Frank Ocean – “Super Rich Kids”

Of all the material on Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE, the song that stands out the most to me is Super Rich Kids. The repetitive, marching piano beat is nothing short of addictive. Perfect for the endless smooth ribbon that is Frank’s voice. Not to mention Earl’s coughy, gruff verse spit in perfect rhythm. It’s a summer anthem for the ages.

Japandroids – “Nights of Wine and Roses”

Japandroids literally named their album Celebration Rock. If that’s not the perfect description of their genre, I don’t know what is. It’s the rush of night driving and partying with friends concentrated into four minute songs like “Nights of Wine and Roses”. With a huge woah-oh-oh chorus, it’s almost unlawful not to love the energy coming from this song.

SW/MM/NG – “Some Dreams Come True”

This summer, I found SW/MM/NG’s first EP on bandcamp, and I got in contact with the band to use their song “Swan Dive” in a video I was making. Then, in April, when they released the video for “Some Dreams Come True”, I was completely blown away. It’s well composed, well written, and super catchy. It’s a song that defined summer for me. A serious props to the band.

Stepdad – “Must Land Running”

It’s the opener to Wildlife Pop, and it’s unforgettable. Hooks as big as the sky. Marvelous production. It’s so easy to get lost in the sound of this song. Truly amazing.

Odd Future – “Oldie”

This ten and a half minute posse track that caps The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 is quite something. There are some really strong moments on it from Mike G,

Frank Ocean, Earl, and Tyler. And Tyler’s second verse is absolutely anthemic, which is just what Odd Future fans are looking for. It’s just generally really entertaining track, and it’s a good sample of the core of OF’s brand of alt hip-hop.

Lil B – “I Own Swag”

I will debate with anyone that Lil B is the smartest man in the rap game. He knows that his music is a joke, but then he releases stuff like the God’s Father mixtape. Especially since I knew him for stuff like “Wonton Soup”, when I heard this song for the first time, my mouth dropped. The production is out of this world. Lyrically, it’s not Shakespeare, but it’s some of his most developed and thought out flow.

Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz – “Mercy”

The production and hook on this song is undeniably fantastic. The verses aren’t even all that good, it’s just so addictive. Big Sean’s verse is just a huge joke, but it’s so much of a joke, that you want to listen to it just to make fun of it. The same appeal that Lil B has. It’s genius. Lil B discovered it, and apparently, Kanye and company have figured it out as well.

Werewolf Police – “Jumbo & Slim”

I used to browse 4chan’s music board a lot, and one day, I happened upon Werewolf Police’s Vulture Club. The first track, “Jumbo & Slim” is this poppy, lo-fi, indie song that I just fell in love with. It’s incredibly catchy, well-written, and it just really never gets old. I was also lucky enough to get their permission to use their song in a video as well. Make sure to check out Werewolf Police.

Odd Future – “Rella”

This song really had to grow on me, that’s for sure. But, man, every verse on this track is strong. Tyler’s verse on this one is genius in his wordplay, and his opening line “knock knock, who’s there…” packs a huge punch. Definitely a highlight of the album.

Stepdad – “Pick and Choose”

I’m gonna go ahead and say this is my favorite song of the year. It’s tough to call, but wow. I can’t even believe how much play this got earlier this summer. It’s one of the most catchy and powerfully written songs I heard all year. This one is always gonna hold a special place with me. I cannot wait for more music from these guys.

Check Out Dan’s Top Songs on Spotify!

Lana Del Rey – “Blue Jeans”

At the beginning of the year, little known indie pop artist Lana Del Rey blew up. Her album Born to Die was incredible. From the little samples to the grad vocals, everything was just a perfect mesh. Although there are many great tracks on this album, I believe Blue Jeans is possibly the best. Just Lana’s story telling mixed with the loud, almost orchestra sounding production is beautiful.

Grimes – “Vowels = Space and Time”

This song is just so weird that it’s amazing. Grimes’ weird,high pitched vocals and the 80’s sounding synth are just a killer combo. It’s just so hard to understand what Grimes is singing, so it’s almost like she’s using her own voice as an instrument or singing in another language. This song just embodies everything that is weird and makes it perfect.

A$AP Rocky (Feat. 2 Chainz ,Drake, Kendrick Lamar) – “F***in’ Problems”

The first single off of LIVELOVEA$AP, this song is just a straight up hip-hop banger, and probably the greatest braggery track of 2012. With four gigantic names in hip-hop (Kendrick Lamar, Drake, 2 Chainz, and A$AP Rocky) this song just turns into an ultimate brag-off. From 2 Chainz’s vulgar hook that will have you pumped up from the start to Kendrick’s finale, this song is just a hit.

Frank Ocean – “Pyramids”

Essentially two songs in one, this song is just phenomenal. From Frank’s great story telling to the dancey, electronic beat, this song is just great. Frank starts off by telling a story about the past, Cleopatra, the apparent “Jewel of Africa” leaving and ending off with a story in present about a prostitute living with a lame pimp and working at the Luxor, hence the ending line “She’s workin’ at Pyramid tonight.” On top of that, the song ends with a Guitar solo from John Mayer, which is an added bonus.

TNGHT – “Higher Ground”

Higher Ground manages to take trap (hip-hop sounding EDM without the rapping) to the next level. This song starts out with a repeated sample that’s prevalent throughout the entire song, then it brings in the horns. At this point, I was already confused as to what was happening, but then the bass kicks in. From there, the song just goes nuts. The horns start to sound incredibly menacing and the bass is so deep that it could probably cause an earthquake. Higher Ground was definitely my Summer EDM anthem.

Crystal Castles – “Plague”

From the first few seconds of listening to this song, I get chills, which is nothing unusual considering that it’s from Crystal Castles. It’s the perfect ominous track that’s just so eerie and lovely at the same time. The synths are just so liquid like, that it’s hard to describe. This track has minimalistic elements that just make it perfect, which is why it’s one of my favourites from 2012.

Death Grips – “The Fever (Aye Aye)”

This band is just so nuts, they’re genre defying. The Fever is a perfect example of just how genre defying they are. What gives this song so much force is the vocalist’s (MC Ride) voice, it’s almost like he’s shouting and rapping at the same time, which is normally frowned upon, but Death Grips hit it perfectly on the head. Another thing that sets this song apart from most is the production. At times the song will slow down, then pick up pace immensely. This song is just so different from most hip-hop produced today, which is definitely why this song is so “out of the park” for me.

ScHoolboy Q (Feat. A$AP Rocky) – “Hands On The Wheel”

This somewhat controversial song is amazing, and it was probably one of my favourites from 2012. The song samples Ledisi’s cover of Kid Cudi’s Pursuit Of Happiness, which is stellar by itself, but add A$AP and Q, who always try to outdo each other whenever they spit together, and you’ve got a hit.

Flying Lotus – “Putty Boy Strut”

When I first heard this song, I had it stuck in my head for days. This jazzy/electronic/weird/whatever-you-want-to-call-it song is infectious. The 8-bit synths are the first thing that captivate you, then comes the chopped up voice and harp (I think). This synthetica of organic noise will captivate you for days, if you don’t believe me, listen to it for yourself.

Kanye West, Pusha T, Ghostface Killah – “New God Flow”

Kanye does what he knows best with this song, old school sampling, and he knocks it out of the park. While some argue that Mercy was the best from Kanye and co.’s Cruel Summer, I believe this was easily the best. Pusha comes in with the hardest opener I’ve heard in a long time, “I believe there’s a god above me, I’m just the god of everything else” and then two stellar lines from Ye himself, which I will call them some of the best lines of 2012. “Hold up I ain’t tryin to stunt, man, but the Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman” and “That can mess up your whole life like an uncle that touched you.” As if that wasn’t enough, there’s even a surprise verse from Ghostface himself.

Listen to Nick’s Top Songs on Spotify!