Songs of 2012: The Nearly Men Part 1

The top ten songs of 2012 was compiled by sorting my iTunes by year and browsing through the selection (I am an obsessive, every song in my iTunes has a year attached!) Once again if it wasn't in the database, I obviously didn't feel it important enough to have a copy of, and not worthy of the list. The initial longlist was a ridiculous 132 songs long, and was quickly shortened to a more manageable 42. The final shortlist of 19 was eclectic, and compiling the final top 10 was not an easy job. Over the next 3 days I will look at the 9 songs that failed to make the final cut. 

Bruce Springsteen - "Wrecking Ball"

From the album: "Wrecking Ball"

Released: March 5th

Originally written in 2009 as a tribute to the then soon to be demolished Giants Stadium, "Wrecking Ball" is a quite wonderful track which became a rousing anthem against adversity. The lyrics work in many ways, being able to be taken both literally and as social metaphors ("Where Giants played the games." "All our little victories and glories, are turned into parking lots" being two examples.) The song, written from the perspective of the stadium features some of the final recorded work of Clarence Clemons, and serves not only as a eulogy to the stadium, but to "The Big Man" as well. A triumphant blue collar anthem, does The boss ever fail us with those?

Bruno Mars - "Locked Out of Heaven"

From the album: "Unorthodox Jukebox"

Released: October 1st

Where on Earth did this come from? Twee R&B pop star Bruno Mars, best known for the sappy but irritatingly catchy "Just the Way You Are" came out of nowhere with this absolute pop gem at the start of October. Sounding just like The Police did in the early 80s, even down to the Sting style vocals, Mars recorded one of the best pop songs of the decade. Unexpected, and quite fantastic.

Gallows - "Victim Culture"

From the album: "Gallows"

Released: September 10th

When Frank Carter left Gallows in August 2011 some wondered if they would ever be the same. They aren't the same band with Wade McNeil, and as "Victim Culture" the opening track on their self titled return shows, that's not a bad thing. The track opens with a sinister female spoken word intro which then launches into a brutal hardcore punk frenzy.  Gallows came back hard in 2012, this was just the start.