MICHAEL C. WALSH, listings coordinator, The Phoenix
1. Schoolboy Q "Blessed (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)" (from Habits & Contradictions)
2. Action Bronson & Riff Raff "Bird On A Wire" (from Birth Of An Icon)
3. Moody "Why Do U Feel" (from Why Do U Feel EP)
4. Liars "No.1 Against The Rush" (from WIXIW)
5. Joy Orbison "Ellipsis" (from Ellipsis)
6. Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland "9" (from Black Is Beautiful)
7. Jeremih "Fuck You All The Time" (from Late Nights)
8. Kanye West "To The World (Feat. R. Kelly)" (from Cruel Summer)
9. Andres "New For U" (from New For U)
10. Future "You Deserve It" (from Pluto)
I'm sure that I'm not alone in this, but my 2012 music intake was largely indebted to Spotify, in all of its Trojan Fire brand condom pushing glory. But whereas most turn to the technology to uncover new music, I mainly utilized it as a stopgap amidst an endless avalanche of album streams, promos, mixtapes, and the like, all liable to bury me if I don't remain mindful and take a step back from time to time. So instead of wading through an inundation of critical hype, fingers crossed that something will eventually click -- let's be real, Beach House never meant shit to me -- I could seek solace in Aphex Twin's discography as a reminder why I started listening to weirdo electronic music in the first place. Or fawn over A Grand Don't Come for Free like it was 2004 all over again, meditating on why hip-hop can't be heady and bang at the same damn time. And my most listened to album of 2012 was probably Dilla's Donuts, emotive in its simplicity as it ever was. In turn, my favorite new music of 2012 reflected all of these virtues. And a realization that just because my idols aren't making real shit anymore, doesn't mean that it isn't out there.
GET THE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: Phoenix/WFNX.com's Top Tracks of 2012
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