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Best Songs of 2012: Marco Benevento (Featuring Kalmia Traver) - "Limbs of a Pine"
Mike McKinley
January 9, 2013
I guess it was a bit controversial for fans of Marco Benevento to hear a vocalist (Kalmia Traver of Rubblebucket) on the opening two tracks of TigerFace. If you've grown accustomed to immersing yourself into a Marco record and setting off on the great imaginational drift‚ I can see how this might initially feel jarring. In other words‚ Marco's music is lyrical and melodic enough to not have a vocalist. That's his deal‚ right? I can see the point of some people's dismay‚ but I go the other way. After listening to Marco and Kalmia collaborate on "Limbs of a Pine" and "This is How it Goes‚" I thought they should have just made an entire record together. Their chemistry feels natural -- they complement each other's weird and playful eccentricities so well. Who knew? Perhaps having Kalmia on the first two tracks of TigerFace is a great jumping off point to get more people to go as deep as they should with a Marco record. Here's "Limbs of a Pine" -- a song mostly about getting loaded with your friends. When Kalmia launches into that shouting cadence part‚ she sounds like the Lieutenant of the Fun Army -- what a great moment forever captured on a record.



Best Songs of 2012: Dinosaur Jr. - "Watch the Corners"
Adam King
January 4, 2013
It's been seven years since J. Mascis fully welcomed Lou Barlow back into his band, and I think it's fair to now call it one of the most successful reunions of all time. Everybody expected the guys to pump out some solid material, but I don't think anybody thought the band would reemerge at the very top of their game. "Watch the Corners" is the kind of tune that makes you forget how old you are, forget how many times your heart's been broken, and makes you feel that at least for these 5 minutes the electric guitar is the answer to any problem life throws at you.



Best Songs of 2012: Neil Young - "Walk Like a Giant"
Jim Murray
December 27, 2012
Neil Young is as strong as ever on Psychedelic Pill‚ and if there's a song out there this year more blunt‚ dominant‚ and triumphant as "Walk Like a Giant‚" I need to hear it now. Framed atop a thematic‚ twisted harmonic whistle‚ this one celebrates the brazen sacrifices of the counterculture without regret‚ and reminds us that perhaps that spirit has neither burned out nor faded away. A glorious‚ angry sixteen-minute rocker‚ and an anthem for all ages.



Best Songs of 2012: M.I.A. - "Bad Girls"
Lynn Kestenbaum
December 27, 2012
Is it weird that I like M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls"? Because it sort of feels like I shouldn't‚ but I totally do. It's got a strangely hypnotizing Middle Eastern hook that plays while M.I.A. delivers a blatant message of female sexual empowerment to the world. It's a political statement. Unless the lyrics dealing with being banged against a dashboard are about a car accident‚ because women are terrible drivers. In which case‚ the music video is definitely a PSA for Saudi Arabia's ban on female drivers. I mean‚ M.I.A. turns the car on two wheels‚ perches on the edge of the passenger side window‚ and spends a few minutes filing her nails instead of paying attention to the road‚ because that makes her feel like a Bad Girl. Hands at 10 & 2‚ M.I.A.!

I shouldn't like this song‚ but I do‚ and that makes me feel like a Bad Girl.



Best Songs of 2012: Lettuce - "Ziggowatt"
J Hunter
December 23, 2012
I drive a Subaru Outback‚ which is the 21st-century equivalent of the Volvo station wagon -- safe‚ reliable‚ and boring as fuck. But mine has a Harmon-Kardon sound system that makes anything on my iPod utterly glorious‚ from Johnny Cash to the White Stripes and everything in between. And when a chunk of Old School funk comes around (James Brown's "Mother Popcorn‚" say‚ or Parliament's "Flash Light")‚ I turn it up until my fillings start to vibrate.

Lettuce's latest disc Fly is the first thing I've heard from the new breed that comes closest to that vibe‚ and "Ziggowatt" is the prime example. Eric Krasno's opening riff sets the tone‚ and then the horns come in like Muhammad Ali's punches: They're so fast‚ you can't see them‚ but you will feel them! The groove is so very chunky‚ and as the horn section gets bigger and wilder‚ you feel yourself lifting with them. It could be an out-of-body experience‚ but you want to stay inside your body because it feels too good to leave.

Ryan Zoidis' alto solo would make Maceo Parker nod his head in approval‚ and Krasno's following solos have that psychedelic edge you hear on bodacious classics like the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion" and the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money." But as delicious as this song is‚ Krasno leaves plenty of room for expansion‚ as we see in this marvelous (and incorrectly titled) video from Lettuce's 2012 appearance at Gathering of the Vibes.
I realize a Lettuce recording is a sometime thing: I mean‚ 3 releases in 20 years? Axl Rose records more than that! But every time Fly pops up on my infinite rotation‚ and every time this song makes my speakers earn their paycheck‚ all I can think is‚ "MORE! More of THAT!!"

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