2012 Recap: Year-End Awards

When the final bell tolled in 2012, there was much to celebrate. We all survived a surprisingly underwhelming apocalypse, and with everyone anxiously waiting to see if we all woke up on December 22, we were blessed with the work of some musicians' greatest efforts, in hopes to end the world on a good note. 2012 was bountiful in many different ways in music. Hopefully by now, you've seen both year-end album lists by Craig and myself. But to define an entire year by two simple Top 15 album lists seems to be unfair to all of the other great material released this year. Below, you'll find Keep Calm's best effort to bring you as much of the good stuff 2012 had to offer in one post. Don't forget to hit up the comments to let us know what you felt was the best that 2012 gave us!

Song of the Year

The Gaslight Anthem- "45": The first single from the best album of one of the best bands of the new milennium, "45" had a lot riding on it. After Gaslight fans were somehow disappointed by the band's effort on American Slang, there was a hint of doubt in the band's career. To answer any and all criticism, however, Brian Fallon came back roaring (literally) with one of the band's most blistering tracks, and the biggest rock anthem of the year. 

Runners-Up: fun.- "Some Nights"; Anberlin- "Self-Starter"

Non-Music Related Music Story of the Year

Laura Jane Grace: When Tom Gabel of Against Me! Chose to announce his intentions of undergoing a sex change to Rolling Stone magazine, the world was introduced to a rock star in the middle of an identity crisis. Gabel emerged from this media firestorm as Laura Jane Grace, her new female identity. While the news was starting and shocking to most fans of the band, the reception to Grace's decision could not have been any warmer, and the jolt of humanity into the music industry was a breath of fresh air that raised the anticipation for Against Me!'s new album to a fever pitch. Keep Calm continues to wish Laura the best of luck in her journey towards her true identity.

Runner Up: Mitch Lucker's fatal motorcycle accident (Rest in Peace, Mitch.)

Cover Song of the Year

Bayside- "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", originally recorded by Billy Joel: Caught in-between full-lengths (and labels), Bayside found themselves in a unique situation that allowed them to do something unique and creative, on their own terms. What they came up with was Covers, Vol. 1, a five-song effort that surpasses any of the last five Punk Goes releases. Their rendition of  "Movin' Out" stays true to the original while still maintaining that classic Bayside sound, and leaves fans hoping for a few more volumes of this series.

Runners-Up: Mayday Parade- "Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Vic Fuentes)", originally recorded by Gotye feat. Kimbra; The Maine- "Girls Just Want to Have Fun (feat. Adam Lazarra)", originally recorded by Cindi Lauper

EP of the Year

Sparks the Rescue- Sparks the Rescue: The result of a Kickstarter campaign, this seven song effort from the boys of Summer from Maine provides an excellent bounce-back that should reignite the career of Sparks the Rescue. From the impeccible guitar work of Mike Naran to Alex Roy's always infectious melodies, Sparks the Rescue helps the band return to the form that made them one of the best up-and-coming pop-rock acts of a few years ago.

Runner-Up: You, Me, and Everyone We Know- A Great Big Hole

Music Video of the Year

Transit- "Skipping Stone": One of the most interesting decisions of the year was made by the Boston, MA emo revivalists to give the heartfelt acoustic standout on Listen and Forgive the electric feel, but after hearing the song, and seeing the creative and nostalgic music video, it's clear to see why Transit decided to create the alternate version of "Skipping Stone."

Runners-Up: The Gaslight Anthem- "Handwritten," "Here Comes My Man"; Title Fight- "Secret Society"

Guilty Pleasure of the Year

Like Moths to Flames: They're not that innovative of a band, but somehow, there's something about this band that I can't help but love. They're angry, angtsy, and aggressive, and Chris Roetter can sing and scream quite well. Whether you were banging your head to any of the songs on their re-release of their debut full-length When We Don't Exist or their cringe-inducing cover of fun.'s "Some Nights," if you let LMTF into your ears in 2012, chances are you wouldn't be able to get them out of your head.

Runner-Up: 2 Chainz

Tour of the Year

Taking Back Sunday's #TAYF10: Celebrating the release of a landmark album of your genre is a difficult task. But if any album deserved the front-to-back tour treatment, it's Taking Back Sunday's Tell All Your Friends. While watching the band play their game-changing album was worth the price of admission alone, it was the opening acts that made #TAYF10 so special. TBS enlisted fellow Long Islanders Bayside to support the entire tour, while keeping a rotating opening act that consisted of young upcomers like Man Overboard and Transit to get some of their spotlight. What's more, the band played an eight-song "greatest hits" set before breaking into the album, and closed out the night with the album's two b-sides. Kudos to TBS for putting themselves into Band of the Year consideration, in a year that they didn't release any new material.

Runner-Up: The Glamour Kills Tour (The Wonder Years, Polar Bear Club, Transit, The Story So Far, A Loss for Words, Into It. Over It.)

Vocalist of the Year

Ace Enders, The Early November: Always known as a man who likes to keep busy, Ace Enders has been perfecting his voice since before some of his fans were even born.Whether you were listening to In Currents this summer or watching The Early November on their tour with Cartel this fall, one thing was very clear: Enders's vocals have never sounded more heartfelt, emotional, or better.

Runner-up: Nate Ruess, fun.

Guitarist(s) of the Year

Alex Rosamilia, The Gaslight Anthem: One of most underrated parts of Handwritten's greatness is the increased and improved role Rosamilia's guitar work took on in The Gaslight Anthem's songwriting. Rosamilia's solos (in "Biloxi Parish" and "Mulholland Drive") and swift riffs (in "45" and "Howl") set the tone for the entire album, and if his talents were overlooked before, they sure won't be again.

Runners-up: Tim Landers/Brad Wiseman, Misser

Drummer of the Year

Nate Young, Anberlin: Young won this award within the first 20 seconds of "Self-Starter," and the rest of his work on that song and the entirety of Vital is essentially just him showing off. While you can't really see him in the picture above, you can certainly hear him loud and clear on Vital, arguably Anberlin's best album, and what you're hearing is the sound of one of the most passionate drummers in modern rock.

Runner-Up: Steve Clifford, Circa Survive

Bassist of the Year

Nick Beard, Circa Survive: With Circa Survive's Violent Waves focusing more on instrumentals than Anthony Green's signature vocals, it was Beard who emerged as the benefactor of the album's more groove-oriented styles. Beard's background vocals also compliment Green's throughout the album, and his powering basslines keep the album moving, as best experienced on the album's epic opener "Birth of the Economic Hit Man"

Runner-up: Ned Russin, Title Fight

Songwriter of the Year

Brian Fallon, The Gaslight Anthem: While it took a monumental effort from The Gaslight Anthem as a band to achieve what they did on Handwritten, everything the band releases will inevitably be examined for Fallon's songwriting. What was discovered when the album was examined this time was Fallon's best work, featuring the same arena-ready choruses with a little more of the punk soul that seemed absent from American Slang, and even more of Fallon's heart on his sleeves.

Runners-up: Greg Barnett and Tom May, The Menzingers

Guest Feature of the Year

Jason Vena, on All Time Low's "Outlines": Providing the vocals that were supposed to be delivered by Patrick Stump are tough shoes to fill (just ask Tay Jardine, who filled in for Stump on Yellowcard's "Here I Am Alive"). But who better to replace one signature voice than a man with a signature voice in his own right? To do this, All Time Low enlisted Jason Vena, formerly of Acceptance (check them out if you haven't yet). The result is the best song on what may be the band's best album, Don't Panic, and another assertion that sometimes it's best to get by with a little help from your friends.

Runner-up: Geoff Rickly, on Circa Survive's "The Lottery"

Performance of the Year (all instruments)

Sean Mackin (Violinist), Yellowcard: To create a great Yellowcard album, you need to have Mackin at the top of his game. On Southern Air, Mackin's never sounded better. The solo provided on "Always Summer" is his best since "Ocean Avenue," and his work to provide summery atmospheres never ceases to amaze. Oh, and on top of all of that, the dude beat cancer, and was still able to bring it onstage while the band headlined Warped Tour and a fall headlining tour with The Wonder Years and We Are the In Crowd this year. Congratulations, Sean, and may your good health continue. 

Band of the Year

fun.: In a year that so many indie artists were able to break into the mainstream, no act made a bigger splash than fun. Propelled by the shocking success of "We Are Young," the band also enjoyed success with "Some Nights" and "Carry On," and Some Nights was declared gold by the RIAA. The band headlined nearly every major festival this summer, scored big-time performances at many different award shows and late-night appearances, and lead all Grammy nominees with 6 nominations. 2012 was an odd year, but it was also the year of fun., and there's nowhere to go but up for the band that just might be the next big thing.

Runner-up: The Gaslight Anthem

Band of the Week, 5/14: Against Me!

Who they are: Against Me! are a punk rock band from Florida. They've been around since the 90s (and some of you weren't even around back then), and have found a way to stay relevant in the punk scene, and are celebrating their fifteenth year of existence in 2012. With a new album titled Transgender Dysphoria Blues in the works, it looks as if they're looking to add a few more years to their career.

Why they're Band of the Week: For reasons completely unrelated to music, to be blunt. If you picked up or received a copy of last week's Rolling Stone (if you haven't, it's available anywhere magazines are sold), you've already read the news that the band's guitarist/lead vocalist/frontman Tom Gabel has come out as a transgender, and has begun the process of becoming a woman. While the news is jarring, there is no way to not talk about it. There are so many different opinions on the matter that have been expressed, but I think the one most fitting for a situation like this is respect. Very few people on this earth know what Laura Grace (the name Gabel will adopt under her new identity) has gone through throughout her life, and therefore, the only thing those who do not know her personally can feel is respect for the life-defining decision she is making. One of the  building blocks of this nation has been the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (it's in the Declaration of Independence). This is Laura Grace's liberty to change her life in order to continue her pursuit of happiness. Let's all just respect that, okay?

With a decision like this  being made, the question that undoubtedly crosses people's minds is "What happens to the band now?" Without breaking stride, the article (which you really, really need to read) states that the band has already decided (as if they had to in the first place) that they will continue on with Grace. It was likely a simple decision, but one that many Against Me! fans will sleep easier knowing the ease of which it was made. As I said earlier, this has been a jarring piece of news to come out, and all parties have handled  it with incredible professionalism and courage. If you're a fan of Against Me!, punk music, or music in general, it is highly recommended that you read the article in the newest edition of Rolling Stone. It will be, without doubt, one of the most important stories in rock music this year, and possibly in years to come. Best of luck, Laura.

12 Days of Christmas, Day 11: Top 40 Songs of 2010

If you asked anyone who pays attention to music as much as I do on a yearly basis, they'll tell you how good 2010 has been in terms of music being released. While I knew there would be at least a few solid songs and albums, even I wasn't prepared for how  good things would get. What surprised me the most,  however, was how good the songs that dominated mainstream radio were this year. That has translated onto the list of my top 40 songs of 2010, and if you look at the list below, you'll see why. Here is what I consider to be the greatest endeavor of the 12 Days of Christmas,  the Top 40 Songs of 2010:

Recommendation for the week, 9/5-9/11

Recently, I posted the lyrics to the chorus of the new Against Me! single, "I Was a Teenage Anarchist," as my Facebook. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, as I tend to post lyrics that are stuck in my head or strike me on any particular day. What I didn't expect, however, was the debate that sparked between a few friends of mine about the idea that the band had "sold out." It's a word that's thrown around a lot these days, and most of the time, it's not entirely deserved or correct. However, with the new AM! record White Crosses, it's evident that Tom Gabel and Co. have abandoned their pure-punk ways for catchier, bigger songs in an attempt to spread their band across a wider fanbase. This is obviously a huge risk for any band, as it could create a rift between new and old fans, and those arguments never benefit anyone.


Don't get me wrong, I'm all about debate. In fact, the argument that ensued actually inspired this week's recommendation/theme: selling out. Like I said before, it gets tossed around about as much as autotune these days, and its gotten to a point where I'm not even really sure if I can classify any band as "sellouts" anymore. It seems to be such a relative term, with any music fan having their own definition for it. To me, selling out is (loosely) defined as abandoning the "signature sound" of your band in order to make a glossed-over, watered-down version of what your band used to be. There are many bands who jump to a major label, get a monster single, and run with it all the way to the top, making a slew of new fans while abandoning the more loyal ones along the way. But that doesn't mean it has to be bad. Sometimes a band can shock you by coming off of a commercially successful album to create their best work to date, showing fans that they refuse to change in the face of the dollar sign. It's a tangled web, this music business, and below are a few bands who have attempted to escape its clutches while keeping their message intact (some, unfortunately, had more success with this than the others):


Against Me!- "I Was a Teenage Anarchist"- It wouldn't feel right not starting this series of songs off without the one that sparked the idea in my head. As mentioned, White Crosses is a vast departure from the folk-punk sound that AM! built their reputation, as it plays more like a radio-rock album than a punk album (if it's considered a punk album at all). This is made all the more difficult due to the fact that "Teenage Anarchist" is a really good song. Had a new up-and-coming act used this as their debut single, we may be telling a different story; but because it was made by the band who also wrote "Baby, I'm an Anarchist," it's easy to see why AM! created a crater in the sand between new fans and old, rather than just a simple line, with White Crosses.


Motion City Soundtrack- "Disappear"- After Even if it Kills Me failed to connect in the mainstream as many had anticipated, MCS were left with the cold truth that it had also deeply disappointed fans as well. After I am the Movie and Commit This to Memory had placed the band into the limelight thanks to their catchy-yet-dark songs, Even if it Kills Me was a more poppy release that led the "Boombox Generation," the band's fan club, to believe they were selling out. MCS thankfully answered this with My Dinosaur Life, which contains Justin Pierre's darkest lyrics yet. "Disappear" is one of the standout tracks of My Dinosaur Life, as the song contains that signature irresistible chorus, and when paired with arguably Pierre's best vocal performance of the band's career, we may be looking at one of the best songs in Motion City's catalog, which is certainly saying a lot.


Fall Out Boy-"Of All the Gin Joints in All the World"- We get it: you hate Fall Out Boy. You hate Pete Wentz's skills as a businessmen, you hate that they're your little sister's favorite band, and you probably hate that they're mentioned in this post. But for those of us who look deeper than the mainstream success of the band after "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" was vastly overplayed on the radio will recall the band's classic Take This to Your Grave, which will likely go down as one of the better pop-punk releases in the last decade, and maybe of all-time. "Of All the Gin Joints..." is the best glimpse FOB gave us of their TTTYG-era songwriting; it's stinging, self-loathing undertones and the best one-liners you can find help the song feel more like a song that was left off of the final tracklisting for TTTYG rather than one of the more overlooked and under appreciated songs on their Top 40 breakthrough From Under the Cork Tree. Since Cork Tree took off, FOB have been around the world on tour numerous times, and have made two releases that not only alienate older fans, but make those fans question if this was the same Fall Out Boy they loved.


Cartel- "27 Steps"- After Cartel's debacle in the "Bubble" (which could possibly the worst career move ever by a band that seemed like a sure-shot superstar in the making), the band was forced to, for lack of a better term, shit out their self-titled release without giving it that signature Cartel catchiness; and from the band who gave us "Honestly," this was a huge problem. But whatever emotion was sacrificed on their self-titled effort was put too good use on Cycles, one of the better bounce-back releases in some time. This is never more obvious than on "27 Steps," the stinging break-up song Cartel was waiting to write. Sure, there are other gems on this album ("Deep South" and "Faster Ride" were considered for suggestion as well), but its "27 Steps" where the band shows their true songwriting ability, as evidenced by the emotional live performances of this song all over Youtube. What's more, Will Pugh continues to build up his resume as one of the premiere vocalists in the game right now, building up from a mellowed sound in the beginning of the song to absolutely dominating the end of the track. It's a shame Cartel's self-titled was so disappointing, because had they made an album up to par with Chroma, Cycles may have thrusted the band into stardom.


Green Day- "Jesus of Suburbia"- Over the course of their illustrious, ground-breaking career, Green Day has become the one band whose debate of selling out has seen the most discussion. Some argue that it all started with "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," others say that the band's selling out was seen through the release of American Idiot. This may sound dumb, but I'm not sold on Green Day selling out at all, and I'll use "Jesus of Suburbia" as my key peice of evidence. Throughout their careers, Green Day was labeled as a punk band, and that means something to their fans: punk music has always been used to make a statement about the ideals of the world around you, usually on a smaller scale. But that's where "Jesus of Suburbia" begins to challenge the views of punk music in my mind. Over nine minutes, Billie Joe Armstrong takes the listener through the muck he sees in America, making a statement about the state of the nation. Isn't make a statement what punk rock is all about? If so, why is Green Day being nailed to the cross for abiding by the basic laws of punk rock? This is simply because Green Day fans are longing for the days of "Basket Case," "Longview" or "When I Come Around," and that's simply unfair to ask of the band; they've grown up, but in an attempt to keep their punk roots intact, they've taken their aim on larger-scale issues in hopes of carrying the banner for other punk bands that may make it into the spotlight.

So now, let the discussion begin: Who did I miss? Did I get it completely wrong with the bands mentioned? Who do you think has become a victim of "selling out"? More importantly, what's your definition of a band selling out? Leave it in the replies, and let's get heated!