Fifth Annual Top Ten Song List

Ok, admittedly I am a bit behind on publishing my favorite songs of 2012, but you have to admit I have kind of been making up for lost time lately, no?  This year was especially hard, not necessarily to pair down the list, but to decide what went where.  Number 1 was easy, but 2-10, could have just about all been number 2 on the list.  So without further ado, here is my top ten favorite songs for 2012!

10. Some Nights by fun. - This song would most likely be higher if I hadn't been totally obsessed with it so long ago.  I think all the radio play has me a little over it, but last summer this was basically our anthem.  It is such a unique sound and really this whole album was played over and over in the Trent house/cars/back yard a lot last year.

9.  Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Eli Young Band - This song is so great for that person who is really passionate about music.  I think every young person who wants to be an artist must have felt this way at some time.  They just yearn to play no matter what, even if it breaks their heart...

8.  Live and Die by Avett Brothers - My friend KC turned me on to this band a couple of years ago and I will forever be in debted, because they are one of my favorites now.  I loved their last album and couldn't wait to get the new one this year.  This is probably my favorite on the album.  We got to see them at ACL this year and they put on such a great, energetic show.

7.  Keep Your Eyes Open by Needtobreathe - Again, it was hard to pick which song off this album was my favorite - Drive All Night was definitely a close second - but this is the one that I kept going back to and got really excited every time I heard it on the radio.  This band has Christian roots, and I am not sure, but my take on this song is just that you have to get out in the world and experience it, but not let yourself be part of it.  Keep your eyes open in multiple senses of the words.

6.  Nobody's Fool by Miranda Lambert - I technically heard this song in 2011, but I really played it a lot this past year.  I love ML.  She is awesome.  She is spunky and tough, she is an East Texas girl after all!  But some of her songs are so tender and really let you look at a more vulnerable side too.  I just really like the play on words in this song too.

5.  Payphone by Maroon 5 - Not gonna lie.  I have never been a huge Maroon 5 fan.  I like that song Wake Up Call a lot, but other than that I could take them or leave them.  Except I do think Adam Levine is pretty cool, I mean he did And Iran on SNL, so he has to be cool.  (If you have not seen that, please go to the SNL digital short website and watch - be prepared to laugh).  Anyway, I love their new album, this song specifically.  I have listened to it about 238,187 times since it came out.

4.  Stubborn Love by The Lumineers - Last year at this time I had seen Hey Ho by Lumineers come up on Sirius station 28 about a million times.  I am kind of bad about turning a song without even listening to it if I don't know it.  So I had seen the song and band name, but never listened to the now ubiquitous song.  Then I saw they were playing ACL, so I figured I might as well listen.  Holy cow that is a good song!  I sing it to Jude all the time "I belong with you, you belong with me, my sweetheaaaaart".  But this song is even better.  Not quite as sweet, pretty heartbreaking, but still awesome.

3.  Springsteen by Eric Church - This is the only song I like by EC, but I freaking love it.  Even Jason likes, and he does not like country songs.  I have gotten him liking exactly 6 total (we keep count) and this is one of them.  So it is that good.

2.  Only If For the Night by Florence and the Machine - Florence is a poet is what I have discovered this year.  I really would like to know if she was like an English major at Oxford or something because her lyrics are so beautiful.  This song portrays such a vivid image of what I think is losing someone she loved at a young age and reacting to that like a young person would.  It is lovely.

1.  Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye - Pretty sure this song is on every top 10 list of last year, but I would just like to claim that I discovered it first.  Ha.  Ok, maybe not but I have been obsessed with it from the first time I heard it and made my sister and Jason listen to it over and over before it was EVERYWHERE.  We saw Gotye at ACL as well this year and it was one of my favorite performances.  He is like a performance artist.  He is a very talented individual.  None of the other songs on his album sound anything like this one or like any other song on the album.  It is such an interesting mix and the live performance really brought it to life.  This song just has to resonate with everyone.  I mean who hasn't had that person that was everything for a while and after it was over you didn't want to feel like it had been nothing.  The line "You treat me like a stranger and it feels so rough" kills me.  Such perfect wording.  Who hasn't felt that?  Anyway, I love it and that's that.

I had to cut some songs that I really would have liked to include, but they will just have to be left for the honorable mention list.  No one ever adds to the comments to tell me what they would have put on their list, but I will hope that this year someone will. =)  What are your favorites of the year?

Here is my honorable mentions: Good Time by Carley Rae Jepsen and Owl City, Blown Away by Carrie Underwood, 22 by Taylor Swift, Set Fire to the Rain by Adele and We Owned the Night by Lady Antebellum.  Can you tell I was in to country music this year?  Here's to 2013!! 

And in a flash...

Jude is one year old!  How did that happen?  I know everyone always says that, but seriously.  I feel like we JUST did his newborn photos.  The last year has gone by faster than I could have imagined.  And I feel like it has been one of the best, albeit busiest, years of my life.  I felt so much more laid back this time around with all the things that come with having a newborn.  I just enjoyed it and tried to relish it!  And who could have possibly known I needed a baby boy?  I wanted a girl so bad I cried at my sonogram when I found out.  But God knew better!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a boy.  And I just love the dynamic of having one of each now.  Isabella loves him so much and they already will play together.  It is so sweet!

For Jude's birthday we decided to have a Beatle's themed party.  I mean his name is Jude after all.  But Jason got the inspiration from the cover of this Beatles album...

It is their number one hits and so we figured it went great with the 1 year theme!  We decided to just do immediate family for the party so it would just be a small intimate party.  I actually planned to really do it up, even still, but you know how sometimes things just sneak up on you?  Yeah, that happened.  But we at least had some Beatles themed food, some gifts and even balloons.

Isabella helped Jude open his gifts...

 

I think she enjoyed opening the gifts more than he did...

 

Jude's favorite thing was the balloons...

Grammy and Poppy got him a birthday hat, but we didn't have much luck keeping it on!

New trucks Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jared got him...

 Jude with Poppy...

Some of our Beatle's themed food...

Here is the lovely cake that Society Bakery made us.  They googled the album cover so they knew just what to make.  Love them!

I remember Isabella was very timid with her smash cake.  Just little tastes here and there.  Well, Jude not so much.  This was his first bite...

Then Isabella got involved pretty quickly...

 And then we had this mess...

Note to everyone.  Do not use a cake with solid RED icing for a smash cake!  Lesson learned.  We were cleaning red icing out out the carpet, off the floor and walls for a while.  I just yesterday saw some on the ceiling in our kitchen!  Haha, but it was fun.  I think the party was a success, even if it wasn't a huge party.  It was nice to be able to just sit and talk with our families.

Happy Birthday Jude!  We love you so much!