The 25 Best Singles of 2012 (15-11)

15. Deadmau5 f/Gerard Way -- Professional Griefers

This was the year that electronic dance music finally achieved its true potential in the states and came to dominate pop music and pop culture, with its stars transcending cult status to become musical icons. Yeah, Joel Zimmerman -- AKA Deadmau5 -- was huge before, but with the first single from his 2012 release, Album Title Goes Here, he struck with the authoritative might of somebody who knew he was on top of the world.



14. The xx -- Angels

It seemed impossible to pare down their late-night, post-coital sound any further, but the kids from the xx did just that, and turned out one of the simplest and most beautiful love songs of this or any other year.



13. fun. -- Some Nights

They were everywhere in 2012 -- and with good reason. This song was just impossible to resist.



12. Japandroids -- The House That Heaven Built

Their album was called Celebration Rock and never has there been a more fitting title. In 2012, this Canadian duo brought the joyous thunder back to alt rock.



11. The Gaslight Anthem -- National Anthem

Simple and stunning, word has it this song was written in less than a half-hour, which would prove that it came right from the place it sounds like: the heart. Melancholy permeates every note and the end result is something as wondrous as it is emotionally devastating.

Tomorrow: 10-6

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I truly love this. It's the bad-ass Angel Haze rapping over Jamie xx's remix of Gil Scott-Heron's New York is Killing Me -- all mashed up by producer 83rd.

Got all that?

Well, just listen.



By the way, yes, I'm still completely underwater on this project I'm doing so I'll continue to be scarce around here for the next couple of days. Podcast later today and Banter mailbag, but that's about it. Speaking of which, as usual, if you have a political, pop cultural or sexual deviancy-related question for Bob, Ben and me to pound out a quick response to -- send me it via e-mail, Facebook, DM or the comments here.

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Apparently the xx figured there was no sense in messing with a good thing for their new album, because the first single from it once again sounds like a post-orgasmic sigh.

Here's Angels.

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I'm not sure what to make of this. On the one hand, it's got the flawlessly lovely voice of the great Tracey Thorn -- on the other hand, it kind of doesn't need to exist, especially since while Thorn is a better singer, she just doesn't have the post-orgasmic vocal fry of young Romy Madley-Croft.

Still, it's worth a listen and a discussion.

Here's Tracy Thorn covering the xx's Night Time.

Listening Post: The 25 Best Singles of 2010 (16-14)

16. The xx -- Islands

The debut album from England's the xx continued to dominate alt radio in 2010, thanks largely to the record's second single, which was actually re-released in the states mid-year. Islands works as a perfect little snapshot of all the reasons the xx achieved Next Big Thing status the minute their seductive sound -- some have referred to it as "post-coital" -- began bleeding from the earbuds and speakers of various in-the-know Londoners. The fact that at the time of the record's release not one member of the band was of legal drinking age in the United States just added to the odd mystery of the xx -- as in, how the hell are these kids making such luxuriously sexy music? The best part about them? They let that music do the talking. They're certainly not a gorgeous or fashionable band by any stretch of the imagination, but oh when you put on that record and let it envelop you -- the result is simply intoxicating.




15. Middle Class Rut -- New Low

The rise of Middle Class Rut is an honest-to-God grass roots success story and as a band they prove that there's still room in the popular music landscape for the straightforward post-grunge sound, provided it's done well -- and these guys do it extraordinarily well. Like the Black Keys or the White Stripes, it's astonishing the amount of music -- to say nothing of raw energy -- that can come from two people, in this case Zack Lopez and Sean Stockham, and just a few basic instruments. Middle Class Rut's debut LP, No Name No Color, is a flat-out monstrous record -- like being hit in the side of the head with a brick. But sprinkled somewhat casually amongst all that bite are moments of almost Western Gothic flair, and that's where New Low falls; it has a kind of mythic Last Chance Saloon vibe to it, and it's honestly one of the catchiest and most memorable songs of the year.




14. Sia -- My Love

It's one of life's great conundrums: The Twilight books are fucking awful. The Twilight movies are equally bad. Yet, strangely, the Twilight movie soundtracks are consistently terrific. It's as if the unholy creatures who engineered this pop cultural choke-hold decided to throw just one bone to those who have actual taste. The soundtrack to Eclipse featured new music from Metric, Muse, UNKLE, Florence + the Machine and Band of Horses, just to name a few artists. But it was Sia's stunning My Love, released to adult-alt radio seemingly as an afterthought, that truly stood out. In addition to it being, at long last, a worthwhile follow-up to Breathe Me -- one of the most achingly passionate songs of the last decade -- it was the kind of thing that touched something divine deep inside you, someplace unsullied by cynicism and the knowledge of the occasionally ugly realities involved in surrendering yourself to another soul. It was an unabashedly beautiful love song, and it made you want to believe in the feeling that could inspire such grace.



Listening Post: The 25 Best Singles of 2010: 17. John Legend and the Roots -- I Can't Write Left-Handed, 18. Blonde Redhead -- Not Getting There, 19. The National -- Bloodbuzz Ohio

Listening Post: The 25 Best Singles of 2010: 20. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti -- Round and Round, 21. P!nk -- Raise Your Glass, 22. Drive-By Truckers -- This Fucking Job

Listening Post: The 25 Best Singles of 2010: 23. Best Coast -- Boyfriend, 24. Anberlin -- Impossible, 25. Fences -- Girls with Accents

Tomorrow: 13, 12 & 11

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A damn cool cover, from the perennial home of damn cool covers, the BBC Radio One Live Lounge. Here's Damon Albarn and Gorillaz doing the xx's Crystalised.

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From one of my favorite albums of the last year or so, here's the latest single from the xx.

This is Islands.

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Believe the hype; these guys deserve every bit of their next-big-thing status.

Here's the xx -- VCR.

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Say hello to alternative's supposed Next Big Thing: Four kids (and I do mean kids, they're all 20-years-old) from London who make spare, strangely impersonal but somehow beautiful and, ironically, sensual music. They get my vote for one of the most interesting bands to come along in quite some time.

Seriously, do yourself a favor and check out the rest of these guys' debut album, which you can find on iTunes right now.

Here's The xx -- Basic Space.