Riot Earp & DJ Melo
As I type this, it's still 2012, but by the time we hit "publish," it'll be 2013. So I'll turn to the great poet Kanye West to sum it all up: "I'm livin' in the future so the presence is my past. My presence is the present, kiss my ass."More »That was 2012, welcome to 2013 -- here's our end of the year lists all bundled up for your convenience.
Happy New Year loyal punk fans. 
Screaming Females
If you really tied one on and you're nursing your hangover by chugging some Pedialyte, punk music may be the last thing you want to listen to. But 2012 was a great year for punk releases, which made this list difficult to narrow down to a top five.
See also:
-10 Favorite Local Hip-Hop Tracks of 2012
-12 Favorite Local EDM Mixes of 2012
-Top Five 2012 Heavy Releases In Phoenix
-Top 10 Phoenix Albums of 2012
-Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012
-Jason Woodbury's 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012
It's been a mighty big year for hip-hop music in Arizona, most notably with the explosion of the locally-produced platinum hit "Mercy" by Kanye West. Producer and New F-Os member Lifted helped direct ears towards our corner of the map for his work on the massively popular track, but he hasn't been the only one putting in quality work in the Valley. Here's a look at some of our favorite hip-hop beats provided by Arizona's own. 
Kyle DaShawn Numbers
See also:
- 12 Favorite Local EDM Mixes of 2012
- New Year's Eve Guide 2013
- Top 10 Phoenix Albums of 2012
- Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012
- Jason Woodbury's 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012
The year 2012 brought an array of exciting moments in heavy metal, from album releases by veteran acts like Napalm Death and younger bands like Goatwhore, to some of the biggest ever heavy metal festivals, to a few of my personal favorite interviews with metal legends. 
twingiant.com TwinGiant performed at Southwestern Terror Fest in Tucson.
Enjoy -- and happy metal fucking New Year.
See also:
-Top Five 2012 Heavy Releases In Phoenix
- Top 10 Phoenix Albums of 2012
- Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012
- Jason Woodbury's 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012
- Top 20 Phoenix Concerts of 2012
- Top 12 Biggest Musical Letdowns of 2012
The overwhelming popularity of electronic dance music continued its exponential growth over the last 12 months, both nationwide and here in the Valley of the Sun. Beats were bumping nearly nonstop across the local music landscape in 2012 as new dance clubs (such as the Monarch Theatre and EPIQ) debuted in grand fashion and Phoenix DJs and EDM producers got love via the blogosphere and worked big-time gigs across the globe.
We've spent plenty of the past year listening to the efforts of local turntable fiends and producers and have compiled a rundown of a dozen of our favorite tracks and mixes that grabbed our attention.
See also:
- Top 10 Phoenix Albums of 2012
- Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012
- Jason Woodbury's 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012
- Top 20 Phoenix Concerts of 2012
- Top 12 Biggest Musical Letdowns of 2012
More »
Meggie Burr The Senators
As 2012 draws to a close, we'll be looking forward to the 2013 and spotlighting 13 Phoenix bands that will be making a mark on the Southwest throughout the new year. Jason P. Woodbury brings this update regarding Americana outfit The Senators, whose rustic sound is picking up steam.
In case you haven't noticed, the "Americana Revival" thing is big right now. Rootsy, mostly acoustic acts like Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers didn't just break out of the "No Depression" ghetto; they actually topped the charts.
See also:
-13 Bands You Need to Hear in 2013
-[Archive] That Was 2012
Jim Louvau Zero Zero @ Rogue Bar, 10/5/12
Ladies and gentleman, here are our 10 picks for our favorite Phoenix albums of 2012. Enjoy!
See also:
-13 Phoenix Bands You Need to Hear in 2013
-Jason P. Woodbury's 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012
-Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012
-Top Five 2012 Heavy Releases In Phoenix
-That Was 2012 Wrapup
Is this year over yet? Well, close enough. So in honor of 2012 we've dug through the past 12 months of stories looking for the greatest hits. Below you'll find the stories (minus most of the newsy stuff) that people clicked on each month. And if thousands of other people clicked on these stories, you'll want to too. Don't trust us, trust your fellow readers.
See Also:
- Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012
- The 10 Most WTF Moments of 2012
- The Biggest Music-Related News Stories of 2012
8/20 Records PALMS
As 2012 draws to a close, we'll be looking forward to the 2013 and spotlighting 13 Phoenix bands that will be making a mark on the Southwest throughout the new year. Today, Christina Caldwell brings us a look at PALMS (all caps, babies), the fast-rising indie/surf outfit that recently signed to the Valley's own 80/20 Records.
If you haven't been to one of their live shows, you'd think PALMS was a bit of a secret.
With only two songs available on its Bandcamp page, Tempe's mellow indie surf rock band -- which finds its home back from any natural body of water -- has remained mostly quiet online, with the exception of their ever-rambunctious Facebook posts. PALMS is just another reason why local music fans actually need to get out of their house to enjoy local music, well, locally.
See also:
-13 Bands You Need to Hear in 2013
-[Archive] That Was 2012
Jim Louvau Father John Misty performs at the Rhythm Room.
So long, 2012.You were a weird, uncomfortable, and scary year. You were also wonderful, at times so unbearably wonderful that I thought my brain was going to explode as I struggled to wrap my head around your pure, blindingly bright joy. You had all the things a monumental year should: elections, end-of-humanity fears, a very good adaptation of Marvel Comics' Avengers comic book, McRibs.
Anyway, I went to a lot of shows and listened to a lot of songs this year. Here are the 10 "best" (what an amorphous term) things I heard in 2012. Enjoy.
See also:
-Top 10 Reissues and Compilations
-Top 20 Phoenix Concerts of 2012
-Top Five 2012 Heavy Releases In Phoenix
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