Shuffled #48: 2012 in Review

Every other Wednesday either Matt or Alex C-Y share their love of music in an assortment of ways. Shuffled is a podcast whose format is as varied as their tastes in music, so hopefully you won't ever be bored and everyone can find something to enjoy.

"A big year in music" doesn't even begin to describe 2012. Whatever genre you find pleasing, nearly every facet of the music scene had something new to it. Like pop music? There was Kishi Bashi who road a summer pop wave off of SXSW and into Windows 8's heart, or were you more in mind of the Cult of Gangam Style? Did Killer Mike's political rap make your blood boil, or did you prefer the ghastly beats of The Gasslamp Killer?

There was so much to cover that I had to enlist the help of of Shuffled's other host, Alex Cronk-Young. This is by far the longest edition of the show in it's two years of running, and we don't plan on slowing down in 2013!!!*

*Ed. Note:  On schedule updates are another matter entirely.

Four March Music Releases You Shouldn't Skip Over

I didn't have as much time to listen to new music releases this month, so this list is ignoring some heavy hitters. Instead, I'm going to justify why you should listen to two releases from bands you've probably sworn off in the past due to unjustifiable sins against your listening ears. And then throw on two more releases from bands you might not have heard of yet. These are all worth listening to, so take some time to jump on Spotify and do so.

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Anti-Flag's The General Strike
Released March 20th
Purchase

Oh god, I know. Trust me...I know. Anti-Flag is awful now. I'm right there with you. I grew up jumping around my bedroom and singing along to the "Woooooooooooooah!"s of their hyperbole-ridden, angst-filled anthems. I held on to the legacy way longer than I should have. Terror State was/still kind of is a favorite of mine, though some of the songs are just too cheesy for me to listen to anymore. I even followed them along to For Blood and Empire, though my heart wasn't really in it anymore.

I think the cheese overwhelmed me at this part of the opening track. I walked away from the band, and was happy ignoring them for the next several years. But for some reason I decided to check out their newest release, The General Strike. I was ready to hate it, but I just couldn't. It's good.

7 Awesome Debut Albums of 2011 from Bands to Keep an Eye On in 2012 and Beyond

If you've been listening to my Monthly Music Wrap-Up podcast, you're aware of all the great music releases that came out last year. It's always great when a band we know and love put out a new album we enjoy, but the exciting part of music is finding those new up and coming artists that blow us away. With an amazing debut release, there's so much potential and promise ahead. It's fun to get in on the ground floor of a great new band and watch them grow and evolve. That's why I'm highlighting seven releases from 2011 of bands that are just getting started. The possibilities for these careers are endless. Let's sit back and watch them unfold together, shall we?