleasure, a 30 track collection of music generally released during 2012 in one form or another. I’ve included links to where you can find or listen to the music. Drive carefully.
- “Neptune City (for the shore)” by Nicole Atkins: New Jersey native Atkins recorded this piano/vocal version of the title song from her 2007 album at Sun Studios in Memphis, as a fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy relief. But it’s clear from this performance that the singer seized the moment to deliver a heartfelt love letter to her home, in its moment of need. “Maybe if I learned to pay attention, I could learn to love the landscape I was born to,” she sings, and it’s easy to believe this was the intended purpose of the song all along. Adding to the mysterious power of the performance, when Atkins sings the first-person pronoun at the beginning of each line of the chorus, it’s like the whispered intimacy of her performance swells beyond the microphone and maps the fabled contours of Sun. This is a remarkable performance. Available here.
- “Panic In The World” by Be Bop Deluxe: When faced with a new year, anxiety has to be part of the mix. By the time of this song’s original release in 1978, leader Bill Nelson had eased back on the art rock tendencies and was evidently listening to nascent punk and Springsteen, as evidenced by the lovers-against-the-odds romanticism and CBGB styled guitar twitch. From Futurist Manifesto. Video here.
- “The Herd” by Skydiggers: “Now you’ve got the word, they’re thinning out the herd/Trust your dreams and memories and wait for their return …” If I’m going to get bad news about the future, I want it delivered by the voice of Skydigger Andy Maize, here backed by appropriately lean musical support that mixes cooing keyboard lines, a propulsive but understated beat and xylophone. From Northern Shore
- “Cut Me Some Slack” by Paul McCartney et al: Given the number of lame Macca pairings over the years (“Ebony & Ivory,” anyone?), there was no reason to expect his collaboration with Nirvana’s Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear should rock this hard and this convincingly. From the soundtrack to Grohl’s forthcoming documentary Sound City.
- “The Top Chefs (2&4 Remix)” by De La Soul’s Plug 1 & Plug 2: From the not-quite-a-new De La Soul LP First Serve, this remix grafts De La’s Kelvin Mercer and Dave Jolicoeur and their trademark wordplay to an undeniable wah-wah guitar sample and a bouncing beat. From First Serve.
- “Against The Ninja” by Dragon Sound: Much respect to Austin-basewd Drafthouse Films for rediscovering the so-bad-it’s-good martial arts/biker film Miami Connection. In short, it’s about an 80s pop band composed of tae kwon do experts, doing battle with a gang of biker ninjas. As a bonus, purchase of the film gets you a download of the soundtrack. Think Janet Jackson on a rock bottom budget, with lyrics provided by Google translation. Available from Drafthouse Films.
- “The Worst Band In The World” by 10cc: For a brief moment in the mid-to-late 80s, before punk cleared the board, 10cc was one of the bright lights in modern pop music, possessed of a droll humor, a deft hand in the studio and four singers and songwriters permutating to compose and produce some innovative, memorable music. Rediscovering their music this year (thanks to a long overdue box set), I was startled to recognize that hip-hop production master, the late J.Dilla, had sampled this song on his swan song LP, Donuts, for the track “Workinonit”. From Tenology
- “J Dilla The Greatest” by Kariem Riggins: Speaking of J Dilla, underground hip hop producer Riggins pays homage with this 1:42 fanfare to an uncommon man. From Alone Together
- “High Coin” by Harper’s Bizarre: Van Dyke Parks has been making a stealthy return to the spotlight in recent years, what with last year’s monumental Beach Boys’ Smile box set, Bella Union’s reissue of three of VDP’s classic albums, a set of vinyl only single releases and the reissue of Harpers Bizarre baroque pop recording of this Park’s composition. From Anything Goes
- “The EMI Song” by Alex Chilton: Caught here in 1970 moving on from the blue-eyed soul of the Box Tops toward the storied power pop glories of Big Star. From Free Again: The 1970 Sessions
- “Cigarette Thin (The Age of Asparagus)” by Jim Bryson & Jeremy Fisher: Recorded as part of the duo’s Catch & Release series, songs composed, recorded and released in a single day. “If all I’m settling for is settling in, can we begin again?” available here.
- “Woodstock” by Austra: Unusual iconic cover pt.1. DIY techno cover of Joni Mitchell’s tribal anthem. From Feel It Break.
- “Hallelujah” by The Good Lovelies: Unusual iconic cover pt. 2. thought I never needed to hear another version of Leonard Cohen’s song, but the Lovelies manage are pleasing in their understatement. Okay, NOW let’s retire this song for a while. from Live At Revolution.
- “Love Me Tender” by Annette Peacock: Unusual iconic cover pt. 3. Breathy, hesitant, slinky and sexy in ways Elvis could not have imagined or achieved. From I’m The One.
- “September Gurls” by Kathleen Edwards. Unusual iconic cover pt. 4. An occasional encore during Kitty’s 2012 tour behind Voyageur was this boisterous run at the Big Star song. Find it here
- “The Weight” by Jackie De Shannon. Unusual iconic cover pt. 5. A respectful cover of The Band’s song. It won’t make you forget the Staples Singers’ cover, but … from Keep Me In Mind: The Complete Imperial & Liberty Singles Vol. 3
- “Stone Soul Picnic” by Staple Singers: Unusual iconic cover pt 6. The grit in this version makes me think this is what Laura Nyro had in mind, not the better known 5th Dimension cover. From Sassafras & Moonshine: The Songs of Laura Nyro
- “Crying In The Rain (demo)” by Carole King: Unusual iconic cover pt 7. Okay, technically a songwriter’s demo is not a cover. Given King’s attempt to replicate the Everly Brothers’ harmonies via double-tracked vocals, it’s clear who she intended to pitch this classic to. From The Legendary Demos.
- “Jesus Etc” by Bill Fay. Given Jeff Tweedy’s affection for Fay’s “Be Not So Fearful,” he won’t mind me declaring that Fay has committed Grand Theft Song with this deeply felt cover of this track from Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. From Life Is People.
- “Tender (Hyde Park live)” by Blur. Even before Blur got around to playing this song towards the end of their farewell performance at Hyde Park, the crowd had spontaneously started up a singalong. When they finally did play it, the entire crowd is with them for every step, drowning out singer Damon Albarn. When the song ends, the fans keep going, and eventually the group kicks back into it for an extended reprise. It’s a spell neither band nor fans seem eager to break. From Parklive.
- “Heaven Up Here (live)” by Echo & The Bunnymen. There is no shortage Bunnymen live recordings in circulation, but this set, performed as part of their “master class” tour featuring full performances of their group’s first and second albums (Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here) stands out for what sounds like singer Ian McCulloch’s lyrical improv “I saw you, Pete, I did I swear,” in apparent homage to the group’s drummer, the late Peter de Freitas. From Do It Clean.
- “Hot Knife” by Fiona Apple: Over a rumbly jazz drum pattern, Apple scat sings a tribute, not to the form of hashish consumption, but to a lover. “If I’m butter, then he’s a hot knife.” FromThe Idler Wheel …
- “Sweet Life” by Frank Ocean: In a time of 99%er antagonisms, Ocean employs his sweetest vocal to contemplate the skewed worldview of one of life’s haves. “You had a landscaper and a housekeeper since you were born/The sunshine always kept you warm/So why see the world when you got the beach?” Bonus points for the lyric’s quote from Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (racist and sexist language warning, check out Chris Penn’s exchange with Steve Buscemi at the 30 second mark). From Channel Orange.
- “Waterloo Sunset (BBC, 1994)” by The Kinks. Kinks fans the world over were gratified that Danny Boyle found space in his surreal ceremony for the London Olympics to permit Ray Davies to perform perhaps the quintessential ode to the beauty and romance of the city. This acoustic run through for the BBC is nice, too. FromAt The BBC.
- “Out On The Road (Mondo Version)” by Norah Jones: Jones’ collabo with producer Danger Mouse didn’t always seem to deliver on the sum of its parts, but this version (a bonus track) comes closest, what with the fuzz guitar, sturdy drum shuffle and plonking piano. From Little Broken Hearts.
- “Opus 40” by Mercury Rev: Reissue specialists Light In The Attic revived the Rev’s epochal 1998 album via their Modern Classics Recordings deluxe vinyl imprint, and I’m not going to dispute that designation. This track is included because it captures a drum performance by Levon Helm, who left us in 2012 but will be missed forever. “Catskill mansions buried in dreams/I’m alive she cried,but I don’t know what that means.” From Deserter’s Songs
- “I Think Of You” by Rodriguez: After creating two albums of often brilliant psych folk in the 60s, Sixto Rodriguez was abandoned and ignored until a miraculous career resurrection in recent years, capped with the release of a film documenting his return to the spotlight. Is the story a triumph-of-the-little-guy tale of inspiration, or an indictment of the record business? Ponder that while you listen to this. From Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack.
- “Give Out (demo)” by Sharon Van Etten. If SVE’s album Tramp wasn’t intimate enough, check out the demos she included as a bonus. “You’re the reason why I’ll move the city/Or why I’ll need to leave.” From Tramp Demos.
- “Good Morning Britain” by Aztec Camera: The original hit version never really rang true to me, saddling the lyric’s struggle for optimism with a triumphal score. Here, stripped to guitar and piano and recorded live at Ronnie Scott’s club in London, it makes sense. “The past is steeped in shame/But tomorrow’s fair game.” Appropriate sentiment for a new year. From Dreamland
- “Mary New Year’s Eve” by Jim Bryson: Recorded on the spur of the moment prior to his annual run of shows at the Black Sheep Inn, this nine song collection of seasonal favorites is augmented by this winning, heart on sleeve greeting to the season. From Instant Holiday Album
