Adam Bender Posts

Happy New Year! This is the time to think about the people you’re most grateful for. But rather than do that, I’m going to tell you about my favorite rock songs of the year!

I don’t do top 10 lists* so instead I’m going to give you my 2012 mix. What’s the difference, you say? Well, they are ordered by flow rather than rank — the idea being this actually works as a mix!

But enough talk! Click the links to hear the tunes yourself, then let me know what you think in the comments below.

1. Deep Sea Arcade – Girls
   From the first sha-la-la, this throwback to the ’60s/’70s simply rocks.
2. Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice
   The guys from Spoon and Wolf Parade create a groove that sticks in your head all day.
3. Walk the Moon – Shiver Shiver 
   Hit the dance floor and don’t feel embarrassed singing along: “Shall we get intimate, again?”
4. Django Django – Default
   This song is catchier than is possible to describe. Just click the link above and see.
5. Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
   A bass-heavy, retro jam from possibly Australia’s best young band. Get their whole LP, “Lonerism,” while you’re at it.
6. Bleeding Knees Club – Lipstick
   Add a lot of sarcasm and sneering to ’60s beach tunes and you pretty much get this band. If you like Wavves, you’ll like Bleeding Knees Club.
7. Green Day – X-Kid
   Green Day’s trilogy of albums this year was mixed to say the best, but this one is gold.
8. Bloc Party – Real Talk
   The British band, known for mixing dance-y rhythms with spiky guitars, slows things down a bit. Oh, and there’s a joke about breasts at the end (on the LP).
9. Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know
   So this one is technically from 2011, but most of us heard it in 2012. Indie finally broke into pop radio! Even Glee covered it!
10. Hunting Grounds – In Colour
    Straight-ahead rock from Ballarat in the style of The Vines. Try not to bang your head.
    
11. The Shins – The Rifle’s Spiral
    This track opened the Shins’ latest LP and sends you straight down a hypnotic rabbit’s hole. OK, not sure what I meant by that, but the song is really good.
12. Snow Patrol – Called Out In The Dark
    Snow Patrol can occasionally get a little sappy, but this tune is pure fun; it’s got everything I like about them.
    
13. Two Door Cinema Club – The World Is Watching
    The Irish outfit, known better for dancy rock, produces epic longing — and it works!
14. Feeder – Quiet
    Just an all-around pretty song by the Welsh/Japanese veterans.
15. Earlimart – A Goodbye
    Heart breaking, but in a good way.
16. Rhett Miller – Marina
    The leader of the Old 97’s has written yet another catchy-but-simple acoustic number. How does he keep doing this?
    

*I sometimes do top 10 lists.