EWB's Top 100 Artists of 2012

[Your Mom]

Call me maybe is a fun song, Some Beach Boys are ok. I like Gaga, but have never heard of and/or dislike the rest.

[=BK=]

Christ if Kirkland included them on his list they might have finished in the top 50.

Eh? They would have been near the bottom of mine and I don't think anyone else voted them. Unless you think I meant Alestorm, which I didn't.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh I thought you meant Alestorm. Sorry.

[DFF]

Alestorm > Halestorm.

[Skummy]

I've never much cared for Michael Jackson. He has some undeniably brilliant pop songs, but a huge amount of tripe and over-indulgent nonsense, and he has some really weird vocal tics that get in the way of me enjoying a lot of his stuff. When he's good he's brilliant, but there are other people I'd give the "King Of Pop" label before him. Wouldn't have made it anywhere near my list.

Scott Walker is one of the greatest artists working (loosely) within the sphere of pop music. His more recent stuff leans further towards avant-garde orchestral music in places, but even thought it's a bit odd, it's still identifiably pop music, which is something that cannot be said about most "experimental" music. To me, genuinely one of the most important musicians in the world for the last twenty/thirty years at least. Nite Flights, Scott 4, Tilt and The Drift are all essential albums, and even his "lost" period produced an awful lot of fantastic music. Sounds like absolutely nobody else, and that's a sign of a great artist, for me. Disappointed he's not made it higher, but very happy to see that he's on the list at all.

Fiona Apple kind of falls into a category with me of countless interchangeable female singer-songwriters I listened to when I was 16 and hung around with way too many lesbians. I know who she is, I have some of her albums, and I know people absolutely obsessed with her, but I wouldn't be able to hum you a single one of her songs. Inoffensive, at least.

I don't know Alestorm, but I've seen their CDs, and I've seen the people who wear their T-shirts to the rock/metal night I DJ. I doubt I'd like them.

Dylan's Dylan. He's a mad genius, and you can forgive some of his rubbish because his best is the best. I was put off Dylan for years by the high regard he's held in by "Dylanologists" and plenty of his fans - basically the people who almost wish he had died in the '70s so that they could preserve him as the hugely important historical figure and POET OF HIS TIMES that they all imagine him to be, rather than having to deal with the actual human being behind it all still being around and confusing them. But, actually, some of his best stuff came out well after his apparent "heyday". I prefer him when he's not so preachy, and I prefer his voice now to on the first few records. I would have liked to see him make it higher up the list.

I have literally no idea who Hop Along are. Like, never even heard the name before.

I know who Carly Rae Jepson is from that Call Me Maybe song, has she done anything else? I've probably heard/read people complaining about that song more often than I've actually heard it. I don't see what the fuss is all about - it's a perfectly ordinary pop song. There's a hell of a lot worse out there.

The Specials are pretty good. I'm not a big fan of ska, so they're kind of outside my comfort zone, but "Gangsters" and "A Message To You Rudy" are great, and "Ghost Town" is an absolute classic.

No idea who Four Year Strong is/are.

The Beach Boys are brilliant. Brian Wilson is probably responsible for more absolute classic, or just plain beautiful, pop songs than any other songwriter. I'll take a helping of Mike Love cheese if it means I also get stuff like "Surf's Up", "Good Vibrations", "Heroes & Villains", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "God Only Knows", and the entirety of Smiley Smile. One of the best.

I'd forgotten Evanescence even existed. Are they still around? They're dreadful.

Lady GaGa's nice enough. She's derivative and shallow, and kind of picks and chooses the pieces of different art and music movements to fit whatever she's doing at the moment, which kind of irritates me sometimes, but it more irritates me that people don't always see it, and talk about her as an innovator and trendsetter when it's all been done. Though I probably get equally annoyed by people criticising her for being derivative, because that's probably the point. She's a pretty good metaphor for the last decade. Some good tunes, too.

[Benjamin]

Christ if Kirkland included them on his list they might have finished in the top 50.

Eh? They would have been near the bottom of mine and I don't think anyone else voted them. Unless you think I meant Alestorm, which I didn't.

Christ, that shit isn't making this list, right?

[New Damage]

I love Paramore!

[apsham]

Carly Raye is probably only going to be on here this year.

It's offensive that Evanesence is on here after all this time.

And Four Year Strong have a pretty awesome 90s cover album, so I can accept their place on here.

[GoGo Yubari]

To answer the "does she even have any other songs?" thing, Carly Rae Jepsen has at least two more; she did a duet with Owl City (where she's credited as the featured artist) that I believe has charted, and some other single called "The Kiss" that I've never heard.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I know she did another song with some guy with a floppy fringe where they all go out into the woods with other young trendy folk. I can't remember the tune but it was advertised on FOX Japan a LOT recently.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I know she did another song with some guy with a floppy fringe where they all go out into the woods with other young trendy folk. I can't remember the tune but it was advertised on FOX Japan a LOT recently.

[Cymbols]

I know she did another song with some guy with a floppy fringe where they all go out into the woods with other young trendy folk. I can't remember the tune but it was advertised on FOX Japan a LOT recently.

Yeah, that's the collaboration with Owl City. She has 2 albums out I think. One from after winning Canadian Idol or whatever and her newest one from a couple of weeks ago. So she more than just a one hit wonder I guess. But probably won't list next year.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Man, I'm getting to be one of those old people who are so out of touch with music that they refer to top-charting new musicians as "that young lad" or "you know, her with the curly hair"....and then spend their time looking through all the dusty CDs from years ago from bands who aren't even seen as that brilliant now just so I can go on about how they're better than the muck that's out today.

HOOOOOORAY! FINALLY!

[GoGo Yubari]

I'm pretty much getting there myself. The first time I heard "We Are Young" being played on my local alternative station I was annoyed and bemused and all "how is this on this? What's alternative about this?" and my little sister looked at me like I was crazy.

[Benjamin]

It's considered alternative? Fun. is awesome, either way. Favorite artists I found this year.

Also, GoGo listens to an alternative radio station? Poser

[GoGo Yubari]

If I listened to alternative radio with anything resembling regularity I wouldn't have been shocked to hear "We Are Young" on that station

[SRN]

Alternative radio station?

[KONGO]

Yeah, when people have been talking about "We Are Young" I always think "Wild and Young."

[apsham]

We Are Young is sadly the worst example of fun. - Some Nights is waaaaay better. I think We Are Young was the lead off single purely because of Janelle Monae's involvement.. which also pissed me off because at the start a lot of the radio stations were mentionin that it was her, featuring fun. when she's barely in the damn thing. fun's first album was friggin' amazing from start to finish and Nate's stuff with The Format ant Jack's stuff with Steel Train were both excellent as well.

[METALMAN]

Fun. Are awful. I hate how they are Fun. And not Fun because when I. Write their name on my ipad it assumes it is a new sentence. I hate their shitty song. I hate how they roped in Janelle Monae for it who is actually good. I hate the singers ugly face and his stupid voice. I hate the Format.

I dunno Hop Along. Ollie likes them though, so they must be awful. LOL

Carly Rae Jepsen is a strange one. That song is okay I guess but I don't really care about it. She has a stupid face.

I have given the Specials numerous chances. Really boring. Not very tuneful. Although I guess they did record the best version of Rudy, so well done Specials I suppose.

Four Year Strong? Back when YI was alive he would always tell me listen to them. So I did. And they turned out to be lightweight and stupid.

Beach Boys are excellent. Their legacy has been harmed a bit - I can't think of any recording artist who has been more cynically exploited, except perhaps Elvis. Still, looking beyond that, there are oodles of lovely tunes. I wouldn't venture as far as saying Brian Wilson is the best pop songwriter ever as Skummy did (or whatever), but he's definitely up there.

Evanescence are shit. If you evanescence, you wouldn't listen to them.

Lady Gaga is cracking. Far too many pop singers these days act all serious and earnest, but beneath it all they are boring as fuck. Lady Gaga brings personality and a sense of humour to contemporary pop music, and that is just as important as the tunes. Though she has some brilliant tunes too. Some clunkers as well, but that's part of the fun. Fame Monster is fab.