Lappy's Top 25 Most Played - 2012

One year ago today, I looked at the twenty-five songs I have listened to the most.  Today, the list retains a few of those tracks, but for the most part, there's a new gang that's seemed to take over.  Here it is:

25. Quiet Dog - Mos Def
24. It's a "B" Movie - David Newman & Van Dyke Parks
23. Black To Gold - Christian Mistress
22. Booggéré - Plaster
21. Supernova - Mr. Hudson feat. Kanye West
20. Inis Mona - Eluveitie
19. Sail - Awolnation
18. I Am Dmitri Karamazov and the World is My Father - Protest The Hero
17. Amaranth - Nightwish
16. Conquest - Patti Page
15. Yayo - Lana Del Rey
14. Victory Song - Ensiferum
13. A Rose For Epona - Eluveitie
12. Valiant Ride - Ancient Bards
11. Lazy Susan - Sweet Thing
10. The New Workout Plan - Kanye West
9. Default - Django Django
8. Total Recall - Flosstradamus
7. Turn Loose The Mermaids - Nightwish
6. Some Nights - Fun.
5. Revenge - Chevelle
4. The King - Ramesh
3. Anything For You - Ludo
2. Yarilo - Arkona
1. Game of Thrones Freestyle - Gotye feat. Dice Raw

Rattler's Revival - The Toadies

If only more rock bands made use of the horn section, then the world would be a better place for everyone.  The Texas quartet known as The Toadies have been hanging around the music scene for a while, and I'm surprised I haven't crossed paths with them before.  They've got their own method of no-nonsense fun alt-rock, and today's "Rattler's Revival" is no exception.  Think of the track as California surfer rock meets the girtty sound of the interior.  Yes, I think it's danceable, and a perfect track to see out the warm summer days as August comes to a close.  Maybe The Toadies should hang around for a bit longer.

Dining Alone - Dice Raw

The always-enjoyable Dice Raw dropped a mixtape recently, and The Greatest Rapper Never: The Mixtapes Vol. 1 just might be my favourite mixtape since BBU's bell hooks.  It's a solid effort full of gems and other shiny baubles, and when it came to choosing one to feature, I actually found myself attempting to decide between three.  "Dining Alone" might have won this round, but I will give a mention to "Bloody Mary" and "Rear Window" as well.

"Dining Alone" caught my attention by being one kind of rap song: a sad one.  It drips melancholy through the background beats, and the emotion in Dice's rhymes is something mighty powerful.  As the repeating I'm dining alone tonight, table for one may suggest, "Dining Alone" explores the isolation one may experience, even when surrounded by others.  It takes a certain kind of rapper to pull of a sadder ditty (a nice change from the too-aggressive or too-mainstream-club numbers out there), and Dice does it here.  The guy won a Grammy, people.  Come on.

Fallen From The Sky - Glen Hansard

If you remember my post from way back (think waaaaaaaaay back), then you remember how I praised Once for a spectacular soundtrack.  But that was ages ago; more than a year, people!  I forgot I still had some of the songs on my computer, and during a recent five-hour trip up north, "Fallen From The Sky" came up on my ipod.  I can't say I ever remember getting it, since it's also been a while since I've watched the movie, but isn't this what music is all about?  Discovering, and rediscovering?

"Fallen From The Sky" is all Glen Hansard's work, and it's all beautiful.  While on a roll of songs that remind me and Mario Kart, "Fallen From The Sky" has an instrumental side that evokes the image of a slow drive through Peach Gardens, minus the giant things chained up in the corners.  Hansard takes the delicate route here, and it makes this delicious number another indie darling.  Here's to the hidden gems hiding in all of our music libraries.

Slow Down - Beataucue feat. Kenzie May + DWNTWN Remix

You can give me whatever guff you want about the original vs. remix conversation, but there's always a choice of three outcomes.  Original beats remix, remix beats original, or both are on the same level.  The latter choice is the case when it comes to French electronic duo Beataucue's "Slow Down," featuring Kenzie May on vocals.  The DWNTWN remix came to me first via rcrdlbl, and after that, I had to know what the original was like.  It was a pleasant surprise to find I couldn't put one version over the other.  Yes, sometimes you can surprise me.

The original "Slow Down" can pass for a thumping club number with the volume turned up high enough.  Kenzie May's angelic vocals are cut up and chopped up over the pulsing beats.  This isn't something I would mind hearing when I go out at night.  On the other hand, the DWNTWN remix has a little special something that makes it legendary in its own right.  There's less pulse and more whimsy.  The remix is still an electronic dance track, but the vocals are in a higher register and the beats have a bit of a magical touch.  Think of it as Mario Kart meets the electro club.  No matter which direction you choose here, you're going to have a good time.

Bitcholous - NvS

It's great that we live in a world, where artists can create good music for the sole purpose of creating good music.  NvS does just that with slick hip-hop beats and soulful vocals that take charge while making you swoon.  This is my kind of lady, and unlike a few female artists these days, she doesn't rely on giant costumes or colorful wigs to get noticed.  Her Between My Thighs EP drops soon, and contains a stellar title track as well as today's hardcore feature: "Bitcholous."

"Bitcholous" is full of surprises, I think.  Anyone who can make a Star Trek reference is good in my books.  But the feel of this song is snarky and in-your-face.  Think of it as in the vein of empowering.  I've still got the line she's a snob, she's a hoe, she's a bitch stuck in my head, and the gist of the song comes in the lyric fuck being fab, hoe, I'm straight bitcholous.  Yes, you can be a fabulous bitch and proud of it; I'll act as your prime example.  I'm looking forward to NvS's EP release in the coming future to look for more gems like this.  This is the kind of female hip-hop artist I like to find.  Amen.

In My Sword I Trust - Ensiferum

It's been a good year for metal so far, and 2012 is just about to get a little more brutal.  In a few days, some of my favourite Finnish folk metal mongers are going to be releasing a new album.  It's Ensiferum, of course!  I'm going to try my best to get a physical copy of Unsung Heroes, but in the meantime, I've become quite a big fan of the first single, "In My Sword I Trust."  It's a solid folk metal track that compels you to run into battle screaming like a viking warrior.  Petri Lindroos is a beast with the growls, and the rest of the band uses those instruments to give this song a true heroic feeling.  If "In My Sword I Trust" has done anything, it just might have influenced me to go to Europe to get the album if I have to.

My Chemical Romance - The End + LYRICS

I'm kind of on an alternative roll lately, and figured it's time for a trip down memory lane.  I was fourteen when My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade came out, and even though my tastes have changed since then, I still enjoy the band's efforts six years later.  Who would have thought?  The albums is rife with gems ("Welcome To The Black Parade," "Mama," "Famous Last Words," "Dead!" etc.), but it takes something special to craft a shortened opening track that quite possibly outshines everything else on the album.  In the beginning, there is "The End."

Clocking in at one minute and fifty-three seconds, "The End" does serve as a fitting intro the album, beginning with a soft acoustic guitar and working into an epic in the short time it has.  And Mr. Gerard Way...he always knows how to put power into every word he sings.  He invites the misfits of the world over to his singing circle, as the album revs to full capacity.  If only other bands could make intros like this...we'd all be listening a lot happier.

Now come one, come all to this tragic affair
Wipe off that makeup
What's in is despair
So throw on the black dress
Mix in with the lot
You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not

If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see
You can find out firsthand what it's like to me
So gather 'round piggies and kiss this goodbye
I'd encourage your smiles
I'll expect you won't cry

Another contusion, my funeral jag
Here's my resignation, I'll serve it in drag
You've got front row seats to the penitence ball
When I grow up I want to be nothing at all
I said

Yeah
Yeah
I said yeah
Yeah

C'mon c'mon c'mon I said
Save me
Get me the hell out of here
Save me
Too young to die and my dear
You can't
If you can hear me just walk away and
Take me

Cornucopia - Serj Tankian

A week after getting my hands on it, Serj's Tankian's latest Harakiri has quickly become one of my favourite albums of the year.  It's brilliant work, really, with a fresh sound that still stays true to Mr. Tankian's progressive metal roots.  It's exactly how you do your third solo album.  Any other way would have failed.  My early favourite on the album was the first track, today's "Cornucopia," but since then I've taken a shine to a few others that may be featured in the future.  Still, it was an early favourite for a reason.

The strange thing about "Cornucopia" is that it sounds new.  New, as in it's nothing like I've heard from Serj before.  You could take the guitars from this song and lend them to any alternative band, and they would fit right.  But in "Cornucopia," the instrumentals are the perfect contrast to Serj's unique vocals.  Think of this is as progressive metal with an alternative flavor.  I'm all for bridging genres, after all.  Serj took a risk with "Cornucopia," but it's paid off big-time.  There's a reason he's a god of music.

Go Hard (La La La) - Kreayshawn

I know what you're thinking already, but I can defend my musical choices.  Kreayshawn is acquired taste, you either love her or you hate her.  I hate "Gucci Gucci" but am absolutely in love with her latest single "Go Hard (La La La)."  It's another great mystery of the universe.  The video is some kind of spectacular too.  Perhaps "Go Hard" is simply the perfect summer wind-down song.  This lady can also hold her own in a world full of not-so-good female rappers.  She stands out from that strange sea, with two-toned hair and a Mishka snapback.  Give it a few tries.  Soon do it like do it like do it like lemme see you go hard go hard go hard will be on repeat in your head.  I promise.

Soma (Acoustic) - 10 Years

I had not been aware of Knoxville's 10 Years until a few weeks ago, when this very track came my way via rcrdlbl, and even though I tend to admit that I'm over the alternative scene, I'm still nostalgic at heart.  I also wonder how I haven't  heard of these guys yet (!!!).  They've got a long list of albums and a good sound; maybe it's just the fact that their songs never made it onto the Detroit alt-rock station.  At least I know now, though.  I did take a look at the original "Soma" from their recent release Minus The Machine, but have to saw it doesn't have the same punch as the acoustic version.  Here you've got a melancholy piece of music with some stellar vocals courtesy of lead Jesse Hasek.  Oh, Mr. Hasek, you had me at stay asleep at the wheel.  The chorus rises in power over the verses, and before you know it, you'll already have listened to the acoustic "Soma" thirty times.

Oh, alternative, never leave me again.

Amy Winehouse's Top 10

Oh, there are few current jazz acts that can measure up to the late Miss Amy Winehouse.  Though her career was short, and we're left with two studio albums and one posthumously released collection, the stuff there is pretty freaking amazing.  My only hope for the troubled songstress's music?  It remains classic, and does not fade away as the years go on.  Why not start by sharing her Top 10 songs then?  Enjoy.

Korpiklaani - Kunnia

I'm back, internet!  You don't have to worry anymore.  Every summer I get one week on the beach and in the woods, and this past week was it.  Lovely as always, though I feel so behind in my music.  Good news?  I picked up 2 news albums while I was away.  One, Serj's Harakiri (featured song coming up later this week) and Korpiklaani's Manala.  Yes, I can find folk metal albums at a po-dunk mall.  I have my ways.  I've heard of these Finns, first getting my hands on the albums first track: "Kunnia."  Now the album is complete, but I'm still a biggest fan of the track that brought me here.

"Kunnia" does have an English counterpart known as "Honor," but I'm more partial to the track in its original Finnish.  This is simply fun folk metal, for all of you mongers far and wide.  Lead vocalist  Jonne Järvelä isn't much of a growler, but clean can be just as good as rough.  "Kunnia" is still a little gritty, a good contrast for the energetic guitars of the chorus.  This is solid folk metal, and I don't think I can say anything bad about it.



And for the hell of it, while we're in the vein of folk metal, during vacation I found the most metal town in southern Ontario.

Only The Brave - The Last Royals

It's "Lush Rock Friday" here on this overcast Friday afternoon, and I'm excited for today's selection.  I maintain that the best music in the United States comes out of New York State, and the best music in New York State comes out of New York City (if previous posts say that the best music in New York comes from upstate, ignore that).  Another shining example comes from Brooklyn's trio of The Last Royals in their "Only The Brave."  The guitars are catchy, the vocals are infectious, and I'll frankly be surprised if these guys aren't performing this on Letterman by the end of the month.  "Only The Brave" is the climactic song you hear on your favourite TV drama-dy, and isn't a bad summer track either.  So be brave.  C'mon.

Chasm - Flyleaf

We all know that my feminism-driven personality had led me to be an appreciator of female-fronted bands (and if you don't know, now you know).  Flyleaf was one of the originals in a lineup that now includes the likes of Nightwish, Ancient Bards, Arkona, etc.  It takes me back to high school, listening to "Red Sam" or "All Around Me."  Though their self-titled effort was a good one, I really liked the follow-up, Memento Mori.  It was a little bit of a concept album, and a lot good.  "Chasm" is a highlight of the album (though not far ahead of "Beautiful Bride" or "Arise").

"Chasm" is another instance of Christian-influenced music that's accessible to a wide audience.  You can listen to this melodic, borderline-metal number the first time and swear it's got nothing to do with the Bible.  Well, it does (The Rich Man and Lazarus story, one I'm not familiar with myself...but what part of the Bible am I familiar with?).  "Chasm" isn't preaching music, though.  They know they're Christian, but they also know that not everyone who listens to them is.  It's a strength they have, to even admit themselves that they're not defined by the Christian metal genre.

But enough of religion...that's how crusades start.  This is about the music, people.  "Chasm" is a good song, with lush guitars and vocals, and verses that show of lead Lacey Sturm's abilities as a songstress.  Hella good, if there's any way to put it.

Too Late - Ariane Moffatt

You know what I like better than French music?  Francophone artists who can do the English-language thing pretty well too.  And if you can bridge genres at the same time...watch out!  Quebec's Ariane Moffatt does just that and more with her music; think of her as someone who's a pop artist, though she has a long-standing affair with electronica and alternative.  There you go.  Itunes featured her as a single-of-the-week a while ago.  This is another case of me forgetting what I have in my massive music library.  "Too Late" is its name, and goodness is its game.

"Too Late" comes from Ariane's first venture into composing English songs, and I think she does a pretty damn good job of it.  You've got a few things here.  Interesting instrumentals, complete with what sounds like a steel drum on repeat; lyrics that don't quit (I miss Paris, pornography, your charge on me, I miss the way you used to love me) and vocal prowess.  Kind of the complete package, oui?  The synths in "Too Late" aren't bad either.   So listen, before it is too late.

Pyramids - Frank Ocean

I first heard of the wonderful Frank Ocean through Kanye and Jay-Z's "No Church In The Wild" (was that really one year ago?  Huh...).  Now he's hanging around with his own album, Channel Orange.  The single "Pyramids" came to me via SoundCloud a few weeks ago, and at nearly ten minutes long, we're getting into epic territory.  I always say, if you're going to make a track that long, it better be good.  This is good.

With help from John Mayer on guitar, Mr. Ocean uses some nice metaphors and lyrics to sing about a pimp falling for one of his own girls.  Not bad.  You do suspect something with the lyrics she's working at the pyramid tonight, but otherwise, "Pyramids" doesn't sound like what you think it might with that content.  Think interesting R&B with a touch of electronica and a little bit contemporary.  Not bad, Mr. Ocean.  Not bad at all.

Yellowcard's Top 10

I've said it before and I've said it again...I've moved on from my days as a punk-pop princess and am now a proud metal monger.  But I also say that you're nothing if you don't know where you came from.  For that reason, I embrace the musical roots that led me to metal, including the band that did most of the work.  Yellowcard is really just good at making beautiful music.  Lights and Sounds?  Soundtrack to my '06.  And it still resonates.  All ten tracks are wonderful in their own sense and simply fantastic.  My words don't do Ryan Key and the boys justice.

Jesus Walking On The Water - Violent Femmes

A few weeks ago, I had a really good day at Value Village.  I got four CDs, Billie Holiday's greatest hits, Hole's Celebrity Skin, Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing and a compilation of Violent Femmes' best work between 1981 and 1993.  Those were some good years for the band; sometimes I still catch their tracks playing on Detroit's alternative station.  "Jesus Walking On The Water" comes from '84's Hallowed Ground, an album noted for its Christian influences.  Whatever god you may worship, I think we can all appreciate a good folky alternative number on this fine Sunday afternoon.  You've got the whole folk collective here to match lead Gordan Gano's vocals.  This is something you'd play on the radio in the south on a ride to the ol' fishing hole.  It screams summer, really.  Time to scream back.

Faster Horses - MNDR

MDNR is one person, though also two people.  Lead vocalist Amanda Warner uses the moniker for solo performances, as well as for collaborations with Peter Wade.  Now that we're all up to speed, we can get into their latest single, "Faster Horses."  It's an electronic number, though you still get Amanda Warner's vocals here.  I don't know about you, but nine times out of ten I like my electro music with some lyrics along for the ride, but that's just me.  "Faster Horses" has the potential to be a club track without being remixed; you've got the appropriate beats and everything else you need for a good time.  You want faster horses, by George, you've got 'em here.

Turn The Lights On - 50 Cent

When I first got my hands on Fitty's The Lost Tape mixtape, I thought it was the best that Mr. Jackson could offer.  But man, was I wrong!  His more recent collection, 5 (Murder By Numbers) has proven to surpass the bar set by its predecessor.  It's a group of thumping-bumping ditties that are as gritty as Fitty himself (wow, that's how you rhyme in a sentence...).  "My Crown" is one worth checking out, but one that's sure to be a universal fave is "Turn The Lights On."  Fitty, like me, would rather that everything be lit up (I can't see shit, leave the lights on), and in this case, they need to be on in the bedroom.  But this is no track to keep in the privacy of your own home.  "Turn the Lights On" stays loud, stays thumping, and the guitar loop in the background is drool-worthy.  So what the hell are you waiting for?