EWB's Top 100 Artists of 2012

[MalaCloudy Black]

Hey! Only one group/band I know. Or even like. And that's Regina Spektor. Wahey.

[GoGo Yubari]

Man, I dunno. I like mid-'90s Radiohead. The Bends more than anything else. After 1997 or so they degenerate into bullshit, though.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I like OK Computer a lot. Great album and Let Down is a wonderful song. I also liked their next two more ambient albums - Amnesiac and Kid A. After that I've lost track of them.

Don't really know the rest of that group though - either not within my sphere of interest or have come to prominence since I've been in Japan.

[deli]

I don't care what people say. In Rainbows is by far Radiohead's best album and nothing else comes close. One of the best albums I've listened to.

[SeanDMan]

[fr34k]

Radiohead is lovely and I voted for them, but I can at least understand why people don't like 'em. I am however surprised that only 2 people voted for them, after OK Computer won the best album thing last year.

[SeanDMan]

I didn't vote or I'd have put them on my list (likely at number 1). Didn't they used to finish in the top ten of these things on a regular basis? Did you guys all hate King Of Limbs that much?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Yeah they've come top 5 twice I think.

I've voted for them before but they're just not one of my top tens.

[Matt]

I think I'm about the only person on the planet who thinks Alexisonfire are alright, everyone seems to dislike them or omgzbestbandeva... they'd be pretty shit and forgettable without Dallas Green though. Radiohead are gash, ditto Panic At The Disco. Arctic Monkeys have got progressively worse, 1st album is brilliant, second album is great in patches, Pretty Visitors was an alright song on the third but that's it, 4th album shit. Do they have a 5th album? It'll probably be shit if they do. The rest I do not know/care about.

[Colly]

So I'm the only who feels that Arctic Monkeys have managed the maturing trick without going to shit then? With a lot of bands as soon as 'singing about your hometown' runs out you end up with a load of turgid rubbish (Maximo Park, Stereophonics), whereas for me the newer Arctics stuff stands up a lot better than Favourite Worst Nightmare, and I actually prefer Suck it and See to the first. The tunes are ace and lyrically its fantastic. One of the few 'big' UK indie bands that actually lived up to early promise for me.

[Cymbols]

I think that Panic! At The Disco dropped the exclamation a point a while back. Something about everybody getting confused about whether to shout the first word or not.

I only recognize them, Radiohead, and Regina Spektor. Perhaps I should give a listen to the others.

They brought the exclamation mark back for the 3rd album I think. Half of the band members in the picture left the band ages ago also.

[New Damage]

I'm in the same boat as Matt with Alexisonfire. I when they have good songs, mainly which show the contrast of the main guy and Dallas Green, they're great (see Mailbox Arson, This Could Be Anywhere In The World and We Are The Sound) and great anthem/dancey songs for rock clubs. They're generally just outside my sphere though (and City and Colour are good but too depressing for me to listen to) and don't listen to them much. My mate lovvesssss them though, and we saw them 2 years again in the student union and it was a pretty good gig, Green's voice is powerful as hell live.

Side note: It could have been better were we not at the big, leaning against the barrier and there were 3 of us and our one mate just stands and crosses his arms at gigs and he'd never ehard of them, and the other who does like them just stands there too.

I like Brand New too, and I think I voted for them, but mainly just to fill up the numbers. I don't listen to them that regularly and they can be a little depressing too.

[Jimmy]

So I'm the only who feels that Arctic Monkeys have managed the maturing trick without going to shit then? With a lot of bands as soon as 'singing about your hometown' runs out you end up with a load of turgid rubbish (Maximo Park, Stereophonics), whereas for me the newer Arctics stuff stands up a lot better than Favourite Worst Nightmare, and I actually prefer Suck it and See to the first. The tunes are ace and lyrically its fantastic. One of the few 'big' UK indie bands that actually lived up to early promise for me.

They've done the maturing thing well, but their last two albums just haven't had anything of their first two, in my opinion. Their first album will always been one of my favourite albums of all time, and the second one has a lot on it as well. I don't own their third because it just didn't interest me, but, while their fourth was fine, it just didn't have anything that made me want to listen to it over and over. Still, they're making good music, it just doesn't do it for me anywhere near the scale their first album always will. Glad to see them on the list though, great band that I would loooove to see live.

I haven't got into Radiohead enough, there's a few songs I really dig, but I just haven't sat down and listened to enough to really say. They haven't lived up to the hype for me, but I think they're pretty good.

I'll always have a soft spot for Panic at the Disco 'cos it takes me back to when I was 13. Plus I genuinely love their first album and know most of the lyrics to all of the songs.

So yeah, that was a fine update for me but I can totally see why it's not everyone's cup of tea.

[fr34k]

I'll always have a soft spot for Panic at the Disco 'cos it takes me back to when I was 13.

So 2011 then?

Edited October 27, 2012 by fr34k

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I'll always have a soft spot for Panic at the Disco 'cos it takes me back to when I was 13.

So 2011 then?

It's the same reason why TGC has always had a soft spot for Mozart.

[KONGO]

I'll always have a soft spot for Panic at the Disco 'cos it takes me back to when I was 13.

So 2011 then?

It's the same reason why TGC has always had a soft spot for Mozart.

They roomed together, he can't help it.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh you guys, Teej isn't that young.

[gunnar hendershow]

#63 - LEONARD COHEN

(51 points | 3 votes)

#61 - REEL BIG FISH

(52 points | 2 votes)

#61 - AGAINST ME!

(52 points | 2 votes)

#60 - REUBEN

(54 points | 2 votes)

#58 - NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

(54 points | 3 votes)

#58 - COLDPLAY

(54 points | 3 votes)

[jack95]

This list is overwhelming me with the amount of music I want to listen to but haven't. Reel Big Fish, Reuben, Regina Spektor, and that's just off the top of my head... Frank Sinatra probably tops that list though, especially because I've been really getting into Tom Waits as of late, and I believe albums like Watertown capture a similar sort of 'down on your luck, closing time at the bar' vibe.

Good to see Kinks and Leonard Cohen. Kinks are one of my favourite groups of their time, and Leonard Cohen is such an endlessly fascinating singer. I think I voted for him, but if I didn't I really really should have done.

The other band whose inclusion garnered my attention were Andrew Jackson Jihad. I love a lot of their work, but sometimes I think they're too self consciously controversial, like they sit down before writing their songs with the mission of, without meaning to sound morally uptight, shoehorning in as much vulgarity in as possible.

Its been a patchy list so far for me. I've still got three artists who I voted for that I think could have a real say high up the list though, so I remain optimistic.

[snowbird]

I really only put Brand New as high as I did because I've been listening the fuck out of Deja Entendu as of late...but glad to see I could make such an impact on the list, I suppose. I will contend that aforementioned album is probably in my top five (or at least ten) of all time.

EDIT: I put them 4th, jicyc.

Edited October 27, 2012 by mtforbes