Besides opening the first set of bars like a sequel to Flo Rida's “Good Feeling,” half of the Ke$ha tune sounds like it is wrought with Mumford & Sons' acoustics. The other half is drenched with Ke$ha's usual: Talk-sing lectures, an easy-to-memorize chorus, Dr. Luke's electrons and more “taking shots” and “stripping down to dirty socks.” More fun, of course. » JMC |
"Pay in Blood"
BOB DYLAN
(Columbia)
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Dylan's words – now vexed with a gravely battered voice – can cut sharper than a two-edged sword; you'd almost think it was biblical. “Pay in Blood,” one of his most brazen and funkiest compositions of this century, kicks out a lyrical flow that's got more salvo than a Kanye West rant: “I've been through hell, what good did it do? You bastard! I'm supposed to respect you/I'll give you justice,I'll fatten your purse/Show me your moral virtue first.” » JMC |
"Too Close"
ALEX CLARE
(Island)
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The Brit soul singing apprentice somehow managed to bridge Donny Hathaway-esque laments with a scary display of Diplo's dubstep, creating the emotional scorcher that sounds like Adele's “Rolling in the Deep” high on moonshine. » JMC |
"Good Feeling"
FLO RIDA
(Atlantic/Poe Boy)
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Flo Rida's hardest club banger to date hardly mattered until the late soul great Etta James passed in January 2012. In her honor, the Florida rapper dedicated the song in her honor. Her presence on this Dr. Luke-produced dance-pop jam, which reinterprets Etta's 1962 gem “Something's Got a Hold on Me,” that transforms her into a posthumous disco diva. » JMC |
"Kill the DJ"
GREEN DAY
(RCA)
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The hard-at-work punk band of 2012 pulls off a cleverly likable anti-disco song using…you guessed it, disco. “My pocket full of pills/Sodom and Gomorrah in the century of thrills,” Billie Joe Armstrong chants about New York's gritty nightlife using four-on-the-floor Clash-like beats. It's a bit hypocritical, but you got to love their youngblood moxie. » JMC
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"I Will Wait"
MUMFORD & SONS
(ATO)
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“I Will Wait” provided British folk-revivalists Mumford & Sons with another notable single. Throughout three verses, frontman Marcus Mumford delivers lyrics of the upmost chivalry and introspection (“So break my step and relent/You forgave and I won't forget…”). He keeps things simple but staunchly impassioned on the simplistic though memorable refrain reiterating the track's title. Banjo fully intact anchoring the rhythm throughout, the cut grows its most boisterous and exuberant by the end with the addition of brilliant brass. Perhaps not the parallel of “Little Lion Man”, but it definitely represents amongst the best of the year. » BF |
"Ho Hey"
THE LUMINEERS
(Mass Appeal/E1)
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Take the rustic formula of Mumford & Sons and sprinkle a vibrant acoustic pop melody over it. That's what you're left with on the Lumineers' breakthrough single. Besides the loud-and-proud “ho hey” sports arena chant, the charming chorus hardly feels kitschy: “I belong to you, you belong to me/You're my sweetheart.” » JMC |
"Diamonds"
RIHANNA
(A&M/Octane)
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Rihanna should get some credit after pulling off the ballad of her career up to this point. But the real star behind this tune is the songsmith Sai Furler. If she had only spared the song to use on herself, like she did with the David Guetta-produced “Titanium,” we would've easily added "household name" to her status. » JMC |
"Doom and Gloom"
THE ROLLING STONES
(RCA)
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At 50, the Rolling Stones punch their way through a galloping rock and blues number that puts Chuck Berry riffs into the context of a Black Keys' in-the-basement production style. Without casting stones at Jagger's oddly-orchestrated SuperHeavy experiment, “Doom and Gloom” is enough proof that this is where he belongs. » JMC
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"Somebody That I Used to Know"
GOTYE feat. KIMBRA
(Universal Republic)
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Playful xylophone notes and a warm vocal by Belgian singer-songwriter Wouter De Backer opens up this indie pop song right before jumping into a full-voiced chorus laced with Sting-like aggression. Kimbra jumps in and turns the monologue into a bad-ass conversation. Despite the single's age, this tune was most deserving of a hearty second chance. » JMC
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Top 33 1/3 Albums of 2012
LISTEN: 45 Best Singles of 2011
LISTEN: 45 Best Singles of 2010
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