P.F.’s Top 40 Songs of 2012.

It’s that time again. Another year has passed and it’s time to reveal PF’s Top 40 of 2012. Looking over the list one last time it seems to get less and less accurate as you head from the top down. These are my 40 favorite tracks of 2012, but you after you leave the top 10 or so, you could interchange a lot of the entries.

Some notes and observations:

Last year Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine checked in right at 40, and were kept from a higher spot on the 2011 chart due to repeated airplay. Not their fault of course. Then along come Paradise Fears in 2012 with a knockout cover that lands high in the chart. First of all Adam Levine “gave away” perhaps his best melody ever. The kids from South Dakota (that’s Paradise Fears) took a step in the right direction by singing the whole song, even the parts rapped by Gym Class Heroes in the original. Well done. Paradise Fears also help accomplish a rare feat; the same song appears twice in the chart. They’re cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's “Call Me Maybe” placing a few spots below the original.

Imagination Movers, a band geared mostly toward pre-teens and their parents stormed high up into the chart with the title track from their 2012 album Rock-o-Matic. Also, everyone hates Nickelback---except me. I like their single anyway. Not a huge fan of the rest of the catalog, but still puzzled by the backlash. It’s almost a cliché at this point.

Anyway, enjoy the chart and check some of the artists and tunes out.

40. “Beekeepers Daughter” – All-American Rejects

39.  “On the Road”- Keane

38. “Operator” – The Ready Set

37. “Runaways” – The Killers

36. “Midnight City” – M83  

35. “Oh, Darling” – Plug in Stereo

34. “That’s Why God Made the Radio” – The Beach Boys

33.  Owl City featuring Carly Rae Jepsen (a.k.a. Owly Rae Jepsen)

32. “The Winner” – Pet Shop Boys

31. “Anything Can Happen” – Ellie Goulding

30. “When We Stand Together” – Nickelback

29. “Dedication to My Ex” – Lloyd

28. “Sanctuary” – Paradise Fears

27.  “Tonight is the Night” – Outasight

26. “Uncharted Shores” – Uncharted Shores, formerly One Direction (U.S.)

25. “I Will Wait” – Mumford and Sons

24. “No Hope” – The Vaccines

23. “Little Talks”- Of Monsters and Men

22. “Only the Horses”- Scissor Sisters

21. “My Terrible Friend” – The Pains of Being Pure at Hear

20. “Banner” - LIGHTS

19. “Your Silent Face” – The Submarines”

18. “Call Me Maybe” – Paradise Fears

17. “We Are Young” – fun (DJ Reidiculous Mix)

16. “The Worst Thing About Me” – We Are The in Crowd

15. “Friday is Forever” – We the Kings

14. “Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen

13. “Carried Away”- Passion Pit

12. “Primadona” – Marina and the Diamonds

11. “Summer Paradise” – Simple Plan (featuring K’naan)

10.  “Peace Sign” - LIGHTS

9. “I Started a Joke” – The Pet Shop Boys

8. “Rock-O-Matic” – Imagination Movers

7. “Bom Bom” – Sam and the Womp

6. “Dance with Me Tonight” – Olly Murs
5. “Thick as Thieves”- The Summer Set

4. “Say Nothing” - Example

3. “The Only Place” – Best Coast

2. “Stereo Hearts” – Paradise Fears

1. “Teenage Icon” – The Vaccines

P.F.’s Top 40 Songs of 2011.

If you know me, you know of my disdain for “chart” music. For as long as I can remember, I’ve only been able to stomach a few songs in the American popular charts. When I was 12 or 13 years-old I’d listen to American Top-40 with Casey Kasem, though I would end up rooting for/liking just two or three songs. Looking at the entire “Hot 100,” I’d maybe see a few more tracks I liked. The ones I did enjoy, of course, were the new wave songs (mostly). Rarely could I warm to a top-ten hit, though it did happen. And occasionally a song I liked from the start would get to the top of the charts, sometime to number 1. A similar situation occurred this year with my favorite song of 2011 peaking at number 8 on the Billboard chart.

It’s about as perfect a pop song as you could find. Better yet, repeated radio play didn’t manage to kill it, like numbers 39 and 40 on this chart. Good songs too, but you couldn’t escape them, and they just didn’t have the durability of the number 1 song. Another oddball is Bruno Mars. I never really got into his previous singles and all went top-ten here in America. Then over the summer, I immediately took a shine to “Marry You,” which promptly stalled at 80 on the “Hot 100.”

Enough editorializing though, here’s the list…

40. “Stereo Hearts” – Gym Class Heroes Featuring Adam Levine

39. “Without You” – David Guetta & Usher

38. “Let Down” – Hot Chelle Rae”

37. “Money” – The Drums

36. “Yacht Club” – Owl City Featuring LIGHTS

35. “Dig A Little Deeper” – Peter, Bjorn & John

34. “Colours”- Zebra and Snake

33. “Still Life” – The Horrors

32. “Our Perfect Disease” – The Wombats

31. “Magdalena” – Brandon Flowers

30. “Waste of Time” – Paradise Fears

29. “Tomorrow has to wait – Peter, Bjorn & John

27. “Tonight’s The Kind of Night” – Noah and the Whale

26. “Under Cover of Darkness” – The Strokes

25. “Norgaard” – The Vaccines

24. “Over You” – We The Kings

23.  “Rescue song (RAK Mix)” – Mr. Little Jeans

22. “Deer in the Headlights” – Owl City

21. “Marry You” – Bruno Mars

20. “Call Your Girlfriend” - Robyn

19. “Say You Like Me” – We The Kings

18. “I Feel Like Dancin’” – All Time Low

17. “Turn it Up” – Oh, Land

16. “Young Forever” – The Ready Set

15. “Can You Feel It” – One Night Only

14. “Forget About It” – All Time Low

13. “Master Chef Synesthesia (Buttery Biscuit Bass)” - Swede Mason

12. “Dumb Love” – Sean Kingston

11. “Post Break-up Sex” – The Vaccines

10. “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S O.N.” – Noah and the Whale

9.   “Simple Trance-Like Getaway” – Never Shout Never

8.  “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction

7.  “Bedroom Eyes” – Dum Dum Girls

6.  “Toes” - LIGHTS

5.  “Someone Like You” – The Summer Set

4.  “The Body” – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

3.  “History of Modern Part I”- OMD

2.  “If You Wanna” – The Vaccines

1. “Tonight, Tonight” – Hot Chelle Rae”