1. Time Goes By – Carole King – From 1978, and I was up to my neck in punk, post-punk and New Wave, and missed it completely. Expert CK agitpop. Much more aggressive than, say, "Pleasant Valley Sunday" but equally simplistic.
2 Rella – Odd Future feat Hodgy Beats – I like the beats a lot, maybe more than ever song I've heard this year. But the raps, while very strange, don't quite gel. Cmon, it's a little early for a backlash but we need more than this.
3. God Wants Us To Wait – the Magnetic Fields – These guys are like Pet Shop Boys without the beats and this is a clever song but could be catchier.
4. Towers – Bon Iver – Have we had enough of this guy yet?
5. Little Shocks – Kaiser Chiefs – Maybe it'll grow on me, but I always found these guys super smart for an English rock band, and I don't hear that smartness here. The sound itself is excellent.
6. It's A Small World After All – Kids United – Like any song sung blue for the world are large, and children especially, anyone can sing this Disney triumph.
7. Swaheto Woman – David Johansen
8. Easy Money – Bruce Springsteen – Now I'm starting to get a handle on the album: it's like Pete Seger and current Bruce with an overlay of ultra brite production sheens.
9. Born At Zero – Deer Tick – Working its one nearer the top of my best songs of 2012.
10. Days Are Forgetting – Kasabian – The sound of modern Brit rock.