2012 List / Jams

Rather than compile a list of candidates around November and miss remembering some songs that caught my fancy earlier in the year, I thought it would be a good idea to keep a running list of some of my favorite jams of this year, 2012. These are all songs that I found catchy at the time and/or listened to frequently and/or thought were meaningful and/or particularly novel and great. These are alphabetical by artist, so don't infer any other ordering.

Check out my lists from 2010 and 2011, too. For the 2012 songs below, I've included a handful of links, depending on what I could find: a music video, a link to stream/download an mp3 file, a place to buy the CD or download the album, etc. I've labeled each link appropriately, and tried to include both a free version (YouTube video or mp3 stream or etc.) and a paid version (buy the album on CD/vinyl or on Amazon/eMusic etc.) for each song, and I encourage you to buy anything that you really enjoy because, hey, that's why people are making music in the first place: to share and be shared. Enjoy!

• Sharon Van Etten / "Serpents" / Tramp [Jagjaguwar] / Jagjaguwar / iTunes
  
• The Spires / "Waves" / Forever City Chorus [Beehouse] / Beehouse (CDs) / iTunes
  
• Spirit Night / "Rubberneck" / One Man Houses [self-released] / (free download at Bandcamp)
  
• Stagnant Pools / "Consistency" / digital single [self-released] (free download at Bandcamp)