We wish a very happy 2013 to Living the Dream readers.  This past fall has been a tumultuous period for me, but I look forward to posting frequently in the new year.  I’ll end this year by sharing the results of my personal music tournament.   As past tournament participants will note, several of the contenders were songs I picked up from folks’ nominations over the past two years.   These are my favorite songs of 2012, though none of them were actually released in 2012, and only a handful were released this decade.  So it goes.

What you do see is a lot new wave-era music, and a few catalogues I’ve spent the year exploring in greater depth (Velvet Underground, Yo La Tengo, Warren Zevon).

#1 Roadrunner (Modern Lovers) vs. #32 Democracy (Leonard Cohen)

#2 I Can’t Stand It (Velvet Underground) vs. #31 Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People)

#3 Australia (Shins) vs. #30 I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince)

#4 Man on Fire (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes) vs. #29 Baby Drugs (Tristen)

#5 Who Feelin’ It (Tom Tom Club) vs. #28 Art Lover (Kinks)

#6 Waterloo Sunset (Kinks) vs. #27 Great Defector (BellX1)

#7 Holland 1945 (Neutral Milk Hotel) vs.  #26 If It’s True (Yo La Tengo)

#8 Incinerate (Sonic Youth) vs. #25 Zero (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

#9 California Saga (Beach Boys) vs. #24 Some Kind of Nature (Gorillaz with Lou Reed)

#10 Just Like Heaven (Cure) vs. #23 Think I’m in Love (Beck)

#11 My Ride’s Here (Bruce Springsteen, covering Warren Zevon) vs. #22 Griselda (Yo La Tengo)

#12 Young Turks  (Rod Stewart) vs. #21 Teenage Riot (Sonic Youth)

#13 Someone Great (LCD Soundsystem) vs. #20 Virginia Plain (Roxy Music)

#14 New Direction (Black Lips) vs. #19 Sherry Darling (Bruce Springsteen)

#15 Now I’m Here (Queen)(live) vs. #18 City With No Children (Arcade Fire)

#16 Mohammad’s Radio (Warren Zevon) vs. #17 Three Marlenas (Wallflowers)

Honorable Mention

Ain’t That Pretty At All (Pixies, covering Warren Zevon)

Bali Eyes (Porno for Pyros)

Barnaby, Hardly Working (Yo La Tengo)

Bloodclot (Rancid)

Hang Fire (Rolling Stones)

Head On (Pixies)

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (Warren Zevon)

Mozambique (Bob Dylan)

Wordy Rappinhood (Tom Tom Club)