That’s right folks. JC will be counting down his top 10 records of the year soon, but in the mean time I decided to list off what I thought were the coolest (not necessarily the best, but coolest) songs of 2012. This year was very good to me, as it saw the release of a LOT of good music from a LOT of my favorite groups. I will say that Soundgarden and Billy Talent did not make this list… but I thought they deserved honorable mention. Fantastic records those guys all put out this year.

Ok, let’s get started. Working our way down the ladder.

1) “R U Mine?” – Arctic Monkeys. This track is by far my favorite song of 2012. It grooves, the riffs are great, the attitude is great, and the lyrical content is (as always) brilliant from Mr. Alex Turner. Couldn’t stop hitting repeat. Oh, and the video is amazing as well.

2) “I Got Burned” – The Bamboos. This Australian group had a sneaky little single that our own JC pitched to me. It implanted itself in my brain and never left. Vintage-y with n oddly disturbing video concept. So, so groovy.

3) “Erase Me” – Ben Folds Five. Personal heroes of mine, Ben Folds Five returned in 2012 after a 13 year hiatus. They delivered this opener track with sounds to me like a jazzy Tim Burton soundtrack. It grooves, it flows, it gets jazzy, it gets evil, and the vocal harmonies are probably the most inventive thing I’ve heard this year. Not to mention Robert kicks all of your bass players’ asses.

4) “I Like It” – Foxy Shazam. Well… come on. It’s just pure badass, and catchy as f**k.

5) “Leathers” – Deftones. These guys have been cranking out screeching, heavy tunes for 20 years and not only do they still manage to make it beautiful and cutting, but even more intense. Chino’s voice is just about the only one I can stand listening to when someone screams like this. Then the chorus lets you in.

6) “Motel” – Stomacher. These guys are pals of ours from San Francisco. Not only are they fantastic live, but Jarrod Taylor’s vocals are insanely smooth and this particular track just glides into your brain from all the coolness it oozes.

7) “Red Lines” – S O H N. This is just insanely beautiful and jammin’. A good friend of mine from Germany posted this up, and I’m glad I listened. I wish Radiohead had done this instead of King of Limbs.

8) “9 Billion” – Abandoned Pools. Maybe a band you’ve never heard of, Tommy Walter has been on hiatus from AP since about 2005. This year he released a new collection of songs, which included this monster. It has synths, heavy drums, strings, SEGA Genesis-esque keys, and lots of distortion. This one is very cool.

9) “Panic Station” – Muse. This one is just plain rad. Funky, edgy, heavy… reminds me a bit of INXS. Matt Bellamy is clearly having fun with these vocals.

10) “Heavyweight” – Our Lady Peace. This particular track is pretty straight forward. I dunno… it was so uplifting to me that it had to get a spot. You judge for yourself.

So, what do you think? What would be on your Top 10 for 2012?