MC Ride of Death Grips.
 
Are they the best? Hell, I don’t know. It’s all a matter of taste. When it comes to pop music, I dig atmosphere, a good hook and some bigger-than-life attitude. All of these songs filled the bill for me. From Mark Lanegan’s moody synth landscapes and beat poetics to Parquet Courts old skool, Jim Carrolesque NYC street odes and the fluffy, but epic, nuwavy pop of Neon Trees all the way thru the roaring, clanging viaducts and sonic napalm of Death Grips and Royal Thunder’s heavy metal hippiedom, 2012 was another year that reminded me that there are still bands that aim for the beating and bloody heart of rock ‘n’ roll and hit their mark.

With additional props to Cloud Nothings for separating the Velveeta from the Velvet - of all the bands riffing off of Reed, Cale, Morrison, Nico and Tucker axis, these cats went inside the music and made it their own. And Kendrick Lamar for finding new strategies to take rap into the corners of conciousness usually occupied by David Lynch, William Burroughs and Sleepy John Estes. Plus, a THC infused lollipop for Foxygen for projecting imaginary Scopitones on the frontal lobes of my brain.

Dead Sara, The Walkmen and Grimes were all about pleasure - a meat and greet in the lounge at the bottom of my spine where Kundalini cocktails are forever in frappé mode and the bartenders wear turbans made of cotton candy laced with LSD-25..

“Ode To Sad Disco” - Mark Lanegan
“Stoned And Starving” - Parquet Courts
“Wasted Days” - Cloud Nothings
“I’ve Seen Footage” - Death Grips
“Swimming Pools” - Kendrick Lamar
“Oblivion” - Grimes
“Heartbreaker” - The Walkmen
“Everybody Talks” - Neon Trees
“Whispering World” - Royal Thunder
“Weathermen” - Dead Sara
“Make It Known” - Foxygen
“Shuggie” - Foxygen

Mark Lanegan’s “Ode To Sad Disco” appears in both part one and two of my “grooviest” list. It was intentional. My way of saying it was my favorite song 2012 and I wanted to make sure you heard it.
 

 
Part one right here.