Top 15 Songs of 2012

These are my favorite songs that came out last year, many of which I found because of your comments. I hope you find a few new loves here, and that when you hear one of these songs years from now, you think of this time in your life fondly.

Top 15 Songs of 2012 on Spotify
50 Best Songs of 2012 on Spotify
(This includes the 15 featured here and more, for the completists among us.)


1. The Lumineers – Ho Hey
Photo source.


2. Fiona Apple – Hot Knife
Photo by Jason LaVeris


3. Sarah Jaffe – Shut It Down
Photo by Felicia Graham.


4. Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound – Little Red Wagon
Photo source.


5. Daughter – Candles
Photo by Geoff Lung


6. Mat Kearney – Hey Mama
Photo by Abby Gillardi


7. Ben Howard – Black Flies
Photo source.


8. Band Of Skulls – Sweet Sour
Photo from Corner Shop Studios


9. Frank Ocean – Bad Religion
Photo source.


10. Delta Rae – Bottom Of The River
Photo by Dennis Pillion


11. Dry the River – New Ceremony
Photo by Kristen Winter.


12. Die Antwoord – Fatty Boom Boom
Photo by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.


13. Keaton Henson – You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are
Photo source.


14. Michael Kiwanuka – I’m Getting Ready
Photo source.


15. FOE – The Black Lodge
Photo source.

What did I miss? What was your favorite song of 2012?

Weekend Soundtrack: All is Calm All is Bright, Christmas 2012 Mix

All is Calm, All is Bright: Christmas 2012 Mix

One of the things that can be irritating about piped-in holiday music is that my tastes are so specific to how I grew up. I made this Christmas mix for me, so I could hear just the right thing over cocoa. It can be a starting point for your own mix, or an easy collection for cocktails.

My top-ten favorite Christmas songs:

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Judy Garland
2. Silent Night, Holy Night, Frank Sinatra
3. Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt
4. Silver Bells, Stevie Wonder
5. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Michael Bublé
6. Frosty the Snowman, Fiona Apple
7. Go Tell it On the Mountain, Dolly Parton
8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autry
9. What Child is This, Kristen Chenowith
10. O Holy Night, Kelly Clarkson

That last one especially.

What songs put you in the mood for decking the halls?

Weekend Soundtrack: Yeah Girl Yeah 2012

Five girls gathered around one mirror, getting ready for a night on the town — doing each other’s eye makeup, doing the robot, laughing until champagne comes out our noses. WHAT! I love this song. Turn it up.

Yeah Girl Yeah on Spotify
Yeah Girl Yeah on Rdio

Playlist:
(I’ve recommended some of these before, but I wanted them all in one place.)

Hey Mama, Matt Kearney
Something Good Can Work, Two Door Cinema Club
What I Like About You, The Romantics
You Be Killin Em, Fabolous
W-O-M-A-N, Etta James
Hey Sexy, Die Antwoord
Girls on The Dance Floor, Far East Movement
Short Skirt/Long Jacket, Cake
No Duh, K.FLay
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing), Michael Jackson
Like the Way, Aer
Take it Off, The Donnas
Polite Dance Song, the bird and the bee
Gold Digger, Kanye West and Jamie Fox
Rill Rill, Sleigh Bells
Groove Me, King Floyd
Little Red Wagon, Audra Mae & The Almighty

What do you listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?

Weekend Soundtrack: Treasure Island Music Festival Mix, 2012

This weekend will be my first Treasure Island Music Festival, a two-day concert held on an island just outside San Francisco. Here are some songs from the bands I’m most looking forward to seeing.

Playlist:

Messin’ With My Head from K.Flay
Golden Touch from araabMUZIK
10 Mile Stereo from Beach House
No One Like You from Best Coast
Steamboat to Concord from Dirty Ghosts
My Love is Real from Divine Fits
Play Your Part (Pt. 1) from Girl Talk
Heavy Cross from Gossip
Friends of Friends from Hospitality
Runaway from Imperial Teen
By Your Hand from Los Campesinos
Midnight City from M83
Language — Original Mix from Porter Robinson
Hold On (feat. Sampha) from Subtrkt
Islands from The xx
17 from Youth Lagoon
Infinite Love Without Fulfillment from Grimes
Fight the Power from Public Enemy

Treasure Island Music Festival Mix, 2012 on Spotify
Treasure Island Music Festival Mix, 2012 on Rdio

It goes without saying, I’m jealous of the folks attending Austin City Limits this weekend. What musician would you most like to see live, or see live again?

Weekend Soundtrack: XOXO Fest, Hotel Room Dance Party

Weekend Soundtrack: XOXO Festival, Hotel Dance Room Party | Mighty Girl

It’s late, and I think you guys might be drunk. The bars are closed, but the minibar never closes. Bring your friends back to dance on the bed.

XOXO Fest, Hotel Room Dance Party on Spotify
XOXO Fest, Hotel Room Dance Party on Rdio (partial)

Feeling Good, Telephunken
It’s Tricky, Run DMC
Lonely Boy, The Black Keys
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Joilet Jake Blues
Evil Boy, Die Antwoord
Never Gonna Get It, En Vogue
Dead Animals, The Young Evils
Carry Out, Timbaland Featuring Justin Timberlake
212, Azealia Banks and Lazy Jay
Blow, Ke$ha
Can’t Say No, Connor Maynard
If I Was Your Girl, Janet Jackson
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, James Brown, The Original J.B.s
Check Up On It, Beyonce: Featuring Slim Thug

I’m at XOXO Festival in Portland, hosted by my friend Andy Baio. We will be eating from food trucks, buying handicrafts, and dancing on beds with smart people all weekend long.

What do you play when you’re up for a cheesy after-hours dance party?

More music for the weekend:
Maximum Fun Mix |  Breakup: Mix for the Brokenhearted | You Got This

Weekend Soundtrack: Breakup: Mix for the Brokenhearted

Weekend Soundtrack: Breakup: Mix for the Brokenhearted | Mighty Girl

I made you this because I love you, and you deserve better. Now go take a shower. I’m coming over with breakfast ice cream.

Breakup: Mix for the Brokenhearted on Spotify
Breakup: Mix for the Brokenhearted on Rdio

Playlist:

Pretty Girl At The Airport, The Avett Brothers
Louder Than Ever, Sarah Jaffe
Call It Off, Tegan and Sara
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, The Platters
You Could Be Happy, Snow Patrol
She’s So Hard, The Jezabels
I And Love And You, The Avett Brothers
Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, Justin Townes Earle
Always On Your Side, Sheryl Crow
The Last Trick, Anja Garbarek
These Dreams, Jim Croce
Let Him Fly, Dixie Chicks
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks, The National

If you liked this mix, you should know it completes the Woe Is Me Trilogy, the other parts of which can be found here:

This Particular Sadness
Baby Done Me Wrong

Commence wallowing!

Weekend Soundtrack: You Got This

Weekend Soundtrack: You Got This Mix | Mighty Girl

We’ve got some nails lined up… and look who’s holding a hammer. You’re good at this. In fact, you kill.

We’ll just get out of your way.

You Got This on Spotify
You Got This on Rdio

Playlist:

Numbers in Action, Wiley
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, Linda and Richard Thompson
War Again, Balkan Beat Box
Blackbirds, Erin McKeown
I’ll Run, Yello Ostrich
Gangsta, Tune-Yards
Still Here, Girl Talk
Friends of Friends, Hospitality
Rebel Girl, Bikini Kill
Tongue Tied, Group Love
First Of The Year – Equinox, Skrillex
The Whip, Locksley
Bad Girls, M.I.A.
Putting Shame In Your Game, Beastie Boys
This Is Worth Fighting For, The Ink Spots
Don’t You Evah, Spoon
Disparate Youth, Santigold
All These Things That I’ve Done, The Killers
So Alive, Love And The Rockets

This is the soundtrack for a business retreat with some girlfriends. All of us are running start-ups or consulting practices, so we’re doing Lady Business to the extreme. Also cocktails.

What do you listen to when you’re taking care of business?

More Music for the Weekend:
Yeah? Yeah | Weekend Soundtrack: On the Water Mix | Weekend Soundtrack: Dolores Park Summer Mix

Weekend Soundtrack: Yeah? Yeah. Mix

Weekend Soundtrack Yeah? Yeah. | Mighty Girl

The last few weeks have been concentrated, so packed that I haven’t had much room to relax. I was rushing somewhere in my car with my shoulders pulled to my ears, when my thoughts turned to the usual questions, “What do I want? What do I need to do?” It made me think about everything I didn’t have time for, everything that’s out of reach.

Then I remembered the article I read last week — go read it if you didn’t see my post. It suggested replacing “What do I want?” with a more concrete question, “Do I have enough?”

So I asked myself, “Do I have enough?” just as I was cresting a huge hill on Dolores Street. It’s a wide avenue with a lush median strip, lined with palm trees to the horizon.

The light was just sinking below the hills, I was on my way to a fun weekend with some favorite people, in my car with a full tank of gas. It was so gorgeous, and there was so much good stuff to anticipate, I started to laugh. My brain stumbled from one good thing to the next — my healthy kid, the city I love, the girls I work with, my lovely friends, my apartment with a full fridge. I laughed and laughed at my own dumb luck.

So that’s what this mix is about. Do I have enough? Yeah.

I hope this music makes you feel that way too.

Yeah? Yeah. Mix on Spotify
Yeah? Yeah. Mix on Rdio

Playlist:

Little Red Wagon, Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound
Nobody Knows Me at All, The Weepies
What I Like About You, The Romantics
Hate Me Soon, Yellow Ostrich
My Love, the bird and the bee
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous, Frank Turner
D-D-Dance, The Royal Concept
Throw Your Arms Around Me, Summer Fiction
Glorious Dawn (feat Stephen Hawking), Carl Sagan, Symphony of Science
Submarines, The Lumineers
Invincible, OK Go
Crank That, Soulja Boy Tell’em
Vegas Girl, Conor Maynard
Summer Home, Typhoon
Super Disco Breakin’, Beastie Boys
Eyeoneye, Andrew Bird
I’m Good, I’m Gone, Lykke Li
The Clapping Song, Shirley Ellis
Hot Knife, Fiona Apple
Take it Off, The Donnas
Black and Gold, K. Gates
Manchester, Kishi Bashi
That’s Not My Name, The Ting Tings
We Run This, Missy Elliott

What have you been listening to lately? Let us know in comments, I’m compiling a playlist of your recs.

More mixes:
Baby Done Me Wrong Songs
Maximum Fun Road Trip Mix
An Hour at SxSW
Sexy Time Mix
Simple Present Mix