The 100 best new good songs of 2012!

Here are my 100 favorite songs of 2012. See the video below for a playlist of the Top 50. (Update: In 2016 I made a countdown video version of my Top 40. It's below as well.) Lots of ways to enjoy theh year's best new good songs!

Countdown video:



Playlist:

1. "Somebody That I Used To Know" Gotye f/ Kimbra

2. "Blue" First Aid Kit

3. "Everybody's Heart's Breaking Now" Lavender Diamond

4. "Ready Or Not" Bridgit Mendler

5. "The Woman You Love" Ashanti

6. "Always Summer" Yellowcard

7. "Reunion" M83

8. "Warrior" Kimbra f/ Mark Foster and A-Trak

9. "Overjoyed" Matchbox Twenty

10. "Satellites" Catcall

11. "Call Me Maybe" Carly Rae Jepsen

12. "Here I Am Alive" Yellowcard

13. "Yoyo" Pop Etc

14. "Midnight City" M83

15. "Distance" Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

16. "Titanium" David Guetta f/ Sia

17. "Catch My Breath" Kelly Clarkson

18. "Give Your Heart A Break" Demi Lovato

19. "Co-Sign" SWV

20. "Silenced By The Night" Keane

21. "Called Out In The Dark" Snow Patrol

22. "Hold On When You Get Love ..." Stars

23. "Save Me" Gotye

24. "Love On Top" Beyoncé

25. "Big Machine" Ryan Miller

26. "Paradise" Coldplay

27. "Ships In The Night" Mat Kearney

28. "A Little While" Heather Headley

29. "Game Of Cards" Mason Brothers

30. "Stereo Hearts" Gym Class Heroes f/ Adam Levine

31. "Cough Syrup" Young the Giant

32. "Tonight Is The Night" Outasight

33. "1997" Saint Motel

34. "Wide Awake" Katy Perry

35. "Video Games" Lana Del Rey

36. "Scream" Usher

37. "Wildest Dreams" Brandy

38. "Blood Brothers" Ingrid Michaelson

39. "Set Fire To The Rain" Adele

40. "Laura" Bat For Lashes

41. "I Like It Like That" Hot Chelle Rae f/ New Boyz

42. "Circles Around The Sun" Dispatch

43. "Put It Down" Brandy f/ Chris Brown

44. "Good Time" Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen

45. "All The Rowboats" Regina Spektor

46. "Enough Of No Love" Keyshia Cole f/ Lil Wayne

47. "Move In The Right Direction" Gossip

48. "Lights" Ellie Goulding

49. "Faded Heart" School Of Seven Bells

50. "Guardian" Alanis Morissette

51. "Give Me All Your Luvin'" Madonna f/ Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.

52. "Receive" Alanis Morissette

53. "Two Way Street" Kimbra

54. "I Won't Give Up" Jason Mraz

55. "Magpie" Beth Orton

56. "Para" Calexico

57. "What To Keep And What To Throw Away" Mary Chapin Carpenter

58. "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" John Legend f/ Ludacris

59. "Adorn" Miguel

60. "Climax" Usher

61. "To Who Knows Where" James Iha

62. "Thrift Shop" Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f/ Wanz

63. "Everything Is Embarrassing" Sky Ferreira

64. "Mama Told Me" Big Boi f/ Kelly Rowland

65. "Beth/Rest" Bon Iver

66. "Pretty Lil' Heart" Robin Thicke f/ Lil Wayne

67. "Girl Gone Wild" Madonna

68. "Skyfall" Adele

69. "Hard To Love" Lee Brice

70. "Easy Way Out" Gotye

71. "Sovereign Light Café" Keane

72. "Glass" Thompson Square

73. "Red Balloon" Azure Ray

74. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" Taylor Swift

75. "It All Belongs To Me" Monica & Brandy

76. "Settle Down" No Doubt

77. "This Kiss" Carly Rae Jepsen

78. "Run" Matt Nathanson f/ Sugarland

79. "Kiss And Run" Jenna Andrews

80. "Your Body" Christina Aguilera

81. "Is This Love" Aiden Grimshaw

82. "Girl On Fire" Alicia Keys f/ Nicki Minaj

83. "Break Ya Back" Timbaland f/ Dev

84. "Never Go Back" Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

85. "The Motto" Drake f/ Lil Wayne

86. "Sunshine" Mike Doughty

87. "Honestly"  Hot Chelle Rae

88. "Popular Song" Mika

89. "50 Ways To Say Goodbye" Train

90. "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" P!nk

91. "Timebomb" Kylie Minogue

92. "Crystallize" Lindsey Stirling

93. "Between The Raindrops" Lifehouse f/ Natasha Bedingfield

94. "Without You" Monica

95. "Dark Side" Kelly Clarkson

96. "Beautiful Surprise"  Tamia

97. "Happy Pills" Norah Jones

98. "Where The Kids Are" Blondfire

99. "Moonshine" Bruno Mars

100. "Thorns" Jessie Baylin

New Good Songs for October 2012

Here are some of the highlights from October.


Here's a new good song -- "Carry On" by Fun.
Here's a new good song -- "Skyfall" by Adele
Here's a new good song -- "Here I Am Alive" by Yellowcard
Here's a new good song -- "Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys f/ Nicki Minaj
Here's a new good song -- "A Little While" by Heather Headley
Here's a new good song -- "Move In The Right Direction" by Gossip
Here's a new good song -- "Mama Told Me" by Big Boi f/ Kelly Rowland
Here's a new good song -- "Popular Song" by Mika
Here's a new good song -- "Kiss And Run" by Jenna Andrews
Here's a new good song -- "Catch My Breath" by Kelly Clarkson
Here's a new good song -- "This Kiss" by Carly Rae Jepsen

New Good Song: Everybody's Heart's Breaking Now by Lavender Diamond

Here's a new good song -- "Everybody's Heart's Breaking Now" by Lavender Diamond

If you like the Carpenters but wished they had sounded more like Bonnie Tyler, then this song is for you. Talk about retro. Talk about beautiful!

Enjoy.

Revision: Shiny Toy Guns' Songs Aren't Good

Shiny Toy Guns

I have twice on this blog featured songs by a group called Shiny Toy Guns, and both times have had to do an about-face when I realized the songs weren't good after all. The first was called "Waiting Alone." When I first heard it, I loved the instrumental production. It was over-the-top, retro ('80s) and exciting. But upon repeated listens, I began to find the song annoying, and I didn't care for it at all.

Then they released "Fading Listening," which is much more subdued, and also retro ('70s). And I thought, OK, this one is good. But after a couple weeks on my high-rotation playlist, I was all, Meh.

This group obviously has some talent and good instincts around arrangement and production, but their songs (or these two, at least) just don't work. Why? Here's my theory. In both of these songs, the vocals alternate between the male and female singer, and think there is too much disparity between these parts. The lyrics are thing and have nothing to do with one another, so the songs overall haev no impact, make no sense, and leave you emotionally unmoved, if not confused. The melody lines also don't relate to one another. Also, the guy is a bad singer. They need to pick one idea per song, build it out to a satisfactory conclusion, and let the woman sing it. Then they might have something. Keep it simple.

New Good Song: Two Way Street by Kimbra

Here's a new good song -- "Two Way Street" by Kimbra

Kimbra is so talented it's ridiculous. She is responsible for some of 2012's very best song, and she writes them! First, she was on Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," which is still the years' best new song. Then she had "Warrior," with Mark Foster and A-Trak, which is so far one of the year's 10 best songs, not to mention one of the most durable (i.e., it doesn't get old upon repeated listens, trust me). Now the follow-up to "Warrior" is "Two Way Street," which has become her highest-charting song in her native New Zealand (No. 6).

For the sake of disclosure, I need to admit I'm actually behind the times on Kimbra's output. She actually has an ever newer song than "Two Way Street," called "Come Into My Head," which has an amazing video (that definitely channels Regina Spektor) and is also a very clever song. But for the moment, I am enamored with "Two Way Street," which is just beautiful. That transition chord into the chorus is one of the best into-chorus transitions I've ever heard. It's at 00:53. As usual, I suggest good headphones.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Closer by Tegan and Sara

Here's a new good song -- "Closer" by Tegan and Sara

When I started this blog, one of the purposes (in my mind) was to discuss how I discovered these songs, but as the dust has settled, I basically find 98% of them in iTunes by scanning through all the new releases each Tuesday and giving each and every one a listen. "Closer" has actually not yet been released on iTunes, but is due for release this Tuesday. I actually discovered this song because a former co-worker sent me the link on Facebook. Thank you, BJ.

I like it when creative and talented non-poppy acts give pop a try. Tegan and Sara had a fantastic song several years ago with "Your Number." Their new song, "Closer," does sound like what two alternative twin lesbians would do if their management asked them to move in more radio-friendly direction (which is probably what happened).

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Try by P!nk

Here's a new good song -- "Try" by P!nk

This is another formulaic mid-tempo song by P!nk, in the spirit of "Who Knew" and "Please Don't Leave Me" and the unnecessarily profanely titled "Fuckin' Perfect." At some point it all begins to sound the same. And like Kelly Clarkson.

"Try," though, has very nice, understated verses, and I appreciate the attempt to layer metaphors to achieve some profound meaning in the chorus. "Try" is better than the aforementioned songs that resemble it.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Ready Or Not by Bridgit Mendler

Here's a new good song -- "Ready Or Not" by Bridgit Mendler

Bubblegum pop, which like it or not is certainly making a resurgence, is for kids. In my mind, the target age for this music is 12-16 and, with a sense of irony, maybe ages 17 to 22. But that certainly doesn't mean it can't be good. Lots of things targeted at kids are good, like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

As a bias, I tend to be more open to bubblegum pop from female vocalists. I can't imagine liking a song by Justin Bieber, or One Direction, although having stated this I'm sure I will one day have to back-track, because good songs can come from unlikely sources. I don't know where my bias came from. My superficial psycho-babble explanation is that flirtation and fun seem innocent and genuine coming from a young girl, and cloying, creepy and corny coming from a young boy.

All this said, even when the deliverer of bubblegum pop is a female, I am still pretty critical. For me, bubblegum is hard to sell. It has to be sincere, well-produced and at least somewhat creative and interesting. When I heard the snippit of "Ready Or Not" by Bridgit Mendler several times over the past few weeks on iTunes, I dismissed it instantly as stupid and far too Disney to even be considered.

But, as is often the case with this genre, I kept going back to it to give it another listen. Finally I decided to give the entire song a listen from front to back, remembering that often the best part of these songs are the verses, and lo and behold, I discovered that this is actually a pitch-perfect pop song from start to finish, if you're willing to go along for the ride (i.e., forgive lyrics such as "You'll be my William, I'll be your Kate").

This is a great song. It follows the cookbook of pop songs perfectly, and the result is delicious. The chord progression, though simple, is infections and evocative, and the melody in the verses is very nice and shows off Bridgit's ability to navigate notes nicely. And what really hooked me is the pre-chrous, particularly the unexpected turn of the dancing bassline on the third line. If you listen to the clip above, I'm referring to 00:33-34.

Another reason I was reluctant to give this song a chance is that the chorus so flagrantly "borrows" from "Ready Or Not" by the Fugees. Then it occurred to me that the Fugees have probably never done an original thing in their lives, and likely stole their chorus from some other song. A quick search on Wikipedia proves this to be the case. The Fugees' "Ready Or Not" chorus was taken from the Delfonics' "Ready Or Not Here I Come," which, quite honestly, I had never heard of until now. So, there's nothing new under the sun. At least the Bridgit Mendler song just winks at the chorus slightly. That's forgivable. And it's ubiquitous in pop.

Bridgit Mendler's "Ready Or Not" is a very crisp pop song that is both contemporary and classic. I may be too old to like it, and I may not want people overhearing it on my headphones, but oh well. In 2012, we take what we can get.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: & It Was U by How To Dress Well

Here's a new good song -- "& It Was U" by How To Dress Well

This is a bizarre, stripped down, bare-bones R&B throwback song that very much sounds recorded and produced in someone's bathroom, but is brilliantly catchy and cool. It's a song for headphones. As the beat builds, you can't help but want to move along and get taken in by the retro feel of the vocals. Reminds me of Jon B., if anyone remembers who that is.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Your Body by Christina Aguilera

Here's a new good song -- "Your Body" by Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera is such a talented vocalist that the bar is very high for her output. The anticipation and expectations around her releases are further heightened by how infrequent her albums are, compared with her contemporaries. And even more attention is on her now that she's on "The Voice," which is apparently very popular.

Aguilera's better songs, in my opinion, have included "Genie In A Bottle," "Fighter," "Ain't No Other Man," "Hurt" and "Candyman." Less good have been "What A Girl Wants," "Can't Hold Us Down" and "Woohoo." Now she is back with "Your Body," a loud and energetic song about seduction that is not her best but is good and should inject some adrenaline back into her career. The surprising secret weapon here is the production, which seems particularly off-trend but intrigues the listener, particularly on repeated listens. In this sense, it's very much in a league with "Genie In A Bottle," somewhere in the gray area between gritty and glossy.

Also, isn't the cover art striking?

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Between The Raindrops by Lifehouse f/ Natasha Bedingfield

Here's a new good song -- "Between The Raindrops" by Lifehouse f/ Natasha Bedingfield

Lifehouse and Natasha Bedingfield have the distinction of being wildly hit-and-miss with their singles. I personally think "First Time" by Lifehouse is an underrated masterpiece, but I find much of their work too bland. Jason Wade being hot helps. Ms. Bedingfield manages to, in a single song, waffle between being remarkable and grating, e.g., "Pocketful Of Sunshine," which is three totally different songs spliced together into one. One is amazing, one is OK, and one is horrendous.

So when one sees that this band and this woman have teamed up, one clicks to listen with a combination of hope and skepticism. Their duet turns out to be quite a nice song, the type I hope will be popular, even though I acknowledge it doesn't immediately impress as being stupendous. But it's owed a few repeated listens.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Something That Lasts by Alexander Wolfe

Here's a new good song -- "Something That Lasts" by Alexander Wolfe

Slow and mopey are not usually qualities found in a good song, but sometimes a song can seem genuine and be pretty and well-delivered enough that slow and mopey are core parts of what makes a song good. Here, that is the case. This song will bore some but be touching to others. It's not something to put on one's workout playlist, for sure.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Wildest Dreams by Brandy

Here's a new good song -- "Wildest Dreams" by Brandy

Brandy had a new good song earlier this year with "Put It Down," and this is the follow-up. "Put It Down" was crazily adored by yours truly for about 10 days, after which time it started to get on my nerves, and it quickly moved off my playlist. My initial enthusiasm for "Wildest Dreams" is slightly lower, partly because I find the writing of the melody and lyrics in the second verse to be a bit lazy, but still this effort passes the bar, from a singer who doesn't have a particularly magnificent voice but does manage to get herself associated with some pretty good songs.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Backup Plan by Angie Stone

Here's a new good song -- "Backup Plan" by Angie Stone

"Backup Plan" is a retro, upbeat, tongue-in-check R&B song that could have been a Top 10 hit 15 yeasr ago but will certainly be completely ignored in 2012. It sounds like something you would have been excited to hear at the skating rink. It's not revolutionary, or even current, but it's very smooth, nicely executed, and makes you move a little.

Stone is a pretty non-comformist, slightly arrogant R&B purist whose main objective seems to be to keep it real, yo. She also looks amazing for her age, I might add. To look at this airbrushed (or animated?) MP3 art, you'd think she was 36, but the woman is 50. Her best song remains "Wish I Didn't Miss You," but "Backup Plan" is perfectly pleasant.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Thorns by Jessie Baylin

Here's a new good song -- "Thorns" by Jessie Baylin

In what sounds a bit like an homage to Mazzy Starr, Jessie Baylin has created with "Thorns" a song that grows on you quite a bit upon repeated listens. It actually came on my radar two weeks ago, and I added it to my "Now" playlist. Normally, I give new songs I kinda like a few days or a week "trial period" in that playlist before rendering a decision. And there are times when songs move off and back on this list. That's a strange quality of songs -- some can seem good right away and then turn out to be bad; others vice versa.

"Thorns" has been a somewhat ignored part of my playlist until recently, when I really began to appreciate the chilly production and clever lyrics, with well-delivered vocals. This is a song not at all of this time, and it will not be to everyone's taste. But if you at all care for it, I would encourage downloading it and giving it repeated listens, because it ages nicely.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis f/ Wanz

Here's a new good song -- "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f/ Wanz

Hip-hop is not featured much on this blog, because most of what's new in this genre isn't good. Historically, though, hip-hop could be good. Must of today's output in this genre is offensive to all senses.

Rap as a vocal style is inherently silly, so (in my opinion), rap works best when a song has some sense of humor and is clever. This is why Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott and Eminem have some good songs, when they choose to have a sense of humor. Examples include "My Chick Bad" by Ludacris, "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg, "Work It" by Missy Elliott and "Superman" by Eminem. But when rappers take themselves too seriously, goodness is hard to achieve.

Here we have "Thrift Shop," which, surprisingly for a hip-hop song, is not a euphemism for oral sex. It is, in fact, a song about buying secondhand clothes and other "come ups" (a phrase that's new to me, but which apparently means things of value) at a thrift shop. It's delivered with a nice light touch, over a pretty catchy and whimsical instrumental track, and the whole thing works together with a nice hooky chorus, delivered with humor.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Red Balloon by Azure Ray

Here's a new good song -- "Red Balloon" by Azure Ray

This is a trippy, very beautiful little number that reminds me of Dido and Imogen Heap. It starts off obtusely and builds into a melody that's actually quite accessible and almost poppy, with gorgeous harmonies and a dreamy production.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It by Stars

Here's a new good song -- "Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It" by Stars

It is as if New Order did a duet with Kate Bush and enlisted God to write it.

Enjoy it!

New Good Songs: Fading Listening by Shiny Toy Guns

Here's a new good song -- "Fading Listening" by Shiny Toy Guns

Several weeks ago, I thought Shiny Toy Guns had an amazing new song, called "Waiting Alone." But upon repeated listens, I determined it was actually annoying and awful. So I'm almost scared to recommend "Fading Listening." I have given it about a week's worth of repeated listening and still like it, so here's hoping.

I think the issue with this group is the guy. He's sort of irritating. The woman is better. She should sing more, and he less. Another issue is the lyrics, which seem pointless.

"Fading Listening" has a few of those same problems, but tones down the bombastic over-the-top production and gets into a quirky retro groove that's a little more comfortable to listen to. It's good.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Magpie by Beth Orton

Here's a new good song -- "Magpie" by Beth Orton

Also, here's a new good source for music: SoundCloud.com. Maybe it's not new, but it's good. I enjoy the interactivity. Users can make comments at particular moments in the timeline of the song. Good stuff.

"Magpie" is a quirky little number that begins sounding like a folksy Joni Mitchell type of song, but when the drums come in at about 1:30, the song transforms into a sort of stomping, determined march, like KT Tunstall, or even Melissa Etheridge. There's a beautiful melody here, sung in an emotive and raw way, with great arrangement and climax. It won't be everyone's taste, but it's quite good.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Day Four by Bloc Party

Here's a new good song -- "Day Four" by Bloc Party

Somewhere in the space where The Cure meets the Smashing Pumpkins and maybe The Killers exists Bloc Party, and a very nice little ditty here called "Day Four." This isn't a game changing song, but it's very nicely produced and quirky enough to be interesting even though it's subdued. Give it a listen.

Enjoy!

New Good Song -- Circles Around The Sun by Dispatch

Here's a new good song -- "Circles Around The Sun" by Dispatch

Sometimes songs with strange storylines flop, and sometimes they soar. One critical achivement of a successful "story" song is that the tone of the story needs to match the tone of the music. That's why "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies is such a success. The music and stories are both a little melancholy and quirky. The music is downright gorgeous, in fact, and I think it's musically one of the most underrated songs of the '90s. For some reason in the 2010s, it's dismissed as some novelty song, when it's certainly not. I digress.

Here, in "Circles Around The Sun," we get the story of a nearly weightless boy who "cannot speak or walk" who appears to have been launched into space for the purposes of scientific research. It's told with humor and a spirit of adventure, and the music is poppy, high energy and full of unexpected chord changes, which mirror both the unexpected twists in the lyrical story, as well as the unexpected twists the protagonist would likely face on his space journey. The whole thing works pretty well together.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Distance by Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

Here's a new good song -- "Distance" by Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

"Distance" is a sadder echo of another good Jason Mraz duet, "Lucky," featuring Colbie Callait. Mraz is doing quite well with his output in general, coming off the very nice "I Won't Give Up" earlier this year.

Perri's previous work hasn't exactly aligned with my tastes. She's clearly very talented, but "Jar Of Hearts" and "A Thousand Years" were over the top in vocal delivery and production while being underwhelming in their lyrical content. If as a singer you want to shoot for wringing out emotion, the bar is higher for lyrics. They need to be mature. Perhaps this a double standard. At 25, Perri is younger than, say, Carly Rae Jepsen, who is 26. But my expectations for Jepsen are different because she sings in a more juvenile way and is shooting for a younger target audience. The production of "Call Me Maybe" is poppy and cute, but it works with the delivery, the lyrics, and even Jepsen's clothes. Perri seems to want to be taken more "seriously," which is to say appreciated by adults, so when she's practically shouting at us about a metaphorical jar of hearts, some (i.e., women who are nurturing the wounds of a breakup) may cry, but others (like me) will roll their eyes. Perri co-wrote "Jar Of Hearts" and "A Thousand Years," so perhaps she is destined to be restrained by mediocre material as long as she insists on helping compose it.

These double standards for women go back a long way. Take Britney Spears than Christina Aguilera, who are basically the same age. Spears is cute and a nice performer, but seemed perpetually 13; her vocal delivery and production make it OK to sing about liking boys and being in clubs. Aguilera, on the other hand, has a huge voice and is wildly more talented, so the bar is higher for her output -- we want her to act like a woman, since she sings like one, and to sing songs that have some meaning and impact. I do not think Aguilera's body of work has risen to people's expectations, given her talent. Expectations for Spears, meanwhile, are low. We're just happy when she is not going insane before our eyes.

On "Distance," Perri seems to have elevated the content of the lyrics and relaxed a little with the production and delivery, and the result is emotional impact that to me was missing in her previous songs. She seems more comfortable here and, thus, mature. Mraz's harmonies are a nice addition. If Perri can channel her talent into work that seems more sincere, I think she can be the engine behind many future good songs.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Save Me by Gotye

Here's a new good song -- "Save Me" by Gotye

I think Gotye may be this generation's Peter Gabriel, and that's just about as high a praise as I can offer. "So," the first album I ever owned, is still one of the best I have ever heard. Gabriel has a way of being experimental and genre-less while still producing gorgeous and catchy music that can be appreciated by young and old listeners who like rock, pop, soul or alternative. I suspect Gotye would cite Gabriel as an inspiration although I have never read anything to that effect.

"Save Me" is another simple but thoughtful piece of melancholy brilliance, following "Easy Way Out." Even when Gotye tries to be upbeat on "I Feel Better," there's still a sad undertone, as there's an implication the singer was not feeling well before.
Enjoy!

New Good Song: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift

Here's a new good song -- "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift

I think Taylor Swift is very talented, but much of her output sounds the same. With her new release, she's going in a poppier direction, channeling Avril Lavigne a bit. But it's very cute and catchy. Juvenile, to be sure, but a nice offering for the summer.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Blood Brothers by Ingrid Michaelson

Here's a new good song: "Blood Brothers" by Ingrid Michaelson

I was mildly irritated earlier this year when VH1 counted down the 100 Greatest Women in Music, and Ingrid Michaelson was #86, while Lisa Loeb was not even on the list. Loeb's output is broader and better, and at the time Michaelson seemed only to have had the one song, "The Way I Am," which I found too cutesy/quirky and seemed like a one-hit wonder to me. But now Michaelson has released a very nice song, "Blood Brothers," which is fuller and more upbeat and has a nice way of casting a tried-and-true "we're all connected" message. Nice video too.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Home by Phillip Phillips

Here's a new good song -- "Home" by Phillip Phillips

This is not a special discovery by any means, as this song is quite popular and by an "American Idol" winner, but I did want to acknowledge that after several weeks of resistance and skepticism, I do think this is a good song. It would be better coming from a different source, and by that I mean nothing against Mr. Phillips himself as a musician or vocalist. I have never watched "American Idol," but I wouldn't be so snobby as to presume that he is anything less than very talented. But I the output that comes out of the series' "coronation songs" has tended to be a bit corny and overblown.

So this song comes as something of a surprise. If it had been by an unknown artist, and I had discovered it instead of having it pushed to me, I think I would have been quicker to like it. But I'm not an elitist person when it comes to music, by any means. Lots of popular songs are good. And in the case of "Home," the fact it is popular is a bit of a head-scratcher to me, as it doesn't fit the 2012 Top 40 mold at all.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Champion by The Chevin

Here's a new good song -- "Champion" by The Chevin

Appropriate for the end of the Olympics, here's a high-energy song with a sort of New Order/U2/Coldplay feel. The instrumental break after the bridge (2:42) is particularly stunning.

It's been a bit of a slow time for new good songs, I must say. Perhaps I'm raising the bar too high and thus becoming too picky. But it seems that there was a New Good Song peak about 3 months ago, and that it's been relatively quiet since.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Triumphant by Mariah Carey featuring Rick Ross and Meek Mill

Here's a new good song -- "Triumphant" by Mariah Carey f/ Rick Ross and Meek Mill

OK. I have made no secret of the fact that, while I am a song-specific fan and thus not artist-loyal, I am interested in Mariah Carey and her output because I have observed 22 years of high quality. She has written, sung, produced and released good song after good song. Sure, there have been a couple clunkers, but the good has outweighed the bad.

So I was eager in anticipation upon learning -- through Facebook -- that her new single was released to radio last Thursday, and to iTunes yesterday. I sought it out as soon as it became available Thursday and was a bit disappointed, because the song so heavily features the "guest" rappers, and rap does a good song not tend to make. But upon repeated listens, I have grown to like it more, and although this is surely not her best output, it is good relative to what else is out there.

She has released a "Vintage Throwback Remix," not yet available on iTunes, that contains no rap and instead includes verses by Carey. This should mean a greater level of goodness, although the production (and specifically the pace of the production) are weaker than the original. So it's not a winning tradeoff.

I am looking forward to seeing the subsequent output from Carey's latest album.

New Good Song: Adorn by Miguel

Here's a new good song -- "Adorn" by Miguel.

If "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye and "Climax" by Usher had a baby, and then gave that baby a totally fascinating bassline, that baby would be "Adorn." This is a weird little gem, especially with headphones, and it gets better on repeated listens.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Game Of Cards by Mason Brothers

Here's a new good song -- "Game Of Cards" by Mason Brothers.

The new offerings on the Alternative area of iTunes were so weak today that I had to take my hunt for new good songs to the Singer/Songwriter tab, which is sort of like not caring for anything on the menu at Ruth's Chris and going to Outback Steakhouse instead. Often, Singer/Songwriter is code for weepy and badly sung, but "Game Of Cards" stands out as a very pretty, clean, simple, old-fashioned folk-rock song. In 3/4 time, it has a nice story and melody. I think it will please.

But of course, this may not be the best new song of the week, as Mariah Carey fans eagerly await the Thursday release of her new song, "Triumphant." Mariah Carey's output is among the best, and she rarely disappoints with a studio-album lead single (see "Vision Of Love," "Emotions," "Dreamlover," "Fantasy," "Honey," "Heartbreaker," "Through The Rain," It's Like That," "Touch My Body" and "Obsessed" ... And, yes, I knew all that from memory). So hope for goodness come Thursday.

New Good Song: Without You by Monica

Here's a new good song -- "Without You" by Monica

I feel a little sorry for Monica because she's incredibly talented, but her body of work is boring. Perhaps that's why it's helpful when a talented vocalist can also write and produce, so her fate isn't in others' hands (e.g., Mariah Carey). Monica had a great out-of-the-gate song in 1995 with "Don't Take It Personal." "Angel of Mine" was good. Both her duets with Brandy were good. But if you look at her discography, you'll see lots of unfamiliar song titles and double-digit peak chart positions. Brandy has had better luck with her collaborators.

That said, I am pleasantly tickled by "Without You," her latest. Nice work here -- dramatic but not over-done, good melody, pleasant percussion-heavy old-school production and instrumentals. Well-arranged, well-performed. Cool outro.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Reunion by M83

Here's a new good song -- "Reunion" by M83

M83's output continues to impress. They created what was probably the best new good song of 2008, "Kim & Jessie," and have had one of the best new good songs of 2012, "Midnight City." And here's another -- "Reunion."

M83's songs always come strong right out of the gate. You can tell by 00:03 of "Reunion" that it's good. And it is. You can't understand a single word, but who cares? Google the lyrics, and you'll see they're just fine too. M83 has an original, dramatic sound that's part 1980s and part 2440s.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Laura by Bat for Lashes

Here's a new good song -- "Laura" by Bat for Lashes

This is such a pretty song, except for the second half of the chorus: "Laura / You're more than a superstar." The melody goes off the hinges here, and the sentiment is dumb. It's so bad it almost makes this song not good. But the remaining 96% is just beautiful. Great piano, cello, nice singing, very quiet, well-produced, and just lovely.

Bat for Lashes had another good song a few years ago, "Daniel." Are Laura and Daniel friends? Exes? Enemies? Who's to say. But they both live on in good songs -- very different-sounding songs, I might add. "Laura" has a nearly Sarah McLachlan quality, while "Daniel" sounds a bit New Wave.

Enjoy.

New Good Song: 50 Ways to Say Goodbye by Train

Here's a new good song -- "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" by Train

Train is an interest band when it comes to new good songs. The group has developed an eager-to-please quality that I find somewhat disingenuous. They were straight and narrow on the Adult Top 40 path at first, with "Meet Virginia," "Drops of Jupiter" and "Calling All Angels." Then when they had a huge surprise hit with "Hey, Soul Sister," which would potentially have been good had it been written/performed within 10 miles of lead singer Pat Monihan's vocal range. Following this, we were subjected to "Drive By," which seemed transparent in its attempt to copy the appeal of "Sister."

Incidentally, I'm not overly wild about this portfolio of output, although I'm pleased that the band is relatively popular, given that they play instruments, and Monahan, at age 43, is ancient by pop music standards. "Calling All Angels" is kind of moving and has an especially nice bridge. "Ordinary" has a a great opening and chorus, but throwaway verses. And "Marry Me" is a nicely executed, albeit expected, ballad.

Now we have "50 Ways to Say Goodbye," the follow-up to "Drive By," and I'm not sure it's superior to the rest of the discography, but it's whimsical, catchy, nicely produced and fun to listen to, and is thus a nice summer-playlist addition. Much of my musical taste runs toward the melancholy, but I'm not above something light and cheerul now and then. Scary, perhaps, that I consider a song about a devastating breakup to be light and cheerful. I digress.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Angels by The xx

Here's a new good song -- "Angels" by The xx

This is a gentle, quiet, whispery song that gets elevated by the spare and intentional use of magical instrumentals. It's also quite sexy without being vulgar. Not everyone's cup of tea, I'm sure, but give it a whirl.

New Good Song: Bitter by Midian

Here's a new good song -- "Bitter" by Midian

One of the most popular pop and soul chord progressions is I vi IV V7, most famously called "Heart and Soul" and familiar to all pianists, or wannabe pianists. Examples are endless. Offhand I can think of a few: "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, "Lucky" by Britney Spears and even a song a few posts down on this blog, "Secondhand" by Cassadee Pope. I believe this is referred to as an earworm.

Obviously this is a winning formula, and yet not all songs that follow this chord progression are good. Examples: "Friday" by Rebecca Black "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

Anyway, here's another, "Bitter" by Midian. It's the same chord progression, and with a production and instrumental arrangement that I believe is '60s. On both counts, it's quite similar to "Forever" by Mariah Carey. And the singing style is borrowed too. But the lyrics and melody here are good enough to stand the song up on its own. Quite a nice effort, with a few surprises to keep it interesting.

New Good Song: To Who Knows Where by James Iha

Here's a new good song -- "To Who Knows Where" by James Iha

James Iha is from Smashing Pumpkins, which is not a band that produces much that one would consider pleasant to the ear, but this is a nice song, a bit trippy, full of wonder and with nice instrumentals. The opening reminds me of the far better "Call Me Mellow" by Tears For Fears, one of that band's two or three best songs.

Enjoy.

New Good Song: Settle Down by No Doubt

Here's a new good song -- "Settle Down" by No Doubt

Today's music charts are flooded with names you hadn't heard a year ago. Some of this output is good, some awful. But regardless, when you reach a certain age, it's particularly comforting to see 15- or 20-year-old acts pop back up on the scene. It says something reassuring about your age, as well as your taste.

Such an act doesn't even need to be one of which you were a fan. Recently, I was excited to see Matchbox Twenty back on the charts. "Oh, goody!" I thought. "Matchbox Twenty!" Then I realized that Matchbox Twenty didn't produce anything good except "Bent." Still I was glad they were back. Odd.

No Doubt similarly popped back onto the iTunes charts recently. And I thought, again, "Oh goody! No Doubt!" No Doubt's remake of "It's My Life" is one of my 10 favorite songs of all time, perhaps even Top 3. And "Early Winter" by Gwen Stefani is in myAll-Time Top 50 as well. But then again, some pretty awful junk has come out of these people. "Hella Good"? Inappropriately titled.

And yet, as it was with Matchbox Twenty, I was excited to see that they are back. And I was further excited to hear "Settle Down" and determine it to be good. Expectations are high when a band has had a 10-year hiatus, and naturally some fans will be disappointed, but this is a good song. It reminds me of what "Hey Baby" could have sounded like if it hadn't been so horrible.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Yoyo by Pop Etc

Here's a new good song -- "Yoyo" by Pop Etc

I've been adoring this song for roughly a month but haven't been able to post it because it was neither on YouTube nor Spotify. But it looks like it was just uploaded.

One of the summer's best songs, and almost everyone will miss it. But not you!

New Good Song: Secondhand by Cassadee Pope

Here's a new good song -- "Secondhand" by Cassadee Pope

It's a bit of a Taylor Swift ripoff, but it's cute.

New Good Song: Blue by First Aid Kit

Here's a new good song -- "Blue" by First Aid Kit

I love melancholy lyrics especially put to cute, cheerful music. Observe:

And the only man you ever loevd, who you thought was going to marry you /
Died in a car accident when you were only twenty-two /
Then you just decided love wasn't for you /
And every year since then has proved it to be true /
Now you're just a shell of your former you ...

But is there happy ending? A resolution in the third act, or some hope? Nope! Makes the whole song a little on the nose, but nonetheless good. And apparently these women are Swedish, so they are forgiven for lyrics that leave the listener feeling pretty ... well, blue. Enjoy! Or admire, then be sad.

New Good Song: Waiting Alone by Shiny Toy Guns

Here's a new good song -- "Waiting Alone" by Shiny Toy Guns.

All there is to say is wow, at least upon first listen. Sometimes a new good song seems less good once the "wow" of the initial listen wears off. I'm not completely convinced, upon repeated listens, that this song is quite as amazing as I originally thought. But hear for yourself.

UPDATE (July 21): Sorry, this song isn't good after all. It's juvenile. The lyrics are hard to bear on repeated listens. Apologies.

New Good Song: Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk

Here's a new good song -- "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" by P!nk

P!nk is one of those artists that you forget exists until they put out yet another new good song, and then you think to yourself, "Goodness, that person puts out a lot of new good songs." Kelly Clarkson is also such a person, as is Mary J. Blige. No matter, P!nk has returned again with a quality tune. It is quite similar in style, attitude and production to some of her other recent songs (e.g., "Raise Your Glass," "So What"), but it ain't broke.

This song has the characteristic P!nk-isms: catchy turns of phrases, a fuck-you sensibility, a full and loud production, and a sing-along melody. It's often a nice refreshment when she returns with new output.

New Good Song: Enough of No Love by Keyshia Cole

Here's a new good song -- "Enough of No Love" by Keyshia Cole f/ Lil Wayne

As I've mentioned previously, the gross dearth of real/quality R&B in 2012 means that each trickling of output gets quite a bit of my attention, and it's possible that the strong hunger for such music lowers the bar a bit. Perhaps "Enough of No Love" would barely have been a blip on the radar had it been released 10 or 15 years ago. But it is what it is, and what it is is a new good song.

What we have here is great singing and a to-the-heart message, emotionally delivered over a dramatic, full production. Naturally Lil Wayne's unnecessary contribution sours the song, but I have come to accept that Lil Wayne makes a nice living off making good songs less good. I wish I had seen the opening for that job several years ago, because I'd have dropped whatever I was doing to pursue his career.

I discovered this song on iTunes. Always keep an eye on the R&B/Soul chart for new songs.

New Good Song: What to Keep and What to Throw Away by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Here's a new good song -- "What to Keep and What to Throw Away" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Two of the best new good songs are of very different genres. One is "Yoyo" by Pop Inc, and the other is the song above by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Both were featured a couple weeks ago on iTunes Indie Spotlight, and somehow neither has been uploaded to YouTube yet. So I am resorting to the Spotify embed, which I'm not sure works. The Pop Inc song isn't even there, though. Both are on iTunes, and I encourage you to check them out.

When I was moving into a new apartment in 2009, my roommate and I were putting up curtains, and I put my iTunes library on a random shuffle of songs while we did this chore. Some time later, I asked her whether she liked the music, and her comment was: "Everything you listen to is so sad."

I don't think that's necessarily true. "Yoyo" is not sad at all. But this Mary Chapin Carpenter song certainly is. Perhaps my taste does run toward the melancholy. But for a new song to be good, it must also be somewhat sincere, as I noted previously. Often, happy songs do not seem to be honest songs, while sad songs seem to be. This is because expressing sadness is often a confession, while expressing joy is often a put-on.

"What to Keep and What to Throw Away" is very simple and has no chorus. It repeats the same two chords and moves through verses. But the lyrics are so touching and nice, the melody so sweet, the production so gentle and the vocal performance so perfect, that the blend of these things creates one great song. It is sad, though.

For happy, go to "Yoyo" by Pop Inc. I have no idea what that song is not tremendously popular.

'04 Shame -- when new good songs were hardest to find

I dare you to watch the clip above.

This blog suggests that new good songs are difficult to find. But is 2012 a particularly bad year for finding new good songs?

No. Not only are there more ways than ever to find good songs, but songs this year have been pretty good. It takes more work to find them, but they're out there.

The worst year for new good songs (i.e., the worst year for songs)? In my opinion, of the past 23 years during which I've been following music closely, my vote is for 2004. What a piece of shit that year was. In life, fantastic. In music, nauseating.

Behold the year's most popular songs, which is not a comprehensive look at the year, of course, but a snapshot of what was widely deemed to be the best:

1. "Yeah!" Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris
2. "Burn," Usher
3. "If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys
4. "This Love," Maroon 5
5. "The Way You Move," Outkast f/ Sleepy Brown
6. "The Reason," Hoobastank
7. "I Don't Wanna Know," Mario Winans, Enya and P. Diddy
8. "Hey Ya!" Outkast
9. "Goodies," Ciara f/ Petey Pablo
10. "Lean Back," Terror Squad

Typing this list actually made me angry. I need to take a few breaths. OK, that's better. WAS EVERYONE DEAF IN 2004??? Hold on, need more breaths. Phew, OK.

I cannot explain this list except to say that the output of 2004 was awful, if this is any indication. "I Don't Wanna Know" is cute. "The Reason," while overplayed, was not offensive. All the rest of this is trash.

I've gotten into heated debates about "Hey Ya!" that tend to end with me glaring with pity and bafflement at the other person. That is one horrid collection of consecutive noises.

But what if we look a bit further down the list than the Top 10. Any saving graces? Actually, it just gets worse and worse, if you can believe it:

11. "Tipsy," J-Kwon
12. "Confessions Part II," Usher
13. "Slow Motion," Juvenile f/ Soulja Slim
14. "Freek-a-Leek," Petey Pablo
15. "Here Without You," 3 Doors Down
16. "Slow Jamz," Twista f/ Kanye West and Jamie Foxx
17. "Someday," Nickelback
18. "Naughty Girl," Beyonce
19. "My Immortal," Evanescence
20. "Sunshine," Lil' Flip & Lea

Other than "Naughty Girl," those are the 9 worst songs ever written, produced or performed. I'm surprised I didn't stab my ears in 2004, or kill myself.

Fortunately, things got better in 2005, the year that gave us "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey, "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson, "Gold Digger" by Kanye West f/ Jamie Foxx and "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. Not the best year for music by any means, but worth not stabbing my ears in 2004 for.

New Good Song: Scream by Usher

Here's a new good song -- "Scream" by Usher.

I struggle with Usher. My knee-jerk instinct is to dislike or discount his output out of habit. For the past 15 years, I have had to navigate through his body of work with a mix of disappointment and annoyance as he has churned out forgettable melodies amid grating productions. He is a talented singer and dancer, and very fit, but in my opinion outrated by the public in terms of his songs.

That said, I must admit that his songs will sometimes have hooks that I think are quite good. His breakout single, "You Make Me Wanna ...," was good.  "U Remind Me" was OK, but the harmonies on the track were lazy. "My Boo," his duet with Alicia Keys, was OK, but over-sung. His ballads tend to be snoozes. "Yeah!" was ghastly. Generally, I'm just not that impressed, particularly with the melody lines.

So imagine my surprise when he released "Climax" earlier this year, and I discovered a new good song from an unlikely source. The melody is nicely crafted and delivered, the sentiment seems honest, and the production is tight, modern, cool and original. This was really a nice track, and one of the better R&B songs of 2012 so far. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hip Hop/R&B chart.

After that, a slew of other singles from his latest album popped up on the iTunes list of most-downloaded songs. Despite liking "Climax," I was not that curious. And when I would click on these tracks while scanning the chart, I would be immediately annoyed. Everything, to me, sounded like typical American dance music, which is the worst modern genre.

But.

There was something interestingly hooky about "Scream." And as it rose up the charts higher and higher, breaking from the pack of his also-rans, I found myself turning back to it time and gain. Very reluctantly, I had to admit it was a new good song -- great melody, nicely sung, catchy. It's not a breakthrough, but it's good.

Pop music has a history of music that at first sounds horrible but then turns out to be either better, or perhaps even good. Examples include "Work It" by Missy Elliott and "What About Us?" by Brandy. The first time I heard these songs, I thought, "What is this garbage?" But after repeated listens, I grew to like it.

That's one disadvantage of the modern age. We are not as helplessly subjected to radio. This can be good news in some ways, as no one wants to be forced to consume bad music, but there is something to be said for a song "growing on you," and in this era of customization and music on-demand, not to mention an overwhelming amount of choice, it's less likely that listeners will have the patience to let that growth on them happen.

And while some songs grow on you, others shrink. Sometimes I've purchased slightly odd-sounding songs that have had aspects I liked, thinking it might grow on me, but instead they became worse upon repeated listens. Examples include "King of Hearts" by Cassie and "Menage e Trois" by Austin Brown.

Can a guilty pleasure be a new good song?

Sometimes a new song may be good, but you're not sure you are comfortable saying so aloud. Example: "Want U Back" by Cher Lloyd.

If is a song would otherwise be good, but you are embarrassed to like it, is it necessarily not good? One might wonder if such a song possesses an inherently un-good quality -- some sort of "guilty pleasure" factor -- that stems from it being juvenile, corny, too simplistic or in some way tacky.

I would say that this is indeed the case. If someone today likes anything by Justin Bieber (i.e., is under the age of 14 or is over the age of 14 but has poor taste), he or she would probably preface his or her favorable opinion by qualifying the fandom with the phrase "guilty pleasure." However, there's a reason some pleasures are guilty -- the songs aren't genuinely good.

But it isn't always clear whether something is a guilty pleasure. Some people assume that all music by or for teens is a guilty pleasure, but this surely isn't the case.  "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, I would argue, is not a guilty pleasure, and nor is "Love You Like A Love Song" by Selena Gomez & The Scene. These are just new good songs. If you think they are guilty pleasures, you're just a snob. Guilty pleasures are things like Milli Vanilli's output, which is terrible.

But some artists' output straddles the line, like Celine Dion. Is she a guilty pleasure? This is hard to answer. As I've said several times, I am song loyal, not artist loyal. So, in my opinion, "The Power Of Love" is a guilty pleasure because it's terrible, while "A New Day Has Come" is not, because it's good. "Love Can Move Mountains" is a guilty pleasure, but "My Heart Will Go On" is not.

I think if you are embarrassed by your tastes, you don't genuinely hold those tastes. There's some quality in the song that gives you pause. You may like it, but you know it's not good. There's a difference between something being good and something being liked; that's why some No. 1 songs (e.g., "Macarena,") are horrible.

In the end, I at first thought "Want U Back" by Cheryl Lloyd was a guilty pleasure, but I have decided it's not. It's a new good song.

5 new good songs for running

My friend Denise wrote to tell me (a) that she has not been able to post comments on this blog, which has been a comment that others have made to me; I don't know what's wrong. And (b) she, an avid runner, wanted recommendations for new good songs for running.

As it happens, I keep an ongoing playlist on my iPhone called "Calisthenics," which is for when I work out. So I do have some thoughts about this. Note: The video above is for a song called "Run," by Matt Nathanson f/ Sugarland, and although it was a new good song earlier in 2012, it may not be ideal for running, since it's a ballad.

Here are five good new songs from 2012 that you might enjoy for a run:

1. "Yoyo" by Pop Inc. This is brand new and doesn't yet appear on YouTube, so you will have to either take my word for it or give the preview on iTunes a listen. Good for a burst of energy.

2. "Blood Pressure" by MuteMath. Good for burst of energy.

3. "Look Around" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Good for picking up the pace.

4. "Love On Top" by Beyonce. Good for building pace.

5. "Called Out In The Dark" by Snow Patrol. Good for keeping steady pace.

New Good Song: Easy Way Out by Gotye

Here's a new good song -- "Easy Way Out" by Gotye

After putting out what so far has been 2012's best new good song, "Somebody That I Used To Know," Gotye has an automatic audience for his follow-ups, the latest of which is the two-minute ditty "Easy Way Out." It's not as good as "Somebody," but then again, what is? Upon a few listens, though, "Easy Way Out" turns out to be quite good, and the clever video, which is both funny and sad, helps.

When an artist reaches the top of the charts for the first time, he has a built-in audience for follow-ups, an opportunity that artists sometimes squander, or perhaps don't want to seize. Example: "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, which was the No. 1 song of 2006 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart. Americans have not shown interest in his subsequent output. Another example: "Fireflies" by Owl City.

Did these acts flail after their big hits because they really did not have any other good songs? Because I have a "cream always rises" view of music, and the world, my suspicion is that this is the case, although surely there can be other factors, such as lack of marketing support, or even lack of desire to achieve stardom. After all, it's hard to believe that someone could create such a masterful song as "Fireflies" and then find himself unable to put out anything else that's good.

Sometimes I am puzzled by the public's indifference to artists who follow up great songs with other great songs. Example: Vanessa Carlton, who had her biggest hit with her debut, "A Thousand Miles" in 2002. As you can see for yourself on her discography, her subsequent releases didn't chart as high (i.e., weren't as widely perceived to be good), but in fact they were just as good, all the way through "Nolita Fairytale," after which everything has been bad. The public's swift cooling off to Vanessa has always puzzled me. Not sure what the missing variable is.

Anyway, I will be curious to see where the road leads for Gotye. My inclination is to suspect, at the very least, conflict with his record company about artistic direction. I have found the couple of non-"Somebody" songs, like "I Feel Better," to be good. There's real talent there, and that should mean new good songs to come.

TastemakerX: A source for new good songs?

There's a gray area I never realized existed between iTunes, the stock market, social media and gaming, and it's called TastemakerX. This is an app where you establish your tastes by purchasing shares of artists and watching them rise or fall. You can find and follow other users with similar tastes and supposedly discover music this way. There is also a scoring system that rewards those who are influential and good at selecting up-and-coming artists. I joined yesterday at the suggestion of a co-worker and have had fun building my portfolio, although I'm still not completely sure of the point. I believe that it just went live a few days ago.

Time will tell whether this proves to be a fruitful source of new good songs. One apparent problem is that the site is artist-centric, and as I've noted before, I am interested solely in discovering new songs, not new artists per se. When you go to an artist's page, you can click on a sample of one song that I assume was chosen by the site's editors. There is then a link to iTunes where you can hear more by the artist.

Here's an article about it on TechCrunch.

When is a new good song not a good song?

It takes more for a new song to be a new good song than being good. Other qualities drive a purchase -- originality, appropriate maturity, a sense of sincerity. There needs to be some sort of essence of truth.

Take the clip above. "The Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes f/ Ryan Tedder is by many accounts a good song. The delivery and production are quite nice; it's catchy and has a good message. It's pleasant to the ears, for sure. Everyone involved is talented. But it feels phony. Expected. Calculated. As a result, it feels untrue and manipulative. Therefore it's terrible.

Even the mere fact of this particular collaboration seems inorganic. When I hear this song, between the lines I hear the murmur of producers, managers and record-label executives, seeking to produce a product with mass appeal. This is their job, of course. But the output should be independent of this objective, or at least disguise it better. When a song feels written, produced and performed for no genuine or artistic reason, it  cannot be good. This is what makes Justin Bieber's output particularly excruciating. He is talented, and some of his output has appealing musical qualities. But as a package, Justin Bieber's portfolio is American cheese.

This is the problem I had with "Payphone" by Maroon 5 f/ Wiz Khalifa earlier this year. It is right on the borderline of good. But there's something inauthentic about it. Listening to it does not feel like listening to music. It feels like listening to the result of meetings, not the result of feelings.

I have now presented a standard for goodness that many people will find naive, objectionable or impossible to measure. As a listener, I am sure I sometimes fail to detect authenticity. For example, is "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen borne from any authentic feelings? I don't know. I was not in the room when this song was conceived, produced, recorded and released. But I feels, at the very least, as though the song was written, produced and arranged by people who were enjoying their jobs, and were talented, and cared about quality. The vocals are delivered in a way that's perfectly appropriate to the material, which indicates some sense of sincerity or performance capability on the singer's part. This exact same song by, say, Madonna, would have a very different effect indeed.

Therefore, I realize that phoniness is a hard quality to identify accurately, but I think it is sufficient to say that if a song feels phony, that's reason enough to negate its otherwise good attributes.

The 30 Best New Good Songs of 2012, so far

Rank	Title	Artist
1	"Somebody That I Used To Know"	Gotye f/ Kimbra
2	"The Woman You Love"	Ashanti
3	"Call Me Maybe"	Carly Rae Jepsen
4	"Midnight City"	M83
5	"Give Your Heart a Break"	Demi Lovato
6	"Co-Sign"	SWV
7	"Silenced By The Night"	Keane
8	"Called Out In The Dark"	Snow Patrol
9	"Love On Top"	Beyonce
10	"Paradise"	Coldplay
11	"Ships In The Night"	Mat Kearney
12	"Stereo Hearts"	Gym Class Heroes f/ Adam Levine
13	"Cough Syrup"	Young the Giant
14	"Warrior"	Kimbra f/ Mark Foster and A-Trak
15	"Tonight Is The Night"	Outasight
16	"Satellites"	Catcall
17	"Video Games"	Lana Del Rey
18	"Set Fire To The Rain"	ADELE
19	"I Like It Like That"	Hot Chelle Rae f/ New Boyz
20	"Put It Down"	Brandy f/ Chris Brown
21	"Wide Awake"	Katy Perry
22	"Lights"	Ellie Goulding
23	"Domino"	Jessie J
24	"Give Me All Your Luvin'"	Madonna f/ Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.
25	"Just A Kiss"	Lady Antebellum
26	"I Won't Give Up"	Jason Mraz
27	"Guardian"	Alanis Morissette
28	"Always Summer"	Yellowcard
29	"Tonight (Best You Ever Had)"	John Legend f/ Ludacris
30	"Climax"	Usher

New Good Song: Big Machine by Ryan Miller

Here's a new good song -- "Big Machine" by Ryan Miller (lead singer of Guster)

How I found this song -- It is featured in the new good movie "Safety Not Guaranteed." A couple days after the movie it occurred to me that the song may have been recorded professionally and made available on a soundtrack. As it turns out, I was correct, and it was through a little Googling that I discovered that the lead singer of Guster was a person, named Ryan Miller, who wrote much of the music in the film. You may remember Guster from the 2000 good song "Fa Fa." This is not to be confused with the 2012 song "La La" by the Cab, which just barely makes the cut of goodness.

The studio version of "Big Machine" is available on iTunes but not featured on YouTube. There are actually three versions of the song on the soundtrack -- Ryan Miller's studio version, the same studio version sung by Mark Duplass, who performed the song in the movie, and an acoustic version by Duplass, representing the way it was sung in the film. I recommend one of the studio versions, which have fuller instrumentals.

Why is this song good? There's a cute anti-establishment message here delivered with an almost schoolyard melody. The best part is the pre-chorus ("Maybe I'm wrong and all that you get is what you see / maybe I'm right and there's something there to believe"). The chorus, which is weak, seems awkwardly similar to "Santaria" by Sublime, which is not a good song from which to borrow a chorus in the first place.

Are movies a good place to find new good songs? Probably not. Even if they were, that's an awfully expensive way to find songs, especially in New York. But soundtracks can be a decent source for new good songs. In fact, an instrumental track from the "Safety Not Guarnateed" soundtrack by Miller called "Time Machine," which reminds me of the opening of "Disarm" by Smashing Pumpkins (the band's only good song), is very nice indeed, but seemingly not posted on YouTube. Do check that one out. But you may recall that "Tonight" by John Legend is a new good song, and although the film in which it is featured was not how I personally found it, perhaps that is how others did so.

These days, songs featured in TV commercials do well on iTunes. Not to fault the artists or songs, but I don't happen to be wild about commercials springing a song into popularity. I would like to think that people like songs because of their innate qualities or perhaps the special feelings and memories the songs create, so when a song is featured in a commercial and then rises on iTunes, I'm disappointed in what seems to me to be a lack of emotional attachment to the music. Examples include "BURN IT DOWN" by Linkin Park, which is in an NBA Playoffs commercial, "Too Close" by Alex Care, which is in an ad for Internet Explorer, and "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers, featured in a commercial for Bing.

However, I did recently state that my favorite new good song right now is "Warrior" by Kimbra f/ Mark Foster & A-Trak, and not only is this song in a commercial for Converse Shoes, the video itself is a commercial for the shoes, even ending with the logo. According to Wikipedia:

The song was written as a part of "Three Artists, One Song", an annual series by shoe company Converse. The song was initially released as a free download in the "Three Artists, One Song" website. The song was later included in international and special editions of Kimbra's debut studio album, Vows. "Warrior" was released as the fourth single off Vows on May 4, 2012.

The music video premiered on the YouTube channel for Converse shoes on April 5, 2012. ^[2] The video features a group of prisoners being forced to wrestle, and being brutally beaten, with chairs and other objects, for the enjoyment of a man wearing a red sweater. Scenes of Kimbra singing with her arms tied while watching the fight are cut into the video. At the end, the wrestlers turn on the man wearing the red sweater, and Kimbra knocks him out. The video ends with Kimbra, A-Trak, and Mark Foster leaving the stadium. All of the wrestlers are wearing converse shoes.

So is this example of music in advertising any better, any cooler, any more legit? I think so, because it would seem that Converse had an active hand in even making this song happen, by bringing together three artists who wouldn't otherwise have collaborated. In that sense, the song would not exist if it weren't for Converse. In the case of, say, Internet Explorer featuring the Alex Care song, I suspect that a marketing team at Internet Explorer found the already existing song, paid for its use, and is using it not because they like it but because they hope it wil appeal to a target demographic. This isn't evil, wrong or bad by any means -- I have an MBA, so I get it -- but "Too Close" might appeal to me more if its rise up iTunes had been perceived by me to be based on the qualities of the song, not its repeated exposure through a TV commercial. Perhaps I need to update my perspective.