My 2012 In Music

Last year at this time I was lamenting the lack of new music (as in, new in 2011 or new to me) added to my iTunes library. I figured that 2012 would be better since I had gone back to work. Since May I've been out of work but at least I got some unemployment out of it. So, indeed, my 2012 acquisitions are up. (A note, which is mainly for my own reference: the figures below include a couple of CDs I got during 2012 but only got around to adding to my iTunes tonight, so I need to remember for next year's wrapup not to include them again.)

I added 567 tracks to my collection by my count (it's a complicated story but I may be off by one or two because of duplicates), compared to 271 last year. Christmas music comprised 26 of those 567 songs. There were a lot of downloads of individual songs, as well as the first song in my next project - converting my vinyl collection to mp3 format. I have maybe a few dozen 45s and many more 12-inch dance remixes, probably in the hundreds. I'm so excited about this.

Beyond that, I got some free downloaded samplers and mixtapes (which is such an odd term to use for mp3 downloads, but...):

Will Sheridan – G.I.A.N.T. Sampler
DJ ShyBoy presents the RuPaul Mixtape (RuPaul songs mashed up with other songs)
DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mick Boogie – Summertime 2: The Mixtape
DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mick Boogie – Summertime 3: The Mixtape
Dangerous Muse – Red
Slaves to the Rhythm – Pride 2011 Sampler

And then there were the albums that were released prior to 2012:

Kelly Clarkson – Stronger
Discovery – LP
Ricky Martin – Ricky Martin
David Guetta – Nothing But The Beat
Jody Watley – Midnight Lounge
Paul McCartney – All The Best
Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money
Elton John – Rocket Man - Number Ones
Steely Dan – The Definitive Collection
The Gap Band – The 12” Collection and More
Nona Hendryx – Nona (as I mentioned here, the first full-length album I transferred from vinyl to mp3)
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream-The Complete Confection (this is the re-released version with bonus tracks -- the original was out in 2010 so I don't feel right counting it as a 2012 album)

In 2011 I got only four albums that were actually

Another Summer Playlist Update

I don't know if I should just re-post my entire summer playlist in one new post, but until I get to that point, you'll just have to click on this link, which leads to the most recent update, and then keep following links until you get back to the original posts. At any rate, thanks to this recent article, which provided a list of hits from June through August each year going back to the 1960s, I decided on a number of additions to my list that are already in my iTunes library. Also, Amazon has had two mp3 sales recently -- one was for a summer playlist of their own, 25 songs for a quarter each -- yes, $0.25 -- and just in the last 24 hours, recent hit albums for $0.99, and these sales provided some more tracks for the list.

The entire list is now up to 153 songs, although I'm kind of wavering on a few that originally were on the list. I'm leaving them, at least for now. Anyway, briefly, my criteria are: hits during the summer, song titles/lyrics  about summer, sunshine, heat, etc., and a few songs that either made an impression on me personally during summer or just have a summery feel to them, so the list is (as many lists are) a bit subjective. Here are the additions:


Wild Ones (Feat. Sia) - Flo Rida
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Nothin' On You [Feat. Bruno Mars] - B.o.B
Hot In Herre - Nelly
In The Summertime -Mungo Jerry
Sunshine - Matisyahu
Everybody Loves The Sunshine - Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
Dynamite - Taio Cruz
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
It's Gonna Be Me - 'N Sync
We Like To Party - Vengaboys
MmmBop - Hanson (if I recall, I kept this off the list originally)
Kiss From A Rose - Seal
Whoomp! (There It Is) - Tag Team
Can't Help Falling In Love - UB40
End Of The Road - Boyz II Men
Alone - Heart
With Or Without You - U2
Funkytown - Lipps Inc.
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain & Tennille
Touch Me In The Morning - Diana Ross
Lean On Me - Bill Withers
Lovely Day - Bill Withers
It's Too Late - Carole King
The Love You Save - The Jackson 5
War - Edwin Starr
Get Back - The Beatles
Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Help! - The Beatles
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
California Gurls (Feat. Snoop Dogg) - Katy Perry
Firework - Katy Perry
Chasing The Sun - The Wanted