Mix Tape of the Day: January 30, 2015 - The Best of 2011

Oof, I had trouble coming up with a complete mix for 2011 without resorting to multiple tracks from the same artist.  I even had to include a song that wasn't on the Hot 100.  But I think you'll forgive me because it's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!

1. Friday - Rebecca Black (2011) Haha! No regrets! I love this song! Not a Friday goes by that this song doesn't go through my head.  And without it, Bad Lip Reading might not even continue to exist today!

2. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) - Katy Perry (2010) Katy Perry was certainly lucky that Rebecca Black got as big as she did or else no one would have noticed her Friday song.  My enjoyment of Kate Perry comes in waves and this seems to be the latest song of hers that I regularly enjoy.

3. F**k You - Cee Lo Green (2010) This song started gaining traction in 2010, but since it's not on 2010's chart, we get to feature it here.  Sorry if you have sensitive ears, but "Forget You" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

4. F**kin' Perfect - Pink (2010) Two pop songs with the F-word in the title in the same year?  What would our forefathers think?!  Actually, I was so used to the radio edit, that I never realized there was a more...mature version of the song.

5. Price Tag - Jessie J (2011) Um, the only reason I included this one is because it sounds exactly like "F**king Perfect."  Thank Goodness It's Four Chord Progression.

6. What the Hell - Avril Lavigne (2011) I know I've included an Avril Lavigne song on one of my previous mixes, but I don't think you quite grasp how deep my Lavigne devotion goes...

7. Born This Way - Lady Gaga (2011) I debated between this and "The Edge of Glory."  I picked this one because it goes with that whole self-empowerment theme that all great songs should employ.

8. More - Usher (2010) I'm not one for these type of songs.  But if they were all like this, then I'd probably conquer my fear of dance clubs.

9. Lighters - Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars (2011) I really like the Eminem part and I really like the Bruno Mars part.  Fortunately, they were strong enough for me to include the song here.

10. Good Life - OneRepublic (2009) Thanks to it's use in Disney Parks promotions, I just want to go to Disney World whenever I hear this one.  That is where the good life is, after all.

11. Back to December - Taylor Swift (2010) It's time for my annual Taylor Swift song.  She was feeling a bit somber this year.  Aww, Tay! You'll learn to shake it off soon!

12. Someone Like You - Adele (2011) Yeah, I'm really ending this mix on a devastating note.  Adele really took hold of our emotions in 2011.

13. Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri (2010) "Someone Like You" might be technically better than "Jar of Hearts," but to me, this is like 15 "Someone Like You"s.  It's so heart-wrenching.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 23, 2015 - The Best of 2012

Going back in time once more, we come to the year that the world ended.  I actually have far stronger memories of songs that I associate from this year than I do 2013, which is odd.  I think part of it was because I was introduced to a lot of new music at festivals and such, but I'll address them later.  For today, it's back to the Hot 100, to see what 2012 was like.

1. Gangnam Style - Psy (2012) 2014 was the Year of Happiness and 2013 was the Year of Silliness, but 2012 was the Year of Guilty Pleasures.  Almost every song on this list can make you say, "Really?  You like that song?"  Case in point: "Gangnam Style."  Sure, it won us all over with the silly music video, but I would probably listen to this song every day, either online or on the radio.  It was so catchy and entertaining.  A great party song, even though I didn't understand the lyrics at all.

2. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen (2011) This '90s throwback of a song was a contender for the first track on this mix.  It was also a great guilty pleasure of mine that year.  Once again, the catchy music has won me over.  (I didn't even really watch the video until years later.)

3. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction (2011) 2012 gave us Psy, Carly Rae Jepsen, and One Direction.  While music snobs may have cringed, I was in heaven.  I didn't realize until this moment that I've put a 1D song on each mix of the year so far.  I guess I'm a Directioner.  This still remains my favorite of their songs.

4. Give Your Heart a Break - Demi Lovato (2011) Am I losing the little credibility that I once had as a fan of pop music?  Did I ever have any credibility?  Don't care.  We shouldn't feel guilty about our guilty pleasures.  We should just call them "pleasures."

5. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift (2012) Now, I'm loud and proud about my Taylor Swift fandom.  But there was a time I had to be less vocal about it.  I couldn't just go around in public singing along to "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."  We truly live in a better age.

6. Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye (2011) Ooh, I remember hearing this right before it blew up and became the song of the year.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  No need to feel guilty about this one.  It did get a bit overplayed, though.  I liked it better as a hidden gem that I didn't have to listen to daily.  It's more like a one-a-month song.

7. Ni***s in Paris - Jay-Z and Kanye West (2011) So, in 2012, the Infinite Jukebox was developed.  It creates infinite loops of songs by jumping to structurally similar parts of the song.  It's cool, but it has it's share of kinks.  And the best one is that on "Paris," it gets stuck at "Yo whip so cold, this old thang."  Forever.  It takes this masterpiece and it makes it like...a whole new level of art.  Transcend to a new plane of existence here.  Also, don't let Kanye into his zone.

8. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees (2011) It reels me in with that '50s opening and doesn't let go.

9. Burn It Down - Linkin Park (2012) I originally thought this was going to be the song that plays during the ending credits to "Wreck-It Ralph."  I just picture video games whenever I hear this song, and it came out at the same time as the film.  It...it made sense to me.

10. Turn Me On - David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj (2011) Nicki Minaj's creepy robot aesthetic pays off in this song.

11. Titanium - David Guetta ft. Sia (2011) I'm breaking my self-imposed rules by featuring more than one song by the same artist per year (but I consider this more of Sia vs. Nicki Minaj, rather than David Guetta vs. himself).  There is an a cappella rendition of this song that I just love, but the original still is a fantastic song.  I'll include the cover later when I do my a cappella mix.

12. A Thousand Years - Christina Perri (2011) This is a Twilight promotion?  Oh well, this is one of those love songs that just hits all the right notes with me.  Christina Perri gets a lot of hate in the pop music field for some weird reason.  I think her voice and songs are radio perfection.

13. We Are Young - Fun (2011) This is my jam.  I want it to play every night I go out.  For some reason, I've categorized it as a "Thrill Seekers" song.  It just seems like the epic beginning to a young group of modern adventurers out to paint the town red.